The Lost Catacomb (33 page)
“
The
techniques we use are possibly fifty years ahead of their time.
Perhaps light years ahead.
Those details will not interest you.
Or even if they do,
”
he added,
“
that is
not the aspect of our scientific research in which you will be involved
financially, as I'll explain shortly.
“
We provide
round-the-clock nursing care to those patients whom we do take on
and
our patients remain in the facility for the duration of their pregnancies and
several weeks after their confinement.
We have thirty beds, each housed in a private suite, almost like a
miniature health spa or tiny luxury hotel, that can accommodate visiting
spouses and the like.
“
I don
’
t mind
telling you, by the way, that we have had members of several royal families as
our clients.
That, of course, is
highly classified information, since our assistance in the continuity of
blue-blood lines is not something any royal household would wish to be known
outside these walls.
”
Rostoni nodded approvingly.
“
Of course,
this kind of care and medical supervision comes at a price, and our fees,
naturally, are on a scale that few can afford,
”
Gotthard remarked.
“
This first
laboratory, then, is where we work on techniques to assist fertility and
enhance the chances of a live birth.
What will interest you specifically will be the next three rooms, the
laboratories where our staff, under Dr. Bumann
’
s able
guidance, is working on the very latest cell technology, exclusive to us.
”
Rostoni, who was beginning to lose his patience after this
lengthy, self-congratulatory discourse on the achievements of the clinic,
suddenly became more attentive.
“
After our
maternity patients safely deliver their babies, we take the expelled placentas
to the first lab here, where they are preserved in special solutions and, let
us say, for simplicity
’
s sake, something closely resembling an incubator.
The process involves cryonics, a new
freezing technology that, I'm afraid, I'm not at liberty to discuss in detail.
Our patients, of course, have signed
consent forms and are so eager to have a child that they generally ignore the
small print on the document, or at the very least, are ignorant of the possible
significance and ramifications of these small, legal details.
“
All they
know is that they are donating their placentas to scientific research.
Perhaps they suspect that this will help
other infertile women to conceive.
But we don
’
t discuss the specifics with them.
“
After the
placental tissue has been stabilized and cultured in these special incubators,
we begin the tricky part of our work.
I
’
m afraid I may be boring you, but I want you to understand
the entire process
—
precisely what this technology involves
—
so
that you can understand why the generous financial backing of the Holy See is
so desirable for us, if not critical to our continued success.
“
Now, as I
’
ve already
explained, we're light years ahead of everyone in our research and our
knowledge of the physiology of the cell, which as you know is the basic building
block of all living things.
Every
cell in the human body contains genetic codes.
As embryos, for example, develop
in
utero
—
I trust your Latin will stand you in good stead with some
of the terminology,
”
he
added with a smile,
“
tissue differentiation closes down or suppresses some of
the characteristics which are part of the overall code.
In other words, as embryos, we all start
out as a mass of cells that has the potential to differentiate into any type of
cell in the body.
“
These
so-called precursor cells, which are found in the newly forming
conceptus
,
and to some extent in the placenta,
can divide
over and over again for the lifetime of the organism.
Regular cells in an organism, or human
being, however, are what we call
‘
terminally
’
differentiated,
and undergo no further changes or development.
In other words, they
’
ve already
metamorphosed into a specific type and now contain genetic regulatory proteins.
”
Rostoni nodded, indicating that he followed the
explanations perfectly.
“
Now, in
the human placenta,
”
Gotthard
went on,
“
there are many embryonic or fetal cells that have ligands
—
things
that attach themselves to other things, fitting each other perfectly, kind of
like a hand and a glove or a pot and its lid.
These placental cells also have millions
of receptor molecules on their surface, and they have the power to home
themselves into different target organs.
Then, through hormonal and other stimulating factors that work locally,
those cells can commit themselves by differentiating, thereby renewing the
organ.
Presto, the organ is
actually regenerated!
”
Rostoni looked at Gotthard in admiration.
“
Amazing.
Truly
amazing!
”
“
You do
understand the implications, my dear Father Rostoni, do you not?
”
said
Gotthard.
“
They
actually
become
part of that organ.
These placental cells that we
harvest and incubate,
”
he
continued excitedly,
“
donated by all of those desperate, wealthy women who
patronize our clinic, can actually be used for cell therapy to rehabilitate
dying, compromised, or dysfunctional cells.
