Watership Down The New World chapter 60

Chapter 60 A Cousin's Last Gift

It was late morning when Robbins, Vervain and the captive Lucy arrived at Cowslip's warren. After riding restlessly all night, to put as much space between them and Watership Down as possible, the two companions had finally made it to safe territory. The entrance to the Hall of Bones looked most welcoming to the two weary fugitives. Hearing the sound of Robbins' horse, Cowslip emerged, wearing his usual sickly sweet expression of hospitality.

"Greetings, friends; I'm honoured to see that there are at least a few who haven't forgotten my hospitality. Will you be staying then? My warren is always open to…"

"Always open to the likes of us. Yes, yes, we already know, thank you Cowslip," Robbins finished for him, interrupting Cowslip's routine welcoming speech, "We would indeed be most grateful for your...hospitality. But first, I have a proposition for you. Tell me, how does life treat you lately?"

As it turned out, Cowslip had long since seen better days. Following the fiasco with Johnson and his friends, toppled by the desertion of Silverweed, who kept his people under control with his powers, had caused his rabbits to 'wake up' and revolt. That, combined with the unexpected arrival of another visitor only a few days after the outsiders' party had left, had left Cowslip completely ruined.

"Not as well as I would have liked," the chubby buck admitted grimly, losing his sweet expression, "First your damned companion leaves my warren in a state of total turmoil; then that traitor Silverweed deserts me in favour of those troublemaking hlessil; and now that wondering man-kitten encourages my subjects to turn against me – only, ironically, fate gave them what they deserved…"

He gestured in the direction of the savage village, deep in the forest. Robbins could see black smoke rising from the distance, indicating the aftermath of a recent fire. The surrounding hills had all been torched, leaving a landscape of smoking ashes. Somewhere out there, the last of Cowslip's people had met their demise after the humanoids had returned and taken them all, shutting down their breeding farm. Only, as it turned out, that bloody feast had been their last. Robbins recalled Max Pete telling him how his plane had crashed after he'd bailed out, annihilating the entire humanoid village in the process.

Although Robbins obviously couldn't care less about Cowslip being ruined by his own folly, he could see a major advantage presented to him: During the ride here, he had pondered over how he would ensure Cowslip's cooperation. That sly rabbit only looked out for his own interests, making his loyalty extremely questionable. But now, he could take advantage of Cowslip's ruin by offering him a place among his ranks, just like he had done with Vervain.

"I see we all have our problems, Cowslip," he said, in a false sympathetic tone, "However…" he continued, "thanks to my efforts, the three of us now have the means of rebuilding our lives for the better at our disposal." He placed the case containing Drake's journals on the ground in front of Cowslip.

"The secrets within this box, courtesy of the late Dr Cole Drake, are the key to absolute power in this world. Johnson's friends may have won the battle, but they will lose the war!" Vervain and Cowslip smiled evilly; they had both found themselves a new leader, who would lead them back into power. "Are you with me, my friends?"

"Hail, Robbins-rah!" the two rabbits chanted together, raising their forepaws in a gesture of loyalty towards their new master. Robbins smiled in satisfaction. Now, he had his first lieutenants; from here, he could start building his army and ultimately his global empire, picking up where Woundwort had left off.

After his two first subjects had given him their oath of allegiance, Robbins turned back to his horse, where Lucy still lay tied up onto its back. By now, the anaesthetic had worn off and the girl was emitting muffled shouts through her gag, struggling in vain to free herself. As he proceeded to untie her, he noticed she was barefoot; although bound and gagged, unable to do anything other than wriggle her hands and feet a little, she'd managed to shake off her shoes and socks as they rode along, leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for when they came searching for her. Robbins cursed in frustration; now Johnson's friends could trace him all the way to Cowslip's warren, compromising his last place of refuge.

Keeping her wrists and ankles securely bound so she wouldn't try and run, Robbins picked her up over his shoulder and carried her down into the Hall of Bones and into Strawberry's old burrow, which was to be her new prison cell. Gently putting her down, he finally untied her and removed her duct-tape gag. For an instant, Lucy thought her captor was going to leave her untied, which might give her a chance to escape. But Robbins wasn't taking any such chances. She felt her captor push her down flat on her tummy and grab her ankles.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw Robbins was tying her ankles securely together with some nylon rope he'd stolen. Feeding the rope around a thick tree root, he lashed her securely to the wall, but leaving her hands free. Although a far more comfortable position than the horse ride, Lucy knew she wasn't going anywhere. Sure enough, she tried to pull free but the binds held firm, like shackles. Although she could reach the knots, they were far too tight for her small hands to undo. Robbins smiled in satisfaction at her futile efforts, admiring his handiwork. Giving her a few playful pokes, to which she responded with groans of annoyance, he left her with a single glow-stick for light and an MRE pack for food, and returned to the main chamber to brief his 'subjects' on their new duties.

