His thoughts were interrupted by the screech of the tires as the plane touched down on the runway. A few minutes later, Dan had left the half-full plane and began walking to the baggage claim area of the very clean and modern airport terminal.
It had been a month since he had received the letter from Tim, and he had received nothing since. However, two days ago he had received a phone call that made him forget about the letter. It was from the International Academy of Biotechnical Research in Geneva asking him to be part of an elite team of experts that was hurriedly being put together to examine what was being called a very significant discovery. A completely intact, remarkably preserved, mammoth had been discovered in a remote Siberian village on the Yamal Peninsula. It was thought that there might well be a priceless find in the animal’s tissue: intact DNA. However, speed had now become critical. Having finally become exposed to the elements, tissue deterioration could begin to set in. The mammoth had been placed in a cold storage facility and Dan had been asked to travel immediately to join a team that would meet in the city of Salekhard to do the initial analysis of the mammoth tissue.
Dan wasn’t sure who would be meeting him. He had been told that a representative of the study group would be at the baggage claim area and that he would be taken immediately for a viewing of the mammoth. However, as Dan scanned the rather small area around the baggage carousels he couldn’t see anyone that appeared to be waiting for him. The carousel began moving and suitcases started appearing on the conveyor belts. He soon spotted his small bag and had barely taken it from the belt when a hand suddenly clamped down upon his right shoulder, and a loud voice cried out, “Hey you!”
Dan spun around and saw a middle-aged man dressed in a dark overcoat and wearing a fur-lined hat. The man wore dark-rimmed glasses, and behind the lenses, he could see oriental-looking eyes that stared intensely at him for a moment and then broke into an expression of humor as the man began laughing loudly.
“What the…?” Dan couldn’t believe his eyes. “Stephen? Stephen Itagaki?”
The man covered his mouth trying to contain his laughter and then he put both hands on Dan’s shoulders.
“Stephen! You nearly gave me a heart attack! What in the world are you doing here?”
Stephen collected himself for a moment, and then looked at Dan incredulously.
“You don’t know?” he asked.
“No,” Dan said, recovering and feeling puzzled, “I guess I don’t.”
“Why, I’m on the mammoth committee too. I thought you knew that! I’m the one that’s supposed to meet you here.”
Dan simply stared at him. “I don’t believe it,” he said shaking his head, “How can that… how long has it been, Stephen?”
Stephen thought for a moment. “About ten years, I guess, since we were both students at MIT.” Dan had been a dual biology and physics major at MIT and Stephen had been a biology exchange student during Dan’s junior year. They shared the same biology classes; however, they hadn’t been close friends. If anything, theirs had been, at best, a relationship of friendly competition.
“Yes!” Dan said, “That’s right. I can’t believe it, and now we meet again in Siberia? What are the chances of that happening?”
“Pretty good, actually.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, for one thing,” Stephen said smiling, “I nominated you.”
“You did?” Dan said frowning slightly.
“Of course. I tracked you down after I heard about the expedition. I knew you were the right man for this.”
“Why?”
“Listen, Dan. We need the top molecular biologists in the world to work on this, and we were number one and number two at MIT, right? Of course, I was number one as I recall.”
Dan nodded. “Yes, I remember,” he said with a wry smile. “Of course I probably could have done better if I had cheated too.”
Stephen laughed loudly again. “Same old Dan,” he said. They turned and walked out of the building and Stephen motioned towards a black Lada station wagon parked at the curb. Stephen self-assuredly got into the drivers seat, and with Dan on the passenger side they began the drive towards the center of the city.
Looks, in some ways, like a typical Irish town! Dan thought. Many of the buildings that lined the streets were three or four stories high and painted in a variety of colors – mostly reds, blues, and yellows. However, there were also some things that were different. At most of the major intersections there were very large monuments with heroic-looking figures of soldiers, or even farmers, perched on top.
