Chapter 2

Millie sat in her crowded office and reviewed what she was going to say to Dr. Gerald Siscom, the facility’s veterinarian. Earlier, she had stopped by the incubator and checked on her experiment. The growing zygote, now called an embryo, in which she had implanted her own DNA, was about the size of a sunflower seed and ready for implantation into a chimp. For that, she needed to enlist Siscom’s help. The veterinarian was in charge of the health and well-being of the animals and had access to the anesthetics necessary to carry out the procedure. The chimp would need to be well sedated while she placed the growing embryo into her uterus. The process she had earlier used was known as intracytoplasmic injection, and now the fertilized egg had divided a number of times and had begun its transformation from a ball of cells into an organized being. The chimp she selected was in her estrus cycle so implantation should occur without much difficulty.

If she could procure Siscom’s assistance.

She would need to convince him.

Millie’s mother was Italian, while her father came from English stock. John Harbaum was a dentist in Toledo and had wanted Millie to follow his career path. But spending all day in someone’s mouth didn’t seem much of a way to occupy one’s time, even if the income was satisfactory. Seeing the Indiana Jones movies convinced her she wanted to become an archeologist, so she enrolled in college with that as her plan. But a professor talked her out of it, maintaining there were no jobs and the pay was dismal. So, she got her degree in history and worked for a while for the State of California. But the dream of an archeologist’s life didn’t die, and she was able to obtain a scholarship at California Pacific University, studying first under Dr. Kesler then Dr. Harry Olson. When the Yeti were captured and shipped to Nevada, the university announced that two graduate assistant fellowships had been created and the students would live at the Primate Research Facility for a year. They would assist in the study of the creatures. She applied and was accepted and soon found herself atop Cinder Mountain and face to face with the Yeti.

She had the usual love affairs of high school and college girls, but no one boy ever made it the top of her list of requirements for a long term relationship. Once at Cal Pacific she devoted her time to her studies with only an occasional date, usually with an undergraduate she met in the lab. Now at the research facility, there were no eligible men, which didn’t matter, for she was consumed by her work.

Millie found Dr. Siscom and several technicians in the Animal Care Unit, examining the chimps and other animals. They closed a cage door, and the veterinarian smiled upon seeing Millie. The odor of the unit was a mix of animal smells and pellet food. The overhead fluorescent lights bathed the area with a cool bluish hue.

“Good morning, Millie,” he said after dismissing the technicians. He ran a hand through his graying hair. “Have you had a busy morning?”

Millie nodded.

“I’d like a word with you, Dr. Siscom, if you can spare me a few minutes.” She smiled and felt her heart begin to pound in her ears. She said a silent prayer, hoping to find the right words that would sound convincing.

“Gerald, please, Millie. You are a full-fledged faculty member now.”

Millie felt the blood rush to her cheeks. She nodded.

“Fine, Gerald,” she said.

“Well, come to the office,” Siscom said. “The inner sanctum. Had your morning coffee?”

“I’d love some, thanks.”

Siscom led her to a sparse office at the end of a hallway in the Animal Care Unit. It was brightly lit, and there were charts of various animal anatomies hanging on the walls. A small bookcase was full of what Millie surmised were veterinary medicine textbooks. She took a seat in a worn chair next to the bookcase. Siscom poured two mugs of coffee from a well-used drip coffeemaker and handed one to her.

“Did you see the sunrise this morning?” Siscom said. “It was beautiful.”

Millie shook her head.

“Are you kidding, Gerald? I never get up that early.”

The veterinarian chuckled, took a sip of his coffee.

“The view of the plains from up here on the mountain is spectacular at dawn. You ought to see it sometime. Now, what can I do for you?”

Millie cleared her throat, blew steam from her mug, took a gulp, and began.

“I’m here, Gerald,” she said, “to enlist your support and help.”

“I’ll do what I can,” Siscom interrupted. “Within reason, of course.”

