“Thank you, ma’am. My colleague and I are interested in speaking with a member of your teaching staff. His name is Daniel Quinn. I believe he is a professor here.”
“Professor Quinn? Oh, do you have an appointment? I don’t recall seeing your name in the computer. Let me just check for you. I’m afraid you will need one, you see. Our faculty have quite full schedules, and they all insist on appointments. I’m very sorry to tell you that. I’m sure you understand.”
The secretary turned to her computer and opened up the appointments schedule file. “Let’s see…Church …Church… Perhaps I overlooked it.”
John Church glanced at his companion and then quickly replied, “Oh no, don’t bother checking. I’m sorry we don’t have an appointment. We just arrived from the United States and we really do have some urgent, but very private business, we need to conduct with the professor. Perhaps you could make an exception?”
“An exception? Oh. Well, I don’t really know. Well, not me, not really. I’m not authorized for those sorts of things, I’m sorry to say. If you don’t mind I’ll just check with the Dean. Would that be all right? Now you young men just wait here. I won’t be a minute. Why don’t you have a seat? Would you like some tea?”
“No ma’am. Thank you,” John said. The two men remained standing.
“Yes, of course. You wouldn’t be drinking tea I suppose, now would you? All right then. Make yourselves comfortable now.” She got up from her desk and walked into the office behind her while the two men continued to stand at her desk.
While the men waited impatiently in the office, Dan, only a quarter mile away, had lost all track of time and was now completely engrossed in Brendan’s thesis. As he had expected, the young man had done a fine job of methodically examining the tissue sample and searching for clues that might validate his theory. However, he had gone far beyond that. He had completed a detailed analysis of the mammoth’s tissue and had even compared some of the mammoth’s DNA structures to that of modern elephants. He had then gone on to draw a very interesting conclusion.
Dan skipped from the general abstract to the very detailed section of the thesis concerned with the composition of the mammoth’s nuclear DNA. The abstract had summarized the astounding discovery that Brendan had made but Dan now wanted to see the details for himself. Brendan had made use of the nuclear DNA material to perform DNA sequencing of the mammoth genome. He had then compared it with the genome of modern day elephants whose DNA had already been sequenced by a team of Japanese experts. Dan looked at the reference and saw that his old university classmate, Stephen Itagaki, had led the team.
As expected, most of the DNA structures were quite similar to that of modern elephants. However, there was also a significant surprise that had been revealed by Brendan’s work. A completely unknown set of genetic code, unlike anything found in elephants had been found within one of the mammoth’s chromosomes. Brendan had compared this strange nuclear DNA with the viral DNA that he had observed in the cell cytoplasm and found that there was a perfect match.
“A retrovirus!” Dan said aloud. He was completely awed by the result. His student, essentially on his own, had taken a sample of tissue almost 10,000 years old and had found the clue that pointed to the cause, not only of this particular animal’s death, but perhaps also to the extinction of the entire mammoth species. A retrovirus, he said again to himself, shaking his head in disbelief, just like HIV. It hid in the nuclear DNA and masqueraded as a legitimate piece of the animal’s own DNA so the immune system never responded to it! This is truly amazing. Brendan will certainly have made a name for himself after this is published…
He put the thesis down for a moment and looked at his watch. It was nearly 2 pm, time to start walking back to his office. He started putting the thesis document back in his briefcase when he felt a firm hand on his shoulder.
“Dan?” He quickly turned around.
“Oh!” he said, completely surprised. “Sheila! It’s so nice to see you! But what are you doing here? It’s not like you to wander away from the campus during the middle of the day. I thought I was the only one in the department who had that habit!”
“Well, maybe you’ve taught me something.” she said with a laugh and a bright smile. “You’re not leaving now, are you? I just got here! There’s something I need to talk to you about.”
“Sure, but first I have something so astonishing that you won’t believe it.”
“Really?” she said. “What is it?”
“Brendan found a retrovirus in the mammoth tissue! It was a massive infection too!”
“A retrovirus? Wow! So his hypothesis may well be true!”
