The Subject

"Dr. Wolper...I..." Tanya began, but the tall gentleman cut her off with a raised finger.

"Not just yet." He winked, "Tea first, then talk. It is a rare occasion that I am allowed to entertain such a lovely young lady, and I will not miss this opportunity, despite what terrible confession you need to share."

Tanya was amazed at the man's intuitive skills, and at his sincere charm, which made her blush, despite her trepidation. She followed the doctor into the house, where he removed his work coat, and hung it on the hook inside the door. He led her to his study, which was rich with the smells of knowledge in the form of shelves and shelves of books. A heavy mahogany desk was centered in the room, facing two very comfortable looking chairs. Tanya was directed to sit in one of them, which she did, her purse firmly in her lap. Dr. Wolper disappeared somewhere behind her, and she heard the sound he made as he busied himself with something. After a moment, the music of Brahms filled the room. Tanya closed her eyes, trying to escape the impending doom of confessing to Dr. Wolper what she had done.

He had the power to totally destroy her future, she knew. It was within his scope of influence as Director of Research at Westview to not only expel her from the University, but also to make sure that she never got another chance at any reputable school in the world. But at the same time, he was also the only one that she was certain could help, and despite her fear, she couldn't risk Cassie's life, no matter what the cost of that life might be. Tanya slowly felt the weight falling away from her. The hominess of the room, the music, all mesmerizing and relaxing. She was certain that she was nearly asleep when Dr. Wolper's voice interrupted.

"Do you take anything in your tea, my dear?" He had returned, carrying a small tray, which held a teapot, two cups, and several small porcelain containers.

"Ummm... just a bit of honey and some cream, if that's okay." Tanya answered nervously, albeit a bit less than she was when she had first arrived. Dr. Wolper poured the tea, added her requested ingredients and handed her the cup. He poured a cup for himself, and sat down in the high-backed leather chair behind the desk. He relaxed into the chair, seeming too to let the music wash his cares away. He began to talk to Tanya, just idle conversation at first, slowly moving into the realms of deeper subjects. They spoke of the weather, the University, the silliness of some students. Dr. Wolper laughed when asked if he had really allowed one of his students to hand in the Holy Bible as his Master's Thesis, but he didn't deny the claim, either.

Tanya found herself confessing to him that it was his work that had brought her to this particular school, and Dr. Wolper confessed that it was Tanya's essay, written in her senior year of high school, on humanity's need for bioengineering, that had made it so easy for him to ask that she be admitted to the University. Then he smiled, adding, "And I'm always on the lookout for pretty young ladies to help into the scientific community. I'm tired of being surrounded by dusty old men who smell like formaldehyde." He laughed.

Tanya blushed at the thought that Dr. Wolper had thought her work good enough to read, let alone merit acceptance to his alma mater. She smiled broadly at the man, the last of her fear slipping away under the comfort of his fatherly charm. "You know..." she said, thinking of his second compliment, "That's the first time that someone gave me a compliment about anything other than my brains."

Dr. Wolper stood up, emptied his cup and put it down on the table. "My dear, don't ever let the world underestimate either of your attributes." He said, "Find the balance between them."

With that, Tanya decided to get to the matter at hand, "Dr. Wolper? I have something to show you. I hope it doesn't alter the opinion you have of me but if so, please know I came to you because I feel you are the only person I believe that can help me in this matter of life or death. I value your wisdom and expertise and pray that you can help."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, "Life or death? Miss Vale, I doubt the dilemma you face is so dire but I assure you, there's practically nothing that could change my..." Tanya had already placed the purse on the desktop and opened it. Dr. Wolper was clearly speechless as a tiny and naked Dr. Willover, crawled out and got to her feet. The scholar, never taking his eyes of the little figure, walked slowly to his chair and sat down. It took a moment to regain his composure, "I... * Ahem * take it, there's been some sort of accident with your research?" a weak smile crossed his face.

The two ladies looked at each other and Tanya answered, "In a way, Doctor... see..."

The scientist in Dr. Wolper took over, "Dr... Willover? Are you alright?"

"I'm not Cassandra Willover, Harry... My name is Cassie...I'm a clone created by Tanya."

