From the Bottom of My Heart (IC)

[KnightDisciple]

Saturday, April 16th, 2011

Hanover, The Lab

It was at roughly 7:45am when a call came in from a private line to the receptionist at the Lab.

"Yes, this is Baron Magnus Vilhelm Katastrof. I was hoping to set up an appointment to meet with one Miss Americana as soon as possible. I realize she is a busy and dedicated individual, and that our last meeting was less than perfect. However, you would have my deepest gratitude if you could communicate to her that this is a matter of utmost urgency affecting people more than just myself, and that I will give her a formal, personal apology in person if she so accepts."

The Baron will leave contact information for himself with the receptionist before he ends the call.

---------------------------------

The Baron's Office in Freedom City

Magnus set the phone back on its cradle, settling back into his chair as he stared pensively at the far wall. Thankfully, his secretary had been briefed to keep all but the most critical issues out of his attention for the day.

"Please madame...Let me meet with you and beg for help..."

[Electra]

Miss Americana flew into the Lab around ten that morning, her usual time to arrive. As a founder, not to mention one who didn't answer to deadlines, she could sleep in if she wanted to! When she arrived in her office, she checked her messages and was darkly amused by the one the receptionist had relayed to her over voicemail. Sounded like the Master of Disaster had changed his tune from last time they'd spoken. She toyed with the idea of leaving him on tenterhooks for awhile, or of disregarding him entirely, but that would be unprofessional, and potentially unheroic. That is, if his problem was as urgent and far-reaching as his message made it sound. If he were dissembling, she could always kick him out of her office personally. She called down to the receptionist and had her set up an appointment with the Baron in one of the conference rooms late that afternoon.

[KnightDisciple]

The Lab, Afternoon

When the Baron walked in, he bore no suitcase or folder of any kind; he brought nothing but himself and his impeccable suit into that building. His movements were clipped, precise, and almost mechanical in nature. There were slight bags under his eyes, which themselves seemed a bit bloodshot.

When he was escorted up to the conference room, he waited until his guide had left the room, and it was just himself and Miss Americana.

At which point, he slowly knelt down, his head bowed as he began to speak.

"Miss Americana. When last we met, my words and attitude did you a disservice to both you and me. You deserved more respect than I gave, and I should have been a better representative for my company. I can only say that I was still on the "rush" of opening our American branch, and was not used to dealing with someone in your position, in that context. I ask, nay, beg for your forgiveness. For I now have dire need of your knowledge and skill."

He raised his head to look at her, his eyes pleading.

"The life of my cousin hangs in the balance."

[Electra]

Miss Americana had set up deliberately for the meeting, changing into a trim-lined power suit of deep red, with navy blue belt and diamond earrings and necklace, an outfit that absolutely projected confidence and authority. She'd also refrained from taking a chair while she waited, ready to meet the Baron on her feet for whatever conversation they were going to have. His entrance, first his appearance and then his genuflection, rendered most of that preparation useless, and indeed a bit silly. She retrenched quickly. Obviously whatever was wrong, it was more important to Katastrof than his considerable pride. That meant it was probably big. Even so, she wasn't quite entirely sure she was ready to let bygones be bygones.

"Why don't you have a seat, Baron, and we'll talk about it." She took the seat at the head of the small conference table, nodding him to one of the other chairs. "What exactly is it you're looking for?"

[KnightDisciple]

Baron Katastrof stood, a small smile on his face, before he then lowered himself into a chair. He visibly sagged.

"Roughly two years ago, my young cousin Eira was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. She was, at the time, only 7 years old. The complication has been twofold. First, her body still has much growing to do, making immediate selection of a donor heart difficult. Second, for whatever reason, her body seems set to utterly reject essentially any replacement organs. Perhaps if they could clone her own heart...but of course, it's a unique genetic defect. If we can help her, they have experimental treatments that would ensure none of her children would fear this condition. But first she must reach this age.

So, with a biological heart a non-option, they turned to artificial means. But none of the models I have helped them research have been sufficient. My company has yet to make the "breakthrough" to produce such a thing. And her condition has rapidly deteriorated much faster than we thought; she has perhaps 2 months left. Before that, we thought she still had at least 5 years where lesser treatments would suffice. I had been confident we would have a solution in that time. They only told me two weeks ago, when all other options had been exhausted. Or so they thought."

