For Every Action - The Quantum Mechanic Series Book I

May 10th

Now that she was awake, Jessica became an object of intensive study by the various experts gathered at the facility. Eddie and his crew spent days hooking her up to every instrument and sensor they could think of. They were seeking desperately to capture anything that would provide them with clues about her mysterious rescuer. The hundreds of tissue and body fluid samples they took while she was still comatose had left them frustrated. Now they hoped some systemic change or abnormality would provide insight. Eddie, always the consummate optimist, was convinced that a human being could not travel through a higher dimension as Jessica had without some trace evidence. But despite their best efforts, no one on his team could detect anything unusual about the girl that wasn’t directly attributable to her trauma.

As for the treatment of her injuries, the head surgeon for the project had unexpectedly volunteered to stay on, after performing the brutal ten-hour operation required to save her life. This surprised many of the staff, as Dr Sallinger had a widespread reputation for being a cold and disagreeable man. He rarely displayed any emotions other than scorn, derision, or disdain, and those he saved for anyone who did not meet his standards.

How he had come to be a part of this program, and to have the necessary clearances it required, was a complete mystery. As far as they could tell he had no military experience, and had never been associated with classified government research. But on the day after Jessica’s arrival, he had abruptly marched onto the medical level of the facility like he owned the place, barking orders and pointing out everything he felt needed correcting. Tammy took an immediate dislike to the man, but had to admit he was the best trauma specialist that she’d ever seen.

When Sallinger chartered a private jet to fly him in from Cincinnati twice a week, the news drove a level of discipline into the staff that far exceeded their normal military rigor. Uniforms and scrubs were kept immaculately clean, floors were polished until they gleamed, supplies and equipment were always kept in order, and charts were meticulously detailed.

Only Eddie seemed both oblivious to the doctor’s demeanor and immune to his wrath. He blithely left candy bar wrappers on countertops, propped his feet up on equipment, and wrote completely indecipherable notes in the charts. He was often late to meetings or failed to show up at all. For reasons few could fathom, Dr Sallinger tolerated these behaviors from Eddie, while others would receive severe reprimands from him for minor infractions. As for Tammy, she suspected that the grizzled old doctor secretly held a deep respect for the lifesaving biotechnologies that Eddie had developed. She figured that turning a blind eye to the gangly younger man’s eccentricities was as close to displaying respect as Sallinger was capable.

A month after the coma was ended, Tammy, Janelle, Jacob, and a wheelchair bound Jessica returned to her room, only to find Dr Sallinger waiting for them there. He was seated in the chair Tammy typically used when she and Jessica played board games or worked on puzzles. On his lap was a powerful, and sleek looking work slate with a set of scans floating in a complex pattern above its surface. He looked up from the note he was writing, and then dismissed the ephemeral scans with a wave.

Then he slowly stood, and waited while Tammy assisted Jessica in transferring from the wheelchair to her bed. Once she was settled, he stepped over and checked her eyes and pulse briefly. Then he stood by her left side and regarded her solemnly. Several heartbeats passed while the others could see him gathering his thoughts.

When he finally spoke, his voice was dry and emotionless. “I’m afraid I have bad news”, he began. “The tests we ran on your leg yesterday confirmed something I suspected. Although it looks healthy on the outside and appears to be healing, a great deal of the internal tissue of the lower leg has become necrotic. It’s far more than I could safely remove without risking even more serious complications”.

Jessica’s aunt interjected before he could continue, “But, you said she’s been doing so well. She even wiggled her toes today! You said the surgery went well!”

“It did”, he replied. “But at some time after the surgery, a clot formed in her posterior tibia artery. That cut off the blood supply to a large volume of tissue in the lower part of her leg. I had pentoxifylline and cilostazol added to her IV yesterday in the hopes that the clot would break up and that the tissue might show some life... But I’m afraid that today’s test results are conclusive; we’re going to have to amputate at the knee before gangrene sets in. Please believe me when I say that I’m very, very sorry.”

In the stunned silence that followed, Tammy looked over at Jessica, monitoring her reaction and trying to prepare herself for what might come. But instead of crying, the girl did something that no one could have possibly predicted. She reached out slowly with her left arm, and gently wrapped the remaining four fingers of her hand around his.

Tammy saw Sallinger stiffen, and it seemed to her that the man had not been touched like that in a very long time. Then he relaxed slightly, and with a trembling chin she spoke. “It... it’s OK Doctor Sallinger”, she began, “It’s not your fault. I know you tried. But whoever blew up that bridge - they’re the ones that took my leg… not you.”

She patted his hand twice affectionately before putting hers down, and her eyes lowered to her lap before she continued, “Let’s… let’s get it over with. I just… I just wanna be done.” Tammy felt her heart go out to the girl, and watched as Sallinger stood very still. Then he slowly turned to Janelle and Jacob, and addressed them with a small sigh.

“Alright then, I’m going to need you to sign the consent forms, and I’ll book the O.R. for tomorrow morning. We can have her in rehab by the end of next week, and with any luck we’ll be able to talk about prosthetics in a couple of months.” Janelle nodded in reply, and Sallinger took that as his cue to depart. This left Tammy and Janelle to embrace the girl on the bed and cry, while Jacob stood in the corner, watching silently.

Sallinger, doing his best to maintain his normal composure, swiftly strode down the hallway and turned the corner. Then he quietly slipped into the linen closet, locked the door, and collapsed to the floor, weeping uncontrollably.