The SONG of SHIVA (11 page)

By the time the last errant electronic ‘i’ had been dotted and maverick ink-pen ‘t’ crossed, Lyköan felt like he had already put in a full day and it was not yet noon. And although the team of Lyköan and Prentice had been put through its paces, Pandavas and Lyköan had exchanged fewer than a dozen words not directly related to the business at hand. Through it all, Pandavas had displayed consummate skill and understanding of even the minutest detail. While affixing virtual and handwritten signatures to his Innovac employment contract, Lyköan wondered if he would be able to stay the necessary one step ahead of this new boss. He didn’t agonize over it, however. How could he argue with Lyköan IE’s assured solvency for the foreseeable future?

The Primrose people eventually excused themselves, disappearing into individual offices and another waning day in their ever-shortening careers. Mr. Intatha and his aide had exited for other unspecified commitments even earlier, which left only Lyköan, Whitehall, Jimmy, and the Innovac foursome. The transfer now complete, Pandavas finally stilled the bustle with a welcomed suggestion.

“Why don’t we all break for a bit, take a tour of the facility ― I’m particularly interested in the clean-room ― and discuss the short-term changes we’re anticipating. But no more than another half hour. As soon as we can put that last detail out of the way ― Mr. Sawadviphachai ― would you be so kind as to suggest an appropriate venue for a leisurely repast? I’m sure you know just the place, don’t you sir?” Looking at the faces still seated around the table, he added, “You’re all welcome to join us.

“Afterwards, I have an appointment with an old colleague, the director of the WHO team here in Bangkok investigating the recent TAI outbreak. He’s anxiously awaiting upgrades to equipment on loan from our labs, upgrades presently sitting idle, awaiting release from customs. Mr. Lyköan, what’s the earliest they can be delivered,?”

“Scheduled for release from bonding before noon, today,” Lyköan answered without any hesitation. Had the question been a test or hadn’t Pandavas known? Didn’t matter. Lyköan was in his element and performing flawlessly, his well-laid plans really clicking. But lunch would be a welcomed break, an opportunity to learn a little more about this new environment, on a more personal level.

“After lunch, if they wish, Messrs. Whitehall and Sawadviphachai are welcome to join us at the WHO offices. Don’t feel you’re under any obligation, gentlemen, if you have more pressing commitments. But Mr. Lyköan, I’m afraid I’ll have to insist that you accompany us. I hope you didn’t have anything already scheduled for this afternoon, but it’s extremely important that you be present to expedite delivery of these materials. Whatever may be required.”

“No, I’d be happy to assist in any way I can,” Lyköan answered with a broad smile.
Only took a few pieces of silver, Lyköan, and here you are, happily hopping through hoops for the new boss. A glorified delivery boy
.

CHAPTER TWELVE

What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.

Oscar Levant :
Memoirs of an Amnesiac

“When you were first explaining Hypothecated Modeling, JG...” Nora said, forming the question in her head as she went along, “you mentioned that you were ― what was it? ― ninety-eight percent certain the TAI mutational cascade – as predicted by HM ― would reemerge in another outbreak sometime down the road?”

“That’s what the data indicate, yes,” Tardieu answered.

“Can the software also predict
when
that re-emergence will occur?”

“Our sequencers haven’t been configured for a time-linked model but, yes, I think they could be. That’s an interesting idea.”

Nora realized that some new variables would need to be written into the Innovac algorithms. She had no idea how many. But if any sort of timeline deduction
was
possible, a date, perhaps even a location might be identified, before the next outbreak. If either or both could be determined, then humanity might be able to switch roles with the TAI virus, and hunt down, maybe even exterminate, the microbial predator.

Sitting in Tardieu’s office, drafting her daily recap, she was about to transmit the completed report to the CDC after visiting the WHO gamma labs earlier that morning. While interesting, it hadn’t taken long to recognize that the true revolutionary work was being conducted in front of the HM workstations. After a polite but cursory inspection, she had come back. While descriptions of the sterilization facility and its processes were included in her report, they took up very little space.

“How difficult do you think it would be?” she asked as a follow-up. “I mean for the modeling programmers. I wouldn’t want to take people away from more important work. After all, the idea might not be worth the effort, might not pan out.” As an interloper in Tardieu’s fiefdom, she didn't want to challenge any established fealties. When in doubt, best to appear deferential.

“No, Nora, it’s an excellent idea. Really. Determining a definitive date of viral re-emergence would be a real advantage, knowing how much time we have to develop a viable response.”

“Do you think I could be involved?” Nora had sensed an opportunity. “Maybe assist with the research in some way ― contribute to the effort – spend more time with the HM technology? The past few days have been a revelation. HM could turn out to be the most revolutionary bio-tech tool to come along since the microscope. I’d really like to be a part of its future.” She also needed to create a contributory role for herself if she expected to remain in-theater. If not, she might as well pack up and fly back home.

