Room 9 by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 10

The elevator car was spacious enough that everyone could enter without becoming crowded. After the doors closed, it was only a few brief moments before the elevator opened at the third floor. Having noticed skipping the second floor, Ethan brought it to the attention of their tour guide.

“Why didn’t we stop at the second floor?”

Their guide was quick with an answer, albeit a necessary lie. “The second floor is all administration,” he replied. The teenagers quickly believed his lie. Many times, on government facilities, secrecy was often the chosen weapon that protected the interests of the country, be it technology or the operation of organizations that don’t exist on paper.

Stopping at the third floor, the elevator doors opened as the eyes of the five teenagers grew wide with excitement and curiosity. Their guide excused himself and walked through the open doors and, putting out a hand, led the teens out into a spacious corridor lined on both side with doors, whose windows were constructed of frosted glass. It was assumed by the group that these windows were designed specifically to keep prying eyes away from things that should not be seen.

Leading the group down the corridor, Doctor Stewart took them to an area dedicated to engineering. While opening the door, he instructed the students to stand against the wall so as not to be in the way. Once this was accomplished, he motioned over to where work was being done on a rather unusual device. “Now,” he began. “Over here, we’re currently working on what we call the ‘quantum engine’ and…”

“I’ve read about that,” Ethan interrupted.

The group turned to him, waiting for him to elaborate.

“It’s basically a thruster engine that doesn’t need liquid fuel, so it runs on electricity. I’m still not sure how it works, but that’s basically it.” Doctor Stewart thought carefully as he studied his face. He knew there would be a risk of contamination, but he wanted to make some small contribution, and perhaps provide a bit of inspiration to what he saw as the mind of a genius. “Ethan,” he began. “How would you like to get a closer look?” Ethan’s eyes grew wide with excitement at the prospect of standing that close to a form of technology he could not possibly begin to understand.

“Are you kidding?!” he replied. “You mean, now?”

Seeing the broad smile overtake Ethan’s face, Doctor Stewart knew he had made the right decision, but Ethan would have to be briefed first. The other four teens were left speechless as he was led around a corner and through a door painted with the words ‘Classified – Staff Only.’ He was led to a modest room whose purpose was for the preparation of those working with the engine. They were required to wash their hands and face thoroughly and dress in a white one-piece protective suit. It was not designed so much for their protection but to avoid contaminating the engine as well as the tools used in its construction. Ten minutes later, Ethan and the doctor emerged from a back entrance and circled around to where the engineering staff was huddled about what could be seen as impossible technology. Of course, his fellow students had gathered at the window, their eyes glued to the sight of Ethan being motioned closer to the engine while the chief engineer explained its inner workings. Although most of the information was difficult for him to understand, this only served to pique his curiosity. After another ten minutes, Ethan, along with Doctor Stewart, emerged into the corridor to the congratulatory cheers of the group. Even Kate’s mother was more than impressed.

Order was soon brought to the group of excited teen as Doctor Stewart led them to their stop. This time it would be Chelsea who would lead into a specialized area dedicated to medical research.

“Now,” Doctor Stewart began. “Our next stop is two floors up. So, if you will all follow me.”

The group followed closely behind, but it was their curiosity that propelled them forward. With the elevator doors closing in front of them, the doctor pushed a glowing yellow button, sending them several floors up. When they stepped off, they were again led down a long corridor, stopping in front of, yet another door. They all seemed to look the same and could cause one to easily become lost amidst the vast catacombs of technology and classified areas. “Okay,” the doctor said. He turned his attention towards Chelsea. “In this area, we’re working on several medical projects.”

As tired as she was, Chelsea face came to life with excitement as she wondered if she would be next to get up close to the leading technology in medical research. Aside from the development of space technology reserved for astronauts, this department was also working on projects for commercial use, including smaller fiber-optic scopes for use in joint surgery, as well as advanced heart pumps.

“So, Chelsea,” he continued. “I’ve heard that you’re the one who’s going to Harvard Medical School. How would you like a tour of the department?”

Chelsea nearly jumped out of her skin, throwing herself at the doctor and hugging him tightly. “Oh my God!” she replied. “You have no idea!”

Once she became aware of her behavior, her face flushed with embarrassment as she released her grip on the doctor and stepped back. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to…”

The doctor, understanding the exuberant nature of adolescence, reassured Chelsea that no offense was taken.

Leading her around a nearby corner, Chelsea found herself in what had been dubbed ‘a clean room’. She was instructed to put on a clean white suit over her clothes and was assisted by a senior staff member in sealing the cuffs around both her wrists and ankles. After putting a protective hood, the technician put a belt around her waist and turned on a battery operated filter that connected to the back of the hood. As the sound of the filter’s motor whirred in her ears, she was led into the lab, where she gasped in wonder at what she would later describe as miracles of science.

The doctor motioned her over to a Plexiglas box. As she looked in that direction, Chelsea was stunned to find a human heart beating with almost perfect regularity. But something was different. And as she got closer, she became in awe of what was being done to this object. What would ordinarily be a complex system of striated muscles appeared as a grouping of transparent leaves that had been attached to each other in the shape of a heart. Yet, it was beating. “So,” the doctor began. “What do you make of this?”

Chelsea had recently written a paper on decellularization and was moderately familiar with the technology being used for this particular project.

“So,” she replied. “You finally did it.” The doctor seemed perplexed as her familiarity with what she was seeing. “You know something about this?” he asked.

“Well,” she continued. “Without the cells, you can engineer a heart from stem cells and infuse the cell matrix with them. As long as they get the right nutrients, you should end up with functioning striated muscle. Its electrical system should form on its own. But I don’t see this going into commercial use for at least ten years, and then there’s FDA approval.” Doctor Stewart realized he should not be surprised at how much the teens knew about this advanced level of science, but he couldn’t help being taken aback by Chelsea’s knowledge of this unique project. “I have to say, young lady,” he began. “You know quite a bit about this process. Maybe someday you can work here. I’d love to see you in charge of projects like this.” Chelsea was considering work in cancer research, but now her focus was quickly swayed toward biomechanical engineering. “That would be so cool,” she replied. Having had a brief look at what could be described as a Frankensteinian fantasy, the doctor informed her that staying any longer could create the risk of contamination. As the doctor led Chelsea back to the changing room, he told her about another related project. “Did you know that we’re also working on a similar project using asparagus?” he asked. Chelsea gave his question a moment of thought.

“Yes,” she replied. “Spinal cord injuries, right?”

The doctor was not so stunned this time and asked her to embellish on what she already knew. She explained the process in striking detail. Doctor Stewart looked at her with great interest.

“Chelsea,” he began. “When you get out of medical school, I want you to consider working here. We could use someone like you.”

Chelsea was thrilled at the prospect of working on such high level projects and planned on consulting her counselor as soon as she returned to school.

Looking at his watch, Doctor Stewart noted the time and, turning to the teens, declared that it was time for lunch. Everyone was hungry and eager to get food in their stomachs. “Alright,” he said. “Let me show you where the cafeteria is. I have to go to a meeting, so after you get something to eat, feel free to wander around the campus. There’s just one thing I want you to remember. If you see any signs that say anything about lethal force, don’t go into those places. Those areas are under guard by military personnel, understand?” It was at this point that the teens fully realized where they were and the nature of the work being done