jefflong.yearzero-第22部分

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ted　to　land　to　began　their　systematic　hunt。　Over　television；　the　cities　looked　like　empty　movie　sets。　The　peace　was　surreal。　In　Jerusalem；　the　walls　of　the　Old　City　glowed　like　molten　gold　in　the　summer　sun。　Massive　swarms　of　seabirds　circled　the　metro　areas；　choosing　their　feasts。　batants　no　longer　fought　for　the　holy　places。　There　were　no　pilgrims；　no　prophets；　no　merchants；　no　children。　Only　tourists　dressed　in　biohazard　〃moon〃　suits。
　Their　goal　was　simple：　find　the　virus。。。or　prion。。。whatever　type　of　microbe　Corfu　turned　out　to　be。　It　had　to　have　a　natural　reservoir；　a　place　of　origin。　So　far；　the　footprints　were　pure　science　fiction。　Epidemiologists　had　traced　the　contagion　to　an　eccentric　Greek　billionaire's　mansion　on　Corfu。　In　time…honored　tradition；　the　disease　had　been　named　after　its　point　of　outbreak。　It　was　now　known　that　the　Greek　had　collected…and　opened…Christian　relics；　and　routinely　sent　their　contents　to　various　labs　for　analysis。　Thanks　to　lab　precautions　and　swift　government　action；　the　earliest　emergence　of　Corfu　had　been　contained　to　the　cities　which　held　the　labs。　Investigators　quickly　pared　lab　notes　and　pinpointed　the　source；　a　Roman…era　glass　phial　with　bits　of　human　remains。　Diseased　remains。　The　problem　was　more　plicated　than　that。　There　was　a　source　behind　the　source。
　The　contagion　may　have　emerged…in　this　century…on　an　island　named　Corfu；　but　that　was　not　its　natural　reservoir。　Nor　was　the　relic；　which　had　traveled　from　country　to　country　over　two　thousand　years。　No　one　knew　the　relic's　provenance；　only　its　mythology。　Ready　to　believe　anything；　the　public　had　reached　its　own　conclusions。　The　relic　must　have　held　some　part　of　the　historical　Jesus。　The　disease　was；　therefore；　a　divine　punishment。　The　proof　lay　in　the　dictionary。　The　Latinplaga　referred　to　an　affliction；　calamity　or　evil　sent　by　God。
　Divine　or　not；　it　was　being　clear　that　the　natural　reservoir　was　not　just　a　place；　but　a　time。　All　portions　of　the　relic　had　long　since　disappeared　in　the　international　chaos。　But　according　to　lab　reports；　the　Greek's　wood　samples　had　been　dated　to　the　early　first　century。
　It　was　said　that　the　Tartars　besieging　Kaffa　in　the　year　1347　had　catapulted　corpses　infested　with　bubonic　plague　over　the　city　walls。　Corfu　was　the　equivalent。　A　disease　had　been　catapulted　through　time；　from　the　year　zero　into　the　twenty…first　century。　In　its　original　form；　twenty　centuries　ago；　the　virus　had　apparently　behaved　like　a　normal　virus。　It　killed；　but　it　also　left　survivors　who　could　then　transmit　it　to　other　hosts。　With　time；　contagions　tended　to　evolve　a　working　relationship　with　their　host　population。　From　syphilis　to　malaria；　once…lethal　diseases　grew　less　malevolent。　Killer　viruses　like　chickenpox　became　mere　childhood　diseases。　Even　AIDS　and　Ebola　and　the　fictitious　Andromeda　Strain　left　survivors。
　So　far；　Corfu　was　different。　Captured　and　contained　as　part　of　a　relic　two　thousand　years　ago；　the　virus　had　apparently　mutated。　It　had　grownmore　lethal。　Mathematically；　the　odds　were　just　as　great　that　a　virus　would　bee　more　deadly　than　less　deadly。　Until　this　point　in　time；　mankind　had　been　lucky；　that　was　all。　Now；　in　an　age　of　super　technology；　experts　refused　to　believe　their　own　statistics。　But　the　hard　fact　was　that　to　this　date　not　one　survivor　had　been　located　in　any　of　the　afflicted　countries。　Before　Corfu　made　its　appearance；　only　rabies　had　carried　that　kind　of　mortality　rate。
