The Atlantis Plague (The Origin Mystery 2)

These human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs), as they are known, are essentially “viral fossils”—the remnants of past infections that changed the host genome, were integrated with the DNA of the host’s sperm, and were transmitted to future generations. Scientists had recently discovered that up to eight percent of the entire human genome was composed of endogenous retroviruses. These fossil records of past viral infections also appear in our closest genetic relatives, living and dead: chimpanzees, Neanderthals, and Denisovans. They had been infected with many of the same viruses we had.

Kate turned the idea over in her mind. Endogenous retroviruses had been considered inert and essentially part of a large group of “junk DNA” in everyone’s genome. These retroviruses were not infectious, but they did influence gene expression and were passed on to future generations. Scientists had recently begun to consider the possibility that endogenous retroviruses could play a role in autoimmune diseases such as lupus, multiple sclerosis, Sjögren’s syndrome, even cancer. If the virus behind the Atlantis Plague was an endogenous retrovirus, it would mean…

“You’re saying the entire human race is already infected. That we were infected the day we were born—that the virus behind the Atlantis Plague is already part of our DNA.” She paused. “The Bell and the bodies from it only activated a dormant virus.”

“Exactly. We believe the viral components of the Atlantis Plague were added to the human genome tens of thousands of years ago.”

“You think this is intentional—that someone or something planted the endogenous virus—the Atlantis Plague—knowing it would be activated some day?” Kate asked.

“Yes. I believe the Atlantis Plague has been planned for a very long time. I think the Bell is simply an activation mechanism for a final transformation of the human race.”

“Why didn’t the transformation happen in 1918, with the first outbreak from the Bell? Spanish flu?”

“Because the human genome wasn’t ready then. As I said at the hospital, the human race is changing at an increasing rate, especially our brain wiring—that’s the real difference. The Atlantis Plague has one target: brain wiring. Depending on the host, the wiring either gets scrambled or arranged for some task. We believe that the human race has reached some sort of genetic tipping point—the human genome is finally ready for the planned final transformation. You’ve seen the survivors—they are the result. Some rapidly evolve, some devolve. What we don’t know is which one is the desired outcome. Are the Atlanteans trying to cause another Great Leap Forward—a final leap forward—or is it a great leap backward, a regression to a point before the introduction of the Atlantis Gene?”

“Have you isolated the virus behind the plague?”

“No, and that’s exactly what’s holding us up. We actually think there could be two endogenous retroviruses at work, like a viral war going on in the body. These two viruses are fighting to control the Atlantis Gene, possibly to change it permanently. In ninety percent of the infected, this viral war overwhelms the immune system and causes death.”

“Like the Spanish flu did in 1919.”

“Precisely. And that’s what we had anticipated—a traditional biological outbreak, transmitted in common ways: bodily fluids, airborne, et cetera. That’s what we prepared for.”

“Prepared how?”

“There’s a group of us—government employees and scientists mostly. Over the past twenty years, we’ve worked on a cure, in secret.”

Comprehension dawned on Kate. “Orchid,” she whispered.

“Orchid was our ultimate weapon against the plague—a cutting edge therapy modeled on the cure for HIV.”

“The cure for HIV?”

“Yes. In 2007, a man named Timothy Ray Brown, known later as the Berlin patient, was cured of HIV. Brown was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. His HIV-positive status complicated his treatment. During chemotherapy he battled sepsis, and his physicians had to explore less traditional approaches. His hematologist, Dr. Gero Hutter, of the Charite Hospital in Berlin, decided on a stem cell therapy: a full bone marrow transplant. Hutter actually passed over the matched bone marrow donor for a donor with a specific genetic mutation: CCR5-Delta 32. CCR5-Delta 32 makes cells immune to HIV.”

“Incredible.”

“Yes. At first we thought the Delta 32 mutation must have arisen during the Black Death in Europe—about four to sixteen percent of Europeans have at least one copy. But we’ve traced it back further. We thought perhaps smallpox, but we’ve found Bronze Age DNA samples that carry it. The mutation’s origins are a mystery, but one thing is certain: the bone marrow transplant with CCR5-Delta 32 cured both Brown’s leukemia and HIV. After the transplant, he stopped taking his antiretrovirals and has never again tested positive for HIV gain.”

“And it helped with Orchid research?” Kate asked.

“It was a huge breakthrough, opening up all sorts of research avenues. CCR5-Delta 32 actually protects carriers not only from HIV, but smallpox and even Y. Pestis—the bacteria that causes plague. We focused on it. Of course, we didn’t fully appreciate the complexity of the Atlantis Plague at the time, but we developed Orchid to a point where it stopped the symptoms. It was nowhere near ready for release when the outbreak occurred. It doesn’t fully cure the disease, but we had no choice. There was some element of the plague we couldn’t isolate. Another factor. But… we thought we could use Orchid. Containment became our goal. If we could contain the infected and suppress the symptoms, we could stop it, buy ourselves some time until we could isolate the endogenous retroviruses that caused the plague and manipulated the Atlantis Gene—the true source. That’s why… your work was so… intriguing.”

“I still don’t understand the transmission rate—radiation?”

“We didn’t either at first. In the first hours of the outbreak, something unexpected happened. The plague blew through every quarantine and containment protocol we threw at it. Kate, it was like wildfire, like nothing we had ever seen. Infected individuals, even in containment, could infect others over three hundred yards away from them.”

“Impossible.”

“We initially believed that we had problems with our quarantine procedures, but it was happening worldwide.”

“How?” Kate asked.