Issue 30
Well Past Prime
"Death is a powerful occurrence few would argue," Dr. Karl Hellfern stood before the jam packed lecture hall filled with med students listening somberly, "Death brings fear at the fickle possibility of Hell or the unfulfilling 'peace' of nothingness. Whatever you believe it can be extremely unsettling. Often times in our studies the effects and therefore the consequences become…mechanical in a certain sense. It turns into a process to be picked apart and studied in an effort of avoidance. Isn't that why you're here, why you study the art of healing?" No one answered.
"Who needs medicine when you're young? After all people your age are invincible. Time is so vast that a lifetime exists between you and your utter destruction. However time is patient and ever present always ticking. Unbidden it pushes you along whether you recognize it or not. No one ever truly escapes death," he looked down to see his varicose coated hands shaking in front of him. Slowly Karl returned to his squeaky chair behind the desk. His back ached like a bad review online that never went away or be remedied. Behind thick glasses and cloudy cataracts he could barely make out faces in the front row.
"Death is the undeniable rule in life, something that cannot be conquered or halted. Yet the profession of medicine attempts to work against that inevitability no matter what they say. Why? Will immortality improve our society? Imagine if you would a world where everyone lives forever, the poor endlessly struggling and the rich continuing to accumulate. Some in the field claim with continual advances in technology it's not only possible but inevitable. They say those who will live forever have already been born into this world.
Is death an illness in the same way pneumonia is? I would argue it is not. In fact I would say it's a necessary process in natural evolution. That indiscriminate hand wipes all slates clean with the same cloth. To deny or suspend it would be a dangerous action with cataclysmic consequences for everyone and everything. I could argue that our ancestors understood the necessity of death in a way we don't. Take for instance the sacred burial practices surrounding nearly every culture in history like the Egyptian death tombs or the Viking's sea burials.
No doubt I consider these issues more seriously because I'm an old man. There's no arguing that fact. Death is merely a symptom of change. The death of the earthworm means life for the hungry chick in the nest. The world begins to pass you by or maybe instead you outlive it…not the world only your world. I know you're all anxious for summer break so I'll end on a brief story then collect your papers.
Around 200 BC a man named Qin Shi Huang, royalty from multiple bloodlines declared himself the first Emperor of China uniting regions and consolidating his power. He went from an average king to an emperor. Can you imagine the parties this guy threw? The food, the women…anyway one day a meteor fell in the countryside. Someone, maybe a disgruntled citizen or maybe space aliens, inscribed a message into the rock. It said, 'The First Emperor will die and his lands will be divided.' As could be expected the Emperor flipped his lid.
You have to understand in our past, less so today, people could be very superstitious about things. The gods spoke in mysterious ways if you had the eyes to see it. A sharp interpreter could translate the outcome of a war in the flocking and flight patterns of birds. Divination has always been around but now we strive to predict the future with science. I digress. Clearly this meteor brought a message from the heavens and the Emperor along with his court grew justifiably nervous. He ordered his brightest physicians and alchemists to create a potion that would allow him to live forever.
These men went to work to find the key that might unlock life and cheat death. Finally they believed their creation was perfect and they brought him some pills. 'My liege, we've discovered a way to live forever…merely ingest these pills.' Gladly the Emperor took them with great thanks to everyone involved. Very quickly he grew violently ill and died. His pills of immortality were composed mostly of mercury," Karl paused and let the story sink in.
"You've been a great class and have made my final semester here an enjoyable one," he finished, "Please leave your final papers on my desk as you leave. Thank you." During the mass exodus waves of papers began piling up in front of him. After those in a hurry swept out a few students remained to thank Karl for the great class and how inspired they were. Earnestly he accepted their gratitude but eventually they left too. Karl sat there for some time wondering what he had left to do in life.
