Bioterror! (an Ell Donsaii story #14) Read online

  LaQua laughed again, “Send me a query regarding what you’re trying to do and I hope I can find a minion to do it for you. Otherwise, I’ll have to do it myself.”

  Chapter Ten

  Zage walked into the lab, his eyes immediately going to Carley. He’d found himself thinking about her a lot and didn’t quite know what to make of it. He’d done some reading to try to understand what might be happening to him and had learned that children sometimes had infatuations or “crushes” on members of the other sex, though they didn’t often happen as early as age five. Also, the crush was usually on someone similar in age to the kid, not someone much older like Carley. Apparently, such feelings were often unrequited, which could lead to a great deal of emotional distress for the person with the crush.

  Surprisingly, he’d learned that many children who had these infatuations didn’t really know the object of their desires very well. Kids often got crushes on famous musicians or actors whom they didn’t know at all. Apparently, there was some thought that the very fact you didn’t know the object of your desires allowed you to attribute all kinds of amazing characteristics to that person. Characteristics the person might not actually have.

  His analytical approach to understanding his feelings hadn’t diminished his attraction to Carley. He obviously knew her much better than some famous person on TV, though not as well as he’d like to. He admitted that probably some of the attraction came from the fact that she was pretty, and that she might have flaws he didn’t know about. Maybe he liked her because she’d given him that big hug and been so appreciative of the fact that he’d rescued her at her party. Whatever it was, attempts to rationally understand his feelings didn’t seem to be making them go away.

  He stood, enjoying the glistening curl of her auburn hair and admiring the shape of her cheekbone which was all he could see of her face since she was turned mostly away. He even liked the freckles he’d heard her telling Alice she hated.

  Suddenly, she seemed to sense him behind her. Turning, her eyes widened as they focused on him, then she stood and strode to him. Like she’d done when she thanked him for rescuing her at the party, she dropped to one knee and threw her arms around him for a hug. “My brother’s alive! Thank you so much for suggesting I do a DNA database search.”

  Zage put his arms around her and hugged her back, hoping she wouldn’t let go too soon. “I’m glad. Do you actually know where he is?”

  Sadly, she released her hug and leaned back to look at him, her eyes shining. “No, but the database has agreed to forward a message to him from me. I’ve sent him my contact info. I might hear from him any day now!”

  ***

  Homeland Security, Washington DC— It was announced today that an investigation has been opened into a website known only as “Gordito.” Gordito appears to be a scientific website which was initially set up to help identify antigenic sites on viruses for those wanting to generate vaccines. However, it has become particularly well known amongst researchers who have been using it to predict the folding of proteins. It’s apparently able to predict protein folding from gene sequences with great accuracy, a problem which is been plaguing molecular biology for many decades.

  Few researchers were using the Gordito site to predict viral antigens until the recent bioterrorism crisis. CDC actually used it to develop the protein-based or “antigenic” vaccine that has been quite successful in providing protection against modified smallpox virus. Apparently, concern has been raised about the fact that the Gordito site came online shortly before the smallpox crisis and that this site was able to recognize the nature of the virus and predict the antigens for a vaccine in a matter of hours—a feat that most investigators believe is impossible—suggesting some foreknowledge of the virus. It must be emphasized that, thus far, the Gordito site has only been helpful, not harmful. Nonetheless, the apparent foreknowledge of the crisis suggests that the Gordito site may be associated with the terrorists and, therefore, Homeland Security is making a concerted effort to identify the site and its operators.

  Because the site is walled off with an astonishingly sophisticated firewall and a PGR connection, Homeland Security is asking anyone with knowledge of the Gordito site to come forward with information…

  When Zage arrived at the lab, Alice turned to him and spoke in a low tone, “Did you hear about Gordito?”

  Zage paused, trying to think about whether anything he’d posted on the Gordito site might’ve made the news. Not being able to think of anything, he shook his head, “What’s up with them?”

