Maury (Sci-Fi)

Dr. Joshua Matthews looked up at the kitchen clock--only an hour before Alex was going to be home from school. Looking back into the fridge, he brought out some thawed ground beef and then began to search the cabinets. If he timed things just right, the spaghetti would be done just as Alex stepped off the bus.

"I'm hungry. Do you have any steak in there for me?" an electronic voice suddenly said, coming from a small black speaker on top of the fridge.

Matthews turned around to greet Maury, their golden retriever.

"Sorry buddy, we just have normal dog food."

"Have you ever tasted that stuff, Josh? It's nothing like those TV commercials say."

Matthews chucked, "You do realize that one day I actually will try it, and you won't be able to use that as an excuse anymore. Hey, I know. How about a hamburger left over from the barbecue yesterday?"

"Yes. Thank you."

Matthews opened the fridge again, unwrapped the burger out of some foil, and was beginning to put it down.

"Could you warm it up in the microwave a little? Please?" Maury began to wag his tail rapidly.

"Would you like fries with that?" Matthews asked with one eyebrow raised.

"No, thank you. They're too salty."

"Glad to see you're not getting picky in your old age." Matthews smiled as he pushed the button on the microwave. As it began to count down, Maury wagged his tail faster in delight.

Matthews was amazed by Maury's ability to use his invention. Already a pioneer in biosync chip technology, Matthews originally thought this communication experiment was just going to be a hobby. He now was in the process of obtaining a patent, though he seriously wondered if anyone was going to believe him on this one. The hardest part was going to be proving it wasn't a hoax, but Matthews really didn't care about that at this point.

Someone had dumped Maury in the office parking lot almost ten years ago. He was a beautiful little puppy, but a person could immediately tell something was wrong with him. He would walk a few steps and then suddenly hit the ground, whimpering in pain. X-rays later revealed a brain tumor which was slowly damaging Maury's motor function. Most people would've said euthanizing him was the only option, considering the tumor had already done too much damage for Maury to normally survive and live a healthy life.

Matthews had been experimenting with biosync chips in smaller animals, and he made the decision to try to help Maury. Basically the chips worked with existing brain cells, carrying neural signals over former gaps in the brain. The surgery was long, complicated, and expensive process, but it was well worth it. Maury was able to walk, run, and do all the normal things dogs do--plus later, something more.

Ten years later, the biosync chip was now being used in several high-end vet clinics around the world. Matthews no longer had student loans from vet school to deal with, and technically he could have retired at any time--if he wanted to retire. He didn't go into this career just for the money, though. He truly did love animals.

The communication experiment didn't involve adding anything else to Maury's surgery. Matthews simply had a computer record Maury's brain waves and then recorded what Maury was doing, hearing, or looking at during that time. So for example, if Maury saw a tennis ball twice, usually the same set of brain waves were there both times. Matthews then set up a voice program that would basically say what Maury was thinking. It was by no means a perfect system, but it had become impressive over the past few years.

Matthews has confirmed what a lot of pet owners already knew--dogs were intelligent and had personalities. Maury could basically communicate on a 2nd-3rd grade level. His logic and problem-solving skills were good. Instinct was a part of it, but it wasn't all of it.

He did have some trouble with abstract thoughts, which was to be expected. His brain functioned mostly in the present. He knew who people were and had memories, of course, but he forgot most things that weren't essential to his survival.

However, there was one moment Matthews would never forget...

He and Alex had just gotten home from church. Maury said hello and then laid down next to Alex on the couch to watch television. Matthews went to his office in the next room to check his e-mail. He was still within hearing distance to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Hey, where did you go?" Maury asked. The speakers for him were only in the two rooms--the living room and the kitchen.

"To church, silly," Alex replied, as if dogs should know everything. He was five at the time and thought talking dogs were normal. It was cute now, but Matthews wondered how he was going to explain everything before Alex reached middle school.

"So did you learn a lot about God?" Maury replied. Matthews was now very interested, because he had never really talked to Maury about religion. Maybe he had saw it on television or something.