A letter from Dr. Karl Hellfern to Rhas Al-Ghul
My friend Rhas,
It was very good to receive a letter from you. It's been far too long since we communicated. The older I grow the less I relate to others. When perspective spans almost a century you trade other things for the supposed wisdom of age. For one my body hitches and heaves like an engine running low on fuel. At ninety-one years old pain is my only constant companion. It wakes me long before dawn like an antsy dog and keeps me up longer and longer. I sleep constantly though never feel truly rested.
When I think about you I have to admit I'm envious. To live as long as you have and never suffer the detrimental condition of time must be a true miracle. I wonder who I would be in this confusing world if I wasn't trapped in this fragile prison cell called a body. Perhaps I'd return as the great and feared Dr. Death plotting against Batman as I did so long ago. I can see myself sprinting across the crowded rooftops carrying ill-gotten gains from my illicit schemes then I have to put down the pencil and rest from the strain of writing a simple letter.
I retired from teaching under the assumed identity you so graciously helped me build. Retired is a kind word for being forced out due to my perceived infirmity. The faculty always respected and utilized my accumulated experience but I'm viewed as a relic from an age that's laughable, possibly even embarrassing. My lab still operates outside Calgary experimenting with poisons and weaponry for private arms dealers and military contractors. We still experiment on the process of death though I sometimes wonder if its secrets will elude us forever.
Before I return to the work I'm currently staying with my daughter Lauren who is over fifty-five herself. My granddaughter is pregnant with another great grandchild. They tolerate my idiosyncrasies as best they can but the differences in our lives make it extremely difficult to connect with each other. I can't blame them. They can't conceive of the world we came from without electronics and a continuous stream of distractions.
Most people wouldn't believe the state of villainy when costumes first became popular. There was a silliness in it that even we couldn't deny though you always found a way to make it suave and measured. Originally I decided to use my retirement to make amends and patch things up with those I wronged, to put my house in order before I die. I quickly found those wrongs were scarcely remembered and of no concern to those who occupied my thoughts for so long. They moved on and I never did. Stagnant and decrepit I let time was over me like the rising tide.
I'm tired, Rhas and I fear the end is coming. I hope everything is going well for you and your family. More than anything I want you to know how much I have valued your friendship after all these years.
Best Wishes,
Karl
A letter from Rhas Al-Ghul to Dr. Karl Hellfern
Karl,
I'm sorry this letter must be so brief. I've had recent issues with our Gotham operations from both SECURE and this so-called Militia. Be assured your complaints fall on sympathetic ears. I know the physical pain of age as well as the mental anguish the ever evolving world brings with it. For those who continue to learn and acquire knowledge our society only ever seems to grow more complicated. It remains important to try to identify the constants in the human reaction that never change.
That being said the answer stands before you if only you ask for it. The solution to the pain, fear, and undeniable result can be yours. I don't offer this lightly but I would give you the same treatment in my Lazarus Pits that have graced me with life for so long. Imagine getting a second chance to live life again knowing everything you know now and then again and again. What would you change? Who would you be? Please consider it, Karl and take care. I hope to hear back from you soon.
Rhas
"Doctor, there's a gentleman here who says he used to work with you. He says his name is Dr. Hellfern?" the receptionist whispered into the phone, nodded once, and hung up. The girl's face was almost completely round like a dinner plate with expressive, similarly circular eyes. She kindly guided Karl wobbling on his cane towards the back office. Inside he found very modest but modern décor scattered with diplomas, certifications, and commendations. Behind the desk organizing some paperwork sat Dr. Andwalette Cooper a former partner of Karl's.
"Karl, it's a surprise to see you. Please have a seat," she offered. The years had been gentle with her he noticed. Despite her age her skin remained tight yet soft still the color of rich coffee grounds. Her hair went grey at some point and she refused to fight it with dye. The receptionist saw herself out quietly and they were alone.
"Are you still teaching?" she asked politely.
"No, I'm afraid I was forced to retire and make a voluntary exit. I'll be returning to Calgary and the lab very soon. You're my last stop actually," he explained.
"That's nice. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"A guilty conscious I'm afraid. I never forgot what I did to you and I still regret it, Ann."
