The Rise of Walsanto (Genetic Apocalypse Book 3) Read online

  “You are always welcome here Mr. Whitman,” Jacob put in.

  “Thank you very much. I will take you up on your offer someday.”

  Handshakes and goodbyes were shared all around as Jacob and Elaine escorted them to Jim Ward’s pickup, which seemed a little too common, but certainly very incognito for a Presidential advisor. Whitman was already making notes in the organizer on his cell as they pulled out of the Hunter’s driveway and back on the main road.

  For his part, Jim remained silent, perhaps lost in his own thoughts or simply respecting Rusty’s position. In either case, Rusty appreciated the time to think. He had a report to put together and he would likely need to begin putting together a presentation for the fall USPA meeting. He had no idea how he was going to spin things.

  The USDA line was what he would have to follow in the long run, and it was, as far as he was concerned, perpetuating the crisis. The USDA was linked to the President, who was linked to Walsanto with very strong ties. Once again, he found himself trying to figure out how he was going to walk that tightrope.

  Part of the problem with being the guy with “boots on the ground,” was that he was subject to getting a more honest picture of what was really going on, but was not in a position of authority to actually do anything about it. The President would want his honesty, but he wasn’t sure how far that honesty would fly in the face of political maneuvering.

  On the other side of the fence, he felt like he needed to be honest with the public as well. Though he certainly lacked specific research to back it up, he was already pretty certain that the new corn was causing sterility in birds and animals and he had a hunch that it was probably affecting anyone who was eating their eggs, drinking their milk or eating their meat. How could it be stopped? Further yet, could it be stopped?

  It would take independent research by someone who wasn’t afraid to go against the grain. Someone would have to be willing to step outside the regular channels in order to get things done, just like the Hunters had already done in a very practical sense. Suddenly, an idea hit him. He knew exactly who he could talk to in order to get things moving in the direction that they needed to go.

  “Jim, do you mind dropping me off at the extension office when we get to town?”

  “Sure I can,” Jim replied. “I need to talk to Gerald anyway.”

  “Not to be rude or anything, but I really need to speak to him alone. I’ll have him give me a ride back to your office when we’re done talking. You can talk to him then.” It was more of an order than a request. He’d gotten used to making those sorts of statements in his position when the circumstances called for it. His look and tone were not lost on Jim Ward.

  “Alright. I have a couple of other things I need to tend to anyway,” Jim backed out of the situation without losing face. When they were back in town, he dropped Whitman off at the extension office, noting that it was one of the rare occasions when Gerald Davies’ pickup was actually parked there.

  “I’ll see you in a bit,” Whitman said as he stepped out of the truck and closed the door behind him.

  17

  South Carolina

  Early Winter 2020

  Clemson’s Forensic Genetics Lab

  It had been a while since Gerald Davies had been in the research lab on the Clemson campus. Things were certainly far different than they had been even just a decade ago. Technology in the lab had continued to advance to the point that even he would be lost inside of a research lab, and he’d spent quite a bit of time in one during his college years.

  “Mr. Davies,” Dr. Thomas Greene smiled as he shook his hand. “The lab aide told me that someone was here, but I sure didn’t expect to see you. What brings you to Clemson?”

  “I have to come up with an excuse to visit the big city once in a while. Bored to death in that small town,” Gerald chuckled. They both knew it was a lie, but there wasn’t much point splitting hairs on the subject.

  “Well, come on in, let me show you around,” Dr. Greene offered.

  “I’d love to some time, but I really can’t today,” Gerald watched Dr. Greene’s face turn grave as he responded to his own expression. “Actually, do you have a minute to take a walk with me?”

  “Let me get my aides started on some things and then I can give you as much time as you need. What’s it about?”

  “Get them started. I’ll tell you while we’re walking.”

  Dr. Greene’s face was edging toward pale as he hurried off giving orders to individuals in the lab and then returned to Gerald. “Alright, I’m ready.” He slipped off his lab coat and hung it on a hook inside the door of his office and closed the door behind him.

