Chapter 1
Life is a concert of miracles. An everyday object becomes amazing when you learn about it. Take a look at your thumb nail. Smooth, transparent, hard and shiny, it is a clear armor plate covering the tip of the thumb. Underneath, a shimmering, pulsating pink bed of blood vessels carries waves of oxygen and nutrients to the tissues with every contraction of the heart. Like a tree, the nail grows from its matrix, at a rate matching the spreading of the Atlantic continental plates, about 1 mm per week. The nail is attached tightly to the thumb, and a small shelf protrudes from the tip, forming a tiny vestigial claw. The thumb is one of the most useful appendages in all the animal kingdom, allowing us to perform all kinds of interesting tasks. Inside the nail there are billions upon billions of molecules, hidden from us by their tiny size and obscure chemistry. These are then comprised of atoms, protons, electrons, whirling under quantum forces, like tiny universes of tiny stars and planets.
The thoughts of a young student’s mind wandered, struggling to stay on the task of self-directed study.
When human skin touches a flat cold surface, it adapts. It compresses, it deforms, blood vessels alter flow, heat is exchanged from tissue to silica. A human forehead touches a pane of glass. It is leaning on a window to a modest room. Outside, leaves are quietly and slowly unfurling. It is Spring in the Mountain states. A breeze gently rustles the branches outside. Below the forehead is a face. Breath from the mouth is released, causing the glass to fog below. MMMMM. A voice groans. The forehead pulls away, leaving a vague oily disc where it touched.
A thought arrives in the mind, surrounded by the head that was touching the window. If you flex your neck for long enough, does it become longer? It feels like it becomes longer. But don’t the discs between the neck bones compress during the day, when the head is held up straight? Is the elongation compensated by this? A puzzling dilemma.
Another thought arrives. Is this sleep? Or is this studying? How long has this body been sitting like this, trying to study? It seems as if it has been years. But marking the seasons outside, it has been only months, at least at this stage. It is nearly the end of the first year of medical school, and it is time to study histology.
Charlie sat at his desk, looking over some notes, trying to regain focus. Tracing his way back and forth- from a picture of human tissue under a microscope to a physiology notebook, he tried to connect the structures he saw to the special properties of the cells of different tissues. He was oblivious to the small rays of light peeking through the early evening clouds.
MMMMMM. The young man groaned again, and then looked up at the wall above his desk. It had only been about 3 hours of studying that afternoon, after classes. There was a lab session to attend. It would be necessary to stretch the legs soon, at least enough to walk around. He stood up and stretched his arms, extended his neck, extended his back. It felt like stretching a wet rope, like the kind that be used to anchor a boat. He thought about being in a boat, paddling on a lake for a moment. Then he decided to check his email.
He picked up his phone. There were a few useless emails. Something about a class time being moved, a reminder to register, a study group meeting. Further down the list, there was a special message.
Dear Mr. Brown-
We are pleased to welcome you to the Summer Research Predoctoral Training Program (SRPTP), to begin on June 24. This is a superb opportunity to join the world of advanced biomedical research, work side by side with world class investigators, gain valuable experience, and lifelong friendships.
During your participation in our program, we will pay a monthly stipend. If you wish, we can assist you with finding accommodations during your time with us.
Please respond with your interest as soon as you can.
Cheers,
Dr. Vikram Vishwaran
Charlie put the phone down. “Huh.” He had applied to this program several months ago, along with many others. After several rejections, he did not expect to get an acceptance note. He was thinking about what to do that summer, maybe work in a tourist camp in Alaska. That would at least get him into a boat on the water. He did not feel a reaction to the message - his mind was pretty blank from studying. He put a piece of chocolate in his mouth, picked up his pack, and headed out the door.
Later that evening, after his microscope session, he met up with one of his friends. They shared some fast food at a modest restaurant on the way home. The subject of the summer after exams showed up.
“You know I got that summer fellowship in Seattle” Charlie said.
“Wow that’s cool. Have you been to Seattle before?” his friend asked, not looking up from their phone.
“No- well- not since I was little”
“Well it’s a big place.” His friend looked up. They tried to make eye contact, but Charlie’s eyes were looking away. Charlie’s friend put some fries in their mouth and started to munch.“ Are you ready for it?”
“What do you mean? Ready for what?The city? I will probably be in the lab all the time, there won’t be time for anything else.”
“Oh- maybe. Maybe not. I’ve heard it is a lot different than here.”
Something different than the place he was living seemed intriguing to Charlie.“What do you know about it?” he asked.
“I was there for a weekend vacation. A couple years ago. You know people live in tents- right in the city. Sometimes they live in vans. It’s like people are camping right in the city. I have heard that grad students there sometimes live in vans. Rents are really high. And a beer is $8.”
“There are campsites in the city?” Charlie asked. This sounded hard to believe.
“Oh man- no really- those are places people live. The rent is so high, they do that to survive.”
Charlie thought about that. Why would people live there? He had been camping before, but not to survive, and never in a city. “Well- I will think about it.” The subject changed to the topic of the exam later that week.
