Connexion : The Atlantis Project, Book.1 (8 page)

“As Francisco says, the waking phase will
probably be very long. It may possibly last several years or even
decades – assuming it even eventuates. We can be sure of nothing.
For the time being, it is only a hypothesis. We cannot afford to
just wait, especially as it would be preferable to have obtained
more information before it happens, because afterwards we don’t
know what, or rather who, to expect. Whatever happens, it would be
a lot more difficult to study Victor’s psychological functions at
that point. Don’t forget that we are talking about a being that is
possibly of intelligence far superior to ours. In that case and
taking his size into account, it is better for us to be ready to
enter into communication with him when the time comes. Or else the
consequences could be disastrous.”

Francisco saw fit to complete Giuseppe’s
explanations. “If it is correct that Victor received a signal from
an external source, we don’t know who sent it or for what
purpose.”

“That is also one of our concerns, indeed.
Suppose the signal was sent by other N.H.I’s, what will happen when
he wakes up?”

Mario, obviously bothered by the undeniable
assertions of his colleagues, decided to intervene. “Francisco, you
can’t be so certain. All this amounts to nothing more than theory
based on very little concrete proof.”

Francisco, who was fidgeting more and more
nervously on his chair, held his head in his hands. He answered
Mario, much like a child submitting to parental authority. “That’s
true. You’re right, Mario. I’m sorry.”

Giuseppe quickly came to his rescue. “You
needn’t be sorry, Francisco! Even if Mario is right to play down
conclusions which may seem a little hasty, he must also recognize
that your intuition has almost always proved correct until now. And
also, we need a basic hypothesis to work from – flawed though it
may be – if we are to make headway without being overtaken by the
circumstances.”

“Okay! Let’s get to the facts,” said Jacques
impatiently. “We have agreed to help you, even though, personally,
I don’t know what miracle we can possibly work. How are you
planning on making contact with him?”

“Very well, I’ll try to be brief. Firstly, I
must confess that you will not be the first to try this experiment.
Others have already attempted to delve into Victor’s mind, but
unfortunately, they did not succeed. We do not know exactly what
caused these failures but several theories have been proposed. We
will come back to that later, once I have explained in more detail
the main points of the experiment…

As Giuseppe continued his talk, Jacques spoke
internally to his brother,
“What happened to the poor bastards
who failed the test?”

Charlie answered him in a whisper, all the
while pretending to listen attentively to the old man’s words. His
voice was barely audible.

“Let him finish. He would tell us if it was
really dangerous. We’ll sort that out later.”

Jacques remained silent but his face had
clouded. His confidence in Giuseppe had just been severely shaken,
although he could not say exactly why. It was just an uneasy
feeling that had not left him and was now impossible to ignore. He
could have simply asked a direct question, but lacked the nerve.
Maybe he was reluctant to seem like a coward again. Giuseppe
demanded their attention again, which focused Jacques’ thoughts on
what was being said, rather than on his impressions.

“I guess you have already heard talk of
stem-cell research and the extraordinary possibilities it is
opening up in the medical world?”

Like a good student, Charlie did his best to
answer Giuseppe’s question. His scientific knowledge did not
stretch very far, but he happened to remember some information on
the topic.

“I heard something about it during the debate
over whether research on that type of cell should be allowed or
not. If I’m not mistaken, I think they were hoping in the near
future to be able to recreate vital organs like the heart or the
kidneys from those cells.”

“I have been working on this type of cell for
many years now, but the standards imposed by the Committee on
Bio-ethics impeded a great deal of large-scale work which would
have allowed us to progress more rapidly. It was especially the
harvesting of stem cells which posed difficulties, because they are
mainly embryonic. To cut a long story short, the benefit of using
such cells lies in the fact that they are not yet differentiated
and therefore make it possible to progressively form all the other
cells of the organism. To be able to do this, we must master every
stage of cellular differentiation. So these cells have opened up a
new approach to living matter and to medicine in general thanks to
what is now known as cellular therapy. Several years ago, the first
encouraging results were recorded, but we gradually met more and
more obstacles, arising from a developing legal framework and
increasing pressure from religious groups. Thankfully, in 2007 the
Japanese scientist, Shinya Yamanaka, developed technology enabling
us to make any differentiated adult stem cells revert, and
genetically reprogram them to create pluripotential stem cells,
called “I.P.S. Cells”. In other words, today it is possible to
harvest differentiated cells from any living being and make them
revert to the state of an undifferentiated stem cell. Are you
following me?”

