Chapter Eleven
Science and Intrigue



Arian sat at his desk puzzling over the data he had just been handed by his young student Matthew Conway. It felt good to be back at work after the month-long closing of government buildings. Science was Arian’s life, and being in the labs of the Institute was the only place he was truly happy. It was more stimulating than watching the newscasters replay the explosion again. He was concerned that the break might put his research behind, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. If the data he was looking at was accurate, it could be a monumental breakthrough, even if he didn’t yet understand the full implications.

The fact that there was data at all was what shocked Arian. On the night of the explosion, Conway had set up an overnight experiment in which he attempted to attach a nanobot to the gene that controls up-activation of telomerase. The goal of the experiment was to determine whether it was possible to hijack a cell at certain points of its reproductive cycle, allowing the programming of the nanobot to override the chemical instructions transcribed within the DNA. In theory, this was simple enough. The real question for Arian was whether the cell would respond to the commands of the bot, and moreover, how would the second-generation cell be affected.

Being an assistant professor of bio-cybernetics, Arian’s primary interest was the interfacing of an artificial nanobot with a biological substrate. Conway, however, had his own interests. Truthfully, he should have been assigned to the Institute’s Anti-Aging division, for that was what seemed to captivate him. However, the Institute had deemed that he should work under Arian in cybernetics to complete his doctorate, and the Institute’s word was law in academia.

Aging had ceased to be a concern some time ago, and thus Arian had never taken much interest in the mechanics of it, though he understood the general theory. He was actually one of the few in Arameus who did, as it was one of the most guarded secrets by the Overseers. They understood that those that controlled the secrets of immortality controlled the world. Being employed in the field of cybernetics, Arian had to be educated in the modern biological machinery of the Nephite. As a student, he had hated having his scientific passions governed by his research advisor, so he allowed his students the liberty to pursue their own interests. He hadn’t thought much of it when Conway had introduced the idea of a secondary bot, programmed with the exact DNA sequence of the cell on which they were attempting to attach the primary nanobot.

His idea was intriguing. The role of the secondary bot, which he had loosely coined a “bio-bot,” would be to scan the freshly copied DNA sequence during the S-phase of the cell cycle as the primary cell entered into mitosis. If the sequence was copied incorrectly, or mutations had occurred, the bio-bot would transmit a signal to the primary nanobot, which would signal the secondary cell to undergo apoptosis, or auto-cell death, upon completion of cell division. The primary cell would then begin its reproductive cycle again.

This was an interesting concept to Arian, so he allowed Conway to introduce the bio-bots into the experiments. His main concern was interfacing the primary nanobot into the cell cycle and Conway’s ideas would not interfere with this goal. However, the results in front of him defied all logic.

He was staring at evidence of hundreds upon hundreds of cellular reproductions, followed by hundreds upon hundreds of cell suicides in the resulting second-generation. This was evidence of a successful attachment and an indication that the bio-bots were indeed communicating with the primary nanobot, which was triggering cell death. But why would the cell have incorrectly sequenced the DNA so many times? Had the nanobot interfaced at the wrong gene and disrupted the S phase? There had been only one successful cell division during his three-week absence from the lab. Upon sequencing the DNA of the second-generation cell, Conway had found, to his complete surprise, that the sequences no longer matched. It was utterly impossible to believe, but during cell division, the second-generation cell had “inherited” an extraordinary amount of extra genetic information.

Arian rubbed his temples, deep in thought, moving his hands to the back of his neck and allowing them to rest there. Obviously the kid must have screwed something up. He continued to stare at the data, hoping to make some connection he had previously missed. He was interrupted by a knock. Looking out the door, he saw JiYeon Ku, one of his female graduate students standing there, papers in hand.

“What do you need, Ku?” he demanded, perhaps too harshly.

“Professor, I wanted to discuss the next steps for our nanotube auto-assembly research. Some of my simulations have completed during the break.”

Arian took a deep breath, annoyed. He knew he should meet with her, but his mind was occupied with Conway’s results and he didn’t want to be disturbed.

“I’m sorry, JiYeon, but I’m busy now. Can we set up a meeting for tomorrow afternoon?”

“Of course, professor. I’m sorry to disturb you,” she replied, with an obvious tone of dejection. She shuffled off with her head down. Returning to his meditations, he was again interrupted by the sound of knocking.

“JiYeon, I told you I’m busy. What about that did you not understand!”

“Are you always this rude to your students?” Ansley’s voice answered. “Not exactly a good way to be as a young faculty member.”