“Yes!”
“I’m so happy for Brendan,” she said smiling warmly at Dan.
“His theory has given me an idea for my own work on the nonlinear mathematics of biological processes. I think we can use one of the nonlinear transforms I have discovered to use the genetic code for the retrovirus and make a dynamic model: a functioning virtual virus in our supercomputer. We could learn a lot about the progression of viral forms of life by comparing this ancient virus to modern viruses.”
Sheila nodded in assent as she thought about his concept. “This could be a major step forward in our understanding of life forms in general, Dan. What a great idea! I’ll have to tell you about my own progress with the mammoth DNA code – you know – environmental interaction with DNA leading to evolutionary change?”
“Yes, of course. Have you made some progress?”
Sheila smiled, “Yes, but it’ll have to wait. Dan, listen. I think there is something else you need to know – right now!”
“What is it? What’s wrong?
“OK. Well, I’m not one hundred percent sure about this, but I thought I had better tell you. I was just over at the department office and there are a couple of men there who want to speak to you.”
“OK. So?
“Yes, I know. It may not be anything, but I have a funny feeling. I’m not sure you should meet them. I don’t know why. They just don’t seem right, you know?”
“Really? I wonder who they could be? I’m not expecting anyone today. Did you happen to catch their names?”
“No, I didn’t. But they had left their business card on Nancy’s desk. I got a peek at it while she was talking to James in his office.”
“And?”
“Their card said they were from an American company. It’s called Omega Pharmaceuticals. Have you heard of them?”
“Omega?” Dan asked, his eyes suddenly widening, “Are you sure it said Omega?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Where are they now? Did they follow you?” Dan looked over her shoulder in the direction of the campus, past the larch trees and rose bushes, past the Michael Collins monument, towards the park gate.
Sheila saw the alarm on his face and she felt her own inner sense of danger begin to increase as she watched him look around. “Dan, what is it? Why are they here?”
“It must be the letters,” he said.
“The letters?… Yes!.. They must have found out about them!” Sheila said as she turned back to look at the gate.
At that moment, a shiny new black Mercedes C-350 drove up and parked outside the gate. Two tall men came out of the car and slowly looked around. Without a word Dan grabbed Sheila’s hand and pulled her along with him as he began to run into the grove of poplar trees at the riverbank.
“What are you doing?” she almost shouted. “Dan!”
“Hurry, Sheila. Hurry. We just have to get away,” he said as he jumped into one of the rowboats that had been left on the bank. “Hop in,” he said. “Hurry!”
He pushed the boat away from the bank and as they rapidly drifted downstream towards the rapids at the Mardyke Weir, the two black-suited Americans ran into the park.
Fifteen
Pristine and white, the hotel towers along Bangkok’s Sukhumvit Road gleamed even more brightly in the sparkling warmth of the early afternoon sun
. A brief shower had recently passed by and the street was a shiny, gleaming strip of black. Little puddles reflected the brightness of the blue sky overhead. From Dr. Charles Goodfellow’s vantage point, the elegant buildings, trimmed with their sprinklings of shady palms and the occasional oasis of a Chinese water garden, appeared to march off into the tropical haze like the Pyramids of Giza. Sukhumvit, one of Bangkok’s major shopping and entertainment areas, a locale where many foreign nationals resided, appeared calm and serene.
After a minute, however, it became clear that Sukumvit wasn’t serene; it was eerie. There were no cars moving on the road – no people walking on the sidewalks. Far in the distance, he could now see orange flames silently pouring from the windows of many of the buildings, their fiery tips like serpent’s tongues licking the exterior walls and tasting the air. Dr. Charles Goodfellow was urgently gathering vital information for UNAPS on this trip to Southeast Asia. He had made the decision to personally visit the region to confirm the extent of the devastation that had been reported in the newspapers. Now, as the sun neared its zenith he squinted and carefully looked down the long length of the street, but he still could not see any movement. There was no sign of life at all except for the man he was talking with, Dr. Dennis Murphy of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Dennis was wearing a bio-hazard Level A, metallic-looking, Hazmat flash suit, complete with a self-contained air supply good for at least two hours. He had been lowered to the street level by a Thai Air Force helicopter over an hour ago and had been examining the bodies on the streets and in the buildings of Bangkok.
