Ken McClure - Pandora's Helix

“Surprisingly little but I suppose the fact that there’s no human genetic material being exchanged stopped the Frankenstein brigade from getting too upset. The Church didn’t seem to think it was too far away from God’s will and the chairman was positively friendly. The WRVS woman thought for a moment we were going to give everyone Herpes but Pereira managed to put her right. Only David Farro-Jones was a bit cautious but his concern was for patient safety. I suppose he’s a bit hyper-sensitive after his own trial.”

“It’s all new,” said MacSween. “No one knows what to expect and that’s frightening enough in itself. You’re only a hero when things work. Remember the Jenner factor and consider.”

Neef looked puzzled. “Jenner, of vaccination fame?” he asked.

“Precisely,” said MacSween. “Think about what he did. He believed that injecting a little boy with cow pox virus obtained from a milk maid would protect him from smallpox. It did and he became a legendary figure in medicine, a national hero.”

“Yes,” agreed Neef, still puzzled.

“But consider what he actually did. To prove his point he had to inject the child with smallpox... what if his idea hadn’t worked? How would society have viewed that?”

“A diabolical crime,” replied Neef.

“And some of us think it still was,” said MacSween. “But vaccination has succeeded in wiping out smallpox from the face of the earth. A wee moral dilemma wouldn’t you say?”

“Medicine is full of them,” said Neef.

“Well, just remember Mike, if you should be put to the test in the next few weeks, you’ll have a journalist sitting right there in your unit,” said MacSween. “But then, some people keep piranha fish as pets.”

The sound of young Nigel crying put an end to the conversation and the two men made their way back to the house. When they got inside they found Charlie Morse walking up and down with the child on his shoulder. Nigel had stopped crying and was nestling into Charlie’s neck. Charlie was whispering sweet nothings to him.

“He was always good with our two,” said Kate Morse. “It was always Charlie who got up at night.”

“Did you hear that?” Clare jokingly asked her husband. Keith pretended not to hear.

Neef smiled at Eve, realising that talk of babies was isolating the pair of them. She held his gaze for a little longer than necessary and he felt uncomfortable for a moment. As he looked away he wondered why. He concluded it was some kind of vulnerability. His growing attraction to Eve Sayers was making him feel uneasy. But the feeling was oddly pleasant.

Nigel had fallen asleep on Charlie Morse’s shoulder. Morse returned him gently to the Moses basket. He was still whispering to the child as he brought up the covers. Suddenly as he straightened up, he sneezed violently and then again. The second one woke the child, undoing all his good work.

“Bless you Charlie,” murmured Betty. “It sounds like you’ve got a cold coming on.” She lifted the child herself and patted him gently on the back as she soothed him back to sleep. “Granny’s here.”

“It’s time we were starting back anyway,” announced Clare as she got up to take the child from her mother. “It’s been such a nice week-end.”

This was the general signal for everyone to start preparing to leave. Frank and Betty were thanked for their hospitality with genuine enthusiasm. Laughter and good-byes gave way to the sound of car doors being slammed.

“Was that OK?” Neef asked Eve as they joined the main road.

“I had a great time,” said Eve. “They’re a nice couple, especially Betty.”

“I noticed how well you two were getting on,” said Neef. “I think Betty was single-handedly responsible for me not starving to death when I first arrived at St George’s.”

“Where had you come from?” asked Eve.

“The States.”

“I thought you chaps did that thing the other way around,” said Eve. “Aren’t you supposed to go to America in protest against the poor conditions in the National Health Service?”

“That’s usually the way,” agreed Neef. “But personally, I didn’t like America.”

“Why not? You probably earned three times what you get here.”

“I did,” agreed Neef. “And the facilities were the best in the world.”

“So why?”

Neef thought for a moment before saying, “As soon as I started my job in the States I was sent on a course run by the hospital. It was called, Reimbursement Maximization.”

“Doesn’t sound too medical,” said Eve.

“It wasn’t. It was a course designed how to teach the hospital’s doctors how to extract the maximum payment possible from their patients’ health insurance. We were instructed to provide treatment after treatment until all their insurance money was used up and then to continue as long as their families would pay.”

“That sounds awful,” said Eve.

“I’m a children’s’ tumour specialist. Many of my patients weren’t going to get better at all. But the treatment went on until their families in many cases went bankrupt. Do you know that money owed on medical bills is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States?”

“I didn’t,” admitted Eve.

“Well, it is and it all got a bit too much for me. Medicine is the second largest industry in the States. It’s big business and somewhere along the line people have lost sight of the fact that money shouldn’t automatically be the first consideration.”

Eve nodded but didn’t say anything.

“And so I came home,” said Neef, “to discover we’ve started out along the same road.”

“The government says not,” said Eve.

Neef snorted his disbelief and brought the Discovery to a halt outside Eve’s apartment block. He turned to smile at her. “I’m sorry; I’ve been shooting my mouth off. I’m really glad you came today. I enjoyed it.”

“Me too,” said Eve, “and I’m glad you told me these things. I like hearing insiders’ views.”

Neef found himself wishing that Eve would ask him in but she didn’t. He hadn’t really had a chance to talk to her properly during the afternoon because of the way things had worked out. As she opened the door to get out she turned and said, “Am I to be allowed to visit Neil?”

“You’ve thought about the conditions we spoke of?”

“Yes. I have and I agree.”

“Then come tomorrow. Make it in the afternoon.”

“Is there anything special he likes?”

“He’s obsessed with fire engines.”

“Fire engines?” exclaimed Eve.

“It’s the only toy we’ve ever managed to interest him in.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” smiled Eve.

After feeding Dolly, Neef settled down to read the Sunday papers he’d bought on the way back from lunch. He was interrupted by the phone. It was David Farro-Jones.

“Hello Mike, I thought I’d just call and wish you luck with the trial tomorrow.”

“That’s very nice of you, I appreciate it,” replied Neef.

“I also wanted to repeat my offer of help and facilities should you need them.”

“I’m most grateful, David. I’m sure Max will be as well.”

“About Max, Mike...” Farro-Jones began hesitantly.

“Yes? What about him?”

“God, this is difficult...”

“What is?”

“You and I have known each other quite a while, Mike. I’d like to say something to you in confidence.”

“Go ahead,” said Neef.

“I know Max Pereira.”

“Yes, I know you do.”

“I mean, I know him well; we worked together for two years in the States. He’s ambitious, ruthless and determined to get to the top. Nothing is going to stand in his way. This trial is important to Max and to Menogen, much more so than they’ve let on. They all stand to become millionaires if they get a good result.”