" Leonard Speaking"
' Pill Leonard Thinking'
Leonard woke up in a daze. He lifted himself off the floor of his warehouse, before slowly walking towards a bottle of water, grimacing at the slight bitter taste he felt at the back of his throat. He sat down on a chair, slowly massaging his head. His head felt like it had a hammer pounding constantly on an anvil. While he did not throw up, he dry heaved at the bitterness in his throat. Slowly leaning his head on the back, Leonard looked at the ceiling.
'Looks like my fears were not unfounded. I haven't felt like this ever before. So these are the side effects of the Pill. Still, I expected them to arrive much earlier.'
Leonard looked at his workbench, where the prototype of his MedBud rested. Its eyes flickered as it downloaded various medical resources and research papers from online sources. The silver lining in his entire situation was the creation of MedBud. Now, at least he won't be blind to the changes in his body. But he has to move fast. He had spent a long time developing the SynthBrain. Now, with his looming side effects, he doesn't have enough time to research other things before completing MedBud. He stood from his chair and staggered to his bag. Opening his Pill stash, he counted the pills.
'Not many left. Just more problems to be solved later.'
Swallowing the pill, he got back to work. He disconnected the head, with the SynthBrain, away from the prototype body, leaving it to continue downloading resources while he worked on the body. Normally, he would go to the Library in the morning, but priorities shift.
Leonard originally intended to keep all components in a metal shell, like a Star Wars droid, but he had a better option now. While doing his research for the SynthBrain, he had learnt to miniaturize many of the sensors, lasers, and other metallic components. He even learned to bend screens. With these things in mind, he decided on a much easier, safer and space efficient system. Instead of a metal shell, he decided to cover all components in an inflatable carbon nanotube based shell. He also made most of the skeletal structure, which housed all of the precision parts with the same material, allowing it to have the full diagnostic and surgical ability of a hospital, yet fitting inside a small suitcase.
He also improved the diagnostic function by including quantum tunneling lasers instead of the traditional magnetic waves or x-rays. This will allow the MedBud to see deeper than the physical bones, right down to the very DNA structure, allowing for study on genetic diseases and conditions. While the pharmaceutical preparations were not custom made, they were top of the line, best medicines available on the market.
Leonard did not leave the warehouse for the next two days. He ate some snacks he had kept as emergency rations, but he spent all his time perfecting the MedBud. He even made a small charging case for the MedBud, allowing him to carry the pillowy robot everywhere he went. After two days of relentless construction, where coughs, dizziness and nausea kept torturing him, he finished the MedBud.
Leonard designated the day for healing. He decided to relax and recover from the constant pressure he faced the last two days. He went so far as to not consume a Pill today, hoping to let his body get used to being without the Pill. With a switch, a pump went on and sounds of inflation filled the room. From its charging case, a white cuddly robot figure with a round-edged cylindrical metallic head rose to its full height. It spoke in a friendly, easygoing voice.
"Hi, I am MedBud, your personal healthcare assistant. Would you like me to do a physical checkup?"
Leonard grinned at the bot. From a cold, metallic Star Wars esque droid, he had created this highly effective, comforting robot. He answered, "Sure MedBud. I have been suffering from nausea, dizziness, and coughs as well. Keep your diagnosis detailed."
The robot opened its eyes, releasing its quantum laser scanner, scanning his entire body. It cross referenced its database before informing, "I have arranged the results by the degree of least severe to most severe. You are suffering from a large number of ailments. Firstly, the genetic issues are lactose intolerance, smaller bone structure, allergies to dust and pollen. It stems from your lower immune system strength and your overactive eosinophils and B-Cells. You have dehydration, slight malnutrition due to consuming lower calorie based foods. Your muscle tone is weak, suggesting long term inactivity or lack of exercise. Your respiratory system has accumulated long term damage in the bronchi. It is also the reason for your lack of activity. Your brain is under severe stress, low on neurotransmitters and brain fats. There is an unknown compound in your body that is exacerbating your brain conditions. Currently, your body does not have the required enzymes to degrade that compound, causing it to build up inside your body. My suggestion is dialysis to remove the compound, nutrition to replenish the neurotransmitters and other deficient nutrients and regular exercise to slowly heal the body."
Leonard was amazed at the detail provided by the MedBud. At the same time, he understood the reason for his side effects.
'So, my body is deficient in essential neurotransmitters; that explains the dizziness, nausea and headaches. The unknown compound must be the biggest product of the Pill. I have to clear it.'
Leonard commanded, "MedBud, there should be a dialysis machine in the warehouse. Help me complete the dialysis process. I also need a nutrition chart. Gear it towards efficiency and nutrition. If possible, don't add anything that requires too many steps. I need to be able to prepare them without any help."
MedBud replied affirmatively before going around the warehouse to fetch the dialysis machine. After two days of constant work, Leonard tiredly fell asleep.
Some Time Later
Leonard woke up on his chair. As he tried to move his arm, he felt it tied down to something. He looked at his arm, with a tube sticking out of his arm. It was tied with some cloth strips to the side of the bench. MedBud slowly walked to him. Its tiny black eyes looked at Leonard before deploying his sensors. It carefully scanned Leonard before declaring, "Your dialysis is mostly complete. I have successfully removed most of the unknown compounds from your blood stream. Unfortunately, your full recovery will take time. I have devised a nutrition chart for you. Please follow it."