Stephen turned at the second left, after they passed through the city center, and drove on for about five more minutes before he pulled over and said, “ This is it. The mammoth is being kept in cold storage here.” He pointed to a gray, rectangular, single-story, Soviet-style, structure. “Come on, let’s have a look,” he said and they stepped out of the car and entered the building.
The interior of the warehouse was kept at a constant minus twenty degrees Fahrenheit and the two men had to wear overcoats and gloves before they could examine the creature. It had been entombed in ice and permafrost for about ten thousand years and yet it looked almost as if it had been alive yesterday. The mantle of ice and permafrost had been carefully carved away by the team revealing the majestic form of the animal. It stood fourteen feet tall at its highest point, while its long brown hair trailed off its body and touched the floor in many places. Its long, curving tusks were enormous, measuring at least ten feet in length and ten inches in diameter where they joined the skull.
Dan slowly walked around the mammoth, almost holding his breath. “This is nearly perfect,” he whispered, “unbelievable.”
He walked to the other side and pressed his hand against the soft brown hairs and felt them give under his touch.
What do you think?” Stephen shouted from the other side of the animal, “Not bad, right?”
“I think there is a really good chance that the cellular structure of this animal has been perfectly preserved in some places,” he shouted back, “particularly in the interior organs where the temperature has been the coldest and most constant. This is amazing!”
“I agree,” Stephen said, unable to conceal the glee in his voice, “I am willing to bet that we will find intact DNA and RNA, complete chromosomes, everything we would find in a living creature.” Stephen walked around the mammoth to face Dan.
“Dan, I want you to work with me on this,” he said.
“What? Work together? Stephen, I’m sure you don’t need my help.”
Stephen smiled. “Don’t be modest, Dan. We both know you’re the best when it comes to theoretical analysis of DNA.”
“What do you plan to do with your samples?” Dan asked out of curiosity, but at the same time determined not to team up with Stephen.
Stephen paused for a moment, as if he were contemplating the mammoth. Then he said carefully, “Well, Dan, as you may know, I have become something of an expert in elephant diseases. It’s a very important area of research now because so many of the world’s animals are being lost to extinction.”
“Yes, I’ve heard.” Dan replied.
“Well, I’m hoping to compare the DNA from this animal with the DNA of modern elephants to see if we can trace the path of hereditary disease. Granted these creatures are remote ancestors of modern day elephants, but I believe the DNA comparisons will shed a great deal of light on the evolution of hereditary disease in general. This of course will have applications to human health also.” He said beaming.
Then he lowered his voice almost to an almost insistent whisper, “Dan, no one has ever recovered intact DNA from anything this old! Think about it! This is a unique opportunity for both of us.” Stephen hesitated for a moment and studied Dan’s face. “Listen,” he continued, “there are other things we could do too. Join forces with me, Dan. What do you say?”
Dan smiled. “Thank you for the offer, Stephen. I am very flattered, but my interest i
s only theoretical and is strictly limited to nonlinear mathematical analysis of the DNA.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I am working on an experimental technique that, hopefully, would be able to predict the evolution of the mammoth genome and demonstrate how the mammoths have morphed into the elephants we have today. The mathematical technique, that also employs advanced nonsymmetrical methods, if successful, would have many other applications.”
“I see,” Stephen replied, not really understanding why Dan would want to do such research.
“I also plan to select a grad student to work with the actual mammoth sample. I expect he or she might be able to create a great thesis project with it.”
Stephen momentarily gaped in surprise at Dan’s answer; then he quickly looked back toward the mammoth to conceal the expression on his face. Have a grad student work with the mammoth material? he thought. What the hell is wrong with him? Doesn’t he get it? This is the find of the century, if not the find of all time! Then he turned back to Dan.
“Yes, yes. Of course, Dan,” he said, “good idea, let’s get out of here, OK? This is too cold for me!” He held the door for Dan as they walked out and as he closed it he took one last, long look at the mammoth.
