“I like that,” Neely replied with a smile. “Unfortunately, some people are trying to make the world a better place in a much more frightening way.”
“I’m so sorry for what you had to go through.”
“At least I’m still here,” she reflected, somewhat optimistically. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?”
“Theoretically.”
They both laughed.
There was a knock on the door and when it opened, Caesare stepped in, followed by Clay and Borger.
“We interrupting?”
Neely shook her head and pulled herself together. “No. Come in.”
The three men approached, watching as Neely and Alison exchanged a warm glance, then scooted their chairs apart.
“Where’s Li Na?”
“Sleeping,” Neely said.
Caesare nodded. “How is she?”
She sighed and folded her arms. “Not great.”
“Physically or psychologically?”
“Psychologically, she’s a mess. She’s going to need some therapy. I’ve watched her spiral more and more inward through these series of traumas. And physically it’s even worse.”
“Meaning?”
“I didn’t want to say anything before, in front of Li Na, but there are some things we need to talk about.” She paused for a moment, sorting through her thoughts. “Actually, I’m not even sure where to start. Something…is happening to her. And it’s not good.” She looked at Clay and Caesare. “Those genetic changes I told you we needed to keep an eye out for, they’re happening. And it’s worse than I feared.”
“Crap.”
“The bacterium inside her is changing. Inside her genes. Things that are frankly, kinda hard to believe.”
Clay frowned. “Like what?”
“Originally I was afraid it would change parts of her unmapped DNA, what we call junk DNA. And it is.”
“How bad is it?”
“Well, this is where things get strange. I feared that it would break things, genetically. Things we could not fix, even with new customized medications. But I’m not sure if breaking is the right word. What’s happening to Li Na appears to be, for lack of a better term, that some genes are being activated. Either new gene functions, or old junk DNA that has remained dormant for generations, are now being reactivated. My guess is that it’s the former.”
Caesare flashed a look at Clay. “What exactly is being activated?”
“This is the difficult part,” Neely sighed. “Li Na, it seems, is developing the ability to absorb new DNA.”
From her chair, Alison looked perplexed. “What does that mean?”
“She’s a Mosaic,” Neely replied.
“A what?”
“A Mosaic.”
Caesare looked back and forth between them. “She’s a picture?”
“No. There are two meanings of the word. The most common is that of a picture or collage, made up of many different pieces. But mosaic also has a biological term. Meaning an individual, or animal, made up of cells of two genetically different types.”
Caesare lowered his brow. “Now that…doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s not. But it’s happening. And I’ve seen it. Her body seems to have developed the ability to absorb foreign DNA.”
“What would be considered foreign?”
Neely exhaled. “As in foreign animal DNA.”
The other four in the room traded stunned expressions.
“She has absorbed fragments, which frankly, I don’t think we can fix. If we can, it will take years…at least.”
“Well,” Borger said, “if it takes time, it takes time.”
“You don’t understand. We don’t have years. We probably don’t even have weeks. Whatever changes her body is going through, it’s also causing severe biological reactions that are getting worse. A lot worse. So bad that I don’t know if she’s going to survive many more.”
“No,” Clay’s face became dour. “No.”
“I’m sorry, John. I wish things were different.”
“And we can’t fix it?” asked Caesare.
“I don’t know. If we can, it won’t be from here. The ship doesn’t have what we would need.”
“What would we need?” asked Clay.
“A hospital,” she replied. “A real hospital, with a genetics lab.” Neely looked up at them. “And maybe an operating room.”
Clay shook his head.
“Look, I’m not saying it’s impossible. But even if it’s not, it will be difficult. If we can figure out how to minimize or even stop the reactions she’s having, it could buy us more time. But we’ll need an actual research facility. If we are able to get her survival odds up from weeks to months, then maybe we can find a permanent fix.”
“Those don’t sound like good odds.”
She gestured at Caesare apologetically. “I couldn’t even begin to quantify this. I’m sorry.”
He shrugged. “I hate knowing the odds anyway.”
“So what do we do?” Clay asked.
“Right now, we let her get some rest. Get her back on a regular sleep cycle. Then we work on suppressing her episodes.”
Alison nodded and stood up next to her. “Okay. One step at a time. We can do this.”
Clay smiled at her and stepped forward, wrapping an arm around her waist. “One step at a time.”
She grabbed his shirt with both hands to pull him in for a kiss, in a moment of lightness. But she caught Caesare rolling his eyes.
“Really?”
“Oh, be quiet.”
“Do you two need thirty minutes to be alone?”
“Believe me,” Alison replied. “Thirty minutes would not be enough.”
Borger frowned. “Okay, I’m starting to get uncomfortable. Some of us don’t even have a girlfriend.”
“That’s not our fault, Will.” Caesare grinned and motioned to his pastel-colored Hawaiian shirt.
“What’s wrong with my shirt?”
