The Prodigy

Branna spends the weekend at Jax’s apartment working on the media campaign. Jax had given Branna the names of the reporters willing to release the story when the time came. The problem is that despite the bravery of the reporters, their editors and publishers would likely be afraid to run the story. Branna had kept a copy of the records of all the fetuses that were aborted surreptitiously when she worked as an obstetrician. The records were supplemented by the genetics data on all the fetuses obtained by amniocentesis. A few months prior, Jax had located an obstetrics nurse from Lenox Hill who could corroborate Branna’s story. The nurse also had kept the records of how the policy was administered in the New York area. Jax had video recorded the nurse giving her testimony but had obscured her face in the video. The nurse is afraid to come forward with this information and is even more nervous about any repercussions. Branna and Jax don’t blame her.

Apparently the policy of aborting fetuses with even minor genetic abnormalities without the parent’s consent had been going on for years at the major New York hospitals and had also recently started in the Chicago and Los Angeles areas. The real smoking gun was a document the nurse had which stated the policy was being administered in major urban areas within the pretext of an epidemiological study, whose purpose was to demonstrate the cost effectiveness of eliminating all fetuses with potential disabilities. Any woman carrying a fetus, with even minor genetic variations, were targeted for the program.

When Branna examines in detail the policy Katharine Lucas had foisted upon the medical community and the unknowing public, she feels ill. She remembers all those women who were devastated by their miscarriages. This idea of creating perfect human has always scared her. It just leads to discrimination and prejudice. The policy allows for neither free choice nor will.

In the event that the reporters can’t get the story published, they plan to streamline the story in a blog. In order to protect his cover, Jax had purchased several computers in cash and downloaded the files to each one. He would upload them to the internet in stages and then dump the computers after he released the story as the ability for cyber sleuths to track down a computer by its’ ISBN number could now be done in minutes.

Branna chose to work in Jax’s apartment so that they could speak freely. Nevertheless, upon arrival she still swept his apartment for any listening devices. They ran both mornings and went out to dinner each night. Branna actually enjoyed his company despite the weird circumstances that forced them together. The more time she spends with Jax, the more worried she becomes about leaving him behind. He will be the primary target of an inevitable investigation after she escapes with her family.