“Since the discovery of Meritaten’s tomb, Elise has been working with the Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control in an attempt to revitalize the extinct plant.”
“Do you have a cure in the works for the Evolution Plague?” Sandecker asked.
“Thanks to the intact DNA we recovered,” she said, “we’ve finally been able to regenerate the silphium, the plant that was buried with Meritaten. We also found out why it became extinct. It’s very difficult to grow, even in controlled settings. It seems to thrive only in a narrow range of soil and moisture conditions. The original plants, which grew wild in ancient Libya, just didn’t have the ability to replenish themselves when the Romans harvested them in bulk.”
“But you’re able to grow it now?” Loren said.
She nodded. “There’s no way to cultivate enough in a short time to help those afflicted with the Evolution Plague. Our real plan is to synthesize the compounds foun
d in silphium that shield or destroy the plague pathogen. We’ve created an initial sample that we’re currently testing. We hope it can be distributed soon to the places where the Evolution Plague contaminated the water supply.”
“In the meantime,” Sandecker said, “we’re in for a surge in female births?”
“It should be only a brief spike in the birth ratio,” Elise said. “A year or two deviation, then hopefully equilibrium will be restored once the treatment is fully dispensed.” She nodded to Pitt. “Thanks to the records acquired from the BioRem Global lab, we have a pretty good idea of all those locations.”
“Quite a few tankers were caught at sea before additional pathogens could be released,” Pitt said. “Still, the company records indicate a significant dispersal in some of the world’s largest cities.”
“It’s a bit overwhelming when you look at the number of potentially infected women,” Elise said. “Thankfully, there’s no reason they can’t all be cured, given enough resources. And the treatment should also act against the cholera-like symptoms caused by the earlier versions of the plague. The trick will be convincing the women who don’t exhibit any signs of infection to take the cure. Personally, I can’t wait to get back to El Salvador to bring the remedy to the people of Cerrón Grande.”
Sandecker waved his cigar toward the artifacts. “It looks like Princess Meritaten saved not only the men of her generation, but also our next generation.”
“That she certainly did,” Elise said. “I should tell you we’ve been relying on the assistance of Dr. Miles Perkins, formerly of BioRem Global, in our project.”
“I heard the University of Edinburgh has taken over the McKee lab facilities, and they’re now under his direction,” Pitt said. “He’s a good man.”
“Yes, Dr. Perkins has been a great help,” Elise said. “In fact, he was the one who suggested the designation for the synthesized product we hope will cure those infected with the Evolution Plague.”
“A designation for the cure?” Pitt asked.
She nodded. “He thought it appropriate to recognize the key party responsible for the cure.”
“What did you decide to call it?” Loren asked.
Elise looked at the couple and gave a sheepish grin. “It’s to be called DP-1, after your husband.”
Loren gave Pitt a nudge. “The savior of the male half of the species. You sure you’re not disappointed there won’t be more women in the world?”
“It wouldn’t be altogether bad.” Pitt’s grin was wolfish. “The fact of the matter is, there’s only one woman in the world that counts to me.”
He extended his arm to Loren, and they turned and strolled down the exhibition hall, his own princess by his side.