Waking Gods
Page 15
The people I examined share hundreds of SNPs; fifty-seven rare gene mutations. You should not be able to find two people on Earth with so many rare t … traits in common, there aren’t nearly enough people. I’ll need blood from all the survivors to confirm, but I’m willing to bet they all have the same t … traits, even if it’s … impossible. It’s not a coincidence that these people survived.
—Could all the survivors be related? Having common ancestry would increase the likelihood of their genetic similarities if I am not mistaken.
—Some of them are. Of the t … twenty-seven people you flew here, six are related to one of the others, two brothers, one brother and sister, one mmm … mother and daughter. Beyond that, no. Sixteen are of British descent, one is from Denmark, one from Morocco. There are four people from India, one Ca … Canadian, two Frenchmen. The mother and daughter are Russian. These people are related the same way you and I are related. You’d have to g … go back a long long time to find a common ancestor.
—Do you believe that these people were spared on purpose?
—Yes. It has to be by design. Well, it doesn’t have to be, but it makes mmm … more sense that way.
—How so?
—In theory, it could be that the aliens just don’t know that these p … polymorphisms exist and that’s just a flaw in their weapon. But the molecule they built targets really long DNA ch … chains and, at least from what I understand about genetics, that’s a lot more complex to create, and t … totally unnecessary. They could have made a much simpler molecule that targets short DNA chains that everyone has. They could have used a poisonous gas. Making bo … botulinum toxin would be child’s play compared to this. With the same delivery system, there are a m … million things they could have used that wouldn’t have left anyone alive and are much easier to build. They went through a lot of t … trouble to make it the way it is.
—Assuming, for a moment, that these people do indeed share a common ancestry, could the molecule you described have been programmed to specifically spare their descendants?
—That’s an interesting idea. But no, it wouldn’t work. You can’t know what part of your genetics your ch … children will inherit.
—It cannot be a completely random process. Surely, some of it is predictable?
—Some of it is. There is a sss … small portion of your genetics that only comes from your father, and a small portion that only c … comes from your mother.
—Could that DNA—is it DNA?
—Yes.
—Could that DNA have been used to program the alien molecule?
—No. It w … wouldn’t work over long periods of time. How can I explain this? Imagine that you wanted to target the desce … all the descendants of a John Doe who lived a thou … thousand years ago. The only genetic material you can be certain John Doe passed on is his Y-chromosome DNA, that is the sss … sex chromosome. You could use the markers in that DNA but it is only passed on in a direct p … paternal line, from father to son, to son, to son. No women. If it were the p … progeny of a Jane Doe you wanted to save, you could use mitochondrial DNA. That is only passed on by the m … mother. You would get the opposite results, only women in a d … direct maternal line. That’s an infinitely small portion of one’s lineage and these direct lines tend to die out. All it needs is for one father to not have a son, or for a mother to not have a d … daughter. You can look at it the other way, you have sixteen great-great-g … grandparents, yet you share Y-chromosome DNA or mitochondrial DNA with only four of them.
—Could you not target specific markers from … normal DNA, which I believe is passed on from both mother and father?
—It’s called autosomal DNA. Like you said, you get more or less half of it from your mother, half from your f … father. You have two copies of each gene, but you only pass on half of your genes to your ch … children, and you don’t get to pick which ones. It’s called recombination. Autosomal DNA recombines every generation. That means how much DNA is shared with a specific ancestor gets cut in half every time. The parts that are shared also get shorter and shorter. Over time, there will be almost no … nothing left that is shared by all the descendants of a specific person, certainly not as much as what these p … people have in common.
Take whatever mutation the survivors had, both of their parents must have had it, but probably not in both c … copies of the gene. The parents would have died in London. The little Russian girl saw her father die. The same is true for their children. A lot of the survivors had children and they all died, except for one. Their children didn’t have all the same genetic tr … traits since they got half of their DNA from the other parent. Genetics gets really mixed up over long p … periods of time. If they were trying to save people from a single family, the gas would have wiped out most of their lineage, except for a com … pletely random few.
—Then, could you ensure that only descendants of these specific individuals survived, even if most of them were killed?
—Maybe. A very small and very random fraction of them.
—Is there anything … out of the ordinary about the genetics of the survivor?
—Have you been listening to wh … to what I said? Yes, having so many genetic variations in common is d … definitely out of the ordinary. I thought I had made that clear.
—You had. I meant taken individually. If you do not consider their shared genetics, or even the number of genetic mutations they possess, is there anything you would not expect to find in an average human being?