Dan, you are so foolish, he said to himself, you have no idea of the opportunity you have let slip away!…That’s all right; I don’t need you anyway. I know I can do it by myself, he said to himself with a slight nod, I know I can clone this animal!
Three
A world away from the frozen wastes of Siberia, a solitary vulture glided over the Malaysian jungle canopy, then slowly turned and flapped its wings. It was in no hurry for there had been plenty to eat, and as it looked down from its circular orbit it knew there would soon be much more.
Chuck Dering stopped his Land Rover in the middle of the muddy road and watched the vulture until it disappeared beyond the trees. Taking a dirt-smeared handkerchief from his pocket he again wiped the sweat from his face. Then he turned to his partner, Jim Burton. “Looks like we’re getting close to the village.”
Jim studied the blinking display on his portable GPS unit for a minute before he replied. The handheld device had a pale blue, waterproof, plastic cover with an embossed logo of the United Nations and the acronym UNAPS – the United Nations Agency for Population Safety. The agency had been created several years before following the catastrophic epidemics and wars of Northern Africa that had eliminated almost half the population of that region. UNAPS was now a worldwide first responder with a charter to go into regions where disease is rampant. One division of UNAPS, made up of doctors and nurses, provided acute medical care, but Chuck and Jim were members of a different division called First Strike. They were microbiologists, specialists in viral and bacterial genetics, and their mission was to obtain samples of extremely virulent disease organisms, particularly when it appeared that there might be an outbreak of a new disease.
“My guess is that it’s about a mile further up the river,” Jim said.
The red dirt road ran parallel to a small river, the Sungei Hitam, that was not noted on most maps. They were traveling to an orang asli village called Kampong Ulu Hitam in response to an urgent message sent the previous day by an official of the Malaysian health authority. An extremely virulent disease had broken out several days ago that the authorities thought had been dengue hemorrhagic fever, but now the officials weren’t so sure. Dengue hemorrhagic fever is endemic in the jungles of Malaysia and is known to often be fatal. But this was different. So far fifteen people had died in only five days, and yes, hemorrhagic fever is very deadly, but this seemed to be an excessive toll for a village of only about a hundred people.
Chuck continued driving on the narrow jungle road, all four wheels often spinning a few moments in the slippery mud before catching a grip on a buried rock. Steamy wisps of humid air rose from the mud in the morning sun. Off to the side, light filtered through the trees and undergrowth and dense shade seemed to dominate in all directions, only occasionally penetrated by a brilliant shaft of sunlight from above. Jim stared into the passing forest looking at the soft earthen floor, noting the usual moss and ferns, but he was really looking for something else – pools of standing water. There were none. The forest seemed relatively dry today; not a good breeding ground for mosquitoes, the carrier of dengue fever.
Thirty minutes, and then an hour passed as they wound through the forest. Then, suddenly, there was a clearing. Bright sunlight filled the space and in the distance, beyond the wavy refractions of the rising air they saw the thatched roofs of the small village. But it was the area just before the houses that caught Chuck’s eye.
“Look at that, Jim,” he said, pointing his finger at a large expanse of green, “Rice.”
“Sure is.”
“There’s the standing water we’ve been looking for.”
The orang asli, the native people of the jungles, did not traditionally grow rice but had led lives as hunter-gatherers. Over the past fifty years the government had made efforts to civilize them and many groups had become farmers. This group, one of the most remote that inhabited the great Malaysian rain forest, had recently begun trying to cultivate rice. None of them had thought they were also creating a nurturing soup for the carriers of a disease that would rise in the shades of the evening twilight and steal into their homes on dark, drifting currents of air.
The large community building in the center of the village had been hurriedly transformed into a hospital and now housed six patients, all suffering from severe hemorrhaging from all their body orifices. A Malaysian medical team was quietly attending the sick people, but as usual with hemorrhagic fever, most of the cases would prove fatal. Chuck and Jim walked into the building and were met by the leader of the team, Dr. Krishna Govin.
