Runaway Heart

FIFTY-TWO

"I want to get out of here," Jack whined, looking up at Susan. His shoulder was stitched up and he was rigged with more plastic plumbing than a high school science fair. Some clear stuff was leaking into him and some evil-looking brown shit was leaking out. Pain radiated from his shoulder to his spinal column down his back and into his balls. From there it went into his toes. He reasoned that when you got shot in the shoulder your toes shouldn't ache, but they were killing him.

"What's this?" Susan said, picking up the clipboard hanging on the end of the bed.

"My meds."

"Percocets?" she cocked a suspicious eyebrow at him.

"Little Jack has a big boo-boo. He needs his pain meds."

"Jack…"

"I'm not hooked on this shit, okay?"

"You say."

"I'm not. If I was hooked I'd know it. I'm an experienced police specialist. I used to bust guys for drug abuse. Give it a rest, okay?"

"I think you should get checked into a clinic."

"Is that any way to talk to the guy you've been screwing?" He was dodging madly as she scoped him with a critical stare.

"Jack, if I'm going to have a meaningful relationship with you, we have to be honest with one another."

"Susan, honesty is my middle name. Well… maybe not exactly honesty, but certainly expediency is. Or Wendell.

And, hey… if there aren't a few tiny deceptions in a relationship it can get pretty damn boring."

She didn't smile.

"I'm serious," she said, then turned and walked to the door. "I've got to get to the courthouse. We're back in front of Krookshank at two."

"Susan… y'know, it's hard for me to… to… to come to grips with this."

"I know."

"I don't think you do. And it's not denial or anything, y'know. It's… well, it's just… I hurt a lot."

"I know."

"And I hope this isn't going to be a problem for us."

"If you don't get it taken care of, Jack, there is no us." Standing in the doorway, frowning, she looked at him for a long moment. "You can deny this, Jack, but then I'm gone. If you go to the clinic I'll be there. I'll help you through it. It's your choice." Then she walked out.

In that moment his life was as confusing as the tangle of tubes running in and out of him. He was wondering what to do when his chronic back suddenly went into spasms, making the decision for him. He buzzed for the nurse and she came in ten minutes later.

"I think I need my pain medicine," he said to her in a low whisper. He was sad, and lost, and consumed with self-hatred.

In Federal Courtroom Sixteen, Herman was submitting the rest of his evidence in support of the TRO.

He entered the vials of chimera DNA that Susan had taken from the lab. Izzy had already testified to the fact that they had found them five stories below ground on reservation land he had leased to DARPA. The Indio fire captain testified that the lab had been detonated and that there were trace elements of radioactivity, indicating the explosives had been low-yield nuclear charges.

Dr. Adjemenian and her two genetics experts explained the genome map and how it matched the DNA in the lab, proving beyond any doubt the existence of the chimeras. It was an awesome presentation. Now Herman was doing his closing argument, and he was in rare form.

"Your Honor, our expert scientific witnesses have testified that the DNA in this vial is in fact 99.3 percent human homology. We have here in court an actual DNA sample taken from the secret government lab. We also have irrefutable evidence that the government built this underground facility at the Ten-Eyck reservation. A lab, I might add, that they chose to destroy with a low-yield nuclear device to cover up the existence of their dangerous experiments. Mr. Amato challenged the existence of the chimeras, and it appears that now there are none left alive to bring before you as I had promised. It also appears that Charles Chimera and his five John Doe brothers perished in that nuclear explosion. However, if need be I could take the very material in this vial before you and hire my own genetics lab to harvest a chimpanzee egg, fertilize it with this genetically engineered DNA, and create a chimera zygote. I could then grow the very same hybrid being myself and bring it into this courtroom six months hence. My question is, Your Honor, is all of that really necessary?"

"Are you asking for a ruling on that now?" Judge Krookshank asked from the bench, looking at the government lawyers.

Amato had chosen not to be in court this afternoon, leaving the retreat and final surrender in the less-than-capable hands of a skinny government lawyer named Chris Webb. He was a lean, intense, boringly nondescript man who could not convey six conflicting emotions in one ten-dollar word, but was pretty good at his one expression, which was forlorn humiliation. It wrapped his features in a tight frown.

"Your Honor," Chris Webb said. "Before you rule on that, I would like to put on my closing argument. That is, if counsel is finished with his."