  “Homeland Security’s posted a bulletin suggesting that the website might actually be run by the terrorists!” she said, lifting an eyebrow. “They point out that the site knew far too much about the virus way too early after its dissemination. They’re asking for information from anyone who might know who’s actually running the site.”

  “Oh,” Zage said, trying not to let his dismay appear on his face. “But… Gordito’s been helpful… The vaccine it designed is working to protect people… How can they say…” he shook his head and stopped, unable to comprehend what might be going on.

  “I’ll bet they’re thinking Gordito’s trying to worm his way into everyone’s confidence,” Alice said in a hushed tone, as if describing bloodsucking ghosts that might be nearby trying to listen in. “Then, once everyone’s blindly relying on the website, he’ll sneak something into a new vaccine that’ll kill millions of people instead of protecting them!”

  “No! He…” Zage stopped before he said too much. “I’ve got to go read what they’re saying…”

  Shan looked away from the screens he and Ell had been studying. Zage had come in the room a few minutes ago but Shan and Ell’d been so focused on what they were doing they hadn’t noticed him. However, Zage’s fidgeting had finally gotten to him. “You need something kid?”

  Shan glanced at Ell and realized she was grinning at him. “I wondered how much longer you were going to ignore your son,” she said.

  Shan had his eyes back on Zage and resolutely ignored his wife. Zage said, “Did you see the news about the Gordito site today?”

  Shan opened his mouth to say, “No,” but noticed Ell nodding out of the corner of his eye. She patted her knee as she said in a sympathetic tone, “It looks like there’re some people out there who don’t believe you can do what you can do, huh?”

  Zage trotted over and hopped up into her lap as he said, “Well, yeah, I can understand that. But, Gordito hasn’t done anything bad! It told them why they couldn’t grow the vaccinia virus, it told them what the antigens were, it gave them 40 million doses of vaccine…” Zage gave his mother a helpless look, “Everything it’s done’s been good!”

  Ell pulled him into a hug, “I know, I know. It’s just that people tend to be suspicious of those who can… who can do things they can’t do themselves. Well, maybe not so much if they themselves can’t do it, but if no one else can either, they’re more likely to attribute it to devious tricks than to genius.”

  “I don’t think I’m a genius,” Zage said plaintively, “I just seem to have a knack for protein folding. Kind of like some kind of idiot savant who’s good at Rubik’s cubes.”

  Ell gave a delighted laugh, “Well, then you’re a genius of protein folding. I hear you might be pretty good at optimizing protein synthesis too?”

  In a self-conscious tone, Zage protested, “That’s all part of the same thing. I’m just good at those kinds of puzzles.” He looked at Shan, “Are they going to be able to track me down through the website?”

  Speaking carefully, Shan said, “To the best of my knowledge, it’s physically impossible for them to track you down because of the PGR connection. I don’t think they can get past the website firewall to make Osprey give away your location either, but history’s full of stories about uncrackable codes getting cracked.”

  Apparently accepting his father’s reassurance and ignoring the warning, Zage turned back to his mother, “What can I do? What did you
do when President Stockton was accusing you of bad things?”

  Ell gave him a sad smile, “My advice would be to just keep being decent and treating others the way you’d like them to treat you. Don’t be tempted to deny their words or retaliate against them, just wait for them to figure out for themselves who you are and what you’ve done.” She got a distant look in her eyes, “Once, when someone was saying a lot of unpleasant and wrong things about me, I took it upon myself to prove how wrong they were. I’ve regretted it ever since.”

  Shan looked at his wife and thought she was probably talking about Michael Fentis, the sprinter who’d denied all the evidence that Ell could run faster than he did. He’d often thought she’d regretted proving Fentis wrong.

  Zage had a very thoughtful look on his face. After a moment longer, he said, as if he’d made a very important decision, “Okay, that’s what I’ll do.” He got down off of his mother’s lap and headed down the stairs into the basement.

  A moment later Zage came back up and said, “Mom?”

  Ell turned back to him, “Uh-huh?”

