by D M Arnold
“You? Nyk -- you don't know anything about biomolecular modelling.”
“Neither did Senta at one point in her life. There must be some way I can help. If I don't do something productive -- I'll go crazy.” He headed down the stairs and opened the groundcar.
* * *
The groundcar parked itself in a lot adjacent to a squat polymer concrete building resembling most in Sudal. The heavy storm shutters were up, exposing a wall of windows. The building was located north of the city. Behind it were a row of pilot domes and in the distance Nyk could see the production agridomes.
He walked through a door etched with the Food Service emblem of stylized dome in a wreath of wheat stalks. Ahead was a circular desk occupied by a receptionist and behind her lay the sequencing labs. Through a transparent wall he could see technicians in hooded coveralls feeding samples of peas, lentils, wheat and rice into analyzers.
To his right was a corridor leading toward the research labs. He headed in that direction. The door was locked.
“May I help you?” the receptionist called to him.
He turned around. “I'd like to see Dr Senta Kyhana.”
“I'm sorry -- she's left strict orders that she is to be disturbed by no one.”
“Tell her...”
“No one. Nobody. Not even you.”
“Please tell her her husband ... her ex-husband is here.”
The receptionist looked up at him. “Her orders were explicit. She did not identify any exceptions.”
“I need to see her, and I'll stand here and breathe down your neck until you inform her...”
“All right...” She poked the vidisplay. “What is your name?”
“Nykkyo.”
She poked a vidisplay. “I'm sorry to disturb you Dr Kyhana, but there's a Nykkyo someone insisting on...” She looked up. “She'll be right out.”
He sat on a bench in the lab lobby. Senta breezed through the corridor door. “Nyk! Do you have something from Kronta?”
“No. I thought I'd come here and see if there's something I can do to help.”
She rolled her eyes and nodded toward the door. “You might as well come back with me. We really can't talk here.” He followed her down the corridor. She scanned her wrist and gestured him into a lab.
Inside were banks of vidisplays connected to cabinets of equipment. Senta sat at one and began poking it. “I don't know how you can help,” she said. “I appreciate the gesture, but...”
“What is it you're doing?”
“This is a genetic re-sequencer.”
“It doesn't look like the sequencer you had me running at the lab in Floran City.”
“That was a sequence analyzer. This is a re-sequencer.”
“What does it do?”
“This device predicts how genomes change and modify through the generations. We use it to identify which genes will be passed on as crops are bred. I have modified its programming to work with viral reproduction strategies -- in particular, the strategy of our virus.” She poked the screen and swiveled her chair to another display.
“Then, what do you do?”
“Once we've predicted the details of the next generation genome, we feed that data into this processor. This one is programmed to generate molecular models of the protien templates the DNA produces.”
“Those go to the replication plants, right?”
“Wrong. Those get matched to molecular models of proteins resequenced from the DNA patterns in the Agency viral database. When we have a match, we look up the corresponding antibodies.”
“And, the antibody models go into the vaccine.”
She turned to face him. “Nyk -- I can either answer your questions or do my work. I can't do both. Since answering your questions won't make a vaccine and doing my work will, I think my time is better spent doing my work. Don't you?”
“I suppose...” He wandered around the equipment.
“Please don't touch anything.”
“I won't.” He stood behind her looking over her shoulder. “Senta -- isn't there SOMETHING I can do to help?”
She looked around the lab. “Yes -- that cart is in my way. Why don't you push it into the storage room down the hall?”
“I'd be happy to.” He grabbed the cart and rolled it through the door and to the storeroom. When he returned he found the door to the lab closed and latched.
He pressed actuator. He pressed it again. He pressed the chime and pressed it again. “Senta!” he yelled, pounding on the door. “SENTA! Let me in!” Through the window he could see her sitting at a console, her back to the door. He pounded more. “SENTA!” he yelled. “SENTAAA!”
She stood, stepped to the door and opened it a crack. “That wasn't nice,” he said.