"I'm not quite finished yet," Herman said.

"Go ahead then," Krookshank said.

"I think it is important to note here that, as a society, we give up certain powers and freedoms to our government… powers that we entrust to them by virtue of the fact that we, as individuals, cannot undertake them ourselves. It is therefore incumbent upon our government, when it accepts this gift of power, not to abuse it.

"I think we have ample evidence of abuse of power here. Genetic engineering for the sole purpose of creating subhuman warriors is way beyond the scope of this society's gift of power. Here today we have seen not only ample evidence of this abuse of power, but also a staggering lack of good sense and scientific morality. Therefore I implore the court to grant my TRO and then injunctive relief on behalf of the DNA life-forms I have brought into court today. This court-your court, Your Honor-must make sure that these abuses will never occur again."

Susan entered the crowded room full of reporters and onlookers and took a seat at the back. Herman saw her but didn't wave. He had one more thing to say.

Sandy Toshiabi at the plaintiff's table turned to give Susan a smile and a thumbs-up.

"Life is precious, Your Honor," Herman went on. "Precious in all forms wherever it exists. But it is important that we don't try to redirect or redesign the course of natural evolution. The results can become ungodly nightmares, but they won't all stay in our dreams. Some are bound to get away from us and, like these chimeras, chase us into the streets. One day they may even overthrow us, become our masters and enslave us. It is with these frightening scenarios in mind that I beg the court to rule for the plaintiff."

He sat down.

Chris Webb didn't have much to offer. He wandered around trying to attack standing and Herman's lack of a fiduciary obligation. "Mr. Strockmire doesn't have an attorney-client relationship," he argued. "Earlier he claimed that this animal, Charles Chimera, reached out to him. But now he says the animals are all dead. He cannot produce his client or any evidence that he was ever retained. This alone is enough to disallow the TRO. Further, Mr. Strockmire doesn't have the legal right to represent vials of liquid." Chris Webb also argued that science had to be allowed to flourish if we were going to have a brave new world.

Herman smiled. This dipshit didn't even know that Brave New World was the title of a novel about science and government gone mad.

So there it was, lawyers dressed in black, bullshitting just as always. And once again only Herman seemed to be standing alone between the forces of tyranny and sanity. Only Herman the German seemed to give a damn.

Judge Krookshank called a recess and went into chambers to deliberate-or maybe, Herman thought, he just went in there to take a whiz, because he was back in less than ten minutes.

They were all hustled out of the hall and reseated in the big, gothic courtroom looking up at the judge while he polished his glasses.

"On the issue of standing, which I said I would rule on at a later date… it is the decision of this court that these chimeras, this DNA, is not essentially human DNA, despite the fact that it is closer than the DNA of some humans who have been granted standing in court before. These animals, while close, are still not essentially Homo sapiens, so this court rules that they cannot be plaintiffs in a court of law."

Chris Webb slammed his palm down on the table in victory.

"However," Judge Krookshank said. "There are signs that grave criminal wrongdoing has been committed, and this court agrees with counsel for the plaintiff that these human-chimp hybrids might well present a serious threat to human beings if this experimentation is allowed to continue. This court will therefore hear a case for injunctive relief to prevent DARPA, or any other agency of the United States, from further engaging in this kind of reckless experimental activity on these chimpanzees or any other life-forms that have had their DNA unalterably changed. Mr. Strockmire, if you can find a human client and get that action filed, I will personally hear it at the earliest possible date."

"Thank you, Your Honor. I have contacted the SPCA and will file on behalf of that organization this afternoon."

Judge Krookshank looked down at his calendar and marked a date. "Is June fifth too soon for the hearing?"

"Works for me," Herman said, grinning.

"I'm afraid June is going to be impossible," Chris Webb said standing. "We have a lot of pretrial work to do on this."

"There are enough of you, so you'll just have to work quickly. Let's say June fifth then." Judge Krookshank banged his gavel. "Court is in recess." But before he stood he looked down at Herman and smiled. "Good try, Mr. Strockmire. I almost went for your argument on standing. Pretty convincing. Maybe next time."

"Thank you, Your Honor."

Herman turned and exchanged smiles with Sandy. Then he looked for Susan, but she had already slipped away.