Chromosome 6

CHAPTER 13

MARCH 6, 1997

12:00 NOON

COGO, EQUATORIAL GUINEA

KEVIN was totally unaware of the time when a knock interrupted the intense concentration he’d been directing toward his computer screen for several hours. He opened his laboratory door and was promptly greeted by Melanie as she swooped into the room. She was carrying a large paper bag.

“Where are your techs?” she asked.

“I gave them the day off,” Kevin said. “There was no way I was going to get any work done today so I told them to enjoy the sun. It’s been a long rainy season, and it will be back before we know it.”

“Where’s Candace?” Melanie asked. She put down her parcel on the lab bench.

“I don’t know,” Kevin said. “I haven’t seen or talked with her since we dropped her off at the hospital this morning.”

It had been a long night. After having hid in the pathology cooler for over an hour, Melanie had talked both Kevin and Candace into sneaking up to the on-call room Melanie had at the animal center. The three had stayed there getting very little sleep, until the early-morning shift change. Blending in with all the employees coming and going, the group had made it back to Cogo without incident.

“Do you know how to get in touch with her?” Melanie asked.

“I guess just call the hospital and have her paged,” Kevin suggested. “Unless she’s in her room in the Inn, which is what I’d guess since Horace Winchester is doing so well.” The Inn was the name given to the temporary quarters for transient hospital personnel. It was physically part of the hospital/laboratory complex.

“Good point!” Melanie said. She picked up the phone and had the operator put her through to Candace’s room. Candace answered on the third ring. It was apparent she’d been asleep.

“Kevin and I are going to the island,” Melanie said without preamble. “You want to come or hang in here?”

“What are you talking about?” Kevin asked nervously.

Melanie motioned for him to be quiet.

“When?” Candace asked.

“As soon as you get over here,” Melanie said. “We’re in Kevin’s lab.”

“It will take me a good half hour,” Candace said. “I’ve got to shower.”

“We’ll be waiting,” Melanie said. She hung up the phone.

“Melanie, are you crazy?” Kevin said. “We’ve got to let some time go by before we hazard another try at the island.”

“This girl doesn’t think so,” Melanie said, giving herself a poke in the chest. “The sooner we go, the better. If Bertram finds out a key is missing, he could change the lock, and we’ll be back to square one. Besides, like I said last night, they expect us to be terrified. Going out there right away will catch them off-guard.”

“I don’t think I’m up for this,” Kevin said.

“Oh really?” Melanie questioned superciliously. “Hey, you’re the one who’s brought up this worry about what we’ve created. And now I’m really worried. I saw some more circumstantial evidence this morning.”

“Like what?” Kevin asked.

“I went into the bonobo enclosure out at the animal center,” Melanie said. “I made sure no one saw me go in, so don’t get yourself all worked up. It took me over an hour, but I managed to find a mother with one of our infants.”

“And?” Kevin questioned. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the rest.

“The infant walked around on its hindlegs-just like you and I-the whole time I was able to observe,” Melanie said. Her dark eyes flashed with emotion akin to anger. “Behavior we used to call cute is definitely bipedal.”

Kevin nodded and looked away. He found Melanie’s intensity unnerving, and her conversation was underlining all his own fears.

“We have to find out for sure what the status is of these creatures,” Melanie said. “And we can do that only by going out there.”

Kevin nodded.

“So, I made some sandwiches,” Melanie said, pointing toward the paper bag she’d brought in with her. “We’ll call it a picnic.”

“I came across something disturbing this morning as well,” Kevin said. “Let me show you.” He grabbed a stool and pushed it over to his computer terminal. He motioned for Melanie to sit down, while he took his own chair. His fingers played over the keyboard. Soon the screen displayed the computer graphic of Isla Francesca.

“I programmed the computer to follow all seventy-three bonobos on the island for several hours of real-time activity,” Kevin explained. “Then I had the data condensed so I could watch it in fast-forward. Look what resulted.”

Kevin clicked his mouse to start the sequence. The multitude of little red dots rapidly traced out weird geometric designs. It only took a few seconds.

“Looks like a bunch of chicken scratches,” Melanie said.

“Except for these two dots,” Kevin said. He pointed to two pinpoints.

“They apparently didn’t move much,” Melanie said.

“Exactly,” Kevin said. “Creature number sixty and creature number sixty-seven.” Kevin reached over and picked up the detailed contour map he’d inadvertently taken from Bertram’s office. “I located creature number sixty to a marshy clearing just south of Lago Hippo. According to the map, there are no trees there.”

