Chapter 154: Our time is up

"There have been numerous animal attacks on local hunters in Sarsans in the last twenty-four hours..." "Four poachers were violently attacked by a herd of einosaurs while hunting in the Vermons nature reserve. Strangely, it seems that the animals overturned the car and then pretended to leave, then waited for the men to emerge from the wreckage..." "The scientific community is still without explanation in the face of the mysterious behavior recently shown by birds, which is leading all over the world to the creation of giant flocks containing various species of birds..." "Another animal escape occurred from a zoo in the city of New Shaggath, this time from the Central Garden Zoo..." Jamie turned off the television with a sharp bang on the button on the remote. "These are just some of the events that are currently happening around the world" The people who were listening nodded. Jamie was in Mitch's laboratory, a place equipped with all the most advanced scientific instruments available. With them were Robert Oz, who had come at Jocelyne's request, and Alan Grant, who had come quickly to them carrying the Mother Cell sample after escaping from Montain. However, they weren't the only 'spectators': a computer was placed on a desk through which, via video call, Ian, Sarah and, of course, Jocelyne were also watching. Behind the girl in her room were also Dr. Oz's son Jackson and another burly guard Jamie remembered named as Abe. "At this point I'd say denying reality is impossible" Mitch stated as he continued to stare at the blank screen of the television. "Something is actively changing the animal world, and in a rather unpleasant way... at least for us" Jocelyne sighed as she heard those words. Yes, the situation was rapidly deteriorating. After that initial episode involving Billy, animals all over the world were no longer just avoiding humans: now they were becoming violent. Just like the dinosaurs of Montain, those in other parts of the world had also begun to develop very deep interpersonal relationships thanks to the universal language. By doing so, they very quickly stopped abandoning their companions. It hadn't taken long for them to start playing defensively: now, as soon as they noticed even a vaguely hostile human, they didn't hesitate to attack and kill him. Though the scientific community was in turmoil, most of these events were still thought of as minor in the eyes of the human population, but that sentiment was rapidly changing. Only one incident, however strange, could be ignored; maybe even ten, or twenty; but the number of accidents had risen to too high levels in too short a period of time. Although the animals seemed to try to cover up their misdeeds, humans had ways of finding out what caused the wounds on the corpses. Governments were seriously starting to worry. "Maybe we should make our theories public" Alan suggested. "We have the Mother Cell, we have evidence. We can..." "I doubt they'll be enough. I remind you that the stuff isn't natural" Ian stopped him immediately. "Didn't you learn anything from what happened to me? We still don't know for sure who made that stuff, but it clearly has to be someone with a lot of money and a lot of power" "Like the Reiden Global" Robert grumbled. "Or another financial behemoth at any rate" Jocelyne said. "Ian is right, whoever did it is someone who has both the power and the wealth to silence the rumours. Even if you show evidence, the Reiden Global or anyone else will not hesitate to discredit you to hide the their misdeeds. They might as well kill you to silence you completely" "Even when their very survival is at stake?" Jamie asked. Jocelyne shook her head. "Don't underestimate the evil of money, Dr. Campbell. Whoever is behind it will do anything to prevent this matter from coming to light, even if it means dying" Unfortunately this was true. Many times in the course of human history, people of power had withheld valuable information to avoid scandal, even if this had ultimately led them to ruin. If word started circulating that someone had created something that made animals intelligent, that someone would go to great lengths to silence those rumors. And the more power and wealth a person had, the more unpredictable he was. Pointing the finger at a financial giant like the Reiden before having certain and incontrovertible proof was equivalent to saying goodbye to one's life. "So, at the moment we are silent and waiting?" Sarah asked. "I'm afraid we don't have much choice" Mitch said, then approached a table and took a vial containing a strange liquid. It was the Mother Cell sample brought by Alan long ago. "Our only choice now is to continue doing our job as scientists and understand how this stuff works. If we understand how it works, we can also figure out how to create a cure" "There is no cure for the Mother Cell" Robert Oz protested once again. "You can't cure what is constantly changing" "This information is yet to be verified. Dr. Oz, as a scientist you should be aware that before drawing any conclusions you must perform an experiment" Mitch stopped him. Though clearly annoyed, Robert didn't argue. "So, what do you want to do now?" Ian asked, then pointed to the table being viewed by the computer camera. "And what is that stuff?" On the table in question was an odd assortment of objects: a bucket filled with chemicals, a series of tubes operated by various valves, and cables carrying electricity. "That, ladies and gentlemen, is our experiment of the day" Mitch replied as he picked up a carton of milk. "We are about to