by J. R. McLeay
“I’ve known of him for roughly ten years,” Rick clarified. “Ever since he took over leadership of the Garden of Eden church from his deceased father, and he became more active in protesting against the GLI.”
“You’ve had no other contact with him?” Agent Sanchez asked.
“Other than incidental contact when he tried to disrupt his son’s surgery and when I attended Elias’s funeral yesterday—none.”
Agent Sanchez had checked Rick’s file and was aware of the recent incident at the hospital and the subsequent funeral.
“Do you have any idea where he might be right now?”
“I only know of the location of his church, on the lower east side.”
“Yes, we’ve been monitoring that location since last evening, and there’s been no sign of activity.”
“If he’s involved in any of this,” Rick said, “I can’t imagine he’d be foolish enough to return to such an obvious place.”
Agent Sanchez appraised Rick warily.
“Do you know any of his followers, or anyone in his congregation?”
“Only one, Nathan Taylor, who is a student in the Bio-ethics class I teach at NYU.”
Sanchez recognized the name as one of the individuals he had identified from Calvin’s church who worked at Endogen.
“How did you establish his connection with Calvin James?”
“I saw him standing beside Dr. James at the funeral yesterday.”
Agent Sanchez scribbled something again in his notepad. “Has he acted suspiciously with you at any time?”
“Other than being unusually passionate in his defense of the theory of intelligent design—I’d have to say no.”
“Intelligent design?” Agent Sanchez asked, obviously not schooled in matters of spiritual philosophy.
“The theory that all of earth’s bio-diversity was created by an intelligent higher power.”
“I see,” Agent Sanchez replied. “Did he ever make reference to the role of the Queen in any of this?”
“Only indirectly,” Rick replied, intrigued why the FBI agent was taking such a high degree of interest in Nathan suddenly. “In connection with our classroom discussions of cloning, and the reproduction of the species.”
“And what was his position on that?”
“He was adamantly opposed to the idea of cloning, and believed that all creatures should not be artificially constrained from reproducing in the natural manner.”
“So he was also opposed to pituitary removal and artificial hormone control by means of the patch?”
“Yes, of course—anything that conflicted with his worldview, as he believed God had designed it.”
Agent Sanchez suddenly closed his notebook, and slowly rose from his chair.
“If you see or hear anything else you feel might help us in this matter, please give me a call,” he said, handing Rick his card. “We’ll be giving this matter our greatest attention over the next few days. Please also let us know if you’ll be travelling out of town anytime in the next few weeks. Thank you for your time this morning, Dr. Ross.”
Agent Sanchez shook Rick’s hand, then Rick showed him to the door and closed it gently behind him.
So the chase begins, Rick thought.
45
Throughout the last week of November, there was little further news about Eva’s disappearance, and Rick grew increasingly concerned for her safety. He couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to harm or kidnap her, but he had an uneasy feeling that her disappearance was somehow connected with the recent sabotage and destruction of eggs from the world’s cryobanks, and with Calvin’s escape. He had long feared the two adults might someday form a union, but he never imagined it would take the form of a forced abduction. As he sat in his Mount Sinai office overlooking the capacious foyer of the Guggenheim Pavilion, agonizing over where Eva might have been taken and what additional unpleasantness could be in store for her, he heard a soft tap on his door.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Jennifer asked, peering at him through the open doorframe. Rick had been unusually distant and detached from Jennifer the last few days, and she hoped an impromptu visit might get him to open up a little. Plus, she was in need of a consult on another matter that was rapidly consuming her attention.
“Hey babe,” Rick said, looking up sheepishly. “Sorry I’ve been so preoccupied this week. There’s been a lot going on, and I’ve just needed a little time to sort things out.”
“I totally understand, Rick. You’ve had a lot to deal with. I just wondered if you wanted to talk. You know I worry that you sometimes put too much pressure on yourself by holding everything in.”
“I know—my so-called caveman complex,” Rick chuckled, referring to Jennifer’s pet name for his habit of retreating from social interaction to solve his problems. “It’s just that I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out why anybody would want to kidnap Eva, and what all this has to do with the assassination of the other Queens and with the destruction of the egg supply.”
“It seems apparent they’re linked,” Jennifer said, taking a seat on the other side of Rick’s desk. “Could it be that somebody is trying to corner the supply of human eggs in some kind of sick plot to profit from it?”
“I wish it were that benign—if I can use such a term to describe four murders and a state kidnapping. But I fear Calvin is somehow wrapped up in all this, and I think he has other designs on Eva. I can’t believe how stupid I was for not insisting on stepping up security for her.”
“I don’t think anyone could have stopped this crime,” Jennifer said, trying to reassure Rick. “It was clearly planned well ahead of time—and if Calvin organized it, he obviously had a lot of help.”
“Just like at his son’s funeral. That was also carefully staged, in full view of the police. The guy’s obviously got a lot of…”
“Resources?”
“I was gonna say something else. And that’s what worries me the most. The testosterone raging in his system hasn’t had an outlet for such a long time, and Eva must present a tempting target. Who knows what short- and long-term intentions he has with her.”
