Chapter 29

Frankenstein's Monster

I was spending a lot of time in the labs at the university. We were at a crucial step in the research and I was sure a break-through was imminent. I had a sister lab in Mexico that also had ongoing experiments at the same time and we were both seeing exceptional results. I started flying down to Merida, in the Yucatán, at least once a month. My plan was still on course. After a year of living with James, he was starting to get tired of the weekends alone and all the time I spent in the lab. This wasn't the first time I had heard this complaint. My boyfriends all ended up resenting my devotion to my work. Unfortunately, my work was my life, my baby. It came first. James and I were constantly fighting over it and I knew that I had to make some decisions soon. I was making progress on all levels of my life except my love life which was starting that slippery slope into the ashes.

It was September and I had seven months left on my two year contract. There had been enough progress on several of my minor research projects that we were able to patent certain uses for various genes that gave relief for sufferers of carpal tunnel. The patent was licensed to Merk for $3.2 million dollars plus 10% of the revenues. Cuddy let out an audible sigh of relief when I put the patent on her desk. Over the life of the patent, the hospital would probably make $1.6 million a year. That was just one out of three that patents that I was working on. I had another, smaller, patent that was also going to be a gold mine, but the big one, the one that would give Princeton Plainsboro a windfall profit, hadn't been patented yet.

I started the last phase of my plan. I began my own treatments the second week of September. In order to prepare a proper environment to increase the chances of recovering several healthy and mature eggs, I had to undergo two weeks of intensive preparation. This included hormonal therapy with "fertility drugs." Blood tests and ultrasound scans of my ovaries were used to determine the optimal time to retrieve my eggs. This optimal time is just before ovulation when the oocytes are almost ready for fertilization. An outpatient procedure under local anesthesia was performed using a needle to retrieve the oocytes from my ovaries through the vaginal wall. There was mild discomfort similar to a Pap smear or endometrial biopsy. Once retrieved, I examined the fluid from the follicles under the microscope and located the eggs. I kept them in the laboratory under the necessary conditions until the embryologist would fertilize the eggs. Usually, the eggs develop into cleaving pre-embryos, whose cells divide 2 or 3 times to become pre-embryos. They are maintained in laboratory dishes, in a nutrient mixture which acts as a substitute for the environment that would otherwise have been provided by the fallopian tubes. Now I just needed the sperm.

I know I sound devious, but you have to understand, what I was planning was illegal in the United States and I had to be extremely careful. I was ready to put my plan into motion. It was Friday night and I told James I had to work late. I scheduled the use of the MRI for midnight and a PET scan for 2:30 a.m. so that we wouldn't be interrupted. I climbed into my car and started driving-initiating the next phase of my plan.

I could hear him playing the piano; I paused to listen and realized just how good he was. For some reason he was playing Rachmaninoff. Banging on the door, he answered with a snarl, which was replaced with curiosity when he saw it was me.

"I need your help, Greg. Please come with me—no questions, just trust me."

He pulled his head back and shook it. "No, it's almost midnight. I'm not going anywhere." He paused, looked at my face, saw my desperation and said, "I won't go until you tell me what this is about."

"I can't tell you right this minute, but I can tell you that all I want from you tonight is an MRI and PET scan, nothing invasive. If the scans show what I think they will show and we get to the next level, I'll sit you down and tell you everything. But I need to know first if you are a candidate. The tests tonight will give me the answer. Please?"

He had to trust me and trust wasn't something that Greg was good at. He thought about it for at least a full minute and then walked to the closet, grabbing his jacket and keys. "Ready?" He said as he started turning out lights.

I almost cried I was so happy; I had been planning this for five years and it was starting to fall into place. We drove separate cars to the hospital and then walked from the parking lot in silence to radiology where the MRI was located. The MRI takes detailed pictures, or 'cuts' of the portion of the body being scanned.

"We have to take several cuts. I need small cuts of both your legs. Then I need to take an MRI of your brain and 3 different PET scans of your brain. When was the last time you took Vicodin?"

"About four hours ago."

"Alcohol?"

"I was nursing a drink when you arrived...maybe two ounces in the last two hours."

"Good. So do you feel pretty sober? It's important because we need to get you as sober as possible for your PET scans. I'm not worried about the MRI. Get into a gown."

"I'm sober enough that my leg is killing me after walking in here from the parking lot."

"That's good. We need a map of your pain."

He undressed completely and changed into a hospital gown. I looked at him with his hairy butt hanging out the back, "Now get your cute ass in the MRI."

"Kenna, what's this about?"

I grabbed his hand and looked into his eyes. I couldn't tell him or he'd stop me. He'd know that everything I had worked for in my life was on the line, that I was rolling the dice big time.

"Trust me."