—I’m not sure I understand what you mean.
—I want to know if you can confirm with absolute certainty that they are entirely human.
—Human? I … I do not … Some of their gene mmm … mutations are rare, but they are just that: rare. There is nothing really unique about their genetics other than the f … fact that they share a lot of it. I have never examined alien DNA so I have nothing to compare it with.
—I will give you access to the remains of the two alien pilots who died a year ago during the first attack. Can you compare their genetic makeup to that of the survivors?
—Do they even have DNA?
—Not exactly. I do not pretend to fully understand the distinction or its implications but, if I remember correctly, the sugar in their nucleic acids is … arabinose—
—That can’t be right.
—Dr. Franklin was also excited.
—She sh … should be. That is … extraordinary. Is there anything else?
—You can read it for yourself, see for yourself. I will provide you with the report from the geneticist who first examined them. How soon can you tell me whether their genetic structure matches that of the survivors in any way?
—I’m not sure that I can. You’re really talking about apples and oranges, but I will cer … certainly try. Thank you!
—Do not thank me as if I have in some way done you a favor. You are probably the one person on this Earth I am the least inclined to please, and if anyone had told me a year ago that I would grant you access to everything you dreamed of, I would have told them.… Well, I suppose this is as close as we will ever get to hell freezing over.
FILE NO. 1571
TRANSCRIPT—ONLINE GAMING CHAT ROOM SURVEILLANCE—REYNARD PROGRAM
World of Warcraft—Aegwynn Realm
[Eva002]:
Essie! I can go!
[SkyJumper]:
Hi Eva! Go where?
[Eva002]:
To your place. I can go! I can sleep over.
[SkyJumper]:
Ur mom?
[Eva002]:
She said yes.
[SkyJumper]:
&
nbsp; ??
[Eva002]:
I can do what I want.
[SkyJumper]:
How come?
[Eva002]:
Mom believes me now. It happened just like I told her.
[SkyJumper]:
What happened?
[Eva002]:
Those people in London. I saw it.
[SkyJumper]:
That’s messed up.
[Eva002]:
She thinks I’m talking to God.
[SkyJumper]:
RU?
[Eva002]:
NO! Can I come?
[SkyJumper]:
Dunno. Everyone’s scared. M&D stopped going to work. Can’t go out when it’s dark.
[Eva002]:
Same here. Soldiers everywhere. But PLEASE! I’ll bring you those rocks I found.
[SkyJumper]:
I’ll ask. Eva, those people are dead. U not afraid?
[Eva002]:
I am. I was scared before everyone was. But I wanna see you.
[SkyJumper]:
When?
[Eva002]:
I don’t care. We can make jewelry. I have new charms. Lots.
[SkyJumper]:
I’ll ask.
[Eva002]:
I need to get out of here. Please say yes!
[SkyJumper]:
OK. Stop! I said I’ll ask! Wanna play this or not?
[Eva002]:
OK, but we should switch servers. Paladins everywhere.
[SkyJumper]:
Pallies suck. Later though. Told Miguel we’d duel here.
[Eva002]:
Be back in a sec.
[SkyJumper]:
WHAT? NO! Raid is starting!
[Eva002]:
Lots of noise downstairs. I hear Mom screaming.
[SkyJumper]:
??
[SkyJumper]:
??
[SkyJumper]:
??
[SkyJumper]:
??
[SkyJumper]:
??
—End intercept—
FILE NO. 1574
INTERVIEW WITH LIEUTENANT GENERAL ALAN A. SIMMS, COMMANDER, JOINT SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND (JSOC)
Location: Fort Bragg, NC
—Is the Delta team in position?
—They arrived in San Juan a few hours ago. They’re set and ready to go. We were waiting for you.
—Thank you. And thank you for your help in this matter.
—Anything for our friends at the EDC. All right, let’s get this show on the road, shall we? Can we get GSSAP-2 on the big screen, please? Thank you. The target should be in this house right here. The red dots are Delta-3. We have four men in the van across the street. These four will hide behind the pool shed once they get over the fence.
—How long will surveillance last before they breach?
—We’re going in now. We’ve had satellite over since last night. The van’s been there for two hours. There’s been no movement in or out. No lights on. I would give it more time but, given the circumstances, we’ll have to make do with what we have. Plus, we’re going in in broad daylight. Armed men jumping fences in a cozy neighborhood, it won’t be long before someone dials 911.
Boogeyman, this is Mother Goose, what’s your status?
[In position. Status is go.]
—What are their orders?
