Intro: An Opportunity

Year: 2117

Denver, Colorado

She buried her head into her hands, releasing streams of tears she couldn't hold back any longer. Her husband held her in his arms, detached from his own emotions to console hers as they both retreated to the corner of a long sterile hallway in a busy hospital. Medical personnel who passed them by tried not to stare at the couple as they walked by, except one, who crept closer as he glanced at the clipboard in his hands.

"Are you Mr. and Mrs. Emerson?"

Jordan and Hannah looked up to see the silhouette of a man casting a shadow onto them, eclipsing the bright fluorescent hospital lights.

"That's us," said Jordan, revealing bloodshot eyes and a flushed face as he divulged his torment to a mere stranger before him.

"I'd like to talk to both of you about Ari," the deep voice boomed from above them. Hannah leaned in closer to get a better look at the man who wasn't wearing scrubs or a surgeon's gown like the one who brought the bad news. Instead, he wore a black suit, tan pants, and sleek dress shoes.

"What about him?" she asked as if there was anything he could possibly say to undo what she'd just heard from her son's surgeon.

"Actually, I was wondering if we could speak in private," he added, gesturing for them to leave the crowded hallway.

The married couple followed the mysterious man to a different floor of the busy hospital, one that was more cramped and deserted compared to the rest. After he led them into his dimly lit office, he seated them in front of his desk as he mulled through heavy drawers that were filled with medical files, searching for the exact one he needed."

"It's my understanding that Ari's surgeon explained his comatose state?" The man spoke gently as he pulled out a file with their son's name on it, gazing up at Hannah and Jordan through glasses that rested halfway down his nose.

"What exactly is this about?" She snarled as she wiped her face dampened by tears.

"I would like to talk to you both about an opportunity for Ari," said the strange man in a heavy tone. His words made the couple look at each other with great concern and a glimmer of hope. "I work for a medical research institution affiliated with this hospital, specializing in situations like the one your son is in. By the way, I'd like to extend my condolences to your son. Not many people survive collisions like the one he has. He's really lucky."

"Lucky?" She snapped at him. "He's in a coma!"

"Hannah!" Her husband placed a sharp but delicate hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"I'm truly sorry, Mrs. Emerson. The hardest part is waiting. I know how rough that can be, believe me," he said, stepping away from the desk to look out of a tall window which cast a glow that lit up half of him. "I'd like to offer you an option with a better prognosis."

"Why didn't the surgeon bring this up?" she asked, her voice laced with frustration and a hint of anger as she furrowed her brows in disbelief.

"It's an elective surgery, actually experimental. We believe he's an excellent candidate since he might adapt better, due to his age. Is Ari 11 years old?"

"What do you mean by adapt?"

"Unfortunately I'm unable to answer that question, as the surgery would be contingent."

"Contingent? On what?" Asked Jordan, who's eyes sprang to life at the mention.

"On an agreement," said the mysterious man as he handed them a folder filled with medical and legal documents that neither Hannah nor Jordan could understand. "Basically, what we're asking for is mandatory medical checkups, your agreement that we can't be held liable if anything goes wrong, our right to all data collected, and one more thing..." He leaned in ominously, casting a shadow over his face. "Complete confidentiality: absolutely no one is to know about this."

"Is any of this even legal?" Hannah asked, her eyes widened with apprehension and exhaustion as she sifted through the medical paperwork in front of her.

"Well, I would hope so." He chuckled away nasally. "But I'm not a lawyer. You're welcome to speak to one of ours if you wish, but as I said, we're limited to the type of information we can discuss. What I can tell you is that he'd have the very best surgeons and the highest quality of medical care, and the best part is that everything is completely free-"

"-Free?" Hannah's tone brazened. "There's obviously a catch."

"Like I said, the choice is yours."

It all sounded too good to be true. Hannah and Jordan did their best to implore reason in their distorted judgment. However, while their son lay lifeless and unconscious in an ICU bed upstairs, they couldn't think as rationally as they would have otherwise. Held hostage by exhaustion and Ari's dire circumstance, they knew there had to be a catch, but their emotions were too frayed. Their vulnerable state of uncertainty and fear dissipated behind the tiniest glimmer of hope, hinged upon a mound of information they weren't being told.

The parents only knew that their child had been offered a chance to live. They had an important choice to make, but it felt more like an illusion, as there were no other options offered. Knowing that his parents would do anything to help their only son, only one question remained.

"Where do we sign?"

Once the paperwork was completed, Ari was swiftly transported to a cutting-edge, state-of-the-art medical research facility located several miles outside the bustling city. Upon arrival, he was immediately ushered into the nearest operating room. In a softly-lit observation area just adjacent to the operating theater, Jordan tightly embraced his wife as they anxiously observed the highly advanced, futuristic machinery moving with precision around their son. They watched as robotic arms meticulously prepared Ari's body before carefully positioning a scalpel and bone saw for the upcoming procedure.

Hannah anxiously peeked through her quivering fingers, desperately trying to capture what might be the last glimpse of her child while he was still alive. The sterile hospital room was filled with the ominous hum of machines, and as one of them ominously pulled out a long, terrifying-looking steel rod, the parents were gently but firmly ushered out by a team of somber-faced medical professionals. Their hearts heavy with dread, they were condemned to a day that would inevitably become another sleepless night.

While they clung to the minuscule hope they were offered, something inside of them didn't feel right, and it had nothing to do with the craniotomy that was being performed only yards away from them. Who were these people, and why could they do what the medical staff at the hospital couldn't? Ari's parents had no idea that the answer to those questions would forever change the course of their son's life.