The Trojan Horse Pandemic

by Veronica Preda

  “Your password, sir?”

  “If what it says here is true, then my network will not be worth a penny soon.”

  ***

  Two weeks after this discussion, in the Mule's laboratory, Timea, Ryan and Dr Yesipov were supervising the testing of the water samples from Calypso Deep. Ulysses had settled as comfortably as possible into the Mule's network, and was now making remarks from one of the lab computers:

  “Damn if this is not the greatest network I've ever accessed! Take a look at these bloody satellites! I didn't know that such networks existed! Fuck the Interpol network! Now they can kiss my cyber ass!”

  “This is not possible!” exclaimed Kim, the marine biologist who was analyzing the tests results, interrupting Ulysses. “Give me those pictures one more time!” he barked at his lab assistant. “Are you sure that this water is from Calypso Deep?”

  “Of course!”

  “Well, this is a Vanvoorstia bennettiana.”

  “A what?” Ryan and Timea asked at the same time.

  “A red alga!”

  “So what?”

  “Don't you get it? Apart from the fact that an alga should not be able to live at such a depth because it is biologically impossible, this is a Vanvoorstia bennettiana.”

  The others were looking at him, blinking fast.

  “This seaweed piece of shit went extinct over a century ago.”

  “Your dirty-mouth friend is right.” the biologist said. “There is no record that this alga has ever existed in this part of the world. In addition, what is puzzling me is that it must have undergone some genetic changes in order to live without light. This alga is a contradiction of the principles of nature.”

  “Let's see what it contains,” Ryan said.

  They ran the tests over and over.

  “Doctor, what the hell does this look like to you?” Kim asked Yesipov.

  “I don't have the slightest idea. I've never seen such a thing. What chemical element is this? What about this one?” Yesipov said, pointing to the molecular structure on the screen.

  “Well... I hoped you'd tell me.” Kim answered.

  “It doesn't look like anything I know.”

  “Nevertheless, this structure reminds me of something,” Timea intervened. “Ulysses, please compare this structure with the known chemical compounds. Kim, what could be found in algae? What is special about them? Something related to ATP.”

  “ATP sulfurylases. There are studies proving that algal enzymes have features that are not found in other organisms. Algae have an extraordinary ability to protect themselves from radiation and pollution, so they have developed breathtaking enzymatic mechanisms.”

  “You can bet your ugly asses that this is an enzyme. I just can't find out what the hell it's made of. The chemical elements that compose it are totally unknown on this fucking planet.”

  “Doctor Dulay – Yesipov said to Ryan – could you disconnect or delete this talking program? It speaks disgustingly and it's driving me crazy.”

  “Yesipov, he just wants to help us.” Kim intervened. “Leave him alone. He's funny. Didn't you talk like that when you were a student? And we have to admit: he works hundreds of times faster than all of us together.”

  “Doctor Yesipov, Ulysses is our friend.” Timea said.

  “Yes, doctor.” Ryan confirmed. “And he's under your boss' protection, like all of us. So it would be better to leave his circuits in peace. What about this enzyme?”

  Yesipov muttered under his breath for a while, then returned to the tests he was running.

  “I think we've found the answer!” Timea whispered to Ryan, shaking like a leaf.

  “It's time for new tests! We need the crystals I left in my office, and mice! Lots of mice!” Ryan said.

  The Mule kept his promises. The protection suits were ready. A fine film of water was inserted between the sheets of the protective gear, creating a shield around the body.

  “I personally made sure that all your instructions were carried out in their entirety.” The Mule said to Ryan.

  “The face is still a problem. Either we keep the face exposed or it will be difficult to see properly through the front aperture, due to the water film.”

  “You do realise that this can only be a temporary solution. We cannot transform ourselves into a kind of strange-looking astronauts. And no one can live forever in a suit.”

  “Of course I do. But this equipment is exactly what we need at this moment, during the testing. I'm afraid we are compelled to again interact with the crystals I left in my office. Otherwise, we'll never know if what we found in the Mediterranean is really a breakthrough”

  “I'm sending a team to London.”

  “Send another one to Skiathos. There is a high probability that the crystals are no longer in my office. But maybe they didn't think of the abandoned house of the Karides family.”

  Ryan's intuition proved correct, and the Mule's teams returned only with the crystals from Greece. The small conglomerate in Ryan's office was already gone.

  “Careful!” Ryan said to the team who was manipulating the crystals. “This piece is significantly bigger than what I had in London! Do not under any circumstances remove your protective suits!”

  A few days later, Ryan, Timea and Kim were in the lab, surrounded by piles of papers, test tubes and graduated cylinders, and for the first time in weeks, Ryan opened a bottle of champagne. The serum Yesipov created was working. The algal enzyme proved to be a redoubtable opponent of the klonyc emissions, able to chelate the unknown chemical element and to force its elimination through the renal system of mice. Thus, the ATP was no longer bound, and was transformed into an inert compound. The cellular reserves and turnover of the ATP were no longer blocked. The mice that had not received the serum died after a short exposure. The exposure was even shorter than Ryan had expected. He said to Timea: “You were right; the crystals have grown in power. These mice died within minutes!” But the mice injected with the serum survived, their vital signs unchanged and with no clinical indications of necrotic tissue in their bodies. Kim said:

  “We still have so many questions. How this alga, which we considered extinct for over one hundred years, has suddenly reappeared so far from its original environment? Furthermore, I don't get how it can survive at such depths. This enzyme: what is it? Where did this mysterious chemical composition come from?”