“Nyk -- you really are slowing me down... Oh, come on in.” She pulled the door open and stepped aside.
He paced around the lab as she returned to the display. “Senta -- there must be something I can do. Maybe my head's no good for this kind of work, but what about my hands?”
She rested her chin on her fist. “Yes, Nyk -- there is something. We're working on the second phase of the virus -- the one that attacks the immune system. It would help if you could query the Agency database and isolate the genome sequences of viruses known to do that.”
He sat at a vidisplay and stared at the screen. “How do I do this?”
“It's just like looking up anything in the database. Press New query. He pressed the screen and a query form was displayed. “It's self- prompting -- designed so even a bureaucrat can do it.”
He began formulating his query. “You want viruses known to attack the human immune system.”
“Yes.”
“I found five.”
“Five?” She stood and looked at his screen. “Move these patterns over to the protein synthesizer... like this.” Her fingers flew over the screen. “Now -- which of these most closely resemble the protien from our virus?”
“This one?”
“Or is it that one?” She pointed. “Something in between.”
“Why are we looking for matching protiens?” he asked.
“They're the starting points for our vaccine elements. If we can modify an existing molecular model, we'll save time... Yes! I think that does it. Now, if we use the inverse sequencer ... to get our antibody... There -- that wraps up variation four of phase two. Four down and fifty-five to go. Here, Nyk -- let's divide and conquer. You work on this set of sequences and I'll do these.”
Nyk began comparing molecular models. “This work isn't all that difficult, Senta. I even understand it. It's almost fun.”
“No, it's not difficult,” she replied. “It's time consuming but not difficult. The trick was understanding and programming the re-sequencers at the molecular level in the first place. That was the difficult part.”
“Oh...”
* * *
Nyk paced around the middle level of the Residence. The sun had set and the house's ambient lighting came on. “Why aren't you helping Senta at the lab today?” Andra asked.
“We've done all the sequencing analysis we can,” he replied. “Now she's working with Helsyn to fine-tune the molecular models. There are about fifty variants to each phase and we can't ask the replication plants to crank out a hundred different vaccing components and their corresponding antibodies.”
“How are they going to deal with it?”
“She and Helsyn are looking for commonalities and combinations. If they can get it down to a dozen or so models -- that's a small enough number for the plants to deal with. The sequencing part went quickly. This is the hard part and it's more art than science.” He paced more. “Ten days to the ultimatum. We're beginning to eat into our manufacturing time.”
He heard the sound of a groundcar stopping outside the building. Senta climbed the spiral staircase. “Here it is -- our prototype vaccine.” She opened a polymer case containing a vial and an injector. “It's combined with an immune-system booster. The replica
tion labs are geared up and can produce twenty million doses a day. All we need to do is to test it.”
She screwed the vial into the injector, pulled off the needle guard and flushed air from the device. Making a fist with her left hand she began probing the inside of her elbow with her right finger. “Senta!” Andra exclaimed. “What are you doing?”
“We have to test it. I'll administer it to myself. Tomorrow I go to Floran City and expose myself to the virus.”
“You can't do that!” Suki exclaimed. “It's unethical to test a new product on yourself.”
“It IS ethical,” Nyk replied. “Here we have no laboratory animals -- no mice, no guinea pigs -- no monkeys... As the creator of a new medical product, Senta is expected to test it on herself. But -- I agree with Andra. Senta -- if this fails -- we risk losing the finest mind in the Hegemony. We'll loose any chance to develop a vaccine.”
“If it fails we're lost anyway.”
“If it fails we'll devise a way to stall for time. We'll agree to negotiations -- drag our feet -- whatever.”
She paused. “The only alternative is to put out a call for a volunteer. We'll need to screen applicants ... that'll set us back at least two days ... maybe more. It also jeopardizes the secrecy of the project.”
“What about a volunteer from the labs?” Nyk asked.
“I can't ask them,” Senta replied. “They have families.”