“When the Yeti were killed months ago, I thought my research on them ended. I was devastated.” Siscom nodded his understanding. Millie sighed. “But then I realized how fortunate we were--I was. Because we had had the foresight to store frozen sperm from Bentu. And I had super-ovulated Sasha and retrieved her ova and stored them as well.”

She paused, waiting for signs from Siscom that he understood. He sat in his chair, looking at her, silent, his steel-gray eyes not betraying his thoughts, so she continued.

“I developed a plan to restore our very necessary research. I want to impregnate one of our chimps with a fertilized egg from our Yeti. That way--”

Siscom sat forward in his chair, placed his cup on the desk. His eyes widened. “What?” he said. “Are you kidding?” His forehead developed deep furrows as he frowned at Mille.

“Please,” she said, “hear me out. Without another specimen, all the many hours and months of work we did on the Yeti project will have been for nothing. The chances of putting together another expedition to obtain an animal are remote. I heard Dr. Olson say so himself. We have successfully sequenced the Yeti’s complete genome. It would be a shame and such a loss to the scientific community if we let all our efforts wither away. This would be an opportunity to build on what we have achieved so far.”

“Wait a minute,” Siscom said. “You have fertilized a Yeti egg with a Yeti sperm. Is that what you are saying, Millie?”

“That’s correct, Gerald.”

“And now you wish to implant that fertilized egg into one of our chimps?”

Millie saw the sudden look of concern on Siscom’s face. Her heart sank with the realization that this was not going to be an easy sell. “The zygote has been growing in the incubator for the past several weeks,” she said, trying to control the tone of her voice. “In fact, it’s an embryo by now. If I could get it implanted in one of our chimps, she could carry it until birth. We would then have replaced a valuable Yeti specimen that was lost to us.”

Siscom held up a hand, cleared his throat.

“You’re proposing a primate IVF, an in vitro fertilization, correct?”

“Yes, I am. I am asking you to sedate a chimp to allow me to inject an embryo into her uterus then asking you to follow her pregnancy to assure all goes well.”

“Well, Millie--” Siscom began.

“Please, Gerald. This means everything to me. I have devoted so much of my life to these Yeti, I can’t bear to see it all go down the drain just because we have no animals.”

Siscom smiled and reclined in his chair. “Does Dr. Radner and Dr. Olson know of this plan of yours?”

“Not yet. I thought I would enlist your help before getting their approval.”

“It’s been done in cows for sure,” the veterinarian said, stroking his cheek. He strummed his fingers on his desk. “I don’t know about chimpanzees. We might be in new territory here.”

“It might be a contribution to veterinary medicine as well, Gerald.” Millie’s eyes implored the man to see things her way.

Siscom rubbed his chin while he pondered her proposal. There was an uncomfortable silence while Millie waited for the man to speak.

She realized that he was just the first of three hurdles to overcome, that even if she secured his assistance, she would still need to convince Dr. Radner and Dr. Olson of the wisdom of her project. And Radner might be the toughest of all to convince. The man was a pompous jerk, and Mille didn’t relish being his assistant. He had her doing the most mundane tasks, ones that could easily be done by his secretary, but ones he seemed delighted in heaping upon her. It didn’t leave her much time for research. Maybe if she got this project going, he would slack up and allow her the time she needed.

“What about embryos?” Siscom finally said. “You say you’ve already got them?”

“Yes. Already done.” She nodded. “I have directly fertilized an ovum from Sasha, and it is a few weeks old and ready for implantation. All I need is your cooperation, Gerald. I’m imploring you to see the value in what I’m asking.”

“Well,” he said, “if we could pull it off, it would be a great scientific achievement. Almost like Jurassic Park for real.” He continued to rub his chin for a few moments then leaned forward again, elbows on the desk. “Okay, Millie, if you can secure Radner and Olson’s approval, you’ve got my help. With one requirement. That my name goes on any publications that come out of this. Agreed?”

Millie jumped out of her chair and reached across Siscom’s desk, hand extended. She felt like giving the veterinarian a big kiss. “Agreed, Gerald.”