Shocked, Arian was at a loss for words. The visit was so unexpected, he didn’t know how to react, although by now, he should have been used to Ansley’s unannounced intrusions. Remembering his conversation with Kaiya, and thus his mission, he quickly forgot about his research troubles and hit a button on his desk, allowing the door to slide open. For the first time since the night of the bombing, Arian beheld Ansley Brightmore as he sauntered in. There were bags under his eyes, his clothes were wrinkled, and he carried himself with an air of aloofness, as if detached from the world around him.

“You’re not drunk. That’s strange,” Arian said sarcastically.

“No. I’m not. I’m working.”

“Well, I was working, but now I’m talking to you,” replied Arian. “To what do I owe this distraction?”

“Tsk, Tsk, Arian. Not only are you rude to your young students, but to your elders as well? As your senior professor, I should take offense, but I don’t think I will. Being offended is a luxury of the young. If you don’t get blown up, you will realize that someday.”

“I saw you.”

“I see you now.”

“No. I mean I saw you on the news… at the explosion.” Arian knew it was a lie, but he hoped that the Professor would believe it. It would be uncomfortable to have to explain the truth.

“Not a surprise, kid. I frequent that casino. I was in the vicinity and I tried to help. You should congratulate me. I’m a hero. I should have been interviewed by Sophie.”

Arian studied Ansley for second. He was acting strange, even for the old Professor. “I wasn’t aware that anyone was saved.”

“No one was saved, although not through any lack of effort on my part. I didn’t find the response of our emergency services to be all that timely. However, my heroism isn’t defined by whom I was able to save, but what I was able to save.”

Arian’s heart skipped a beat as adrenaline rushed through his veins. Could it be this easy? Was Ansley just going to stroll into his office unannounced and give him the information Kaiya requested?

“And what exactly were you able to save?” Arian asked, attempting to sound nonchalant.

“I’ll make a deal with you, kid,” Ansley replied, smiling. It was more of a smirk than a smile.

“Discuss with me these results that puzzle you so and I will answer any questions you have about the night at the casino.”

“Again, you ask about my research. You have never made it clear what my role is in this proposed collaboration. Why do you care about my research anyway?”

Ignoring Arian, Ansley pulled a cigarette from the misshapen silver case and lit it. Taking a long drawl, he spoke.

“Aren’t you going to offer me a drink?”

“Fine,” said Arian, standing and walking to the cabinet behind his desk. He removed two glasses and filled them with Tegave. Turning back with the glasses, he began again, “I’m glad to see you left that fucking egg-thing at home.”

“Oh! Good call, Arian. I knew I could trust you,” Ansley replied jovially as he pulled the egg-shaped device from his pocket. Flipping the switch on the top, there was a brief flickering of the lights in the room as all electromagnetic signals were disturbed. It was evident that the old Professor was toying with him.

“My graduate student has stumbled upon something,” Arian began, retaking his seat behind the desk, “but I’m afraid the results have left me puzzled.”

“As they should,” replied Ansley. “All those unsuccessful attempts to attach the nanobot to the gene and upon achieving success, you find the successive generations have an altered genetic sequence.”

“How could you know of this?” asked Arian, the shock evident in his voice. He was beginning to fear what it was Ansley was hiding. The old Professor dismissed him with a wave of the hand before continuing.

“Your mistake, my young friend, is that you discounted the other variable in this experiment. The secondary bot introduced by your student, responsible for ensuring the successful replication of the DNA, what was its purpose?”

“By ensuring only perfect genetic replication, it would prevent the adverse effects of an aging cell and the loss of the telomere. It would ensure that no cancerous cells are created. In doing so, we could create biological immortality without the need for the nano treatments.”

Arian stopped to consider his statement. Saying it aloud, he realized just how groundbreaking this discovery could be. The secondary bot was the key to preventing damaged cells from procreating. The primary nanobot received signals from the secondary bot. His entire scientific career devoted to attaching a nanobot to a cell during division, and a graduate student had found the key.

“You’re a fool, Arian,” said Ansley, breaking him from his reverie.

“How so?”

“You are a fool to think that the Overseers would for one second give up control of the nano-treatments and thus the source of their power because of a mere scientific breakthrough. Perhaps not a fool, but naïve. You still don’t understand what’s happened here.”

“And that is?” shot back Arian.

