Then Jack detected another kind of vibration.
“Dr. Greer,” Anna said, jogging over to him.
“I know,” he shot back, his eyes closing against the building pressure in his head. This newest blast wave propelled Jack and the others to the ground, some of them crying out in pain. When the flash came a moment later, Jack felt an electric current surge through his body. Inhaling deeply, he was about to tell them to find somewhere safe to hide when his world erupted in an explosion of white before turning inky black.
Chapter 39
Rome
Mia was sequencing the genome of a twenty-year-old woman named Caterina when her vision was filled with a flash of bright and blinding light.
After awakening from a vegetative state, Caterina had begun demonstrating a range of remarkable mental abilities. When the results finally came through, Mia hoped they would reveal at least three of the four new dominant Salzburg genes.
But the sudden flash had sent her mind reeling toward the experiment they had set up in the old operating theater on the seventh floor. Had the magnetic field generator been able to block some or all of the genetic instructions sent via the cosmic blast?
She glanced over at the timer on the sequencer, saw there was still nearly thirty minutes remaining before it was complete and sprang from her stool.
A few minutes later, Mia was exiting the elevator and striding down the long corridor, the tails of her lab coat fluttering. Ahead, she could see a few of the lab assistants and technicians had arrived. Among them was Dr. Putelli.
As she drew closer, Mia also caught the strange expressions on their faces. She pushed past a group of lab assistants and technicians gathered by the door and moved inside. The pig was dead, lying inside the cage with its tongue sticking out.
Mia sank down onto her haunches and buried her head in her hands. Dr. Putelli switched off the magnetic field generator and braced himself over the cage.
“I didn’t think it would work,” he told her. “But I suppose it was worth a shot. Try not to be discouraged, Mia. This is what science is about. Trial and error.”
She wanted to cry but swore and slammed her fist against the ground.
“It’s only a pig,” he said, continuing his not-so-smooth attempt at assuaging her obvious feelings of frustration and guilt. “Be thankful I didn’t let you talk me into using a human subject. Perhaps now we can get back to a more reasonable approach.” He flashed a toothy grin, but she was in no mood.
“I’m pissed off it didn’t work the way I hoped it would,” she said, rising. “But I don’t consider it a failure.”
“You don’t?” The inflection of surprise in his voice was unmistakable.
“Absolutely not. Clearly, the magnetic field failed to shield the pig from all of the incoming cosmic rays. We’ll have to look further at how much it did manage to block, but in the end, the percentage doesn’t really matter. The earth is protected by such a field and it helps by and large to shield us from the deadly cosmic rays that constantly bombard our planet. I postulated that the blast waves were sending genetic instructions via the same biophotonic language our cells utilize. If that hypothesis was wrong, the magnetic field would have had no effect.”
Dr. Putelli hunched over the dead pig’s cage, blinking stupidly.
A moment later, Ollie skidded to a stop. “Oh, crap.” He found Mia, who filled him in.
“I was just speaking with a fifty-seven-year-old pregnant woman,” he told her.
Mia’s eyebrows shot up. “Wow, fifty-seven.” She turned to Putelli. “Is that normal around here?”
He shook his head, still in a daze. “No more than anywhere else.”
“But that wasn’t the really weird part, if you can believe it. She’s a subject in Dr. Putelli’s Salzburg study and says she’s expecting twins.”
The study in Kolkata had seen a rash of twin pregnancies among women with Salzburg that was way off the chart as well. She asked Dr. Putelli if he’d noticed the same correlation.
“Oh, yes, there have been many. Some who even had Salzburg and gave birth before we knew what it was. Although I’m afraid there may be dangers we never anticipated among twins born with the disorder.”
Mia’s head tilted. “I don’t understand.”
“Psychotic breaks with reality. Schizophrenia. I have seen more than my fair share of cases. We have tried our best to treat them, but often there is little we can do. In fact, the day you arrived, a pair of twin girls, no more than ten years of age, lost touch with reality and had to be sedated. It was quite ugly and frightening for the other patients, I’m afraid.”
“There’s a fine line between genius and stark raving lunatic,” Ollie said. “Haven’t you lot considered for a moment these changes might be pushing our brains further and harder than they were ever meant to go?”
Mia was terrified Ollie just might be right. Could the end point for the thirty percent suffering with Salzburg be a slow, painful descent into madness? There was only one way to know for sure. She looked at Dr. Putelli. “Do you still have a sample of the girls’ blood?”
•••
Ten minutes later, Dr. Putelli entered the lab, holding the twins’ blood samples. “I hope I’m not disturbing you,” he said with a halfhearted smile.
“I was going over Caterina’s sequence. When the flash hit I dropped everything and rushed up to check on the pig.”
“And?” he said, glancing over her shoulder. “Any new findings?”
“Caterina has seven of the eight Salzburg genes. The three located in the 48th chromatid are LRP5, SOD11A and MRE11. Of course, in the average population one half of each chromosome is donated by the mother and one half by the father. But in Salzburg’s case, there is no contributing parent. We’re seeing empty sections of the chromosome slowly being populated by genes and other genetic material via biophotonics.”