As people abandoned the city they had, at first, built huge funeral pyres for the dead, but as the number of new victims increased at an enormous rate they gave up, and then, finally, most refused to even approach the bodies. Instead they began setting fire to the buildings where the victims had lived and died. Then, at last, in sheer panic, the inhabitants of this once vibrant and bustling city simply ran, and in their frantic rush they left everything behind, including the dying and the dead, wherever they lay.
“Have you been able to get all the samples you need?” Dr Goodfellow asked.
“Oh, yes. I’ve bagged quite a few sets of material. It should be good enough to identify the disease organism once we get it back to Atlanta.”
“It looks like there were victims scattered all over the city.”
“Yeh, it’s unbelievable. They’re everywhere. If you ask me, this disease is not spread by mosquitoes.”
“Really? Why do you say that?”
“There’s no way. There were just too many victims all at once. There would have to be huge swarms of infected mosquitoes to cause this. And that just doesn’t happen in nature. But there’s another thing… I haven’t seen any mosquitoes here at all. I mean Bangkok is a really modern city, and pretty clean too, right? Nope. It’s not mosquitoes.”
“So how do you think it spreads?” Charles asked looking over Dennis’s shoulder. He couldn’t begin to count the bodies he saw lying in the distance.
“I’m not sure, but my guess is that it spreads just like the flu – through contact with infected surfaces or it could be airborne particles or maybe via human to human contact. Maybe all of those things. I don’t know, but I do know this: this thing must be extremely contagious. I’ve taken a lot of swabs from surfaces too. Doorknobs, drinking glasses, table tops – anything people might ordinarily touch.”
“Contagious! Are you sure?” Dr. Goodfellow felt his pulse quicken. “I thought we were all convinced that this was a mosquito-borne disease.”
Dennis shook his head slightly, but it was hard to see because of the hood he was wearing. “Maybe it was mosquito-borne at one time. Maybe it still is. But there has to be other ways too. It’s spreading way too fast. That’s my opinion anyway. We’ll know for sure I think when we get all these samples analyzed.”
“I see.” Dr. Goodfellow said. A feeling of overwhelming fear began to grow within him. He could feel the hairs on his arms stiffen. He turned away from the large screen, real time, video display in his room at the Singapore Hilton for a moment. His eyes traversed the long row of plate glass windows, all tightly sealed in order to maintain a comfortable environment. He recalled how he had insisted, when his hotel reservations were made, that he must only be in rooms where no mosquitoes would ever be able to get in. That was supposed to keep me safe… Damn!! he thought.
“Look, Dennis. I have to get going. This is really interesting stuff and I’ll pass it all along. I really have so much to do running the whole UNAPS investigation – but let’s stay in touch OK?” He took a quick sip of his raspberry flavored iced tea.
“Sure thing, Dr. Goodfellow. We’ll let you know what we find out. Maybe we can learn something from the survivors.”
“Survivors! What? You found people who have survived?”
“Well, not me. I heard from one of the other investigators that a couple of families had been rescued from an apartment complex on New Petchburi Road. I believe they are Americans who have been here on a long vacation.”
“Americans? Is that so?” Dr. Goodfellow said. “Do you know anything about them? Like, where were they from? And, uh, were they Caucasian?”
“I don’t know much really. I think they were from New York and that the two families had been traveling together. Maybe they were related. I think one of the families was named Smith. That’s all I heard.”
“Smith? From New York? Interesting… Look, Dennis thanks. I’ll catch you later. Take care of yourself. I really have to get going. Good work out there. Good work!”
Dr. Goodfellow turned off the communication link to the CDC researcher and walked over to the windows that overlooked Orchard Road and the heart of the city. It was another steaming hot day in Singapore, he could tell just by looking out the window. There were small drops of condensation in the corners and off in the distance a warm-looking haze obscured the horizon. Towering cumulus clouds were beginning to build off to the left, a sure harbinger of the usual mid-afternoon thunderstorm.