“I'll volunteer,” Andra said.
“NO!” Suki and Nyk exclaimed in unison. “Use me, instead.” Suki added.
Senta shook her head. “We can't use you. You're an Earth person -- your system is a soup of antibodies. We need someone with a virgin immune system. It disqualifies Nyk, too. He's been exposed to who-knows-what on that world.”
“Andra spent time on Earth, too,” Nyk said.
“Who did you have contact with there?” Senta asked.
“No one -- Zander kept me locked in his trailer. We were isolated.” She turned to Suki. “It's all right -- I trust Senta. There's little risk...” She glanced at Senta. “Isn't there?”
“It's as near a certainty as I can give,” Senta replied. “I'd estimate the odds of it working at four to five to one.”
“Eighty percent?” Andra mused. “Those are good enough odds for me. Besides -- I have a stake in this. They intend to attack Lexal. I'm bonded to Janna there. She's my academy sister and sisters come to each other's aid.”
“It's settled then,” Senta said. “I'll administer the vaccine and tomorrow we take the train to Floran City.”
Senta removed an elastic strap from the box. Andra sat and rested her forearm, palm up on the table. “I don't think we'll need the tourniquet,” she said as she stroked Andra's arm. “You have a big, juicy vein right here.” She held the needle parallel to Andra's skin and slid it in. “Put your finger here.” Andra held the tube in place.
Senta looked into Andra's eyes. Andra nodded once and Senta pressed the button. The vial began to empty.
“That does it,” Senta said and withdrew the needle. “Press here -- the needle's coated with salve so the wound should close quickly.”
“How do you feel?” Suki asked.
“Fine,” Andra replied. “It's late -- let's get some rest.”
“Senta and I will accompany you to Floran City in the morning.”
“I'm coming too,” Suki added.
Nyk shook his head. “You can't -- you're not part of this project.”
A tear rolled down her cheek. “I am coming, too. Don't try to stop me.”
12 -- The Test
Nyk held Suki's hand as he followed Senta and Andra into ExoAgency headquarters. The were met by Aahhn and Helsyn. “Sukiko!” Aahhn said.
“Greetings, Dr Aahhn,” she replied.
“When I treated you -- I never expected to see you again.”
“Well -- I'm here.”
“And speaking the language. But -- what are you doing HERE?”
“I'm here to give Andra moral support.”
“But... Has Kronta...”
“It's all right, Aahhn,” Nyk said. “She's safe.”
“Let's get started,” Helsyn said. “Step this way.” He gestured down a corridor and into the treatment room that had held Marxo. Suki set down a travel case she carried.
“What's in the case?” Andra asked.
“Just a few necessaries,” Suki replied. “We may be here for a day or two.”
“I'll give you a tour,” Aahhn said. “You'll have everything you'll need. Here's a stasis cabinet with meals. There's a commode behind that door. Over here are some drugs -- analgesics, sleep aids and the like.” Andra nodded. “If you want privacy you can pull this screen. We'll try to accommodate you in that regard, but we do need to observe you.”
“I understand.”
He pointed to a sliding tray. “With this we can pass objects in to you without breaking contamination.” He gestured toward a hook on the wall. “You might be more comfortable in a treatment gown. You can change over there. Then, we have to attach something to your arm.”
Andra snatched the gown from the hook and stepped behind a screen. She draped her tunic and lifxarpa over the screen and emerged, barefoot and sat on the pallet.
Aahhn strapped a rectangular box onto her upper arm. “Try to bear with this -- it's a blood analyzer. We'll get continuous readings of your antibody levels. Now, I'll need to poke you twice -- the device pumps blood from one vein and returns it to another.” He examined her arms. “We'll do number one here...” He pierced a vein near her elbow and inserted a catheter. “Number two, here...” The second catheter went into the back of her forearm. Aahhn used adhesive tape to secure the tubing.
He stepped behind the containment wall and manipulated a control. “We're getting readings.”
