Page 8 - Nutshell 4

ectrodactyly—fewer than four. All of these conditions can leave a
child decidedly disadvantaged in life, given the almost universal
human abhorrence of physiological abnormality.”
Tommy’s parents were crestfallen.
“But—but, isn’t there anything we can do?” cried Mrs. Tennyson.
“Yes,” said Dr. Manus, “however, you must understand that the
treatment I offer is still in the experimental stages. You can enroll
your son—at no cost—in our limb regeneration project. It is good
that you brought him here at birth.”
“Why?” asked Mr. Tennyson.
“Briefly, without going into the technical details or the science
behind them, I intend to grow another pair of hands for Tommy. We
will start from scratch, using DNA we can extract today, if you are
willing. Then the AZ23p-12 gene will be corrected and new hands
will be grown in vitro—that is, in a tank providing them with all the
nutrients needed to develop into normal hands. Then they can
surgically replace Tommy’s birth-hands: he will need to learn their
use, of course; that will require physical training. Again, our budget
allows for that expense, as well. There is no other way to help him.”
“And you won’t do anything to him now, except take a blood
sample?” Mrs. Tennyson was nervous. “How long will it be before he
can be given his new hands?”
Dr. Manus smiled sadly.
“I must tell you he will have to wait until he has finished growing,
about age sixteen or seventeen. We cannot do it until then. That
means years of hoping our cultivation of the new extremities goes
according to plan. It also means keeping Tommy on an even keel as
he goes through childhood and early adolescence. We can work with
specialized child psychologists who have dealt with similar cases.
Now, if you decide to do it today, we can begin.”
The Tennysons looked at each other, and then at Tommy.
“Doctor,” said Mr. Tennyson slowly, “we already decided before
we came here that we would give Tommy the best chance we could.
It turns out that this is it. We ask only one thing: that the boy learns
about his new hands as soon as he realizes he has a problem. That is,
we would try to take away his hurt and confusion by presenting him
with a solution. I think it would best if he understands the process
and its risks and benefits as soon as possible.”
Mrs. Tennyson extended her pinkie for Tommy to grasp.