Chapter 18 Chapter Seventeen

In his office, Andrew looks at a colorful booklet sent to him by the Nobel Committee, accompanied by a note: "We look forward to seeing you." The booklet contains magnificent Stockholm music A picture of the Hall, where the audience applauds the Nobel Laureate as he walks across the stage to receive his award from King Carl XVI of the Gustav dynasty of Sweden. The door opened and Tanner walked in. "We need to talk." Andrew put the pamphlet aside: "What's the matter, Tanner?" Tanner took a deep breath: "I just promised the Kingsley Group to assist the military with an experiment they are doing."

"What did you say?" "That test involved cryogenics. They need your help." Andrew shook his head. "No. I can't be a part of that, Tanner. That's not what we do here." "It's not about the money, Andrew. It's about the defense of the United States of America. Very important to the military. You will be serving your country. Public interest. They need you." Tanner spent another hour trying to convince him.Eventually Andrew caved: "Okay. But this is the last time we get off track, Tanner, okay?" Tanner smiled. "Agreed. I'm so proud of you."

He called the princess and left a message on her voicemail: "I'm back, honey. We're going to be conducting a very important experiment shortly. When it's over, I'll call you. I love you." Two army technicians came over to report their progress to Andrew. Reluctant at first, Andrew became more and more excited as they discussed the project.If the problem can be solved, it will be a major breakthrough. An hour later, Andrew watched as a military truck drove into the Kingsley Group gate, escorted by two military staff cars loaded with soldiers.He went to the gate to meet the colonel in charge of the group.

"Here it comes, Mr. Kingsley. What to do with it?" "I'm in charge from here on," Andrew said, "you just unload it and we'll take over." "Yes, sir." The colonel turned to the two soldiers standing behind the truck. "We're unloading. Be careful. I mean you have to be very careful." The soldier entered the truck and tiptoed out a small, multi-functional metal suitcase. A few minutes later, two assistant staff officers carried the box into a laboratory run by Andrew. "Put it on the table," he said, "gently."

He watched them put down. "it is good." "One of us can lift it. It's very light." "You won't believe how heavy it is," Andrew said. The two assistants looked at him, puzzled: "What?" Andrew shook his head: "Leave it alone." Two chemical experts, Perry Stanford and Harvey Walker, were chosen to work with Andrew on the project. The two had already put on the heavy protective clothing required by the experiment. "I'll go and get dressed," said Andrew, "and I'll be back in a minute." He walked down the corridor to a closed door and opened it.The racks inside are filled with spacesuit-like chemical gear, along with gas masks, goggles, special shoes and heavy gloves.

Andrew walked into the room, put on his suit, and Tanner was there to wish him luck. When Andrew returned to the lab, Stanford and Walker were waiting. The three meticulously sealed the room so that it was airtight and then carefully locked the door.They could all feel the excitement in the air. "Is everything ready?" Stanford nodded: "Ready." "Get ready," Walker said. "mask." They put on gas masks. "Let's get started," Andrew said.He carefully lifted the lid of the metal box.Inside are six vials, securely housed in a protective padded cushion.

"Be careful," he warned. "The genes are minus two hundred and twenty-two degrees." His voice was muffled by the gas mask. Stanford and Walker watched as Andrew gently picked up the first bottle and opened it. The bottle began to hiss, and the icy cloud of steam emerging from the bottle seemed to fill the room. "Okay," Andrew said. "Now, the first thing we have to do - the first thing to do -" His eyes widened.Her throat was choked, and her face turned pale.He tried to speak, but couldn't utter a word. Stanford and Walker watched in horror as Andrew's body collapsed to the ground.

Walker hastily put the cap on the bottle and closed the box. Stanford ran to the wall, pressed a button, and started a huge electric fan, pushing the sluggish gas out of the laboratory. When the air was purified, two scientists opened the door and hurriedly carried Andrew outside. Tanner happened to be walking down the corridor and saw what had happened with a look of panic on his face.He ran to the two of them and looked down at his brother: "What happened?" Stanford said, "It was an accident, and—" "What accident?" Tanner screamed like a madman. "What did you do to my brother?"

People start to gather. "Call 911. Forget it. We don't have time for that. We take him to the hospital in our own car." Twenty minutes later, Andrew was lying on a rollaway bed in an emergency room at St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan.He had an oxygen mask on his face and a test tube in his arm.Two doctors bent over him. Tanner was pacing frantically up and down. "Whatever is wrong with you must be cured," he bellowed, "now!" A doctor said: "Mr. Kingsley, I must ask you to leave the room." "No," Tanner said loudly, "I'm going to stay here with my brother."