There were tears in his eyes now. But behind those tears were the fires of determination and love for his family.

"Please. I beg you. Help us. I will pay you whatever you require. I will fulfill any favor you ask of me. I will do whatever it takes. But help us save our little Eira."

[Electra]

Miss Americana watched him intently as he told the entire sad story, her face difficult to read. Reaching behind her, she took a box of tissues from the sideboard and handed them over to him. "It sounds like a difficult case," she told him honestly. "And the timetable you're giving me isn't exactly promising either. But I'll take a look. Have you got her medical records and the blueprints of your devices on hand?" She'd noticed he'd come emptyhanded, but that meant little when a library of information could be tucked in a pocket.

[KnightDisciple]

The Baron took the tissues and used several to dry off his face. He sighed and nodded at Miss A's words.

"I don't like the time-table either, but it's what we have. And yes, I have some records here."

He reaches into an inner pocket of his suit, pulling out a high-capacity flash drive.

"Medical records, as many different scan and test results as I could get my hands on, and the most recent iterations of our various artificial organ models, especially including hearts. That one's theoretically simpler, but in practice it's been harder, at least for our goal of never needing external power and so on."

[Electra]

Miss Americana plugged the drive into her datapad, bringing up the scans and looking through them with a quickness that went beyond the seemingly-cavalier into the downright inhuman. Her eyes didn't even flicker as she took in the information, the only movement was her finger on the scroll bar, calling page after page of the damning records.

After taking perhaps a minute to review data that should've taken hours to internalize, she looked up at the baron. "You know this isn't just a heart problem anymore," she murmured. "All the surgeries, the failures, they've taken their toll as well. She's on the cusp of multiple organ failure. I'm not certain a heart is going to help her now, no matter how advanced."

[KnightDisciple]

Katastroff waits in tense silence, his left leg occasionally bouncing up and down in a nervous gesture before he brings it under control, at least for a few minutes. He seems to have calmed down a bit overall, not even letting out any follow-up sniffles.

When Miss Americana delivers her verdict, the color drains from his face, he visibly sags in his chair, and resignation begins to fill his features.

"I didn't...She...They tried..."

He closes his eyes for a moment, collecting his thoughts. When they open again, there is a spark of his confidence showing again.

"Can you help her?"

[Electra]

"I've been working on replacement organs as part of my work with ArcheTech, as well as here in the Lab," Miss Americana began, setting down the datapad and regarding him levelly. "In the time we have left, with unlimited funding and assuming no major Freedom City disasters, I believe I could fabricate replacement organs that would address most of the problems that your design team has found. But the human body is a fragile instrument, Magnus," she told him gently. "When a vital part begins to shut down, it doesn't go alone. By the time we can fabricate all those parts in such a small size, much less test them, it may be too late."

[KnightDisciple]

Magnus nodded slowly, his mind clearly grasping the scenario Miss Americana was laying out before him.

"Even worse would be the fact that with so many replacement organs, she'd face severe issues as the biological parts of her body grew, and the artificial parts did not."

All of the sudden, he slammed his left fist onto the table, his face a mask of undirected anger.

"Damn it! I should have pushed even more money into the organ cloning program! A few million more..."

He flexed the hand a bit, rubbing it with right hand as the redness faded.

"So far you're just giving me bad news. Please tell me you have good news. Not minor good news like "I can make her happy before she dies", but major "Eira will not die this day" good news."

[Electra]

Miss A hesitated a moment, studying his face. "There might be another option," she finally said. "I wouldn't even suggest it if there was another choice. It's very experimental, almost theoretical still. A very talented colleague of mine and I have been conducting parallel research on digitizing consciousness, with the goal of uploading that consciousness into a fully robotic body."

She paused a moment to let that sink in. "I have a template created, and I know that it does work to contain and express an evolving and developing sentience. Even so, no one on Earth, as far as I'm aware, has actually attempted to digitize a human mind before. The process could fail, and the failure could potentially destroy her mind and kill her. But she's already dying."

[KnightDisciple]

And there it was. A solution, a way to save a little girl with her whole life ahead of her.

But a solution so radical it had never been done.

'What's our other choice? Hope we're lucky enough to get her stable enough to live her life hooked up to an iron lung? Maybe clone her a whole new body...in a few decades? She's giving us an option here, damn it!'