“What’s your explanation?” Melanie asked.

“Hang on,” Kevin said. “What I did next was reduce the scale of the grid so that it represented a fifty-by-fifty-foot portion of the island right where creature number sixty was located. Let me show you what happened.”

Kevin keyed in the information and then clicked to start the sequence again. Once again the red light for creature number sixty was a pinpoint.

“He didn’t move at all,” Melanie said.

“I’m afraid not,” Kevin said.

“You think he’s sleeping?”

“In the middle of the morning?” Kevin asked. “And with such a scale, even turning over in his sleep should result in some movement. The system is that sensitive.”

“If he’s not sleeping, what is he doing?” Melanie asked.

Kevin shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe he found a way to remove his computer chip.”

“I never thought of that,” Melanie said. “That’s a scary idea.”

“The only other thing I could think of is the bonobo died,” Kevin said.

“I suppose that’s a possibility,” Melanie said. “But I don’t think it is very probable. Those are young, extraordinarily healthy animals. We’ve made sure of that. And they are in an environment without natural enemies and have more than enough food.”

Kevin sighed. “Whatever it is, it is disturbing, and when we go out there, I think we should check it out.”

“I wonder if Bertram knows about this?” Melanie asked. “It doesn’t bode well for the program in general.”

“I suppose I should tell him,” Kevin said.

“Let’s wait until we make our visit,” Melanie said.

“Obviously,” Kevin said.

“Did you come across anything else with this real-time program?”

“Yup,” Kevin said. “I pretty much confirmed my earlier suspicion they are using the caves. Watch!”

Kevin changed the coordinates of the displayed grid on the computer screen to correspond to a specific portion of the limestone escarpment. He then asked the computer to trace the activity of his own double, creature number one.

Melanie watched as the red dot traced a geometric shape then disappeared. It then reappeared at the identical spot and traced a second shape. Then a similar sequence repeated itself for a third time.

“I guess I’d have to agree,” Melanie said. “It sure looks like your double is going in and out of the rock face.”

“When we go out there, I think we should make it a point to see our doubles,” Kevin said. “They are the oldest of the creatures, and if any of the transgenic bonobos are acting like protohumans, it should be them.”

Melanie nodded. “The idea effacing my double gives me the creeps. But we’re not going to have a lot of time out there. And given the twelve-square-mile island it will be extraordinarily difficult for us to find a specific creature.”

“You’re wrong,” Kevin said. “I’ve got the instruments they use for retrievals.” He got up from the computer and went to his desk. When he returned, he was carrying the locator and the directional beacon that Bertram had given to him. He showed the apparatuses to Melanie and explained their use. Melanie was impressed.

“Where is that girl?” Melanie asked as she checked her watch. “I wanted to get this island visit over during lunch hour.”

“Did Siegfried talk to you this morning?” Kevin asked.

“No, Bertram did,” Melanie said. “He acted really mad and said he was disappointed in me. Can you imagine? I mean, is that suppose to break me up or what?”

“Did he give you any explanation about the smoke I’ve seen?” Kevin asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Melanie said. “He went on at length how he’d just been told that Siegfried had a work crew out there building a bridge and burning trash. He said it was being done without his knowledge.”

“I thought so,” Kevin said. “Siegfried called me over just after nine. He gave me the same story. He even told me he’d just talked with Dr. Lyons and that Dr. Lyons was disappointed in us as well.”

“It’s enough to make you cry,” Melanie said.

“I don’t think he was telling the truth about the work crew,” Kevin said.

“Of course he wasn’t,” Melanie said. “I mean, Bertram makes it a point to know everything that’s going on about Isla Francesca. It makes you wonder if they think we were born yesterday.”

Kevin stood up, fidgeted, and stared out his window at the distant island.

“What’s wrong now?” Melanie questioned.

“Siegfried,” Kevin said. He looked back at Melanie. “About his warning to apply Equatoguinean law to us. He reminded us that going to the island could be considered a capital offense. Don’t you think we should take that threat seriously?”

“Hell, no!” Melanie said.

“How can you be so sure,” Kevin said. “Siegfried scares me.”

“He’d scare me, too, if I was an Equatoguinean,” Melanie said. “But we’re not. We’re Americans. While we’re here in the Zone, good old American law applies to us. The worst thing that can happen is we get fired. And as I said last night, I’m not sure I wouldn’t welcome it. Manhattan is sounding awfully good to me these days.”

“I wish I felt as confident as you,” Kevin said.

“Has your playing around with the computer this morning confirmed that the bonobos are remaining in two groups?”