Dr. Wolper sat back deep in his chair, "I see..." Again the two women looked at each other, both clearly unsure what thoughts were going through the old gentleman's mind. Cassie hugged herself to stave of the chill from the cold surface of the desk. Dr. Wolper opened a desk drawer, which immediately initiated a feeling of dread from the both of them. "May I?" He asked as he withdrew a linen handkerchief with his monogram in gold. Cassie nodded and allowed him to drape it across her tiny shoulders. The smile of contentment on his face assured her that Tanya did make the right choice in see this man.

"Now then... would one of you please explain to me why a miniature replica of a distinguished colleague is standing on my desk?" Tanya gave him the whole sordid story. Why she created Cassie in the first place, how over time her feeling for the woman had changed from hatred to love and most importantly, how the research had taken a turn for the worst, leaving the woman she love facing an inevitable and gruesome death.

"As I said Dr. Wolper... this is a life or death situation. If you can save Cassie's life, I'll accept any repercussion for my actions."

Dr. Wolper sighed, "Well... what you did WAS clearly unethical..." His voiced still hummed with the same gentleness that had brought Tanya out of her fear. It now invited Cassie to climb into his hand as he held it out to her. She did so without hesitation, and he peered at her through bespectacled eyes. "...You, little one..." he whispered. "Are truly remarkable, to say the least."

Cassie blushed in the hand of the old man. His charming nature soothed her own trepidations, his gentle touch stirred a longing in her that she never knew existed. She envied the unborn children of the old Doctor, and saw in him why he was the most respected member of Westview's staff.

"Alright...what can I DO for you, then?" he asked.

"Well..." Tanya began. "Remember the other day when you told me about your breakthrough in the nano-techs you were developing?" Wolper nodded, listening intently to Tanya, despite his urge to stare at the stunningly beautiful tiny woman in his palm. Tanya continued. "I think that if we were able to introduce the nano-techs into Cassie... the electrical fields that they generate might counteract the degradation of her own magnetic field."

He looked over Cassie at Tanya, "Or destroy her altogether." Wolper said.

Tanya sighed, her heart sinking. It was a possibility that she had considered, but to hear it spoken back to her... "It'll work." A tiny voice said.

Both Tanya and Dr. Wolper looked at Cassie. There was that familiar look of determination on her tiny face, with a glint of confidence in her eyes, which were looking right at Tanya. "Hey... I should know, right?" she smiled.

"Well, if the risk is to be taken..." Dr. Wolper said to the miniature woman, "then it's yours and yours alone to take."

"I'm willing." Cassie looked over at Tanya and winked. "It'll work. Tanya knows what she's doing."

Tanya's heart swelled. She was filled with the confidence that Cassie had in her, and it eclipsed the fear and doubt she'd been carrying. She was filled with a new determination, and a new outlook on who she was. It was with this confidence in her voice that she smiled and said, "Okay... let's do this."

Part Nine

Tanya watched in fascination as Dr. Wolper moved about his makeshift lab, preparing the process that would introduce his biological nano-tech robots into Cassie's tiny degenerating body. It was their hope, hers and Cassie's as well as Dr. Wolper's, that the electrical field that the microscopic robots' would create may generate enough magnetic force to keep Cassie's atoms from tearing themselves apart.

Boris, Dr. Wolper's student assistant, had joined them at Harry's request. He knew that he would need help programming the operating system into the nano-tech, and told Tanya and Cassie so, knowing that it would mean that the secret they shared about Cassie's existence would have to be shared with him also.

Both women agreed that Boris could be trusted, and that the risk was worth it even if they thought he couldn't be. Dr. Wolper called him, telling him only that he needed him at the lab for the purpose of "Staving back the darkness of ignorance, Boris. Staving back the darkness of ignorance, AND perhaps saving a life in the process." Boris showed up after only a few minutes, out of breath and exasperated by Harry's cryptic messages, as always.

Tanya sighed when Boris smiled at her, despite her nervousness about what he would soon discover. Boris was tall and lean, well-muscled without being slowed by bulk. There was a darkness that seemed to permeate him, from his thick black wavy hair, his brown deep eyes and deeply tanned skin. The darkness and mystery surrounding Boris, was expelled by his bright, honest smile and his 'Scooby Doo' t-shirt. Many of Tanya's daydreams had been filled by Boris, second only to her thought of Dr. Willover.

"Hi, Tanya, what's going on?" He said, not noticing the 10-inch tall woman sitting quietly on her thigh.

