The Ark

Chapter 4

Chapter Four

DAY 1075

Cowan stared into the now-empty capsule, noticing a large, light brown stain on the right side. The dried stain darkened the sheet covering the gel-filled mattress Rhonda Miller had slept on and further investigation revealed residue under the sheet had also spread onto the mattress, making it appear as if something had been spilled onto the sheet.

“Mr. Cowan, what's that on the sheet?” asked one of the technicians.

“I'm not sure yet. It certainly wasn't like this when the experiment started,” Cowan answered.

The sheet and mattress were removed and sent to the lab for testing, while the rest of the capsule was carefully examined. On the flat surface inside the capsule, where the mattress had rested, was a detachable door. This led to the electronics compartment where much of the medical monitoring equipment, and the capsule's life support computers were installed. There was evidence of the same contaminant all around the door to the electronics bay and when the door was removed, there was a strong smell of burnt electronics. The life support computer rested just inside the compartment. Clearly, there'd been a serious short circuit and a small fire inside the compartment. “Well, this appears to be where it all went wrong,” the technician said. “It seems the same contaminant that was under the mattress got in here and shorted it out.”

Cowan got up to leave. “Get the computer to the lab and have it checked, I want to know exactly what caused this. I'm heading to the infirmary. I think I know what happened here.”

“What are you thinking?” asked the technician.

Cowan turned back to glance at the other man. “I think that stuff is blood.”

Two hours later, James Cowan stepped into Colonel Fitch's office. “Hey Matt, have you got a minute? I want to give you the preliminary report.” He was the only one in the center who would even consider calling Colonel Fitch by his first name while in the office.

“Sure James, come in. What a crazy morning. I was so sure there would be no problems, and now this. Please tell me you've got good news.”

“As good as we can hope for. I just came from the computer lab. Before that, I was in the infirmary observing the autopsy. The first assessment was correct – Miller suffered a seizure during the experiment. During the seizure, the IV catheter that supplies the SF016 was ripped out of her arm. A mix of blood and SF016 leaked out and ran off onto the mattress. Because of the anticoagulant we have in the formula, she bled a bit more than usual. It leaked through the door and directly into the power supply for the life support systems. It shorted out and started a fire.”

Cowan paused to make sure Matt was following the chain of events and when he saw the man nod his head, he continued. “The main computers for the chamber detected the heat and cut power to the capsule, including the computer. Then the fire burned itself out. With the power out to the capsule, the SF016 pump stopped. With the life support off Miller died quickly,” concluded Cowan.

“So, why the seizure?” asked the Colonel. “They all had physicals, and I re-checked her medical history after our meeting this morning. There was no history of seizures.” Anxiety was evident in the Colonel's voice and Cowan could understand why, if the seizure was a result of something to do with the Sleep Process, it could be disastrous for the entire project.

“When the infirmary notified her next of kin, they spoke to her mother. Apparently, she experienced a seizure three days before the experiment. The first seizure she'd ever had. Rhonda didn't say anything to us, because she didn't want to get kicked out of the program. During the autopsy, they removed a golf ball size mass from her brain,” Cowan explained.

Matt lifted an eyebrow. “A brain tumor? So if she hadn't had this tumor, she'd still be alive?”

“There are no indications of malfunctions or failures in the system which led to this problem. The only system failure occurred after her IV was ripped out and her blood and the SF016 shorted out the computer. I already have the team working on a redesign of the interior access door to the electronics bay, to prevent things from leaking into the electronics. This is something we never anticipated. A leak in a urinary catheter could lead to the same thing,” explained Cowan.

“All right,” Fitch said. “I feel better now that I understand the details. With this information in mind, how would you rate the outcome of this experiment?”

“In all honesty, it was a huge success. We expected minor issues would need to be addressed, and that's what we have,” Cowan said.

“Even though we have a fatality?”

“Absolutely!” Cowan said defensively. “Miller failed to disclose that there was a medical issue. The experiment didn't worsen her situation! You can't blame the sleep project because she screwed up. The drugs and the hardware performed as designed.”

“Easy, James,” said Fitch calmly, “I completely agree, I just need to be sure that we're on the same page here.”

Cowan took a deep breath. “Okay. Sorry, I got a bit excited. I kinda feel like an overprotective parent when it comes to this project. In my opinion, there were far fewer issues than I'd expected. Though we've yet to wake any of the others.”

“True, and I know how eager we all are to do that. With all that's happened today, I think we should hold off until tomorrow to begin the wake-up. Do you agree?” asked Fitch.

Cowan glanced at his watch, surprised to see that it was already 1645". Usually, he would be heading home now, and the whole wake up procedure could easily take four hours. Reluctantly, Cowan admitted to himself that waiting would be best. Especially since, if problems arose, he would need everyone quick and alert.

“Well, I'm quite eager to begin, and I know the whole team will be unhappy about waiting. But considering how late it is now, that would be the best decision,” admitted Cowan.

“Good,” said the Colonel, “I'm eager to see this through, too. But there's no reason we can't wait until morning. Do you want to make the announcement?”

“Yeah, I'll take care of it and then head out,” said Cowan, and he turned to leave.