Cutter lifted an eyebrow, as if testing Kendall.
He pondered the significance.
Globally.
What was Cutter driving at?
Then he suddenly knew.
Jenna rubbed the nape of her neck, careful not to shift too close to the bars of the cage. The dull ache in her cervical vertebrae had become a tight muscular spasm, shooting fiery lances of agony throughout her skull. Even her eyes hurt, making the dull green glow of the forest seem too bright.
She knew the significance of these symptoms.
It’s already starting.
She began to repeat a mantra, fearing what was coming.
I am Jenna Beck, daughter of Gayle and Charles. I live at the corner of D Street and Lee Vining Avenue. My dog’s name is Nikko, his birthday is…
She fought through the pain to hold on to every scrap of her identity, testing her memory for any sign of deterioration.
But will I even know when it’s happening?
She breathed deeply, taking in the rich perfume of the jungle, trying to find her center, to keep panic at bay. All around, she heard water dripping, the thrush of bird’s wings, the creak of branches, the whisper of leaves.
One detail struck her as wrong, nagging at the edges of her consciousness. It was still too quiet here. She detected no birdsong, no chatter of monkeys, no scurried passage of something small through the underbrush.
Then, as if something sensed her awareness, a branch snapped to her left. Her gaze flicked in that direction, but all she saw was a shift of shadows. Her eyes strained to pierce the walls of ferns surrounding the clearing.
Nothing.
But she knew the truth, remembering the angry roaring from earlier, along with the extreme caution of the guards when delivering her to this prison.
I’m not alone.
Think globally…
Was that the answer all along?
Kendall closed his eyes, picturing the planet spinning, the crust riding atop a molten sea, all surrounding a sold iron core that was two-thirds the size of the moon. Convection currents in that molten iron, along with the Coriolis forces from the earth’s rotation, generated an electrical geodynamo that engulfed the earth in a vast magnetic field.
“Magnetism,” Kendall said. “That’s what keeps that shadow biosphere trapped under Antarctica.”
“And where on the planet is the earth’s magnetic field the strongest?”
“The poles.” He imagined that field blasting strongly out from either end of the earth, encircling the globe. “And it’s weakest near the equators.”
“But where else is it weakest?”
Kendall knew the answer had to be tied to the location of the Hell’s Cape. He pictured that hot world far beneath the ice, the perfect incubator for strange life. He remembered the sulfur, the bubbling pools.
He looked up at Cutter. “Geothermal zones,” he said. “The earth’s magnetic field is weaker in regions of volcanic activity.”
“Correct. The molten magma underlying those regions cannot hold its ferromagnetism, creating a local dip in the earth’s field, an island if you will in a sea of stronger magnetic currents.”
Kendall imagined Hell’s Cape as that island, trapped within Antarctica’s stronger field. It still seemed a far stretch to assume that magnetic differential was enough to keep life trapped in place. Something had to make life down there especially sensitive to magnetic fields, something basic to its nature.
“XNA,” he said aloud, sitting straighter in his chair. “All life down there is based on a genetic helix that doesn’t use the sugar deoxyribose as its backbone. It’s unique, unlike any other life. That sugar backbone is replaced by a combination of arsenic and iron phosphate.” Kendall stared at Cutter. “It’s the iron, isn’t it? That’s what makes the XNA life so sensitive to magnetic fields.”
“I studied that iron structure using X-ray diffraction and photoelectron spectroscopy. It forms ferrous nanorings throughout the XNA helix, somewhat like vertebrae that make up a spine.”
“And with exposure to the right magnetic signature, it should be possible to shatter that spine.” He looked hopefully upon Cutter. “Have you calculated out what that signature is?”
“I did… and tested it. It’s not all that groundbreaking. Your own FDA has already been testing oscillating magnetic fields to kill bacteria, viruses, and fungi in water and food supplies. I simply modified that study’s finding and discovered the signature that works best in this case.”
Kendall pictured the organism he created in his lab, shriveling up inside his synthetically created capsids, leaving behind those shells like so many discarded snakeskins.
“Without this cure,” Cutter said, “I would never have unleashed your organism. Like you, I don’t want the world destroyed by what you created. In fact, if you had chosen to cure Ms. Beck instead of seeking this answer, I would’ve told you anyway. I can’t have the world dying before I can save it, now can I?”
Kendall glanced to the video feed. A flicker of dismay rattled through him, but he had to force it down. There was still too much at risk. “So you’ll allow me tell the authorities in California about the magnetic cure.”
“In time.”
“What do you mean, in time?”
“From what I hear, your illustrious colleagues are about to ignite a nuclear device in those mountains. Foolish as that may be. As we both know it will do little good, beyond casting your organism over an even wider field, while irradiating much of that area for decades to come. But that is humanity’s penchant: to destroy before thinking. It is why we are doomed as a species.”
“But you said you didn’t want my organism to destroy the world.”
“I don’t. Once you give them the solution, it’ll simply take longer to clean their mess up. It’ll keep them busy for a much longer time.”
“And the radiation? All that damage?”
“The earth has survived such flesh wounds from mankind before, and it will abide this one, too.” Cutter sighed. “Besides, this distraction will serve me well. To keep humanity looking one way while their doom comes from another direction entirely.”
From your work here.
“And if you’ll excuse me, I do have to make that call. See about getting a sample of blood from a Volitox before it’s too late.”
“Too late?”
Cutter paused. “You’ve been hiding that subterranean world for too long, Kendall, keeping it trapped, stunted from its full potential.”
He thought he could feel no deeper level of dismay and shock. “What… what are you planning?”
“I’m going to flush that darkly beautiful and wonderfully aggressive biosphere into our world. I believe it’s time they left their tiny island of isolation. Some will perish during this transition, of course, victims of the very magnetic flux we talked about, but as you know Nature is the greatest innovator. In such volumes and varieties, some species will survive by adapting, bringing forth to our world that XNA hardiness and mutability, perfect traits to survive the harsh times to come.”
Kendall pictured the environmental damage from the sudden onslaught of so many alien species. An entire aggressive biosphere set loose upon the world. The ecological repercussions would be devastating.
“I plan to pit your ancient world below against the modern above. During that war, I’ll unleash my species from here, casting them wide and far, bringing new and innovative genetic permutations, speeding up the evolutionary process by gifting these traits with the ability to jump between species. It will be the ultimate evolutionary crucible, where survival of the fittest will be the law of the land. To paraphrase the ancient Chinese strategist, Sun Tzu, within such chaos lies opportunity.”