Core Beliefs - Chapter 49 - Crisis

Core Beliefs – Chapter 49 - Crisis

It was nearing Christmas. Ling’s pregnancy started to show. Her energy levels plunged, and she needed more sleep. She had handed duties over to the staff at the clinic and, under her doctor’s orders, Ling found herself in bed.

Matt worried. He had never seen her so exhausted. The doctors couldn’t explain it.

Matt snapped awake in the middle of the night, terrified and drenched in sweat. A frightful nightmare had rampaged through his mind. He slipped from bed with a shudder and called Melissa and Clarence just after midnight, waking them.

“I need you,” he told Mellissa. “I think I’m the reason Ling’s sick.” A tremble shuddered through Matt’s body.

“We need to take blood and tissue from Ling and the baby.” His voice trailed away as he thought about the dire possibilities.

“We hear you, Matt,” Mellisa said. “I’m on my way!”

Matt disconnected and hurried to Ling’s side. “I think I know why you’re sick. I have Melissa and Clarence on the way.”

Ling stared at him, a worried look etched on her face.

“Ling, I think the regenerative DNA from my body is invading yours. I believe there is a conflict between your DNA and mine.”

It hit home. Ling looked at him, her eyes showing her fear. “What can we do?”

“I think I have an answer, so you must promise to hold on and have faith.”

His words reassured Ling. Her love and trust let her place her hope in his words.

***

Melissa arrived around 2:00 a.m., and Clarence shortly after. Melissa took blood and tissue samples from both Ling and the baby, understanding Matt’s concerns. She and Clarence drove to the Myoplex lab and set to work.

Matt called Joe and Cynthia, explaining the situation, and begged them to come.

“Matt, we’re on our way,” Cynthia said. “You take care of her, you hear?”

***

By morning, Joe and Cynthia had arrived.

“I have to leave you for a while,” Matt kissed Ling, “but I will be back, and you will be well.”

She smiled, but Matt could tell she had weakened. He left her in Cynthia and Joe’s care and rushed to the lab.

Clarence and Melissa had worked feverishly through the night, moving from apparatus to machine, checking the status of the ongoing DNA mapping. They’d confirmed Matt’s suspicions. His DNA was, in fact, warring with Ling’s.

“We must stop it,” Matt said. “We must stop it fast. She only has hours.”

His idea was to create a block that would stop his DNA from penetrating Ling’s cells. He and Clarence conceived concepts for the nanobots not just to carry the new DNA but also to serve as protectors. Each nanobot would need to carry a special DNA molecule of Ling’s. The molecules would have to block Matt’s DNA and also hunt and replace the DNA in cells already compromised.

Clarence had the basic Nano molecules stored in liquid nitrogen vats, and now that he knew the goal, he could make the modifications quickly.

Matt turned to Melissa, “You know this woman is my world. This is my fault. I can’t save her without your help.”

“If humanly possible, we will do it,” Melissa spoke with grim determination in her eyes. “But I need your help too.”

“I am your slave,” Matt said. “Speak, and it will be done.”

“Let’s get Ling to her clinic and get her staff there.”

Matt made two calls: one to Joe and one to the clinic. He kept the explanations short and the urgency clear.

Melissa walked out the door and yelled over her shoulder, “This way, Mr. Lehman.”

She led Matt to the main DNA lab, drew a blood sample from Matt, and prepped it for DNA analysis. She retrieved the results from the DNA analyzer with Ling’s samples, instructing Matt to set up the comparative analyzer for Ling’s and the baby’s blood. Matt knew the equipment and quickly had the analyzers running.

Melissa moved to another corner of the lab, preparing more of Matt’s tissue samples.

“We have to stop your DNA without affecting Ling’s or the baby’s,” she said. “It’s like walking a tightrope.”

Matt grasped her thinking. He visualized their earlier experiments. He was not thinking about the successful experiments but about the failures. The key was hidden in one of them.

While the DNA analyzers ran, Matt went to the computer and pulled up double helix after double helix, comparing the differences. He had gone through a thousand or more when one caused him to stop. Matt examined the sample carefully before calling Melissa. He showed her the molecule and the experiment results.

“This is very close.” He said.

