Parker looked at Jeremiah with a puzzled look. “That’s kind of weird,” he said. “We don’t even have to check in or anything? No waiting room?”

“Like I said, this is only for employees and families,” Jeremiah told him. “They aren’t exactly overbooked around here.”

He followed Dr. Pike and Parker into a small examination room and Parker climbed up on the table and stared at his father.

“You don’t have to stay, Dad,” he said. “I can take it from here. I’m not five, you know.”

“No, I’d rather stay,” he said. “In case the doctor here has any questions. Isn’t that right, Dr. Pike?” He wasn’t about to leave Parker alone with anyone.

“It’s customary for a parent to remain in the room during this part of the exam,” Pike said. “Nothing to worry about, young man. I assure you, this part is all routine. No embarrassing questions. I’ll save all of those for when your father is out of earshot.”

Parker stripped from the waist up and Pike began a typical check of his vitals.

“Am I going to need any shots?” Parker asked.

“I doubt it,” Pike said, and directed Parker to take a deep breath. “If you’re not up to date the scan will detect it.”

“What scan?”

Pike removed the stethoscope from his ears and opened the side door that led into the scanning room Jeremiah had entered so many months before. He directed the boy to take a seat in the hydraulic chair and Parker looked at him quizzically.

“What’s all this?” he asked. “This doesn’t very seem routine to me.”

“It is a high-velocity bio-scanner,” Pike explained. “ViMed created it. It is the only one like it in the world. In fact, you’re one of only a few people to ever use it. This machine can detect all manner of illness and disease right down to the cellular level. It even gives a full medical history. It can do the work of ten doctors in a fraction of the time. It’s quite safe. Nothing to worry about. Take a seat.”

He handed Parker a pair of dark glasses to guard against the lasers and told him to buckle up. Jeremiah tried to act unconcerned as Pike closed Parker in the room and he followed the doctor to a complicated panel of controls in an adjoining hallway. There were no windows between Parker and the control panel. He couldn’t see his son, but he could hear him clearly through a speaker system connecting the rooms.

“There will be a series of bright lights, Parker, and a lot of movement as the machine begins to scan your body. Remain still and don’t be alarmed.”

“Dad?”

“I’m here, Parker,” he said. “I can hear you. You okay in there?”

“What the hell is this thing? What’s this for? Do I have cancer or something?” The tinge of real fear in his son’s voice was alarming, and Jeremiah swallowed hard before answering.

“Oh, my God—no, Parker, you don’t have cancer! You’re fine. Everything’s fine. This is all just routine. I’m telling you, it’s nothing to be worried about. I’ve done this myself. It doesn’t hurt.”