After shaking the veterinarian’s hand, she collapsed back in her chair and sighed a long sigh of relief.

“I can’t tell you how thankful I am,” she said.

Siscom laughed. “I was easy,” he said. “You’re greatest challenges may yet face you in Radner and Olson. Harry should go for it as the Yeti were his baby, but Radner--that man is a hard one to read.”

“Maybe you could be with me when I talked to them. I need all the moral support I can get.”

“Of course, my dear. Why don’t you see if you can arrange a teleconference with the four of us, and I will be happy to help any way I can.”

“Thanks, Gerald. I’ll keep in touch.”

Millie left and headed directly to Radner’s office.

***

The oak paneled conference room at the Primate Research Facility contained a long polished mahogany table surrounded by leather chairs. One wall of the room housed a bank of large windows that allowed a commanding view of the plains of northern Nevada. The facility sat atop Cinder Mountain and offered unparalleled views in all directions. The opposite wall of the conference room housed a large flat screen television used for videoconferencing with Cal Pacific in San Francisco. Otherwise, the room held few accouterments except for a large painting of the university on the wall next to the windows.

Millie sat to one side of the overstuffed chair at the head if the table, the one designated for Radner, and waited. She managed to convince him that a conference call with Dr. Olson would be the best way to discuss her project. Radner, to his credit she thought, had not nixed her idea out of hand. So she waited, her heart in her throat for Radner to appear and place the call to Cal Pacific.

Gerald Siscom breezed into the conference room and took a seat opposite Millie. In his hand, he carried a sheaf of papers that he placed on the table. He nodded. “I brought the information and results of the literature review we did,” he said. “Might help if I had the data at hand in case Harry has questions.”

“Good idea,” Millie said. “Did you see Dr. Radner in the hallway?”

“As a matter of fact, he was talking to his secretary right outside so he should be here shortly.”

“I hope this goes well, Gerald,” she said, drumming her fingers on the polished surface of the table.

“I think it will. Radner didn’t reject the idea straight away, and Harry has always been ready to listen to new ideas from his staff. Try not to worry. Just state your case with a calm voice, and I’ll chip in my two cents’ worth.”

The door opened, and Miles Radner strolled into the room, dressed impeccably in a dark suit and maroon tie. He nodded to Millie and Siscom and took a seat at the head of the table. A hint of sweet cologne accompanied his arrival. A thin, balding man Radner possessed a nervous manner, a quality Millie found irritating. His secretary followed, switched on the television, and dialed a phone number.

“Afternoon all,” Radner said as he retrieved a pen from his shirt pocket and set it beside the legal pad in front of him. “As soon as Helen gets Dr. Olson called up, we will start. I will say hello to Harry, then Millie you can begin. He knows briefly what the call concerns.”

The television flickered to life, and Harry’s face appeared on the screen. The secretary adjusted the camera to Radner’s satisfaction and left the room.

“Good afternoon, Harry,” Radner said. “You’re looking well. How’s the weather there?”

“Raining, Miles. Hello Millie and Gerald. I trust all is well with both of you.”

“We are both fine, Harry,” Siscom said.

“Great,” Harry said. “Now, Millie, what is this project idea of yours? Miles really didn’t say much when we talked on the phone.”

The TV flickered a few times, and Millie sat straight in her chair. Looking at her notes, she began.

“Dr. Olson, since the deaths of our Yeti, Bentu and Sasha, my research is at a stalemate. Although we were able to sequence the Yeti’s genome, not much else has been accomplished to date, due to the fact we have no animals. My project proposes to rectify that situation.” Millie paused for a moment, allowing her words to be understood. There being no questions, she swallowed hard and proceeded. “Fortunately, before the animals’ demise, we were able to retrieve, freeze, and store sperm and ova from the two animals. We still have those specimens. And they are quite useable.

