The Miracle Strain (9 page)

Nora nodded. "I took my mom to Lourdes two years ago. She felt a lot better for a time."

"So did my aunt," said Jasmine. "Some of the most famous and comprehensively documented cures happened there." Jasmine began counting cases off on her fingers. "There was a Rose Martin in April 1947, who had complete remission of uterine cancer. There was Vittorio Michelli in 1962, whose thigh tumor vanished over days after bathing in the holy water. And Klaus Kunst, who drank the water in '66 and cured his kidney cancer."

Tom smiled. Only Jazz could have a mind like a computer and still allow the existence of God. "I thought Baptists didn't believe in all that Lourdes stuff. I thought that was for Catholics."

"No way. When you need a miracle, you go where the action is."

"Well one thing's for sure," interrupted Bob, pointing at the zero tumor count on the screen. "If it was faith, then mouse C370 must have been one helluva believer."

They all laughed at this, but the idea growing in Tom's head wouldn't go away. "All I'm saying is that something must have changed in that mouse's genetic makeup. And whether you want to call it science, nature, or something else, it must be worth trying to understand how we could replicate it." He paused and looked each of them in the eye. "Just bear with me for a second, okay? We're all pretty sure we know how this spontaneous remission works, but we don't know why. Basically, cancer cells are the body's own cells turned traitor, so the immune system leaves them alone. But what happens in spontaneous remission is that for some reason the body's immune system suddenly recognizes that these cancer cells don't belong to it--that they are foreign and non-self. The immune system then nukes the tumors and they melt away. Right?"

He waited while the others, including Jasmine, shrugged their agreement.

"Now, for this to occur, something has to happen to the genetic code of those bad cells, to alert the antibodies of the immune system that they are foreign. That's basically what we were trying to do in this experiment. We tried to use an engineered retrovirus to change the tumor cells' DNA in such a way as to attract the attention of the body's immune system."

"So?"

"So what if there was a natural retrovirus that killed tumors?"

"What!" exclaimed Bob.

Tom put up his hands to calm him down. "Look, a retrovirus works by invading a body cell and then changing the DNA to its own. That's how it reproduces and that's why it's so dangerous. It scrambles our natural genetic code and spreads through the body. Look at how effective HIV is at doing this. Now imagine if there was an extremely rare retrovirus that didn't scramble DNA, but reassembled it. Repaired it?"

"One that occurred in nature?" asked Nora, her eyes wide behind her owlish glasses.

"Yes. One that could insert a gene that killed off cancer cells, or repaired damaged cells. Think about it. Many genes repair DNA; we know that. And many genes instruct cells to die; we know that too. So if the right genes were inserted into the right cells, order could be restored."

"Is that possible?" asked Jasmine quietly. "Could a naturally occurring retrovirus do that?"

Bob shrugged. "I guess so. It's just that no one's ever asked if positive retroviruses could exist in nature before. But that means diddly squat. Look at microorganisms. We always saw fungi and bacteria as harmful stuff to control and protect ourselves from because they could infect us. Then Fleming discovered penicillin, which is from a natural mold that countered infection, killed off gangrene and syphilis, and saved countless lives."

"Precisely," said Tom. "And all I'm saying is, let's check it out."

"I agree, Tom. But how?" asked Nora.

Tom paused, as he tried to think through the best approach. Then to his surprise Jasmine answered the question for him.

"We'd need to use DAN to analyze the DNA of someone who'd experienced spontaneous remission," she said. "We could run a check on the subject's genetic material taken before they had cancer, during their cancer, and then after remission. See what happened to their DNA over time." Tom could see an excited gleam in Jazz's eye, as if she'd suddenly remembered something. The computer scientist walked to the PC in the far corner of the room; unlike Nora's stand-alone laptop this was on-line, plugged into the Internet. "But you say these subjects are rare," Jasmine said as if talking to herself.

"Yeah, and we'd need a live patient," prompted Tom, watching Jasmine turn on the computer and enter the Global Medical News bulletin board on the world wide web.

"I'm sure I saw something on the Medical Watch service a couple of days ago. I was browsing and saw a name I recognized." Jasmine turned to Carter. "Jean Luc Petit?"