Magnus sighed, rubbing his temples for a moment.

"I...I can't really make that decision, in the end. I am not her parents. I am only an ambassador for the family, if you will. But...I can get them on the line. They may agree.

We have to know, though. How would we simulate her growing up? Obviously most of the, ah, negatives of the next few years could be avoided...but what about the positives?"

[Electra]

"I can't sugarcoat things for you," Miss A told him, "there's simply no getting around the fact that even if the process is successful, she will be a prototype, and we don't have any established protocols. All I can give you is ideas and possibilities. And of course I'll be willing to speak with the family, and with Eira herself. I know she's young, but she's old enough to understand some things."

Miss A took a few moments to type on her datapad, bringing up some schematics of what were obviously robots at various stages of human development. She turned the pad to show him. "Since she's only nine years old, the robotic body we design for her would be in the shape of a preadolescent or very young adolescent, and ideally modeled on what her real body would look like without the ravages of illness. As technology progresses and her consciousness ages, we will adjust the body and eventually upload her into a new robotic shell, probably middle teenager, based either on projections or her own wishes. Then another one at college age, another one as an adult, if everything goes as we hope. The process would not be gradual or granular the way organic growth is, but we wouldn't put her in an adult body now, or leave her a child forever."

[KnightDisciple]

Magnus nods.

"Still...It remains a better option than any other we have. Her next-best hope, as I see it now, ends with her confined to some iron lung or other cumbersome device, locked away from the world. I shall call the family up shortly. I assume there is video-conferencing capability in this room?"

After receiving his answer, he hesitates a moment, then presses on with a few more questions.

"I'll leave exact decisions about "apparent age" to the family, but I feel I must ask: Exactly how, ah, lifelike will these bodies be? I mean no offense by this, but instead I'm trying to determine exactly what she'd be dealing with."

[Electra]

"I have the expertise and the capability to make a body so lifelike, you would not be able to tell without looking very closely that it's not organic," Miss Americana told him with no false modesty. "I have no interest in making robots for what you might consider "the prurient interest," but in this case, I would advocate for the inclusion of a full human anatomy. It will be enough of a change to try and get used to a brand new body, with new potential and new disadvantages," she explained. "The closer we can come to a perfect replica, the smoother the transition is likely to be."

She tapped a few commands on her datapad. "In a best case scenario, she will be able, with some accommodation, to go to school and live like a normal person. Even if the body is only updated every four to five years, it's amazing what hair length and shape, makeup, and appropriate clothing can do to change the appearance of age." She turned the pad so he could see a child-sized android body, dressed in pink overalls and sparkly tennis shoes, hair in pigtails. A couple of commands replaced the overalls with a trim blouse and fitted jeans, put subtle lifts in the shoes, and turned the pigtails into a shining fall of hair with subtle curl at the ends. "I understand that the financial investment that would be made in a body like this is substantial," she assured him. "We're not going to do anything that might draw attention to the fact that the body is artificial."

[KnightDisciple]

Magnus was nodding, color seeping into his cheeks, the fires of hope slowly growing in his eyes. He even began to smile.

"Excellent! I believe you, I truly do. As for money, it's no object; the Katastrof family has deep coffers, not to mention my own personal funds brought on from investments and the like. She's at one of the hospitals we founded and built about a decade ago; it's perhaps the finest center of medicine in Scandinavia, if not all of Northern Europe. And of course, I'll arrange the transport of yourself, any materials and equipment you might need, and of course any assistants. While bringing her here might be more efficient in theory, I fear the stress of travel would do Eira no good."

He pulled out his phone and brought up some contact information.

"Now, about that video conference..."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You want to do WHAT?"

"No, listen to me, Bernhard, this is the only-"

"The only way? It can't be! The doctors haven't mentioned complications like this!"

"Only because there was no point in doing so before! But now, it's important! Ask them if you really need to, but you know I have the same data they do. This...this is the only way! The only way that will-"

"No! You're crazy! Crazier than your damn fool of a father! I won't let you-"

"SHUT UP! I'm trying to save Eira you damn fool!"

"Bernhard! Magnus! You're lucky she's in a soundproof room! You two should be ashamed!"

"I-I'm sorry, Magda. I just want to help. I trust Miss Americana."

