"Leonard Speaking"
'Leonard Thinking'
Manhattan, New York
Mike Ross walked into his house, a cozy, detached house near Central Park in New York. A few years back, he was one of the many lawyers in Seattle, who traded their conscience for money. When he left Seattle, he left as a disgraced lawyer who used extra-judicial means to expose a corrupt judge. For all rights and purposes, he had killed his career. But now, looking at the cozy home, his beautiful wife, and son, he felt that he had made the correct decision.
Sofia was writing something in her journal when she heard Mike enter. She smiled, "Welcome home."
Walking to her husband, she helped him remove his suit jacket. Noticing a soft smile on his face, she asked, "Did something good happen at work today?"
Mike shook his head, before pulling her in a hug. As he held her, he whispered, "I just remembered how we met for the first time."
Sofia got annoyed at that, "What was so amusing about that? You wore that shabby suit of yours, while I was in that horried, prison-orange jumpsuit. I was close to getting a life imprisonment, with all my research going down the drain. Do you find that funny?"
Mike raised his hands in surrender, "I was just reminiscing. I was a disgraced lawyer and you were a criminal. Yet, look at us now."
Sofia huffed, "I suppose, our life has really turned for the better."
Mike went to have a quick shower, while Sofia served food at the dining table. Soon, the two sat at the table, eating slowly. Mike asked, "So, how close is your research. Can we consider cancer cured?"
Sofia chuckled, "Almost. MedBud helped a lot in the simulations. Soon, we will have a cure for every cancer in existence. Seriously, oncogenes are a mess. You can get cancers in any tissue of your body. Making a general purpose cure based on conventional medicine would be almost impossible. And with how much poison there is in the air, we might be looking at a cancer boom in a few decades."
Mike sipped a herbal concoction, his face scrunching at the slight bitterness. He asked, "Can't you make this sweeter? It tastes really odd."
Sofia laughed, "Get used to this. It is meant to strengthen you. What is a little bitterness for lifelong health. Besides, sugar is not good for you."
As the two ate, there was a knock on the front door. Mike looked oddly, "Who would be here at this time?"
Mike walked towards his door and looked through the peephole, before opening the door. Leonard stood on the other side, his face pale and sweaty. He quickly entered the house, wiping his sweat. Mike seemed to sense something, "What happened Leonard? You don't seem so well."
Soon, Leonard was seated in their living room, drinking Sofia's herbal remedy. Mike placed another cup with more herbal remedy, "If you like this, drink some more."
Sofia looked at Mike with reapproach, "You will have to drink it tomorrow. I have made quite a bit."
Leonard set down his cup. He looked at the two, and said, "First of all, I am telling you this in confidence. What I will tell you should not be known to anyone other than the people in the room."
The two gave a determined nod as Leonard continued, "There is something bad happening to me. I am losing awareness of time. Yesterday, I spent the entire night on something, and when I became aware, I was bleeding from my eyes."
Mike was worried as Leonard described his condition. Leonard was someone who had pulled him out of the abyss, and established Chaldea. If something happens to Leonard, he will be losing a great friend, and Chaldea will lose its foundation.
Sofia was worried as well, but she forcibly calmed herself and said, "Whatever has happened to you, we cannot check it here. We need a proper lab."
Leonard turned to Mike, "Contact Finch. We need to use the lab at the Library."
Mike nodded and hurriedly went to his room. Sofia turned to Leonard, "It will take some time, I will have to find someone to take care of Ethan while we try to cure you."
Leonard thought for a minute, before he said, "Don't worry, I will arrange it for you."
The Library, New York City
Leonard sat in the back seat with Ethan, Mike's one-year old son, sitting at his side. Mike drove the car steadily as Leonard checked his phone. Soon, the car arrived at an old library. Mike got off and picked his son up. Sofia stood by his side, coaxing the child as Leonard pulled out the large suitcase housing MedBud. As the group waited, a silver Chevy Malibu stopped near them, and a smiled, black man got off. Leonard approached the man with a smile, before introducing him.
Leonard gestured, "Mike, Sofia, this is my mentor, Mr. Robert McCall. Since Sofia will be busy for the foreseeable future, I asked him to watch over Ethan."
Turning to Robert, Leonard continued, "Thank you for this Robert. It must be quite a bother, leaving Boston and coming here. But please, bear with it."
Robert chuckled, "No worries at all son. I love kids. Besides, I know you. You would never have disturbed me if you could help it."
Leonard sighed, "Yeah. Most of the people who could look after him are far away. So, I can only trouble you for now."
As the group moved inside the library, Leonard introduced the facility, "As you know, Chaldea has many bases, legal labs and offices around the world. But we also have quite a few secret ones as well. These bases are meant to provide a clandestine environment for experiments. Every base is managed by a Chaldea member, and some of the larger ones are managed by Cygnus."
As they entered the base, Leonard took out a small cube from his jacket. After some fiddling, the cube started to glow, which also lit up a far wall in the inner chambers. Leonard gestured to the others to follow. Mike approached the glowing wall, and asked, "What is this?"
Leonard smiled smugly, "This is a mechanical membrane wall. These walls are controlled by Cygnus, so any member of Chaldea can pass right through, but for others, this would be a solid wall."
With that, Leonard walked at the wall, which seemingly melted around his form, curving around him to reform as he walked forward. Sofia followed him, and Mike handed his son to Robert and said, "I'll be right back."