Tom nodded. Jean Luc Petit, the French cancer specialist, had visited GENIUS on more than one occasion to see the first Genescopes in action, and to check out the ward. "Yeah, I know him well. He's a good man. Runs an oncology department in Paris. What about him?"

Jasmine used her mouse to select an icon on screen. "Well, he'd put something out on the 'Interesting Facts' bulletin board of Medical Watch."

Tom was intrigued. "He's got someone on his ward who's experienced spontaneous remission? A live patient?"

Jasmine clicked another icon and pressed two more keys. The screen changed, showing a page of French text. "Here it is. I knew I'd seen it."

Tom bent forward, grateful for his months of exchange study at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. But what he read was so surprising he decided to check it with the English translation that appeared at the bottom of the screen.

"Well?" demanded Bob behind him. "Has this French doc got one on his ward?"

"No. Dr. Jean Luc Petit hasn't got one," said Jasmine, her elfin features creased into an enormous grin. "He's got two."

Bob and Nora both stared at Jasmine in disbelief.

"Finding one's pretty amazing," said Bob, pushing both hands through his blond hair, "but the odds of two, especially on the same ward..." He trailed off at a loss for words.

"They couldn't have caught the cure from someone and passed it on to each other, could they?" asked Nora.

Tom shrugged, too stunned to speak for a moment, still trying to absorb the possible implications. "Jazz," he managed eventually, "can you answer one more question for me, before you log off?"

Jasmine's grin broadened even further as her fingers tapped on the keys. "Let me guess, Tom," she said, as the screen changed, bringing up the Air France booking service. "You want to know the next flight to Paris?"

Chapter Seven.

Cave of the Sacred Light

Southern Jordan

To kill him, or to work with him? That was the question.

On the other side of the world from Carter, beneath the five rocks of Asbaa el-Lah, Ezekiel De La Croix rubbed his tired eyes and felt the once snug ruby ring of leadership slip on his ancient, gnarled fingers. This dilemma had sharper horns than the devil himself. If he chose the wrong path now, he was certain to jeopardize the primary goal of the Brotherhood of the Second Coming.

Behind him in the Cave of the Sacred Light, the Sacred Flame still burned blue-white, as it had done for the last three and a half decades. But for how much longer? He dreaded the day when either the flame reverted, or he died--before finding the New Messiah. His frail shoulders shuddered when he considered that he was already in his tenth decade. Time was not on his side.

From his seat at the head of the vast oak table he watched the five men who sat arguing around it. Each wore a dark suit, white shirt, and blood-red tie. A ceremonial sash of white satin bearing a crimson cross was draped over their shoulders. The heads of the three regions sat at the far end. Brother Haddad with his hooded eyes headed up the Holy Lands, the most ancient and prestigious territory of the Brotherhood, covering the Middle East and the Levantine.

Opposite him was the tall, silver-haired Brother Luciano, who ran the second most important region of Christendom, which included Europe. Next to him sat the most junior of the regional heads, the sallow-skinned Brother Olazabal, who controlled the New World. All three were over seventy years of age and like most senior members of the Brotherhood were linked by distant bloodlines to the early disciples of their founder, Lazarus. Each held positions of substance in the outside world, and as members of the Inner Circle were powerful men within the Brotherhood. But they deferred to the two men seated on either side of Ezekiel, who in turn deferred to him.

Ezekiel turned to the Brother who sat on his left. Now in his seventies, Brother Bernard Trier was the only other member of the Inner Circle still alive from that fateful day when the Sacred Flame had changed. The stout brother with the goatee and now wispy gray hair had once been a senior officer in the German Army. But ever since he had been promoted to the Champion of the Brotherhood's Secondary Imperative, he had become the only member of the Inner Circle to relinquish all commitments outside the Brotherhood. The Secondary Imperative, with its rigorous demands of protecting the organization's security, gathering intelligence on those targeted for the Righteous Kills, as well as running the two operatives who carried out the kills, was a full-time role. Even the more senior Brother Helix Kirkham, who as Champion of the Primary Imperative was charged with achieving the Brotherhood's main goal of finding the New Messiah, still maintained his physics professorship at Oxford. And Ezekiel himself found time outside leading the Brotherhood to oversee their considerable international banking interests.