"Pah! Crazier than his fa-"

"ENOUGH! I will listen to this Miss Americana. Because I want our little Eira to live. Tell me, Miss. Tell me the brief details of your plan. I am no scientist like Eira's 'Uncle Magnus' over there."

The good Baron had the decency to blush a bit at that comment, before stepping more fully to the side, giving the All-American Heroine a chance to speak. It was clear both Magnus and Bernhard were still in something of a mood.

[Electra]

Miss Americana was in her soothing pitchman mode now, a bit of a shock to Magnus, who had seen her mostly in her prickly scientist mien. Every nuance of her face and body was measured precisely to soothe, reassure, and maintain interest. Not that the last of those was too difficult; it was not easy to ignore Miss Americana under any circumstances. With terms calculated to be approachable to laymen, she first went over the records with them, showing with all the compassion she could muster exactly how much damage had been done to the already fragile little girl through the rounds of treatment and experiment and anti-rejection drugs. She showed them schematics, though they couldn't hope to understand, of the potential replacement organs, even as she explained the difficulty in sizing, the lack of time available.

Once all of those cards were on the table, she began, with careful caveats, to lay out the possibility of digitizing Eira's consciousness and uploading that consciousness into a fully robotic body. She made sure they understood how experimental the procedure was, how there were no guarantees, but inside, Gina was growing excited by the possibilities. She wanted to save a life, certainly, but this could also be the perfect opportunity to turn theory and study and simulation into reality! A child was the perfect test case, more flexible and adaptive than an adult, with denser synaptic pathways and at the same time, less accrued memory. She really wanted this opportunity, but the burning desire only made her more careful. She, of all people, would not thoughtlessly sacrifice a child to her own ambition.

"I understand that it's a very difficult decision to make," she told Bernhardt and Madga, her lovely face sorrowful and compassionate as a religious painting. "There are no easy choices, perhaps no one choice that's entirely right. But I assure you that no matter what, my colleagues and I, and Magnus as well, will do whatever is within our power to help your daughter in whatever way you decide to go."

[KnightDisciple]

At first, Bernhard, a giant of a man who looks like nothing so much as a Viking stuffed in modern casual wear, seemed defiant, unwilling to accept what was being told to him. But as Miss Americana's gentle tones continued to lay out reality before him, he seemed to deflate, all the energy leaving his presence. Magda, a woman who seemed tiny in comparison, nodded and simply listened. But both Miss A and Magnus could tell she was listening. And thinking.

When Miss Americana was done, the two rooms linked by electronic display were silent for a long time. Finally, Magda broke the silence.

"We'll do it. God have mercy, but we'll do it."

"Magda-"

"It's a better chance than anything else we've been shown. Would you rather she wither in some life support chamber, cut off from everything? At least this way she'll feel the sun on her face."

"It's just...it's risky."

"As opposed to just letting her die? No. We will save our little Eira, and she will live life. Even if her bones become metal."

"You...yes. Please, Miss American. Save my little girl."

Magnus gently cleared his throat.

"It's good to have your consent, but perhaps we should bring Eira into this conversation. At least some measure of this should be her decision."

"Yes, hold on."

A "screensaver" came on, and it was clear the parents were moving to another room. It wasn't long before the screen winked to life, this time with Magda and Bernhard flanking a hospital bed. A bed that held a little pale girl, her blond hair lying limp upon the pillow, a breathing tube stuck in her nose, multiple wires leading off of her body, and an overall sunken appearance that spoke of months of medical hardship. Despite this, there was a smile on her face.

"Uncle Magnus, you found a lady superhero! And she wants to help me?"

Magnus barely managed to keep from audibly choking back a sob. As it was he smiled as best he could and nodded at the girl.

"Yes, Little One. She wants to help you. To help you feel better. It is...it isn't a minor thing, but she can save your life. Have your parents explained the basics?"

"I am not little! I am nine years old now, thank you kindly Uncle Magnus!"

When she gave her age, she held up the appropriate number of fingers (and one thumb).

"Mama and Papa told me. I think I understand. I'll be in a new body, and it won't ever get sick. Maybe some of the meanie-heads at school will make fun of me, but I'll be able to kick them in the shins!"

Bernhard chuckled and ruffled her hair, even as Magda shook her head with a sigh.

"That's my little girl!"

