The Faithful, North African and Middle Eastern Islamic nations, are plotting to seize the oil resources of the Middle East. By controlling the earth's oil and its major trade routes, they plan to bring the world to its knees. Then, when the entire world is kneeling, the Faithful of Allah will read to them from the Koran, preaching the message of Islam, the True Faith. The Faithful will stop at nothing to achieve their goal. But how far will they go? And how many lives will it cost?

10 Finale

10.12 A New Life

10.12.1 A Ray of Hope

When all the ceremony and celebration were over, only two of the new arrivals remained, a captain of the US medical corps and a nurse. The nurse approached Rachel, asking, “Do you remember me? I was the nurse with you when you were inducted. Remember?”

Rachel could hardly forget that day: exposed, raped, helpless and terrified. How could she forget her nightmares?

“I’m Nurse Lieutenant Donna White. Remember me?”

“Yes, I remember you. You were kind to me,” Rachel replied in a whisper.

“Good,” Nurse White replied. “Do you remember that I said that I could help you?”

Rachel nodded, hesitantly.

“Good. This is Dr. Alex Campbell, the doctor I told you about. Can you come down stairs and talk with us a little while? Dr. Campbell can help you, if you want it.”

Rachel hesitated, looking to the nurse, the doctor, to Murphy and then back again. Could she trust them? But, if they could help her, then she would have to do so. Seizing the courage that had come to her from weeks of battle, she sighed, then answered, “Yes, but where will we go?”

Dr. Campbell replied, “There is a suitable office down stairs. We could talk there in private.”

Rachel nodded. “But, Murphy will stand guard.”

Dr. Campbell nodded. “Sure, but I do want to talk with you privately, if that’s OK”

Minutes later, Rachel, Dr. Campbell and Nurse White were seated in a small office. Murphy stood outside the door, ensuring the safety of his small charge.

Campbell asked, “Rachel, how long have you had the feelings of being a woman?”

“Oh, always,” she replied. “However, I could not. It would bring great shame on my family. It was only when the Imam demanded it that I began to dress in my sister’s or my mother’s clothes.”

Donna White inhaled abruptly. “The Imam?”

“Yes,” Rachel replied. “He thought I was a girl. He demanded that I dress in a burka when I was outside of our home. I did not mind, since I always new I was.”

“Now, Rachel, I want you to answer this question.” Dr. Campbell looked at her earnestly. “What if I were to tell you than you could never dress in women’s clothes or appear as a woman in the future?”

Rachel gasped. After months of battle, so many deaths that she had lost track of them, and so many horrors that she her mind was no longer able to tell the difference between reality and nightmare, they could not take this away from her. She had earned it, fighting for her king. If she had to, she would fight this American to be herself, once and forever.

“No!” she screamed. “No! I will not.” Her tears cascaded down her cheeks and dripped off her chin. “I will not allow it! I will fight to be who I am!”

Murphy burst through the door. “What the hell’s going on? Are you OK, Rachel?” He approached as though ready for battle.

“No, sergeant,” Dr. Campbell replied. “Rachel is fine. And, she’ll be even better in a few weeks. Thank you for being her friend and protector, but you are dismissed.”

Perplexed, Murphy retreated, closing the door behind him.

Dr. Campbell turned back to her. “Rachel, you have passed every test. I would like you to come with me to Italy. We have a hospital there where I can take care of your little problem. But, we have to leave tomorrow. Can you be ready by then?”

Rachel smiled, wiping away her tears with the tissue Nurse White had handed to her. “Yes, if I have permission.”

“Good. I’ll have your orders cut. I’ll leave you with Nurse White, and see you at the Medivac, tomorrow.”

10.12.2 Surgery

In the late twentieth century, paleontologist made a remarkable discovery. By applying weak acid to the petrified bones of ancient extinct animals, they were able to rinse away the rock-like matrix. Beneath what had been bone was a cartilaginous lattice. At first, this discovery was discounted as being an artifact. However, as others worked with the techniques, they affirmed the discovery.

These discoveries were later duplicated in the laboratory. Using 3-D printing techniques, medical researchers were able to create the cartilaginous structures of organs, muscles and tissues. Using advanced stem cell techniques, researchers began creating artificial organs. In a relatively short time, doctors were able to replace kidneys with lab-grown equivalents, which, because they were created from stem cells from the individual, were not rejected. Gradually, more complex or more delicate organs or tissues were created on a made-to-order basis, such that inter-personal donor grafts were seldom performed. Each person became his/her own donor. Heart disease became a thing of the past. Lung cancer was best cured with new lungs, and liver disease was readily treated.

At the same time, advances had been made in the areas of surgery and of healing. Micro-surgery had become the standard throughout the Western world. Not only was it less invasive, leading to more rapid recover, but it was also more accurately performed. New healing hormones and techniques had been developed, inducing higher rates of recovery from even the most traumatic of injuries. In the West, the problem was no longer death at an early age, but such an extraordinary life extension that people routinely lived to be more than 100 years of age in vigorous, good health.

As they flew westward into the setting sun, Nurse White explained these medical advances to Rachel, who was astounded. She had never heard of such miracles. “But,” she asked, “What has this to do with me?”