Typically, during this monthly assembly in the Sacred Cavern, Brother Bernard and Brother Helix were arguing. It was understandable that they should fight. After all, five years ago Helix had succeeded Brother Darius as Champion of the Primary Imperative, and Ezekiel knew Bernard resented his influence. At fifty, Helix Kirkham was not only twenty years younger than Brother Bernard, he was also the youngest ever Champion of the Primary Imperative.

This tall bald man with the round wire-rimmed glasses represented the new blood the Brotherhood so sorely needed. Helix had been educated at the top universities, steeped in the science and technology of the age, equipped to guide the ancient Brotherhood through the modern maze of today's world. Ezekiel had selected him to inject new thinking and ideas into their search.

But surely this idea that was causing such disagreement now was too much? Too radical? And what frightened Ezekiel was that it could be considered only because Nemesis had so uncharacteristically failed in Stockholm over six weeks ago.

Bernard looked to him in exasperation before turning back to Helix, who seemed out of place in this ancient cavern as he fiddled with his laptop computer and modem link.

"Brother Helix," said Bernard, "you can't seriously expect us to suspend the Righteous Cleansings for this"--he pointed at the laptop--"this fantasy of yours."

"It's not a fantasy," replied Helix calmly. "It could help us find the New Messiah."

"But how do you know it will work?" asked Brother Luciano, running an agitated hand through silver hair.

A shrug. "I don't. But it has to be better than the old ways. I was fifteen when the flame changed. And ever since then the network of Brothers has been searching the world for the New Messiah. But with what success?"

Brother Haddad blinked his hooded eyes. "We are still looking."

"But what have we found?"

A pause.

"Exactly! Over the last three decades we have sent out our best eyes and ears to investigate all those who claim to have visions, or perform miraculous feats. But although we have a short-list of possible candidates who fit the ancient signs, not one of them tallies perfectly. We and the Brothers before us waited two thousand years for the flame to change and signal that the Messiah had come again. Each of us hoping that the honor of searching for him would fall on our shoulders, in our time. Well, that honor has fallen on us. The New Messiah has been walking among us now for over three decades, and still we haven't found him."

Bernard Trier pulled at his goatee in frustration. "But, Brother Helix, the man you expect to help us in our search is on our list of Righteous Kills. Dr. Carter is an enemy, not an ally." The stout Brother's tone became more controlled, but no less menacing. "Brother Helix, we all bow to your technical wizardry. And I'm sure that one day it will add considerable value to our organization. But this is not the day. Perhaps I should remind you of the words and purpose of the Secondary Imperative."

Before Ezekiel could stop him, Brother Bernard allowed himself a portentous clearing of the throat and pompously recited the ancient pledge.

"To engage in the practice of Righteous Cleansing in order topurge the world of those who undermine the values, aims, andbeliefs of the Brotherhood of the Second Coming, and threaten therighteous salvation of mankind. The dangerous scientist is close to the top of our list of kills. Through his genetic meddling he believes man will soon know enough to make our Lord redundant. He is playing God. That was why all of us--including you, Brother Helix--sanctioned the Stockholm purge. The only issue for me is when we complete the kill, and whether I use Nemesis again or give the job to Gomorrah."

Helix nodded slowly, and his eyes smiled behind the thick glass of his round spectacles. As ever Ezekiel was impressed by the younger Brother's refusal to be intimidated by the aggressive Bernard.

"Thank you for reminding us of your important role, Brother Bernard," said Helix without any trace of irony. "However, I'm sure that I don't need to remind you that the Primary Imperative of finding the Messiah takes precedence over any other--especially if it jeopardizes our search."

Ezekiel was unhappy about so radical a swing from "cleansing" Dr. Carter to working with him. But he was equally reluctant to rush into killing the scientist before he fully understood how he might be useful.

"Brother Helix," Ezekiel said before Bernard could re ply, "you say you need the scientist's technology to find a match for the genes. But why do you need him?"

"For two reasons," replied Helix. "First of all, we can't conduct the gene scan through the normal channels. Ethical guidelines are so strict in all the GENIUS Processing Labs throughout the world that questions are bound to be asked. The only way to get around the rigorous checks is to get Dr. Carter himself to sanction the scan. Second, when it comes to finding the match we will need his help to get into the IGOR database."

"Can't we just pay to use the database?" asked Brother Luciano.

