The Soul of the Matter

by Bruce Buff

  Picking up a blue marker, Alex said, “Look. We know that a dozen complex elements form the last code,” as he rapidly drew complex shapes on the white board.

  “You still don’t like calling them symbols.”

  “To be symbols, they have to be symbolic to someone or something. And since you claim the origin of most of the coded information is from DNA, and I’m not ready to accept the connotations of that, I’m not going to call them symbols.”

  “What’s wrong with a complete understanding of science and reason that points to something much bigger than us?”

  “Give me concrete proof and then ask me the question.”

  “Break the code and you’ll have your proof. There’s only about a half billion permutations. What’s the big deal? Get to it,” Stephen said facetiously.

  “Four hundred seventy-nine million, one thousand, six hundred, to be precise. There must be something that can help us narrow down the possibilities to a manageable number.”

  Yes, there is, Stephen thought. And that morning, he had become the only person in the world to know it. Now he was about to decode what could be the Rosetta Stone of all of life. Only there was much more to it than that.

  “With luck, we’ll figure it out in the next few days, before we’ve moved to the new computer infrastructure,” Stephen said, referring to the planned migration off HBC’s network to something new Alex was setting up. While Alex’s encryption had kept their work hidden from prying eyes, it wasn’t strong enough to withstand a determined examination, and they couldn’t keep pressing their luck. Sooner or later, some IT person or senior researcher at HBC would notice the computer activity and ask Stephen about it, drawing unwanted attention that could be problematic.

  “Remember, there’s at least two sets of codes to break, maybe a third if your intuition is correct,” Alex said. “The number I gave you is the very low end of what we’re facing.”

  “Relax, go home, get some rest. Something will come to us,” Stephen said calmly, though inwardly he was bothered by his own words. He’d always been a straight shooter, known for his integrity. Yet his single-minded pursuit to break the codes had led him to more and more deceit, for what he told himself were good reasons.

  “What’s the saying? From your lips to God’s ears,” Alex replied.

  Trying to ease the tension in the room, Stephen said, “I’m not worried about what God hears; I’m more concerned what He’ll do.”

  “Near as I can tell,” Alex said, walking out the door, “if He exists, He doesn’t do much of anything.”

  Chapter 4

  To work off frustration, Alex decided to walk down the ten flights of stairs to the service entrance instead of taking the elevator.

  He had to find out what they were decoding. It didn’t help that he doubted the source of their work and, by extension, Stephen. The encryption they were decoding was extraordinarily sophisticated. It was difficult for a materialist like Alex, who believed only in the natural world, to think that the coded information was based on DNA, despite what Stephen had said. And the apparent relationship of DNA’s coding to the laws of physics was also hard to fathom, yet he seemed to see it himself. The implications were profound.

  One of his biggest worries had always been misuse of science by big business and government. It was the reason he had joined a group of scientists and ethicists who met twice a month to discuss the use of science. Until a few months ago, it had seemed a safe thing to do.

  Then Elena began attending. She had said she was an independent European journalist investigating international networks that were determined to manipulate genetic research to their advantage, regardless of its impact on others.

  Curious about what she knew, Alex had gone to coffee with her after a few meetings, often in the same café, to discuss the threat they agreed unconstrained science posed to humanity. He found her thoughtful, informed, and well-intentioned. She radiated eastern European mystery and sensuality, with short, frosted blond hair, dark green eyes, and soft features layered on top of what, at times, seemed like a hard foundation. Despite his strong marriage, he was drawn to her, and she seemed to encourage and welcome the interest. It disturbed and enthralled him, though he told himself nothing would ever come of it.

  Two weeks ago, she had turned the café discussions to Boston-area biotech firms, HBC in particular, saying their work was leading toward unprecedented genetic technology. She talked about Stephen, claiming that he had a myopic focus on research that others would exploit to genetically modify life in unimaginable ways.

  To defend him, Alex told her that he knew a little about Stephen’s work and was confident that his intentions were good and broader than she thought.

  She pressed him. He told her general things—nothing about encrypted information and his efforts to help Stephen decode it. Elena said that it was clear that Alex was aiding Stephen in important ways and insisted he find out more, lest he became an unwitting tool for the very things he said he opposed.

  Alarmed by her interest and pressure, he cut off contact and stopped attending meetings.

  It wasn’t enough.

  Just that morning, Elena had shown up outside his MIT office. “I understand your confusion,” she said. “You’re in a tough position. You’re worried about Stephen’s work, yet you don’t want to do anything disloyal. I can help you with that.”

  Without waiting for his response, she clasped his hands warmly in hers, looked deep into his eyes, and said, “Won’t the peace of mind be worth it?”

  With his guard momentarily down, Alex told her Stephen was about to move his work from HBC’s computers to a more secure environment, leaving out his own role in the move.

  The warmth in her eyes had been replaced at disconcerting speed by a steely glint. Her previously velvety voice took on an icy hardness. “The world is on the precipice of a tremendous transformation. An enormous amount rests on your willingness to do the right thing.”

