The Dark Freeze

by Peter Gregory

  Baby Blu was having none of it. She was adamant there was no way that she would eat her husband and Charlotte her daddy. It was out of the question. A non-starter. If they had to die, they would all die together. Die in a suicide pact. There was absolutely no way they would leave Charlotte, their beloved little daughter, alive by herself. No way at all.

  Deep down, Baby Blu still had faith in the scientists. Still clung on to the faint hope that Liz and her colleagues might yet find a way to end the nightmare engulfing the planet. Might yet save them.

  32

  Options

  Panic engulfed the world. The few TV stations still functioning broadcast live pictures of the scout ships as they landed on the Earth. Live pictures of the geodesic-shaped machines and, two days later, live pictures of the aliens. Everyone, the politicians, the scientists, and the general populace, feared the worst. Feared an invasion of Earth and its subsequent colonisation by the aliens.

  Top level emergency meetings were held by videoconference. This time round, in contrast to earlier meetings, there was less acrimony and more cooperation. There had to be. It was the last throw of the dice for planet Earth.

  Their options were severely limited. The use of force was out of the question. Even the die hard hawks of the military conceded that. Any such attempt would be futile. Missiles or fighter jets would be intercepted and destroyed before they got anywhere near their target. The aliens had demonstrated their capabilities to do that already. No, it would have to be something more subtle, and more deadly, than simple military force. Something chemical. Or biological.

  Several options were considered. Chemical options included the use of ‘good’ old-fashioned poisonous gases. Not chlorine or mustard gas (bis-β-chloroethyl thioether) used in World War I, but more sophisticated, more deadly, modern gases. The world had plenty of those.

  Organophosphates were another option. First used by the Nazis in World War II, these nerve gases or neurotoxins act on the central nervous system and are lethal in minute doses. Modern versions immobilise and kill in minutes. Sadly, the world has plenty of these too.

  A third option was to use the most deadly agent known, a strain of Botulinum toxin from Clostridium botulinum, a neurotoxin from the same stable as that used in Botox treatments. It’s so deadly that just four kilograms is enough to wipe out the entire human population by respiratory failure. Just four thousand grams to wipe out seven billion people. No government admitted to possessing the agent, but such lack of admission counted for nothing in the murky, clandestine world of chemical and biological warfare.

  Attacking the aliens with lethal chemical agents was fraught with difficulties. They couldn’t attack the asteroid – they’d already tried that and failed. Their only option was to attack the aliens from the scout ships, a strategy which, even if successful, might provoke a massive retaliatory response from the aliens on the asteroid. Furthermore, killing one or two aliens from the scout ships in no way prevented other aliens, suitably protected aliens, from landing and colonising the Earth. And finally, such lethal chemical weapons didn’t discriminate between aliens and Earth life. They’d kill Earth life too, including humans. So, just like military force, chemical weapons weren’t the answer either. There was only one option left. It was time for the geneticists and molecular biologists to hold centre stage.

  ‘We have to use something that’s not only lethal to the aliens, but also prevents them from colonising the Earth,’ said Professor Theodore Russell, one of the world’s leading molecular biologists. ‘Something that is specific to the aliens, which is lethal, and which doesn’t damage life on Earth. And the only way to do that is to find some kind of microbial life, a virus or an archae “bacterium”, to which they don’t have any immunity.’

  ‘Like the Earth bacteria that killed the Martians in HG Well’s War of the Worlds novel,’ gushed Liz, her voice sounding harsh and metallic on the videoconferencing link.

  ‘Yes,’ came the delayed reply, ‘yes, a bit like that I suppose.’

  ‘From what they’ve done so far,’ continued Theodore, ‘I think it’s safe to say the aliens are a cold-loving species, a cold-loving species of advanced, intelligent life that seems to prefer a temperature of minus 60°C.’

  ‘Why minus 60°C?’ asked a voice from the meeting.

  ‘Do you mean why do I think the aliens prefer to live at a temperature of minus 60°C, or why their bodies are suited, adapted, to a temperature of minus 60°C?’

  ‘I really meant the former, but both I suppose,’ replied the voice.

  ‘I think minus 60°C is the temperature the aliens prefer because that’s the temperature they’ve generated on Earth. They stopped expanding the array when the temperature dropped to minus 60°C, and its been stable at that temperature for weeks now. To answer the second part of your question is more difficult. Psychrophiles are known on Earth which thrive at different extremes of cold, from plus 15°C, which is hardly cold at all, down to minus 60°C, the current temperature of the Earth.’

  ‘In that case, do you think the aliens have stabilised the temperature at minus 60°C to kill off all Earth life, rather than it being the temperature at which they live?’ asked Frank, his voice too sounding harsh and metallic on the videoconferencing screen.

  ‘That’s a good point,’ said the delayed reply from Theodore, ‘but if their intention was to kill off all Earth life, I think they’d have dropped the temperature even further.’

  Frank let it rest. He’d already had this discussion with his colleagues.

  ‘We’re pretty certain that the aliens are an advanced, intelligent form of psychrophile,’ continued Theodore, ‘but what we aren’t certain of is whether they’ve evolved in the presence of light, or whether they live in total darkness. The asteroid always seems dark, but light was evident inside the scout ships. We’ll have to pass on that one, at least for the time being.

  ‘Right,’ said Theodore, apparently relishing the challenge ahead, ‘that’s what we know, or think we know, about the aliens. The next step is to decide what type of microbial life to use against them; a virus, a bacterium or an archae “bacterium’’.’

  ‘I think it has to be a psychrophile,’ said Dr Janice Woodall, one of the UK’s leading molecular biologists from Cambridge University, ‘a psychrophilic archae “bacterium’’.’

  ‘And, seeing we don’t know whether the aliens live in the dark or in light of some kind, I think we should err on the side of caution and cover both bases,’ said Professor Yamamoto Higura, a Japanese molecular biologist of some repute. ‘We should use both types of psychrophile; those that have evolved and adapted to life in complete darkness – the chemoautotrophs – and those that evolved in the presence of light. For example, the eukaryotes that live by photosynthesis, such as the green snow algae.’

  Following a short but lively discussion, it was agreed that using both types of psychrophile offered the greatest chance of success. They didn’t know whether the aliens lived in the light or in the dark, so using both types increased their chances that the aliens wouldn’t have immunity to one of them.

  ‘That’s all very well,’ chimed a voice from the videoconferencing screen, ‘but how do we acquire the samples? The conditions out there are atrocious.’

  ‘Leave that to us,’ said a commanding, authoritative voice. It was one of the military figures. ‘We’ll sort out something. But we need to know where to go.’

  ‘Give us four hours,’ said Theodore, ‘to decide which psychrophiles to go for, and then we’ll get back to you. Okay?’

  The military figure nodded his assent.

  Theodore surveyed the several videoconferencing screens before continuing. ‘Okay, ladies and gentlemen, let’s get cracking. Formulate your ideas in your own teams and then we’ll reconvene in four hours time to thrash out the final solution. Thank you and good luck.’

  Viv, Frank, Rupert, Liz and Zak
joined Gregg and his fellow chemists, biologists and molecular biologists for the vital discussion. Although not specialists in the subjects themselves, they might, just might, be able to contribute on the more general aspects of the debate.

  It didn’t take the biologists and molecular biologists long to identify the best strains of both types of psychrophile, one that lived in darkness and one that lived in the presence of light, and the best locations in which to find them. That done, they turned their attention to resolving two other key issues. One, how to maximise the efficacy of the psychrophiles and two, how to deliver them.

  ‘I suggest we start by looking at some of the world’s superbugs, such as MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus),’ said Dr Janice Woodall, ‘and the work being done by Professor Todd Oakley and his team on bioluminescent bacteria. We…’

  ‘Hang on a minute,’ interrupted Rupert, ‘aren’t we jumping the gun here?’

  His interruption created an uneasy silence. ‘What do you mean?’ came the acerbic response from an indignant Janice, clearly annoyed at being so rudely interrupted, especially by a non-specialist. ‘What exactly do you mean by ‘‘jumping the gun?’’ ’

  ‘Well,’ said Rupert, feeling distinctly uneasy at the way his comment had been received, and by the pairs of hostile eyes glaring in his direction, ‘shouldn’t we sort out the means of delivering the agents first? If we can’t find a successful way to deliver them, then spending lots of time and effort maximising their efficacy is futile.’

  Grudgingly, the biologists and molecular biologists conceded he’d made a valid point. ‘I suppose you’re right,’ said Janice, who seemed to be leading the discussion. ‘We’ll address that issue first.’

  ‘Biochemical weapons are usually delivered by missiles, which release their deadly cargo into the atmosphere over the intended target,’ said Dr John Blackhouse, a biological warfare expert from Porton Down, ‘but obviously that won’t work here. The aliens would shoot them down before they reached their target.’

  ‘Normal missiles, yes,’ said Viv, ‘but what about a Cruise-type missile, a ground-hugging missile? They might not detect that.’

  ‘I think they would,’ said John. ‘We need to be smarter than that.’

  ‘What about something smaller, like a drone?’ said Frank. ‘The Americans have some pretty sophisticated drones.’

  ‘Good suggestion,’ said John. ‘Drones are much smaller than missiles and therefore less likely to be detected.’

  ‘And they’re much slower too,’ said Rupert, ‘making them more likely to be shot down.’

  ‘But we’re thinking along the right lines,’ said Frank. ‘I’ve read that the Americans have drones disguised as birds, even insects, that are pretty realistic.’

  ‘That’s the answer!’ enthused John. ‘We only need to deliver a tiny amount of the agent, so an insect is the perfect delivery vehicle. Something so small and so ‘‘natural’’ shouldn’t attract their attention.’

  ‘Right,’ continued Janice, ‘seeing that’s sorted, let’s carry on with finding ways to maximise the efficacy of the psychrophilic superbugs.’

  Liz and her colleagues listened with increasing fascination as the biologists, molecular biologists and chemists discussed their ideas. Listened to their proposals to produce a highly resistant psychrophilic superbug with which to infect the aliens. They began by discussing the work of Todd Oakley and his fellow researchers at UC (University of California) Santa Barbara on bioluminescent squid.

  ‘Some squids have a symbiotic relationship with ‘‘captured’’ bioluminescent bacteria,’ said Janice. ‘One, commonly called the Hawaiian Bobtail, uses bioluminescence to camouflage itself. Bioluminescent bacteria on the underbelly of the squid emit light to eliminate its shadow cast on the ocean floor by sunlight or moonlight and thereby conceal it from predators. The camouflage also helps it catch prey.’

  ‘This is all very interesting,’ said Rupert, ‘but where exactly is it leading? I mean, what’s it got to do with designing a psychrophilic superbug?’

  Janice shot him a disdainful look then carried on. ‘The point is, how do the bioluminescent bacteria know when to ‘‘switch on’’. It’s no good if just one or two or even a few hundred switch on, they all have to switch on for them to have an appreciable effect. Thousands of them. All at once. But how do they do it? What ‘‘tells’’ thousands of individual bioluminescent bacteria to SWITCH ON NOW?’ She paused, scanning the faces of those around her to gauge their reactions. They were absorbed, engrossed, in what she was saying, waiting eagerly for her to continue. ‘The way they do it,’ she continued, ‘is by releasing a chemical messenger, a chemical that instructs them to emit light. A chemical trigger.’

  ‘And has this chemical trigger been identified?’ asked Frank.

  ‘Yes, it has,’ replied Janice. ‘Identified and synthesised in the laboratory.’

  ‘The relevance of all this to the task in hand still eludes me,’ said Rupert, getting more and more frustrated.

  ‘I’m coming to that,’ said Janice, becoming irritated by Rupert’s constant interruptions.

  ‘Scientists reasoned that if bioluminescent bacteria release a chemical trigger to activate a response, then all bacteria might do the same, including pathogenic bacteria.’

  ‘And do they?’ asked Rupert with a trace of sarcasm in his voice.

  ‘Yes, they do,’ replied Janice forcefully. ‘They all emit a chemical trigger to instruct other bacteria to perform some action. In the case of bioluminescent bacteria, it’s to tell them to emit light. For pathogenic bacteria, it’s to instruct them to release their toxins, the toxins that cause the disease.’

  ‘So,’ said Frank, thinking aloud, ‘if that chemical messenger can be inhibited, nullified, then pathogenic bacteria become impotent. Harmless.’

  ‘Precisely,’ said Janice, ‘and that’s the reason why there’s such a lot of research in that area.’

  ‘But I still don’t see the relevance of all this to the current problem,’ reiterated a frustrated Rupert.

  Janice shot the man with many questions a withering look. ‘Not only do all bacteria release a chemical messenger,’ she said loudly, ‘but that chemical messenger is the same for every strain of bacteria studied so far. Hopefully, it’ll be the same for psychrophilic bacteria too. So, if we use that chemical messenger in conjunction with the psychrophilic superbugs, it should really enhance their potency by triggering a massive release of toxins into the aliens at the same time. A massive dose that should prove fatal.’

  ‘I see,’ said Rupert. ‘I’m sorry for doubting your intentions.’

  ‘Apology accepted,’ said Janice graciously.

  ‘Is the chemical available?’ asked Viv.

  ‘The Americans have the most but we have a little too,’ replied Janice.

  ‘So, on the timescale we have available, it’s only the Americans and ourselves who could launch biological attacks against the aliens using that chemical,’ said Frank. ‘The Americans in Alaska and ourselves in the Arctic.’

  ‘I’m afraid so,’ said Janice.

  ‘Provided we have an insect drone,’ said Viv.

  ‘Oh, we’ve got some of those,’ said John. ‘Don’t worry about that.’

  ‘And provided we get samples of the psychrophiles,’ said Frank.

  ‘I’m sure the military will come up with a plan to do that,’ said John confidently. The rest of them, however, weren’t so sure.

  ‘In that case,’ said Janice, ‘let’s devise the best way to maximise the potency of the psychrophiles using the chemical trigger.’

  Central to the ensuing discussion was whether the chemical trigger should be released into the atmosphere in the vicinity of the aliens at the same time as the psychrophiles, or whether it should be encapsulated to delay its release. After much debate, it was decided the best course of act
ion was to delay the release of the chemical trigger by several hours, giving the psychrophiles time to spread throughout the alien’s body. Once released, the chemical trigger would prompt the psychrophiles to simultaneously release billions of deadly toxins, deadly Earth toxins, which should prove fatal to the aliens.

  It was a good plan, but would it work? Only time would tell. First, however, they needed samples of the psychrophiles.

  33

  Drones

  Whilst awaiting the arrival of the psychrophile samples scientists around the globe deliberated on the best way to design and deliver the superbugs. In the UK and the USA, geneticists and molecular biologists focused on designing the superbugs, leaving the teams at the Simulation Chamber and especially the teams at the NASA/Johnson Space Center to concentrate on devising the best method of delivery. Rupert’s advice hadn’t gone unnoticed.

  ‘What did you say?’ said Carl, his harsh, metallic-sounding voice experiencing the usual transatlantic delay on the large video screen. ‘I didn’t quite catch all of it.’

  ‘I said I thought we’d agreed that the best way to deliver the superbugs was by using a bird drone to release them in the vicinity of the aliens from the scout ships,’ said Liz.

  ‘There are problems with that,’ said a military scientist from a second video screen, one linked to an underground bunker at a secret location near the Pentagon. ‘We need a better way. One that is foolproof.’

  ‘What problems?’ asked Liz, hurt by his brusque comments.

  ‘Well, for one thing, there are no birds in the Arctic winter, certainly not after the dark freeze of the last few months. If the aliens detected birds, they’d be suspicious and wouldn’t hesitate to shoot them down. You saw what they did to the polar bear. We need to be cleverer than that. Remember, they are highly intelligent beings.’