"The girl is to be guarded around the clock. Although she has no authority, she's to be treated with respect at all times. Any requests she might have - with the exception of leaving the warren without my explicit permission of course – are to be answered. I'm assigning you, Cowslip; you are to be her guard and caregiver. As for you Vervain, I need you for…"

"Wait, I'm to be saddled with this…runt ithe-kitten?" Cowslip snapped indignantly. Clearly, this wasn't his idea of a position of power! Robbins, angered by the outburst, rounded on Cowslip.

"You will do as I say if you know what's good for you and you won't question me! Don't forget, I'm your leader now and my word is law. I'm assigning you a task that's hopefully within your capabilities; disobedience or slackness in your duties will mean punishment. That's the first statute law I pass. Is that understood?" Getting the hint, Cowslip stood down.

"Y...yes, Robbins-rah. My apologies," he muttered, taken aback by Robbins' firmness. This ithe is definitely born to inspire unquestionable authority, he thought. Robbins turned back to the matter at hand.

"Although we should be safe here for now, it's only a matter of time before they find us. It seems our prisoner left a trail that could lead them here. And when they do, we're going to have a proper reception for them …"

"Lead them here, Robbins-rah?" squeaked Vervain in terror at the very idea, "The outsiders outnumber us, hrair to three. What chance could we possibly stand against him? That man-kitten will be our death warrant…!" Robbins shook his head. How this babbling simpleton had ever been Woundwort's confidant he'd never know.

"Use your brains, you fool; when you're faced with a stronger enemy, the key in to target the leaders. We'll ambush them with booby traps when they come looking for the girl. Once Hazel-rah and his subordinates have all been eliminated, the outsiders with be left leaderless and will eventually turn on each other. Meanwhile, we will gather our own followers; I estimate within a few years we'll have a sizable enough army to proceed with our conquest in earnest, using the secrets Drake left behind." His companions listened intently as Robbins continued.

"Vervain and I will go out and set the traps. Cowslip, you stay here and keep an eye on the girl. Make sure she doesn't escape, but don't you dare hurt her; she may be a prisoner, but she's to be treated well at all times. That's a standing rule for everybody. Understood?" Cowslip nodded to his new master.

From her prison-burrow, Lucy was listening to her captors' plans. She knew her friends would be coming to her rescue soon or later; but with that bad man Robbins waiting to pick them off one by one, she realised she couldn't just wait here to be saved. She had to escape first, to warn them...

Meanwhile, back on Watership Down, Derek and Hotdog were making their way home on horseback, following a long, futile search for Lucy. After she had been taken by the seemingly resurrected Robbins, they'd wasted no time and gone in pursuit of the kidnappers. Unfortunately, by that time, Vervain and Robbins were long gone. Going round in circles for hours but finding nothing, the two men had eventually given up the search and were returning home empty-handed.

As they glumly made their way up towards the warren, they suddenly heard a rustling coming from the forest at the foot of the Down. Alarmed, they raised their weapons, "Who's there?" bellowed Derek, "Answer or I'll shoot!" To their relief, Bigwig's voice answered, "It's all right, Derek, it's me. And guess whom I found!" Derek lowered his gun and stared at Bigwig as he emerged. With him were Fiver, Silverweed, who seemed to be unconscious and carried between him and Fiver, and…

"Alan?" Derek and Hotdog both gasped in unison, as they recognised the injured man limping along behind them, "Alan!" In an instant, the two men had grabbed their returned-from-the-dead friend in a fierce hug, nearly suffocating him in the process.

"Bloody hell, Al, we thought you were toast! How the hell did you make it?" Hearing the men shout Alan's name, the others came running out of the Honeycomb to investigate, stopping dead in their tracks at the impossible sight of their returned friend. Alan had come back to them alive.

In an instant, Alan was engulfed in so many giant furry bodies nuzzling him, he could scarcely breathe. Josie gave him a deep passionate kiss, something she had refrained from doing before out of faithfulness towards her late husband, who wasn't coming back. She'd only been a widow one day, but right now that didn't matter. Alan let out a cry of pain as a tearful dwarf rabbit jumped into his embrace, accidentally landing onto his broken arm.

"I knew you'd come back Alan!"

The man held the dwarf rabbit close using his good arm, "Of course I've come back, Pipkin. Surely, there wasn't any doubt about it?" he asked in a rather mischievous tone, smiling at the rabbit in his arms. To his surprise, Pipkin didn't smile back, only continued to sob miserably, as if tormented by some guilt. Staring around, Alan also realised one face, which he had been dying to see, was absent, "Where's Lucy?"