“Ah, yes,” White replied. “When we cleaned you up, we discussed the possibility that you might wish to become a complete woman. I saved samples of your blood and tissues, and sent them to Dr. Campbell. He has grown stem cells from them.

“And, of course, we easily created a new cartilaginous lattice for your new reproductive organs. When he learned that you were to be honored by the King, Dr. Campbell infused your stem cells into the lattices. We expect them to be ready for you by the time we arrive in Italy.

“We’ll perform an operation to remove your present reproductive organs and replace them with your new ones. It will take a couple of weeks to be sure everything is healed. Then, it will take a few weeks to be sure that everything is operating properly. If it is, we’ll ship you back to your unit, and you’ll be as good as new.”

Tears of joy bubbled from Rachel’s eyes. “Allah has answered my prayers!”

Donna White laughed, “Well, I don’t know anything about Allah being responsible. I’d say that it was hundreds of years of scientific progress, leading to advanced technologies and medical applications, conducted by highly skilled medical professionals who were responsible.”

10.12.3 Recovery

Rachel became aware of her surroundings. She really didn’t wake up. She just lay in a fog, trying to make sense of her surroundings. She heard people talking in hushed tones. She smelled that overwhelming hospital odor. She felt a sheet lying over her body and around her shoulders. She felt the sheet with her toes. However, her body between her chest and her knees was numb.

She was thirsty. “Water,” she croaked.

“Welcome back, sleepy head,” the soft voice of Nurse White replied. “Open your eyes, sweetheart. Take a sip ... just a sip.”

Rachel blinked. The lights were just too bright. She extracted her arms from the cocoon of sheets and rubbed her eyes. “Too bright!” she complained, trying to open her eyes. She shaded her eyes with her hands, and she saw the glass with a plastic straw angled at her. Stretching upwards, she grasped the glass and engaged the dancing straw until she had it firmly between her lips. Taking a sip of the cool liquid, she lay back.

Her mind seemed to clear, and she realized where she was. “Am I alright?”

Donna White laughed, “Yes, dear, you’re fine. Dr. Campbell said that everything is just perfect. He’ll be here in a little while to talk with you. Either I or one of the other nurses will be with you constantly for the next week or so to make sure that you recover completely.”

Rachel smiled. She thought, ‘Allah has smiled upon me,” as she fell asleep.

It had been six weeks since her surgery, and a whole new world had been opened to her. Her recovery was uneventful. At first, she had been ‘uncomfortable’ as the American doctors had described it. Rachel had suffered worse, but this was a bit more than uncomfortable. Yet, her pain rapidly diminished, and she was up and walking around within a few days.

Nurse White and her friends helped Rachel learn about clothes. Rachel quickly learned that a properly fitted bra was comfortable as well as rather sexy. She learned about skirts and blouses, dresses, hosiery, and makeup – all things denied to many Moslem women. She learned to walk freely in a large city, to shop, to eat al fresco. She learned the joys of the beauty shop, and the wonders of young men craning their necks to glance at her. And, she learned not to be embarrassed in public.

They had asked her about her scars. Her face and hands had been badly burned, leaving behind a hideous, paper-like scar tissue. The brown image of her hands was clearly imprinted on each pasty, scarred cheek. The cameo of fingers on her cheeks and her thumbs alongside her eyes revealed how she had tried to protect herself from the burning effects of the chlorine and mustard gas. Dr. Campbell had explained that they could replace the scar tissue with her own darker skin as though nothing had happened.

Rachel told them, “No, leave them. These are the signs of my suffering for my people, my king and my god, Allah. By these signs, all people will know that I have suffered, and that I was chosen by Allah himself to fulfill my destiny.”

Then, one day, she felt poorly. Until that day, she had been happier than she had ever been. But, for some reason she felt ill at ease. None of her clothes seemed to fit, and her skin became so sensitive even her softest clothes seemed harsh and abrasive.

When she awoke, she felt damp, almost as though she had urinated in the bed during the night. Carefully, she lifted her sheets, and slid from the bed, heading to bathroom. It was only then she noticed the blood. “Help!” she screamed.

The duty nurse appeared almost instantly. “What is it, dear?”

Rachel didn’t know or understand. “I’m bleeding! Am I going to die?”

“No,” the nurse chortled, “you are not going to die. You may be uncomfortable, and you may get cramps or even throw up. You may want to die, but you won’t. Rachel, welcome to womanhood. You are having your first period.”

“Period? What’s that?”

The nurse said, “Clean yourself up, and I’ll show you what you have to do.”

“Rachel,” Dr. Campbell addressed her. “We’ve done everything we can. You are fully recovered. Your new reproductive system is operating properly. You are a woman in every respect.

“The only thing we don’t know yet is whether you will be able to bear children. About one-third of all women that receive this procedure are fertile and can conceive and deliver their own children. But, that means that two out of three can not. Fortunately, you have a sister. She could donate her eggs to you. Once fertilized, we can implant them into your womb, and you would probably be able to carry that child to term. We just don’t know at this time.

“However, when you intend to marry, contact me. I will be able to perform a few tests that will give us a good idea of whether you can or can’t have children. You and your husband will be able to make informed decisions at that time.

“But, right now, I have new orders for you to return to your unit. You’ll be back by tomorrow.”