From Science Fact to Science Fiction: Using Scientific Research to Drive the Creative Writing Process
June Gold
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Laurel works in a hospice care center and has become very close with one of her patients, Mrs. Noll. Mrs. Noll is dying from the complications due to hepatitis, and Laurel mentions the story of her cousin, Juliana, who has recently had herself cloned, in order to bear the child she and her husband always wanted, but could not conceive. Mrs. Noll and Laurel find themselves apart for several weeks as Laurel visits Juliana and Mrs. Noll visits with her own cousin, Minnie. When Laurel returns to work, she finds that Mrs. Noll has decided to stay with her family, presumably until her death. In trying to track down dear Mrs. Noll, Laurel finds herself suspicious about the truth to the story, and investigates further. What Laurel discovers is that Mrs. Noll has undergone an experimental treatment. Under the guise of hospice care, Mrs. Noll has had herself cloned. The procedure involved making the cloned cells turn into liver cells instead of developing into a new fetus. In this way, the cloned embryo was sacrificed, and Mrs. Noll was given a new chance at life. Laurel found all this quite a bit unnerving at first, but when she realized that Mrs. Noll's decision had been fueled by Laurel's own story about her cousin, she softened her outlook. Now Mrs. Noll and Laurel can continue their relationship without the omen of imminent death encircling their activity.