“Triggered, as you say, by those blinding pulses of light,” Putelli added.
“Exactly! That’s why I went to India and then came here. I’ve been chasing the emergence of new genes, with the hope that by sequencing them, we might figure how and why this is happening.”
Dr. Putelli considered this. “If we do nothing, I worry that society will diverge into two genetically-distinct groups. Those with Salzburg and those without.”
“There are simply too many variables right now to give any real thought to the future. Could it be that the final stage of Salzburg is to drive its host insane? And will any of that really matter if life on earth is threatened by what they’re now calling the doomsday ship?”
He smiled coyly. “You know how I feel about the chances of that ship being real.” He went to hand her the blood samples and pulled them away at the last second. “Dr. Ward, there is one thing I want to make clear. When all of this is over, I don’t want you getting any ideas.”
Mia was genuinely confused by his comment. “Ideas about what?”
“I spoke with the people at the U.S. State Department and they’ve vouched for you,” he said, peering up beneath hooded slits. “In fact, they were happy to hear you were still alive.”
“There was a riot in Kolkata and people in our party got killed. We had to flee.”
“Kolkata isn’t the only place in trouble,” he said. “Seems the whole world is in conflict. Your country in particular. First with Cuba over its artificial islands and now with the Russians in Greenland.”
Mia went pale. “Greenland?” It was hardly a surprise, but she had been so unilaterally focused on her work here, she had lost touch with the rest of the world.
“The start of a proxy war, I’m afraid,” Dr. Putelli said. “At least that’s what they were saying on CNN. I try not to put much weight into any one news outlet. But if there is a conflict going on, I only hope it doesn’t escalate into a full-scale nuclear war.”
That last part made her insides feel like they were being slowly fed into an organ grinder. In the brief time she had spent in the Gulf investigating
the Atean ship, Mia had grown close to many of the scientists: Gabby, Dag, Grant, Rajesh, Eugene and Anna. Her heart ached with the idea that any of them might be hurt or worse. It was Jack’s handsome face that kept coming back to her.
“You have friends up there?”
She nodded, unable to speak.
Dr. Putelli set the blood samples down on the table and put a hand over hers. “I’m sure they’ll be fine.”
He was about to leave, but Mia called after him. “I still don’t understand what you meant about me getting any ideas.”
The doctor fished something from between his teeth with the tip of his tongue. “There’s something you must understand, Dr. Ward. Over here, things are different than they are in America. Men know their place and so do women. I simply want you to remember that you and Ollie are here as my guests.”
“Have we done something wrong?”
Dr. Putelli drew in a ragged breath. She could tell he had hoped she might get the hint. But Mia wasn’t a hint kinda gal. If someone had something to say, they ought to come right out and say it.
“Look,” he said. “You’re a very accomplished scientist and in the short time you’ve been here we’ve made some significant leaps in our understanding. It’s just sometimes your brash manner can rub people the wrong way.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “You know, it may surprise you to hear this, but I wasn’t always this way. There was a time not so long ago when a man in very much the same position you’re in took advantage of me in a way he never should have. When I threatened to speak out, he ruined my life and I’ve been struggling back from the ash heap ever since.
“I learned very quickly to either lie down and give up or fight for what I believe in. Every day since then I’ve been tested in ways I never thought possible. Show me a man with a brash manner and I’ll show you someone who’s respected and revered. It’s too bad all you see when you look at me is a woman, rather than a member of a team working toward the same goal.
“If it’s awards and accolades you’re worried about, you can have them. All I want is for my six-year-old daughter to have a chance at a normal, happy life and maybe, just maybe, for her to one day look back at what I did and feel pride that her mom had the guts to stand up and speak her truth when everyone else was telling her to sit down and shut up.”
Dr. Putelli stood stunned. Maybe he’d expected her to slap him across the face or rant and rave and burst into tears. Whatever thoughts were going through his mind, they were likely travelling along uncharted neural pathways. She kept quiet and watched him turn and hurry from the lab. It often took strength to find a voice and speak up. Just the same, it often took wisdom to know when your point was already made.
•••
When Mia had finished sequencing and analyzing the DNA in the twins’ Salzburg chromosome, she gathered everyone together in the lab in order to share the findings. Dr. Putelli stood before her, arms crossed, a hard look on his face. A few technicians and assistants were present, as well as Ollie.
Mia held up the blood vials. “These two young girls represent the first known cases of patients with the entire Salzburg chromosome. We’ve already seen the devastating effects the genes in the 47th chromatid produced. LRP5 weakened our bones; TRPP2 made us hide from the sun; DAF4 weakened our immune system, aging some patients prematurely; and SER3 was responsible for the comatose state so many are experiencing, including my own daughter.
“The four genes from the 48th chromatid are vastly different and in many cases, behave in ways that are downright astonishing. Some we’ve already come to know well. Like the gene LRP5, which encodes a protein that greatly increases bone density; SOD11A and the powerful protein Dsup, incredibly helpful in shielding us from radiation; MRE11, which repairs errors in our DNA; and finally, HOK3, perhaps the most mysterious of them all. Far more testing remains to be done, but here’s what we know about it so far. The gene seems to affect the parahippocampal gyrus in the cerebral cortex.”
