“How long will that take?”
“I’m not sure. The good news is that there are a lot of companies doing some impressive things with visual imaging.” A wry grin curled the corners of his mouth. “We just need to leverage some of their technology… without them knowing about it.”
“Sounds right up your alley,” Caesare smiled.
DeeAnn watched with amusement. “Okay, let me know when you’re closer. I’m going to do a little research of my own.”
After the video call had ended, DeeAnn stared at her screen, feeling a slight pang of guilt over something she had said. Or rather had not said. She hadn’t exactly explained everything about the Trio Brain theory. Mostly because it wasn’t relevant. Yet.
But even more than that, she was working to quell a small but growing nervousness of where this search might lead, and the terrible fear that it might somehow bring them to the last place on Earth she ever wanted to go.
7
Both Caesare and Borger were analyzing more of the video when a small window appeared, signaling another incoming call. The display indicated it was coming from the Pathfinder only a short distance away.
Borger accepted the call, and a window opened, framing the attractive face of Neely Lawton.
Caesare reacted with another award-winning smile, this one more genuine. “Good morning, Commander Lawton.”
“Good morning,” she answered. Her hair was pulled back neatly into a bun, highlighting the smooth contours of her face. She noticed Caesare’s tussled wet hair. “I take it you’ve already been down this morning.”
He grinned. “No rest even for us old guys.”
She smiled. He was only in his forties. “Do you both have a few minutes? I need to talk to you about something.”
“Sure, we’re just going over footage. What’s up?”
She frowned briefly. “This might be a little premature, but I’m beginning to worry.”
“About what?”
“About the bacteria.”
Both men’s faces turned serious. “That doesn’t sound good.”
Neely blinked before continuing. “The DNA code that this bacterium is carrying was extracted from the plants found on top of the mountain. Similar to the DNA we’ve found here in the sea plants. But the bacteria seem to be acting differently from what I’m observing in the plants themselves.”
“How so?” Caesare asked.
“As expected, the plants are repairing themselves at an accelerated rate. And repairing parts of their biologic structure that they shouldn’t normally be able to repair. But they’re doing it more smoothly. As if by design. That’s what was so astonishing when we saw it before. But the bacterium is different. These are replicating even faster. It’s as if once the DNA was infused into the genes of the bacteria, something happened.”
“I don’t know if the Chinese changed something during their extraction process, even inadvertently. But if they did, it could explain the difference in cellular function. In fact, even if it wasn’t something during extraction, just the transfer from one life form to another could be enough to trigger a modification. Or a mutation. Even a single base pair change could affect DNA behavior.”
Caesare rubbed a finger against his chin. “That doesn’t sound good.”
“But wouldn’t an acceleration be an improvement?” Borger asked.
“On the surface, yes. But the question is, at what cost? There’s no free lunch in science. Or in genetics. Ultimately, everything is a tradeoff. Even if you can’t measure it. What worries me most is if a modification occurred just moving this genetic code into a simple bacteria strain, what happens when that code is transferred into another environment? A much more complex environment.”
Borger looked up from his chair as Caesare finished the thought. “More complex like an animal.”
On the screen, Neely nodded. “Like a human.” She let that sink in a moment before continuing. “Even if the behavior didn’t change, even if it were exactly the same, going from something as simple as bacteria to a much more intricate genetic system would likely result in some unpredictability.”
“Assuming it was even observable.”
“Exactly.”
Caesare remained still, thinking. “You’re talking about Li Na, the Chinese girl.”
“I am. She was injected with the DNA directly. And if we already see differences in a small sample, the effects could be magnified in her.”
“If a modification took place.”
“Correct.”
Caesare was frowning, looking for a more obvious possibility. “Is there any chance what you’re seeing in your sample is a fluke or some kind of anomaly?”
It was a question that Neely had pondered herself. She glanced away from the screen to the large number of Petri dishes nearby. She shook her head. “To be honest, I was hoping it was. But it’s happening with all of them.”
She continued staring at her samples. Her worry was escalating at the thought of what the bacteria might now be doing inside the young woman’s system. It was still possible nothing would happen, even if some DNA had changed. Neely truly wished that was the case.
Because if her fears were correct, and given the results of what she’d already witnessed, young Li Na Wei could, in fact, be the equivalent of a genetic tinder box.
8
Both men remained silent for almost a full minute after their call with Neely ended. The implications were more than just worrisome. To make matters worse, no one knew where they could find Li Na Wei. Or whether she was even alive.
It was her father who had injected her with the bacteria, to save her. The last act of a father desperate to help his dying daughter. And he had. At least temporarily. Until a Chinese agent named Qin found her.
Now Li Na was gone, having escaped certain death from the hands of Qin. And if she was still alive, she was on the run.
“Well,” sighed Borger, “I suppose this is as good a time as any to mention it.”
Caesare stared at him, raising an eyebrow.
“They’re still looking for her.”
“Who is they?”
“The Chinese.”
“You mean Qin?”
“No. I’m pretty sure Qin is dead. But their Ministry of State Security is still searching for her, using every piece of technology they have. They’re the same group that found her before.”
“You mean their hackers.”
Borger nodded.
“How many?”
“As far as I can tell, the entire department.”
Caesare grinned. “And how exactly do you know this?”
Borger folded his arms with a look of satisfaction. “I’ve been eavesdropping.”
Eavesdropping was putting it mildly. The Chinese MSS-sponsored hackers were not a group to be trifled with. They were arguably the best in the world and part of one of the most ruthless organizations within the Chinese government. Anyone trying to worm their way into that group was either stupid or insane. Will Borger was neither. He was in a third and very small classification of potential intruders: specialized experts. The team China had amassed was extremely talented, but its members had one common flaw which not even they had considered. They were young. Each of them were born into the digital age, living and breathing technology since birth. But while some people considered that an asset, Borger knew better. Young hackers understood how the technology worked, but their knowledge would never match someone like Will Borger who was part of the technology’s very inception. They would never understand the building blocks as thoroughly as he did. Nor the vulnerabilities of those building blocks.