“Er, yes. I think so,” replied Charlie rather
unconvincingly.

Jacques decided to speak up, which took
considerable courage. “If I may, haven’t these techniques also been
criticized because they have opened the door to human cloning and a
biomedical revolution with as yet unknown consequences? I’m mainly
thinking of the ever-present fantasy of transhumanism and the
potential for abuse in the bio-cybernetic world. In other words, to
use your expression, we may be approaching the end of humanity as
we know it today. Perhaps even its end pure and simple if our
technology overtakes us and we create independent intelligent
beings.”

A brief silence came over the group. Both
Charlie and Clementine were stunned by the pertinence and vehemence
of Jacques’ words. Giuseppe was equally surprised. Jacques actually
seemed to know a lot more than he let on, and was obviously
passionate about the subject.

“I can see this subject interests you,
Jacques!”

Jacques, rather proud of himself, replied in
a calmer tone, “Oh, well I’m really just a big fan of
science-fiction. It’s a very instructive genre that raises
questions about humanity and where it’s going – despite what the
purists say, like my own brother, who will only read Literature
with a capital L.”

“Well then, my dear Jacques, you will soon
realize that here, reality has surpassed fiction. For ten years,
our team has been working on neural stem-cell differentiation,
particularly in the hippocampus region of the brain. Just like
embryonic stem-cells, these cells are pluripotential, except that
their differentiation potential is limited to neural cell types
such as neurons and the other cells that make up the human brain.
This technology has raised very high hopes. Very soon it should
allow us to treat numerous degenerative brain diseases linked among
other things to the ageing population. As you can see, our research
is not only a source of doom and gloom. It is also the source of
considerable progress in the treatment of major human illnesses. It
is also the promise of increased longevity and moving toward the
preservation of humanity. What’s more, I would remind you that this
is the primary mission of the Mataiva base. Apart from the medical
applications which I have just mentioned, we have a parallel
research program which aims to recreate, from I.P.S.’s and neural
stem-cells, what could be called a cerebral pathway. To be precise,
it is more like a neural probe, capable of establishing a neuronal
connection between two distinct brains. To visualize this more
easily, it can be compared to a cable linking two computers. Such a
cable allows the passage of selected information from one computer
to the other, but each computer conserves its own functions and not
of all the information is transferred or even transferable. Some,
however, can sometimes pass from one system to the other
unintentionally, which makes the task more complicated.

Jacques decided to interrupt Giuseppe.

“Is that what happened with the previous
experiments?”

“That did occur, indeed, but many of the
technical problems encountered during our previous attempts to
connect with Victor’s brain have been resolved since then.”

Now Charlie, who had just understood the
implications of what Giuseppe was saying, spoke up.

“You mean you’re going to plug your neural
probe into us, and biologically connect us to Victor. Is that
it?”

“Only you, Charlie,” answered Francisco.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I need to
clarify a few points with you first. As it happens, delving into
Victor’s mind is no simple matter, despite the very advanced
technology we are utilizing. We think that one of the main reasons
the past attempts failed lies in the fact that the volunteers
involved in the experiment were not capable of coping with the huge
influx of information. It seems that they lost their free will to
the extent that they could no longer distinguish reality from what
was similar to a waking dream, largely made up of material from
their own minds…”

On hearing these words, the anxiety which had
been slowly mounting in Charlie suddenly reached a whole new level.
He felt as if he were suffocating. His palpitations became tangible
until they reverberated in his head. He was breathing faster and
faster, and soon a sensation of freezing cold overwhelmed him.
Large drops of sweat trickled slowly down his pallid face.

