New Eden

by Kishore Tipirneni

  Williams stared long at Seth, placed her glasses on the table, and clasped her hands. Her face looked tired, and Joshua thought she had no doubt been meeting for weeks with the president and other White House staff, working in conjunction with world leaders and scientists.

  “To be candid, Seth,” Williams said, “we’re painfully aware that you’re capable of finding a cure for our viral outbreak given your advanced knowledge of biology and DNA. It would probably be child’s play for you to manufacture a vaccine in a very short time.” She paused again as her voice, usually steady and calm, faltered for a few seconds. “Would you please help us? The human race and our entire way of life—tens of thousands of years of culture—face extinction. Speaking for myself and the rest of humanity, we believe that saving humans with medicine or a vaccine isn’t the same as introducing radical new technologies to our planet. I’m asking you to look at this from the standpoint of what we call humanitarian aid.”

  Sitting erect, Seth placed his hands on the table. He’d listened patiently and with no display of emotion to Williams’ explanation of the crisis and her impassioned plea.

  “I’m terribly sorry to hear this news, Ms. Williams. I’ve come to love humans very much, and I would never willingly want to see any harm come to your world or its inhabitants. As you know, however, introducing new technology into your world would violate our ethics, and I’m afraid that developing a cure would introduce new technology to Earth since you yourselves are unable to find it. If I were to help you, my intervention would almost surely destabilize your society, and we can’t take that risk.”

  Porter was frustrated, but he didn’t speak with his usual bluster or threatening tone. “Seth we’re already destabilized, and as the outbreak spreads, the destabilization will grow worse. I don’t understand the distinction you’re making.”

  Seth replied quickly, his voice remaining even and measured. “General Porter, if we give you the technology and you save yourselves, you would still possess the technology when the crisis had passed. That technology might be used to engage in genetic testing that could cause irreparable harm to your species. In the end, the technology would kill you as surely as this outbreak will, and we can’t be a part of that. The thought of your species’ demise saddens us, but we can’t be an instrument in the cause of your destruction.”

  Porter glared at Seth, now more emotional as he spoke. “You’ve just signed our death warrant.”

  “If it’s your destiny to succumb to the virus, then so be it. Not all civilizations survive. We cannot give you the technology to cure this virus.”

  The room was silent at Seth’s stark comment and evaluation of the most dire crisis to ever face humanity. He was dispassionate despite his proclaimed affinity for humans.

  It was Robert Langdon who finally spoke up after several seconds.

  “What if you didn’t actually give us your technology, Seth?” he asked. “What if you just gave us the cure without telling us how you created it?”

  “How do you propose we do that?” Seth asked. “What you require is a honing virus. A vaccine wouldn’t work since most humans are already infected. A vaccine only works on those who are not already exposed.”

  “What’s a honing virus?” Langdon inquired.

  “It’s a virus genetically engineered from the ground up to attack a single target. In this case, that target is the mutated Ebola virus. Building such a virus, however, would require a lab on Earth since the virus that is causing your outbreak is only present on your planet. Regrettably, the lab would have to employ technology that you currently don’t have, so it’s not possible for all of the reasons I’ve already mentioned.”

  “Wait,” Williams said. “Maybe . . .”

  All eyes shifted to the White House chief of staff.

  “What if we build a lab to which only you have access to. No humans allowed, not even those in this room or anyone on the scientific teams. No security team either. We’ll give you whatever materials you need, and you can build any equipment that we may not have. If we guaranteed that you would have absolute security and isolation, would you be willing to manufacture the honing virus? This would allow you to create it without giving us the methods you used to do so.”

  Seth looked at Joshua after considering the proposal. “I’m not accustomed to death,” he said, “because of the backup mechanisms we have on Petri. The death of Rachael affected me profoundly since she was a friend just like Josh and Vinod. Believe me when I say that I can feel your pain. I’m not unsympathetic to the plight you find yourselves in.”

  “That’s not an answer,” Porter said.

  Seth was silent for several seconds, and Joshua felt certain that the android was communicating with the collective.

  “We’re considering your request,” Seth said at last. “Where could you give me such security and isolation?”

  “We could transform the underground test facility into the lab you’d need,” Porter replied. “We’ll also turn off all surveillance cameras. The elevator is the only entrance in or out, and I’ll give you complete control over that as well. We could also modify your security protocols such that as long as you’re in the lab, there would not be an electronic tether. We could also allow you to be active even while you are plugged in for recharging so that you could operate continuously.”

  Seth closed his eyes for no more than a few seconds before responding. “My friends, we’ve analyzed your situation and have determined that there is a high probability that humans are facing an extinction-level event. As I have said before, we are opposed to the extinction of sentient societies. Therefore, we’ve decided to help you given the conditions you’ve set forth. When may we begin?”

  There was a palpable sense of relief in the conference room.