“Nothing. Women like a man who looks like he’s always searching for a hammock.”
“Which is only a few steps away from long walks on a beach.”
At that, Caesare guffawed and clapped him on the shoulder. “You got me there.” He then turned to find Neely trying not to smile.
Alison squeezed her arm. “Are you okay?”
She breathed in. “I’ll be fine. Thank you though. Besides, I hear you had your share of excitement too.”
With an eye roll, Alison grinned. “You could say that. The good news is that you and Li Na are safe.” She glanced at her watch. “And in another hour and a half, you’re going to learn something that will take your mind completely off the last few days.”
“Oh, really? And what’s that?”
“I would tell you, but this is something you’re going to have to see to believe.”
152
“Un-be-lievable.”
Just over ninety minutes later, Will Borger let out a soft whistle while shaking his head in disbelief. He was not alone. Neely Lawton’s lab was now packed from wall to wall with additional crew, all staring in concert at three monitors positioned side by side on the long table against the wall. All three monitors displayed the same video images––a live feed from the interior of the alien ship.
On the screen, the hand of Petty Officer Beene appeared, reaching forward and pressing against one of the darkened walls, causing it to illuminate in bright green. And along with it, sketched lines could be seen snaking off in different directions.
“Look at that! It looks like computer circuitry.”
“Yep.”
Next to Borger sat Elgin Tay, with his braced leg extending straight out in front of him. Behind them stood the rest of the engineering team, Captain Emerson and Officer Harris, then Clay and Caesare, plus a few others. Neely, standing near the back, turned and shot Alison a silent, astonished look.
Alison’s response was a silent, “Right?!”
Borger studied
the screen in fascination. “And the whole thing is like this?”
“Pretty much.”
After a few minutes of moving about, the camera angle changed and Beene could be seen descending a ramp. Upon reaching the bottom, he turned and filmed himself moving through several more rooms, most of which appeared empty.
“So, what do we think this is?”
“It’s hard to say,” answered Ackerman from behind them. “Most rooms don’t have much in them.”
“That doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
“Actually, it might.” Ackerman glanced down at Tay and motioned with his head, prompting Tay to explain.
“It does if we consider the properties of the ship. More specifically, its ability to heal itself.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, if the ship is designed to repair itself over a long journey, and automatically, it would stand to reason that it would remain able to do so––as long as the ship had the material and energy necessary.”
Borger nodded while remaining transfixed on the screen, until he suddenly realized what Tay was implying. “It couldn’t be destroyed.”
“That’s what we’re thinking.”
“Holy crap. I never thought of that.” He raised his arms, folding them across his chest. “If that’s true, then it could mean–”
“It may still be functional,” finished Tay.
“Ohhh, boy.”
“It’s just a guess. But it could explain why so much of the ship is empty.”
Borger nodded again. “So, if they couldn’t destroy it, then maybe the only thing they could do was take it apart. At least what they could.”
“Then ditch the ship.”
“Wow. This is big,” Borger breathed. “This is really big. Because if that’s correct, then the next question is what happened to everything that was scrapped?”
“So far, we think there’s a navigation system, a propulsion system, and probably some kind of life-support system missing. If not more.”
“Doesn’t mean they still exist though. Maybe the smaller pieces could be destroyed. Burned or incinerated or who knows.”
“It’s possible,” Ackerman acknowledged. “But if those systems were also designed to repair themselves, like the rest of the ship, to protect them from damage, they might not have been easy to destroy either.”
Borger couldn’t believe it. “Geez, what an extraordinary design. Imagine what we could learn from this. Just the concept. Let alone how to create and infuse that liquid into something. Something non-organic.”
“Ships that wouldn’t sink.”
“Or airplanes that wouldn’t crash.”
Of course, it was bigger than that. And everyone in the room knew it. Those were just some obvious examples. The truth was, thousands of smaller uses could affect virtually everything.
“Okay, I say the first thing we do is patent this baby,” Caesare joked.
“The real problem,” Captain Emerson stressed to this select group, “is keeping it secret.” He looked around, making sure neither Li Na nor particularly M0ngol were in the room. He raised his voice, “In case any of you were wondering, you’re all going to have to be upgraded to higher clearance levels. And that means new rules and protocols for you and anyone you communicate with. I don’t have to explain what could happen if any of this got into the wrong hands.”
The captain surveyed the room and briefly looked at each person.
“Well, the government kept the Roswell crash secret for over sixty years,” Borger blurted.
Everyone looked at Borger. “We’re part of the government, Will,” Clay retorted.
“I’m just saying.”
“All right,” Emerson barked. “Let’s not start donning our tinfoil hats just yet. We have more important things to do. Like figure out what else might be missing from this thing, and more critically, whether or not we have an operational ship on our hands.”
153
High in the mountains of Rwanda, only faint remnants of daylight remained, soaking the horizon in a deep dark purple with dozens of stars already appearing overhead.