"You stole some research from me and labeled me as unreliable in the department. It wasn't hard for them to believe the black woman got uppity," she responded entirely void of anger, "That was thirty years ago. I got over it and did pretty well for myself. I've handled much worse…you look disappointed though. Is this not what you expected? Should I throw a chair? Scream at you some?"
"I honestly don't know. I've tried to atone and apologize for the things I've done but no one seems to care. It's like I don't matter to anyone anymore or maybe I never did. Forget what I said. The last thing I expect from you is pity," Karl decided, "So the practice is doing well I take it?"
"It's going very well actually," she stated but Karl noticed something troubling behind her eyes.
"Then why don't you have any patients? Your waiting room is empty at three o'clock in the afternoon," Karl asked and she stopped smiling.
"Actually I cancelled everything this afternoon because I knew you were coming?" she admitted, "Are you involved with the Militia? Considering your past I thought it was a possibility."
"No, I'm a little too old to get involved in that nonsense," he declared adamantly.
"And SECURE?"
"Nothing beyond what I've seen on the news. Why are you asking me these questions?"
"Because they know you, SECURE I mean. They've got a pretty large file on you, even things that surprised me. Their agents visited me multiple times. They told me almost everything they are doing but their real reason for being here was you. They want you," Ann said.
"Why? What are they doing in the city?" he asked.
"They're killing all the villains. Those that remain they'll lure into a trap. For some reason they're focused on Batman. Once he breaks they say the rest will crumble to pieces," Ann's delivery sped up as she grew emotional.
"What are they going to do to him? Kill him?"
"Not at all, they're going to make him break his rule and kill everyone," she insisted. For a moment Karl sat quiet and perturbed but not convinced then he laughed. He was not a man who regularly laughed.
"He'll never do it," he assured, "These people are crazy. That can't possibly happen."
"You don't understand, Karl. Fifteen minutes before you got here they sent me a picture to show you," Ann handled the phone to Karl as she caught tears from the corners of her eyes. On the screen he saw his daughter and pregnant granddaughter tied up in the back of a nondescript van. Although gagged their faces construed pure and abject terror.
"Is this real?" he wondered dazed. The phone shook violently in his gnarled hands.
"They need something from you so they gave me a message to read word for word," Ann relayed from the paper in front of her with intense concentration, "Karl, we have made many deals over the course of this purge. Some were gilded and some were bloody. Some were double crosses and some incredibly simple but no deal is quite like yours. We know your family and past associates. If you do not complete this task we will kill every last one. Do what is asked of you and they will go free and unpunished." Ann looked up as she finished.
"Why would you allow this, Ann?" Karl demanded and felt his heart racing dangerously.
"This is the list," she stated passing it to him, "My name is on that list too." The list filled up the paper in two columns. Suddenly he couldn't seem to catch his breath.
"What do I have to do?" he blustered. Calmly Ann slid an envelope to him. The front read, 'Who better to kill the Immortal Man than Dr. Death himself?' Inside he removed a picture of his last, close friend in the world, Rhas Al-Ghul.
After the initial shock wore off Ann explained his family would be freed in good faith. SECURE wanted him to return to Calgary and continue his research until they contacted him again which he readily agreed. Apparently they would notify him at the correct time. Back in Calgary Karl's labs mainly did testing on baby supplies for government certifications on imports but behind the scenes a whole different operation ran clandestinely. For years Karl enacted experiments on the process of death.
Whenever asked to explain his theory Karl described a toxin that caused death. Rejecting the idea of death as a process he believed an unknown particle existed that facilitated the transference from life to death. This is what he focused his brightest most promising employees on though most believed it impossible. They still cashed the paychecks. Like other radical theories Karl's death matter was only impossible up unto the point it wasn't. The accident occurred on a Wednesday under the threat of heavy rains.
"What's this?" the old man asked making the morning rounds, "These rabbits are still alive! Mr. Cho come over here at once." Each night Mr. Cho his top lab assistant would administer the different experimental concoctions to a series of living specimens. In the mornings Karl would gather any empirical data gathered from their sensors but typically he only found dead animals.
