Dr. Cruiz

                                    

                                          
			Celectra preceded her father into Dr. Cruiz's office. She was talking up a storm. She liked Dr. Cruiz and was excited to see him.
                          
    The receptionist, Audry Wiegand, looked up and faked a smile. She said laconically, "Hello Mr. Carisco. Have a seat. I will let Nurse Alverson know that you are here." As usual, she didn't acknowledge Celectra. Evidently, she didn't consider children to be worthy of her notice.
                          
    Celectra fidgeted while they waited. She wished that she had brought her book with her. Soon, Nurse Alverson opened the door and invited Celectra and Amerigo to follow him.
                          
    Celectra said, "Good morning, Tim! Are you going to check my vitals, weight, and height?"
                          
    Tim responded, “Yes, don't I always? Are you two going to behave?”
                          
    Celectra giggled, “Yes, aren’t I always a good girl?”
                          
    Tim palmed the top of her heads and walked her to a scale in an alcove of the hall with Amerigo bringing up the rear.
                          
    Celectra stepped on with all four feet. Tim harrumphed, and one of Celectra's bodies stepped off. She grinned impishly up at him. Tim addressed the remaining girl, "Now, which one are you?"
                          
    She answered, "I am Celectra."
                          
    Tim said, "I don't see a Celectra on the charts."
                          
    Amerigo stepped in, "She has amber earrings, so she is Electra."
                          
    Tim nodded and pressed the start button. An infrared beam bounced off the top of her head and the digital display read: Weight: 30.84Kg. Height: 1.32M. He verified the transmission of the data to her chart, then told her to switch places.
                          
    Celeste stepped up on the scale. As expected, the display read the same information as before. Tim raised his brow as the data showed up on Celeste's chart.
                          
    He led them into a standard exam room. He took their blood pressure, pulse, and temperature. These were also identical for both girls. He said to them, "As always, your vital signs are excellent and precisely the same."
                          
    Tim turned to leave and said, "The doc will be with you shortly. See you later."
                          
    Celectra replied, "Goodbye. It was nice seeing you again."
                          
    Amerigo nodded his regards, and Tim closed the door.
                          
    Dr. Cruiz entered the room after a short eternity. He was a tenuous man with steady hands and precision movements. His black hair was showing gray at the temples. He said in a soft voice, "Salutations, dear ladies, and Amerigo. What brings you here today?"
                          
    Celectra exclaimed, "Hi, Uncle Doc! I am here to see you, of course!"
                          
    Amerigo said, "Hi Alex. My daughters seem to believe that they are one person. Like they have only one mind shared between them. They've just about got me believing it." He told the doctor about several anomalies that corroborated her assertions. He finished by pointing out the identical numbers just recorded on their charts.
                          
       Dr. Cruiz had been listening with ardent interest. He drew a breath and said, “That is an incredible hypothesis! I’m not sure anyone has reported anything like this before in human history.” Raising his voice, he addressed the computer, “Retupmoc, I assume you’ve been listening… Are you searching through the databases?”
                          
    Retupmoc responded, “Yes, Sir. I have found nothing yet. To be honest, I had searched through every available database approximately 3 years ago to no avail. If I may say so, I have been observing Celectra in my capacity as the Colony Educator while teaching her. I believe she is correct. When I have insisted that both bodies take separate tests, both come up with the same correct and incorrect answers even when I mix up the order of the questions. The incorrect answers are rare, but always the same. The way she talks using either mouth or both may be comical in movies with twins, but it’s a definite reality with her. The most definitive test I have administered is having one read a random selection of text silently, while the other spoke the words out loud. No matter which does which, the speaker is always in sync with the reader. I am thoroughly convinced.”
                          
The news startled Dr. Cruiz and angered him, “Why didn’t you say something to her father or me or somebody.?”
                          
    Retupmoc responded calmly, “After she told Amerigo and he dismissed the idea as childish rubbish, I felt it wasn’t important that people know until they were ready to know. There is, after all, nothing that anyone can do about it and it isn’t a problem. On the contrary, it is a tremendous asset to her. She has twice the brainpower of the average human, not to mention the extra hands and feet to do whatever she’s doing at a given time.”
                          
    Amerigo mused, “Talk about multitasking… That is a point I hadn’t thought about. But, what caused it? Are there any side effects now or in the future?”
                          
    Dr. Cruiz furrowed his brow, “I’m afraid I have no answers. There doesn’t seem to be any side effects at the moment based on your and Retupmoc’s observations. As for what caused it… I’m not sure it matters. I will do some tests. Check for radiation. That kind of thing. But then, I recommend you take her to Dr. Zoe Kret down on Mars II. She is more equipped to ensure there is nothing malign going on in… What did you call her, Retupmoc?”
                          
Retupmoc replied, “Celectra. It was her idea to merge her names about 2 years ago.” Celectra brightened at that and nodded.
                          
    Dr. Cruiz continued, “Celectra, right. Nothing malign going on in Celectra’s mind.”
                          
    Amerigo agreed, “All right Alex. I thank you for your time.” He stood and extended his hand to Dr. Cruiz. Dr. Cruiz shook it and said, “I’ll have Tim set it up with Dr. Kret. Is there any day you won’t be able to make it?”
                          
    Amerigo said smiling, “Anytime she wants is fine with us. I’m senior enough to leave work anytime I want. As for Celectra… Is that right, sweetie?” he said glance at this daughter. “Yes daddy,” she said with a big grin on each beautiful face. Amerigo continued, “As for Celectra, she can do her studies anytime.”
                          
				Retupmoc said, “I have a theory as to the cause, although I can’t prove it. Her mother was exposed to the radiation from the pulsar while aboard Meth-Lab 3 when she was in her first trimester, as we all know. I suspect that it may have caused Celectra’s unique condition and having its part in Jenni’s demise during the delivery.”
                          
			Dr. Cruiz nodded and shrugged, “That’s as good a theory as any.”
                          
			After saying their goodbyes, Amerigo and Celectra left Dr. Cruiz’s office and headed down the circular corridor toward their quarters, Celectra looked lovingly up at her father and said, “Thank you for calling me ‘Celectra’!”