"The Deadly Cure" by Joel G.

Fifty meters from the Northern Shore, there appeared a rocky crag protruding from the calm sea. The clinking of a chisel against Lawrencium crystal broke the silence and rebounded off the hardened crystal walls of the partially filled cave. The aquamarine stone was very difficult to remove from the roof of the cave, but he needed it. According to the studies he had conducted on himself, the radioactive cells in his brain were about to reach his hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for safeguarding his memories, his most treasured possessions. According to his calculations, the radioactivity of the crystal would decay those cells into a form of heavy metal that wouldn’t harm him.

Satisfied with the results of his expedition, he smiled to himself as he approached his beat up Jeep.

As he reached for the door handle, he heard a taunting voice behind him say, “Good afternoon Professor Felkon.”

His body went numb.

“We were just wondering what a bookworm like you is doing out spelunking.”

Without turning around, the professor responded, “I was just out for a nature expedition.”

“Your gamma signature says otherwise,” retorted the government official.

                  […]

                  That was the last he remembered. The official had left him on the steps of his house, and after taking account of the recent events, he was suddenly aware of the throbbing in his head. The impact of the official’s gun on his neck had aggravated his already dismal situation. He thought about how the new regime had killed all his friends because they believed that the poor were the roots of their problems. Now the professor had to contend with his debilitating ailment, that each moment was getting closer to his hippocampus. In addition, he was the only one who knew about the ultra-gamma radiation that the Lawrencium emits and how to stop the radiation.

Spurred on by rage, he went to the local bazaar and scavenged electrical parts from an old cathode ray tube TV and a radio wave transceiver. He used these to fashion a device that would emit signal that acted as a human EMP, shutting down the human body momentarily.

                  As he approached the weapons facility where he knew that the Lawrencium crystal would be stored, he tried to formulate a plan in his head. However, he found this almost impossible because of the relentless throbbing in his head. He approached the gates.

                  “Sir, you are not allowed anywhere near this facility.”

                  Felkon responded by discharging two “human EMPs” with the whip of his wrist. The charges leveled the two guards and allowed Felkon to take their security passes and enter the premises. Four officials crumpled in the same manner after he walked through the lobby and into the elevator. As he clutched his head from the searing pain, he scanned the elevator directory and found the materials R&D sector. As he stepped off the elevator, he quickly found the storage unit, located the Lawrencium crystal, and collapsed under the unbearable pain, seeing spots. The lifesaving crystal slowly rolled out of his hand and out of his reach…