Polar Quest

56

‘Wake up,’ a distant voice commanded.

The acrid scent of ammonia filled Kilkenny’s nostrils, attacking his olfactory nerves and sending an overload of stimuli into his brain. The smell cut through the chemically induced fog that smothered his consciousness like damp gauze. Slowly, he opened his eyes.

Everything was dark at first, then he saw spots of light. As his eyes regained focus, details became clear. He was lying on the floor of a van, his wrists and ankles bound. The rear doors were open and someone was leaning over him, holding a packet of smelling salts under his nose.

‘He’s coming around.’

‘Wake up,’ the voice demanded again.

Kilkenny recognized the man rousing him as one of his attackers at the airport. The man backed away and a man dressed in a tuxedo accompanied by a woman in a black dress with a shatoosh shawl stepped up to the doorway.

‘Welcome to Paris, Mr Kilkenny. I am Charles Lafitte and this is Dr Dominique Martineau.’

‘You’ll both excuse me if I don’t get up.’

‘Of course,’ Lafitte replied. ‘I just wanted to thank you for coming here. You see, you’ve saved me a great deal of trouble.’

‘How’s that?’ Kilkenny asked.

‘I want UGene, and you’re going to sell it to me.’

‘Like hell I am.’

‘Ah, forgive me, I must be using the incorrect tense. We have already agreed to the terms of the sale, which are most generous considering the company’s recent devaluation.’

‘You’re nuts.’

‘Earlier today you signed a letter of intent outlining the sale of UGene to Vielogic. The deal will, of course, become final after Oswald Eames is found guilty of murder and sentenced to prison. This was the purpose of your trip to Paris.’

‘Funny, I don’t recall signing anything today.’

‘I’m not surprised,’ Lafitte said smugly. ‘My public relations staff will issue a press release to the wire services tomorrow announcing the buyout.’

‘Along with my obituary, I suppose.’

‘Quite correct.’

‘Why did you steal Ice Pick? You had no way of knowing if we’d found anything of value in Lake Vostok.’

‘It was a calculated risk.’

‘Were the murders of Lloyd Sutton and Faye Olson calculated risks as well?’

‘No,’ Lafitte replied. ‘Sutton was open to negotiation, but Eames refused. He left me with no choice.’

‘You could have walked away.’

‘But then I would not have gotten what I wanted.Thanks to your timely arrival, I am now closer to acquiring UGene.’

‘But why? What are you after?’ Kilkenny asked.

‘Immortality.’

‘You’re kidding.’

‘I’m afraid he’s not,’ Martineau replied, ‘though in the short term we will settle for good health and longevity.’

‘You’ve lost me,’ Kilkenny admitted. ‘How does Ice Pick and UGene fit with your desire to live forever?’

‘I assume you are familiar with the theory of evolution?’ Lafitte asked.

‘Yes.’

‘Survival of the fittest. Organisms that survive in extreme environments do so because they are more fit than their weaker counterparts. The life that exists in Lake Vostok has done so in complete isolation for millions of years. Their environment consists of extremes in temperature ranging from freezing to scalding, tremendous pressure, and extremely low levels of oxygen.’

‘I understand the uniqueness of Lake Vostok,’ Kilkenny said, ‘but what makes you think that microbes from there will teach you the secret of eternal life?’

‘It can teach me how they survived,’ Lafitte replied.

‘DNA is at the core of every living thing on this planet,’ Martineau explained, ‘and each species has its strengths and weaknesses. There’s a one percent difference between the DNA of a mouse and that of a man. Encoded within the mouse’s genome is a phenomenal recuperative ability — they heal far more quickly from injuries than humans do. They pay for this with a higher metabolism and a far shorter life span. What do you know about cancer?’

‘I know that I don’t want it,’ Kilkenny replied.

‘As an illness, I would agree, but as an organism cancer has much to teach us. Our bodies age because our cells only reproduce for so many generations, then they stop. Not so with cancer. Each generation is the same as the one that preceded it. If the rest of the cells in the human body could learn that trait, you would never grow old.’

‘So you intend to cut and paste DNA, picking off the best bits you can find?’

‘Crudely put,’ Lafitte said, ‘but essentially correct. The biggest problem is the time it takes to decode a genome.’

‘Which is where UGene comes in,’ Kilkenny said.

‘Yes. UGene’s technology will allow Dominique and the rest of my research staff to parse through genomes in a fraction of the time it takes now. I could have made Eames a wealthy man, but he turned me down. C’est la vie’.

‘You have to realize that killing me isn’t going to solve anything. The U.S. government knows what happened in Antarctica, and that Vielogic is responsible.’

‘Let them take me to court. They have no evidence. Publicly, your government still claims the plane crash was an accident. To say otherwise now, with no proof, would be a great embarrassment. As for Eames, there is more than enough evidence to convict him.’

‘Almost perfect,’ Kilkenny offered.

‘Close enough, I think.’

‘In fact, we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation right now if Duroc hadn’t gotten greedy and shorted the stock.’

Lafitte stared angrily at Kilkenny. ‘Explain.’

‘Duroc owns a holding company in the Cayman Islands called Pont Neuf. Through it, he shorted UGene stock just before the murders and netted over twenty million dollars. That’s what led me to Vielogic.’

Lafitte reddened as Kilkenny spoke, his rage becoming visible.

‘Idiot,’ Lafitte hissed.

‘I guess your dog got off his leash,’ Kilkenny said.

‘It is no concern of yours,’ Lafitte shot back. ‘I have the samples from Lake Vostok, Eames will be convicted, and UGene will be mine. Adieu, Monsieur Kilkenny.’

As Lafitte and Martineau stepped back, the man who’d roused him reappeared and sprayed Kilkenny in the face. Once again, Kilkenny’s world faded to black.