"Yes Dr. Hellfern, how can I help you?" Mr. Cho asked eagerly.
"What is the meaning of this, Cho? The rabbits still live. Were they not given the death compound as instructed?" Karl wondered looking over the data.
"I can assure you they were, sir. I administered it myself. The test batch was also prepared by me."
"Can you explain why all these compound sequences seem put together backwards?" Karl asked him suspiciously.
"Oh I-I," Cho stuttered sweating over the printout, "I don't know, doctor. I've been working sixteen hour shifts since you returned. I must have accidentally switched them." Hurriedly Cho gather the small cage and carried the two rabbits to his work station to dispose of them. At the next table Karl spotted a young woman watching the exchange who quickly averted her eyes when he noticed her.
"Miss, come over here please," Karl gently urged.
"Yes doctor?" Her brown curls seemed to kink and wind tighter due to the high humidity.
"You look new to the labs. Do you understand why this work is important, why we run such tests?" Karl asked as Cho banged and caused a ruckus behind them. Finally his top assistant interrupted.
"Doctor Hellfern…these rabbits won't die, sir. I snapped one's neck and he got right back up. I held the other one underwater but it's still breathing. Something is wrong!" Cho exclaimed. Leaning close to the cage Karl observed the two rabbits, one pure white and the other with grey with black splotches across its back. The white one was still soaking wet from the drowning but seemed no worse for wear.
"Cho, clear everyone from the lab immediately, only you two remain to help me please," Karl ordered and Cho sent the other scientists away from their work.
"This is a disaster," Karl sighed easing into the chair next to Cho's desk.
"Doctor, I'm still not clear on what's happening," the young woman commented quietly.
"This is why I called you over earlier. What we are doing is searching for the universal constant of death, the very compound or catalyst that can turn life into death. Now you might rightly suggest there are thousands of different poisons that can kill a living being but what we seek to discover is the one toxin that can kill everything, a fatal singularity. Once we unearth such a compound it can be weaponized and the human race never needs worry about a superhuman or alien invasion again.
It was meant to be my life's work or magnum opus but it's all ruined. I don't have enough time to get it right. Now I experience my greatest shame, not to mention the curious problem we now have on our hands," Karl finished rubbing his hand over the few remaining hairs on his head.
"I still don't understand," she replied, "if this is what I think it is…"
"It is," he nodded dejectedly, "The great Dr. Death searching for the ultimate weapon instead creates the exact opposite, immortality. I'll be the absolute laughing stock of the entire scientific community. Can you imagine what they'll say?"
"But sir, this is the greatest breakthrough in scientific history, the abolishment of death, pain, and loss. You've created unending life!" she countered while Cho continued working diligently and produced a large battery and some cables. Although a novel approach they proved as ineffective as the tub of water on the rabbits.
"Life?" he demanded growing agitated, "There are seven billion people starving or working to barely get by who can tell you how much life is worth in this world. You're willing to give them the keys to the kingdom. What you fail to see is right in front of you. We are these two rabbits, mankind that is. If let loose on an unsuspecting populace they would most likely breed unkillable babies and eventually fill up the world tearing across the planet like a swarm of locusts devouring all vegetation available.
These two rabbits pose a threat like no other, and you would risk an even greater threat by giving this to the human race? We must find a way to destroy these rabbits before they destroy the planet." Cho's next attempt involved flammable gel but that only resulted in a flaming and fearful rabbit dashing across the lab spreading fire behind it. Once extinguished and caught it was returned back to its cage. Although Cho was fresh out of ideas he wouldn't give up so Karl passed him a bone saw from a nearby drawer.
"What are we doing?" the woman asked horrified at their actions.
"Science!" Karl declared loudly, "We're in uncharted waters now. Steady on and grab that end." With a steady hand Cho cut the rabbit clean in half through its bloody guts promptly spilled across his work station. Then they had two halves, a head and front legs along with a hindquarter and tail both struggling to escape with their other segment. Both were very much alive and literally kicking. To their surprise the halves began to grow and knit their wounds. One sprouted hind legs and the other grew a new head and chest resulting in two rabbits identical in nature.