  “Yes,” Melissa peered, “but it needs to be modified.”

The DNA analyzers started printing their results.

Matt forced himself to clear his mind and focus on the information in front of him. He closed his eyes and slipped inward.

He had to identify the unique elements that would let them set a block or, even better, set an override.

That was it. Matt was sure. He opened his eyes and called to Melissa, “I have the answer.”

He marked fifty-nine proteins on Ling’s DNA and then forty on the baby’s.

They set about quickly to compose this magic bullet. The one that would let Ling be Ling, the baby to be himself, and Matt could love them both.

Clarence rushed in with the canisters containing the nanobots.

Melissa had just finished the new DNA for the baby, while Matt finished those for Ling.

“We’ve got to bond the DNA to the nanobots,” Clarence muttered.

“How long?” Matt asked.

“This quantity? Thirty minutes minimum.” Clarence looked up from his equipment. “It’s not like mixing soup. You just can’t pour the ingredients together and get them to blend. Matt, let me do it right so it will work.”

He gazed at Clarence, nodded, walked away, and slumped in a corner, his face in his hands, miserable.

***

“Done!” Clarence yelled thirty minutes later.

It was almost noon. Matt called the clinic. He got Bernadette on the line. “We’re on our way.”

He could hear the suppressed sobs in Bernadette’s voice, “Please! Hurry!”

Matt, Melissa, and Clarence rushed to an ambulance that Melissa had arranged for transport. The ride to the clinic normally took forty minutes; today, lights flashing, siren blaring, it took twenty.

They rushed in and up to the second floor. Matt immediately saw the distress ravaging Ling’s body.

He stepped to her and placed his hand on her forehead, “I’m here; do not quit. You and our baby will be healed.”

Bernadette and the other staff scurried around Ling’s bed, following Melissa’s instructions, setting up an IV for Ling and a second IV directly into the child. Clarence began a controlled infusion of the respective DNA nanobot as soon as the lines were in place, using a blood-circulating system.

Matt knew the effect would not be instantaneous, but he watched for any sign. Two hours. Three hours. Matt held Ling’s hand, calling to her desperately.

Four hours.

Five hours.

The nurses and the two doctors on staff had noticed something. Ling’s condition still deteriorated. Life faded away. Bernadette feared they had been too late in starting or that the procedure wasn’t working at all.

Matt anxiously held on. He had lost Marilyn and Elizabeth, and now he watched Ling and his son slipping away before his eyes.

He blamed himself for her hurt and the plight of their baby. He felt life collapsing around him as he sank ever deeper into despair. Why had he not thought about this possibility? Why, in all his brilliance, had he not understood the risk in playing God?

In that moment of despair, Matt did something he had not done since he was a child. Matt prayed. He prayed to a God he did not understand, asking from the bottom of his heart that God would take him and make Ling and the baby well. Tears rolled down his face; his eyes were closed as Matt held Ling’s hands in his, begging God without ceasing.

Time didn’t exist. Matt never stopped his plea for help. His body trembled. He felt helpless and hopeless, shaken to his core, questioning if life had meaning. Matt’s life certainly didn’t. Not without his love.

A sensation trickled through his weeping spirit, one of warmth. Ling’s voice whispered in his head. Weak words, but they were hers.

“We heard your prayer,” she said. “We believe God heard them, too.”

Matt wondered if he’d slipped into delirium. “Please, my love, come back. I need you both so much; I am broken and lost without you. Please, come back?”

Matt felt it, a slight squeeze in his hand, but he felt it. He stared at her impassive face and watched, now and then calling to Ling and the baby. He knew the child was a boy, but they hadn’t picked a name, so he simply said, “My son.”

Twelve hours, slightly after midnight, Matt again felt a squeeze on his hand and, gazing up, saw her eyes open.

He stood to his feet, exhausted and shaky, and leaned and kissed her on the lips. He felt the connection and knew she did too.

Darkness and despair withdrew their ugly veil. Matt held Ling’s hand and felt another squeeze as she smiled.

“We will be healed, but I must rest.” She closed her eyes and slipped into a deep sleep.