Traffic was moving along smoothly, as usual, on the streets below. The high-end shops that lined Orchard Road were open and business looked good. It’s not mosquitoes, he thought, not mosquitoes! Damn it! What the hell am I doing here? Didn’t Jim say that all the cases so far in Singapore were confined to the Woodlands and Sembawang areas? That’s near the Malaysian border, not near here. I remember he said that everyone thought that this was mosquito-borne! Damn…
He felt his anger rising along with his fear. He snatched up the phone from the table and called Jim Nelson’s direct number in New York City. He drummed his fingers impatiently on the desktop while the phone rang.
“Hello, Jim Nelson speaking.”
“Nelson, this is Goodfellow. Get me the hell out of here. Now! This goddamned disease is spreading just like the flu! It’s not mosquitoes! Where did you get that information anyway? Get me a flight out right away!”
Jim held the phone away from his ear for a second. He had never heard so much anger in Dr. Goodfellow’s voice. “Yes, sir. I’ll pass it on to travel and I’ll get back to you in a few minutes.”
Dr. Goodfellow forced himself to take a deep breath. “OK, good. Let me know ASAP. OK? I really need to get out of here. This disease is not what we thought it was.”
“OK.”
“Alright. Now listen, Jim. There’s something else. There’s some evidence that the disease is selective.”
“Selective?”
“Yes! There are some people in Bangkok who have survived and it looks like they are all Caucasians. Interesting isn’t it?”
Jim thought about this a moment, but before he could reply Dr. Goodfellow continued, “It could be that I have some immunity to this disease.”
“You really think so? I mean it’s killed a lot of people.”
“You can be damned sure I don’t want to test it myself, but there are survivors. No doubt about it. Couple of New York families. We need to look into this.”
/> “What do you want to do?” Jim asked.
“First, just get me the hell out of here. OK? Then we can wait and see how this progresses. Maybe this is what we were talking about in our meeting… Right?… Think about it…”
“Yes, sir.” Jim said. They said goodbye and he hung up the phone. He waited for a few seconds, trying to digest the information he had just received. Then he called travel.
Meanwhile, in a beige, single-story, concrete block building at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, another phone call was being placed to Brigadier General John Baker in Alaska.
“General Baker, sir, this is Captain John Williamson, 353rd Communications Intercept Squadron. We have some information for you.”
“Go ahead.”
“The CDC has found survivors of the disease you have been monitoring in Thailand. So far the only survivors are Caucasians from New York City. There are several families of survivors.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, sir. This is just in from the UNAPS circuits.”
General Baker said nothing for several seconds. A killer disease but there are Caucasian survivors? I’ll be… Could be the ideal weapon… he thought. Maybe I won’t even have to retire…they’ll need someone to see this through…someone they can trust…
“Captain,” he said, his eyes aglow now with a sense of vision, “thank you! This is excellent information! I need to get this to the top right away. And I do mean the top! Connect me to the President, right away!”
Sixteen
Stephen put the power saw down and looked at the frozen body of the baby mammoth. His eyes followed the contours of the head, the high shoulders, and the sloping back. He stared at the light brown hairs that now glistened with a sliver-thin sheen of ice. The animal’s eyes were unseeing now; the ancient intelligence that had briefly come to life in the zoo was gone; the breath that had filled the young animal’s lungs was lost. He stood in silence holding the icy piece of tissue in his gloved left hand and felt the vast emptiness of a new extinction. Never again will I create such a life, he told himself, never again. It was all so near…so near… it could have been… he slowly turned away and walked to the door of the lab’s cold chamber. As he put his hand on the door handle he looked back once more at the mammoth, and felt the utter lifelessness of the body. If I do nothing else, I’ll find a vaccine. I have to – for my honor – and most importantly, for the honor of my family! He closed the door tightly and then walked to a nearby bench to begin packaging the mammoth tissue.
The Viral Epiphany Page 9