Instantly, all expressions of joy at Alan's return had vanished and were replaced with sadness. For a moment, there was utter silence, until Hazel spoke up, "Alan, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but you daughter has been kidnapped again." They all stood silent, expecting Alan to lash out at them in anger for letting him down; however, much to everyone's surprise, he merely nodded grimly, "It was Robbins, wasn't?" Hazel gasped in amazement.

"How in Frith's name did you know? Did you tell him?" Bigwig shook his head, as they all continued to stare curiously at Alan, who realised the time had come for explanations; he and Fiver would have to tell them about the Life Memory Journey and of the dark future that threatened their home soon. He turned to his friends.

"I need everyone aroused and assembled in the Honeycomb right away. There's something Fiver and I need to tell you…" But Josie interrupted, "No, Alan, right now you need rest. You can take your time to tell us everything after you've rested and I've treated your injuries. Come along." Although Alan let her support him so he could limp up the hill on his injured ankle, yet he remained persistent, "No, this can't wait. Everyone has to know of the danger…"

"Danger? What is he talking about?" asked Holly, following right behind them with Bigwig, "What in Frith's name is going on here, Bigwig?" The Captain of Owsla shook his head, "I'd like to know myself; from the moment I pulled them out of the river, they've been muttering something about Silverweed sending them to see our dead friends and reliving their lives' memories or something. It sounded almost as if they were delirious…" They all turned to look at the still-comatose Silverweed, whom Blackberry and Hawkbit was carrying back to the warren on their backs. Although there was no apparent injury on the silver-furred buck, he remained completely unresponsive, like a vegetable. What had he done to himself?

Ten minutes later, Alan and Fiver sat in the Honeycomb surrounded by their friends, who were waiting to hear their story. With the exception of the Efrafan evacuees, who had gone outside on morning silflay under the vigilant watch of Corporal Moss, only Violet was absent, having refused to leave Bluebell's side, who still lay in critical condition, showing no signs of improvement.

While Josie wrapped Alan's broken arm in a cast and dressed his wounds, the man launched into his story; how he'd woken up in the Land Beyond Life after falling from the balloon, finding the Threarah waiting to greet him (Silver gasped in surprise at this) and meeting all their dead friends and comrades in Frith's Sun Cave.

Fiver told them how he'd gone to ask Silverweed for advice, his timely vision showing him that Alan was indeed still alive, and deciding to go out in search of him (several rabbits including Hazel shot him disapproving looks at this). He also told them how they'd found Alan comatose and how Silverweed had used his mystic powers to sent him into Alan's broken mind, to bring him back from beyond; how he'd woken up in the Land Beyond Life, finding his father waiting to congratulate him and apologise for neglecting him all his life (At this, Hazel smiled warmly, pleased at his father's change of heart, even in death). By the time he was done, all the rabbits in the chamber were utterly dumbstruck.

"You both journeyed to the Land Beyond Life?" asked Blackberry in disbelief, "But how could a human possibly enter Frith's sacred lands? And receive such a warm welcome from our former Chief nonetheless, who was a dedicated patriot of rabbithood? He would never have approved of this…"

"That was because he was blinded by his own guilt," said Alan, "His heart was always set on protecting his people. Just like I confessed to Silver the other night, on his deathbed, he entrusted me with the task of helping you establish a new warren and to rid your world of Woundwort's threat. There were other humans there too; Drake, his family, my wife and parents and others who had died defending your world. El-ahrairah explained that because of a bond we share as a result of you having originated from us, some humans may choose to pass on into the Land Beyond Life after death."

Watershipers and Efrafans alike stared at each other, realising that the long-lasting animosity between their people had been nothing but a cruel scam initiated by Hemlock centuries ago; even humans, which, until now, had been regarded as nothing less than the darkest of elil, were in fact their creators and protectors all along, until their friendship had tragically crumbled as a result of Hemlock's manipulation and ultimate betrayal. But now, both species had been given a second chance at peace.

Alan and Fiver then launched into their story of the Life Memory Journey: The rise of the Four Brothers, Hemlock's betrayal, the return of Sven Shertok, their scheme to murder El-ahrairah, the end of peaceful rabbit-human coexistence and the beginning of the Lapine Dark Ages; Woundwort's failed infiltration of Sandleford and the destruction of Thinial with Myxomitosis; the Threarah's secret of the Gift of Prince Rainbow and his fear that Woundwort might exploit it to finish his ancestor's work.

Finally, they told them about the future-yet-to-come: the Watershipers torn apart, the fall of their colony, the war, and the realisation of Robbins' true identity. They concluded with the part of being thrown into the realm of Elil-rah, being mercilessly tormented by manifestations of their own fears and regrets, Alan's final confrontation with Woundwort and the Cross Bearer's Cross helping them escape back to the physical world.