“Thank you for coming so quickly,” he said, “I only recently sent out our distress message.”
“Oh, that’s our normal response, doctor. UNAPS always has teams on standby, ready to be dispatched at a moment’s notice in cases like yours,” Jim replied. “It looks like you have a very serious outbreak on your hands. Do you think it’s something other than the usual dengue hemorrhagic fever?”
“At first I thought it was the usual type of hemorrhagic fever that we see now and then,” he replied, “but I’ve never seen it progress so fast as this before. I think it has already killed at least fifteen per cent of the people and it shows no sign of abatement! This is most unusual and I am believing that it must be something else. Otherwise, how can it be that so many are dying so soon?”
“How many patients do you have?”
“There are six in hospital, but there are eight others from the village that are missing. These are people who live a bit away from the main group of houses. No one has seen them for days and we are not sure of their condition, but everyone is afraid to go and search for them because they think the spirits of the jungle cause the disease.”
Jim recalled the vulture he had seen earlier but said nothing.
“Did you ask for a UNAPS medical team to come too?”
“Medical team? You are the medical team, aren’t you?"
Chuck glanced at Jim. “No, we’re not. We’re disease investigators. We just want to collect some samples.”
“You are not doctors?”
“No.”
Dr. Govin stared at Chuck, then at Jim. His face remained passive but his shoulders stiffened slightly as he looked at each of them. He looked past them for a moment and stared at the UN logo on their vehicle. Then he sighed.
“Very well, gentlemen. Proceed with whatever you have been asked to do. I must get back to my patients.” Dr. Govin started to turn away.
“OK, we’ll get some blood samples and start our analysis. Meanwhile, has anyone tried to do anything about the mosquitoes that are breeding in the rice fields?”
Dr. Govin stopped and turned back to Chuck, a look of resignation on his face.
“A team is arriving later today. They will t
orch all the rice and spray DDT throughout the village later tonight. That should take care of the mosquitoes for a while.”
Within two hours Jim and Chuck had taken blood samples from all the infected villagers and began the process of searching for the virus. Their portable mass spectrometer would detect sequences of viral genes that would clearly indicate whether this was the usual dengue hemorrhagic fever or something new – maybe an even more vicious mutation.
They soon had their first results. “Same old thing,” Chuck said after looking at the display.
“Same thing? Are you sure? Then how can it be so much more virulent?” Jim replied.
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s something about the orang asli immune systems. I don’t think we have studied their population group before. Could be they are more susceptible than other people to the disease.”
“Could be, I suppose, but that’s not our problem. UNAPS just wants us to find diseases that have truly massive killing potential, and this isn’t it. It’ll burn itself out way too fast. Well, let’s send the results to UNAPS anyway, and let them make their own decisions.”
“You bet,” Chuck said and he began typing into the portable computer. A few minutes later he said, “OK. I just sent the results to New York. We’re done here. Let’s get packed up!” As he closed up the computer case he felt a slight irritation on his neck. Instinctively, he slapped at the area and then he looked at the palm of his hand. It held the remains of a splattered, bloody mosquito.
“Damn.”
Jim looked at him but said nothing for several seconds. Then, “Didn’t you put on your repellent?” he asked.
“Course I did,” Chuck said still staring at his palm.
“It might not be a carrier, Chuck.”
Chuck looked directly at Jim for several seconds. “Yeh. Maybe not… Damn.”
Within an hour they had packed their gear and had a final, very brief, meeting with the beleaguered head of the Malaysian medical team.
“I’m sorry we can’t help you any more,” Jim said, “as you know there is no cure for the disease.” He turned to look at Chuck who was staring, transfixed, at the dying patients. “It just has to burn itself out like it always does. I think that the eradication of the rice crops will help a lot.”
The Viral Epiphany Page 2