Botanicaust

it. She said something back, and the doctor replied. Levi was sure the man ’ s eyes strayed to her naked body.
    She put a hand on Levi ’ s arm. “ He says … word-woman? … see you. She is … ” Tula scrunched her eyes in thought, then made a circular motion next to her head. “ Head is bad. No Haldanians. ” She tottered a step backward.
    “ I have to go without you? ” He shook his head. “ I won ’ t leave you alone. ”
    “ For Josef. ”
    She was right. He had to cure Josef. “ You stay in the room. Here. Okay? ”

    Levi followed Dr. Kaneka and the big man followed Levi. He wondered if the man was some sort of bodyguard. At least he hadn ’ t stayed behind with Tula.
    They passed several doors and stopped before one just like Levi ’ s. Dr. Kaneka rapped twice and opened it. Shelves of books filled the room, floor to ceiling, all sizes and colors lined up spine out. Levi stepped inside with awe. The big man eased past Levi and shambled straight to a lower bookshelf to pull out a tall, thin volume.
    “ Michael, not now, ” Dr. Kaneka barked. The big man ’ s face grew even longer as he pushed the book back in place.
    On the far side of the room, a coffee table surrounded by four plush chairs invited people to sit and enjoy reading. A head with a red ponytail popped up over the back of one chair. The woman rose to greet them and Levi stumbled. It was the crazy woman, Rosalee.
    “ I promise I ’ ll read to you later, Michael. ” She turned to Levi. Her bloodshot eyes were not nearly as startling as Dr. Kaneka ’ s, but Levi didn ’ t remember her having red eyes yesterday. “ Hello, please have a seat. My name is Rosalee. ” She acted like she didn ’ t remember him.
    He didn ’ t move to sit.
    “ I hear you had quite a journey getting here. ” Rosalee indicated the bandage on Levi ’ s wrist.
    He covered the bandage with his other hand, as if her stare might re-open the wound. “ Between the Blattvolk and the cannibals, I ’ m surprised we ’ re still alive. ”
    “ The Blattvolk. Is that what you call the Haldanians? Leaf people? ”
    Levi nodded, watching her closely. “ You seem … better today. ”
    Rosalee ’ s fine, pale skin flushed crimson and she darted a glance at Dr. Kaneka. “ Yes, I hear I was quite rude. I apologize. I ’ ve had — ” she glowered, “ medication, now. ”
    Medication to take away dementia. Maybe these people could cure Josef. But then why the Down ’ s Syndrome ? Glancing at Dr. Kaneka, he rubbed his chin a moment. “ Excuse me for asking, but your people seem to have a lot of … disabilities. Why haven ’ t you cured them? ”
    Letting out a slumping breath, Rosalee indicated the chairs again and sat down. “ You are talking about our children, I assume? The ones with Down ’ s Syndrome ? We love them as best we can, given the circumstances. ”
    Levi lowered himself to the edge of one chair, hyper conscious of Dr. Kaneka still standing near the door.
    “ I ’ m not a scientist. But from what I understand, our longevity therapy causes changes in the fetus during gestation. Down ’ s Syndrome is the most survivable of the defects. Michael, here, is the result of using a surrogate. ” Her eyes glazed as she frowned. “ Needless to say, our reproductive cells have been permanently altered by our therapy. We have learned to accept our procreative limitations. And given our personal longevity, most believe it ’ s a small price to pay. ”
    “ So, they ’ re immortal, too? ”
    “ Oh, no. That would be a wasted effort. We ’ re already prone to dementia. ” She flushed again. “ The children are even more susceptible. No, we must choose carefully if we wish to have children, knowing we will only watch them age and die. ” Her face grew so sad, Levi would have hugged her if circumstances had been different.
    “ What about other birth defects? Cystic fibrosis? ”
    “ Ah, yes, the reason you are here. Dr. Kaneka tells me you may have a son with the disorder? ”
    He nodded, hands tightly clasped, so full of anticipation he didn ’ t trust his voice.
    She leaned forward with her elbows on her knees, her eyes trained on Levi ’ s face. “ They cannot remove the defective gene from his entire body. But they could possibly perform organ cloning and transplant. Dr. Kaneka believes they might be able to reconfigure the CFTR sequence in the clonal organs, depending on the severity of the abnormality. That would relieve the