Chapter 2

One week after Ralph left the interview, he showed signs of the Green Guy's cold, demonstrating a fever, a stuffed nose, lung congestion, sneezing, and tiredness. The doctors took blood samples and verified it was the Green Guy cold virus, and he was quarantined. He shouldn't have gotten the cold; humans weren't supposed to be susceptible to this disease. It must be because of the DNA enhancement, giving him enough green guy DNA for the virus to recognize receptors in Ralph's cells. The cold lasted for seven days. After that, he was released and allowed to go home.

Two weeks after being released from quarantine, Ralph went to Dr. Adams, complaining about his medical problems, "Doc, ever since I had the green guy bug, I am always tired. I take 3–4-hour naps during the day and sleep for 10–12 hours at night, and I still feel tired. What is wrong?"

Dr. Adams took blood samples and performed several medical tests, "Ralph, I can't determine what is wrong with you. All your test results are normal."

The sleep cycles kept getting more extended until, one morning, Ralph never woke up. Pam found him curled in a fetal position with his knees pulled up to his chest, his arms crossed in front of his body, his head down with his chin to his chest, and lying on his side. Pam shook him, and he wouldn't wake. She called his name, but he didn't respond.

She called the Hero Emergency line and reported the problem. A medical team came to their house and took Ralph to the medical center.

Ralph's body temperature had dropped to 70 degrees, his heart rate was prolonged, and his breathing was shallow and slow, almost undetectable. None of the physicians knew what was causing these symptoms.

One young EMT commented, "This seems similar to hibernation that some animals went into at the zoo where I worked before becoming a Hero." This spurred further research by the Hero physicians.

All the test results indicated Ralph was hibernating. Why would this happen? The only unusual thing was he contracted the Green Guy cold virus. Somehow, this put Ralph into a dormancy cycle.

He was attached to various instruments to monitor Ralph's vital functions and brainwave patterns continuously. The brainwaves were the lowest the clinicians had ever observed in a human. They connected him to IVs for nutrition and water. Without food and water, his body couldn't last as long as standard hibernating animals. They contacted the little green guys and told them what had happened.

A green guy scientist came down to investigate this unique condition. After taking several tests, he concluded the alien cold-activated dormant green guy junk genes due to its interaction with human DNA. They weren't sure what all this would affect.

The green guy scientist reported to the doctors with their suits, translating, "Our ancestors hibernated a million years in the past due to ice ages on our world. It has been theorized they hibernated from one to four months. All we can do is keep Mr. Hinkley fed and hydrated. There may also be other dormant genes that could be animated. We will have to wait and evaluate him further. I will attempt to devise a method to turn the dormant genes off."

Pam visited her husband daily, talking to him and telling him how his son was growing and all the new things he did. Every day, a physical therapist came in, moved Ralph's joints and limbs, and massaged his muscles to ensure they didn't atrophy and blood didn't pool anywhere in his body. After the physical therapist finished, Ralph's body always returned to the fetal position.

While Ralph hibernated, other things changed. His hair changed to a chartreuse, even his eyelashes. His fingers and toenails became dark green, thickened, and curled into claws. His eye color changed from blue to dark green. His skin displayed a slight greenish tinge, but this disappeared once his metabolism and blood flow returned closer to average. They weren't sure if any other internal organs manifested other idiosyncrasies; they would have to observe him closely for any indications.

Ralph's body temperature rose to 95 degrees, and the brainwaves indicated deep sleep rather than hibernation. The doctors were hopeful he was coming out of lethargy. This lasted for a day, and he went back into hibernation. This cycle happened a few more times until Ralph woke. He moved independently and moaned, straightening his limbs and rolling onto his back.

The First opened his eyes but closed them quickly and remarked, "The light, turn off the light; it hurts my eyes." The doctor ran over and turned off the room lights. Some light still came through the windows, but the twilight outside kept the light dim. Opening his eyes and blinking several times, the focus wouldn't come.

He complained, "I can't see; everything is so blurry. My whole body aches. What happened? Why do I feel so terrible."

Dr. Adams said, "Ralph, you have been hibernating for a month. Your body aches because you haven't used your muscles for over a month, and your eyes aren't working properly because they have been closed all that time."

Ralph asked, "What are you talking about?"

Putting his hand up to rub his eyes, he detected over a weeks-long beard growth. Even though he had been out for over a month, his beard had only grown about one week's worth due to the slowed metabolism. The fingernails on his face felt bizarre. Holding his hands up, trying to focus, he jumped with a shout of surprise when he recognized the dark green and thick, curved claws.

The physician gave him a mirror. Holding it close so he could focus, he realized his hair and beard were chartreuse. Inspecting his face further in the mirror, he realized his irises were now dark green.

He shouted, "What on Earth is happening?" Panicking, he grabbed the sheet, covered himself, and tore through the material with his claws.

Dr. Adams told him, "Calm down. Take deep breaths. The green guy scientists are working on this problem. The Green Guy cold has reacted with your DNA and activated some Green Guy dormant genes. The now active genes are million-year-old mutations for hibernation, green fur, or hair. These were mutations for an ice age on their world."

Ralph shook his head and bellowed, "F**k, f**k, f**k! The God damn DNA enhancement again. They never considered what this would do to us. And I'm the one it always f**king happens to! When is this going to stop?" He punched the bed with his fists with each expletive.

Pam entered the room as he discharged his anger toward the little green guys. She exclaimed, "What is going on?"

"I'm furious with the green guys. All of this is because of the God damn DNA additions again." He pointed to his face and circled it with his hand. "When is this going to stop? I just got used to prophetic visions and channeling dead people, and now I look like a f**king troll!"

His wife took his hand; Ralph snatched her hand and scratched it with his new claws. Yelping, she pulled her hand away, with blood and scratches showing.

"Oh, God. I'm so sorry. I'm not used to having f**king claws. See why I am so frustrated?"

A nurse took Pam out of the room to treat the scratches. When she returned, gauze was taped to her hand. Ralph sat in the bed with his right hand held over his mouth, afraid to say anything, expecting more expletives to come out due to his extreme irritation. Closing his eyes, he realized he was tired again.

"I'm sorry, baby, I didn't mean to do that. And I can't believe this, but I'm so tired now."

Dr. Adams had stood beside Ralph's bed the whole time, observing Ralph's reactions to everything.

"That is natural; you still aren't out of the dormancy cycle. Returning to an average wake-sleep cycle may take a couple of days. Pam, we should leave him to rest."

"Okay, good night, Ralph." Leaning over, she kissed him. Scooting under the torn sheet, he went to sleep.

Dr. Adams stopped Pam in the hall, "Did Ralph seem extra agitated, more than usual in difficult circumstances?"

She answered, "Yes, he was. He rarely says curse words, and quite a few are coming out of his mouth."

"I wonder if heightened emotions are a reaction to the dormant gene activation."