  Then her voice turned soft again, and she said, ”Don’t we have the same interests?” She paused, her eyes lingering on his. “I have to go now. Find out what you can.” As a warm smile crossed her face, she kissed his check, then turned and was gone.

  Throughout the rest of the day, Alex struggled with his doubts. Thoughts of Elena elicited a mixture of caution, desire, fear, and excitement. She called several times in the afternoon, but he ignored the calls and the messages she left.

  Reaching the service door now, Alex turned up his collar and put on his gloves. It would be a cold walk to his car, parked in a remote section of the lot, hidden from view. He had once thought Stephen’s precautions excessive. Now he hoped they’d be enough.

  Stepping outside, he was struck hard by the bitter wind.

  Chapter 5

  A series of sharp tones jolted Stephen. The processing of the first set of information was complete. A more detailed image of a human body was displayed on the monitor.

  Collecting himself, Stephen sat back down, entered a series of commands, and kicked off the processing of a second set of data. While the computers were busy completing their work, he clicked an option on the upper right of the image labeled Time Series.

  Immediately, the monitor went blank, and then a small image of a newborn appeared in the center. Gradually, the image developed and aged as it progressed from newborn to toddler, child, teenager, young adult, through middle age and then old age: a lifetime of human development compressed into a few minutes. The mesmerizing visual results weren’t remarkable in and of themselves. What was incredible was the source of the information used to generate the images. They were based solely on DNA, not computer simulation. He had unlocked and translated all the information that directed human development!

  Beaming, Stephen turned his attention to the horizontal slide bars on the bottom of the screen and the numbers associated with them. After changing a number connected
to the figure’s torso, he watched the body elongate. When he increased a different number, the head grew larger and became misshapen. Clearly, important balances needed to be maintained.

  After selecting Reset, the image reverted to its original version. Stephen gradually changed a slide bar and watched the image redisplay in different proportions. The bars were master controls for the entire image. Rotating a dial backward, a result resembling a Neanderthal was displayed. Rotating the same dial further backward, after several moments, what had once appeared human now looked like an unknown type of primate.

  Astounded, he wondered if he was looking at actual evolutionary history. Was it possible that every prior version of humans was still in DNA? Or was a there a master set of genes that, when combined in different ways, could generate every creature in the human evolutionary branch? Could this information be used to re-create long-lost species?

  More important, what would it mean for humanity’s future?

  Chapter 6

  Steeling himself, Alex walked out into the cold night and toward his car.

  As he approached it, a familiar voice said, “I’ve got the solution to our problems.”

  Alarmed, he turned to see Elena walking toward him. She was enveloped in a white, three-quarter-length down coat that shimmered unnaturally against the night sky.

  “What are you doing here?” he said with more bravado than he felt. All of a sudden, Elena seemed far more formidable than her five-foot-eight frame would indicate. A shiver, not from the cold air, coursed through his body.

  Without breaking stride, Elena said, “I couldn’t reach you. We have to act quickly.”

  “To do what?”

  “Find out what Bishop is up to. He’s been hiding what he’s been doing from everyone, even you. Right now, he’s continuing his work by himself.”

  “How do you know that?” Alex exclaimed, upset that it might be true.

  “I work with people who can access virtually any computer system in the world,” Elena said, then looked at a text message on her phone. “In fact, he’s using the computers heavily at this very moment.”

  “If he is, it won’t be for long. I have the security keys the programs need to run and they’re about to time out,” Alex replied. He regretted his words as soon as he had said them.

  “Quickly, then, let’s see what he’s doing. With your help, we can do that without him knowing.”

  “Who are you? What do you want?” Alex asked. Was she more connected to the people she claimed to be investigating than she let on?

  “The same things you do. A better society, answers to the biggest questions about life, protecting people from the rich and powerful.” Elena reached him and put her right hand on his left forearm.

  Alex eased slightly away, but Elena’s left arm reached around Alex’s waist, toward his back, heightening the mixed feelings of attraction and wariness. The latter was winning.

  “Please, no one is going to hurt you. We just have to know, as do you.”

  Alex tried to think of something to say. He looked around, avoiding her gaze. Alone, in the far reaches of an empty parking lot, with a person he didn’t trust, he felt completely exposed.

  As Elena’s hands started to move around him, he realized she was actually feeling for the small devices that could be used to hold security keys used to access networks and encrypt files.

  He tried to pull away. Elena shifted her position and grip and Alex found himself being twisted around. A frantic effort to pull free caused him to slip on a patch of ice. His feet came out from underneath him and he slammed onto the pavement. Splinters of light and pain shot through his head. Rolling slowly to his side, he reached into his pocket, grabbed his phone, and threw it weakly toward a bunch of bushes.

  He struggled to stand up and said, “The security keys are in the phone. It isn’t locked. Now find out whatever you want and leave me alone.”