  Gerald waited until they were out of the building and in the open air of the campus outside. It was a little bit chilly for this time of the year to be wandering around outdoors, but it was something that he was counting on for their privacy. Most everyone else would be inside where it’s warm. It allowed them to talk without being overheard. “What do you know about potential sterility problems associated with Walsanto Seeds’ new GM/Hybrid corn?”

  “Whew!” Dr. Greene whistled. “That was sure an abrupt opening Mr. Davies, and a rather loaded question too, don’t you think? I don’t recall hearing anyone having actually said anything to that effect.”

  Gerald could tell that he’d made Dr. Greene defensive. Greene was being very cautious. He’d have to be more careful how he worded things. “What else would you say could explain the sudden egg viability issues being reported? In every case, at least within my county, it appears to be connected to feeding the new corn. Everyone feeding it is reporting 100% failure in incubating eggs. I mean Christ, these aren’t amateurs. Some of these are people who run hatcheries for a living. They’re telling me that the only change they’ve made is switching over to the new corn, and suddenly, they have no chicks to sell.”

  “But, the USDA has determined that this corn is perfectly safe to feed to humans or livestock,” Dr. Greene said. “They also claim that the meat and the eggs of birds fed this corn are of higher nutritional value than that of birds fed on heirloom corn.”

  “Cut the crap, Tom. Nobody can hear you. I’ve already read the official reports. What do you really think?”

  Dr. Greene stopped and scanned in every direction, as if expecting someone to be following them or listening in. “Jesus, Mr. Davies. You know this is serious stuff we’re talking about. I could lose my job.”

  “That’s why we’re out here.”

  “I think there is something fishy going on, but without any kind of research to back it up…”

  “What kinds of tests and research would be necessary?” Gerald knew most of the answers that he was about to receive, but he wanted to make certain that Dr. Greene gave what they were discussing some honest thought. It was the best way that he knew to draw the man in.

  “Well, we would need to do some forensic genetics and DNA testing. So far, our labs and the USDA labs have been testing for nutritional value on the feed and on the animals that are eating that corn. There haven’t been any studies into how it is affecting other functions like fertility and the like.”

  Dr. Greene continued to expound upon what it would take to prove that the GM/Hybrid corn was possibly contributing to sterility and Gerald knew that without a doubt, the researcher had already formed a theory about it in his mind. Dr. Greene suddenly realized that Gerald had been very quiet and was watching him very closely as he spoke.

  “Mr. Davies, you’re not suggesting…” He didn’t complete the sentence. He whispered, “I could lose my job.”

  “I’m not asking you to do it, Tom.”

  “Then what? What’s this all about?”

  “I want you to recommend someone that can do the research that you’re talking about, do it right and make absolutely no errors.”

  “I can think of a couple, but they are kind of seen as rebels. You might have some credibility issues with the mainline facilities.”

  “Credibi
lity isn’t the biggest issue here.”

  “But bucking the USDA…”

  “That’s not the issue either. At least not at this point.”

  “Is there funding?”

  “Yes.”

  “From?”

  “High levels.”

  “You’re not going to tell me.”

  “I’m not at liberty to.”

  “I probably don’t want to know.”

  “No, you don’t. In fact, as soon as I leave, it would be best if you got a pretty good case of amnesia about all of this.”

  Dr. Greene turned and walked back toward the lab. Gerald followed along beside him as they walked in silence. “Wait here.”

  Dr. Greene went inside his office and left Gerald waiting in the hallway outside. After five minutes, he returned with a small folded slip of paper and extended it toward Gerald.

  “It was good to see you, Mr. Davies,” he said, returning to his regular demeanor, though his eyes still held a startled look in them. “Come visit us again.”

  “I appreciate your help, Dr. Greene. I’ll take you up on that.”