Ollie’s weathered face looked blank.
“Uh, that is to say,” she explained for him in particular, “the region of the brain that surrounds the hippocampus and is responsible for memory and visuospatial processing. Asymmetries in this area are sometimes associated with schizophrenia, which may explain the symptoms Dr. Putelli observed in the girls. HOK3 is the least understood of Salzburg’s genes. That also makes it potentially the most dangerous. If schizophrenia is the final stage for billions of people on earth, we need to know and we need to know now. Which brings me to my next question.” She fixed Dr. Putelli with a determined stare. “Where are the twins now?”
He looked up. “They were taken to a facility in Rome for psychiatric evaluation.”
“What’s the name of the hospital?” she asked.
Dr. Putelli bobbed his head with indecision. “It’s not a hospital. It’s a mental health facility.”
“You sent them to an asylum?” Ollie snapped.
Dr. Putelli didn’t respond.
Mia caught Ollie’s eye. “You up for a cab ride?”
“With you? Any day.”
“Unfortunately, your chances of getting a cab in Rome right now are next to nil,” Dr. Putelli told them. “Ever since the civil unrest and the labor shortage, even public transportation has been drastically reduced.”
“Will you come with us then?”
He waved his hands in front of him apologetically. “I don’t have such an easy time in those places.”
Mia threw him a look. “Then can we borrow your car?”
Chapter 40
Washington, D.C.
Kay slid the picture across the table, pushing it into Leslie Fisher’s line of sight. The investigative reporter glared down at it, biting her lower lip with all the frenetic grace of a squirrel eating an acorn. Kay turned and scanned the handful of patrons inside the coffee shop.
The air was thick with the smell of exotic coffee. International blends were what La Colombe on 1st and 6th was known for. Leslie was sipping on the Brazilian while Kay had opted for the Ethiopian. They were less than a mile east of the White House, which explained the increased military presence. Outside, the noonday sun was in full effect. But with every passing day the streets were becoming more and more deserted. Perhaps it had something to do with the soldiers stationed outside grocery stores, gas stations and banks. The government had started issuing ration cards to families via their smartphones. The first few hours after news broke that the ship was on its way, people had tried to stockpile as much food and supplies as they could. But hoarding was only going to help the lucky few who were fast enough, leaving the rest of the country in an increasingly desperate and dangerous state of mind. Kay glanced out the plate-glass window at the three soldiers chatting on the sidewalk.
“I knew someone was following me,” Leslie said, shaking her head. “When you see the same car behind you day after day you start to wonder if you’re becoming paranoid.”
“What do they want with you?” Kay asked.
“I’ve been working on a story for the Washington Tribune. A sort of retrospective on the Kennedy administration. It was supposed to be a fluff piece, until I stumbled onto a group of wealthy international industrialists in the late 50s and early 60s who had banded together to put pressure on the government.”
“Pressure over what?”
“Space,” she said, a note of surprise in her voice. “If you can believe it. Apparently in 1963 NASA scientists detected a burst of cosmic radiation being emitted from a planet ten light years from Earth. Of course, they were confused, since cosmic rays are normally blasted into space from supernovas and pulsars, not from ordinary planets. When they analyzed the signal, they found that it was filled with reams of binary data, but at the time they couldn’t make heads nor tails of it. Regardless, they were confident they’d found proof of life beyond Earth. Those working on the project were sworn to secrecy and it was given a top-secret compartmentalized classification. Not even Kennedy was
briefed or supposed to be told anything about it. But somehow he found out. The space race was already in full swing. And now not only was Kennedy about to make an announcement that they’d found proof of extraterrestrial life, but he was going to fund a special program tasked with trying to make contact.”
Kay was stunned. “I’ve never heard any of this, so obviously they talked him out of it.”
Leslie gave her a look. “Yeah, they convinced him in Dallas with a bullet to the back of the head.”
“No,” Kay said, drawing out the word.
Leslie nodded. “Only a handful of folks are left in this town old enough to remember and even fewer willing to talk about it.”
“And Lee Harvey Oswald?”
“That part of the assassination conspiracy was true. Oswald was a Cuban sympathizer who was used to carry out the killing.”
“So who was behind it then?”
Leslie tilted her head slightly. “Back in those days they were called the Majestic 12. Today, they’re known as Sentinel and they want nothing more than for Earth to keep to itself and stay out of the crosshairs of some roving galactic bully.”
“Well, it looks like they’ve done a pretty crappy job of it,” Kay said.
“Some things are clearly beyond their control. How could they have known that millions of years ago some alien ship had buried itself under the Gulf of Mexico? Or that for reasons no one really knows, another would be on its way?”
“What about your story in the Tribune?” Kay asked.
“They had it buried,” Leslie said. “Tied the paper up in litigation, threw everything they could at us. Nearly bankrupted the paper. Thankfully you didn’t have that problem.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.”
“I hear you’re up for a Pulitzer,” Leslie said. “Although who can say whether anyone will still be around to hand it to you.”
Kay tried to smile but the muscles in her face wouldn’t cooperate. “You think Sentinel also tried to assassinate President Taylor?”
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