“When I entered this office, you were troubled, and I can only assume that it is due to the new genetic information coded in the successive generations of cells. You failed to grasp the role of the secondary bot. This bio-bot was scanning the primary cell in order to determine whether the secondary cell was biologically perfect, only you failed to consider that it was also scanning the nanobot attached to the substrate itself. This secondary bot is a very powerful computer, equipped with the most sophisticated artificial intelligence software in all of Arameus. It killed every cell produced until it was able to reproduce the perfect code according to the nanobot’s scans.”

“I’m afraid I don’t follow,” responded Arian.

“The secondary bot has created, genetically, a biological transmitter that acts just as the artificial nanobot you initially attached.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Think of a beehive, Arian. There are thousands of individuals acting as one super-organism through the transmission of pheromones. This is what the bio-bot has created within the secondary generation of cells. It has coded for a veritable super-organism of cells, all in contact with one another, governing subsequent reproduction for the good of the host.”

“If what you say is true,” replied Arian, “then we have made the greatest discovery in the history of mankind. We can make a better man.”

“You foolish, foolish boy,” said Ansley, shaking his head in disbelief. “I respect your optimism, but lament your lack of a basic grasp of the regime under which we toil Nothing you do occurs in a vacuum. Any advance in science is twisted to suit their own selfish desires and place a heavier boot on the neck of every citizen of this world.”

Arian finished his drink. His head throbbed, as it was all too much to take in. His thoughts raced back to Kaiya and her request. Who was this man before him, and why did he know more of Conway’s results than he himself?

“How do you know this?” he asked, anger and fear evident in his voice.

“Why would you question my actions at the casino?” retorted Ansley, full of confidence. “We all have our secrets, don’t we?” he added, with a knowing smile.

Arian’s heart raced as he searched for a solution. Did Ansley know about Kaiya? Were they both being manipulated by the same shadowy group? He had to respond to avoid giving Ansley the upper hand, so he reacted rashly, succumbing to his impulsive nature.

“I have discussed my results with you, now it is your turn to answer my questions. What is the object you obtained at the casino on the night of the explosion?”

Ansley glanced to his right as the lights flickered. “You seem to have some knowledge as it is, but my time is limited. First tell me, what do you desire from your research?”

Without hesitation, Arian answered. “I desire to use technology to take control of the cell cycle and create a better man. People view cybernetics as some grandiose experiment in design. The design already exists in the human body. I only wish to push it in a controlled direction. We can be so much more.”

“Good,” replied Ansley. “Very good… That’s exactly what I need from you.”

“So what did you retrieve from the casino?” Arian asked.

“Another time, my friend. The flickering of your lights tells me that my, what do you call it… oh yeah, fucking egg, is about to lose its effectiveness.”

There was a knock at the door drawing their attention to the left. Four distraught students stood huddled together.

“I see your students are disoriented. I’m afraid my device may have interfered with some of their experiments. Anyway,” Ansley continued, standing while placing the egg back into the pocket of his coat, “we shall continue this another time. Have a good night.”

He exited the office with the same jovial step with which he had entered. As he left, a stream of students poured into Arian’s office, leaving him with little time to contemplate his shock and disdain over how the meeting had ended.

As Ansley exited the labs, he was relieved. Arian knew more than he was letting on, but Ansley did as well. Feeling the egg underneath his coat, he knew he now had access to all the files in the office. Wins had been few and far between recently, and it felt nice to have something go his way. He picked up his pace as he angled toward Eduardo’s bar. He deserved a drink.

Walking toward the bar, a thought occurred to him that stopped him in his tracks. Perhaps it was time to take a chance. He had been playing it safe for far too long and the recent bombings indicated the Overseers were closing in on his plans. He pulled out his qubit and flipped open the cover.

“Athena, contact Arian.”

“Right away, sir.”

After a few seconds, he heard Arian’s voice. “What do you need now?” He sounded perturbed, and a bit tired.

“Come to the Devonshire on week’s end.”

“Why?”

“Because, you were kind enough to help me out today, and I want to repay you. I have four tickets to the Gliders game. As one of the most senior professors in the Institute, you aren’t going to get better seats unless you go with a consulate. I assume you’re a Patolli fan.”

“Hell yeah, I’m a Patolli fan!”

“Good. Come to the game with me. It will be fun. Bring a date.”

Arian thought for a moment. While Professor Brightmore would not have been his first choice to attend a game with, free tickets were free tickets.

“Alright,” he replied. “I’m in. I will meet you at the Devonshire at noon.”

As Arian ended the transmission, Ansley continued toward his destination. He assumed he would see Anabelle at her familiar perch at the end of the bar.

“I guess I need a date,” he thought to himself. “Damn.”