Wednesday

For A

Hey sis, glad you found me! If you’re here, you know I managed to use your suggestions to go under.

 

Here’s the deal: Dr. U has been going outside the bounds ethically and legally with his work at the W for a long time. I figured it out 10 yrs. ago, after L had a miscarriage at eleven weeks. Being an employee at the W, prenatal testing was free and easy, so before we tried again, I did basic workups on both of us. Not surprised to find that L was a carrier for WKS, but shocked to learn that I WAS TOO! Couldn’t figure that one out, but now I have. Long story, bottom line, several generations in our family tree married into the LCA, and the bad gene got passed down. You might want to get checked too.

 

Anyway, I wanted to try again at having children, but what to do? Couldn’t take another miscarriage, much less stillborn from WKS. Talked to Dr. U, who offered to use gene therapy on the next one. He said past experiments had failed, but that was because he could only treat after the child was born or in utero. He said if he could modify at the eight-cell level and inseminate artificially, we could have a child free from WKS.

 

At that point, after what he told me, I’d like to say that I blew the whistle, but I didn’t. Instead, I took advantage of his knowledge so that our next child could have a chance at a normal life. Don’t judge me too harshly—when you want kids as badly as we did, you’re willing to do a lot of things you wouldn’t think of otherwise. Here’s the part even I can’t justify: L doesn’t know, never did. We tricked her. I’m going to explain it to her tonight, hopefully she’ll find some way to forgive me.

 

Anyway, Dr. U was right, I was born disorder free. He’s been healthy for 8 yrs. Was ready to repeat the procedure with the child L carries now, but as it turned out, we didn’t need to. Prenatal testing showed the fetus is fine.

 

Then, a few months ago, I’s health started failing. Did a swab while he was sleeping and tested him for WKS, but it came back negative. So what is it? What’s wrong with him? I don’t know! Dr. U says not to worry, but I can’t help it.

 

A few weeks ago, I thought if I could get a look at the experiments that had gone wrong in the past, that I could maybe talk to the families or at least read the case notes and figure out some way to help my son. Dr. U wouldn’t let me access those files, though, so I broke into the archives and tried to take them anyway. Big mistake. Not only was I caught and suspended, but the only information I was able to get were dates of the procedures, not names.

 

Once I was on suspension, I spent a lot of time studying the problem, first trying to trace our roots so I could know where the WKS had come from, and then trying to study the variations and mutations of the disorder. Lots of work but turned up nothing. Finally, last week I called D. Met him for lunch, told him the whole truth, asked if he could use his security clearance to get the info for me on those other patients.

 

When I got home tonight there were two messages from D on the phone, both pretty urgent. He said he had gotten the info I wanted, plus some I didn’t expect. I don’t know what he meant by that. His message said to meet at the new WI building, but when I got there, he was dead, and then somebody tried to do me in as well. Don’t know who, never saw a face, took off running.

 

That’s where I am now. A, you know I can’t go to the authorities on this. They’re not going to listen to an ex-con, especially one previously convicted of IM! They’re not going to take my word against a world-renowned scientist or the owner of the company or whoever killed D and tried to kill me. Afraid I may even be framed for his death.

 

All I know is that by stirring the pot in an attempt to save my son, it looks like the secret of Dr. U’s work is getting out—and things are dangerous. Right now, because I is the only living proof of Dr. U’s illegal gene therapy, I have no choice but to take him and L out of here and keep them safe until I can get real proof and make that whistle blow loud and clear.

 

If for some reason we don’t make it, you have to take it from here. Tell the authorities that we know there’s proof at W headquarters because D found it and tried to bring it to me. He died for it, in fact. Tell them to exhume the bodies of the babies from the failed experiments all those years ago. The proof they need will be there in their messed-up DNA.

 

Talk to RT about it. This is what he does, he hunts down the rule breakers like Dr. U. Trust no one else but R!

 

Sorry to throw all this on you, Bobanna, but it’s life or death right now. Am using what you taught me to create a very confusing mess and buy time. When I get back to D tonight, I’m going to take L and I and disappear.

 

Respond in kind, I’ll know where to look. Sorry for being so obscure, but I learned from the best. Be careful. Stay in touch you-know-how.

 

 

B