Plasma Dreams
Synopsis:
Lisa Tang, a shy and politically innocent arctic research scientist, wants nothing more than to get her brains back, In her quest, she finds herself on a harrowing expedition from Fairbanks, Alaska to UCLA, in the company of a blind and eccentric CIA agent by the name of Vengeance Toy. "Venny" seems to be Lisa's only ticket back to reality, which, as Lisa discovers, is not a very pretty place.
Two months earlier Lisa had sustained severe brain damage in a devastating vehicle accident on the remote Alaska taiga. Only after a remarkable recovery from a six-week coma did Lisa learn the truth--or at least something resembling the truth. According to her neurosurgeon, she had simply been the victim of an unfortunate mishap. However, she is not convinced.
Book Excerpt:
Lisa realized that Venny's comment about the talking part of her brain being fully intact might not be too far off track. In fact, it struck her that her particular brain damage seemed to have been remarkably selective; not the general amnesia experienced by some folks who'd suffered head injuries. She was fully aware of everything outside of a three or four week window surrounding her accident. She'd had no trouble recognizing her friends and loved ones; even in her semi-comatose state, she had recognized Dr. Wu's voice. It was as if a very thin slice had been surgically removed from her memory. Suddenly, she had a horrifying thought. She reached across the empty seat and poked Venny's arm.
"Don't poke me; I'm reading," Venny said, flipping a page.
"Venny! Listen, you were right!"
"That's why they pay me the big bucks. Go back to bed, Lisa."
"Venny! I'm serious. You were right; I'm not retarded, after all. Listen to me. Do you think they can surgically remove—well--a really, really small part of your brain? Like just a few special memories?"
Venny very slowly closed her book and aimed her Foster Grants toward Lisa, in a manner ordinarily reserved for one who had lost one's mind in its entirety.
"Could you repeat the question? I think I'm going deaf, too."
"Venny! Don't be that way. I know you heard me. Do you think they can surgically remove certain memories?"
"Now, how the hell should I know; do I look like a neurosurgeon?"
"You know a lot of different things," Lisa said, trading seats with Venny's backpack, so she could annoy her at closer range. "Listen. Don't you think it's kind of strange that the only things I can't remember are right around the time of my accident? Most people who hurt their brains get amnesia. They forget everything. I've only forgotten a few things. But they're important ones."
Venny snapped her fingers. "You're right, Lisa. It probably goes something like this: You're a physicist working on a new bomb for the U.S. government with two male colleagues. Some evil Russian spies want to steal your secret, so they kidnap you, and torture you, and after they get what they want, they cut out the part of your brain that remembers the whole incident, and then lock you in a refrigerator while they go after your two colleagues. They call them up at Ionoprobe and invite them to drive in to Fairbanks for lunch, under the guise of a "business deal." As our heroes merrily roll along Chena Hot Springs Road, the evil Russians hire a helicopter to drop a bull moose in front of their truck, which kills them instantly. It is a brilliantly crafted assassination and yet it looks like an accident. Being nice evil Russians, they really hate to kill cute little Chinese women, but they want you out of their hair forever. So they take you out of their Frigidaire, drive you clear out to Chena Hot Springs Road, and dump your shivering body in the woods, just a hundred feet from where forty-nine paramedics are working on your dying colleagues. Then they go home with their new bomb and conquer the world. Shucks, it happens all the time, Lisa." She slapped her forehead in self-disgust. "How silly of me for missing it."
Lisa crossed her arms and pouted. "You just made fun of me, didn't you?"
Venny turned away slightly. "Possibly."
That scared her. From past experience, Lisa had learned that when Venny was being particularly flippant, she was, more often than not, doing some very serious thinking.
Author Comment:
This is the first in a series of stories that came out of my experiences in the UCLA Plasma Physics lab. The "prequel," Steel Stonehenge, is currently being marketed.
Topics/Categories:
Alaska, Aurora Borealis, Chinese physicists, Ionosphere, Plasma Physics
Type of Work:
Publishers:
Original Publish Date:
2004-12-12
ISBNs:
1-4137-4826-0
Formats:
Trade Paperback
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