Leonard smiled at the robot before instructing, "After the dialysis is complete, you can go on standby mode and rest. Thank you for your assistance."
MedBud blinked before replying, "You designed me to help you. Assisting you sustains my function. Without you, I would be idle."
Leonard relaxed in his chair, waiting for the dialysis machine to complete its work. While he had expected side effects when he started taking the Pill, these side effects still made him worry a little. It still gave him a perspective. Even if he was the smartest man in the world, he could not brute-force his way past biology. His body was still a weak link.
Normally, Leonard would have jumped straight to work, but he decided to rest for today. He needs help, people he can trust, a stable structure, a mechanism that will help him fulfil his goals. He took a small notepad from his pocket; something he had started carrying recently to help him brainstorm and record valuable ideas.
'I have temporarily solved my problem. But I don't know much about this compound. I will have to study it. I may be able to make a cure, but it is a temporary solution at best. Popping pills all the time, even with the cure, is not something feasible. Pills can be lost, destroyed or stolen. Once these pills enter the society, the social order, power structures, economics will become unpredictable and dangerous. If I want to achieve something in science, I need stability.'
Leonard wrote a couple of words on the page, crossing some out, writing some more. His eyes narrowed in concentration. Even without being on the pill, his natural intelligence allowed him to think beyond normal. Suddenly, he heard the dialysis machine hum a tune, signalling the completion of its function. MedBud detached the tubing with gentle precision. Its round black eyes blinked twice, as if mimicking empathy, before announcing, "Toxin removal: 100% complete. Estimated recovery time: partial within one week. Full within two to three months, with sustained nutrition and exercise. Projection: without correction, your lifespan is reduced by 11.3 years."
Leonard smirked faintly at the clinical tone. Even his creation had no illusions. Leonard hummed a bit in thought before commenting, "Do not throw the compound. We can research an enzyme for breaking it down."
'So there it is. My body isn't just tired — it's defective. I've been fighting my limits since childhood: asthma, weak bones, allergies. Even with the Pill, I'm only borrowing strength on credit, with compound interest. If I want to keep going… I need to fix the foundation.'
He reached for his notebook, flipping past half-scribbled pages of equations, diet charts, and graphene models. A blank sheet waited. He wrote in quick, decisive strokes:
IHG – Ideal Human Genome
He underlined it once. Then twice.
'The answer isn't more pills. The answer is rewriting the blueprint. A genome without weaknesses — immune systems that don't overreact, muscles that don't decay, organs that don't fail. A mind that doesn't collapse under pressure. Efficient, optimized, unbreakable. The Pill made me extraordinary for hours. IHG will make me extraordinary forever.'
His pen hovered. He thought of cancer patients, of children born with fragile immune systems, of entire families undone by genetic chance. His idea wasn't just survival — it was salvation.
'If I can align human DNA with the best of the animal kingdom, I could eliminate fragility entirely. Resistance to disease from one species, endurance from another, even cognition tuned beyond natural limits. Humanity as it should have been.'
He thought for a moment.
'But I need money to achieve all of that... Gambling was enough to bring me here, but it will not take me much further. I need a stable source of funds. Maybe entrepreneurship will help me in this. But what can I create?'
Leonard looked around the room. His eyes took a look at everything around him.
'I could make the SynthBrain — but it's too advanced right now. Its technology isn't mature enough for mass production. MedBud would be a great product, if only it didn't rely on SynthBrain. The graphene batteries have potential, but the cost of scaling them is out of reach. Hardware won't work yet. A software project would be far more feasible. Facebook exploded because it was simple, universal, easy to use. Something that could send files, data, even communicate without network costs… that could work.'
He paused, tapping his pen against the notebook.
'Still, I shouldn't limit myself to one project. A single product is fragile. What I need is an umbrella — a firm that can manage multiple ventures, multiple breakthroughs. It would take enormous resources, people I can trust, and time. But if I can build that structure, it will serve as the foundation for everything to come.'
'This will take more than one man in a warehouse. I'll need resources, minds I can trust, an infrastructure untouched by politics or greed. That comes later. For now… IHG.'
He paused, tapping the pen against the paper. His mind kept going to the implications of what he was trying to create. It conjured images of scientists working together in harmony, unbothered by the worries of funding, failure and monetized applications of their research. He imagined people all over the world, with smiles on their face, breathing clean air, drinking clean water, and living in clean houses. He thought of people in hospitals, suffering from diseases that couldn't be cured. He saw in his mind's eye, the people who go hungry, sick and embroiled in conflicts not their own. While the Pill made him see possibilities in his life, without the Pill, he saw the possibilities in the world. A civilization that could reach the stars if it wanted.
'But no one is willing to do anything to achieve these possibilities.'
He took a deep breath, his eyes sharpened with determination. He wrote another word on the paper, its deeper meaning echoing in each alphabet.
'CHALDEA'
He stared at the letters until the ink seemed to burn into the page.
Leonard leaned back, exhausted but resolute, as MedBud powered down into standby. His last thought before drifting into sleep was not of the Pill, nor of the pain, but of the word he had written.
AN: Thank you for your continued support
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