  Tom Greene smiled as he realized that it was the first time that Gerald Davies had ever referred to him as Dr. Greene. “Take it easy, Mr. Davies.” He smiled, reached for his lab coat inside the door of his office and turned to open the door to the lab as he watched Gerald Davies stroll away down the hall.

  18

  South Carolina

  Mid-winter 2020

  Clemson’s Forensic Genetics Lab

  “Dr. Greene?” Hannah poked her head inside the research department chairman’s office.

  “Hannah! How’s everything coming? Plenty of supplies and specimens?” Dr. Greene asked, looking up from the journal article that he was reviewing for a colleague.

  “No, it’s not that. I mean yes, I mean, it’s something else that I need to talk to you about,” she sputtered. Hannah had been diagnosed as slightly autistic earlier in life, with Asperger’s syndrome. Her tremendous focus on the subject in front of her sometimes made her socially awkward. She was very aware of that. To compensate, she tended to smile a lot, and, she often spoke very rapidly. Under normal circumstances, Clemson’s number one PhD candidate in forensic genetics might have been a little nervous just asking for a new microscope, or a case of Petri dishes, but at the moment her nerves were making it nearly impossible for her to speak. She had rehearsed what she planned to say to Dr. Greene at least a dozen times, and then had debated with herself whether or not she should even trouble her mentor with this. Finally, she had decided that she needed his input, and more importantly, his support with this issue.

  She knew that for some reason, this entire project was supposed to be kept quiet, and that Dr. Greene had been especially eager to maintain a bit more distance than was usual, but she needed some help. She needed someone to help her settle things in her mind. Hannah closed the door behind her and moved a stack of books to sit next to the desk and lean in close to Dr. Greene, so that she could keep her voice down. “I know you aren’t keen on discussing my project, but there are some things about it that are scaring me.”

  “Oh, my dear girl!” he said. “Please, tell me what’s troubling you.”

  She struggled in forming the words to express her concern, as usual, but finally, as usual, she plunged right in, talking a mile a minute. “Okay, so you know how bamboo grows so fast, right?”

  “Yes, sometimes up to three feet in a 24 hour period under the right conditions,” Dr. Greene responded.

  “Exactly. Well, the reason that Walsanto’s GM/Hybrid corn grows so fast and can produce those enormous ears of corn is because it has been genetically modified to contain bamboo DNA. If that wasn’t enough, they’ve also added the DNA of some variety of algae. What that accomplishes is to add, like, super chlorophyll at the cellular level, then super cellular reproduction by cell division like only single celled algae is capable of. No other land plant works quite like this.” Once she got started, she began to chatter like Dr. Greene’s nine-year-old daughter.

  “So then, you asked me to find out if there was a link between the corn and the gray/green tone of the chickens’ skin that eat the GM/Hybrid corn. Okay, so, remember the algae? Of course you remember the algae, I just told you about it. So, the algae DNA adds chlorophyll at the cellular level, which is a chemoprotein related to protoheme, you know, the red pigment in blood, thus bringing the green color into the skin pigment, which then overpowers the chicken’s normal pigmentation. The chlorophyll then uses the excess CO2 from the bloodstream, along with sunlight on the skin, to create extra carbohydrate energy and oxygen by photosynthesis. That means higher oxygenation rates in the bloodstream and plenty of energy to fuel that unbelievable growth explosion that the bamboo DNA brings to the party. The bamboo DNA also brings the predominant gray tone to the cells of the skin, by arranging itself all around the chlorophyll to feed from it.

  Did you know that bamboo has more compressive strength than wood, brick or concrete and that it has the tensile strength of steel? Plus, you’ll never see a fat chicken with gray/green skin, because any extra carbohydrates are used up growing these new cells, instead of trying to store fat in existing cells.

