49

Kennedy had been roused from his sickbed for the occasion. Dr Razia had been insistent. They would all be present to witness the coming together of their work.

Sarah Bellman stood at the far left of the row of scientists who had been joined by Brennan and Drecker. She, Kennedy and Sphyris now found themselves for the first time in the laboratory in which Razia and Holst had been working alongside each other for weeks. They were looking through a window of one-way glass at a slightly built young man of twenty or so dressed in a plain, khaki T-shirt, who was seated at a white-topped table on which there was a pair of speakers and a silver crucifix: a gesture, designed by Holst no doubt, to make the experience as digestible as possible.

Razia and Holst were thoroughly enjoying themselves, smiling and laughing with one another as they carried out the last checks on the equipment that would control the strength of the signal to be transmitted to the subject. Even Brennan and Drecker seemed infected by their optimism. They sat, relaxed, on stools, like investors confident that their big gamble was about to pay off.

Razia called the room to order. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, before we begin, I would like to thank you all for your incredible efforts. In the space of weeks we have married your expertise to create a result – we hope – that will be as momentous as any we have seen in the field of neuroscience, or, indeed, the whole of medicine. The human condition is determined by the mind. What you have given us is no less than the ability to improve that condition immeasurably. In fact, if properly applied, suffering in the sense of mental pain and anguish need no longer exist.’ He nodded to Holst. ‘I shall allow my colleague to lead the demonstration.’

Bellman felt trickles of sweat run down her back. She glanced to her right. Kennedy and Sphyris were staring impassively at the glass. Should she have told them? No, she was clear in her own mind. She had done the right thing. This was her responsibility. She held the cards and was the only one to be trusted with them. Sphyris was too timid to negotiate his way out and in his current state of mind Kennedy was too angry. Behind their military uniforms Drecker and Brennan were business people who spoke the language of deals. The terms she would strike were simple: they could have the correctly ordered code in exchange for their immediate release, safe passage and the balance of their money, but they wouldn’t receive the code until they had arrived safely home. If there was to be haggling, Bellman would negotiate over the cash, nothing else.

Holst leaned forward to a small microphone connected to the speakers on the other side of the glass: ‘Cuando oye el sonido, recoja el crucifijo, por favor.’ When you hear the sound, please pick up the crucifix.

He pressed a key on his laptop. The same white noise they had played to the macaque was played to the young man.

No doubt glad of something to break the boredom, the young man picked up the crucifix and held it in his palm.

What happened next was not what Sarah was expecting. He pressed the crucifix to his chest, then to his lips and then to his forehead. Holst played another short burst of encoded sound. The subject sank to his knees, proclaiming in Spanish, ‘¡Alabado sea el Señor!’ Praise God!

Sarah felt eyes on her. She glanced to her right and saw the smiling face of Dr Razia.