Panspermia Deorum (35 page)

*

The tenuous
amalgam of regional health bodies nervously put together a
recommendation. It could be no more than that, as they didn’t yet
have the requisite authority. In a carefully worded statement they
advised the Australian member representative to extend the
exclusion zone in the outback. This new urgency came because there
was now hard practical evidence to back up their prior analytical
findings from the cometary pebbles. Several Rangers in the outback
had independently reported instances of cannibalism in various
herbivore species which spawned large litters and had a short
gestation period. A global call for all cometary pebbles to be
returned to the region was broadcast. They would be stored in a
deep freeze vault until they could be rendered safe, whatever that
meant. The response to both requests was slow, unlike the rise in
humans being bitten by animals they knew previously as timid. More
thorough analysis of the pebbles which were returned for
examination underlined the concern. There was evidence that some of
the joined-up bits of DNA had developed, with the assistance of
high ambient temperature, to full-blown unfamiliar viruses.

*

VB Aerospace
became Pan American Solar Exploration Inc. Julien and Eugene had
opted for a consortium of component industry companies with a
vested interest in founding an extra-terrestrial domain. The long
term vision was based on the philosophy that even though the
asteroid had been defeated, there would be more external threats
and internal dereliction of managing population growth and climate
change.

The family
return to Lyon was now a formality and preparations were at an
advanced stage. They would never forget Guiana and its people, but
it wasn’t quite the same without the various challenges they had
all faced while living there. However, it was also a step into the
unknown for Reuben, one which he enthused about. Sophie’s return to
her homeland was contingent upon his desire to be with her. It had
been an apprehensive time for her because he was so laid back,
agreeing to anything. She had harangue him time and time again to
think this through for himself, promising that she would stay in
Guiana with him if he wanted that. The answer was always the same –
“What’s to think about?”

*

Julien, Elise,
and Geraldine were disembarking from the aircraft, keen to inspect
their new homes in Lyon. Eugene, Sophie, and Reuben had commitments
to see through before they could leave.

The real estate
people had done an excellent job in finding apartments for them.
Julien and Elise had agreed on a penthouse overlooking the
confluence of the two rivers, the Rhone and the Saone. A generous
curved balcony offered a truly sweeping vista of river traffic and
distant hills. It felt like the heartbeat of the city without the
clogged arteries of street traffic. Geraldine had opted for a
ground floor condominium in the adjoining building. She had access
to a concierge and communal lounge.

One of Eugene’s
priorities was a safety deposit box in Lyon. He’d asked his father
to set it up for him. The urgency was to head off any problems with
the viral immune infiltration research. He’d kept copies of every
detail, culminating in his severance letter to the young researcher
who’d carried out the work without permission. His dismissal was
deemed as a breach of company policy, all specimens had been
destroyed, and only one copy of the reports was filed as evidence
of its suspension. Realistically, he was confident the documents
would never be needed, but one could never be too careful with
stuff like this, allegations of playing God could arrive out of
nowhere like a flash flood.

Five Weeks
Later

Intense testing
of the pebbles continued to throw up strange data, but one
laboratory in particular had identified and isolated a
characteristic which sent tremors around the planet. Using cultures
of altered stem cells as a potential host for the unfamiliar virus
resulted in explosive growth of cell doublets, each ‘twin’ of which
was unstable. Around the clock observation revealed a battle to the
death of one or the other. By assigning Alpha and Beta references
the scientists were able to conclude that the Beta types were
tolerated for so long before they were attacked. The next phase of
interaction was utterly bizarre. If the Alpha unit gained
sufficient control of the Beta version, it began to eat it.
Suddenly twins became an only child which then went on the rampage
for doublets which had become Beta dominant. Because the odds were
stacked in favour of the Alpha type, the petri-dish environment
gradually but inexorably gravitated to being Alpha-only, and once
this was achieved they became dormant. It took many attempts before
the researchers could produce a Beta-only petri-dish. Mixing the
two dormant cultures then heralded a kind of brief marriage, which
was blessed on average with four doublet cells. In three out of
four unstable doublets, the Alpha prevailed. The scientists debated
whether they should test unaltered stem cells as the culture
medium. There was unease amongst their ranks, as some of the team
members felt this was akin to waving a firearm about with a finger
on the trigger, and the safety catch in the off position.
Microbiology roulette.

*

Sporadic
reports of complications ensuing from the ever-increasing number of
bites by more and more tame species led to a new investigation.
There were signs of different parts of a medical tapestry joining
up to illustrate a frightening possibility.

Working
forwards from pebbles and backwards from those afflicted from the
bites, there was no escape from the conclusion. Every single
element in this study showed the presence of this new unfamiliar
virus. Panic began to take hold. Leading microbiologists met to
analyse the links. Plant life had been affected. Burrowing insects
and mammals had gorged on such flora. The food chain had then
facilitated onward transmission, accelerating the spread of
infection. The truth had to be faced, those already bitten only
represented the direct means of infection, and were a mere fraction
of those in some stage of incubation. Species jumping was
widespread and modes of proliferation were equally flexible. Eugene
was invited to join the analytical team and he spoke with his
father before making a decision.

“Listen, son,
I’m not going to try to influence you on this issue. I faced
similar situations myself, and if they taught me anything, it was
that it ultimately comes down to what you’re fighting for, and what
you’re fighting against. Do what you think is right.”