"I'm afraid we have a serious problem," Karl admitted with his hands folded in front of his face. The woman became ill at the grotesque experiment and fled for the bathroom. As he sat quietly speculating on a disposal method Karl felt Cho rest a hand softly on his shoulder.
"Doctor, SECURE says it's finally time," Cho apologized but the hand never left his shoulder. Nodding at the cage in front of him Karl agreed.
A letter from Dr. Karl Hellfern to Rhas Al-Ghul
Dear Rhas,
I've done it! The answer to your question but not mine lies safe in my lab. I'm prepared to show you the fruits of my labor but you must witness this in person. Imagine life forever without those dirty Lazarus Pits and hazardous chemicals. One injection is all you'll ever need. I'm too scared to take that leap alone ignorant of its effects. I would much prefer to be reborn with a friend. Come quickly to Vienna where I'm meeting some pharmaceutical big wigs. We'll fly back to Calgary together.
Regards,
Karl
"So what happened to the rabbits?" Rhas asked reclining the leather chair while somehow remaining poised. Although he appeared in his late fifties Rhas was much, much older than that. From humble beginnings he rose to infamy and power through the utilization of his Lazarus Pits. Through a combination of science and mysticism the pits could reanimate the dead with varying results. He kept his hair short and even his goatee appeared to have a cutting edge to it. Adding to his muscular physique Rhas's eyes betrayed the seriousness of wisdom.
"Two solutions were suggested," Karl explained academically, "The first to enclose them in an escape proof box made out of the strongest material known to man and bury it far beneath the ground. A few problems arose with that suggestion. What if the box was dug up far in the future, or what if an immortal rabbit with enough time on her hands decided to scratch her way out? After much deliberation we decided on the second option. We encased them in a rocket and shot them onto a path into deep space.
They're probably floating on their way to eventually crash on some uninhabited planet where they'll populate freely. I expect they'll gain a higher intelligence after countless generations of evolution and rule the galaxy with an iron fist. They'll conquer planet after planet through sheer unstoppable numbers. Then again they might just float on forever. Speculation is just that," Karl puffed and wrapped the oxygen line over his ears as he found it helped during the flight.
"I look forward to you and I preparing the rebelling against the neverending space rabbit invasion. That's rather a humorous image, Karl," Rhas chuckled. Around the cabin a few humanoid looking robots prepared their meals and drinks.
"Is it? Humor was never my strong suit. It seemed like a waste of time standing around laughing at things when you could be doing something yourself."
"You have more in the world than almost anyone," Rhas observed accepting a drink from the robot butler, "Why do you find it so difficult to enjoy life?"
"Life isn't easy to maintain," he commented staring out at the Austrian countryside thousands of miles below them, "That's why we get old and die. It wears you down like a slow sander that never turns off. I worry that immortality wouldn't change that for me. Every day is a struggle that grows harder on your body and attitude."
"It is difficult but in a different way. Each time I'm born again I expect more. I demand better choices and outcomes from my life. This often becomes something of a chore, a routine. New ideas seem dangerous and unnecessary. Perhaps with your new treatment things might become interesting again," Rhas suggested but he said nothing as they ate in silence. Occasionally Karl watched their progress toward the mountain range speeding closer. As he weakly cut into his tender prime rib he studied the knife gleam reflecting the light in the cabin.
He imagined lunging forward with all his remaining strength and plunging it into Rhas's heart. Although he knew it was impossible from a physical standpoint Karl also recognized he didn't possess the moral fortitude to murder his friend. SECURE's plan on the other hand seemed much more bearable though the result was the same. Below their feet time passed in the form of distance. Ahead in the cockpit navigating machines charted the course to their final destination. Above them the air grew less and less until space took hold in its empty, encompassing embrace.