  “I’ve got some antibody against modified smallpox. They could use it to treat some of the people who’re actually sick with the disease.”

  “Millions of doses again?”

  “No. Not even a hundred so far. Treatment with an antibody takes grams of protein, not micrograms like the vaccine. I’m wondering if you have a way to get some to Mumbai? They’ve got a lot of people who’re actually sick, not just exposed.” He got a sad look on his face, “Obviously, with their suspicions, I can’t send it to the CDC anymore. I’m not sure how to convince the people in Mumbai that it’s okay without CDC’s stamp of approval on it, but since everyone who actually gets symptoms of modified smallpox dies I thought maybe they’d be willing to try the antibody… even if it didn’t have certification.”

  Ell gave him a thoughtful look, “I’ll look into it.” Once Zage had gone back down the stairs, she spoke to her AI, “Connect me to Viveka.” After a brief pause, she continued, “Viveka, I need a connection in Mumbai. Do you know anybody there?”

  ***

  Adin’s room was dark.

  He sat staring at several screens all displaying news about the modified smallpox crisis. His emotions had been on a roller coaster. Sometimes he’d be high over the devastating results of infection with the lethal disease he’d created. Sometimes he’d be horrified as he watched the human suffering his smallpox was causing. Sometimes he felt despair over Islam Akbar’s apparent failure to distribute the virus widely enough to significantly diminish the number of non-Muslims in the world like he’d planned. Even worse, the children who’d set off the firecrackers in Durban, South Africa had been from Muslim families that hadn’t been exposed to the vaccination virus in their particular mosque. Durban had rigorously enforced quarantine of exposed persons and limited the outbreak there, but hadn’t received vaccines in time to protect those children or their contacts. Although the disease wasn’t spreading in Durban, a substantial number of people were dying or dead.

  The majority of them were Islamic.

  Was he a genius? A failure? A monster? He didn’t know.

  Even worse, the news was full of reports about a Gordito website that people thought was the source of the virus.

  Adin Farsq wasn’t even mentioned anymore.

  The door opened and once again the man from Islam Akbar walked in without knocking. Adin didn’t even have the energy to hide his hate. With undisguised loathing he said, “What do you want?”

  “To point out that you’ve failed us,” the man said in a disgusted tone, pulling out a pistol and working the slide.

  Heart suddenly beating faster, Adin sat up in the chair. “I created the ultimate weapon. Everyone who catches the disease dies! It isn’t my fault that Islam Akbar didn’t distribute it correctly.”

  “We distributed it just the way you said. First we wasted tens of thousands of dollars buying and distributing those damned ports that the infidels just inactivated. Then we spent hundreds of thousands of dollars shipping the virus all over the world, again according to your suggestions, only to have them track down the shipments and sequester them! Islam Akbar’s beggared itself following your plans, all to little effect!” He began to lift the weapon.

  “I can create another bioweapon!” Adin said hurriedly, even while wondering how he’d get access to another pathogen he could modify. Then he thought, I can just make new modifications to the smallpox virus! I’ve already got the gene code for it. “I just need…”

  The man cut him off, “Weren’t you listening?! Islam Akbar spent all its money on this witless plan! Whatever you need, we can’t buy it!”

  Adin saw a flashing light, heard a series of loud bangs and felt some thumping. It took him several moments to realize that the man had fired the gun over and over and that the thumping resulted from the impacts of the bullets striking his chest. He slumped back in his chair, staring in disbelief as the man from Islam Akbar shook his head in revulsion and stepped back out the door.

  The pain in his chest had just begun when Adin’s consciousness faded and slipped away…

  ***

  Reggie looked at the ten mice she’d been keeping in the biosafety lab. They looked perfectly healthy, which was astonishing considering the variety of mutagens and radiation they’d been subjected to. All of them were females to keep them from breeding even though they were being kept in a single cage. They’d been several months old when they’d had their DNA modified using the method Donsaii’d brought Reggie from the Virgies.