find out exactly how the Mother Cell works and how quickly it can infect an organism" As everyone watched, Mitch began pouring several cartons of milk into the bucket, stirring them from time to time so that the liquid blended with the chemicals already poured into it. "We're basically simulating how a dinosaur's nervous system works" Mitch explained as he continued to pour the milk. "The milk mixed with the other substances will produce more or less the same effect as our gray matter. The electricity we pass through it will simulate neuronal activity. And the tubes will transport the mixture continuously, as if it were a real system nervous". The man put down the last carton of milk, having already filled the bucket. "We will pour the Mother Cell inside and evaluate how it behaves" "And how are we going to understand how the Mother Cell spreads?" Ian asked. "Although we still don't understand very well the biological processes that regulate this organism, we have enough data to evaluate how it would react if it came into contact with nerve cells" said Mitch, setting down the bucket. "I added some substances to the mixture which, when subjected to certain activities, take on a reddish colour. Furthermore, the more the milk becomes infected, the more it will start to boil as if it were a pressure cooker" "And by looking at the shift in these two factors, we'll be able to figure out what the rate of spread of this pathogen is" Alan added. Mitch turned on the electrical device, being very careful not to touch the wires or get electrocuted. "Precisely. Dr. Oz, will you proceed?" Robert approached holding the vial containing the Mother Cell tightly in his hands, and very carefully he poured just a drop into the liquid. "How long do you think it will take?" Sarah asked. "It will depend on many factors" Mitch replied. "Assuming this is a very infectious pathogen, I'd say it could take a few hours, but there's a chance it could even take days or..." BLUP. Silence fell in the room and all eyes turned to the bucket. Several bubbles were forming above the surface of the milk and red spots were rapidly forming in the white liquid. The process accelerated by the second. Mitch was thrilled. Alan even more. "What the..." The milk was boiling so violently that the pail was shaking. The red dye spread rapidly through the tubes that simulated the nervous system, leaving not a single white spot. All this happened in less than ten seconds. "From your expression, Dr. Morgan, I'd say you weren't expecting such a result" Ian commented. "Of course I didn't expect that!" Mitch snapped. "That's impossible! No cell can spread that fast!" "Yes it does" Alan corrected. "If the genes that regulate its multiplication were turned off and it possessed a rapid ability to make a copy of its DNA, then it could" "That makes no sense! If that were the case, then it would have to turn into a cancer cell that would cause deadly cancers within minutes!" Mitch exclaimed, and Alan couldn't blame him. Cells within a body had to go through a certain cycle of life and death. If a cell broke that cycle and started multiplying uncontrollably, then the balance of the body was disrupted. This was unfortunately the origin of cancers and tumours: crazed cells that multiplied without stopping. Logically, if the Mother Cell had exhibited the same behavior, and even possessed a rapid ability to multiply, it should in turn have formed huge, ever-expanding tumor masses that would have ended up crushing the organs. The host would be killed within minutes, maybe half an hour at the most. Suddenly Robert spoke: "You continue to make the same mistake" Eyes were immediately fixed on him. "What do you mean, Dr. Oz?" Alan asked. Before Robert could answer it was Ian who spoke. "Having me as a friend you should be used to it by now, Alan. Don't you remember what I always tell you?" "You say too many things for me to write them all down, most of them stupid" "Perhaps, but one of them you should remember: everything is chaos. Our knowledge of the universe is terribly limited, yet we still have the arrogance to expect to know everything. What Dr. Oz is trying to tell you is that you have to stop reasoning with the patterns of traditional biology. Tell me, have you thought even for a moment that that cell might be able to understand how and when it needs to stop multiplying?" Alan and Mitch's eyes widened. If someone had tried to say such a thing just a couple of months ago they would have laughed in their face. But in the face of what they had just seen... "Do you think that could be the case, Dr. Oz?" Robert shrugged. "Professor Malcolm got ahead of me before I could explain, but yes, I believe the Mother Cell can regulate its multiplication. Basically, I believe it can turn genes related to reproduction on and off at will" Such a thing was not so unusual in nature. Some cells could. However, these were cells present within a living body, not pathogens. These cells continuously received impulses from the outside and could understand when it was time to stop. But the Mother Cell was an organism foreign to the body, and there was nothing to warn it that it was getting too numerous. Unless... "The nervous system" Mitch whispered. "The Mother Cell spreads through the nervous system. And the very first thing it infects is the brain, which owns all the information of the host body" "If the Mother Cell was able to access that information, then it could learn what the chemical impulses are that warn that there is too much cells in the body" Alan added, taking off his glasses, as he usually