"And that's our story," Alan concluded, "When I came to, I was lying washed up far downstream, with Fiver and Silverweed beside me. It was as if it had all been just a bad dream; but after everything I saw, I'm willing to bet my life it was anything but a dream. And that's why we need to act now."

Alan's friends all wore mixed expressions of shock, fear and, in the humans' case, anger. Hazel was fretting over an utterly embarrassed Fiver, after hearing of his brother's ordeal down in the realm of Elil-rah. Bigwig and Holly, for the first time in their lives, openly looked fearful at the thought of the grim future coming, whilst fighting the urge to be sick. Hawkbit had fainted. Many of the does on the verge of tears; after escaping Efrafa, now they were faced with the prospect of being enslaved or killed by another rising warlord. Derek and Hotdog were struck dumb with disbelief that Robbins was in fact their long forgotten friend Ronald Fields.

"Are you saying that psychopath kidnapper out there is Fields, back seeking revenge on you because of that stupid row you had all those years ago?" said Derek, unable to grasp the horrible truth that their own friend would go so terribly bad, "Don't get me wrong, Al, but surely you aren't being a tad bit optimistic? Fields, a murderer? True, he was a downright ass, but he never had the stomach for such brutality. Hell, that guy Robbins doesn't even have anything humane left in him…"

"How could he betray us?" growled Hotdog, furious at what he was hearing, "He was our friend! That ungrateful little bastard is no better than your waste of a brother, if you ask me. No offence, Al..." Ignoring Hotdog's insult of Royce, who, despite his attitude had made his truce before running out on his brother and dying, Alan explained.

"Fields' greatest fear was to feel inferior to those around him; it probably stemmed from his being abandoned, rather than left orphaned, by his own parents as a child. Mary falling for me because of his own mistakes was a great stab to his pride, and it set off his dark side completely. It explains why he didn't kill Lucy; he felt that she should have been his daughter and intended to make it so – that and to destroy anyone and anything close to me. And now, even after being thrown into this future world with us, he plans to finish the job proper."

"It doesn't matter," Bigwig interrupted him, "Whoever this Robbins, Fields or whatever his name is, is not our concern. What matters is that he poses a grave threat to our home and must be eliminated at all costs. He has to be found and killed quickly!" The other rabbits all muttered their agreements; the news of what Robbins would do in the not-so-distant future left no room for argument.

Suddenly, they were interrupted by a loud wail coming from the burrows, "No, Bluebell! Frith, I beg you, don't do this to me!" Josie, Alan, Hazel and Silver hurried into the burrow, where Bluebell lay, slowly succumbing to his injury. It was apparent by now that the jester buck wasn't going to make it; his damaged heart was hanging on by a thread, his condition worsening by the minute. As if realising so, Hazel took Alan aside for a private talk, while Silver tried in vain to comfort his distraught sister.

"He's dying, right?" Alan nodded sadly, "Isn't there anything you could do? I know Josie says there's nothing more that can be done, but perhaps you could come up with something…?"

Although Alan hated to encourage his Chief with false hope, he hated the thought of breaking the promise he'd made to Speedwell in the Land Beyond Life. But how could he possibly help Bluebell? Josie had already explained that his heart was damaged beyond repair; Bluebell's time left to live was quickly running out and there was no way to change that, save perhaps for a new heart… Wait, that was it!

"Hazel," he said, having suddenly coming up with a wild idea, "I think there just might be a way. Mind you, it will be difficult and the chances of success are drastically slim, but it's the only option I can think of." Hazel seemed to want to inquire about Alan's plan, but the man cut him off, "Get Fiver, Bigwig, Silver, Blackberry, Holly, Derek, Hotdog, Josie and Campion, and then join me in your burrow. Don't tell anyone else anything yet. I'll explain my plan after we are assembled in privacy." Although sceptical, Hazel obeyed and five minutes later Alan stood surrounded by his friends in the privacy of Hazel's burrow.

"Okay, this is what we're going to do: As you already know, Bluebell's heart in beyond repair. So that leaves us with only one choice: we need to replace his heart with a new one." The rabbits' reaction was as if they had been struck in the face with Mrs Hanson's frying pan. They all stared back at Alan in shock and confusion.

"Replace his heart? But that's impossible!"

However, Josie realised where Alan was getting at, "You're suggesting a transplant? But how? And from what donor?" Alan explained, "It is too obvious: we can use Speedwell's intact heart to replace Bluebell's. Speedwell was Bluebell's cousin, so their tissues should match." Not surprisingly, nobody seemed the least convinced of Alan's radical plan; the rabbits in particular were looking as if he was suggesting something terrible.

