Chapter 13 - The Echo of the Counter
By the summer of 2028, St. Jude’s Memorial Hospital had become a national model for municipal healthcare integration.
Daniel visited the hospital late one evening, walking through the glass doors at 3:00 AM—the exact hour he had met Arthur three years prior.
The lobby was quiet, illuminated by warm LED lighting. Behind the curved cedar counter sat a young woman in a dark blue polo shirt, typing away at her computer terminal.
An old woman in a wet coat stepped up to the desk, holding a thin wallet and trembling forms.
"I... I don't have insurance," the woman whispered nervously.
The young clerk smiled warmly, reaching across the counter to take the woman's papers.
"Don't worry, ma'am," the clerk said softly. "You're at St. Jude's. No deposit required."
Daniel stood by the entrance doors, watching the scene unfold with a deep, silent satisfaction. The system had changed. The software had been rewritten. The red error codes of greed had been permanently erased from the server banks.
Arthur walked up beside Daniel, wrapping a light trench coat around his shoulders against the night chill.
"Satisfied, Daniel?" Arthur asked quietly.
May you like
"Not yet, Arthur," Daniel smiled, looking out at the city lights glowing through the wet glass doors. "We still have forty states to go."
Arthur laughed—a rich, deep sound that echoed softly through the high ceilings of the lobby. "Then we had better get to work."