He walked to the movable bed where the unconscious Andrew was lying, took his hand, and squeezed it tightly: "Come on, brother. Wake up. We need you." no respond. Tears welled up in Tanner's eyes. "You'll be fine. Don't worry. We're going to fly the best doctor in the world. You'll be fine." He turned to the doctor, "I want a private room and a private nurse twenty-four hours a day , I will put a cot in his room. Be with him every step of the way." "Mr. Kingsley, we would like to complete our inspection." Tanner said contemptuously, "Then I'll wait in the corridor."

Andrew was rushed downstairs for a series of MRI and CT scans, as well as multiple blood tests.A more complex scan, a PET scan, was scheduled.Afterwards, he was wheeled into a suite where three doctors were waiting. Tanner sat on a chair in the hallway and waited.When a doctor finally came out of Andrew's room, Tanner jumped to his feet. "He'll be all right, won't he?" The doctor hesitated: "We will immediately transfer him to Watt Reed Military Medical Center in Washington for further diagnosis, but frankly, Mr. Kingsley, we don't hold out much hope." "What nonsense are you talking about?" Tanner yelled. "Of course he'll be cured. He's only been in that lab for a few minutes." The doctor was about to scold, but when he looked up, he saw Tanner's eyes welling up. Tanner followed his unconscious brother on the same ambulance flight to Washington.He kept comforting him along the way: "The doctor said you will be fine...they will give you something to make you recover...you just need to rest and rest." Tanner put his arms around his brother, "You must recover immediately, We can also go to Sweden to collect your Nobel Prize." For the next three days, Tanner slept in a cot in Andrew's ward, with his brother as long as the doctor allowed him. Tanner was in Walter Read's waiting room when an assistant doctor came up to him. "How is he?" Tanner asked. "he--?" He saw the expression on the doctor's face: "What happened?" "I'm afraid it's very bad. Your brother is lucky not to die. Whatever gas was used in that experiment, it's very poisonous." "We're asking the doctor, from—" "It didn't work. I'm afraid the toxicity has affected your brother's brain cells." Tanner was taken aback. "Isn't there a way to—cure him?" The doctor said cautiously: "Mr. Kingsley, the army doesn't know the name of this disease at present, and you want to know if there is a cure? No, I'm sorry. I'm afraid he—he will never recover." back to his original state." Tanner stood dumbfounded, clenched his fists, his face pale. "Your brother is awake now. You can go in and see him, but only for a few minutes." Andrew's eyes were open when Tanner walked into Andrew's room.He glared at his visitor, his face expressionless. The phone rang, and Tanner went to answer it.It was General Patton. "I'm sorry this happened and you—" "You bastard! You told me my brother was in no danger." "I don't know what went wrong, but I assure you—" Tanner slammed the microphone down.He heard his brother's voice and turned around. "Where—where am I?" Andrew grumbled. "You're at Watts Reed Hospital, Washington." "Why? Who's sick?" "You're sick, Andrew." "What happened?" "The experiment went wrong." "I do not remember--" "It's okay. Don't worry. We'll take care of you. I promise." Tanner watched Andrew close his eyes.He took one last look at his brother lying on the bed and left the room. The princess sent someone to bring the flowers to the hospital.Tanner planned to call her, but his secretary said, "Oh, she called. She's going to be out of New York for a while. She'll call you as soon as she gets back. She took care of me to tell you she loves you." A week later, Andrew and Tanner returned to New York. What happened to Andrew was widely circulated in the Kingsley Group.Without him in charge, will the think tank continue to exist?When news of the accident became public, there was no doubt that it would damage the Kingsley Group's reputation. It's all right, Tanner thought.I will make it the largest think tank in the world.Now I will give the princess something she never dreamed of.In a few years— Secretary Tanner's voice came from the Inliner: "There's a chauffeur waiting to see you, Mr. Kingsley." Tanner was confused: "Let him in." A uniformed driver walks in, holding an envelope: "Tanner Kingsley?" "yes." "I was told to hand this straight into your hands." He handed Tanner the envelope and turned to leave. Tanner looked at the envelope and grinned.He recognized the princess's handwriting.She had some kind of surprise in store for him.Impatiently, he opened the envelope. The note reads: Tanner's face turned pale.He looked at the letter for a long time, then flung it feebly into the wastebasket. His success came a day late.