  The Virgies’ system was in fact much like a very simple virus. The initial viral shell had been created entirely through cell free protein synthesis and self-assembled itself from there. She’d made up a DNA sequence that’d create a viral shell using a modification of the Virgies’ recipe and put it in the CFPS system. The outer surface of the created viral particle was coated with a protein that only displayed antigens that were the same as those found on the surface of the red blood cells of the animal to be treated with the virus. The animal wouldn’t make antibodies to that protein because that’d result in its rejecting its own blood, so it ignored the virus. Then in an amazing piece of engineering, she only had to expose the Virgies’ protein shells to her custom-designed DNA sequences and the shells sucked up the DNA like little syringes.

  The DNA thus placed in the virus would be injected into the animal’s cells as soon as it contacted their cell membranes. It had the Virgies’ telomere system to keep the virus from replicating endlessly, but would replicate itself enough times to inject its carrier DNA molecules into every cell in the body. Once the DNA was injected into the cell, it modified the cell wall so that no more viral particles could infect that cell. Rejected by cells that’d already been modified, the particles would move on to other cells, thus ensuring not only that every cell would be modified, but that the organism as a whole wouldn’t get sick from excessive viral replication. All this, for the end goal of inserting the DNA for the Virgies’ DNA error correction system that repaired mutations from radiation and other mutagens.

  It’d certainly work for inserting other bits of DNA. Not that DNA couldn’t be inserted now, but when you wanted it inserted into every cell in the body, this would be the way to go.

  And the error correction system was amazing itself. These ten mice had been exposed to lethal doses of multiple mutagens and were not only alive, but thriving. None of them had even formed a tumor. Subsequently, they’d been exposed to lethal doses of radiation, again without effect.

  This was going to protect astronauts.

  It would also stop cancer in its tracks…

  ***

  Dr. Tanvi Mishra got home from an agonizing day treating the victims of modified smallpox at the Mumbai children’s hospital where she was in training.

  None of her patients were surviving.

  Tanvi’s efforts as a physician had gradually been reduced to lying to the children about thei
r prognosis and giving them medications to make them comfortable. When they got too sick, she often prescribed enough narcotic that it probably sped their inevitable end.

  Tanvi was well beyond wondering whether she was violating her oath to “do no harm.”

  Tomorrow she knew she’d be giving the bad news to Anika’s parents. A beautiful little girl until she’d arrived with a fever, malaise, vomiting and backache. Even as sick as she was, there was something really sweet about the child. Examination had shown Anika had the typical red spots in her mouth. Just before Tanvi left the hospital the skin rash was beginning to appear.

  Death was knocking at the beautiful Anika’s door.

  And no one would be able to deny him entrance.

  To her surprise, Tanvi saw she had a package. When she opened it, she saw it contained a fifteen millimeter port and a printed message. Unfolding the paper, she gazed at it in astonishment.

  We’d like to deliver a modified smallpox antibody to you for your use. It should be effective even in patients who already have clinical signs of disease. It hasn’t been certified by any agencies. We cannot be certain that it’ll work but, since everyone who has developed clinical signs so far has died, it seems that there is little risk in trying it. If you would like a dose of the antibody, just switch on the enclosed port. If you find it effective, just switch it on again and we’ll deliver another dose.

  Tanvi switched on the port and a syringe immediately dropped into her hand. It had a slip of paper wrapped around it with instructions.

  No longer tired, Tanvi got up, opened her door, and started back to the hospital.

  ***

  Raleigh, North Carolina—Duke University announced that several days ago Dr. Regina Barnes’ laboratory began producing the vaccine for modified smallpox using a genetic sequence for the vaccine that was published on the Gordito website. Apparently university laboratories at UNC and North Carolina State have also begun producing the vaccine. Dr. Barnes is calling on the CDC to confirm—in view of their recently reported suspicions of Gordito—that the sequence published on the Gordito website is in fact the correct one for the vaccine.