“My proposal is quite simple, actually. Dr. Olson, I want to impregnate one of our chimps with an embryo gained from fertilizing one of Sasha’s eggs with sperm from Bentu. Dr. Siscom, our veterinarian here, will help with the procedure and oversee the resulting pregnancy. If the chimp manages to carry the pregnancy to term or near term, he will assist in the delivery of a new Yeti. We then would have a new animal on which we could continue our research. Pretty straightforward as you can see.”

Harry chuckled.

“But Millie,” he said, “the devil is in the details, as always. You know that. Gerald, you’re talking in vitro fertilization, correct?”

“Yes, Harry. Nonhuman IVF.”

“Has this been done successfully before?” Harry said.

Siscom consulted the papers he brought with him. After arranging them in a certain order, he nodded. “Yes, it has. Recently, the delivery of the world’s first rhesus monkey twins following the in vitro fertilization of oocytes and subsequent freezing, thawing, and transfer of embryos to the oviducts of synchronized foster mothers was described last year in the veterinary journal. The cryopreservation of mammalian embryos was first described in 1972. Since that time, mouse, rabbit, and cattle embryos have been successfully stored in the frozen state, and thousands of normal offspring have resulted, following transfer to foster mothers. Trounson and Mohr reported the establishment of a human pregnancy following the transfer of an eight-cell frozen-thawed embryo, but the pregnancy was not carried to term. After several years of experience, embryo cryopreservation is now standard medical practice in the clinical application of the assisted reproductive technologies. In nonhuman primates, Pope and his co-workers reported the first baboon birth following cryopreservation and transfer of an embryo to a foster mother.

“So yes, Harry, It has been done, and I believe we could do it here, if given the go-ahead.”

“Miles, what are your thoughts?” Harry said when he finished his note-taking.

“Scientifically,” Radner said, “I must admit the idea is intriguing. From a political or public perception point of view, I’m not so sure.”

“How so?” asked Millie.

“To start with, the public always views these things as ghoulish tinkering. For another, the public isn’t completely on board with the idea of cloning.”

“This isn’t cloning, Miles,” Siscom said. “Nothing is being done in this project that hasn’t been done thousands of times in humans. And even in other primates, other animals.”

A foul-tasting acidic bile shot into Millie’s mouth. She knew she wasn’t being totally truthful and forthcoming with her colleagues, and the thought sent a cold shiver down her spine. The embryo that was growing in the incubator contained her DNA--it was half Yeti and half Millie. It was not what she purported it to be, and the fact that she was deceiving her colleagues made her sick to her stomach.

In her heart, she knew she should tell them what she had done, what that embryo contained. That embryo was Millie’s future, her chance at becoming a world-renown scientist. Something deep inside told her she couldn’t lay it all on the table. Maybe sometime in the future, but not now.

Harry was speaking, so she focused her attention on his comments.

“Science has always led the way--in fact, it has been way ahead of the masses on these sorts of things. I worry less about that than I do about the chances of creating some sort of monster or another Yeti that terrorizes the public. Especially so soon on the heels of what happened recently.”

“I believe we learned a lot about security from housing these sorts of creatures,” Siscom said. “Putting those observations into place would markedly reduce the likelihood of a repeat scenario.”

“The immediate downside, I guess,” Harry said, “would simply be that the pregnancy didn’t take or that the chimp aborted later. Right, Gerald?”

“Correct,” the veterinarian said. “It would be later, after birth, that things could get more complicated.”

“I can’t say at the moment,” Radner replied. “It’s hard to predict the future, but something unexpected could turn up. It usually does. But, barring any fiasco such as happened before, I believe we are well-equipped to handle anything that might develop. At least here at the facility.”

“Miles, any last thoughts?”

“None, Harry.”

“Okay, I’m giving my tentative approval for this project. Pending a complete written outline and proposal. Hear that, Millie? Fine. Have it on my desk by the end of the week. I’ll call you and Dr. Radner for a final decision after I have read it. Have a nice day, everyone.”

The videoconference concluded, Millie headed back to her office. A small voice inside nagged at her. She knew she should have been more forthcoming.