　Trying　to　locate　survivors　had　been　a　small　part　of　the　Navy　operation。　A　survivor　was　important　because　he　or　she　would　have　developed　an　antibody　to　bat　the　virus；　or　antigen。　With　the　antibody　identified；　scientists　could　at　least　be　creating　blood　tests　for　screening　out　carriers。　A　test；　or　diagnostic；　would　go　a　long　way　towards　protecting　still　healthy　populations。　So　far　that　line　of　investigation　was　a　bust。
　But；　once　upon　a　time；　therehad　been　survivors。　This　was　a　matter　of　logic。　The　virus　had　afflicted　at　least　one　individual　in　the　Levant　two　thousand　years　ago。　Possibly；　while　bottled　in　the　relic；　his　contaminated　tissue　had　evolved　into　modern…day　Corfu。　If　the　virus　had　infected　him；　it　would　surely　have　infected　others。　And　yet；　in　the　surviving　histories　of　Palestine　and　Egypt；　there　were　no　reports　of　devastating　plagues　during　that　same　period；　certainly　nothing　with　symptoms　like　Corfu　presented。　Tacitus　and　Josephus；　among　other　historians　living　in　the　first　century；　had　been　much　too　thorough　to　miss　such　a　detail。　And　so　far；　with　the　bug　still　eluding　their　view；　the　paleopathologists　and　other　researchers　could　only　guess　when　it　made　its　genetic　trespass　uponH。　sapiens。
　Somewhere　along　the　line；　the　virus　had　jumped　species　and　started　using　humans　as　a　host。　But　it　had　not　caused　a　noticeable　die…off。　That　suggested　two　things：　the　virus　had　probably　started　out　as　a　benign　invader；　and　some　of　its　victims　had　probably　recovered。　The　problem　for　modern　researchers　was　that　these　survivors　had　lived　two　millenia　ago。　Enter　the　Year　Zero　bones。
　While　entomologists　collected　insects　in　the　Mediterranean　basin；　and　zoologists　trapped　rats；　mice；　and　bats；　and　pathologists　took　tissue　samples　from　what　remained　of　plague　victims　in　the　streets；　and　Navy　SEALS　conducted　house　to　house　searches　for　living　survivors；　a　team　of　Seabees　had　excavated　the　famous　Golgotha　pit　in　the　caves　beneath　the　Church　of　the　Holy　Sepulchre。　They　didn't　waste　time。　A　bulldozer　scraped　away　the　upper　building。　A　backhoe　clawed　big　scoops　of　bone…rich　soil　into　a　sea　container。　On　board　the　USSTruman；　the　container　had　been　emptied；　the　soil　sifted；　and　the　bones　vaccuum　packaged　for　air　delivery　to　the　United　States。　Within　twelve　hours；　scientists　at　Los　Alamos　had　been　rooting　through　them　for　traces　of　either　the　original　virus　or　its　antibody。
　They　had　no　idea　what　they　were　looking　for。　No　one　knew　what　Corfu　looked　like。　Its　proteins　remained　a　mystery。　Blood　drawn　from　modern　victims　had　still　not　yielded　any　strange　microorganisms。　Corfu　acted　like　an　endogenous　virus；　a　type　of　retrovirus　that　could　lie　dormant　through　extremes　of　heat　or　cold；　and　over　great　spans　of　time。。。then　suddenly　switch　itself　on。　But　it　could　just　as　well　have　been　a　prion；　which　was　an　even　less　lifelike　mechanism。
　Some　people；　credible　scientists；　thought　Corfu　might　have　evolved　from　the　same　pestilence　that　Moses　had　supposedly　called　down　upon　the　Egyptians。　Given　the　mutation　rate；　its　symptoms　might　have　changed　from　the　boils　described　in　the　Bible。　Other　scientists　scrutinized　the　terrible　plague　which　felled　Athens　in　the　fourth　centuryB　。C。E。　In　hisHistory　of　the　Jews；　Josephus　alluded　to；　but　had　not　detailed；　a　plague　in　the　century　before　Augustus　Caesar　came　to　rule。　Or　maybe　one　of　Alexander　the　Great's　soldiers　had　brought　it　home。　One　way　or　another；　the　contagion　must　have　traveled　along　some　land　or　sea　route　during　some　empire。
