Yamamoto looked at each of the students in turn and then paused. Finally he said, “Okay, let’s make our visit. Hope you guys are ready. You are about to visit the future.” He pushed himself up into a fully erect posture.

When the women started to replace the papers and journals they had removed from the chairs when they first arrived, Yamamoto motioned for them not to bother. With Yamamoto in the lead, the group exited his office. They walked the length of the sizable lab since the organ bath unit was located at the far end on the opposite side from the biosafety unit. As they passed through the lab, some of the technicians looked up from their work and eyed them questioningly. Visitors to the organ bath unit were not common.

First they entered an anteroom where there were caps, gowns, booties, masks, and gloves. There was a similar room on the other side of the lab that guarded entrance into the biosafety unit, just as this room guarded the organ bath unit. Interestingly enough, the rationale was just the opposite. For the biosafety unit the gear was for protection of the visitors. With the organ bath unit it was called reverse precautions and was for protection of the contained specimens. It wasn’t until everyone was suited up and had been checked by Yamamoto that they proceeded.

5.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
NEW YORK CITY
MARCH 1, 2011, 2:00 P.M.

Using a keypad, Dr. Yamamoto punched in a combination, unlocking a simple door. Although she wasn’t trying, Pia noticed it was the same code used for the biosafety unit, an alphanumeric sequence that was the time and date of Rothman’s birth. Yamamoto stepped aside and ushered the three students into a starkly modern, brightly lit room filled with the gentle, hypnotic sound of running water. Pia felt a slight breeze against her as she advanced. She knew that was evidence of the room having positive pressure, meaning air came out of the room, not in. That was the opposite of the biosafety room, where the laminar flow was into the room.

Stepping beyond the door, Pia shaded her eyes against the sharp bluish light that came from banks of recessed fiber-optic fixtures. She assumed the light had something to do with sterility in the room. Stopping with the others, she took in the scene before her. They had entered a large space painted bright white. Pia was puzzled as to how this lab fit in with the rest of Rothman’s suite—it seemed larger than it feasibly could be. At the back of the room, a figure dressed in similar protective garb was hunched over a stainless-steel cart mounted on wheels, making some adjustments on a control panel. There were three rows of such carts and Pia counted thirty of them in all. Set atop each were clear rectangular Plexiglas aquarium-like containers of various sizes. Below were shelves holding various and sundry equipment. Each also had an attached pole supporting a control panel with an LED display. One of the carts was a few feet to Pia’s left and she moved over to take a closer look. Lesley and Will followed.