The Atlantis Plague (The Origin Mystery 2)

Kate interrupted. “There’s one last thing I haven’t told you all. Martin was one of the founders of a consortium called Continuity. It’s a group of researchers from around the world. They’ve been running experiments for years, looking for a cure. In Marbella, Martin had a research site.” A thought occurred to her. “I worked in a lead-encased building. I did a series of experiments, and Martin periodically took DNA samples from me.”

“Do you think he was experimenting on you, or on the subjects?” Dr. Chang asked.

Kate was sure of it now. “Both. Martin told me that he believed I was the key to everything. Seeing the code, Omega… yes, I know it. Continuity has all his results. I’ve been in contact with them.”

Shock spread across David’s face.

“What?” Kate asked him.

“Nothing.” He shook his head.

She focused on Chang and Janus. “I think we should send Continuity our research and discuss our theories with them.”

Dr. Janus took the memory stick out of his pocket. “I agree.”

Chang nodded.

CHAPTER 69

Somewhere near Isla de Alborán

Mediterranean Sea

The call with Continuity had been intriguing.

Kate felt like she finally understood the experiments she had been a part of in Marbella.

For years, Continuity had developed an algorithm called the Genome Symphony. The principle was that whenever a gene therapy or retrovirus introduced a genetic change into a given genome, the Symphony algorithm could predict gene expression. Those predictions, when combined with knowledge about where the Atlantean endogenous retroviruses were buried in the genome, could predict a person’s response to the Atlantis Plague and a given therapy.

Chang and Janus’s research, which isolated the genome changes from the two plague outbreaks at the beginning and end of the Middle Ages, was the missing piece—or so Continuity hoped.

Kate watched Dr. Janus manipulate the computer, loading the research into Symphony. He was a genius. Kate had never seen anyone his age with that sort of computer aptitude.

Kate spoke into the sat phone, which was in speaker mode. “What happens now?”

“Now we wait,” Dr. Brenner said. “The algorithms will run and come up with possible therapies. Then we test them and hope to get lucky. If we find an effective therapy, we can deploy it quickly. Did Martin describe our gene implants?”

“I am not familiar,” Dr. Janus said.

“Essentially we implant a biotech device subdermally that allows us to deliver a customized therapy to each person. The implants are connected wirelessly to a server inside each Orchid District.”

The revelation shocked Kate. “I thought the implants were for tracking. And doesn’t Orchid deliver the therapy?”

Brenner spoke quickly. “Well, yes and no. The implants do provide an inventory control—I mean, tracking apparatus, which is vitally important. But, since the human genome is so diverse, we found that each therapy needs to be customized a bit, tweaked.”

Kate nodded her head. It was extremely cutting-edge—an implanted biotech device delivering a genomically tailored therapy to every person. It was decades ahead of anything in use. It was a shame that it had taken the Immari threat and the plague to reach such a breakthrough.

“Yes, but if the implant delivers the true therapy, then why still give everyone Orchid?” Dr. Janus asked.

“Three reasons. In some early trials, we found that the implants couldn’t build a viable therapy for everyone. The implants build antivirals from the enzymes and proteins in the host’s body—it essentially does a complicated bit of snipping to create the therapy it needs. But the process with an implant alone only worked for about eighty percent of hosts. So we give the implants a sort of viral stock—a proverbial block of viral clay it can carve a therapy out of. That’s what’s in the Orchid pills—viral stock.”

“Very interesting…” Janus seemed lost in thought.

“The other reasons?” Kate asked.

“Oh, yes,” Brenner said. “I get lost in the science. The second reason was speed. We knew we would need to deploy a new therapy quickly: manufacturing a new drug was out of the question, and of course this is a variable solution. We knew we could be looking at a base therapy with possibly thousands of small tweaks by the implants to make it work worldwide.”

“And the last reason?”

“Hope. People taking Orchid everyday… we felt we needed to give them something they could see and hold, something tangible, something they knew: a drug for a disease. And now, I hope, you’ve given us the missing piece—the formula we need to pass to the implants. Symphony is processing your data now. Assuming it finds a corrective therapy, we can deploy it globally across the Orchid Alliance within hours.”

Around the small saloon, the scientists nodded. David and Shaw eyed each other, like two gunfighters in a bar in the Old West, each waiting for the other to draw.

Dr. Brenner interrupted the tension. “There’s something I haven’t told you, Dr. Warner.”

“What?” Kate asked through the speakerphone, not bothering to make the call private.

“The Orchid leadership has ordered us to execute Euthanasia Protocol.”

“I don’t—”

“We had standing orders,” Brenner went on. “If either Orchid failed or the Immari ever became a viable threat, our orders were to issue cancellation commands to the implants—to let the dying die quickly. That would leave a world of Orchid survivors, a base to save the Alliance. So far, we have simply ignored those orders. We’ve focused on our research and hoped the leadership wouldn’t actually go through with the plan. But we’ve heard rumors. If we don’t execute Euthanasia Protocol, Allied troops may take control of Continuity and do it for us.”

Kate sat back against the white couch.

No one said a word.

“Can you slow down Euthanasia Protocol?” Kate asked.

“We can try. But… let’s hope your therapy works.”

Downstairs, in their stateroom, David almost screamed at Kate, “You mean you had an open line to a global consortium this whole time?”

“Yes. What?”

“Call them back. Here’s what you say…”

Kate called the Continuity number. Dr. Brenner?—No, everything is fine. I need a favor. I need you to contact British Intelligence and ask them if they have an officer named Adam Shaw. Also, could you inquire with the World Health Organization about someone named Dr. Arthur Janus?—Yes, that would be very helpful.—Fine. Call me back as soon as you know. It’s very important.