did when he was thinking. "If I were like that, it could regulate its diffusion perfectly" said Robert, seeing that the other two scientists had also come to the same conclusions as him. "In this way it would achieve a symbiotic relationship with its host, without risking killing or harming it in any way" Mitch and Alan scratched their chins. It seemed like a science fiction hypothesis, but the Mother Cell had repeatedly proved that it could subvert the normal criteria of biology. "Um, guys?" Jamie called suddenly with a strange expression on his face. "I think you missed a little clue. Look at this..." Alan, Mitch, and Robert walked over to the milk pail and moved the computer around so the others could see. The liquid (now completely red) had stopped bubbling and was rippling. It was as if some parts of it were trying to solidify and form something new. "It's trying to form new neurons" Robert said. "He's already started modifying what the brain is supposed to be. If it weren't for the fact that this is just milk, he probably would have finished by now..." The scientists were silent. A pathogen that spreads and changes its host so rapidly has never been seen before. The Mother Cell was truly terrifying. Jocelyne's voice, which hadn't spoken since they started, suddenly rang through the computer: "Dr. Oz, based on the data we have, how long until the 'animal apocalypse' strikes?" Robert rubbed his beard. "In my studies I have divided the hypothetical path that a creature infected by the Mother Cell would follow into three stages. At stage 1, the creature would use the Mother Cell for itself, in a way that we could define as selfish, increasing its strength speed and intelligence. I'd say we're well past this stage, as we know that the Mother Cell produced indestructible scales, perfect camouflage, and who knows what else we don't know yet. At stage 2, the infected creature would have abandoned its solitary life and it would have begun to take an interest in other life forms, developing empathy and self-awareness. It would have started with members of its own species and then spread until it engulfed all organisms it came in contact with. At stage 3... well, at stage 3 infected organisms would understand that humans are their common enemy and would start a global war to eliminate us" Robert twisted the nose. "Currently, I'd say we're at stage 2.85, maybe even 2.9: dinosaurs have started forming multi-ethnic herds, they've developed a herd cohesion system, they've created very complex interpersonal relationships and they've started to no longer tolerate the human beings. It is now only a matter of time before stage 2 is completed and we enter stage 3" "How long will that take?" Jamie asked in a concerned voice. "I don't know. We have too limited data to figure that out. However, based on what we know, I'd say no more than ninety days at best. Less than a month at worst" Robert replied. "But I repeat, these are assumptions deriving from the data in our possession. We don't have enough to have a certain estimate" "What will be the signs?" Jocelyne suddenly asked. "Uh... sorry?" Jocelyne seemed as taut as a violin string. Her eyes had a strange light inside them. "What will be the signs that we have entered stage 3, Dr. Oz?" "Well..." Robert seemed to think about it. "I'm not sure we would notice. Dinosaurs and other infected animals will start marching towards our borders, maybe even building citadels and fortifications. But most likely they would try to not get noticed" "In this case, I had to inform you all that we are already at stage 3. Our time is up" The scientists fell silent, and a look of pure horror came over Dr. Oz's face. Jocelyne ignored him and started drumming her fingers on the keyboard. Within a few seconds, several images appeared on her computer, clearly visible to all those connected by video call. "What you're seeing are satellite images, taken a few days apart over the Maakanar continent. Taken individually, they look nothing out of the ordinary, except to the... biologically very alert eye" Jocelyne said. The images showed herds of dinosaurs, but not just any herds: they were herds made up of many species. Species that normally would never get close to each other. "In fact, probably nobody is worrying about it. And even for a biologist these images would probably only show bizarre behavior of dinosaurs... if, as I said, we take them individually. But if we put them together, calculating the spatial and temporal distance , and connect the dots... we get this" A map of Maakanar appeared on the screen. Red dots marked all the spots where the satellite images were taken, and above them was marked the date they were taken. Red lines connected the various dots. "As they continued their journey, the dinosaurs carefully avoided all open spaces. Although it would have been easier, they did not pass through plains, meadows or other exposed areas. They preferred to remain under the cover of trees so as not to be seen. Just like say you, Dr. Oz" Jocelyne explained. "However, some obstacles simply could not be avoided, for example rivers. As they forded them, satellites snapped these images. By putting the photos and dates together, we realize that many of these herds are the same and some even they merged during the journey. And by drawing a line of their path it is possible to establish where they are all heading" Jocelyne didn't need to finish. The scientists had a clear idea of what she was intended. All the lines representing the movement of dinosaur herds... converged along the border with human settlements.