"You're not going to shoot a teenager with an intar device," Isara told me sternly.
"Why? We're going to approach a sixteen-year-old kid, offer him a ride, and then tell him he's an alien? That's absurd!"
"Shooting a guy with an intar device, kidnapping him, and then letting him wake up on Teltak—that's an even worse idea," his wife replied. "Damn you, Szareh, stop shooting people with an intar device!"
"You like it when I do this, don't you?"
Her gaze was empty.
"No".
"Why not?"
"You can't just shoot people with an intar device!"
We were talking about Patrick Sheppard, the future father of a certain idiot, who, come to think of it, turned out to be of little use to me compared to what Patrick could offer me. He was quite difficult to find, given the lack of a unified computerized database. I had to resort to the services of a private detective. Knowing Sheppard's father's year of birth and his name, it was a real quest. But later, I told Egeria and Isara that I'd found a guy with a good response to Ancient technology. This was just a guess, based on my memory of the slightly different genetics of humans and Ancients. That's why Abstergo Industries was searching for Ancient genetic markers by taking blood samples from many people. It's useful sometimes to be a pharmaceutical company, producing various drugs and cosmetics that, for example, the Tollans are hundreds of years out of date, and breaking even. Having found Patrick ourselves, entered him into our own database, and analyzed his genetics, we realized he was capable of producing a number of proteins and enzymes unusual for humans. Collectively, we decided this was exactly what we needed.
I needed O'Neill, but not Sheppard, so if he didn't show up, well... that's how it goes. If marriages are made in heaven, he definitely will. O'Neill's mother also has a very powerful gene, but I couldn't interfere with that. So, a few alien abductions to gather genetic material for future eugenics projects. Not to mention that with Egeria's help, I can inoculate anyone with this gene. Essentially, I could perform genetic therapy on the entire population of Urvashi. Even at 50% efficiency, that would mean millions would receive the gene activating Ancient technology. However, we need to gain access to the chair on Proklarush Taonas and evacuate everything that could be useful, including the drone shells, the chair itself, and the computers with the databanks. Not to mention the MNT. The reconnaissance vessel delivered the gate to Proklarush, and through the gate we delivered a shield protecting it from the outside environment, allowing for excavations. However, beyond excavations, we need to start receiving data from this machine, so I'm forcing the issue.
That's why Isara and I are debating how best to recruit young Patrick. I think the Intar device is always the answer, but for some reason she doesn't.
"Okay, this isn't war, we'll do it your way," I notice a professional deformation in myself and a desire to shoot everyone with an intar device. Probably many of those whose homes my agents infiltrated and stole memories/genetic material might feel uncomfortable.
"We'll use administrative resources. We'll say we're looking for talent, like Abstergo Industries."
"Isara, Abstergo is a pharmaceutical company, and everyone knows that sixteen-year-old boys don't get hired by companies like that."
"We're not using him as a worker, but as a test subject," Isara sighed. "It's logical to assume the parents also possess the gene. We could hire the whole family and pay them quite well."
"You'll still need to cover the payment, but that's not that difficult."
"So you won't shoot them with the intar device?"
"I won't shoot them with the intar device," I promise.
Isara called to schedule a meeting. Henry and Chase Sheppard and their son Patrick received us in the living room.
"You contacted us and indicated that you wanted to conduct research," Henry Sheppard, a white man in his forties, a mid-level businessman, began the conversation.
"Yes, my wife and I study pharmaceuticals and the production of various medications at our firm. Your son recently donated blood, and we're studying the samples and noticed an abnormality in his case that we believe is quite rare."
"Anomaly?" Henry's wife was worried.
"It's not necessarily something bad. We think, for example, that your family has a predisposition to secreting an unusual enzyme."
"A chemical compound. It doesn't do any harm and doesn't give any superpowers. This isn't a comic book, it's just rather unusual," Isara agreed. "Perhaps you know something about DNA? It might speed up the process, but I can give you a detailed lecture."
"Nothing," the man was honest.
"Okay. For now, this is mostly the domain of highly specialized scientists studying heredity. Everyone understands that brown-haired people will have brown-haired children, and parents see traits of themselves or their relatives in their children. So far, everything is clear."
"It's obvious."