"You mean we desecrate Speedwell's body and use it as…as raw materials for some freak sorcery?" gasped Blackberry, "That's an abomination!" Holly nodded in agreement, "He's right. Speedwell may be dead but he must still be laid to rest with decency. If I were Chief Rabbit, I would most certainly forbid such a thing! No, we should accept Bluebell is going to die and make him as comfortable as possible. Violet will have to be faced with the truth…"

"It's not that I have any qualms about desecrating our friend's dead body," Bigwig also put in, "But I still think your plan is insane; if Speedwell is dead then his heart is dead too, so how can you expect it to do Bluebell any good? How do you even expect Bluebell to stay alive, when you try removing his old heart from his body? You'll just be killing him!"

"Not necessarily," explained Alan, who, as a scientist, knew a lot more about surgery than the rabbits, "Remember, back at Cowslip's warren, when Robbins shot me? Well, at that point, my heart had completely stopped for a whole minute until McEwen restarted it using CPR." Dismissing the sad thought of their dead comrade, he continued, "As long as the brain is still functioning, your body isn't completely dead. Besides, this isn't something new; back in our time, dozens of people have had organs transplanted from dead donors, and came out good as new." But his friends were still far from hopeful.

"Do you realise how much we would need for such a procedure?" asked Derek, "Our field hospital is not equipped to accommodate such complex surgery and none of us are qualified transplant surgeons, not even Josie. How do you except to pull this off without the appropriate facilities, equipment, medication or staff?"

"Derek's right," said Josie, "I've never performed such advanced surgery before; organ transplants in animals are doable only in theory, never tested. Even if we had all the necessary facilities, which we don't, what would our chances of success be? One in a hundred?"

"More that what I would give Bluebell if we just leave him like this, that's for sure," Alan persisted, "And if we're going to try this, it has to be soon; without proper refrigeration, Speedwell's body will soon decompose and his heart will be useless for transplant. It's worth a shot." However, some of the more conservative minds present would not be swayed.

"That doesn't stop it from being an outrageous abomination!" snapped Blackberry, "You have no right to do such a thing, even if it's meant for good purpose! It's Frith's will when we should die; it's not our place to cheat destiny, as you well know!" After hearing of their journeying into the past to correct the future, he had been so horrified by the idea of having the power to literally control fate, he wanted nothing to do with such an outrageous plan. Others, however, had different views.

"So we just sit back and let him die? 'Sorry Bluebell. Alan suggested an unusual way to save you but we had too many qualms to do it'," asked Fiver reproachfully, "What do you think Bluebell would say to that? Or Violet for that matter?" Blackberry only gave Fiver a disgusted look at his lack of support. Bigwig stepped in.

"I don't like it any better than you do, Fiver, but we have to face facts: Bluebell is dying and it's beyond our power to help him. Even Alan admits this plan of his is unlikely to succeed…"

"Then there's no harm is trying," Silver broke in. They all turned to look at the Threarah's nephew in surprise; although the chubby buck was far more open-minded than Blackberry, they didn't expect him to be willing to go along with such a plan, "If my Uncle was willing to see past his pride, then I can approve of Alan's plan to save Bluebell," he said, remembering how the Threarah had received Alan in the Land Beyond Life, "For my sister's sake, I'd be ashamed of myself if I didn't at least try." Blackberry looked furious.

"I can't believe what I am hearing!" he shouted, "You mean to tell me, you're all ready to go and start mutilating our friend's body? That's what the elil do! Or perhaps the likes of Woundwort and his savage Owsla…" But Campion, deeply offended by that remark, turned to glare at Blackberry with an angry stare.

"For your information, the General would have indeed approved of such a plan – but not as an act of savagery. Although he was a murderer and a traitor to rabbithood, he taught us priceless lessons, including how you can't expect Frith to be there and protect you at every turn; your survival depends entirely on your own actions. Although I agree it sounds unlikely to succeed, I believe Alan's plan is justified. There is no harm in trying, even if we fail…" Blackberry snorted.

"That's easy for you to say. Being the lackey of that killer all your life has rubbed off on you…" But Hazel, who had remained silent throughout the whole conversation, lost in thought, cut him off before he could say something that would make Campion angry, "That's enough, Blackberry!" As Chief Rabbit of Watership Down, the decision rested entirely with him and he'd made up his mind. He turned to face them all.

"Ever since we came to Watership Down our lives have been changed forever; between the reintroduction of humans into our world and the resurrection of El-ahrairah's legacy, it's obvious that things will never be the same again. Silver's right; it would be wrong not to try."

"And what do you think Speedwell would say about this, Hazel-rah?" retorted Blackberry, "If I were in his place and you desecrated my body, I would have waited till you arrived in the Land Beyond Life, so I could cuff you all on the nose!" Seeing the argument was getting them nowhere, Alan spoke.