"Will it hurt, Miss Hero Lady? Will putting me in the new body hurt?"

[Electra]

Miss A moved to the center of the frame and smiled at the little girl. "My name is Miss Americana, Eira, but all my friends call me Miss A. Even though the work we have to do to move you into a new body is dangerous, it isn't going to hurt you," she explained carefully. "When it's time to scan your mind, we will make you fall into a deep sleep, so that you don't move around at all. When you wake up, you will be inside a computer, in a special temporary digital body. You know what a sidekick is, right? My sidekick, Citizen, is a young man who has a digital body and mind just like you will. He's different from you, and he will always have a digital body, but yours will only be until we have the robot body ready. Once you've been put into the computer, I can keep a close eye on you and make sure that you aren't feeling any pain."

She took a deep breath and locked eyes with Magnus for a moment, then went on. "You're a big girl, and I know you're very brave and very smart. Taking a human being's mind and putting it into a computer this way isn't something that has really been done before." She wasn't even going to get into the Doctor Atom question at this point, since it was quite different anyway. "We'll be very careful, and my friends and I are very smart and skilled, but something could still go wrong. If something goes badly wrong enough, we might lose you, and you could die. But if it works, you'll have a strong new body, and no more pain. Do you understand?"

[KnightDisciple]

The little girl sat there for a long time, clearly thinking hard about this.

"I think I want you to make me a new body, Miss A. I don't like feeling sick all the time. I don't like seeing Mama and Pappa and Uncle Magnus worried. And your sidekick sounds cool. I think he would be alright to spend time with."

She mad this delcaration with the gravitas only a nine-year-old girl could. The other adults couldn't help the smiles on their faces.

"I do have a couple questions, though. Could I eat ice cream in this new body? Could I still ride a pony? Could I fly?"

All questions seemed equally important to her.

[Electra]

Miss A smiled. "You will be able to eat ice cream, yes," she assured the little girl. "Eating won't be quite the same, you won't need to eat food anymore, but you will be able to taste it and swallow it if you want to. And you will need to learn all over again how to ride a pony, but I'm sure that if you work hard, you'll be able to get back into the saddle. As for the flying... well, we'll see about that. The first thing we want to do is make sure that you are safe and well, able to do the things that a normal little girl can do. It's going to take some time for us to get everything ready before we can try the procedure. I will make arrangements for you to meet my sidekick. He can tell you a little more about what it's like to live inside a computer for a little while."

[KnightDisciple]

Little Eira suddenly smiled brightly. She was missing one of her top front teeth, in a cute display of normality for a girl her age. Perhaps one of the few she had left.

"Well, if I can eat ice cream and ride ponies at least, that's good. You sound like you know what you're doing, Miss A. I wanna feel better."

Bernhard and Magda had clearly warmed to this charming American woman, and couldn't deny the allure of what she was proposing. Magnus was clearly relieved, almost happy, at the prospect of saving his beloved cousin, despite the rather unorthodox method.

"What is our next step, Miss Americana? What do you need from us at this time?"

[Electra]

"I'm going to have my staff get in touch with you and start making arrangements for a local facility," Miss A told the anxious parents. "Magnus will probably be overseeing most of that end of things, so you won't need to worry much. I will need releases for all of Eina's medical records, and for free access to speak with her doctors about her condition. I'm also going to send you some literature to read, to help you understand exactly what we're going to be doing."

She gave them a reassuring smile. "Other than that, take care of your daughter, and take care of yourselves as well. I'm sure that when Eina is up and running around again, she's going to keep you busy, so you'll want some rest before then."

[KnightDisciple]

Bernhard and Magda nod.

"We will do these things as soon as we can. We will leave arrangements up to Magnus, so we can get the rest you suggest."

Magda, barely fighting back more tears, smiles at them over the video link.

"You have given us hope. Thank you. Both of you."

Bernhard only nods. Little Eira waves with a big gap-toothed grin.

"Bye bye for now Uncle Magnus! Thank you Miss A!"

Magnus, having marginally better control over himself, just smiles and waves back. It is only when the video link ends that he closes his eyes and allows the tears of joy to flow.

"Thank you for the hope you have given us. I promise you now: Whatever price you ask, I will pay, if it is within my power to do so. Whatever you ask of me, if I am able, I will do."