Helsyn consulted the panel. He nodded approval. “Yes -- those are good baseline counts of the phase one and phase two antibodies.”
“Then, we're ready to go,” Aahhn replied. He nodded toward Helsyn who unsealed a box and withdrew another, encased in a clear polymer wrap.
Suki removed an object from the case and handed it to Andra. “Maybe this will bring you luck.”
“My shell!” Andra cradled the metre-long object, the exoskeleton of a native marine animal. “Thank you.”
Aahhn regarded the shell. “What is that?”
“It's my lucky shell. Nykkyo gave it to me after I had fled Zander. We were walking the beach and he picked it up. Look how beautiful it is inside -- all the different colors of blue and violet... This is why I decided to study our native sea life. I've never seen a live one.”
“I've only seen them washed up on the beach,” Nyk said.
“One day I'll find them in their natural habitat.” Andra held Suki, kissed her and stroked a tear from her face. “You're so considerate. We'll be together in a couple of days.”
“I love you.”
“I know you do. I love you, too.”
Nyk made eye contact with Suki and nodded toward the door. Helsyn stepped into the room and handed the box to Andra. He stepped behind the panel and pressed a control. The door to the containment chamber slid shut.
“Check the seals,” Aahhn said. “Good. Go ahead, Andra.”
Andra ripped open the polymer and opened the box. Inside was an inhaler of the sort used for recreational drugs. “This?”
“Yes -- use it like a euphoriant inhaler.”
Senta turned her back. “I can't watch!”
Andra paused, then held the device to her lips and inhaled deeply. She held her breath for a slow count to twenty and released it through her nose. “What do I do with this?” she asked.
“Drop it in the waste reprocessor.”
Andra complied and sat on a therapeutic pallet.
“Now,” said Aahhn, “we wait.”
Kronta stepped into the treatment room. “How are we doing?” he asked.
“The patient has just exposed herself to the virus,” Aahhn replied. “
Beyond that, it's too soon to tell.”
Kronta surveyed the room. “Nyk -- can I have a word with you?”
Nyk followed Kronta into a conference room and shut the door. “Yes, Illya?”
“What is Sukiko doing in there?”
“Suki has an emotional investment with Andra. She wanted to be with her.”
“How much does she know about this?”
“She knows we're trying to stop a biological attack on Lexal -- not much more. She's a newcomer here, Illya. She understands the need to keep it secret, and she doesn't know enough people to tell anyone. She's safe.”
“Nykkyo -- I gave specific orders that this project be discussed with NO ONE outside the authorized list. If your access to Wygann wasn't so critical to the success of this mission -- I'd bounce you off this task force and into detention.”
Nyk looked down. “I'm sorry, Illya. Suki's here for Andra's sake, too -- to give her moral support. I don't think it's unreasonable...”
“Maybe not -- but this is not a reasonable project. You KNOW the stakes.”
“So does Suki. She's my WIFE, Illya. Besides -- should this test go the wrong way -- and Senta admits there's a one-in-four to one-in-five chance it will -- she and Andra want to be together. I wasn't about to tell her no. Suki kept knowledge of our operations on Earth secret while she was there -- secret from her own mother and father. She knows how to be discreet. She's safe.”
Kronta shook his head. “It's too late to un-do it. There had better be no glitches as a result of this, Nyk. Otherwise...”
Nyk gulped. “I understand, Illya.”
“I might have felt differently if you had discussed this with me first.”
“I apologize,” Nyk replied. “It won't happen again.”
“Good. I'll check on Andra's progress later today.”
Nyk headed back to the treatment room, sat beside Suki and took her hand. “What did Illya want?” she asked.
“Oh -- nothing.”
* * *
Nyk walked into the treatment room. Suki was dozing on a sofa. He looked into the containment chamber. Andra was reclining on the pallet holding a handheld vidisplay, the shell across her lap. He could hear a public-affairs program through the communicator.