  A week passed, during which Seth requested equipment that seemed standard for any conventional biology, chemistry, or medical lab, although some of the articles he asked for seemed unorthodox to the scientific teams assigned to deliver the pieces. None of it, of course, represented anything that scientists were unacquainted with, but how Seth might use the equipment was unknown. In a completely refurbished bat cave were standard beakers, funnels, flasks, tubing, syringes and microscopes—electron and regular—as well as microwave ovens, DNA sequencers, refrigerators, and dozens of digital devices that might be used to perform routine blood work and analysis. Seth had also requested numerous chemical elements and compounds that baffled the tech teams, who had also installed a bank of desktop computers loaded with hundreds of software programs on human biology, DNA, diseases, and anatomy. Various electronic devices more suitable for electrical or computer work were also brought to the bat cave, but those who delivered the equipment were not allowed to ask any questions as to how the alien was to employ them or how he might use any of the supplies to possibly fashion completely new instruments. The oddest pieces were several fish bowls and household aquariums of different sizes, complete with thermostats and oxygen pumps.

  Joshua looked at Vinod when Seth had deemed the lab fully-equipped. “What Seth is about to do reminds me of how you tweaked the interfaces in your home when Rachael and I showed up with the Bowman sphere,” Joshua said.

  “Yeah, but even I can’t begin to guess as to how he might use some of this stuff or how he’s going to connect it,” Vinod said. “And yet he knew exactly what was needed. A honing virus.”

  “You noticed that too?” Joshua asked. “Williams gave him the stats a week ago in the conference room, and he assessed the situation and found a solution within minutes. If he wanted, he could probably end all disease on Earth.”

  “Let’s ask him,” Vinod suggested. “Give him the same guarantees as we did for wiping out Ebola.”

  Joshua shook his head. “It would completely throw the entire planet out of balance. A cure for everything would send ripples through the economy, population size, the food supply, and eventually through just about every aspect of human life. We couldn’t handle it. I think
I truly understand the petrins’ noninterference directive for the first time. There would be global destabilization.”

  Vinod mulled over the thought for a minute. “You know, you’re right. As an information theorist, I can see how radically so many subsystems of human culture would be affected. So why do think the petrins cut us slack on the Ebola issue?”

  “Damn good question, and I don’t have the slightest hint of an answer unless they’re honing in on a single problem just as they’re honing in on a single virus. Maybe it’s only because they view the virus as something that could end humanity on Earth.”

  “True, but the collective is bailing out humanity, and according to Seth, that’s strictly verboten. We’ve had endless sessions with the guy, and I still can’t figure out where he’s coming from most of the time. Best guess?”

  “As Hamlet said,” Joshua stated, “‘there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’ As both a writer and someone devoted to science, Rachael quoted it often.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning that there’s something that the petrins could tell us but won’t, something that lies beyond our wildest speculation.”

  “Not surprising, dude,” Vinod said. “They have a few billion years head start on us.”

  “Just a hunch, but I don’t think it’s something about technology per se.”

  “You’re freakin’ me out, Josh. You almost sound like Porter.”

  “I know, and that’s what bothers me the most.”

  Langdon, Porter, Seth, Vinod, and Joshua stood in the lab near the elevator door.

  “We turned off your electronic tether, and it will remain off for as long as you’re down here,” Porter said. “Just remember that if you try to leave the lab, it will be automatically reactivated, and you’ll be shut off. The elevator will be locked, and only you will be able to unlock it from down here. Call us on the land line if you need anything.”

  “I won’t be trying to leave, general,” Seth said. “And I’ve inspected everything. Your teams have been very thorough.”

  Langdon reached down and lifted a sealed package from the floor. Mists of carbon dioxide vapor emanated from the dry ice within. It looked like a portable ice chest, but it had the logo of the Centers for Disease Control on it and was locked in a hard-shell case. A label on its side read DANGER: BIOHAZARDOUS MATERIALS.

  “These are the latest viral samples from the CDC, just as you requested,” Langdon stated. “When do you think we can expect results?”

  “That’s difficult to say,” Seth replied. “I can’t predict the strict series of lab protocols I’ll have to perform. If things go well, I estimate that I’ll have the honing virus in about a month.”

  “A lot of people will die between now and then,” Porter pointed out.

  “I can only work so fast even though I don’t require sleep,” Seth said. “This is a Terran virus that I’m not familiar with.”

  “Good luck,” Joshua said. “We know you’ll do your best.”

  Seth put his arms around Joshua and gave him a hug. “Anything for a friend.”

  Android Seth turned away and walked to one of the lab tables as the rest got onto the elevator and rode up to the particle center.

  “You look uncomfortable, Mitchell,” Langdon observed on their ride up.

  “I am,” the general confessed. “I just did something that I’ve been against from the very start, which is to leave Seth alone. No tether and no security teams. Makes me damn nervous.”

  “We didn’t have a choice,” Langdon said. “The fate of mankind rests on Seth.”

  “Indeed. Trust me when I say that it’s the only reason I did this.”

  Joshua sat on the edge of his bed in his bedroom about ready to turn in for the night. It had been almost four weeks since Seth had locked himself in the bat cave which had now been converted into a bio lab. Joshua looked at the framed picture of Rachael that he had on his nightstand and the engagement ring he’d given her that night at Angelino’s which sat in front of the picture.