  Elena ran to the bushes and thrashed through them.

  Wobbling, Alex stepped toward his car. He looked down and saw Elena’s purse, picked it up, unlocked his car, and got in. His keys shook in his hands. He struggled to put them into the ignition and then started the car.

  Hearing the engine rev, Elena stood up, Alex’s phone in her hand. She ran to the car’s driver window. Realizing Alex had her purse, she pounded on the window and yelled, “Give it back to me.”

  “I’m going to find out what you’re really after,” Alex yelled back.

  “You don’t know who you’re dealing with,” Elena said in a voice heavy with threat.

  Instead of answering, Alex stomped on the gas. Wheels spinning, he accelerated toward the parking lot exit.

  Her expression frozen into stone, Elena waved toward a car parked alongside the road that Alex hadn’t previously noticed. Its lights flashed on as it drove toward Elena.

  Alex turned left on Western Avenue and pressed down the accelerator. How could he have been so foolish? He needed to warn Stephen, but without his phone, he had no way of doing so. At least he still had the computer security keys. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a plastic, one-inch-long USB flash drive, containing information about Stephen’s work, and a fob that displayed the constantly changing security keys used to provide secondary authentication for accessing Stephen’s private computer infrastructure.

  Looking back, he saw that the headlights of the car Elena had gotten into were growing alarmingly close.

  Despite the frigid night, beads of perspiration formed on his forehead. He wiped them off with the back of his trembling hand. His head throbbed and he had a hard time keeping the car in a straight line.

  He wasn’t cut out for this.

  He searched for a place where he could hide or get help, but all he saw were blurry images of industrial warehouses and business buildings, all closed.

  Alex raced his car across the intersection as the traffic light turned red. Looking behind, he saw that his pursuers had run the light as well.

  Realizing that he might be caught, and that he couldn’t let them have access to the computers, he opened his window and started biting pieces off of the USB drive and spitting them out as he drove, then did the same with the fob.

  Up ahead, he saw a ramp for Soldier’s Field Road, the highway that ran along the south side of the Charles River. Alex slowed slightly to let Elena and her companion catch up to him, then slammed his brakes and turned sharply right. They shot past him, missing the entrance. Alex drove down the ramp and onto the highway, headed toward Boston. If he could just make it to the Mass Pike, he could get help at the tollbooths.

  Moments later, he saw the headlights of an oncoming car. With a sickening feeling, he realized that he was headed the wrong way and wouldn’t be able to get off until the next entrance. Glancing back, he saw that his pursuers had resumed the chase, also on the wrong side of the highway, and were gaining on him.

  Alex was trapped. A hip-high metal fence bordered the outside lanes and left no room to pull off. He thought of stopping and making a run for it, but his pursuers were too close. They’d catch him before he got far, caged by the river on one side and the road on the other.

  He switched lanes rapidly to avoid the cars coming at him, their horns blaring and tires screeching. His sweaty hands made it hard to grab the wheel. He could hear his quick, shallow breathing, compounding his fear.

  Swerving to avoid a car in the inside lane, he drove left onto a short breakdown area before he had to steer quickly back onto the highway. The abrupt maneuver propelled him across the lanes. The right side of his car scraped the median’s guardrails and the rebound almost pushed him back into an oncoming car in the outer lane.

  He sped onward. The road dipped down below a street crossing overhead. The sharp angle and high speed caused his car to bottom out, and he almost lost control.

  Up ahead, he saw an entrance ramp to the highw
ay from an overpass that was under construction—it could be his exit. As his pursuers closed to within a few car lengths, he hoped he would reach the entrance in time. As he neared the ramp, two cars in the outside lane approached with their lights flashing and horns screaming. There was just enough of a gap between them.

  Alex hit his brakes after the first car passed, sending a plume of burnt rubber from his tires into the air, crossed the lanes, and pulled onto the ramp. His pursuers were blocked by the second car and missed the turnoff.

  Too late, he saw a car headed down the ramp toward him. To the left was a steep embankment that ended at a stone wall. That way meant a violent impact, maybe death. Going right would mean a chance of getting back safely onto the highway or slamming head-on into another car, likely meaning death for all. With no time to do anything else but react, he swerved left. He wasn’t willing to risk other lives in an attempt to save his own. His car hit the curb, went airborne, landed on the embankment, and tumbled sideways as it slammed into the wall.

  Inside the mangled, steaming wreck, Alex’s battered, limp body slowly leaked life.

  Through the broken window, a hand reached in and removed Elena’s purse.

  Chapter 7

  Stephen rushed back to the monitor. The second set of results had appeared. He scanned the images. On the left side was a geometric shape consisting of nodes and connecting rods. On the far right was a series of equations. As he clicked on each node, a different equation was highlighted. Some contained values of fundamental constants of physics. Others showed unfamiliar formulas. All seemed to indicate some physical aspect or property of the universe and how they related to each other.