“I guess that’s
about what I expected you to say. Nevertheless I needed to hear it.
From what I’ve seen and read, this is a virus like no other. It has
created itself from bits of DNA which have been travelling around
the solar system for millennia. Having seen some of the components,
it suggests that a similar virus has existed somewhere in the
cosmos prior to a link up with the comet. The one we have here was
already primed to reincarnate in favourable conditions. Many of the
individual bits of the DNA are recognisable to us, but others are
not. I have the feeling that these strange helixes were alive but
in stasis, whereas the recognisable parts would not be classified
as living until they were somehow enlisted by the living ones after
they ‘awakened’. This, if true, would be a first, and may be very
difficult to eradicate.”

“It sounds like
you’ve talked yourself into joining the fight.”

“I guess so.
Mum and Sophie won’t like it but I have to go to Australia. There’s
something I want to share with you, Dad. Just in case this virus
gets totally out of our control, I want you to be the guardian of
the research reports I asked you to put the safety deposit box here
in Lyon. Even though it’s a little premature for me to be sure,
there seems to be some commonality with the virus in the cometary
pebbles. There are distinct signs that a similar infiltration of
the immune system is involved. And when I thought more about it,
the subsequent fight to the death of the so-called Alpha and Beta
units within the same doublet isn’t so dissimilar to the way in
which I treated Sophie’s schizophrenia. I know this sounds like a
big leap of logic, but the consequences would be dire if I’m right.
Why? Because one of the major differences when comparing the
technique I used for Sophie to the pebble virus is that it already
has a built-in creator mechanism, able to link and utilise other
chunks of DNA. This has to stay between the two of us for now, and
I’ll keep in touch regularly unless they take me away in a
straightjacket. This isn’t some regular pandemic which will respond
to conventional eradication medicines and quarantine.”

“Hold on,
Eugene. What the hell am I supposed to do if you are right and you
don’t survive the fight against this bloody virus?”

“Amongst the
reports, you’ll find the young researcher’s name. I haven’t got a
clue of his whereabouts now, but he should be tracked down. I
wouldn’t be surprised if he has found another way to take his work
forward, he’s obsessed with it, but he is also extremely gifted in
understanding what goes on at the cellular level of life. He should
be contacted and questioned over any approach which will give us an
edge over this threat. If you have to do this for me, time will be
of the essence. We are already looking at an exponential rise in
complications with those who have suffered bites, and we have no
idea how the complications will develop or mutate.”

Australia
2042

E
ugene’s contact with his father on this occasion
confirmed that the battle was being lost. Despite other members of
the multi-national panel fighting the war, he believed they were
not only in denial, but deceiving the public.

“It all sounds
a bit like my situation in Osaka all those years ago, Eugene. What
will you do?”

“Well, that’s
not an easy question to answer, but I would like you to begin a
search for this young researcher I mentioned. Someone has to be
prepared to break ranks if we’re going to make any progress at all.
Of course, it’s more complicated than your Osaka situation. The
virus doesn’t speak our language.”

“Can’t you show
your colleagues all of the reports and set up a team of prominent
microbiologists to pick up where this young man left off.”

“Not really,
Dad. First of all, there’s the refusal to admit abject failure by
the people running this Commission. Regarding the young
researcher’s work, there’s the abyss between recipe and technique.
A lot of what is in the report is vague by definition, protection
of the novelty of the idea which could be usurped before patents
were granted. Much of the fine detail of the work is in this young
man’s head. We don’t have time to start from scratch again. These
fools over here have wasted that period already. I also think you
need to be frank with the rest of the family, Dad. It’s only a
matter of time before I face the lottery of infection, in fact,
some of my colleagues have succumbed in recent days. I don’t want
to get into speculative scaremongering but we do have to face
reality. A reasonably statistical validity has been assigned to
something we have discovered in the last week. Whether by bites or
airborne infection, and any process between the two, a sub-species
is being nurtured in significant numbers of patients. These
deviants initially appear to us as chronic schizophrenics, but
regardless of any treatment, a resolution takes place. The
aggressive strain wins at least three-quarters of the struggles.
We’ve also discovered that they can recognise other humans who’ve
undergone such a struggle purely by looking at them, never having
seen them before. The price paid for such close monitoring has
unfortunately led to infection of the people treating them. This
has primarily been done by bites from the patients. Not merely as a
defensive action, but as nutrition. Some of my colleagues have been
discovered with flesh stripped away from the bone. Most of them
didn’t survive, but those who did are now classified as Homo
Diversitus. I’m not supposed to disclose this to anyone, Dad. So,
I’m making preparations to come home. I just hope I make it before
I run into one of these ‘creatures’ without being able to recognise
what they are; they just look like the rest of us. Anyway, the
young researcher’s name is Brandon Mitchell. He’s an American
citizen, but he could be anywhere. I hope you can use some of your
previous contacts to help locate him without causing too much
attention.”

“Take that as
read, Eugene. Now, for hell’s sake get yourself out of there. I’m
not going to enlighten your mother or sister about what you’ve told
me, as they’ll just freak out. It can wait until you get back. Let
me know when you’ll arrive as soon as you can.”

*

Having mulled
over the names of people he could trust, there was really only one
person to handle the request without having to make direct
references to the nuances at play. He called Alexei Bondarenko at
Pan American Solar Exploration Inc.

“How are things
going, my friend?”

“Julien, it is
great to hear from you. Everything is fine here. These people
offered me a nice senior position, believe it or not without too
much pressure, no politics or Mafia. I was not prepared to go back
to Russia so I am content with life in Guiana now. Is this a social
call? No, I must be stupid asking such a question. What can I do
for you?”

“It’s partly
social, well at least on behalf of my son, Eugene. As you may know
he was part of this Australian thing in the outback.”

“Yes, I saw him
on TV a few times. What do you mean, was part of the project?”

“I guess he
just got fed up with all the red tape on how to proceed and he
hates the climate out there. Apparently, he thinks they never
follow any of his suggestions so he’s quitting.”