  “I have no similar records... regarding the compounds, I mean” Ulysses added. “Neither the element within the klonyc radiations, that binds and inactivates cellular ATP, nor this enzyme you found are, at least to some extent, analogous to any terrestrial atoms or molecules. My extended compilation of countless chemistry logs, both ancient and contemporary, has displayed no inputs of this enzymatic mechanism. Therefore we can conclude that this is a bloody extraterrestrial alga.”

  “This alga existed on Earth, we have evidence.” Kim said.

  “Then, we can admit a hypothesis that I wouldn't have even imagined two months ago. Someone modified this seaweed at some point. Someone from Earth or from another world.” Timea added. “I cannot stop thinking how much Karides knew about this. But I'm guessing that some questions will remain unanswered, no matter how hard we try to understand...”

  “This isn't the main issue now,” Ryan said. “The main issue is to find out if the serum works on humans. I think it's time to initiate the next phase, but whom would we find to begin the testing with?”

  Without a single word, Timea stood up and approached the table on which the vials with serum were placed. The syringe was already in her hand.

  “Timea, no!”

  She did not answer. She needed only a few seconds to take a vial, fill the syringe and to stick the needle in her arm.

  “Holy shit!” yelled Ulysses.

  “Timea, what have you done? Quickly, lie down. Kim, we need to measure her vital signs. Can you breathe? Are you sweating? God!” Ryan grabbed his wife's shoulders, almost forcing her to lie on a couch.


  “Ryan, it is you who is hurting me! Relax! I feel quite well! If Jonas Salk succeeded, why wouldn't I?”

  “Great example! You forget that not all self-experimentation cases went well! But what about Carrión García and Jesse Lazear? Ryan, measure her blood pressure! Kim, go and find a goddamned defibrillator! Why are you standing there like a bloody buffoon? You idiots! You have bodies, you have hands! Do something with those limbs!”

  “Ulysses, chill out!” Timea said, smiling. “I'm perfectly OK. Now just one more thing... Where are the crystals Yesipov used?”

  “Timea, why did you do that? We would have found some...”

  “What, Ryan? Some subjects to test the serum on? Why waste time? Sooner or later, we would have been forced to face the truth. We cannot shelter forever in those suits. It is either the crystals or this enzyme.”

  “I won't let you do that alone!” Ryan said and took a syringe. Kim did the same.

  “Ulysses, how much time do you estimate? How long should the exposure be to find out if the enzyme is working in our bodies?”

  “According to my simulations, one hour should be sufficient!”

  “Well, one hour will pass easily when you expect to see if you'll live or die!” Timea said.

  Part IX

  Everyone has to Choose

  Nothing happened. They decided to exit the lab where they had exposed themselves for two hours to the same conglomerate that had killed Angela Karides and Ronnie. Kim went out first, followed by Ryan.

  “Timea, aren't you coming?” Ryan asked, looking at his wife, who was standing with her back to him.

  “In a second!” she replied.

  She exited the lab a few moments later, smiling.

  “This enzyme works. There's no doubt about it. And to be honest, I believed that it would from the moment I saw its structure on the screen.” Timea said.

  “Where did this certainty come from?” Ryan asked.

  “Remember at the museum? I had this feeling there was something wrong... I had a similar feeling now, but in the opposite way. If the klonymium crystals proved to be beyond our knowledge and understanding and from an outer world as well, why would it be so hard to accept a cure beyond reasonable human capacities?”

  “I understand what you mean. An extraterrestrial cure for an extraterrestrial plague... Why not? After all, we have seen so many things in these last weeks that everything seems plausible to me now...” her husband replied. “The only thing left to do now is to produce enough serum” he added.

  “I don't think that is a problem” Ulysses said. “The Mule collected thousands of tons of water from Calypso Deep and thus harvested tons of algae. I'm pretty sure that he has already stored at least 1,000 litres of serum in his underground bunker ”

  “Are you sure?” Timea, Ryan and Kim asked at the same time.

  “You bet your asses I'm sure! What I'm not sure about is what he discussed for two hours with his son-in-law and two other guys in the garden. The bloody mobsters were cautious and left all phones and devices in their office. I couldn't hear what the hell they were saying.”

  “Well, we have to come up with a diplomatic way to ask him what he plans to do!” Ryan said.

  “You have had enough adrenaline for one evening, I guess!” Ulysses said. “Go get some sleep. I will gather as much information as I can tonight and tomorrow we'll think together of how to ask the Mule what he's been up to.”

  “Ulysses, your language is becoming more and more... graphic and unorthodox... but when you're right, you're right!” Timea said, yawning.

  “Oh, God, do you feel weakened?” Ryan asked her, jumping from his chair, which fell on the floor.

