Dr. Juliette Swan MD. PhD. rose at her usual 5am, a habit she had gotten into while in college to be able to study uninterrupted for at least an hour and a half. She had taken a serious load of classes during her many years of college.
She first Majored in Medicine, with a minor in bio-mechanics, then she added a minor in nanotechnology. Once she had started her residency at a Veteran's Hospital, she had continued her classes in both Bio-Mechanics and Nanotechnology. Eventually, she received a Masters Degree in Nanotechnology and a Doctorate in Bio-Mechanics as well.
Dr. Juliette Swan's residency afforded her the chance to make connections into the government's medical grant programs and had gotten her a medical study grant and development program contract for both her and her husband.
She had been so very happy when she had received the news, that she and her husband had been given a nanite research and development contract from the government.
She and her husband had worked for many years solidifying their careers. Sacrificing time together in their individual quests for success. When they had worked happily together to develop their revolutionary new technique for manufacturing nanites, she had been the happiest she could remember. She cherished the memories of them working together in the laboratory in the Scientific Research building while they were developing their manufacturing technique of nanite production.
Their technique could be used in a myriad ways, it could be used to combine different typed nanites to make micro-machines for specific tasks. Or could work in concert with each other, doing different tasks, at different locations, at the same time, to reach a specific goal, like a virtual "hive mind".
That was why, although they were working together on paper, their personal areas of research and development were at apposing ends of the spectrum. Hers, being toward healing and the treatment of disease or injury and his, being toward military applications, which invariably caused such maladies.
She rose quietly and went to the study to gather her paperwork for today's appointment for her suspension study's applicant. There was only the one applicant that was completely qualified for her special study. A sixty two year old, Marine Corps veteran. His medical record listed osteoarthritis and chronic allergic bronchitis as ongoing conditions. According to his V.A. medical record, he had been treated for PTSD, alcoholism and drug abuse with a clean record after treatment.
Her qualifying psychological test indicated an intense survival instinct, which was preferable for this test, as the will to live, would theoretically be essential for revival from stasis.
Physically, other than being about 10 pounds overweight, he was in remarkably good health. All of his tests were well within her test subject parameters.
Dr. Swan remembered him from the initial interview she had with him. He was alert, attentive and polite. Smartly dressed and well mannered, like almost every Marine she had ever met. Much of Mr. Stalk's service record had been redacted for some reason and that indicated that he had been somewhere or done something that the government didn't want generally known.
She had seen this type of redactment before, many times while working for the Veteran's Administration as a physician. It was a sure indication that the service member was in some sort of special operations unit of the military. They all had them, their most highly trained operators, fast, efficient, killers and covert operators, military spies. Mr. Stalk's psychological test results and general demeanor indicated that he had been one of those types of service members. The Department of the Navy had two of the best Special Force Operators, their Seals and the Marine Corps, their Hell Hounds is what the Nazis called them. They were known and feared by other country's military and terrorists around the world. They were tenacious, vicious and efficient in combat and it was said that they would stab the bullet holes in their enemies for extra credit.
Dr. Swan had been educated about Marines on her very first day as an Intern, at the Veteran's Hospital, by a very lively, elderly, former Drill Instructor, inactive Marine, in the loudest voice she had ever heard from anyone in her life. She remembered the prank fondly from her Intern days.
She had been told to be sure to ask him about being an ex-Marine by one of her fellow interns and had been told in no uncertain terms. That there were only two types of Marines, active and inactive. An "Ex-Marine" was no longer a Marine. A dishonorable discharge was the only way to become an ex-Marine. And Veteran's Hospitals don't treat the dishonorably discharged. Any living patient in a Veteran's Hospital who was an active Marine, is still a Marine, just not on active duty.
Dr. Swan was fairly certain that Mr. Stalk, would do well in the additional nanite infusion during suspension study. His will to survive and physical condition at his age was remarkable.
His medical record from his military service had also been partially redacted. He had been injured in some sort of “undisclosed” incident by a bullet wound to the top of his head and a titanium plate had been put in the area that had been damaged, to replace the shattered bone from there. She didn't think the plate would interfere with her nanites in this instance. Primarily because, the nanites that were designed for treating arthritis damage, were largely composed of titanium molecules.
Dr. Swan put the folders of information and itinerary into her brief-case and went into the kitchen where she heard her husband leaving for their regular breakfast date. She wished that his work with their joint projects could be done at their lab at the new Science and Engineering building at the College. But, she knew that the secure facility that he was now working in, developing new types of nanites, needed his direct supervision.
Dr. Swan thought that at least they got to work together in the development process, when they came up with better, more functional designs in nanites. She believed that her husband had come up with a marvelous new type of nanite that acted both as cloth and as hard body armor. She was sure that they could work out how to link differing nanites into the lattice design they had come up with jointly. She was thinking on these things when she realized she was starting her car and about to leave to have breakfast with her husband.
Dr. Juliette Swan almost always took the most direct and fastest route to their favorite coffee shop. She knew that her husband liked to drive the "scenic" route and she usually had to wait for him to arrive at their favorite coffee shop.
Dr. Jacob liked to "center himself" while driving through the winding road that went around the large pond in their rural neighborhood, which was lined with many trees and quite beautiful, she thought. They met in the coffee shop's parking lot, embraced with a respectable kiss and walked, arm and arm into the coffee shop together. Dr. Jacob Swan Sr. PhD held the chair for his wife to be seated, then seated himself, to wait for the waitress to bring them their usual coffees.
Dr. Juliette Swan was a little preoccupied during their conversation because, their son Jacob Jr., had the sniffles and wasn't feeling that well, Juliette was planning to stay at home with him after she had gotten her subject into the stasis pod and the human trial had begun.
She had trained her personnel in the emergency procedures to employ, should there be an emergency and the computers failed. Mr. Stalk was due to start the program today.