Kevin nodded. “The first group is the largest and stays around the caves. It includes most of the older bonobos, including your double and mine. The other group is in a forest area on the north side of the Rio Diviso. It’s composed mostly of younger animals, although the third oldest is with them. That’s Raymond Lyons’s double.”

“Very curious,” Melanie said.

“Hi, everybody,” Candace called out while coming through the door, without knocking. “How’d I do timewise? I didn’t even blow-dry my hair.” Instead of her normal French twist, her damp hair was combed back straight off her forehead.

“You did great,” Melanie assured her. “And you were the only smart one to get some sleep. I have to admit, I’m exhausted.”

“Did Siegfried Spallek get in touch with you?” Kevin asked.

“At about nine-thirty,” Candace said. “He woke me up out of a sound sleep. I hope I made sense.”

“What did he say?” Kevin asked.

“He was very nice, actually,” Candace said. “He even apologized for what happened last night. He also had an explanation about the smoke coming from the island. He said it was from a work crew burning brush.”

“We got the same message,” Kevin said.

“What’s your take on it?” Candace asked.

“We don’t buy it,” Melanie said. “It’s too convenient.”

“I sort of assumed as much,” Candace said.

Melanie grabbed her paper bag. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

“Do you have the key?” Kevin questioned. He picked up the locator and the directional beacon.

“Of course I have the key,” Melanie said.

As they went out the door Melanie told Candace she’d brought some lunch for them.

“Great!” Candace said. “I’m famished.”

“Hold on a second,” Kevin said when they reached the stairs. “Something just dawned on me. We must have been followed yesterday. That’s the only way I can explain the way they surprised us. Of course, that really means I must have been followed, since I was the one who talked about the smoke situation with Bertram Edwards.”

“That’s a good point,” Melanie said.

The three people stared at each other for a moment.

“What should we do?” Candace asked. “We don’t want to be followed.”

“The first thing is that we shouldn’t use my car,” Kevin said. “Where’s yours, Melanie? With this dry weather we can manage without four-wheel drive.”

“Downstairs in the parking lot,” Melanie said. “I just drove in from the animal center.”

“Was anybody following you?”

“Who knows?” Melanie said. “I wasn’t watching.”

“Hmmm,” Kevin pondered. “I still think they’ll be following me if they follow anybody. So, Melanie, go down and get in your car and head home.”

“What will you guys do?”

“There’s a tunnel in the basement that goes all the way out to the power station. Wait about five minutes at your house and pick us up at the power station. There’s a side door that opens directly onto the parking lot. You know where I mean?”

“I think so,” Melanie said.

“All right,” Kevin said. “See you there.”

They split up at the first floor, with Melanie going out into the noonday heat while Candace and Kevin descended to the basement level.

After walking for fifteen minutes, Candace commented on what a maze the hallways were.

“All the power comes from the same source,” Kevin explained. “The tunnels connect all the main buildings except for the animal center, which has its own power station.”

“One could get lost down here,” Candace said.

“I did,” Kevin admitted. “A number of times. But during the middle of the rainy season, I find these tunnels handy. They’re both dry and cool.”

As they neared the power station they could hear and feel the vibration of the turbines. A flight of metal steps took them up to the side door. As soon as they appeared, Melanie, who’d been parked under a malapa tree, cruised over and picked them up.

Kevin got in the back so Candace could climb into the front. Melanie pulled away immediately. The car’s air-conditioning felt good given the heat and hundred-percent humidity.

“See anything suspicious?” Kevin asked.

“Not a thing,” Melanie said. “And I drove around for a while pretending I was on errands. There wasn’t anyone following me. I’m ninety-nine percent sure.”

Kevin looked out the back window of Melanie’s Honda and watched the area around the power station as it fell behind, then disappeared as they rounded a corner. No people had appeared, and there were no cars in pursuit.

“I’d say it looks good,” Kevin said. He scrunched down on the backseat to be out of sight.

Melanie drove around the north rim of the town. While she did so, Candace broke out the sandwiches.

“Not bad,” Candace said, taking a bite of a tuna fish on whole wheat.

“I had them made up at the animal-center commissary,” Melanie explained. “There are drinks in the bottom of the bag.”

“You want some, Kevin?” Candace called.

“I suppose,” Kevin said. He stayed on his side. Candace passed him a sandwich and a soft drink between the front bucket seats.

They were soon on the road that led east out of town toward the native village. From Kevin’s perspective, all he could see was the tops of the liana-covered trees that lined the road, plus a strip of hazy blue sky. After so many months of cloud cover and rain, it was good to see the sun.

