Chapter 19
Louis worried that the pregnancy of Helena would not go smoothly and asked her to stop taking Telomerax at least until the birth of the baby. He also asked her to come to Switzerland, just in case. It was the only place where he could manage excellent healthcare and absolute privacy at the same time.
Initially, Helena balked at his requests, but the first signs of nausea and the persistence of George made her change her mind. She arrived to Zurich in the October of 2013, during her fourth month of pregnancy.
She first stayed at Louis’ house, a villa with a charming garden located on the peaceful street of Eichhaldenweg. However her health kept worsening so on November 29th she was admitted to the Hirslanden Klinik, within the posh Seventh District, close to where Louis and Dora were living.
George landed in Zurich two days later, and Louis picked him up at the airport. George noticed that Louis had not used his new SUV, but modest Toyota. Since he was expecting bad news, he chose to start the conversation with an irrelevant subject.
“Hey Louis! You look great! What happened to your shiny, blue X5? You are going to need it now, in the Swiss winter. It's not time to drive around with an environmentally friendly Prius.”
“I changed it on purpose this morning before picking you up. The SUV might be bugged and I do not want anyone overhearing what I have to tell you. I asked one of my colleagues at the Swiss Federal University, where I work as part time chemistry lecturer, to swap cars for the weekend because I was curious to try his hybrid model. He was more than happy to lend it to me, and I did not have to go through a rental car company that could be tracked.”
George was forced to accept that his attempt to lighten the conversation failed, thought George. If Louis was giving up his usually long introduction and instead resorting to the direct style of Helena, there was a lot of reason to be worried.
“Ok, what is wrong with Helena? How bad is it?”
“I received the lab analysis yesterday evening. It is cancer. The bad news is that it is of an unknown type, something between a lymphoma and leukemia, so the doctors do not have a clue on how to cure it. The good news is that it is progressing very slowly, for now.”
“An unknown type...do you think is it linked to Telomerax?,” asked George, anxiously.
“Yes, I am quite sure about it. It is very similar to how Telomerax works. The main molecule, the one that enters the cells and produces the enzyme so that DNA replication can be perfect, actually spreads into the body like a virus, entering every single cell.
The viral behavior is in turn controlled by the set of molecules that form the casing of the main active element. Initially, they attack a few cells along the stomach and the rest of the digestive tract and use them to replicate the component, which then spreads and infects the rest of the body. It is the small sacrifice of a few cells, put together it is not even a hundredth of a square millimeter of skin, to keep the rest immortal.”
“And that explains why after taking the pill sometimes you suffer from a light fever.”
“Exactly. The diffusion around the body is indeed a small viral infection, and the immune system reacts in the same way. But it is a quick one, because the active element disappears quickly into each cell and what is left behind is immediately wiped out by the antibodies. The initial multiplication phase is also very fast. That is why Telomerax is so difficult to deformulate. If you analyze it statically, the set of molecules simply looks too intricate. If you look at it when it works in the body, there is too much interaction in too short a time. Now, the problem with Helena lies precisely in these drug dynamics. I should have realized it before.”
“What do you mean?”
“Two out of the eleven tumor cases I had in the clinical trial phase, thirty years ago, were pregnant women. The problem is, they were all the pregnant women I was testing on. I did not notice, or maybe I did not want to notice at the time. As much as the external molecules interact with dopamine, they also interact with a variety of other molecules, namely hormones. I recognized this a long time ago, and that is why I ruled children out from Telomerax. However, also pregnant women are huge hormone producers. And this mix seems to trigger the cancer that Helena has got now.”
“But she stopped taking it right after she took the pregnancy test,” objected George.
“George, she has been taking it for almost twenty years. I kept studying the six of us over the last several years, we all have in different degrees some residual active molecules that keep floating in our bodies. It is as if our immune system has found a symbiotic balance with Telomerax and no longer attacks it.”
“You mean we can stop taking the drug? We are definitely immortal?” George’s thoughts ran wildly.
“Not yet, this is what could happen several years from now. But we have to focus on Helena now. And the baby as well,” added Louis.
The last statement silenced George, until they arrived at the clinic and entered the room where Helena was resting.
She woke up immediately, her eyes racing around the room like when she was watching out for threats in the streets of the Mexico City slums. She saw George, she attempted to smile and waited for his kiss. George and Louis sat next to her bed.
“Where is Dora?,” Louis asked.
“She just left,” Helena responded with fatigue. “I am afraid she is not strong enough for this type of news,” she thought to herself. “So, what is it that I have, Louis? It is pretty serious, right? At least it feels that way.”
Louis went through the explanation again, and this time he continued to the end.
“Basically, Helena, you and George must decide whether you want to try to cure yourself and undergo chemotherapy or continue the pregnancy. It's either one or the other.”
“Hang on. The fetus is almost five months old. Look at the sonogram. She has a face, her face...”
“Helena, this is a private Swiss clinic for the rich,” interrupted George. “I mean, I do not want to imply we should decide based off of this, but it is clear that laws here..”
“Yeah, the law won't be a problem,” Helena completed the sentence. “As usual, law won't be a problem for us - for the rich, the immortals. I won't decide according to the law. I never decide based on laws.”
The discussion was turning way too emotional, and Louis jumped in.
“Helena, let's stay on the known facts. The tumor is quite slow, so if we cure it now I think - and the doctors here agree with me - that you have a very good chance of making it. In the meantime I am sure I will find a way to fix Telomerax so that next time this does not happen again. As for the shock of losing the baby, if it happens, Dora has had many patients that went through similar sad circumstances. She will do her best to comfort you. You will heal from all this pain.”
Helena sprang up from the bed, her arms struggling to keep her upright. George moved towards her to try to help her out but the look he received from Helena kept him away.
“You two assholes really do not get the point. Maybe that is because you have never had the pleasure like I did of watching the gruesome death of someone that you hated deep within your heart. You come up with all this wisdom and knowledge that do nothing but mask the sacrifice of an innocent victim, for a good cause.
All sacrifices are carried out for good causes and in good faith. So good, that in the best case also the victim agrees! Well, I don't agree. First we, or better, I am getting my girl into the world. Then, you cure me. Do not try any tricks. I would realize it sooner or later and you know what revenge does to me.”
“But Helena, what if the tumor gets out of control in the following months?,” sighed George.
“It will be your problem to raise a little girl alone, my dear. I do not think it would be too difficult, with almost half a billion dollars in the bank. I just could not live with that on my conscious forever.”
Her muscles gave out and she fell back on the bed. George and Louis looked at each other. They were searching for a respon
se, when they realized Helena had fallen asleep. They left the room and drove to Louis' house on the shore of the lake of Zurich.
Aurora was born on March 15th, 2014.
According to the record of the Swiss demographic office, she was the daughter of Helena Hernandez Avila, a Mexican citizen, and her partner Richard Stirner, a British overseas citizen of Hong Kong.