Doctor Jaborian looks up from his paperwork at the sound of the door being kicked, and he feels so tired that he doesn't even flinch when Beta walks to his table and pushes the chair in front of her against the side wall.

  Instead, he just looks at his screen and finishes the report as he asks, “What do you want now? The kid has gone home; there is nothing wrong with him.”

  Beta clenches her teeth as she snarls, “Why wasn't I or Charlie informed about the time and place of the last test?”

  The doctor just hits enter and then leans back in his chair, arms crossed in front of his chest. “Who was in charge of the last exam?” Beta and Charlie look at one another in confusion, not at the question but at the lack of emotion from the doctor. “So you don’t know? Let me tell you then: it was the Brainiaxian, Master Bexy-oxion, not me nor the hospital. Well, the hospital had to do the test, but in situations like the one of Lee’s last test, as Bexy was present, he was the responsible one.”

  Beta slams both hands on the table and leans forward, asking, “Still, why weren't we informed?”

  “Because the hospital is not obliged to inform outsiders!” he says, standing up and looking Beta in the eyes. “You are not from Child Welfare, you are not a medical staff member of this hospital, and you are no relative of the patient. So, I or the hospital have no obligation to contact you.” He finishes by jabbing a finger towards Beta’s chest.

  Before Beta can do or say anything, Charlie holds her by the shoulder and makes her take a few steps back; then she looks at the doctor and says, “Still, we have to report to our boss about the conditions and status of Lee’s health; it was crucial that we were in the room to examine the test performance.” She takes a deep breath then adds, “We got contacted and ordered to come here specifically to find out why Lee was in a coma for a week.”

  The doctor scoffs and shakes his head. “Well, flash news, so did I!” He says and takes a seat back in his chair; then, after turning off the computer, he reaches to one of his drawers and takes a fancy glass bottle and a glass, places them on the table and pours some of the amber-coloured liquid into the glass; then, looking at Beta and Charlie, he rolls his eyes and drains the glass's content, leaning his head into the back of the chair.

  Beta looks at Charlie, then at the doctor, who remains with his head leaning into the back of the chair and eyes closed. “So you aren’t going to say anything else?”

  The doctor opens one eye, annoyed, to look at Beta, then, letting out a grunt, asks, “What do you expect me to say? I was perfectly well in Tokyo on Mother Earth when last week on Monday night I got told to get on the next space shuttle heading here, just to examine a kid. All travel expenses paid for and four times my usual salary, just to examine the kid—and a bonus if I cured him.” He takes a pause to pour himself another drink; this time he doesn’t drink it, he just starts to swirl it. “My shock when I got to the station and they led me to a fancy super shuttle; then in five days, I was here!” He drains the content once more in a single swig of the glass. “Five, freaking, days. They asked if I wanted to stay awake or use a cryo-chamber; to me, all I did was close my eyes on Earth then in a blink I was here.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Beta and Charlie have an expression of pure disbelief and shock, as at the time the fastest space-travel vehicle takes four weeks to a month to travel between Earth and New Earth, which is already a fast travel.

  At the beginning of space travel, the journey used to take two years; then after the accidental discovery by a lunatic, that by entering a black-hole at the speed of light the spaceship would come out of a white-hole closer to Earth Two—to get back via the same method, human had to use another five times jumping around the galaxy before getting back to Earth—but even doing the five jumps, it was faster than going straight, with the benefit of sightseeing.

  After studying the black holes, the human scientists, with help of an alien race that the lunatic befriended, managed to slowly but progressively shrink the time by half, then kept improving to the month-long journey that humans are used to now.

  Beta and Charlie snap out of their stupor by their watch communicators ringing with an incoming call. They answer immediately, noticing the encrypted call; Beta glances at the doctor with a warning look as Charlie makes sure the door is properly closed.

  “Hello girls, how are you?” the male voice says; the voice itself is neither old nor new; it sounds like a male adult with a soft tone. The question is simple, but to Beta and Charlie has a lot of meaning, even though it was asked casually, just like one friend checking on another after a weekend.

  Beta, being the one in command, says, “Not too bright, just standing and waiting!” using the code phrase.

  The hologram of the man comes to life, and the image of a man seated in a chair with a full-face mask is seen. “I see that Doctor Jaborian is with you; that’s good, saves me the trouble of having to contact him.”

  Doctor Jaborian stops with his glass halfway to his mouth; he recognises the voice of the individual as the one who ordered him to check on Lee’s health.

  “Now, I got the report from our friend over there, and first I’m happy that the child is safe and out of harm's way.” The man then looks at his screen and starts to click his tongue against his teeth. “I wasn’t happy about the child's birth, but I don’t wish harm to a child that didn’t ask to come into this world; I get why his mother left him, and I respect her. I wouldn’t have been able to do it; it took more love than to keep him with her.” The man then shakes his head with a sigh and remains quiet as he reads something, but even though he is not speaking, Beta and Charlie don’t utter a word. Then the man continues, “Anyway, doctor, don’t worry about that nurse that nearly killed Lee; just be assured that by tomorrow night her letter of resignation will be on your table. Now, Beta and Charlie, your job was to protect Lee, and because you failed, he almost died. Take a look at this!”

  The watches blink and beep as Beta and Charlie get a notification of an incoming file; as they read it, they find the medical report stating why the first test failed. At the end, there is only a single command: 'Terminate the test failed, for it to never happen again'. As they finish reading, they look at one another then at the display of the man's hologram. Then in unison, they say, “Message received, task shall be completed!”