Kind of like a fountain of youth.
“
What we
’
re trying
to fine-tune now is how to get the immune system to accept these embryonic
cells, and not reject them as they would any other foreign body.
We believe that the material should be
injected directly into the bloodstream, not intramuscularly, in order for it to
reach all parts of the body and rejuvenate it.
”
At this juncture, Dr. Bumann emerged from one of the
labs.
He removed a pair of rubber
gloves, turning them inside out and rolling them into a ball, and stuffed them
into the pocket of his immaculate lab jacket.
He greeted Gotthard with a hearty slap
on the back and turned expectantly to Rostoni.
“
And this must be our silent partner, from the Vatican,
”
he
said.
“
I hope my
associate has explained the finer points of our research goals satisfactorily.
”
“
Indeed he
has,
”
Rostoni
replied, looking at his pocket watch, which he now pulled out of the side of
his soutane.
“
Perhaps we
should now adjourn to a more private place to discuss the financial
arrangements?
”
“
Certainly,
”
said
Gotthard.
“
Martin,
are you free to join us now?
”
“
Of
course.
Just let me tell my
assistant that I
’
ll be back in an hour.
”
The meetings in Zurich had gone well for Rostoni, far
better than anticipated, in fact.
The bankers at
Cie et Fils
and at the
Banque Nationale de
Suisse
had been more than cooperative; they had been surprisingly flexible
once they were apprised of the Vatican
’
s precise requirements.
For the time being, there would be no
need to meet with the chief players at the Geneva branches of those banks, and
Rostoni was confident that most of his business with the clinic in Engenweill
could, in the short term, be conducted long distance.
The Vatican
’
s initial investment in Gotthard
’
s clinic
had been drawn from several Catholic charities administered by the Holy See.
It had indeed been providential,
Rostoni mused to himself, that he had stumbled upon the Pope
’
s
fisherman
’
s ring that day, not so very long ago.
In fact, the fisherman
’
s ring had
been the key to his success in diverting funds from these charities to the
clinic in Switzerland.
His
role as the Holy Father
’
s assistant had given him unimpeded access to various
financial records and accounts, and the seal ring had enable him to forge
documents that could be marked as
“
confidential
”
and that
would transfer money discreetly and quietly to Engenweill, as well as to the
Swiss bank accounts that were earmarked for the Ratline escape routes.
It was well known that the Pope had at his disposal certain
financial resources designated for his own charitable disbursement.
Sometimes that money was deposited in the Vatican Bank, and
sometimes the Holy Father would put it in a strongbox, under lock and key.
But Rostoni had been given a copy of
that key, and in fact the Pope had, on more than one occasion, asked his prot
é
g
é
e to take
care of the distribution of these funds.
Well, Rostoni thought triumphantly, some of those funds
—
which
would never be missed, given the Pope
’
s utter trust in his faithful assistant and that assistant
’
s control
of the purse strings which the fisherman
’
s ring had so fortuitously bestowed upon him
—
some
of those funds would cover Rostoni
’
s own charitable projects.
And, as he now mused rather smugly,
charity did indeed begin at home.
Rostoni knew that the Nazis who sought refuge in South
America and elsewhere outside of Europe were interested in more than a
temporary escape from Allied notions of justice.
They hoped to establish a Fourth Reich
some day, and perhaps the scientific research at Engenweill could be used in
the future
—
for a price, of course
—
to restore the youth and vigor of those most committed in
their desire to bring the National Socialists back to power.
Perhaps there would be further scope for
financial dealings with the Germans.
In the meantime, Rostoni believed that Gotthard
’
s experiments
might provide an eventual guarantee of his own continued good health and
longevity.
It was too bad that the
Holy Father had misplaced his trust in Niehans, but Rostoni was not about to
enlighten him as to the error of his belief.
Perhaps one day, Rostoni thought, he
himself would be considered
papabile
, or suitable for papal candidacy,
and he would rule all of Christendom for longer than any pope had ever dreamed
possible with this potential fountain of eternal youth.
The longer he lived
—
the
longer he could retain the full measure of his well-being and vigor
—
the
more likely this scenario could become.
But even if he were never elected to the throne of St.
Peter, he knew that he would never yield his aspiration to control the inner
workings of the Vatican and to direct the course of its history to suit his own
personal agenda.