“I’m sure the police are doing everything in their power to find her,” Jennifer replied. “He can’t possibly get very far—they both stand out too much. Eventually, somebody’s got to see one of them. Besides, Eva’s a strong woman—I think she’ll find a way to keep it together until they’re found.”
“I hope you’re right,” Rick sighed. “Anyway, I’ve been so self-absorbed in my own troubles, I haven’t given you much attention. I know you’ve been busy this week as well—how has the transition to the adult patch been going?”
“Actually, that was the other reason I wanted to see you. There’ve been a number of worrisome developments.”
“More problems with the patch? I thought we’d gotten Endogen fully configured for production with the new formulation earlier in the week?”
“We did—they’ve been producing the adult patch to the newly defined specifications since Monday.”
“What else could go wrong? The adoption rate should have been fairly immediate, given the urgency of the WHO advisory and the mobilization of the worldwide distribution network.”
“All of that’s been seamless,” Jennifer replied. “The problem’s been entirely to do with the reaction to the new patch.”
“What are you seeing?”
“It’s early of course—only a few days—but the symptoms have not been improving. If anything, they’ve been getting worse.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Rick remarked. “The previous problems were associated with under-production of required hormones. Hasn’t that been corrected with the new formulation based on adult specifications?”
“Yes, but now these individuals are beginning to exhibit adult problems—advanced adult problems.”
“In what way?” Rick asked, growing increasingly alarmed by Jennifer’s news.
“We’ve been seeing acceler
ating ER visits throughout the week from the adult patch wearers exhibiting everything from arthritis, hypertension, cataracts—even early signs of cancer.”
“Those are all aging diseases!”
“Exactly.”
“All this in a matter of days?”
“Apparently,” Jennifer replied. “I was hoping you might be able to shed some light on all this. It’s very irregular, and extremely worrisome. I’m not even quite sure how to treat these cases. We could use conventional therapies like drugs and surgery to treat the symptoms, but at this rate we’ll soon be over-reaching our resources—plus it won’t help to stop the surge of cases we’re expecting from the millions of affected individuals who still haven’t reported. What do you think is going on, Rick?”
“I was afraid something like this might happen,” Rick said, massaging his aching forehead. “We’ve been holding back the floodgates for so long, I feared if we reopened the window of adolescence, there might be an extreme reaction.”
“Even though we’re setting their hormone infusions at the more moderate levels of young adults?” Jennifer asked.
“It might not make a difference,” Rick replied. “Their bodies have recognized they’ve passed into sexual maturity, and now they’ve begun the irreversible process of natural senescence.”
“But why at such an accelerated pace?”
“That’s the million-dollar question. In other species, when certain phenotypes have had their development naturally or artificially suspended, they’ve often experienced an advanced or accelerated aging process after maturity.”
Jennifer was familiar with the theory of antagonistic pleiotropy, and remembered the classic examples referenced in her pre-med biology courses. “You mean like cicada, or the C. elegans roundworm?”
“Yes. But there could be other mechanisms at work. In Hutchinson-Gilford Syndrome for instance, a genetic mutation stimulates accelerated aging shortly after birth.”
Jennifer stared at Rick quietly while she processed his comments, then drew a sudden breath.
“Do you think the suppression of hormones in juveniles might have somehow created an inherent genetic mutation in everybody?”
“I don’t know. But I think it would be prudent to take some cell cultures and begin DNA profiling on the affected individuals immediately. Hopefully, we can pinpoint the source of the defect, and see if there’s some kind of antidote or counter-measure that can be developed.”
Jennifer paused to consider the ramifications of Rick’s assessment.
“You know that Joe’s going to be all over this,” she said, anticipating the hospital Chief of Staff’s reaction.
“I’m afraid we’ve got far more important things to worry about now than simple matters pertaining to hospital administration. We can’t afford to let this get any further out of hand; we’ve got to get some answers—soon. If we were to lose this cohort of adolescents, with no other tangible means of reproduction available, our civilization could be on the razor’s edge of extinction.”
Jennifer looked at Rick as the blood slowly drained from her face. She knew exactly what he meant, but she also knew there was nobody more qualified to address this critical issue than her colleague and new companion.
“I’ll notify Joe and get on the DNA profiling immediately,” she said, getting up to leave. “In the meantime, please let me know if you hear anything about Eva.”
“I will,” Rick said, as he stood to see Jennifer to the door. “The way things are going, we may need her now more than anyone thought possible.”
46
Eva stared blankly at the back door of a gray panel van as it bounced over a bumpy dirt road, while she shifted uncomfortably on the bare steel floor of the windowless cargo compartment. She’d been on the road for many days, and although she had no idea where she was or where she was being taken, she estimated the vehicle had traveled hundreds of miles from New York since the night of her abduction at Lincoln Center. After speeding away in the ambulance, her abductors had taken her to a deserted rail yard and quickly transferred her to the unmarked van, where she was unceremoniously handcuffed to the carriage assembly on the underside of the front passenger seat, while the ambulance driver and attendant were replaced with two new drivers. Eva thought it was strange that neither had made any effort to hide their identities from her; whoever they were and whatever their purpose, it was apparent they had no intention of returning her to normal society anytime soon.
