Randall had been sidetracked by Abram and did not get to his doctor until the following day.
“As you know Randall, consultation is required by law in cases where the diagnosis is a bit complicated and treatment monitored.”
Randall looked at the doctor intently.
“So, Randall, what we have is the need for a professionally monitored intervention to get your disease under control.”
“And that disease is?”
“The disease is of course, a form of cancer,” said the doctor almost as an afterthought. Randall’s mind spun. The room seemed to close in; he took a deep breath.
“Well, I knew it was serious, but I didn’t expect cancer. I was completely clean last check-up which was only three months ago.”
“Yes, that happens quite a bit now. What you have to realize is that the tests catch these cancerous cells quite early now. From your results, I would say that this problem only began in the last three to four weeks. So, while it is cancer, it is at an extremely early stage and with the right treatment the prognosis for cases such as yours is almost always a successful intervention.”
“So, detection is down to a few weeks now?”
“Yes, your Annie probably uploaded the latest test software recently and the updated version is much better at analysis than the old.”
“Okay, when do we start?”
“How about right now?”
The treatment, a version of immunotherapy, hadn’t taken a minute and Randall was bound for home. Upon arriving back at his apartment, he reviewed his contacts and found a message from Abram. The missive contained some references to space law that Randall recognized and a short, decrypted section. Randall ran that part through his Annie to find a message from the head of the Mars Republic.
“To whom it may concern,” began the message, “We have empowered Abram D. Jackson to distribute the following to those persons he believes may be helpful and/or supportive of our cause. To us here on Mars and elsewhere in the Solar System it is imperative that the frontier represented by the Asteroid Belt remain free from governmental interference as much as possible. We believe it is possible to settle this new frontier as private citizens first who may at some time in the future declare sovereignty for themselves or allegiance to an already existing sovereign state. That should be their choice according to the dictates of the situation and not an imposition by outside parties. If you believe that this is a cause worthwhile, please assist us in whatever way you feel is most helpful.” – Elias S. Assere, P.M. - Mars Republic, Avery P. Whitehall, Head Council - Solar Federation.
Well, the old man does have some powerful friends. I will have to spend some time this evening researching the background law. Maybe I can have an answer for Abram tomorrow.
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