Page 4 of A Lab Rat's Guide to Fated Love
As per our previous telephonic conversation, and after further careful consideration of your case history, we have selected you to receive treatment, free of cost, under the newly launched Hope Savior Scheme by the Bioengineering Grants Commission.
However, as opposed to what we discussed earlier, our researchers now have two viable treatment options for your consideration, rather than the single option initially outlined. Materials regarding both are attached below.
Kindly respond to this email once you have gone through the documents and made your decision. We would ideally like to see a response by next Tuesday.
In case you have further questions, please get in touch with my office in person or at the number mentioned below.
Regards,
Dr. Tanya Thakur, Head of Dept.
Bioengineering Research Center,
National University of Science, New Delhi
Vir looked up from the screen to stare blankly at the faded beige wall ahead, wincing in time to the low ringing in his ears. It shot up before dimming to a light thrum along the sides of his neck.
It had to be a prank. Or maybe some kind of elaborate phishing scam.
He glanced at the sender’s email address again to check if it looked legitimate, and weirdly enough, it did. Raking a hand through greasy locks of his hair that were begging for a shampoo he had no energy for, he double-clicked on the attached files to skim through them, too.
Both treatments were experimental. The first one proposed to replace his heart with a bionic one, claiming to extend his life by up to ten years, in the best-case scenario.
The second option looked a bit more complex, using a combination of nanotechnology and biomechanics of some sort. He’d never seen anything like it, and reading further told him exactly why. Therewasn’tanything like it. The treatment hadn’t even been tried on humans before. He’d be the first human lab rat, if he let them turn him into one.
It absolutely had to be a joke. And what earlier telephonic correspondence was she going on about? He’d never—
Vir swore, reaching for his phone on the nightstand beside him.
Adi answered on the second ring. “Did you hear from them?”
“What have you done?” Vir groaned. “Why didn’t you talk to me first?”
“You wouldn’t have listened.”
“So, you impersonated me over the phone? You know I’m not getting another transplant for it to fail again. And this other option looks like some kind of advanced torture method straight out of a science fiction novel. How long has this been going on?”
“Not long.” Adi paused, not sounding remotely ashamed for the mess he’d created. “A few weeks. I found out about a last-minute opening for this program atyouruniversity, of all places. At first, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I mean, if this isn’t fated, I don’t know what is. Naturally, I applied.”
“Naturally.”
As if the sarcasm dripping from Vir’s tone wasn’t evident at all, Adi continued, “Your name is also in multiple waitlists for a regular heart-transplant at medical institutions across the country, in case you’d rather prefer that than something from a science fiction novel. And before you waste your breath on asking how, your brother has contacts. And you’re welcome.”
Vir swore again. He’d assumed wrong. The ass hadn’t gone through the five stages of grief in order. Instead, he’d skipped the acceptance bit altogether to take an about turn and bulldoze his way straight into denial again.
“Anyway,” Adi continued, “The people I spoke to earlier—as you, of course—weren’t very forthcoming with why they suddenly approved your application after declining it earlier.”
“Declining—?”
“The program is brand new and is supposed to be extremely hard to get into. I checked, and there’s already a full waitlist for next year. But I asked Fehim to do some digging and—”
“You roped Fehim in this, too? You barely even know the guy, for God’s sake!”
“—turns out one of the other shortlisted candidates dropped out because of higher risks involved as compared to waiting for a donor, and another was deemed non-viable at the last moment. They’re in a time crunch and can’t officially screen more candidates without losing this year’s grant. But that’s great news for us, right?”
“And you thought I’d just nod along and serve myself on a platter to be experimented on? What were you thinking?”
“I wasn’t thinking!” Emotion finally broke through Adi’s calm. “I didn’t have to. I’m not going to sit on my ass and watch my—” Silence. “Look, I know I can’t force you, but can you at least consider your options? Just… talk to them once. Hear them out before you decide. Please.” His voice wavered at the last word.