"When I was in the Land Beyond Life, I spoke to Speedwell; as a last wish, he requested that I do everything within my power to save Bluebell. I guess that's the closest we have to Speedwell's permission to use his heart for the transplant." This finally silenced Blackberry; if Speedwell had requested it personally, then he ought to respect his late friend's wishes.

After a few minutes of silence, Hazel said, "Well, I guess we're going along with your plan, Alan. So, what do we do now?" Alan turned to Josie – this was entirely her department now.

"First, we're going to need a spacious, sterile environment to set up the operating theatre," she said, "Also, we're going to need a cardiopulmonary bypass machine for the operation, plus surgery tools, operating table, IVs, all the anaesthetic and antiseptic drugs we have, defibrillator, sutures, the works."

Going through all their available resources, they found the large field surgery kit Alan had purchased from a military surplus store, containing all the incision tools, defibrillator and oxygen resuscitator. Josie's veterinary supplies, packed in several boxes, were also put into the project, along with all the cleanest towels, sheets and sponges the colonists could spare. Then came the question of where to set up their surgery.

As they had no medical facilities of any kind handy, the operating theatre would have to be built from scratch. They had a couple of camping tents, but those were way too cramped to accommodate a whole team of surgeons and the patient; likewise, the HAB's medical bay was a filthy, unlit derelict, contaminated with centuries of unchecked dust. Then, going through their equipment, they found several square feet of transparent plastic canvas, used for covering. And duct-tape too, plenty of it. Now, they would utilise both.

"I suggest we set up the surgery in the HAB's library," he said, "It seems we might have some good use for HAL after all." The AI librarian, which held a compendium of all human knowledge in his memory core and also capable of processing all that knowledge accordingly upon request, could talk them through the surgery, step by step. Of course, they still didn't have a cardiopulmonary bypass machine, without which the surgery was impossible, but it was one problem at a time.

"But wasn't his memory core purged during the exodus?" asked Hotdog, causing Alan's hopes to plummet; then he remembered the drive with all the records of knowledge he had prepared back in London. Although definitely not as advanced as the original database, it should suffice for HAL to reconstruct his erased archives enough to talk them through the surgery. Only problem was how to transfer all that data from a home-user's 2010's computer to a high-tech 2040's computer, which were obviously completely incompatible with each other. Unless, of course, one had a first-class hacker to do the job.

"That's your department, Hotdog," he said, turning to his friend, "You're in charge of pulling another of your e-miracles out of your hat and update an A.I. hologram using software about 30 years obsolete." Hotdog hurried off to collect his precious hacker's laptop and the box with the data drives.

Alan, Derek and Josie gathered up all their equipment and with the rabbits' help, they lowered everything down into the HAB on pulleys. In the HAB's torched library, they cleared away the debris, leaving a clear space around HAL's screen. Using parts broken off the empty library shelves, Derek built a framework for a cube-shaped tent, which he pitched around HAL. Now that he had proper tools, the skilled engineer was back in business. The plastic canvas was spread onto the framework and across the floor, and the pieces joined together with duct-tape, creating an almost airtight room, safe from all the nasty contaminants of the HAB's dusty air. The interior was then sprinkled top to bottom with alcohol, to sterilize it.

With their makeshift surgery built, they could now set up shop. The tent was big enough to fit a gurney, a couple of worktables and all the medical supplies, whilst allowing the four rookie surgeons to move about without bumping into each other. Derek had brought down the batteries, which he set up outside the tent (there was no room inside) and mounted their work-lights onto an overhead gantry inside, according to Josie's specifications. A second power line was also rigged, which would keep the equipment running.

Hotdog, sitting like a Buddha at yoga with his laptop open on his lap, was busy tipping away. Numerous command lines and texts of naked binary code scrolled down his screen, as he struggled to hack the computer so it could 'talk' to HAL. The hologram was a closed-circuit system, including its power source, with no visible external wiring to hook up to, which meant the uplink would have to be done wirelessly. It had dozens of comm systems, which formed its elaborate, human-like stimuli, but they all used encrypted frequencies, which no early 21st century computer used. But Hotdog was one stubborn computer geek.

He found one of HAL's external systems was built to receive footage from a network of security cameras around the library (the same one that had recorded Shertok and Hemlock burn the library with all the people trapped inside in the original timeline), as well as to relay data to the library's work terminals. This data flow was transmitted and received in parsed signals divided into bytes; part of the data management involved recognising specific sequences from the library terminals, whilst ignoring signals from other hardware, literally creating a gap in the signal's code base. By inserting a few instructions into that gap, Hotdog was able to create a backdoor, jumping HAL's OS and patching the system so that it could talk to his computer; then, HAL could automatically update the drivers on Hotdog's laptop so that it could talk back, creating a two-way uplink.