“Anybody following us?” Kevin asked, after they’d driven for some time.

Melanie glanced in the rearview mirror. “I haven’t seen a car,” she said. There’d been no vehicular traffic in either direction, although there were plenty of native women carrying various burdens on their heads.

After they passed the parking lot in front of the general store at the native village and entered the track that led to the island staging area, Kevin sat up. He was no longer worried about being seen. Every few minutes, he looked behind to make sure they weren’t being followed. Although he didn’t admit it to the women, he was a nervous wreck.

“That log we hit last night should be coming up soon,” Kevin warned.

“But we didn’t go over it when they brought us out,” Melanie said. “They must have moved it.”

“You’re right,” Kevin said. He was impressed that Melanie remembered. After the machine-gun fire, the details of the previous night were murky in Kevin’s mind.

Guessing they were getting close, Kevin moved forward so he could see out the front windshield between the two front seats. Despite the noontime sun the ability to see into the dense jungle lining the road was hardly any better than it had been the evening before. Little light penetrated the vegetation; it was like moving between two walls.

They drove into the clearing and stopped. The garage stood to their left while to the right they could see the mouth of the track that led down to the water’s edge and the bridge.

“Should I drive down to the bridge?” Melanie asked.

Kevin’s nervousness increased. Coming into a dead end bothered him. He debated driving down to the water’s edge but guessed there wouldn’t be enough room to turn around. That would mean they’d have to back out.

“My suggestion would be to park here,” Kevin said. “But let’s turn the car around first.”

Kevin expected an argument, but Melanie put the car in gear without so much as a whimper. They left unspoken the fact that they would now have to walk past the spot where they’d been fired upon.

Melanie completed her three-point turn. “Okay, everybody, here we are,” she said airily, as she pulled on the emergency brake. She was trying to buoy everyone’s spirits. They were all tense.

“I just had an idea which I don’t like,” Kevin said.

“Now what?” Melanie asked, looking at him in the rearview mirror.

“Maybe I should quietly walk down to the bridge and make sure no one is around,” Kevin said.

“Like who?” Melanie asked, but the thought of unwanted company had occurred to her as well.

Kevin took a deep breath to bolster his sagging courage and climbed out. “Anybody,” he said. “Even Alphonse Kimba.” He hiked up his pants and started off.

The track down toward the water was so thickly shrouded with vegetation, it was even more like a tunnel than the track in from the road. As soon as Kevin entered it, it twisted to the right. The canopy of trees and vines blocked out much of the light. The center strip of vegetation was so tall that the track was more like two parallel trails.

Kevin rounded the first bend, then stopped. The unmistakable sound of boots running on the damp ground combined with the jingling of metal against metal made his stomach turn. Ahead, the track turned to the left. Kevin held his breath. In the next instant, he saw a group of Equatoguinean soldiers in their camouflage fatigues, rounding the bend and coming in his direction. All were carrying Chinese assault rifles.

Kevin spun on his heels and sprinted back up the trail like he’d never sprinted before. As he reached the clearing, he yelled to Melanie to get the hell out of there. Reaching the car he threw open the rear door and dived in.

Melanie was trying to start the car. “What happened?” she screamed.

“Soldiers!” Kevin croaked. “A bunch of them!”

The car engine caught and roared to life. At the same time, the soldiers spilled into the clearing. One of them yelled as Melanie stomped on the accelerator.

The little car leaped forward, and Melanie fought the wheel. There was a burst of gunfire and the rear window of the Honda shattered into a million cubic shards. Kevin flattened himself against the backseat. Candace screamed as her window was blown out as well.

The track turned left just beyond the clearing. Melanie managed to keep the car in the tracks and then pushed the car to its limit. After they’d gone seventy yards, there was another distant burst of gunfire. A few stray bullets whined over the car as Melanie navigated another slight turn.

“Good God!” Kevin said, as he sat up and brushed the glass from the rear window off his torso.

“Now I’m really mad,” Melanie said. “That was hardly a burst over our heads. Look at that rear window!”

“I think I want to retire,” Kevin said. “I’ve always been afraid of those soldiers and now I know why.”

“I guess the key to the bridge is not going to do us much good,” Candace said. “What a waste after all the effort we went through to get it.”

“It’s damn irritating,” Melanie agreed. “We’re just going to have to come up with an alternate plan.”

“I’m going to bed,” Kevin said. He couldn’t believe these women; they seemed fearless. He put a hand over his heart; it was beating more rapidly than it ever had before.