"There's no treatment, is there Karl? Or if there is you don't plan on sharing it. I've stayed silent in hope you would willingly explain this situation to me but I see you refuse to comment on it. I will ask you this," Rhas said leaning forward, "When did you turn?"
"How did you know?" he wondered fearfully.
"I noticed the plane is flying heavy. It's as if we're carrying an oversized load by the sound of the engines. But the real answer is I could tell by your demeanor. You are my friend and I know when something is wrong. Why didn't you come to me first?"
"They threatened my family! I didn't think I had a choice but now I see the importance of it all."
"So they sent you to kill me? Are your robots going to turn violent?" Rhas asked clearly bemused.
"No, no instead they packed this plane full of explosives and it's scheduled to crash into Mt. Hinteregg in five minutes," he explained seriously but calmly, "A SECURE team is waiting outside the crash site to collect all wreckage from the crash including any little bits of us. Without a body your assassins have nothing to revive in the Lazarus Pit and you die like everyone else."
"You can't do this! It's foolishness," Rhas protested suddenly not so poised. Running toward the cockpit door he slammed a shoulder into it again and again.
"It's reinforced but even if you break it down there are only computers inside, no real pilots."
"Why would you do this? I could have protected your family!" Rhas screamed.
"For a while but assassins are made for killing not protecting. Sooner or later they would slip through. These people have ways into everything."
"So it was all a lie. The breakthrough was a ruse to get me here."
"No, that was true. If everything goes to plan my lab is burning to the ground as we speak. SECURE doesn't need its hands on that research."
"There has to be a way to stop this," Rhas begged.
"Even if I wanted to I couldn't stop this now," he admitted, "Everything was preplanned and there's no going back. You must accept this. Come to terms with the end."
"No!" he roared and returned to the cockpit door pounding and beating on the thick metal, "This isn't the way! It shouldn't happen like this! I'm the Demon Head!" Silently Karl watched the struggle inside his friend, the desperation coursing through him.
"I know it's hard to believe but I still consider you a friend, Rhas. That's why I agreed to this. Better me than someone else," Karl claimed as the plane tilted towards the earth and they began the descent.
"So this is it," he turned back to the old man deathly quiet, "We sit here and wait for the crash?"
"No, I've given you an opportunity to exchange your goodbyes. Towards the back of the cabin you'll find a phone ready to connect with your loved ones. Your grandson perhaps?" Karl suggested. Rhas walked back to the desk and sat. Slowly picking up the phone he stared at the receiver. Tears ran down his face as he struggled to put his feelings in order but they refused to be tamed.
"No!" he shouted and shoved everything off the desk, "No! No!" Racing back to the door he threw himself into it uselessly. Karl shook his head sadly.
"It doesn't have to be a nightmare. You could choose to appreciate it and see the new opportunities that could come from it…for those we leave behind."
"You would dare to say that to me?" Rhas screamed as mountain tops scrolled below them much closer now, "I offered you eternal life, a chance to cast off the mortal coil you've bound us in! Can you even conceive of the wonders we could have seen?"
"What about the wonders we have seen? When will it be enough? When will we rest? It's true you offered me the gift of life and in return I'll walk with you into death. Together we'll reach whatever comes next and if we don't like what we find we'll tear it down to build something better as brothers. Please Rhas!" Karl grew emotional. For a moment he saw a glint of understanding in his gaze. Something about the argument seemed to connect for a split second until the plane's engines cycled up higher and all reason fled.
The plane tipped further forward into its final dive and Rhas turned back to the unbreachable door pounding psychotically. Any composure he attempted to retain was completely forfeit. One was an animal trapped in a cage willing to chew off a leg or make any sacrifice necessary to escape death. The other was a statue of compliance and consent ready for whatever came next. Both hit the same mountain.
Mt. Hinteregg stands 7,861 feet high above a small municipality called Fideris in Switzerland. Its coordinates are 46° 52' 21" N by 9° 42' 42" E. The mountain hosts nearby ski resorts and chalets.