"Okay. Our job is to study the methods by which living things transmit information to each other. I'll give you a brief historical overview, which you can find in any public library, to make sure we're not misleading you. DNA as a chemical substance was isolated by Johann Friedrich Miescher in 1869 from cell debris contained in pus. He isolated a substance containing nitrogen and phosphorus. Initially, the new substance was called nuclein, and later, when Miescher determined that this substance had acidic properties, it was named nucleic acid. The biological function of the newly discovered substance was unclear, and for a long time, DNA was considered a phosphorus storehouse in the body. Moreover, even at the beginning of the 20th century, many biologists believed that DNA had no bearing on information transfer, since the molecular structure, in their opinion, was too uniform and could not contain encoded information.
Until the 1930s, it was believed that DNA was found only in animal cells, while RNA was found in plant cells. In 1934, the journal "Hoppe-Seyler's Zeitschrift für physiologishe Chemie," followed in 1935 by the "Scientific Notes of Moscow State University," published articles by Soviet biochemists A. N. Belozersky and A. R. Kizel, demonstrating the presence of DNA in plant cells. In 1936, Belozersky's group isolated DNA from the seeds and tissues of legumes, cereals, and other plants. Research by this same group of Soviet scientists from 1939 to 1947 resulted in the first information in the world scientific literature on the nucleic acid content of various bacterial species.
Gradually, it was proven that DNA, and not proteins as previously believed, is the carrier of genetic information. Some of the first decisive evidence came from the experiments of Oswald Avery, Colin Macleod, and Maclyn McCarty (1944) on bacterial transformation. They demonstrated that DNA isolated from pneumococci is responsible for so-called transformation (the acquisition of pathogenic properties by a harmless culture as a result of the addition of dead pathogenic bacteria). An experiment by American scientists Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase (the Hershey-Chase experiment, 1952) with radioactively labeled proteins and bacteriophage DNA showed that only the phage nucleic acid is transferred to the infected cell, and the new generation of phage contains the same proteins and nucleic acid as the original phage.
Until the 1950s, the exact structure of DNA, as well as the method by which genetic information is transmitted, remained unknown. Although it was known for certain that DNA consists of several strands of nucleotides, no one knew exactly how many of these strands there were or how they were connected.
The work of biochemist Erwin Chargaff's group in 1949–1951 resulted in the formulation of the so-called Chargaff rules. Chargaff and his colleagues succeeded in separating DNA nucleotides using paper chromatography and determining the precise quantitative ratios of different types of nucleotides. The ratios discovered for adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G), and cytosine (C) were as follows: the amount of adenine is equal to the amount of thymine, and the amount of guanine is equal to the amount of cytosine: A=T, G=C.
Isara told all the useful information quite quickly, using specific terms, practically hypnotizing people.
"Basically, we'd like to study you and your relatives, as your DNA is unusual and different from most people. We're willing to pay generously for the tests and, of course, completely free medical examinations using the most modern equipment," I add. "This extends to your entire family."
"I understand why scientists do this, but shouldn't a corporation be doing something a little different, and its leaders are unlikely to convince ordinary people."
"That's true," I point out. "However, research requires significant investment to be effective. Penicillin existed for 20 years before smart people figured out how to use it and set up industrial production. Corporations need to stay on top of various research efforts and prepare for new battles. Or do you think penicillin will last forever?"
"Isn't it?" Henry asked.
"Actually, that's not true," I countered, pointing to the bottle. — "This substance is a powerful antibiotic, but, unfortunately, bacteria and viruses will quickly develop immunity to it due to improper use by people. Imagine: you have the flu, take an antibiotic, you feel better, and you stop the course. This only means that you have destroyed the weak bacteria that caused the flu, but left the strongest ones. The survivors, who are resistant, will multiply, and you will pass them on to others. A person who survives in such a situation may develop immunity, while another, weaker person, will have a much more severe disease. In essence, this is similar to the selection of the strongest individuals in animal husbandry for further reproduction. People, without realizing it, do the same with bacteria and viruses. Therefore, scientists will have to enter into an unequal struggle. It is possible that in just thirty years, penicillin will cease to be a formidable weapon for many viruses and bacteria. After all, not only people but also microorganisms have genetic information, and viruses, in turn, introduce "Injecting your harmful RNA into human cells is painstaking and time-consuming work. Furthermore, we suspect that your own immune system has unique properties that deserve separate study. And, of course, I highly value your personal involvement, preferring it to the efforts of a scientist with poor communication skills or a manager who is unable to grasp the essence of his work."
"Thank you for such a long and detailed story. I'll discuss it with my family and get back to you."
— I'll be waiting. I was also glad to meet you.
We left the house.
"It would be faster to Intar," I remarked, hinting at transport.
"One more word like that and you'll be sleeping on the couch," she threatened, but a smile flickered in her eyes.