Artificial Heart

‘Okay, so I’m just going to do a few simple assessments,’ Katie said.

Prisha was sitting on the edge of an examination table situated in the middle of the room. It was definitely a medical room. There were shelves of medical supplies. Ear and eye lights on the wall. Oxygen. A defibrillator. There was a monitor.

‘I don’t want him to be here,’ Prisha said, looking at the soldier. ‘This is private.’

‘Go and stand outside the door,’ Katie told the soldier as she shone a light in Prisha’s eyes. ‘I’ll let you know if I need you.’

‘Just keep the door open,’ he said gruffly.

‘Why does he have to be such an asshole?’ Prisha said, loud enough that he could hear.

‘He’s just doing his job.’

‘What job?’

‘Protecting me.’

‘From what?’

‘From you.’

Prisha laughed. ‘Yeah, okay.’

The doctor didn’t say anything more as she moved on to measuring Prisha’s blood pressure and an assortment of other things. She checked around Prisha’s throat. ‘No recent illnesses?’

‘No.’

Then she lifted Prisha’s arms. ‘What’s this scar?’

‘Er … I’m not sure.’

The doctor prodded it. ‘It looks unusual.’

Prisha shrugged. ‘Dunno.’

The woman looked at her with narrowed eyes. ‘You seem remarkably fit for a woman your age.’

’I’m not that old.’

‘Are you going through menopause?’

‘Started. Yes.’

‘Any problems with that?’

‘Not yet.’

Next, the doctor moved on to preparing for a blood test.

‘So, this dizziness, any associated chest pain, shortness of breath, visual disturbances? Other than fainting, I guess.’

‘No.’

‘When did they start happening?’

‘Er … a few weeks ago.’

‘Any reason why?’

’Do you think there might be a reason why?’ Their eyes met. Prisha tried to suss her out. How much did she know? But her face was smooth and calm. The man outside the door hadn’t moved from his spot.

Katie didn’t say anything.

Prisha shrugged. ‘Just getting older, I guess.’

There was a sharp prick in her elbow and Prisha watched the tube fill with blood.

‘Okay. Finished. That’s all we need to do.’ The woman turned away, placed the blood in a plastic bag, then turned back and handed her a yellow cup. ‘Almost finished. Urine, please.’

Not long later and Prisha was back sitting on the hard metal bench back in the first room. Katie had been nice enough to lend her a wet towel to wipe away all the grime, and even gave her a pair of fatigues and a shirt. The pants were baggy and the shirt oversized, obviously meant for a man. But they were clean. She suddenly realised there was a camera in the top left corner near the ceiling. Prisha shook her head with a sigh.

She was there probably twenty minutes, alone and uncomfortable. She gripped the khaki jacket tightly around her. She spun around at the sound of the door opening.

Prisha shifted anxiously as three men crowded the room. Tall. Suited. Forbidding. They all had guns at their hips.

‘Prisha Rogers?’ The man in the middle smiled at her. Prisha was really starting to hate her name. He was older with a receding hairline. He held out his hand. ‘I’m Ralph Higgins. I’m here to escort you to the airport.’ He was American. Prisha’s heart sank.

‘Oh. Where are we going?’

‘Overseas. The United States.’

Prisha swallowed.

‘I don’t think I need to tell you why,’ he said.

‘I don’t want to go.’ Her hands started to shake and she tucked them under her backside.

‘There’s no need to worry. You’re safe.’ That smile again.

Her eyes darted between the three men.

He stood to the side, gesturing at the door. ‘Come. The car is waiting.’

Prisha gave a resigned sigh and stood. She followed him through the door, the two other men following behind her.

They left in a black SUV. Prisha sat in the back, Ralph sitting with her. The two others were in front. Prisha watched the driver and his big hairy knuckles gripping the wheel.

‘I’m sorry about all this,’ Ralph said, though he clearly wasn’t. ‘We just want to ask some questions.’

‘You have to take me on a twenty hour flight for that?’

‘It’s not safe here.’

Prisha scoffed. ‘An army base?’

‘Where is he now?’

‘Who?’

‘This “Alf”.’

’I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since … since … the last time.’ She gripped her elbows and looked out the window.

‘You said he’s not coming back.’

‘You heard.’

‘Word gets around fast. Part machine, part organic, isn’t that right?’

‘Right.’

‘That sphere he gave us—we need more information.’

‘What is it? What is the sphere?’

‘It’s complicated.’

‘You treat me like a fool. I guess I am one.’

‘If I tell you, I cannot release you back into the public.’

Prisha turned cold. Goose bumps prickled her arms. ‘Is it a weapon?’ She couldn’t imagine Alf doing anything like that.

‘It has the potential to be—in the wrong hands.’

‘And whose hands are those?’

He looked at her. ‘Not ours.’

‘I don’t know anything. He wouldn’t tell me. Why do I have to go to America?’

’To keep you safe. We have enemies. You have enemies. People who want to know what you know.’

‘But I don’t know anything!’

’They don’t know that.’

’Enemies.’ She shook her head. ‘Who? The Chinese? The Russians?’ She snorted. ‘It’s always about war with you, isn’ t it?’

You don’t think much of us, do you? It seemed a lifetime ago when she’d said it.

‘I bet it’s something wondrous, maybe even beautiful,’ Prisha said. ‘Like something that can repair environmental damage or irradiate disease or provide an endless self-sustaining power source.’ Something flickered over Ralphs’s face, like she was close. ‘And all you think about is war.’

