Chapter 10

After returning from Elk Ridge, Verbena's prediction of Al's decline in health was grimly accurate. Sam spent as much time with Al as he could each day, enjoying a familiarity and routine that he knew wasn't going to last. He wondered if God or Fate was purposefully giving Sammy Jo easy leaps to accomplish, and giving them all a little room to breathe.

On some days, Al was his charming self, giving orders and flirting with all the nurses. On others, it took an enormous amount of energy for him to sit upright in bed and maintain a conversation. Sam was slowly losing his friend before his eyes.

"You know I don't mind the company," Al said to him one morning, "but don't you have another job around here? How's Sammy Jo doing on the leap?"

Sam studied his friend, noting the sallow coloring of his skin and the increasing gauntness in his cheeks. He could tell it was a bad pain day by the way Al was sitting, tensing the entire left side of his body.

"She's been asking a lot lately to see you again," he said softly.

Al looked at him pensively, before dipping his head in resignation. "Sam, I can't let her see me like this. I don't think it'll do her any good."

Sam sighed in agreement. "I know, Al. It's okay. I'll let her know."

. . .

His shoes felt like lead as he walked toward the Imaging Chamber the next day. He dreaded having to tell Sammy Jo about Al, but Ziggy needed to give her vital information that would affect the outcome of the leap. Mentally preparing himself, he pressed the handlink button to open the door and stepped into a 1980s living room.

Sammy Jo was saying goodbye to the leapee's father at the door. After he left, she turned her attention towards him.

"Is Al able to come today?" she asked hopefully.

"I'm sorry Sammy Jo," Sam said sadly. "He's not feeling up to it."

Her expression changed, realizing the meaning of the refusal.

"Is there really nothing that can be done?" she asked.

Sam shook his head. "I've looked at the research myself."

"I've been thinking a lot about this. What if…this is going to sound crazy, but what if we leaped him?"

"What?"

"You know, leaped Al. What would happen?"

Sam, already shaking his head to dismiss the idea, was suddenly struck by a thought. He froze, dumbfounded by the theoretical simplicity of it.

"What is it?" Sammy Jo asked.

He turned to her, the look of shock still on his face.

"I have to go," he said suddenly, and turned toward the door.

The handlink lit up in protest, before he remembered why he was there in the first place. "Ziggy says your brother isn't due back until tomorrow, so tonight is crucial in trying to convince your dad to let him stay. He's become friends with the female neighbor across the street, so you should invite her over to help you."

With the words rushing out of his mouth, Sam punched the button to open the Imaging Chamber door. "Sorry, I have to go."

He rushed into the Control Room, ignoring Leilani's questions, and headed back to his quarters. Sam began furiously typing on the computer.

"Ziggy," he said excitedly. "I know there's a nanotechnology department at the project. Show me the last five years of their research."

. . .

Verbena Beeks, John Ledger, Leilani Keawe, and Brian Finch, two MD's and six PhD's between them, sat restlessly around the oval conference table, each wondering why they were summoned.

They didn't have to wait long before Sam burst into the room, his eyes darting between everyone present, his mannerisms suggestive of too much caffeine in the system.

"Good, everyone's here."

"Yes, exactly why—" Brian began, but was cut short.

"I want to discuss the treatment for Al's cancer," said Sam.

The room remained silent.

"Conventional treatment isn't working," Sam continued, "so I've been doing some research. I think I might have found a solution. Brian, I'm sure you're wondering why I've asked you to be here."

The man nodded.

"I think we can use the nanorobots you've been developing to attach themselves to individual cancer cells and use those robots as markers to leap the cells out of Al's body."

Four mouths dropped open simultaneously around the table.

"But…" Brian was the first to sputter. "But the nanorobots are designed to be used in plant cells. We're developing them to make staple grains more disease resistant. That's a huge jump to human cells."

"You can't be serious," Ledger objected. "There are way too many unknown variables."

"Dr. Beckett, it's never been done before," said Leilani. "I mean, nothing even close—"

"Guys," said Sam. "The technology is there. I've read through the research. We just need to retrain the robots."

"I can't believe I'm asking this, but where are we leaping the cancer cells?" asked Leilani. "And what makes you think individual cells can even be leaped?"

"Anywhere," said Sam. "Or rather, any time. It doesn't make a difference if they're an hour or a year in the past. The main thing is to get them out of Al's body. None of the current treatments work well enough to target all the cells together, which means some will always grow back. This is our best bet, to eliminate all of them at once."

"You're playing with someone's life," said Ledger. "This is all theoretical. If anything goes wrong, we don't even know what that would look like."

"And if we do nothing, he's going to die," countered Sam.

"There's a high likelihood this experiment of yours is going to kill him."

"John," said Verbena, who had remained quiet until now.

He turned to look at her, disbelieving that she would consider the proposal.

"We have to try," she said finally. "We've run out of options."