“Do you think it will mostly be blood cells?” his friend asked.
“I hope so- those are pretty easy” Charlie replied.
A few weeks later, Charlie was returning from school to his grandmother’s house. It was within walking distance of the school, at least, you could walk there in about 30 minutes on a nice day. Even at the end of May, the ground was still a little cold, and the scent of the soil was just starting to remind people that plants could live there, when the conditions were right. It was sunny, and finally, a warm day.
Charlie walked up to the front door of the modest ranch style home. It was open. “Nana- I am home now.” There was no answer. Maybe she would be outside he thought, since it was warm enough.
He dropped off his bag of books and clothes in the hallway, and walked through the kitchen to the screen door, leading to the back yard. He found his grandmother, sitting on the side of a chaise lounge chair, pouring a can of beer into a bottle.
“Hi grandma”
“Oh honey – you are home!” She spilled a little of the beer onto the concrete patio, set the bottle and the can down, and wiped off her hands, before standing up and giving him a hug.“ How did you do in school?”
“Oh it was ok. A lot of studying, I guess. How are you doing? What are you doing, exactly?” He pointed at the can and the bottle.
“Well, it tastes better in a bottle, but it costs less in a can. You hungry for your supper?”
“Oh I am alright”
“Well, I made some of your favorite scalloped potatoes, all I need to do is put them in the oven, so you just give me the word. Why don’t you sit down a little?” She sat back down on her plastic lounger chair, and finished pouring the beer into the bottle. She pointed over to a molded plastic chair sitting nearby.
Charlie moved over to the chair and sat down. “Thanks”
“You’re welcome” she said. “Now tell me about school.” She took a slurp of her beer and closed her eyes. Charlie’s grandmother was interested in what he learned, and she enjoyed hearing about his experiences.
Charlie recited some of the lessons from school, such as neuroanatomy, histology and physiology. Charlie and his grandmother had an agreement that he would not give her updates until after big tests, and since he had just had final exams for the first year, there were more updates than usual. Nana was interested in what he was learning, but she also wanted to know about his social life. She thought he would talk about the people he knew, people who were his friends, or classmates, and their stories. He did not sense that she was somewhat lonely, especially after her husband had died, and eventually Charlie had left for school. Even though he was just a short bus ride away, his studying seemed to take up all his time, and he did not come home that much. When he did come home, he seemed to study a lot. She was mighty proud of him, but she did not understand the academic part of his life.
Charlie finished his recitation.
“So what are you going to do now?”She asked.
“Well, I got an offer to go to Seattle”
“You did?”
“Yes, for research. They will pay me and give me a place to stay. It starts in a week actually.”
“You are going to be a subject of research?”Grandma looked incredulous.
“No Nana- I am going to do the research. I applied to a bunch of these programs last fall- I got into this one.”
“Ah well, that’s probably better than working at the canneries in Juneau.” She had some familiarity with the summer fishing jobs herself.“ Now let’s get you something to eat.” She finished her beer, stood up and whipped open the screen door, heading into the kitchen.
Since he was 8 years old, Charlie had been raised by his grandparents in Idaho. His parents were trying the academic life in Boise, but their lives were cut short by a tragic auto accident in the snowy mountains one year. The youngster thought he had nowhere to go, but he knew his mother’s parents, he was their only grandson, and they were glad to take him. The transition was tough, but Charlie stayed in school and kept out of trouble.
Charlie’s grandparents raised him the best they could, and he did well enough. He was never a very popular kid. His family heritage was a mix of things, but that was ok as long as he did not identify with any one race in particular- white, black, Mexican, or native American. Sometimes it was confusing who was who in the family tree. Charlie had a good memory, he was honest, and he wanted to do a good job. He felt fortunate to be accepted to medical school. He was not sure what he would do afterwards. He only had a vague idea of what doctors did.
Physically Charlie was about what you would expect of a poor, mixed race Idaho kid. He was tall, skinny, with lightly tan skin, pale brown eyes, and light brown, curly hair. If he had been a beach kid in Los Angeles he would probably be cool, but in Idaho he was considered a geek with no social value. It seemed not to bother him much- it was hard enough on him to be raised by his grandparents, and since he rarely had a lot of money, he mostly stayed home after school and either read or watched movies.
The conversation over the ensuring days cleared up what Charlie would actually do in Seattle. He had accepted an offer to work there. He would be paid enough and there was a place to stay. All he needed was a way to get there and back, and maybe some help putting things together. Nana thought about driving him, but then realized that would be a little odd for a 22 year old to be driven out by his grandmother.
Nana was quietly a bit disappointed that her only surviving relative would be away, but she understood that he had a special gift, and wanted to support him. She had the oil changed in her husband’s old ford sedan and arranged for Charlie to get auto insurance. This would help him have a car to drive to his new job, and to come home if needed. No one was driving the care much these days, and it was not worth much as a trade in.
A few days later, Charlie was on his way to Seattle. The old model ford kept pace on the highway and Charlie headed west over the mountains. Inside he had some clothes, some books, and some homemade food, just to make sure he wouldn’t get hungry when he got there.