I don’t see why not.” Tardieu sounded almost eager. “As a matter of fact, I know a team that would be perfect for you. You’d fit right in. Might have to sooth a few bruised egos first, but if no one protests, we might even be able to place you in a lead role.

“Coincidentally – related to Hypothecated Modeling – Atma Pandavas is an old compeer of mine, from my Princeton days. He’s visiting this afternoon, bringing along upgrades for the HM platform.”

“Atma Pandavas? Coming here ― today?” She hadn’t even known he was in Bangkok.  

“He’s bringing his own crew,” Tardieu explained, “to install those enhancements, supposedly a dramatic improvement in functionality. He sounds quite excited, especially about a new display apparatus the Innovac engineers have just developed. Intends to demonstrate it for the group. Would you like to attend? ”

“I’d love to.” Not only was the master toy maker coming to town but, apparently, he was bringing the latest creations from his workshop.

“I see no problem with your sitting in. As I understand it, Innovac has just purchased a local pharmaceutical manufacturer and Atma has come for a quick look-see. Maybe during our meeting I can mention your time-modeling suggestion and see what he thinks.”

* * *

“The molecular mapping data the WHO has provided was instrumental in furthering our theoretical work,” Pandavas explained. “Can’t thank you enough for your diligent efforts. With your help, we can now devote our full energy to vaccine development and improving our investigative tools.”

Two Innovac engineers, flown in from London over the weekend, were busily assembling the new HM rendering apparatus in the middle of a large conference room.

“Any progress we’ve made, was only possible because of your equipment,” Tardieu acknowledged.

Lyköan watched nods circle the room. Pandavas’s generosity, of course, had required Lyköan to jump through hoops he hadn’t expected. Faster and higher. Blindfolded.

Before the plates had been cleared from the restaurant table, he’d been whisked to this ultra-sophisticated World Health Organization lab in the middle of Bangkok. An hour ago he hadn’t known the place existed. On the ride over, Pandavas had dropped the bombshell that items in the initial Primrose delivery, released from bonding only minutes before, were expected within the hour ― right here ― and therefore had to be redirected immediately. Fortunately, he was able to pull the palettes, sidetracking the trucks in transit, and find a carrier willing to deliver them separately to Thanon Sathon Tai without paperwork, on his word only, and then schlep them up the freight elevator. They had arrived barely ten minutes before the engineers.

Score one for Team Lyköan
. His one-man operation had succeeded in this first spur-of-the-moment assignment, but it had been touch and go. Was working for Innovac always going to be like this, the boss one step ahead with a plan only he knew? Or would Lyköan eventually be brought into the loop and join the fold? Had it been another test? Keep him in the dark. Put him through his paces. Lyköan hoped it ended soon. There was a good chance he wouldn’t be so lucky next time.

Jimmy had shrewdly decided to find more pressing demands for his questionable talents elsewhere, after consuming a three-entrée lunch at the exquisite Baan Khanitha, taking numerous interrupting phone calls during the meal and ultimately disappearing down a nameless soi before the party moved on. The remainder of the entourage, Lyköan and Whitehall included, had been deposited at the WHO downtown office entrance just before three.

Tossed into this alien environment, where the only other remotely familiar face in the whole line-up of strangers, besides Whitehall, turned out to be Dr. Carmichael, the woman he had injured when making that backdoor exit from Whitehall’s hotel room. He cringed at the memory. No one in the room had missed their curious exchange during introductions only minutes before.

Tardieu, noticing the flash of startled recognition, had immediately asked the obvious question, “Do you two know each other?” Lyköan’s heart had shifted into overdrive.

“Well, we collided with each other ― literally ―” he stuttered, “― complete strangers ― two days ago ― but this is some coincidence ― running into you again like this, Doctor ― and so soon.”

Could he forestall further inquiry, place little consequence on the event and still cling to the truth? “I hope you’ve recovered from my clumsiness,” he added, praying that no additional explanation would be necessary ― nothing that might reveal where and when this had all taken place.

“Fully recovered, I’m happy to report,” Nora replied with an awkward smile. What was the exact definition of coincidence? With the room now filled with quizzical stares, she was happy to omit further detail. Leave the explanation for another time. Or never. It was really unimportant. No need for the details unless someone was tactless enough to ask. Nora hoped no one would. Lyköan worried someone might. Fortunately, no one did.

Then the awkward silence broke, replaced by anticipatory small talk. A few minutes later Pandavas took center stage and everyone’s attention shifted. Lyköan breathed easier. The danger had passed.

“As soon as the engineers finish calibrating the equipment,” Pandavas began and the room hushed, “we’ll bring up the most recent and complete depiction of the virus.