"Yeah..." Alex giggled and began catching Maury up on the story of Noah and the Ark.

Maury wagged his tail, "My mother used to tell me that story!"

Alex suddenly stopped in mid-sentence, "Is your mommy in heaven, too?"

"Yes. She was nice. I miss her a lot," Maury replied.

"I miss my mom, too. She used to sing to me. She died when I was two." Alex closed his eyes and put his head down, about to cry.

"You know what, Alex?" Maury put his nose under Alex's chin to tilt his head up.

"What?"

"I bet they're both playing in heaven together right now...Hey, let's watch this. This is a good cartoon."

Matthews stood in the living room doorway and watched them both fall asleep. Alex had never really talked about his mother until that day. Until then, Matthews wasn't really sure if he remembered her. He had to pinch the bridge of his nose to keep from crying himself.

Matthews now had the spaghetti nearly boiling over, snapping him out of his memory. He looked down at Maury with his burger.

"Do you mind if I ask you a question, Maury?"

"Go ahead." Maury thought was nice that he didn't have to stop eating to answer.

"How did you learn about God? Was it from the television?"

"My mother taught me a lot. She passed down stories since we can't write things down like you can. I remember all of them."

"That's interesting."

"There's something else also...something I don't think I'm really supposed to tell you."

"What's that?"

"Dogs can sense some things that humans can't. You're limited for a reason, at least for now. We're...we're supposed to help you." Maury stopped eating, waiting for Matthews to respond.

"That makes sense," Matthews replied, "Scientists have known for years that dogs have a better sense of smell and hearing than humans. It's not too surprising."

"I don't think you understand. It's more than that. I can't really describe it because this machine doesn't have the right words for it."

"I'll set down with you tomorrow night, and we'll add some more words to it. I'll need to get some more books first."

"All right." Maury went back to his burger.

Matthews had just added the sauce and ground beef to the spaghetti when Maury bolted out the dog door to greet Alex.

Then there was a loud screech from outside, and then a thud. Matthews felt his stomach sink. Maury must have gotten excited, and the bus hit him. He needed to get to him quickly. He quickly turned the stove off and went to find his emergency bag.

Matthews ran out the door to find that it wasn't what he had originally thought. Maury was laying sideways on the opposite side of the road of the bus. There was a blue Mustang in the ditch just past their house.

Some idiot had tried to beat the school bus stop sign, and Maury had pushed Alex out of the way. The bus driver was already on her cell phone, and the police were on their way.

Matthews carried Maury into the grass and checked for a heartbeat. He was just too far gone. There was nothing Matthews could do to save him.

Maury had already lived longer than most dogs do, much longer than he was originally supposed to live--but it still just didn't seem fair. Matthews and Alex held him and petted him until he closed his eyes for the last time.

"You're a hero, Maury. Thank you for saving my son. Thank you for everything." Matthews said over and over.

"I love you, Maury." Alex said through the tears.

The police brought the man who had hit Maury by them to look at what happened.

"I am so, so sorry I almost hit your son. I'm so thankful that dog was there to--"

"To keep you from being charged with murder?" Matthews wanted to tear him apart.

The sheriff's deputy told Matthews he'd drop by the next day to get a statement, and that he'd get everything he really needed from the bus driver.

The spaghetti stayed on the counter that evening. Neither of them felt like eating. Matthews sat down in a rocking chair and held Alex on his lap with a blanket. Alex snuggled up to him tightly, and Matthews let him cry--for Maury and his mother-- until he fell asleep. Then he laid Alex on their soft brown sofa, put the blanket on him, and rubbed his head lightly. He wanted to keep Alex close in case he woke up.

Wiping his own eyes, Matthews walked over to his computer to replay what Maury had said earlier--about humans not being able to see and hear certain things. He noticed that the recording stopped a lot later than he thought it would, so he fast-forwarded to find what were Maury's last words:

"Heaven...is...nice."