Ｆｉｆｔｙ　ｙｅａｒｓ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｆｕｔｕｒｅ

　I looked at the mirror of the Machine to find an old man. According to Doc’s theory, I was sixty seven years old. Then I got out of the Machine. Since Doc had set it to the afternoon, it was still bright but the laboratory was no more than a ruin that seemed it would collapse at any time. I went to the neglected garden where the trees and grass were overgrown. Looking at the scenery I was really at a loss. I didn’t know what I should do.
Doc had been reduced to ashes!
　I was just standing there and all I could do was cry. Tears were rolling from my eyes. I stayed there and wept for a long while. Then I heard her voice.
“Hi, Ichiro.”
　It was the voice of my sister, Arisa. Then I looked back. She was quite old. She must have been sixty three.
“You didn’t come at the appointed time. So I thought you might be here.”
“Doc has been reduced to ashes!” I said while crying. “Time and Age were synchronized…”
“Synchronized?
“Yes.”
“Well, I guess you are…sixty seven.”
“Perhaps yes.”
“Then Doc must be far more than one hundred years! So he became ashes. Well, the Time Machine and the Age Machine are synchronized and…”
“What should we do?”
“Well, we should collect the ashes. I’ll bring a bag.”
　Then she went to her car and returned with an “Orange Mall” shopping bag.
“I’m so sorry this was the only bag I had. Anyhow, let’s collect the ashes and put them into it.”
　So we collected the ashes on the floor of the Machine then put them into the bag.
“So what should we do?” Then I asked.
“Well, let’s go to the hospital. And put Doc’s ashes on the back seat.”
　Then we got in the car. In the future, there is no steering wheel in the car, only a touch panel on which a map was displayed. Then she touched the hospital on the map and the car started silently.
“A cure has been found.” Soon she said. “And there is someone I want you to see.”
“Oh, you’ve completed it!”
“It’s been twenty five years since then. I can’t believe such a long time has passed…”
　Then we arrived at the hospital. And we walked down the corridor and so forth again to reach the office.
“This building had not been rebuilt and it was almost the same inside as it was twenty five years ago. Wait here a minute. I’ll go get him.”
　And soon after, she returned accompanied by a person who was younger than she and seemed to be in his mid-forties, and he was carrying a box. And I soon recognized him. He was the medical student twenty five years ago…though it was just ‘yesterday’ for me. And I remembered his words,
“Hey, you must give me all the documents or…!”
　And I also remembered Arisa’s words,
“So I have a feeling that he might accomplish something.”
　Then Arisa said,
“This is Dr. Koichi Tanaka. He received the documents twenty five years ago and worked with it for many years…”

　They said he had started the research of pancreatic cancer treatment as soon as they’d gotten the documents. And when he started, he was a medical student. And after he graduated from medical school, he became a doctor of internal medicine and of course, continued the research. He’d continued to research it for 10 years to discover very specific protein molecules on the surface of the cancer cells which were collected from the specimen of Devil’s mother.
　Five more years, and with the cooperation of the biochemistry department, he succeeded in chemical synthesis of a special sequence of amino acids which binds very tight with the protein molecule on the surface of the cancer cell.
　Then after 20 years he succeeded in binding an anti-cancer substance with the amino-acid sequence. This means that he’d succeeded in developing a new anti-cancer drug. And another several years later, the effectiveness of the drug was proven in both animal experiments and clinical trials of terminal pancreatic cancer patients. And it was recently approved by the country as a new anti-cancer drug for pancreatic cancer.
　The amino-acid sequences of this medicine ‘chase’ the cancer cells in human body and as soon as they ‘find’ the cells, they will bind very tight with the cells and the anti-cancer substance destroy them. So if the patient continues to take this medicine, the cancer cells will decrease and finally they will be removed completely. And with the outstanding effects, it created quite a sensation in the medical society.

“It took twenty five years to develop the medicine.” Then, Dr. Tanaka said, “And when I got to know the sufferers of pancreatic cancer, I felt as though it was my destiny. Well, I didn’t know why but I thought I was destined to develop the medicine. It was such an important thing that I devoted my life work to it. I worked hard day and night for twenty five years. Well, I don’t know who will take this medicine, but please take it to the patient.”
　Then he handed me the box.
“Thank you Dr. Tanaka.” I replied. Then he said,
“I hope he or she will get well!” And we shook hands.
“Thank you Dr. Tanaka.” Arisa also said, then, we parted and went to Doc’s house.