—Locate and extract a young female, approximately ten years old. Grown-ups are potentially hostile. Use of force is authorized.
—They should also be on the lookout for an American woman in her midthirties.
—Stand by, Boogeyman … Who is she?
—She is an Army chief warrant and a Captain in the EDC. She would not be in uniform. She cannot be harmed.
—Anything else you wanna tell me? Now is not exactly a good time for surprises.
—That is all.
—She better not be holding a gun.
—If she is present, and alive, she would most likely be armed.
[Mother Goose, what’s the holdup?]
—This is bullshit. Stand by, Boogeyman! … Does she know we’re coming?
—She does not.
—I’m sorry for your Captain, sir, but if she points a gun at them, they’ll put her down.
—They cannot. They have to be clear on that.
—And what’s she gonna do when she sees a bunch of guys with M-16s wearing face masks?
—I cannot say.
—You cannot say. Like I said, I’m sorry, but that’s not the mission. If you can’t warn her, you better pray she doesn’t get in the way. My men come first.
—Let me be abundantly clear. Our planet is under attack by alien forces. Our only viable weapon is a two-hundred-foot-tall alien robot in New York City. That woman is one of two people required to operate said robot. I sincerely apologize for the late warning. I was hoping she would make contact. That said, the lives of your men most definitely come second to hers.
—We’re looking for Kara Resnik?
—We are indeed.
—Boogeyman, this is Mother Goose. New intel.
[Oh, great.]
Watch for a female friendly, midthirties in civilian clothing. She is armed and may treat you as hostile. Do not fire, even if fired upon.
[Mother Goose, can you repeat that?]
You heard me.
[Mother Goose, I’m gonna have to—]
It’s Kara Resnik—
[… Roger that, Mother Goose. Relaying orders.]
—What is that on the next street?
—Looks like a man walking his dog. GSSAP control, tag him. Can we shoot this man if need be? Or are you about to tell me Vincent Couture is also missing, with his dog?
—Mr. Couture does not like dogs. You are free to shoot both the man and his pet if you are so inclined.
—Boogeyman, there is a man walking his dog about to turn the corner, coming at you from the west.
[Roger that. We’ll keep an eye on him. Approaching target.]
If anyone is having second thoughts, now would be a good time to say so.
[Mother Goose, this is Boogeyman. Requesting go for breach.]
Breach is authorized, Boogeyman. I repeat: You are go for breach.
[Roger, Mother Goose. Gentlemen, on my mark. Three, two—]
—What was that flash? Are they under fire?
—They’re using stun grenades.
[Clear! … Clear! … ]
[Bravo-One, back rooms are clear.]
[Clear!]
[Garage is clear.]
[Roger, Bravo-Two. Front is clear. Checking upstairs.]
[We’ve got your back Bravo-One. Close the doors. Cover the windows.]
[Clear! … Clear! … Clear!]
[All clear! Mother Goose,
this is Boogeyman. We have two dead civilians in the master bedroom.]
Roger, Boogeyman. The child?
[No sir. Two adults.]
Is one of them … ?
[One Hispanic female, one black male. No sign of Captain Resnik.]
—It must be the parents. They should check the closets, under the beds. The child may be hiding.
—Boogeyman, give me a full sweep.
[Bravo-Two, I want a full sweep downstairs. We’re looking for a tiny human.]
[Roger that.]
—Lieutenant General. My Spanish is far from perfect but I believe—
—Boogeyman, this is Mother Goose. Local police are on their way. ETA three minutes.
[Roger, Mother Goose. Bravo-Two, bedrooms are clean. We found a trap for the attic. Going to take a peek. Exit in two minutes.]
[Downstairs is clean.]
[Holy shit!]
[Bravo-One, everything all right?]
[All good. Just a big-ass rat. Attic is clean.]
[Mother Goose, this is Boogeyman. The house is clean. No sign of target. Requesting instructions on the bodies.]
—Is that it?
—That’s it! She’s not there. Thank you, Boogeyman. Leave them be. Return to nest.
[Roger that, Mother Goose. We’ll be home for dinner.]
Hurry up. It’s meatloaf night. Mother Goose out.
FILE NO. 1576
INTERNAL MEMO—DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
From: Commissioner, Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
To: Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security
Object: El Paso
An estimated sixty thousand Mexican nationals are now gathered on or near the Paso Del Norte Bridge and more people seeking asylum in the United States are arriving daily in Ciudad Juárez. Isolated acts of violence have already been reported on the bridge and their frequency is increasing rapidly.