“While they do, a little background. As most of you know, standard holographic 3D imaging can project approximately two hundred degrees of observable surface area. Convinced that such limitations were too restrictive, we set about developing what we are calling an Implicit Projection Display, allowing for a full 360 degrees of simultaneous presentation.”

Two large chromed metal rings, one suspended just below the ceiling and the other hovering about a meter from the floor, floated horizontally in the center of the room. Seeing no wires or visible supports, Lyköan assumed the suspension somehow involved magnets. The rings were being adjusted from two workstation panels positioned across from each other, just outside the lower ring.

Hundreds of powerful pulsing lights, emitting distinct but overlapping multicolored beams into the interior space, rapidly circled counterclockwise on the upper ring and clockwise on the lower. Adjusting the beams until they converged in a single column of light running vertically between the rings’ centers, the engineers narrowed the increasingly brilliant column until it had become a thin line shining with the intensity of an unshielded acetylene torch. With a flicker and audible ‘vzzzit’ the line shrank into a single point of painful brilliance, hanging like a miniature sun in the very center of the otherwise empty space, and then vanished. Looking up, the engineers pronounced the equipment calibrated for the demonstration. Circling the lower ring, one of engineers then took a position behind the second workstation. Taking his mark, Pandavas positioned himself in front of the glow of the now vacated second station.

“Peter,” he said to the seated engineer, “the single viral sphere at seventy percent incandescence, if you would.”

The room filled with an audible intake of breaths, like the sound emitted by a crowd following an exceptionally brilliant burst at a fireworks display, hushed gasps filling the space in unison, every eye but two fixed upon the object now hovering between floor and ceiling. Lyköan’s eyes, however, had locked on the ringmaster, observing the sparkle gleaming there, reflected in every eye of his enthralled audience. In the whole room, only Lyköan had witnessed this other performance: a campfire-lit glee that might have crept across a barbarian chieftain’s face surveying a field of enemy slain after a hard-won victory.

Among the slain, Nora stood utterly transfixed. There, in a state of frozen animation, suspended at the very center of the room, between the shining rings, floated the TAI virus, enlarged perhaps three million times. Not a three dimensional representation depicted in two dimensions on a flat panel screen, but an apparently solid, tangible three-dimensional object.

Pandavas took out an ordinary-looking lightpen from his jacket and shined it on the surface of the meter-in-diameter model. The pen’s ember rippled over the variegated surface of the sphere. Through some magic of technology, this specialized pointing device, an integral part of the new display technology, permitted light to dance off light in an optical choreography of mathematical illusion.

“As you can see from this particular angle,” Pandavas began, “the viral sphere is complete in every detail ― from every conceivable angle. If any of you circle the static image, this will immediately become evident. Of course, the operator still has complete latitude to manipulate the object within the depiction perimeter. There are also several improvements to the upgraded software. The first is the ability to unbundle any of the molecular constructs, unwind the RNA strand in this case, then construct and observe chemical interactions and protein expressions ― down to the atomic level if desired.”  

He's got them in the palm of his hand, right where he wants them
, Lyköan thought.
Sure seems to love the adoration
. Left unassesed for now, however, was whether that was a good, bad, or indifferent thing.

“To begin that process,” Pandavas instructed, “Peter, please extract the RNA strand from the protein sheath,” The outer coat of the virus was pulled back from the now medicine-ball-sized model, much like the cover might be torn off a baseball, and a rainbow-colored, spaghetti-like lump was magically extracted from the ruptured sphere. A few keystrokes then unraveled the bundled mass and, through the power of embedded algorithmic formulae and raw computational power, magnified and pulled out straight and horizontal, hovering midway between the parallel rings.

“Now, if you would, proceed along the strand, either direction,” Pandavas directed. The operating engineer manipulated the controls so the now hundred-centimeter-thick model of the RNA strand swept across the display field at a leisurely pace. Lyköan noticed that, at a crisp point one or two centimeters from the inner edge of an imaginary vertical line between the two rings, the model abruptly disappeared in the direction it was moving as, at the other end, additional multi-colored extensions of the model just as abruptly appeared out of nowhere. He had only the vaguest understanding of what he was witnessing, but was no less impressed than the gathered scientists appeared to be.

After the demonstration had continued for some time Yin Yat Chen mustered enough courage to ask Pandavas the first question. “Dr. Pandavas, if there’s time, would it be possible to display the RNA segment,” she asked, pausing to refer to her notebook, “beginning with the sequence TAGCCAG that we’ve identified as TAI143LV0000361?”

“Certainly. Peter,” Pandavas directed, turning towards the operator, “would you input those coordinates? TAI143LV0000361, I believe?” Looking back to Chan, he then asked with obvious interest, “And your reason for suggesting we take a look at that particular segment?”