From a distance, the highest peak appeared as still and undisturbed as any other along the range. Even up close, nothing unusual could be seen or heard.
All activity was hidden by a light-scattering energy field originating near the top of the mountain. Where, beneath a wide rock opening resting amongst giant boulders, a bright ambient glow poured out through the stone doorway.
Inside, dozens of pieces of advanced machinery filled the first third of the cavern, stretching from wall to wall of the smoothed interior. Beyond the machines and scientific equipment stood dozens and dozens of giant glass columns, each filled with green glowing liquid and housing thousands of tiny objects inside.
All except one.
Several men, all short and bald, surrounded the systems, carefully examining computerized results. One man turned when he heard a grunt at the door.
There, at the bottom of the stone entrance, were two hazel eyes peering up. Wide and curiously staring into the brightly-lit room, the eyes belonged to a young gorilla he had seen before. A moment later, another set of eyes—smaller, gray, and unblinking—peered around the first.
Standing next to a large white and blue machine, Palin watched the primates carefully. Their presence left him unsurprised when DeeAnn Draper stepped into view, followed by Ronin.
Palin’s older eyes studied her, assessing her demeanor, then finally lowered a device in his hand with a hint of apprehension.
“DeeAnn Draper, you have returned.”
“I have,” she spoke sharply, stepping inside. “Surprised?”
Palin tilted his head slightly. “I am. Is everything all right with you?”
“That depends…”
Palin waited for the rest.
“On what you are about to tell me.”
His eyes darted briefly to Ronin, standing behind her. “I do not understand.”
“I made him bring us, if that’s what you’re wondering. Not the best use of energy, I hear. But it was important.”
“I see,” nodded Palin thoughtfully.
DeeAnn scanned the room and spotted the tall empty column in front of her. “What are you doing?”
The older man followed her gaze. “We are studying what has been left here.”
“It looks like you’re doing more than that. You’ve drained the whole thing.”
“I’m afraid we required a sizable sample for study.”
“You don’t say,” DeeAnn replied. “Funny, here on Earth we can study something as small as a drop of liquid. Smaller actually. And we’re what, a few hundred years behind you?”
“You appear agitated, DeeAnn Draper.”
Moving toward the column, she stared at the multitude of small, glistening objects inside. Now clumped together at the bottom, the thousands of tiny spheres filled up the lower third of the column.
DeeAnn stopped and looked at him. “And what would you say happens to those when you drain their liquid?”
“They will also be studied.”
She closed in, pausing just a few feet from the glass. “After they die?”
Palin said nothing.
“They will die, right?”
He glanced solemnly at Ronin again. “They will likely expire.”
“Expire,” she repeated. “That sounds so…clinical. Like the milk in my refrigerator, when it expires. Or would eggs be more appropriate?”
“You are upset about something.”
“Why would you assume I’m upset? Because I’m asking what happens to these when you take away their nutrient? The nutrient that’s keeping them alive?”
“The seeds will expire.”
“Seeds,” DeeAnn repeated again. She leaned in closer, enough to see fog from her warm breath appear on the glass. “Not all of these are seeds,” she stated. “Some are seeds, and some are embryos. Aren’t they?”
Placing his hands behind hi
s back, Palin nodded. “Yes.”
“So you’re not just killing thousands of seeds…but thousands of embryos too. Some people on Earth have strong feelings about that.”
“What would you have me do?”
DeeAnn turned and met his stern gaze with one of her own. “How about beginning with the truth.”
He hesitated. “The truth is that we cannot replicate this substance. It has elements we are not familiar with. So, we cannot copy it. But we can use it.”
“And how many of these things are you planning to drain?”
“DeeAnn Draper, I do not think you fully understand the magnitude of what we are trying to accomplish here––of what I have been tasked with. We are in a fight to preserve our existence. Not just for ourselves, but our entire planet. A planet where millions of species have already perished. Plants, animals, insects, birds––all of them are nearly extinct. Forever. And our planet itself is about to see the same fate, lacking the millions of creatures required to keep its ecosystem alive.”
Palin continued, “This is not a science experiment, DeeAnn Draper. This is our mission, a desperate effort to preserve the thousands of remaining species that still live. And to pray that they will be enough.” He stepped towards her. “So, to that end, I will do anything I can and use anything within my grasp to succeed.”
“By any means necessary.”
Palin nodded. “Any means necessary.”
DeeAnn remained focused, her eyes still on the older man. Undeterred.
“And would you use all of these canisters if you could save your planet?”
“Any and all means necessary,” he repeated calmly.
She surveyed the room again, eyes moving over the hundreds of columns, with the farthest rows fading off into darkness. When her eyes returned to Palin, they bore the same unchanged intensity. “Why do you think these are here?”
Mosaic (Breakthrough Book 5) Page 45