Next: A Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

forms.
    Eventually the forms were ten pages long, a whole document in dense legal language.”

    “And did you sign them?”

    “Toward the end, no.”

    “Why not?”

    “Because some of the forms were releases to permit the commercial use of my tissues.”

    “That bothered you?”

    “Sure. Because I didn’t think he was telling me the truth about what he was doing. The reason for all the tests. On one visit, I asked Dr. Gross straight out if he was using my tissues for commercial purposes. He said absolutely not, his interests were purely research. So I said okay, and I signed everything except the forms allowing my tissues to be used for commercial purposes.”

    “And what happened?”

    “He got very angry. He said he would not be able to treat me further unless I signed all the forms, and I was risking my health and my future. He said I was making a big mistake.”

    “Objection! Hearsay.”

    “All right. Mr. Burnet, when you refused to sign the consent forms, did Dr. Gross stop treating you?”

    “Yes.”

    “And did you then consult a lawyer?”

    “Yes.”

    “And what did you subsequently discover?”

    “That Dr. Gross had sold my cells—the cells he took from my body during all these tests—to a drug company called BioGen.”

    “And how did you feel when you heard that?”

    “I was shocked,” her father said. “I had gone to Dr. Gross when I was sick, and scared, and vulnerable. I had trusted my doctor. I had put my life in his hands. I trusted him. And then it turned out that he had been lying to me, and scaring me needlessly for years , just so he could steal parts of my own body from me and sell them to make a profit. For himself. He never cared about me at all. He just wanted to take my cells.”

    “Do you know what those cells were worth?”

    “The drug company said three billion dollars.”

    The jury gasped.

    CH002

    Alex had been watching the jury all during the latest testimony. Their faces were impassive, but nobody moved, nobody shifted. The gasps were involuntary, evidence of how deeply engaged they were with what they were hearing. And the jury remained transfixed as the questions continued:

    “Mr. Burnet, did Dr. Gross ever apologize to you for misleading you?”

    “No.”

    “Did he ever offer to share his profit with you?”

    “No.”

    “Did you ask him to?”

    “Eventually I did, yes. When I realized what he had already done. They were my cells, from my body. I thought I should have something to say about what was done with them.”

    “But he refused?”

    “Yes. He said it was none of my business what he did with my cells.”

    The jury reacted to that. Several turned and looked at Dr. Gross. That was a good sign, too, Alex thought.

    “One final question, Mr. Burnet. Did you ever sign an authorization for Dr. Gross to use your cells for any commercial purposes?”

    “No.”

    “You never authorized their sale?”

    “Never. But he did it anyway.”

    “No further questions.”

    The judge called a fifteen-minute recess, and when the court reconvened, the UCLA attorneys began the cross-examination. For this trial, UCLA had hired Raeper and Cross, a downtown firm that specialized in high-stakes corporate litigation. Raeper represented oil companies and major defense contractors. Clearly, UCLA did not regard this trial as a defense of medical research.
    Three billion dollars were at stake; it was big business, and they hired a big-business firm.

    The lead attorney for UCLA was Albert Rodriguez. He had a youthful, easy appearance, a friendly smile, and a disarming sense of seeming new at the job. Actually, Rodriguez was forty-five and had been a successful litigator for twenty years, but he somehow managed to give the impression that this was his first trial, and he subtly appealed to the jury to cut him some slack.

    “Now, Mr. Burnet, I imagine it has been taxing for you to go over the emotionally draining experiences of the last few years. I