Extinction Level Event
Page 21
08 EXTINCTION LEVEL EVENT
Location Unknown -Six weeks later
Having disembarked from his voyage around the world recently, Krishnan uses his remaining cash to stay at a small, discreet motel. Over the past month and a half he has developed several new coding sequences that, he hopes, could be used to create new earthworm hybrids. So far, the news has shown no luck in either creating new species that may survive or finding a species possibly immune to EWK-1, such as the Giant Palouse.
Massive fishing efforts have become visible, as fishermen and companies race to overfish what remaining food there is in the oceans in a race against other competitors. Trawlers and fishing vessels have been overly abundant and active in every port visited by Krishnan during his world odyssey. With complete disregard for maintaining small, viable populations of fish and other marine organisms for future use, oceans have been overharvested as a response to the decline of food from land based agriculture.
Logging in to his daily email check, Krishnan finds a message from sec@mail.usda.gov. Krishnan reads it again. Really? Yes! I need a ticket back. He logs off and begins packing shirts, socks, and electronics into his faithful travelling suitcase. Then another thought hits him.
Who was representing NBACC? Are they still running around? What was Medina's role in this, we lost contact but I need to talk to that guy, and find what skeletons he has in his closet. Need to talk to McCarthy about Case # 3589, this isn't over yet. The first thing to do is buy a ticket to Los Angeles. He hails a cab, drives over to the Amtrak station and buys himself a first class ticket. Two hours later the train pulls out of the station.
As the train accelerates to its high speed of over 200mph Krishnan looks out the window, a point of observation on the withering landscape. Trees no longer as green and sturdy as before, piles of detritus lying in wait to be decomposed amongst the underbrush. As vast tracts of farmland come into view, he almost visualizes the grey brown taint that has corrupted previously bright golden, yellow, and green crops. A slowly decaying landscape that reminisces of a slowly peeling painting flashes by the rest of the voyage.
The train pulls into Los Angeles Central Station, and Krishnan makes his way to City Hall in the still alive and bustling downtown. He takes the elevator up and walks into McCarthy's office. Seeing no one around, he waits for a bit, poking at his paperwork. Soon he is rewarded by the sight of McCarthy talking to some official through the glass wall. Catching his eye, McCarthy soon breaks off the conversation and barges jauntily towards Krishnan. "Finally", exclaims McCarthy, "You're back. For a while I thought you would have to hide forever."
"Why?", Krishnan wants to get right down to the point, "and whom?"
"Who wanted me out of the way? I want to know!" Krishnan starts becoming agitated, restless to get updated on what had passed in his absence. "Calm down, man, you're going to work up an unnecessary sweat!", McCarthy pushes the doctor down into a chair. "Now, listen closely. The Secretary believes that something fishy may be going on at NBACC, trying to destroy evidence of Project Deniability, that sort of thing. So, he's pulled a few strings and re-invoked your security clearance that you had when you were part of, what was it, an advisory board?" "The Oversight Committee", corrects Krishnan. "Onassis, has actually ordered you to do that as part of your next assignment. I believe he intends to visit the facility himself as well." "Surprising. What does the DoD have to say about that?" "I don't know the details. Just get yourself on a plane to Washington and get to the bottom of this. The Court only had you declared not-guilty, but we weren't able to get much information during the proceedings. GeneZTech assets have been frozen. And there is an ongoing internal investigation into the Oversight Committee as well." "Good to know. And the Director of NBACC?" "Also under investigation. It's even made it to the news."
"What about our research? Any news?" "None. No remedies, no new species, no development. Although, there is a huge discussion going on in the UN, about some plan to re-structure our entire way of producing food. . . who knows. . " "I have been watching the news, McCarthy. I wasn't living in a cave this past month. But that's a discussion for later. I think we should follow the plan proposed by that Manjak guy, if we can agree on it. . . . meanwhile, I will get going." Krishnan walks out, managing to catch an afternoon flight to Washington Dulles. Then an ugly thought crosses his mind. What if the Secretary of Defense wanted him out of the way? Project Deniability must have had his approval to be even considered, right? The thought kept Krishnan from even remotely enjoying the flight even more than everything else happening. Things have only just begun.