  I also discovered that the reason that the gray/green skin is smoother than the skin of a normal chicken, which is kind of bumpy, like the skin of a goose. That’s why they say that you get goose bumps when you’re scared, you know, because your skin looks and feels like the skin of a goose. Oh and did you know that in Spanish they say “piel de gallina,” which would actually make them “chicken bumps” instead of goose…”

  “Hannah! Back on track, please,” Dr. Greene knew that once she got started on one of her side stories it might be a long time before they came back to the initial subject again.

  “Oh. Yeah. Right. Sorry. Okay, so the skin is smooth because of the loss of, or absence of feather follicles, which of course are extremely similar to hair follicles. Feathers would get in the way of sunlight on the chicken’s skin, so the chicken’s genetic recipe calls for getting rid of feathers! Isn’t that cool? Instant evolution!

  At first, I thought the idea of the addition of bamboo and algae DNA was a pretty clever one. I mean, they are both natural substances, so it isn’t like they are adding chemicals or synthetic substances into the plants, but because of what they did, they sort of boosted the plant growth in a rather clever way that not only makes the growing season for it a lot shorter and allows it to be grown in climates where the season is short, but with the algae, it’s actually adding protein and the potential for a type of hyper-photosynthesis.

  The protein and the hyper-photosynthesis in the corn then gets passed along to the chickens, which in turn, creates the potential of photosynthesis to take place within the chickens or other animals, right? That’s a pretty cool concept when you think about it. On top of that, you add the growth potential and steel-like strength of bamboo to bone and beak cells. Pretty cool, right?”

  “Hmmm… that is rather, innovative. So basically, the claims that Walsanto Seed and the USDA have made, have been confirmed.” He didn’t really want to stir up any controversy. He was comfortable in his position. It paid well, the hours were good and his family was happy in Clemson. After Gerald had asked him to have someone look into the egg viability problem, he’d been tense, listless and hadn’t slept well. If Hannah’s results didn’t stir up anything new, then he could relax a bit. But he had to get directly to the point, though he winced as he asked the question, “And the egg viability?”

  “That’s the part that scares me. Not only were the bamboo and algae genes added, but they also added something else that’s pretty evil.”

  The hoped for relaxation wasn’t forthcoming. He licked his lips as he felt his heart speed up. “What else did they add?”

  “Well, you know how seed companies cross pollinate to a degree that makes it impossible for the plant to produce a fertile seed, right?”

  “Yes, it’s how
they protect their trademark brand.”

  “Right. Well, in this case, they added what I would call a ‘terminator gene’. It’s only purpose in this world, as far as I can tell, is to keep things from being able to reproduce. It’s just pure evil and as far as I’m concerned, any genetic scientist who fools around with, produces and actually places something like this inside of a plant or animal is being extremely irresponsible and ought to be injected with it themselves! Sorry, I got a little carried away there for a second.”

  “So, to be clear,” Dr. Greene began, “what you are telling me, is that because of this ‘terminator gene’, the corn plants are sterile. Because of the way it is added, it’s somehow able to integrate itself into the genetic sequence, or genome of certain cells within the corn kernel. Then, when these kernels are ingested by the chicken, this ‘terminator gene’ is somehow being passed on to the chicken, where it continues to divide and reproduce itself? This is why the eggs won’t hatch?”

  “In a nutshell, yes,” she replied. “But here’s the scary question of the day. If this corn can make chickens that eat it sterile, can it also make any other animals that eat sterile too? So like, is it making cows, pigs, goats and sheep sterile too? And horses? Oh my God, I hope it isn’t making horses sterile. But then, people mostly feed oats and other grains to horses and not so much corn, but how much corn would it take?”

  “Hannah...” Dr. Greene had to stop her again.

  “Right. Rabbit trail. Incidentally, it probably won’t sterilize rabbits, because most people don’t feed corn to rabbits, because there’s a mold that can form on corn kernels that is toxic to rabbits, so most people avoid it altogether, but that has nothing to do with what we’re talking about. Anyway, I had another idea, too.”