Chapter 97
“Hey”, I whispered
“hey”, Jack said in return, touching my cheek with the tip of his fingers, as if worried that anything more than the slightest brush could hurt me
“I’ve spoken to Mori”, he said, and paused
“I’ve also called Fred, my PhD advisor, do you remember him?”, he continued
I nodded slightly, waiting for Jack to add more. He looked at me, as if pondering the details of my features, and from the silent grief in his eyes I knew the news weren’t good.
I smiled.
“They told you there’s nothing they can do, is that it?”, I asked
“No, not exactly. Well, that’s more or less what Fred told me. He knows a researcher who is now retired, but whose name was a big one in the old times, and he promised he will contact him for advice. This is too far from a solution though…”
“Ok, and what about Mori?”, I asked, to show that I hadn’t slipped into a passive state of acceptance more than anything else.
Jack sighted
“He is trying, but it’s taking time”
Don’t let Jack down, he is the one that needs support now, I thought.
“Of course”, I replied smiling
“He wasn’t very optimistic, I suppose he doesn’t want to give us false hopes”, Jack said dropping his head
I saw a tear roll down along his cheek, and I pictured it splash on the floor. Then another, and a then a third
“Wait to cry before you’re sure you have a reason to”, I said, and laughed, “Why, maybe we’ll go to Italy again to meet Mori, this time with nobody’s shadow at our back”
Jack stared at me with a surprised look, peeking through the tears with renewed hope.
“Do you mean what you just said?”, he asked
“What did I just say?”
“That we can go to Italy again to meet Mori”
“Well sure, once I’ll step out of bed”
“Or maybe we can go without waiting, so that you’ll step out of bed sooner”
I began to understand where this was going, although the idea seemed pure insanity
“You want to bring me there now?”, I asked skeptically
“Would you want me to? Mori thinks he’ll have better chances of finding a solution if we go there. He has all the instruments he needs there, and he can also count on his team…when Mori suggested that we go there I told him you were too weak to be moved around, but if you are willing to give this a try I’ll call him and let him know we’ve changed our mind”
Jack’s voice gained energy as he spoke, as if my chances had increased by our sheer will of finding options. The idea of seeing Mori again gained the weight of a reality in my mind, and the details of his features, his office, his voice, remerged in my memory. I didn’t know if I could make it to survive the trip to Italy, but the thought of meeting Mori again thrilled me. I felt, without knowing why, that I had to see him again, at least one more time.
“Ok”, I agreed
“Ok?”, Jack asked, smiling incredulously
“Ok”, I repeated
Jack laughed, and bent to hug me, and I felt the strength of his flexible body and the tension of his muscles dissolve in this moment of hope
“But there is one more thing I must get straight before we go”, I said
“What is it?”
“I have to speak to Sandeep. I must know the end of the story to close the circle, you see?”
“To close the circle?”, Jack asked with a puzzled expression
“Yes. If Mori finds a cure for me he will find a cure for all the other people I might have made ill, and probably have made ill, with my polymer. And for those who will get sick in the future if the polymer is still around. Do you follow me?”
“Yes and no…”
“If I go to Italy and Mori succeeds I will close one of the loops. But Sandeep said I have killed someone, and that this person’s relatives wanted to kill me to wash out the crime with my blood”
Jack looked at me with a questioning gaze
“I need to know the details of what happened to close this second loop too”, I explained
“What do you mean by closing the loop?”
Jack gave me an odd look, then shrugged, letting go whichever questions he had on the tip of his tongue. Perhaps he was worried about my answer, perhaps he was too eager to move me out of bed to pause on any detail outside his scope.
“I’ll go call Mori, I think he’ll be happy to hear that we’re going”, Jack said
“Sure”, I replied smiling, “and if you can please hand me my cell I’ll phone Avery to know how Sandeep is doing”