Tanya's answer was interrupted by Dr. Wolper's sudden demand of Boris. "Boris," he said, "Get program seven six running, please." He gestured toward the computer system in the corner, a conglomeration of different motherboards, a server board and monitor, drives and cables all borrowed from the labs at Westview and tied together by Boris himself. The entire thing was adorned by a small hand-lettered sign that named the mess "FRANKENPUTER." Despite its humorous name, Tanya knew that the machine was probably the most powerful machine in the state. Boris' technical abilities were legendary on campus.

"I need you to ready it to download the nano-tech program." Harry continued, and then returned to his work, which was a small black box atop his workbench.

Boris went swiftly to the computer, began the start-up procedure. "I don't really mind working on my day off, Harry," Boris turned from the computer, which was humming a tune similar to a Pink Floyd song as it ran it's own internal check. "But I wish you would tell me in plain English why you need me on such short notice."

Harry turned to Tanya. The look on his face told her that it was her story to tell. Tanya stood up, Cassie sitting in her cupped hands. She crossed the room toward Boris. "We need your help, Boris." She whispered, her voice pleading.

"We?" Boris smiled at Tanya, confused, "We' who?" Boris followed Tanya's own gaze down to her cupped hands. For a moment he stared at the tiny beauty sitting calmly in the palms of her lover's hands. "Wow, that's some doll." He said. His eyes widening at the beauty of Cassie's form, wrapped as she was in a scrap of silk scarf belonging to Tanya.

Cassie stood up and struck a fashion pose. "Gee... thanks big boy."

Boris' smile melted into an open-mouthed look of absolute shock. Cassie giggled at the giant man. When he was able, he whispered, "SON of a bitch."

Harry didn't look up from his work. He sighed, correcting, "SonuvaBITCH, Boris. One word, with accent on the last syllable. Say it correctly or not at all. SonuvaBITCH."

"SonuvaBITCH." Boris repeated quietly. His eyes still glued to Cassie. "SonuvaBITCH... HARRY!" he shouted, his arms flailing, pointing at the doll, "What the hell did you DO?! Is that Dr. Willover?!? How did you make her so small?! WHU...WHY did you make her so small?!"

Harry Wolper continued his work, taking no heed of Boris' ranting. Tanya spoke, gaining Boris' attention to calm him down. "Harry didn't DO anything," she said. "I did this." Boris looked incredulously from Tanya to Cassie and back. Tanya continued, "Boris... this is Cassie." She held the tiny woman up. Cassie bowed slightly in a greeting to Boris. "Cassie is a bio-engineered replica of Dr. Willover. I created her in Dr. Willover's lab... and now she's dying." Tanya's heart ached at the words. "I think that your nano-tech experiments can stop the degeneration of her cells. It's the only thing I can think of, Boris. Judge me later, okay? But right now, help her... Please?"

Boris looked into Tanya's eyes, and an understanding bloomed in his own. He smiled. "You cloned Dr. Willover from her DNA, I assume?" he asked.

"Yes." Tanya sighed in relief, "It's a simple process, really, but right now..."

"Of course, I'll help." Boris put a gentle hand on Tanya's shoulder. He smiled again, and turned to the computer, entering the commands to open the nano-tech program. "Tanya...?" Boris said, still working at the computer, "If I were to get a sample of say, hmmm... Catherine Zeta Jones' DNA...?" Laughter erupted from the women, both tiny and large, Harry turned to peer over his glasses at his young assistant, who was grinning broadly. Boris shrugged, "Just... wondering." Harry shook his head and went back to his work.

The procedure was simple to watch, although Tanya knew that the details of it were far from easily explained. Dr. Wolper placed a small amount of plasma containing several hundred thousand of the microscopic robots into a petri dish; a strip of gold foil, only a fraction of an inch wide running along the bottom inside. Attached to either end of the foil was a wire, which ran into some sort of homemade transformer, which was connected to a serial port on the computer.

The computer program would send a signal to the transformer, which would convert the signal into electrical impulses of varying amperage and frequency. These impulses were the language that would activate and program the nano-bots in the petri-dish. The plasma could then be introduced into the blood stream of the patient, where they would instantly begin to find raw materials, calcium, iron, magnesium, and other minerals within the blood of the host.