Hope pounced into his heart and shattered the lingering darkness. He shivered, grasping what had happened. This was not a dream. Ling had spoken. She had promised that she and their child would be healed. He shuddered and sobbed, “Thank you,” gasping for breath. His prayer had been answered!

Hearing him, Bernadette rushed across the room. She’d refused to leave and had been asleep in a couple of chairs in the corner. She woke fearful, but soon realized Matt was smiling.

“Mr. Lehman?” she asked.

“Bernadette, your patient has responded and says she is getting better, but for now, she needs to sleep.”

Matt’s message took her off guard, but she knew the relationship between these two to be beyond explanation. “How may I be of service?”

“I also need to sleep. Is there a place I could lie down for a bit?”

“Follow me. The room next door has been waiting for you.”

Matt, relieved and exhausted, splayed on the bed and was out in seconds.

***

Joe woke him a little after 5:00 in the morning. “Matthew, I think you will want to get up.”

It took Matt a few seconds to get his bearings. “Is she alright?”

“She is awake and wants you.”

Matt was out of bed and into the other room in a sprint. He almost crashed into one of the nurses as he slid to a halt at the foot of Ling’s bed.

She smiled at him. “Boys, what am I going to do with you two boys?”

Matt slipped to the side of the bed, leaned over, and gave her the deepest, most meaningful kiss he could.

“Do whatever you want. We are yours forever.”

Ling’s body remained weak. Melissa took new blood samples to the lab. She called Matt three hours later and told him the DNA and nanobots were working; Ling and the baby should be healed in about twenty-four hours. Matt thanked her.

He sat with Ling through the morning until she drifted off. Matt felt a compulsion deep inside. He looked around and saw people watching her.

He walked out and found Joe in the waiting room.

“Take me for a drive.”

“Everything okay?” Joe questioned.

“Ling and our son will soon be whole and well,” Matt said.

“That’s fantastic! You really want to go somewhere?”

Matt nodded.

“Just tell me where,” Joe snatched his jacket from a chair.

“A church, Joe. I want to go to a church.”

Matt’s request stopped Joe in his tracks. He eyed his brother, wondering, but just as quickly felt a sense of comfort.

Joe exited the parking lot and headed east, with no clue whether a church was in that direction.

About fifteen blocks from the clinic, Matt spotted a little chapel set alongside a larger church.

“Here,” he said, “this is the place.”

Joe parked, Matt got out and walked to the front door. It was unlocked, and no one was inside.

***

Matt slowly moved down the aisle, knelt before the altar, and bowed his head.

“I never really thought you were real. I don’t understand you, I don’t know you, and yet I truly feel you heard me last night. You helped me in my most desperate time, and I don’t deserve it. I just wanted to come and tell you I am grateful beyond words.

“I think you can see my heart. You know who and what I am. I am ashamed that I’ve denied you. I do want to know you, in truth and with my whole being. Please help me because I don’t know the way.”

Matt remained kneeling and silent for a long time. Joe walked up behind him, praying silently.

Finally, Matt raised his head and spotted Joe. “I really wanted to hear him speak to me.”

“That is a mighty selfish request. The fact that you are here, Mathew, is evidence that he has spoken to you.

“You may be a master of technology and have mountains of knowledge, but there are realms about which you don’t have a clue.”

Joe smiled at his big brother, “Be patient. In time, you will recognize his voice, his lead, and when he needs you.

“Mostly, be grateful and glad that you have been given a very special gift, and don’t be surprised if, at times, it is a burden more than a privilege.”

Matt contemplated Joe’s words and had a new appreciation for his brother’s wisdom. It both humbled and thrilled him.

They drove back to the hospital. Ling waited awake as he slipped in, smiled, and sat by her, taking her hand.

Ling’s voice eased into his mind, clear and strong, and he realized she planted the thoughts, not him capturing them.

“My little boy,” she said, “where have you been?”

Matt answered with his mind, “In a church.”

Ling smiled, “Have you been praying again?”

Matt looked at her with sincere and misty eyes. “Yes.”

Ling smiled more broadly, “That’s good, me too.”

They held hands. Matt lay his head on Ling’s tummy and listened to two heartbeats, sensing the life in both of these he so deeply loved.

Two days later, Ling went home. Her energy levels soared, and Matt could sense other changes.