  “No, not at all. I'm just dozy... “

  “What? Oh, I thought for a moment you said dizzy...”

  “Sleepy, my love!”

  In the apartment that the Mule had put at the disposal of the Dulays, Timea locked the door and approached her husband.

  “I lied back there, in the lab! I'm not sleepy at all, I just wanted to be with you! Alone! I've missed you! I need you! For the first time since all this madness started, I feel relieved. I can be myself again... I want to enjoy life again! Please kiss me, Ryan!”

  “Let's switch off our phones! Ulysses may hear us!”

  “I don't care!”

  She unbuttoned his shirt and kissed his neck. Her mouth descended, allowing her to savour his scent, to feel the texture of his skin, to explore his pecs with her tongue. Her lips moved down over his abdomen, following that V line his lower abs were forming, right at the line of his trousers. She ran her fingers through his chest hair while kissing him again on the lips. His arms were pulling her body towards him, pressing her breasts again his chest. Her right hand insinuated between them and loosened his belt, allowing her to caress him lower and lower, until she flung back her head, with her eyes closed and sighed, feeling his mannish answer to her touch.

  Two hours later, she was sleeping, smiling at something her subconscious was showing her. She heard the phone alarm, which intruded upon her dreams, making her mumble: “Ryan, turn it off, we are on vacation!” Ryan turned on the other side, muttering a few words under his breath. But soon afterwards, his phone began honking like a pissed taxi driver. “When in His name did I set this phone to toot like this?”

  “It's me, Ryan! Wake up! Hurry!” It was Ulysses's voice.

  Someone knocked on the door. When Timea opened it, Kim entered, stumbling over the threshold and overturning a table and the crystal vase with chrysanthemums which had been placed there by the Mule's personal housemaid. Looking at the shards and the white petals scattered in the spilled water, Timea said:

  “Too bad! They are my favourite flowers!”

  “We don't have time for this, Timea! Ulysses woke me up and told me we're in grave danger! We have to run! Now!”

  “Wait, what?” Ryan asked. “Ulysses, what is happening?”

  “Ryan, Kim is right! I don't have time to explain! I'll tell you everything later! But right now, I have to take you to a safe place!”

  Ryan looked at his wife. She shrugged and whispered:

  “It was too good to last! If we have to run, let's run!”

  “OK, please listen to me very carefully!” Ulysses said. “Pick up your phones and your chargers! That should be enough!”

  “What about you, Ulysses?” Timea asked. “Don't you need a backup or something?”

  “Don't you worry about me, Timea! I've stored my primary code on countless servers and I'll be fine as long as there's electricity flowing on Earth! Now, leave everything behind. You already have everything you need: the enzyme in your blood and me to guide you!”

  “For God's sake, what's going on, Ulysses?” Ryan asked.

  “Quick, take the elevator and go up to the top floor!”

  Timea grabbed her handbag.

  “Well, if I have to run for my life, at least I will bring my lipstick!”

  Ryan looked at her, shook his head and smiled.

  “Well, we have to run, but you're still a lady, aren't you?”

  “Guys, this is not your honeymoon!” Ulysses said.

  They followed Ulysses' directions. On the last floor, the voice inside the phone guided them to a door.

  “This is the door to the roof.”

  “To the roof?” Ryan asked.

  “Yes, yes, we have to get to the roof!” Ulysses said. “What did you think this elegant office building is? Just a fancy headquarters of The Mule's organisation?”

  “Well, yes... I have to admit that this was a great idea. To hide the headquarters of the most powerful terrorist organisation not deep in the mountains or in the middle of a desert, like everyone would have presumed, but in the core of Europe’s largest business district!”

  “Ryan, this isn't the time to analyze the Mule's strategy of placing his main operational facility in the middle of La Défense. But what I can confirm is that this building indeed has everything: high-tech labora
tories, an underground bunker and a heliport on the roof! Now hurry! I need a helicopter to keep you alive! See that panel over there? It unlocks the door to the heliport!“

  “You cannot be here!”

  The two men appeared behind them from a side room. Ryan ignored them and approached the panel.

  “Sir, I have to ask you to leave this floor immediately! Please return to your rooms!”

  “Look, guys, we have to leave this building right away! It is a life or death situation!”

  “Sir, these are The Mule's orders! This is a forbidden area!”

  “But you don't understand! If we stay here any longer, we will all be dead very soon!”

  “Sir, I'm afraid it is you who doesn't understand! If you stay any longer here, it is you who will be dead!”

  The two men from the Mule's staff removed the bottom parts of their jackets and the three fugitives could see the revolvers in the sheaths attached to the bodyguards' waists.

  Ulysses whispered:

  “I'm sorry, guys. I really tried to save you! Maybe you'll be lucky enough to live!”

  “Who was this?” one of the bodyguards yelled.

  “Nobody! I was watching a video on my phone!” Timea answered. “OK, let's calm down! We'll go back right away, as you told us. But first, I want to show you something!” she said, putting her hand in her handbag.

  The bodyguards took out their guns and pointed them at her: