Dragonsblood

by Todd McCaffrey

  “So what we need now is a sample from one of the sick dragons,” Kindan said finally, looking up from the last of the bacteria specimen slides.

  Lorana looked ready to agree and then her face took on a distant look.

  “That will have to wait,” she told the others. “M’tal is back and Ketan needs help.”

  Salina gave Lorana a nervous look. “No,” Lorana assured her, “he and Gaminth are just fine. But there were many injured in the Fall.”

  “I think we can leave everything where it is,” Salina said as they left the room and headed toward the Hatching Grounds. “But should we shut this door?”

  “I’d advise against it,” Kindan said. “We don’t know how much power it takes to open it again.”

  Salina and Lorana nodded in agreement.

  As they entered the Bowl from the Hatching Grounds, two sounds came to their ears simultaneously. One was Tullea calling imperiously for Lorana. The other was a dragon’s cough—Minith’s.

  Kindan was surprised to see Lorana’s face light up in excitement: He would never have considered her spiteful. Her words immediately erased his unease and left him feeling chagrined. “Minith must have just come down with the illness,” she said. “If we can get a sample from her—”

  “We could identify the disease,” Salina finished excitedly.

  Then Lorana’s shoulders drooped. “Or maybe not,” she said. “It’s also possible that Minith has been sick for quite some time and is only now at the stage where we notice it.”

  “So the beasties we find might not be the culprit?” Kindan asked.

  “Perhaps just some secondary infections,” Lorana agreed.

  “It’s better than nothing,” Salina said. She stopped as she looked at the injured dragons and riders covering the Weyr Bowl floor. She turned to Kindan. “You get the sample while Lorana and I help Ketan.”

  Kindan bit back saying, “Me?” Instead, he mutely nodded and headed up to the Weyrleaders’ quarters.

  It was past dinner when Lorana and Salina finally made their way back to the Learning Rooms. There they found Kindan and B’nik peering over the microscope.

  “Look,” Kindan said, gesturing. “I made up a slide. There are thousands of them!”

  Lorana and Salina both took long looks through the microscope.

  “I made out about ten different bacteria before I gave up,” Kindan said. He gestured to a pad beside the microscope. “I did my best to draw them.”

  Lorana looked at them and nodded. “Yes, very good, Kindan,” she said. She flipped to a clean page and grabbed the pencil, leaning back over the microscope. In moments she had drawn three more shapes. Then she, too, stopped and relinquished the microscope.

  “Those little things are killing our dragons?” B’nik asked, both amazed and angered at the size of the dragons’ attackers.

  “There are many such small things,” Lorana said. “Most of them are beneficial—they help to protect the dragons. We have similar bacteria ourselves.”

  “But these bacteria have turned nasty,” Kindan added. “Or they always were, and the dragons’ natural defenses have been overcome.”

  “They caught this from the fire-lizards,” B’nik said, looking at the others for confirmation.

  “We’re pretty certain of it,” Kindan agreed.

  “Although it could be something that the dragons gave to the fire-lizards,” Lorana added. “They’re so closely related it could go either way.”

  “It’s a pity the dragons are so much like the fire-lizards,” B’nik remarked, his lips tight. “They seem so big, I would have thought that difference alone would have protected them.”

  “If anything, their size works against them,” Lorana said, shaking her head. “Their lungs are so much bigger than the fire-lizards’ that there’s that much greater a chance of an infection taking hold.”

  “And this,” B’nik gestured around the room. “With this you’ll be able to find a cure?”

  “We’ll try,” Kindan promised.

  Lorana caught the nub of B’nik’s question. She met the Weyrleader’s gaze squarely. “Weyrleader, I’ll do all in my power to make sure that not another dragon of Pern dies from this illness.”

  B’nik returned her gaze. He nodded gratefully, then smiled ruefully. “Just make sure you get enough sleep,” he ordered, wagging a finger at her.

  “I can sleep when we’ve got a cure,” Lorana protested.

  “I think we could all do with a night’s sleep, given the day’s events,” Salina said. She quelled Lorana’s rebellion with an admonishing look. “We’ll start again first thing in the morning.”

  The next morning Salina was not surprised to find Lorana already in the Learning Rooms, engrossed in her studies. Salina placed the tray she’d brought with her on the countertop far from the microscope and Lorana’s work, carefully poured a mug of klah, and deftly interposed it in Lorana’s hand when the younger woman absently searched for a pencil.

  Lorana gave a squeak of surprise and looked up from the microscope to smile sheepishly at Salina.

  “Where’s Kindan?” Salina asked, taking the sketchbook from Lorana and looking it over.

  “He was asleep when I left him,” Lorana replied.

  Salina noticed that there was another, smaller piece of equipment on the table, beside the miscroscope.

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “This is a sequencer,” Lorana said. “I’ve managed to confirm the presence of several likely bacteria.” She made a face. “I think, in the old days, they would have used something else instead of the sequencer to identify bacteria.”

  “Perhaps that’s all they had left,” Salina suggested, eyeing the small device carefully. It looked sturdy enough, just small—a bit smaller than her jewelry case.

  “That’s what I thought, too,” Lorana agreed. Her frown deepened. Salina gave her a questioning look. In answer, Lorana said, “It’s just that if this is all they had left, will it be sufficient?”

  The little unit chimed softly and Salina noticed that a yellow light had gone out, to be replaced by a green light.

  Lorana peered down at the top of the unit and grinned. “The sequencer has located a common gene among the bacteria it’s sampled.”

  “What’s that mean?” Salina asked.

  “In this case, I programmed the sequencer to look for a common gene sequence that we could use to prevent the bacterial infection,” Lorana replied. She held up a textbook, gestured to the middle cabinet, which was now open and stocked full of books, and then said, “This book here showed me how to do it.”

  “So we have a cure?” B’nik asked. Lorana turned to see the Weyrleader standing in the doorway.

  Lorana hesitated before replying. “I can’t say for certain,” she told him. “It looks promising, but I haven’t tried to work out how to build the defense into the dragons.”

  B’nik gave her a puzzled look. Before Lorana could draw breath to explain, M’tal, Kindan, and Ketan arrived.

  “Did we miss something?” M’tal asked.

  “Lorana’s found a cure,” B’nik said, barely restraining his excitement.

  “Perhaps we should all get comfortable and let Lorana tell this once,” Kindan suggested as he brushed by Ketan to find a seat and turn it toward Lorana and the workbench.

  So Lorana began her explanation again. She told them what she’d seen in the microscope, how she’d learned to get the sequencer to search for matching gene sequences that could be used to block the bacteria, and how she’d found one.

  “How does what you’re doing connect with that?” Ketan asked, gesturing to the diagrams on the walls. Lorana followed his gaze and her face fell.

  “I don’t know,” she admitted. She walked around the bench and over to the wall to peer at the diagrams. “These are diagrams of the dragons’ genes for lungs, breathing, and lung protection,” she said after peering at them for a while.

  “Was it meant as a clue?” B’nik asked,
rising from his chair to study the diagrams himself.

  “Could be,” Ketan agreed, standing beside B’nik and peering at the gene maps in turn. He looked to the right. “But what’s this?” he asked, pointing to the second map. “It almost looks the same.”

  Lorana peered at it for a moment. “It’s the map for the same areas on the fire-lizards.”

  “Perhaps we were to construct a cure for them, too,” Kindan murmured.

  “They’re almost identical,” B’nik remarked. He peered closely at the two maps. “No! Here’s something different.”

  Lorana looked back and forth between the two maps. “I think that codes for size,” she said after a long silence.

  “So there’s really not all that much difference between the two,” M’tal said. “I can’t understand why they’d bother to draw both maps.”

  “Perhaps we do have to find a cure for the fire-lizards,” Ketan mused. “After all, it seems like what affects them, affects the dragons, too.”

  “So if the fire-lizards ever get sick again, the dragons will get sick, too?” B’nik asked. “But why hasn’t this happened before?”

  “Because it takes time for bacteria to mutate,” Lorana replied distractedly. She was looking vaguely at the diagrams without really seeing them. “After a while, the parasites that kill will have to mutate into symbiotes.”

  “Symbiotes?” B’nik repeated blankly.

  “Germs that live in harmony with their host,” M’tal explained. “Like the bacteria that flourish in our gut.”

  “Or on our skin,” Ketan added. “We have bacteria that help protect us from infection.”

  “But it seems like people are always getting sick,” B’nik said. “Well, not so much the dragonriders, as holders and such.”

  “It comes in cycles,” Lorana said in agreement. She thought of all she’d learned about mutations and genetic codes. She sighed and looked at Salina.

  “We could cure this illness, but what about the next?” she asked.

  “The next?” B’nik asked nervously.

  “Don’t worry, it probably won’t happen for another hundred Turns or more,” Kindan said reassuringly.

  “But it will happen,” Ketan pointed out. He looked at Lorana. “And then what? Can we preserve these rooms for our descendants?”

  “I don’t think there’ll be enough genetic material left to build a cure,” Lorana replied. “In fact, I think there’ll be enough for four doses, at best.” She paused. “Of course, there is the watch-wher cure.”

  “Pardon?” M’tal asked.

  Lorana bit her lip before answering. “One of the vials was specially marked,” she told the others. “I read about it this morning. It was made by Wind Blossom herself, just before her death. It was meant only to be used as a last resort.

  “It would turn a watch-wher into a dragon,” she said. Her face clouded as she continued. “What I gave to Arith was a mixture of all four.” She sobbed, “That’s what killed her!”

  “You don’t know that,” Salina said firmly. “She was sick.”

  “She would have died without it,” Ketan added. His words and expression reminded her of his loss—and Salina’s.

  Lorana found herself caught in a strange, sad bond with the two other ex-dragonriders.

  The mood was broken as the sound of footsteps echoed from the corridor into the room.

  “Lorana!” Tullea screamed, crashing into the room, her eyes ablaze. “You—so clever! How dare you? There were five stillborn in Minith’s clutch! Five!”

  She advanced on Lorana, hands raised in outrage, fury obvious to all. Unconsciously, M’tal, Salina, and Ketan put themselves between the two women. Kindan moved himself around Lorana, to block her from Tullea’s view.

  “You!” Tullea turned to B’nik. “What are you going to do? You let this happen!” She turned her fury on him, slamming her fists into his chest.

  “Tullea, Tullea, what’s wrong?” B’nik asked.

  “Did you hear me? Five of our eggs never hatched! How can we hope to replace the lost dragons if the eggs don’t hatch?”

  “Hatched? She clutched already? But the others?” B’nik asked, startled. “They were all right?”

  “Yes,” Tullea snarled, staring past him toward Lorana. “No thanks to you, I’m sure!” She turned back to B’nik. “I want her turned out. I don’t want her in my Weyr. Send her back to her people.”

  “We are her people, Tullea,” Salina said, drawing herself up proudly.

  “She stays with the Weyr,” M’tal added.

  “Hmmph!” Tullea said. “Neither of you are Weyrleader here!” She turned back to B’nik. “She should go before she kills more dragons.” Viciously she snarled at Lorana, “Dragonkiller! You should be between with your dragon and all the others you killed—”

  “Tullea!” B’nik shouted, grabbing her and propelling her out of the room. “That’s enough!” Brusquely he manhandled her from the room.

  “But five, B’nik! We lost five!” Tullea wailed as her voice faded in the distance.

  There was a moment of silence while the others collected themselves.

  “I’m sorry, Lorana,” Kindan told her. “I was hoping we could shield you from that.”

  M’tal nodded sternly. Then he stopped and looked up at Ketan. “When did Minith clutch?” he asked.

  “She hasn’t,” Ketan replied, his face showing his surprise.

  “That’s it!” Lorana exclaimed, oblivious to the others. “We must build a shield.”

  Salina turned to her. “A shield?”

  “To slow down the parasites,” Lorana explained. She looked at the others and then turned to the larger map. She grabbed a marker and circled several choice spots. Frowning, she crossed out one or two.

  “Look, as long as the dragons share this much similarity to the fire-lizards, any disease that affects the fire-lizards will affect the dragons,” she explained.

  “Only if the fire-lizards get near the dragons,” Ketan objected. “And now that they’ve been banished, what’s the likelihood?”

  “True,” Lorana agreed. “But some day they might come back, and we can’t be sure if the dragons couldn’t just as easily pick up diseases from other Pernese organisms.”

  “I suppose,” Ketan allowed reluctantly.

  “But if we can change this, right here,” she said, pointing to her circle again, “then all the bacteria and viruses will have to mutate before they can assault the dragons.”

  “You want to change the coding of the START sequence?” Kindan asked incredulously. “Will it work? Can you do it?”

  “Well, there are enough unused sequences in the PNA,” M’tal observed thoughtfully.

  “And we don’t have to change them all,” Salina added.

  “No,” Ketan objected. “I think we should change them all.”

  “But that would only work with new dragons,” Kindan objected. “Today’s dragons have this START sequence.”

  “I think we can do it,” Lorana said. “We’ll have to build a mechanism to convert all the dragons’ genes and hormones to use the new START sequence—”

  “We could probably insert a change so that it occurred during cell mitosis,” Ketan suggested. Then he frowned and added, “And meiosis.”

  “But not the START sequence,” Kindan objected. “The STOP sequence. That way any retrovirus will just code in junk that will be rejected.”

  They spent the rest of the morning discussing the solution. By lunchtime, they had agreed on the approach. The problem now was the actual execution.

  “We’re going to have to produce a short-term solution, too,” Salina pointed out. “It won’t do any good to prevent future infections if the current one isn’t stopped.”

  “Of course,” Ketan agreed, wondering why Salina had raised the issue.

  “Do we have enough of the basic material to construct both changes?” the ex-Weyrwoman asked.

  “I don’t know,” Lorana replied. “Let’s start b
y looking at how much genetic material we’ll need to code the protection of the lungs.”

  The others agreed and they started another round of long discussions, which didn’t end until hours later.

  “By my calculations,” Lorana said, “we can do it, just barely.”

  “But there’ll only be enough for one dose,” Ketan said.

  The others nodded glumly.

  “There’s no other choice,” M’tal said finally. “Let’s do it.”

  Lorana carefully set up the sequencer. “Get the vials,” she told Kindan. “Just the red, green, and blue ones.”

  Kindan looked at the vials and saw that each had a colored dot drawn on them. “How did you find out which one was which?”

  “I ran a small sample through the sequencer,” Lorana told him.

  “The yellow is for the watch-whers?” Ketan asked. Lorana nodded.

  Kindan returned with the vials. Lorana slowly emptied each one into the hopper on the top of the sequencer.

  “Are we sure?” she asked the others, her finger hovering over the ‘Start’ button.

  “Do it,” Ketan said.

  Lorana pushed the button.

  “How long until it’s complete?” M’tal asked.

  “About four hours,” Lorana replied.

  “And then what?” Salina asked. “When will we know if it works? Who should we give it to?”

  Lorana shuddered, knowing the answer.

  Salina’s eyes widened. “Minith?” she asked.

  “She would be best,” Lorana said. “If she hasn’t clutched already, then the immunity would be passed on to her eggs.”

  “She can’t have clutched yet,” M’tal replied. “We would have known. Tullea must have had a bad dream.”

  “What would happen, though, if the cure didn’t work?” Ketan asked.

  “She’d be no better off than she is,” Kindan said.

  “Possibly worse,” Lorana corrected. She met Ketan’s eyes. “If we’re wrong, she could easily die like Arith.”

  “She is the last queen of Benden, I won’t permit it!” Tullea exclaimed when they found her in the Weyrleaders’ quarters later. She and B’nik were eating a late night snack. “Isn’t it enough to kill your own dragon?”