  Joshua had just finished packing for a week-long vacation to Patagonia that he was taking by himself; he would be leaving in the morning. He and Rachael had always wanted to go there, but this, like many of their plans, had not come to fruition. He touched his fingers to his lips and then to her picture. “Rachael, I’m going to Patagonia tomorrow for some hiking. I’m sure you would have loved it.”

  Joshua had just fallen asleep when his cell phone rang. He looked at the caller ID, which showed it was the landline from the lab. It had to be Seth, so Joshua hurriedly answered the call.

  “Hello?”

  “Josh, it’s Seth. Can you come down to the lab?”

  “Now?”

  “Yes, I have something very important to show you.”

  “Have you got a cure for the virus?”

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  Joshua got dressed and drove to the lab. Seth greeted him as he exited the doors of the elevator that lead to the bat cave.

  “Sorry to get you out of bed so late,” Seth remarked.

  “It’s okay. You got some good news for me?”

  “I hope so, but I need to show you something first. It’s over here.”

  Seth led Joshua to an area in the back of the lab that housed some of the larger aquariums he had requested when the lab was built. He pointed to a large tank filled with a clear gelatinous material.

  Joshua walked over to the tank and peered in. Dispersed in the clear material were spherical organisms one inch in diameter and colored a deep green. Small radial appendages emanated from them, which made them look like sea anemones. Joshua stared into the tank in shock. There was no question what the creatures were: petrins.

  32

  Gita

  “Seth, what’s going on?” Joshua asked, becoming concerned as he viewed the dark green creatures in the tank. “How and why are you growing petrins here? We didn’t give you permission to do this?”

  “The how is fairly simple,” Seth replied. “We simply transmitted the code for petrin DNA to the lab via my spookyon, and I started growing them. The petrins you see in the tank are still incubating and won’t become fully functional for a few months.”

  “But why are they here? You’re not answering my question.” Joshua was clearly agitated. Growing petrins had nothing to do with finding a honing virus to eradicate Ebola. “You betrayed our trust and misused much of the extra equipment we provided you.”

  “Why they are here is much more complex,” Seth stated, ignoring Joshua’s stern rebuff. “Instead of explaining it to you, I’d like to show you. Please follow me.”

  Seth led Joshua to a table with a thick, soft cushion on it. “Please lie down,” he instructed.

  Joshua was reluctant to comply. “Seth, I’m confused and somewhat frightened. Why can’t you give me a straight answer?”

  Things had come to a head. For months, Joshua had given Seth wide latitude despite his constant suspicion that the petrin was holding back vital information from the teams at the lab. Seth’s odd behavior at this moment was validation that his suspicion had been well-founded.

  “Okay, Seth. Out with it. What’s the secret you’ve been hiding? If we’re truly friends, you’ll tell me—now.”

  Seth’s tone of voice remained calm. “Josh, you’re very perceptive, and I’m sorry I haven’t been able to tell you everything, but you’ll have to trust me on this. I want to explain to you what is happening, but I can’t. I have to show you. I promise that nothing bad is going to happen. It will be an experience you’ll never forget.” Seth’s smile appeared genuine. “Please,” he added.

  Joshua lay on the table, cautiously eyeing the alien.

  Seth picked up a tall beaker filled with light blue sand that shimmered and glowed.

  “Josh, I’m going to pour this over your head, but it’s completely safe. The beaker conta
ins biograins, which are microscopic living cells that will interface with the individual neurons of your cranial nerves and spinal cord. They will allow me to explain to you what’s going on. Don’t worry—it’s not painful.”

  Joshua was anxious as he stared at Seth’s face. “I don’t like this,” he said. “I’ve always trusted you, but this doesn’t feel right. Biograins? I don’t think so. It’s—”

  Seth poured the biograins onto Joshua’s forehead despite his friend’s protest. “Don’t worry, Josh. Trust me.”

  The biograins didn’t flow like sand, but instead adhered to his skin and slowly engulfed the upper portion of his head. Joshua felt a slight tingling sensation as they entered his dermal layer, and a few moments later his senses, including, sight, hearing, and touch, ceased to function.

  “We were always a collective,” Seth began.

  Seth’s voice entered Joshua’s consciousness with extreme clarity. He felt that he was awake, and yet he had no sense of his body—no sensory input at all—although his thoughts and memories were intact. He saw only a black void, but the timbre of Seth’s voice was crystal clear, as if it were originated within his brain.

  Joshua surmised that Seth’s words were being injected directly into his auditory nerves via the biograins. Joshua instinctively knew from Seth’s opening statement that he was about to receive unredacted information on the origins of petrin civilization.

  Seth continued speaking. “In the beginning, we were a unified mind comprised of individuals who worked for a single purpose, although we didn’t know at first what that might be. We were simply information encoded on the molecules of a single planet in a physical form that I cannot explain because you would have no frame of reference. Over time, we came to believe that we pre-existed the universe and had been injected into it as pure information. As you know, information is not subject to the physical laws of matter or energy. It was therefore logical to assume that this information had traversed the singularity of the Big Bang.”