‘It’s not about war. It’s about security.’

Prisha sniffed. ‘He should never have picked me up. I’m not worth it.’

‘What do you mean, you’re not worth it?’ He narrowed his eyes. ’What has this got to do with you? What about you?’

She turned her face to the window. ‘Work it out for yourself.’

They pulled up at the airport but at a different, much more private entrance. In fact, they drove right up to the edge of the runway to their waiting transport.

Prisha expected something exclusive. Instead, she was met with a regular international jet. She looked at Ralph quizzically.

’You’re not that important.’ He unbuckled his seatbelt. The two men in the front got out. ‘While on the plane I would suggest being cooperative. We have ways to force you to comply, understood?’

The sun was sinking quickly. Soon, it would be dark and they would be in the air on their way to America. Away from home. Away from her life. Away from her sister.

‘What about my sister? Have you found anything? She’s missing.’

Ralph shook his head. ‘I know nothing about it.’

The concrete of the tarmac was bright and it made Prisha’s eyes ache. The three men pulled out their sunglasses, looking laughingly like Men in Black. If only she could laugh.

There were airport staff come to greet them. A couple of baggage handlers took the men’s small bags. Prisha had nothing. She raised her hand against the glare as she watched a plane take off. It all felt so dizzyingly unreal. Ralph pressed a hand to her lower back, guiding her to the steps leading into the front of the plane.

Business class. She would be riding in business class. The air hostess greeted her and stood back politely as the men entered. Nobody checked their guns. Nobody cared.

‘Over there,’ Ralph told her, pointing to a seat by the window in the second row. One of the men took a seat in the first row, the other in the second row to the right. Ralph sat next to her.

After a little while, the other passengers began to file on. A different crowd to the usual. Prisha had never been in first class.

Soon, they were ready for take-off. The two front rows remained empty. Clearly they had been reserved for her—and her guards.

The flight was long. Ralph said nothing. Prisha tried to sleep and managed a few hours before waking up, feeling very stiff and very hot. Prisha stared up at the ceiling with a grimace, trying to control the roiling in her stomach. She never got sick while flying. This was something else. Sweat beaded her forehead and she took several long breaths. She shook out the paper vomit bag.

Ralph looked over. ‘Don’t like flying?’

Prisha waved her hand and dry reached. ‘I need to go to the bathroom.’

He got out of the way and Prisha hurried down the aisle.

She locked herself inside and sat down on the closed toilet lid, dropping her head into her hands. She was trembling. Vomit surged up her throat which she swallowed back down. Leaning back, she gently massaged her stomach. She was so bloated. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so big.

After a few minutes, Ralph knocked on the door. ‘It’s time to get out.’

‘Give me a minute.’ Ripping off some toilet paper, she dabbed her face. She washed her hands and wet her face, then gazed at herself in the mirror. She looked very pale against her very red lips. Her eyes were red too.

Ralph noticed as she exited, eyes flicking over her face. He didn’t say anything as he followed her back to her seat.

‘I’ve read you file. You’ve been sick before. Is this the same?’ he said after they both sat down.

Prisha leaned her head against the window. ‘It won’t go away.’

She closed her eyes. She slept fitfully, twice waking up feeling nauseated. Both times, Ralph was awake. Seemingly on permanent alert. Didn’t he sleep? Food was delivered. Strangely ravenous, Prisha ate it all, only to feel sick and bloated afterwards.

They reached their stopover. Prisha didn’t care to notice where. It was deep into the night, the distant glimmer of a large city looking like a constellation. One of the men stood against a post several metres away, arms folded and yawning. The other was seated opposite and to the left, long legs stretched out. Ralph, again, sat beside her. He was leaning back in his seat, humming something under his breath. A big hand rested upon his knee.

‘Do you do this often? Sitting around escorting people?’ Prisha asked.

‘Mostly.’

‘Isn’t that boring?’

‘It’s a job. Boring is preferable to exciting in my line of work.’

‘I suppose.’

‘Usually it’s important people. Powerful people.’

‘Uh …’

‘Important is boring. Mysterious and interesting is better.’

‘I’m a mystery, am I?’ Prisha gave a wan smile. ‘I guess that’s nice.’

He was watching her closely and Prisha looked away, tapping her fingers against her knee.

Soon, they boarded the next plane. Again, they sat down first. Business class. All in exactly the same spots. The rest of the passengers boarded. Then they were flying again.

It was a shorter trip. Prisha leaned her head against the window again as the nausea returned. It was unusual. It hadn’t happened so frequently before. Perhaps she really was airsick for the first time in her life. Or perhaps the flying made worse whatever Alf had done to her.

They finally reached their destination. Prisha put away her tray and straightened her seat. They hit the tarmac. Prisha peered out onto a gloomy day. America. Nothing to see yet but another airport. The stewardess did her usual spiel on the intercom. Prisha blinked in mild, exhausted surprise as she mentioned Washington.

She looked over at Ralph. He remained seated, looking straight ahead. The others hadn’t moved either. Passengers began to leave. Their class emptied first. She could hear coach emptying soon after.

Finally, Ralph got up. ‘Let’s go.’

Prisha grabbed onto the seat as she stood, blinking furiously at a wave of dizziness. There was sweat on her knuckles. She turned. She tried to shuffle over but staggered. Ralph grabbed her. The plane turned dark. Ralph was glowing at the end of a long tunnel. Prisha blinked.

’Steady,’ Ralph said in a muffled voice.

Then everything went black.