With his terminal set up and running, Hotdog got to work rebuilding HAL's purged memory core. The data drives of e-books were hooked up and their contents wrapped up in a big zip file, with an attached command shell he'd prepared, so the package could be launched as one giant executable update. Uploading it into HAL's database, the AI hologram automatically scanned and filed all the data, 'relearning' his forgotten knowledge. The final outcome was restoring HAL's memory faculties to 25% of their original capacity – a poor imitation of the original super-intelligent machine, but it would do, especially with thinking humans on the job.

While Derek and Hotdog worked on the operating theatre, Alan and Josie went searching for a cardiopulmonary bypass machine in the HAB's defunct medical bay. Although it had been emptied in the evacuation, they were able to find some useful odds and ends, including a leftover surgical gurney wrapped in plastic wrapping, still spotless clean and ready to receive the patient. The greatest joy came when they found a broken-down cardiopulmonary bypass machine, but still in one piece. Although it seemed of little use to them, Alan knew just the man who could turn junk back into working goods. Gathering everything up, they hurryingly returned to the library.

The gurney was placed in front of HAL, where they could operate on Bluebell. Alan thought, with a shudder, it looked more like a casket in front of an altar during a funeral – which would be exactly the case for Bluebell if they couldn't pull this off. Josie set up her cardiograph machine on one table and Hotdog wired it up to his laptop, which in turn relayed all the readouts to HAL, so the AI could monitor the patient's functions. Then came the problem with the broken cardiopulmonary bypass machine they had to work with.

Derek was able to repair the pump's burst hoses with some spare IV tubing and duct-tape from their kit, which would bypass the heart and retain blood flow during the operation. A mixture of anticoagulants which Josie had prepared by dissolving warafin and herapin pills in a drip would be fed directly into the cannulas, to prevent clotted blood from accumulating in the tubes. But the oxygenator was damaged beyond repair, missing several components after being cannibalised for spare parts it seemed. So they could retain circulation, but were unable to re-oxygenate the blood. The only way around this was to supply oxygen directly through Bluebell's lungs, which of course wouldn't work during anaesthesia. They had no choice but to resort to some more primitive procedures.

Rigging a bag-valve breathing mask to an endotracheal intubator and in turn rigging that up to the hose of an oxygen supply with duct-tape, they were able to improvise a rudimentary mechanical ventilator, which would have to be operated entirely by a hand. With an operator squeezing on the bag in a steady rhythm would create positive pressure, filling up Bluebell's lungs with oxygen-rich air, which could be absorbed by diffusion; by reversing the flow in the hose, the operator could the release the excess carbon dioxide and then start over. A painstaking process, which would require two people constantly working the bag in turns, but it had to be done.

"All right, time to bring in the patient and the cadaver."

They returned to the Honeycomb and informed Hazel that they were ready. Word of Alan's plan to save Bluebell had spread and everybody was whispering nervously to each other, wondering how it would turn out, the majority with strong emphasis on failure. It took a while to persuade Violet to let them take Bluebell away. Finally, after a lot of persuasion from Hazel and Silver, Violet finally relented and let the humans hoist Bluebell onto a stretcher. Alan turned to Violet, "Don't worry; everything will be fine. I promise." The doe, although almost out of her mind with worry, slowly nodded at Alan, who patted her reassuringly between the ears before following his soon-to-be surgeons out.

Hotdog went down first, so he could receive Bluebell's stretcher on the end of the pulley, as well as a shroud containing Speedwell's corpse on ice. Hazel suggested that some of them should come along to assist them, but Alan insisted that none of them could be of any help whatsoever and that they needed privacy. They returned to their makeshift surgery, washed and suited up. They stepped inside the tent and Alan pulled the drapes closed. It was finally time to do or die.

They placed Speedwell's body onto the operating table first. Wearing a plastic gown and gloves, Josie picked up her scalpel and clamps. Derek stood by with the bone-saw. With HAL giving them instructions in the background, they cut open Speedwell's chest and carefully removed his heart. While his companions worked on Speedwell, Alan, with Hotdog's help, prepared Bluebell for general anaesthesia. A cocktail of anaesthetic drugs were pumped into the injured buck through a drip. He patted Bluebell's shoulder, who, although pretty snowed by all the sedatives Josie had been giving him to keep his vitals low, managed an acknowledging smile.

An hour later, they had placed Speedwell's harvested heart in a portable icebox, ready to be transplanted. With Speedwell's dissected body back in its shroud and out of sight, they placed the anaesthetised Bluebell on the table. The intubator in place, with Derek and Hotdog taking turns pumping it, and a spider web of biomed sensors taped to Bluebell's torso, monitoring respiration, blood pressure and pulse, they were ready to begin.