"No. As I've already explained, IGOR isn't a public service. In fact the contents of the database are supposed to be secret. I only stumbled across it when I was researching the scientist and his company for Brother Bernard. And since then I've managed only to hack into the front-end screen to see what it contained--"

"Brother Helix," interrupted Ezekiel, "why don't you just hack into the database itself and look for a match that way?"

"Because it's too well protected. Just finding out what it contained was difficult enough. The system architect, a Dr. Washington, is one of the best in her field. She's made IGOR virtually impregnable."

"So you need Dr. Carter's help to conduct the initial scan, and get you into this... IGOR?" concluded Ezekiel, frustrated with all the jargon and acronyms.

Helix nodded.

"But why should the scientist help us?" scoffed Bernard. "How could we control him?"

Helix shrugged. "I don't know yet. But at least if he's alive there's a chance of finding a way." Helix took off his glasses and cleaned the lenses, then turned to Ezekiel. "Father Ezekiel, surely you must understand how important Dr. Carter could be to the Primary Imperative? It would be unforgivable to preside over the white flame and not find the Messiah, and madness to rely only on our Watchers. Surely we must try everything to find the chosen one, whatever that entails?"

"But equally, Father," Brother Bernard Trier quickly countered, "we must also consider the implications of not only allowing the Second Imperative to slide, but of actually cooperating with one of the kills."

Ezekiel kept his face impassive, refusing to decide immediately. Helix was right, of course; he couldn't bear to think of them failing to locate the chosen one. But he also had some sympathy with Bernard. The idea of working with the dangerous blasphemer they were dedicated to cleansing made him uneasy.

In the middle of the vast table were platters of food and demijohns of aromatic wine. Ezekiel reached over and poured the spiced red wine into six pewter goblets and passed them around. The others took this as the signal to eat and drink while he thought through his decision. The older men helped themselves from the laden platters of stuffed vine leaves, figs, and meat laid out before them. But Helix fingered his computer and glared impatiently at the altar behind Ezekiel, the candles and torches that illuminated the cavern reflected in his thick lenses.

Ezekiel admired the younger man's passion. But he was also painfully aware that the Brotherhood had not been in existence for almost two thousand years for him to risk everything on one impetuous plan.

He looked over his shoulder, past the Sacred Flame and the altar, to the sealed stone door of the Vault of Remembrance--and thought of what lay hidden behind it. He suddenly felt weighed down by the two-thousand-year-old responsibility that rested on his old shoulders, when he thought of Lazarus, the founder of the Brotherhood, addressing the first followers in this place. He considered how on the night of the Crucifixion Lazarus had dreamed of a flame burning in the bowels of the earth, beneath a hand of rock marooned in the desert wilderness. With no map Lazarus had led his followers here, where they had chipped and carved their way through the natural caves and fissures to the flame. He had gathered them in this secret place where they could plot and prepare for Christ's return, ensuring that Golgotha would never be repeated. Then Laz arus had told them of the prophecy that had come to him in his dream:

The next Messiah would be unaware of his calling, and for the righteous to guarantee their salvation they would have to find and anoint him. There would be no star of Bethlehem to guide them, only this sacred fire burning deep in the earth. When this flame turned to white then the New Messiah would be abroad in the world. But he had to be found and anointed in the white fire before it reverted to orange--before the Final Judgment was visited upon mankind. Since only they had access to the Sacred Flame, this responsibility rested on the Brotherhood of the Second Coming. The salvation of mankind depended on them.

Ezekiel envied Lazarus's absolute faith. When Jesus Christ brought you back from the dead, then surely there could be no doubt in your heart that the man was divine, worthy of complete devotion.

He shook his head in awe. For the first millennium the Brothers had spread their covert influence across the Holy Lands, recruiting Christians and Messianic Jews alike to their ranks. All united behind the Primary Imperative of finding the New Messiah.

As Ezekiel watched the Brothers eat their fill, he reflected on the Second Imperative. During the Crusades of the twelfth century the Knights Templars had left Europe for the Holy Lands, determined to wrest Jerusalem from the Saracens, and had become involved in the Brotherhood. These warriors spread the sect's influence throughout Christendom when they returned to the great courts of Europe. But they also influenced the then Inner Circle to embrace a more aggressive policy to complement the Primary Imperative. They believed that instead of just watching and waiting for the savior to arrive, the Brotherhood should dedicate themselves to purging the unrighteous while they did so.