　The　bottom　line　was　that　the　Year　Zero　bones　from　Jerusalem　had　remained　mute。　They　had　yielded　not　one　clue。　But　now　Miranda　had　an　idea。
　〃The　call　is　out　for　Year　Zero　material　that　might　be　lying　around　in　private　collections　or　museums；〃　Miranda　explained　to　Golding。　〃But　chances　are　we're　not　going　to　get　anything　more　to　work　with。　So　I　thought；　why　not　make　the　bones　work　for　us？〃
　〃Go　on；〃　said　Golding。
　〃Clone　them。〃
　Golding　was　quiet　a　minute。　〃You　mean　to　bring　the　bones　back　to　life？〃
　〃I　know　it　sounds　crazy。〃
　〃Crazy　is　not　the　word；　Miranda。〃　Cloning　was　precisely　what　Golding　had　made　this　trip　to　stop。　Before　she　could　say　more；　Miranda　shot　ahead　with　her　notion。
　〃I've　found　a　way　to　ramp　up　the　DNA；〃　she　said。　〃It's　there。　It's　in　the　bones。　The　genetic　signature　of　probably　four　hundred　different　men　right　here　on　these　tables　and　shelves　and　in　these　drawers。　If　we　restored　them　to　life；　we　might　find　some　evidence　of　the　virus　in　its　original　state。〃
　〃It　would　never　work；〃　Golding　retorted。　She　needed　to　demolish　this　fancy；　first。　Then　she　would　drop　the　bigger　bomb。　A　moratorium　on　all　human　cloning　research。　People　needed　to　be　focused　on　the　basics；　not　fiddling　around　on　the　far　edges。　〃Even　if　you　could　clone　them；　the　virus　wouldn't　be　resurrected　inside　them。〃
　〃Not　the　virus；〃　said　Miranda。　〃Its　genetic　shadow。　The　genetic　scars　of　the　disease。〃
　〃The　antibody？〃
　〃Or　the　shadow　of　an　antibody。　It　might　lie　in　the　memory　T…cells。　If　any　of　these　men　were　a　survivor　of　the　disease；　his　cells　would　hold　a　permanent　memory　of　the　virus　structure。　It　would　bee　part　of　the　code；　to　defend　against　future　attacks。　Or　it　could　be　hidden　in　the　junk　DNA　somewhere；　zipped　inside　reverse　transcriptease　with　other　inert　viral　genomes。〃
　〃Shadows；〃　murmured　Golding。　She　was　not　pleased。　She　had　flown　all　this　way　to　lecture　Miranda；　to　grind　into　her　that　Thou　shalt　not　do　evil　in　order　to　do　good。　But　what　if　she　was　wrong？　〃I　don't　know　about　this；〃　she　said。　〃It　sounds　so　desperate。　Like　an　excuse。　A　fishing　expedition　in　the　dirt。〃
　〃I　was　thinking　more　along　the　lines　of　a　manned　probe　into　the　Year　Zero；〃　said　Miranda。　〃But　you're　right；　it　is　desperate。　We　have　to　try　everything；　don't　we？〃
　〃Everything？〃　said　Golding。　〃What　does　that　mean？〃
　〃Elise；　you're　so　pale。　e　over　here。　Sit　down。〃
　Golding　let　herself　be　guided。　She　sat。　Miranda　brought　her　a　paper　cup　of　water。　〃Your　heart？〃　she　asked。
　Golding　patted　Miranda's　hand。　〃I'm　just　tired。〃　But　it　seemed　the　world　kept　on　dropping　out　from　under　her　feet。
　
　8
　Asia
　
　WINTER
　North　from　Kathmandu　the　highway　lay　silenced。　Truck　and　bus　drivers　had　walked　away　from　their　stalled　vehicles。　Roadside　vendors　had　packed　up　their　sweets　and　cigarettes　and　Tiger　Balm。　Now　their　little　shanties　stood　empty。　Nathan　Lee　was　the　sole　traffic。　Going　up；　he　pushed　the　ponderous；　overloaded　mountain　bike。　Descending；　he　smelled　rubber　and　wished　for　extra　brake　pads。
　It　was　not　that　there　were　no　people。　Villagers　and　animals　meandered　antlike　on　the　terraced　hillsides。　Their　sounds　carried　through　the　valley　air；　the　blacksmith's　hammer；　cows　lowing；　the　temple　bell；　children's　laughter。　They　made　him　ache　for　a　place　and　people　of　his　own。　Nights　he　lay　on　the　di