Robert nodded as Mike went through the wall. Holding the baby in his arms, Robert said, "Looks like it's just gonna be us for the time being, little guy."
The baby gurgled in response, drawing a laugh out of Robert.
Secret Lab, The Library, New York City
Leonard waited as MedBud inflated itself and Sofia switched on the machinery. Mike, who was just there to settle his wife, quickly picked out the rooms and arranged them properly.
Soon, MedBud was ready, as it greeted, "Greetings Dr. Hofstadter. I am MedBud, your personal Healthcare Companion."
Sofia looked back at MedBud and said, "I cannot thank you enough for lending MedBud to me. He was able to reduce a lot of effort in my research."
Leonard nodded, before he announced, "MedBud, administrative mode. Initiate update 2.0 from Cygnus servers."
MedBud blinked and said, "Update initiated. Please wait a moment."
Sofia was surprised, "I didn't know MedBud could update itself."
Leonard chuckled, "MedBud was meant for surgery and research. While you had the research module down, the surgical module needs constant updates. I have Cygnus to collect information about any surgical advancements, refine them into programs and create this update."
Sofia nodded. Soon, MedBud was updated and the two approached Leonard. MedBud activated his diagnostic quantum lasers and quickly scanned Leonard.
MedBud informed, "Scan complete. You are healthy for the most part, but your internal organs like liver, kidneys, heart and lungs, have come under strain for about a week now. Your brain has multiple scars with small parts of your brain cells dying rapidly. Your bones and skeletal muscles are in peak condition. Primary diagnosis complete."
Sofia looked at the report and said, "Well, the brain scarring explains your blackouts, though I don't know what exactly is the cause. It could be an infection, or an autoimmune issue. I will need a deeper scan. MedBud, start with observation, and place Leonard's DNA sample on the screen."
As Leonard rested, Sofia studied his DNA. The longer she looked, the more odd it became. Her brow furrowed with thought.
'This doesn't make any sense. How can such a perfect genome exist in nature? Either Leonard was so lucky that he won the genetic lottery with this genome, or he is an artificial human being.'
Soon, she had gained a preliminary understanding, but the details were missing. As Leonard stood from his bed, his eyes met Sofia's suspicious ones. He had an inkling for the reason for that look.
Leonard sighed, "So, I take it that you have seen my genome."
Sofia spoke with certainty, "And you should know that such a genome is impossible in nature. Just the proposed metabolic efficiency should be impossible, but when we combine it with that strong genetic stability and adaptability, you know this is no longer just a human."
Leonard sighed again and stood up from the bed. Taking a glass of water laid out for him, he asked, "Do you know the reason for those scars on my brain?"
Sofia shook her head, "No. I have an idea, but I cannot be certain. While it can be seen as a cancer or a retrovirus attack, I am not entirely certain. With the way your genome is, I am in uncharted territory here."
Leonard nodded, before taking a sip from the glass, and asked, "So, can you share the idea?"
Sofia said, "Only if you share details about your genome first."
Leonard thought about it, and agreed. He explained, "When I was young, I was weaker than most, susceptible to injury, lactose intolerant, asthmatic, and allergic to a lot of things. When I gained money, I decided to fix my problems. So, for a whole month, I designed the perfect genetic code, a genome that is so efficient and adaptable, that no physical or mental problem could ever reach me. I call it the IHG, the Ideal Human Genome. I studied the genes of many anomalies, and recreated them stably in the human genome. But maybe, I was still away from the true Ideal Human Genome."
Sofia tried to process this, but the sheer absurdity of the situation ate at her. She said, "Do you have alcohol here?"
Leonard smirked, "Finch kept a small stash of bourbon near the filing cabinets. It's a hidden fridge."
Sofia quickly ran and came back with a bottle of Hennessey. Pouring some in a glass, she drank a large gulp, which Leonard interrupted, "You know, good brandy should be savoured…"
Sofia turned to him in annoyance, "I don't care."
Leonard kept quiet as Sofia finished her drink. She set her glass aside and said, "Well, I am quite surprised. Now, let's see the source of your problem. Or at least what I think is the source."
MedBud projected a strand of his DNA, and Leonard saw it. Among the normal nucleotides, he found an aberration. There seemed to be some genetic code that was not present before. Sofia said, "As far as I can tell, this is a mutation. Normally, minor mutations are common, but considering your genome, this mutation sticks out like a sore thumb. Did you come in contact with mutagens or radiation this month?"
Leonard remembered the Chronon experiment, and that rip in the space. His expression must have given away the fact. Sofia sighed, "So, you did come in contact with something. That would explain the mutation."
Leonard studied the strand, trying to see which genes were modified. He asked, "So, what does this mutation do?"
Sofia shrugged, "How would I know? I don't even know much about your IHG. This is only a preliminary test. I would need to observe this for a week at most."
Leonard looked at the genome report again. With determined eyes, he turned towards a small compartment near the lab. Punching a code, he retrieved a small glass bottle and handed it to Sofia. She looked at the glass-like pills as Leonard said, "Let's do this. I want results. We have a month before Paige comes to get me, and I want this problem fixed by then."
AN: And done. One more chapter before Leonard's second enhancement. Soon, the stakes will be higher, the tech more elegant and the conflicts much stronger. Stay tuned for more.
AN2: I wish to thank all my patrons for their support. New chapters and stories will come soon. Thank you.
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