Short story: No turning back

Ma. Daniela del Hierro

English 11
27/11/2012

No turning back

This was extremely strange. Cecilia had forgotten again where she had left her keys. She
was ashamed of herself; she probably was the only one in the entire community who still forgot
about things. Should she see a doctor? Within herself, she decided to consult with her husband
first. Or maybe not? Well, Cecilia continued her day normally, the same routine as always. As
she was on her way to work she bumped into her best friend, and decided to tell her about her
problem. Good thing Cristina was a doctor and could help Cecilia in the most efficient way.
Cristina got out the diagnoser from her bag as they went to her office where Cecilia could be
examined more privately.
As the results were ready and Cristinas assistant brought them to her, Cecilia was feeling
extremely anxious. As her friend finished reading the diagnoses her face turned completely pale.
You better get prepared Ceci, this is not good news, said Cristina. Cecilia remained silent and
waited impatiently for an answer. Youve got Alzheimers disease, said Cristina with a shaky
voice. How was it possible! How did it happen! All kind of questions were popping into
Cecilias mind; she was petrified and didnt know what to do. I promise Im not telling
anyone, said Cristina to break the uncomfortable silence. It was a good thing they were best
friends; Cecilia trusted her with all her heart. But what to do now? Cristina was to proceed
against the law and try to figure out what went wrong, because people in SchiOn community that
had diseases were to be killed immediately.
Alzheimers disease hadnt been around since 2012, where scientists had discovered that
what triggered it was a gene called TREM2 which was originally produced by the brain as a
response to the disease. The mutation was discovered to interfere with the bodys ability to
prevent the buildup of plaque in the brain. This led doctors to invent shots that would prevent all
kinds of mutations so that people in the community would not get undesirable diseases. This is
the reason why it was so rare a member of SchiOn had the presence of a disease.
Cristina invited her friend to live with her for the next two years so that she could
investigate more in depth what had happened with her body. Cecilia accepted hesitantly since
she loved her house, and although two years sounded like a really long time, it was in the literal
sense a life/death situation, so she accepted. Cristinas house was extremely clean and organized,
unlike Cecilias, who was that type of person that found organization in her disorder.
Two weeks had passed when Cristinas maid had contracted the disease as well; she got
so worried that she decided to isolate her best friend, so the only person who could see her was
Cristina. Three months went by and increasing amounts of people had contracted the disease.
Cristina knew it couldnt be Cecilia so she analyzed the shots that were given to the citizens to
find out that the liquid substance contained .00000000001 gram of TREM2 gene. Shots should
be abolished immediately, Cristina thought, but the incredulity of her superiors made her anger
increase. If they didnt believe her it wouldnt be the first time and she knew it wouldnt be the
last. On the other hand Cecilia didnt know that the benevolence of her friend could cause her
death. It resulted repulsive for Cristina not to be able to help her friend openly, since SchiOns
laws didnt allow her to. Then there was a knock at the door; it was at that moment that Cristina
discovered with indignation that she had been spied the whole time, and that there was nothing
on Earth she could do to save anybody, not even herself.