Jacques noticed his distress and spoke
internally to him,
“Now you’re beginning to understand my
doubts. It’s not a game anymore, where your waffling and your
literary capers can pull you through. The guys who tried this
before us certainly didn’t come out of it unscathed. It’s not too
late to say no, you know!”

Clementine watched Charlie for a few moments.
She had noticed that something was wrong too, but she didn’t
move.

“Is everything okay, Charlie?” asked
Giuseppe.

Charlie tried to pull himself together. He
held his breath for a few seconds then cleared his throat rather
noticeably before answering in a slightly husky voice.

“Yes, fine. Just a little hot flush. I get
them from time to time.”

“Well, it’s midday, anyway. I suggest we take
a short lunch break. We’ll continue our conversation at one
o’clock, if that’s okay with you. Unfortunately, I have some things
to see to, but Mario will go to the canteen with you.”

Giuseppe found himself alone with
Francisco.

“Are you sure about this, Francisco? Charlie
seems mentally fragile. What will happen if he panics during the
connection?”

Francisco’s eyes met Giuseppe’s, furtively
then he answered quite confidently, “That’s a risk which I have
just calculated, but it will not last indefinitely. He should gain
control of himself after a few minutes. If the worst comes to the
worst we could always tranquilize him. Anyway, we don’t have any
choice. An opportunity like this will never come up again.”

10 INTERLUDE

Clementine was having difficulty swallowing
the cold macédoine salad that the canteen cook had carefully coated
in a grayish mayonnaise with dubiously identifiable seasonings. A
second plate sitting on her tray contained a slab of freeze-dried
turkey, still steaming. It was served with mashed potatoes,
supposedly “home-made”, whose color and consistency made her think
of a tomato
coulis
that has lost the vibrant red that once
made it appetizing. The canteen held the promise of a new feast,
each day that the friends were to spend on the base. The
grotesqueness of such cuisine, especially after the repast they had
enjoyed the day before, at least helped to relax the
atmosphere.

With a laugh, Jacques said to Mario, who had
only taken the salad, “Aren’t you hungry, Mario?”

“Oh, well, it’s not that I’m fussy, but I
prefer to savor the gastronomic memories of yesterday. Besides, the
shock would be difficult for my digestion to cope with. It’s better
to make the transition gradually.”

The wise words of Mario immediately set the
others laughing, which was a welcome relief from the ambient
tension.

Even Charlie had his color back and laughed
as he happily quipped, “Thankfully, we’re on a base full of
scientists, so each dish is carefully labeled, or else we might
have trouble identifying them!”

And Jacques added, with a grin that he could
not suppress, “What about the cook – do you think he’s from Naples
too?”

Everyone laughed heartily, even Clementine,
who finally gave up on trying to finish her salad. But Jacques went
too far. Trying to unite everyone around a childhood memory bathed
in nostalgia, he made an unhappy allusion.

“I bet they also serve stewed sheep’s brains,
just like Mama used to make, ‘because they make you smarter’!”
Charlie was no longer in a jovial mood. His face became grave again
as he questioned Mario, “Why did Francisco say that I would be the
only one to be connected to Victor? Do you know?”

Mario, though rather ill-at-ease, decided to
answer anyway.

“I should really let Giuseppe explain this to
you, but since you’ve asked me, I’ll do it.”

Jacques was really starting to appreciate
Mario.

“Giuseppe hasn’t told you yet that the main
reason for the earlier failures stems from the fact that the
volunteers were not able to free themselves from Victor’s hold. As
I hinted last night, your physical and psychological duality will
be your advantage in this experience. By connecting only your
brain, Charlie, we will be able to leave Jacques’ brain free, which
will ensure a grasp on reality. This grasp on reality is only
possible because Jacques is able, for some inexplicable reason, to
communicate with you through something approaching telepathy.
Therefore, even though there is no neuronal link between your two
brains, communication is possible.”