He looked in my eyes for what seemed hours, but then he finally said, "If it were anyone but you..." And then he climbed into the MRI.

I spent an hour scanning his legs and brain, making sure I had everything I needed. It was the PET scan that I knew was going to be… interesting. I hid the sample jar in my pocket.

The Positron emission tomography (PET) is a nuclear medicine medical imaging technique which produces a three-dimensional image or map of functional processes in the body. PET is both a medical and research tool. PET is an important research tool to map normal human brain and heart function. I wanted a three dimensional picture of the pain in Greg's head.

"Are you in pain?" I was hoping he was in terrible pain.

"I'm in a hell of a lot of pain, a lot!"

"That's good, I need to get some pictures of it...hold on, it will be another couple of hours, I'm really sorry." I gave him a radioactive substance which I administered as an intravenous injection. We waited approximately 45 minutes for the substance to travel through his body and accumulate in the brain. I started the scan of his brain while he was in pain. I immediately noted that his limbric area was lit up like a Christmas tree-a sign of chronic depression. I had also injected him with radioligands that bind to dopamine receptors, serotonin receptors and opioid receptors. He was in so much pain; I could see it in Technicolor on the screen. The PET scan images revealed the activity of the brain's natural painkilling endorphin chemicals, also called endogenous opioids. I saw his brain trying desperately to quell the pain but it was having little effect.

"I need the next PET scan to be of you feeling some relief from your pain but we can't give you any opioids. You need to think of something that brings you comfort. Try a special night with Stacy or music or anything that you can use to calm the pain. Can you do that?" He shrugged and I continued, "When the pain lessens, let me know and I'll start the scan." I waited but he finally shook his head and said it wasn't working.

"Ok, let me tell you a story." I began to tell him of our weekend in New York including describing the sex scenes in detail.

"Yes, it's working, start it now," he said.

There were less oranges and reds, more greens and blues on the screen, but as the PET scan finished up, the reds had multiplied and the blues were receding. After the second PET scan was finished, I walked over to him as he lay on the gurney.

"Are you feeling the pain?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's starting up, again."

"Now for the last one, it is crucial that you not move your head or torso. That's going to be hard because I will be moving your thigh and you might experience pain. So I'm going to have to strap your head and torso down, ok?"

He was propped up on his elbows looking at me with suspicion. "There's something you aren't telling me."

"Greg, there's a lot I'm not telling you. Let me strap you down, ok? You have to remain still and it may be physiologically impossible to do that in response to the stimulus. OK?"

He reluctantly nodded his head yes. The straps were there for patients who moved a lot, including children. I strapped his head, his chin, his chest and his arms. I went and locked the doors. I started the machine and took out the sample jar as I pulled over the step stool that children use to get up on the table. Kneeling on the top step, I held the remote in one hand, the sample jar in the other.

He mumbled, "When are you going to start?"

"Now, I'm going to start now." I put the sample jar down on his stomach and reached under the gown, taking his penis in my hand.

"Kenna? What the hell are you doing?" He was very apprehensive, even his shoulders stiffened.

"I had to strap you down because for the last scan I really need you to release as many endorphins as you can. It's important that I map both pain and pleasure in your brain without drugs. The only way I could think of to make you release endorphins without drugs was this way. So sit back and enjoy this Greg."

I began to fondle his balls. When he started to get a hard on, I began licking him up and down and rimming him until he was at a full salute. I ran my tongue up and down his shaft, circling the top, making sure to string it out as long as I thought he could take it. He was straining against the straps, involuntarily trying to thrust with his body. I could see he had his eyes closed tight. When I could feel that he was going to ejaculate, I started the scan and grabbed the sample jar in my hand. I jerked him off, grabbing a glorious sample, quite a lot. I took the sample and put it into my pocket.

"Are you going to tell Wilson or should I? Now let me up." He groaned.

"No one's telling Wilson. That was just "medical necessary head."

We both laughed.

"Just a minute." I couldn't let him up just yet. I grabbed the tapes of all the scans and put them in a plastic bag I had brought. I made sure the IV's were disposed of and everything was clean and shut down before I let him up. He sat up and looked at me, curious as to why I already had my jacket on. Plastic bag in my hand, jar in my pocket, I was ready to make the run to my office where the cooler was.

"Goodbye Greg." I gave him a big smile and then I ran. I ran to my office, opened the little cooler, put the semen inside, packed the MRI tape and scans in the suitcase and took off. He was quicker than I thought.

As I was putting my suitcase in the car I heard him yell, "Kenna, where are you going?"

I took one look back at him trying to get to me, waved my goodbye, jumped in the car and took off for the airport.

Dear Readers, I really appreciate you reviews. They give me the encouragement to keep writing and posting. Thanks so much! Kim