Although she had repeatedly implored her abductors to reveal what they wanted with her, they had remained stone-faced and silent during most of the trip—stopping only periodically to allow her to attend to her biological needs or to throw her cheap snack food from the front seat, which she would awkwardly nibble with her one untethered hand. Wherever they were taking her, Eva noticed they were very careful to avoid detection, because whenever they made necessary stops, it was always on a quiet stretch of country road where there was no sign of human habitation. After carefully checking to ensure the way was clear, the two would escort her into the adjacent woods at gunpoint, and make only a halfhearted attempt to turn away while she relieved herself. Eva was at least thankful the long gown she was still wearing from the ball afforded a modicum of modesty, as it covered most of her lower body while she squatted over the fetid soil.
How far the exalted Queen has fallen, Eva thought to herself. She now wished she’d accepted Rick’s offer to accompany her to the hospital in the ambulance—though she couldn’t imagine how he would have anticipated this elaborate subterfuge and prevented the gang from executing their malicious plan. As she drifted off to sleep on the hard steel floor, she tried not to think of the other Queens gasping their final breaths around the table at the U.N. gala, and how they painfully fell victim one-by-one to cyanide poisoning.
A few hours later, Eva woke to the sound of the van skidding to a stop on a gravel road, where the two juveniles got out of the vehicle and closed the doors behind them. Soon after, she could hear them in a muffled conversation some distance from the van, and she strained to listen. She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but she thought she heard the voice of a third person—someone with a very different sounding tone. The timber of his voice was much deeper, and it had a strange lilt to it—like someone who was accustomed to speaking to others in an authoritative or pedantic manner. After a few minutes, she heard the sound of another vehicle’s doors opening and closing, then it started up and drove away.
As Eva held her breath, she could hear a set of footsteps moving toward the van on the crunchy gravel, but this time it sounded like only one set of feet. As the driver’s door swung open and Eva looked up over her shoulder to see who it was, she gasped in horror. Filling the open space of the doorframe, she saw the sneering mask of Calvin James.
“Good afternoon, your majesty,” he snickered, smiling menacingly at Eva. “It’s nice to see you again. Though I’d hoped we’d meet again under more accommodating circumstances.”
“Wha…what do you want with me?” Eva could barely get the words out of her choked up throat.
“Why, I’m saving you of course,” Calvin replied, as he stepped into the driver’s seat and closed the door behind him. “From those self-righteous barbarians who’ve been using and debasing you for so long.”
“I don’t need any saving,” Eva snapped, “least of all from you. Why can’t you just leave me alone?!”
“You weren’t meant to be alone, my lady. You’re a national treasure—one who’s been neglected and abused for far too long. God has other intentions for you.”
“I’m not alone,” Eva argued, suddenly conscious of the lopsided bargaining position she found herself in. “I have a rich life—and many people who love me. I don’t need anyone or any authority telling me what’s right for me!”
“You mean like the U.N. authority that’s been extracting eggs from you to support their grandiose plan—or people who love you like that juvenile who escorted you to the Ball? Ho
w could he ever satisfy you? I hope you weren’t thinking of developing any kind of serious relationship with him? That’s not only unnatural, it’s blasphemous. God didn’t intend for children and adults to commingle in that way.”
“Leave Mike out of this! He’s simply a good friend and confidant. What have you done to him?”
“I bet he is,” Calvin sneered. “But you needn’t worry about him, Eva. It’s only you I want.”
“What could you possibly want with me? We have nothing in common—you repulse me!”
“You’ll see what I want with you soon enough, my dear,” Calvin said, as he looked lasciviously at Eva’s bare, splayed legs in the back of the van. “I’m going to show you how to be a real queen, and how to properly serve your dominion. We’re embarking on a mutual journey that will change the course of mankind forever. You and I will begin a new testament to God’s will, and lead the path for a new civilization.”
“You’ll never bend me to your—or your God’s—will,” Eva seethed, as she tried in vain to shake herself free of her shackles. “And you’ll never get away with this; the whole world is looking for you.”
“Where I’m taking you, no one will think to go or follow.” Calvin reached into a bag on the passenger seat, and threw a blanket at Eva’s feet. “It will be just you and me—in our own secret Eden.”
As Eva felt an encroaching chill, she wrapped the prickly blanket around her and curled up in a ball on the cold, dank floor.
47
Tian Yin woke up Sunday morning feeling very odd. Throughout the week, she’d seen increasing signs that her body was not responding well to the newly formulated adult patch, and she’d grown increasingly concerned. It had begun with subtle signs such as vague new aches in her muscles and joints, and small spider veins on her lower extremities. But her hair was continuing to thin, and she had recently developed an irritating ringing sound in her ears. Two days ago, she’d had to buy reading glasses to counter her rapidly deteriorating eyesight. But this morning she felt markedly worse.