From these they would begin to self-replicate. The process would continue forever if not for the programming that was inherent within each of them. When the population of the microscopic robots reached a certain number, predetermined by Boris' program, they would simply stop replicating. As they broke down or were destroyed, the 'bots would replicate until their number rose again to the programmed level.

Tanya had kissed Cassie lightly and placed her on the makeshift operating table atop Dr. Wolper's workbench. She would need to be under anesthetic during the introduction, as the electrical impulses carried through her nervous system during wakefulness could corrupt the programming during the initial phase.

Dr. Wolper used a veterinary guide to judge the amount of anesthetic, deciding that Cassie would require enough to put a field mouse to sleep. He used the smallest gauge needle he could find, one that was as thin as a hair, and injected the tiny woman in her femoral artery, the veins in her arm being too tiny to find, let alone inject.

Tanya could only stand in the corner and watch, her eyes filling with tears as she watched her tiny lover squeal as the needle entered her leg, and then slowly began to slip into unconsciousness, not sure if she would ever talk to her again, or hold her in her hands...or...Tanya fled into the house, unable to contain her emotions, and unable to watch any longer.

Boris watched her go, as did Harry. Neither moved from their work, however. Boris broke the silence they were working under. "I don't get it, Harry." He said, "If this one should die or whatever, she can always make another, right?"

Harry looked up from his work, sighing in a way that let Boris know that he had said something incredibly stupid again. "Boris..." Harry began. "When Lucy died," He nodded respectfully toward the photo of the beautiful woman on the wall, Lucille Wolper, Harry's late wife. "I actually toyed with the idea of cloning her, just so that I could have her back." Harry stood before the picture of his betrothed, smiling at her beauty, remembering her with his soul. "She was beautiful, wasn't she?" It wasn't a question directed at his assistant, but to someone else. "Her looks were surpassed only by the brightness of her spirit and her heart." He turned away from the photo with a squint of wisdom, "and I realized that I could probably clone her body, but would it be HER?"

Harry stood next to the table, looking down at the sleepy, little woman, who smiled up at him. "Granted, Tanya could recreate Dr. Willover, obviously, with all the memories and patterns of the original, just as she's done here." He nodded down at the drugged clone. "But it wouldn't be her Cassie, now would it?"

Harry went to the dish of plasma containing the invisible robots that were now being programmed. "That tiny woman on the table isn't Cassandra Willover, Boris. She may look like her, no matter her lack of stature, but the woman inside that tiny form, the woman I met, is definitely NOT Cassandra Willover." He shrugged, "At least not the 'Crimson Tide' that I've known all these years."

Harry watched a moment as the program finished it's run, and he began to prepare the hypodermic that would introduce the 'bots into Cassie's body. "That woman, the one inside, is an accident, just as all things of beauty are. An accident that was born from the heart of the young lady inside my house right now. She could no sooner recreate that accident than I could recreate the accident that I called Lucy." He handed the hypo, now filled with the plasma containing the nano-technology that would hopefully save the tiny woman's life, to Boris, who smiled and squeezed the older man's arm as he took it.

"You know, Harry," Boris said, "you should write a book of wisdom or something. Go on Oprah and all that." Boris turned to Cassie, then, used a cotton swab soaked in alcohol to sterilize a small spot on her inner thigh. He smiled down at her, watching her tiny eyes flutter as the drugs continued to work. She smiled at him and through the haze of encroaching unconsciousness, she mumbled, "My, but you ARE a big one, aren't you?" She giggled dreamily and slipped away into the darkness.

Tanya sat alone in the house, her thoughts, hopes and fears pounding at her until she found herself being woken gently by Dr. Wolper's gentle hand on her shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open... she pushed back the last vestiges of sleep. "Cassie?" She asked. It was a question that contained more than she could manage to verbalize.

In answer, Harry smiled broadly. "She's fine. She's just coming out of the anesthetic now. The nano-tech introduction has taken just fine, her body isn't showing any signs of rejection."

Tanya followed Harry out to the laboratory. Cassie was still lying on the small pad of sterile dressings that Harry had folded into an operating area. Her eyes were open, but glassy, and she seemed to be having trouble focusing, but when Tanya came into her field of vision, she smiled broadly. "You think you're done scaring the shit out of me now, little girl?" Tanya smiled down at her tiny lover.