Josie filled a syringe and injected Bluebell with an immune-suppression drug, "All right, remember; when I tell you to do something, you do it promptly and without question. Any mistakes and Bluebell dies."

Doing one final check to ensure they hadn't overlooked anything and making sure everyone knew what to do, they got to work on one of the most optimistic experimental surgeries in the history of medicine. Preparing the patient to receive the transplant took drastically longer than removing his new heart from the cadaver. The group of amateur surgeons struggled to concentrate on their work, silently praying they didn't make some mistake, which could mean the last of Bluebell.

Following HAL's voiceover guidelines, Josie and Alan operated, while Derek and Hotdog manned the ventilator pump and monitored readouts. Cutting open his chest cavity and opening up the sternum, they carefully clamped the aorta and vena cava shut and severed them from the heart's entry valves. Quickly hooking them up to the cardiopulmonary bypass machine, which kicked in, retaining blood circulation by artificial means, they could remove the damaged heart, which had a deep gash on the left ventricle from Robbins' knife stab.

The old heart out and discarded, they placed Speedwell's heart into Bluebell's hollowed-out chest cavity and got to work carefully stitching the aorta and vena cava onto the replacement organ. Finally, after several hours of hard work, they were ready to take Bluebell off the bypass machine and test whether his new heart would start. Josie reached over Bluebell's dissected torso where the heart was and gave it a quick tap with the tip of her finger. The heart didn't start beating. She tried it again and again. Nothing.

"His brain can't hold out without oxygen for much longer. Get the defibrillator out. Hurry!" Quickly powering up the defibrillator, Derek slapped the pads onto the right side of Bluebell's chest and onto his left side, preparing to shock him, "Clear!"

He zapped Bluebell once, twice, getting nothing; each time the pulse detector readout would rise momentarily and then dip to nil again."Flat line; we're losing him!" A few more minutes oxygen starvation would kick in and the last spark of life in his body would die out. But Alan wasn't about to give up yet, "Hit him again! Do it, Deke!" Derek obeyed, sending yet another jolt of current through Bluebell's body, but they still couldn't kick-start his heart.

"Damn! Intracardiac, hurry!" Josie injected Bluebell's new heart with a stimulant to regenerate its beat. The chart on the cardiograph machine still read flat. With one last desperate attempt, Alan bent down and whispered in Bluebell's ear, "Bluebell, did you know that Bigwig is in love with Hawkbit? How about that, huh?"

The others stared at Alan blankly, thinking he'd lost his mind in desperation. Then suddenly, as if by a miracle, Josie noticed the pulse readout begin to rise. Bluebell's new heart had restarted! The continued to watch in silence as the cardiogram gave irregular, yet definite signs of life. They all held their breaths, waiting. Would the heart hold together? Perhaps the tissue was incompatible? Or had they waited too long and Bluebell had suffered irreversible brain damage? They watched until the readout finally settled on a weak, yet steady pulse; the heart had settled in its new body and was working again. The group breathed a sigh of relief; they had done it. They had bloody well done it!

Alan reached out with his good arm and shook Josie, Hotdog and Derek's hands, "Well done, everybody. I could never have done it without you all." Derek chuckled comically, "Oh, shucks man, it ain't nothing," he said in his thick Irish accent, earning a few laughs – the first laughs they'd had in days. As if on queue, HAL also spoke.

"Congratulations, Dr Johnson. A most remarkable triumph in animal medicine."

After stitching Bluebell's torso closed, but keeping him on oxygen to boost his oxygen-starved brain, Josie announced the operation complete. It was then that they became aware of the awful stench of sweat and blood that filled the tent. All four colonists were clammy, exhausted, covered in bloodstains, their throats dry from thirst and their stomachs rumbling with hunger. They had been working non-stop for nearly 24 hours.

None of the rabbits dared to even breathe, as the humans hoisting Bluebell back up into the Honeycomb on his stretcher. What had happened? Had Alan's radical plan worked? Or was Bluebell dead? They all stared in silence as Alan stepped over the edge of the shaft and turned to face the Watershipers with the announcement.

"Bluebell will live!"

There was a second of silence, before the crowd burst into cheers; Violet rushed to Bluebell's side, crying with joy and relief. Her mate had a long road to recovery ahead of him, but he would live. Alan would have felt real embarrassed at all that cheering, but right now he was too exhausted and sunk to his knees. Hazel rushed to his side, "Get some rest, Alan; you've earned it. I'll take it from here." Without bothering to answer, Alan, his eyelids heavy as lead, dragged himself to the burrow his companions were sharing as a dormitory and collapsed onto Lucy's empty bed without even bothering to remove his glasses. Before his head had even touched the pillow, he sunk into a deep, dreamless sleep.