Part 29 (2/2)
No life form had ever existed on earth that could do this. Nuclear genomes lacked this most essential attribute for ensuring survival. All living things simply entrusted their fate to ambiguities such as Time and Chance. She had parasitized them all, having no choice but to wait with utter impatience. But Eve would be different. She would be able to mould her own future, accessing nuclear genomes at will and setting her own evolutionary course.
Adaptation to environment, perfection and rationalization of faculties, all performed effortlessly. She would be free to occasion mutations. The speed of her evolution would be astronomical. She would be the ultimate life form.
She pa.s.sed through the shadows along the wall, happening upon a flight of stairs leading underground, then descended them to a damp, narrow s.p.a.ce. She continued from there, running down an incline just wide enough to let a car through, at the bottom of which was a st.u.r.dy door in a wall.
The door was locked, but She stretched a tentacle through the keyhole and undid the latch. With a rusty creak, the door opened slowly, and She slipped inside with the girl.
It was a gloomy s.p.a.ce, lit only by the pallid glow of a single ceiling light. She heard the dull sounds if a boiler room. On the left was an elevator door and on the right was another door. Light poured out from frosted gla.s.s in the latter.
A sign on it read ”Autopsy Room.”
There was no handle. Thinking what to do, She looked down and noticed a square indentation on the wall next to the door. A small red light glowed in its center. She put a foot into the indentation.
With an electronic whine, the door slid open sideways.
A man in an operating gown turned around.
”What are you do-”
She killed him instantly.
19.
Yos.h.i.+zumi and Anzai stared in surprise as Tos.h.i.+aki summarized all the events leading up to now. Some of what he said they had experienced already, so they had total faith in him.
Yos.h.i.+zumi told of the mitochondrial anomalies in Mariko's post-op biopsy. He also admitted to the mysterious heat he had felt during the operation itself.
”I've felt that heat as well ”Tos.h.i.+aki said. ”I think she has the ability to make contact with other people's mitochondria through something akin to telepathy. The mitochondria in all our bodies differ from hers and have yet to evolve fully, which is why we're only capable of 'normal' acts.”
”Even so, why can she summon fire?” said Anzai, stating the most obvious question.
”I don't know for sure, but I have a theory. Mitochondria exist in every cell of the body.
Imagine if they started to produce ATP all at once. If the conversion into energy was total, that means a lot of heat. Ignition is another matter, but it's possible that she makes cells vibrate at an intense speed to create friction. Our having felt hot probably owes to a similar mechanism.”
”Incredible, ”Yos.h.i.+zumi said, his eyes opened wide.
Five minutes after Eve 1's escape, the fire alarm was finally deactivated. The head guard was now guiding the others via the PA system. But still no news of discovery.
”Let's go, we've got to help them,” said Tos.h.i.+aki.
”My thoughts exactly,” the doctor concurred.
The three men exited the room and proceeded to the elevator. Anzai called out his daughter's name repeatedly, nothing but sadness in his voice.
As he ran, Tos.h.i.+aki said, ”She's probably still in the building. Eve 1 needs to keep Mariko subdued, so she can't have gone far. Doctor Yos.h.i.+zumi, where do you think would be the best place if she wanted to hide?”
”There are plenty. Offices, wards, examinations rooms, too many for just us and the guards to search.”
”I'm worried about something. Mitochondria has the function of speeding up a cell's division. That monster may have further evolved that ability.”
”What are you getting at?”
”Just recently, there was report of a certain Drosophila experiment. When the ribosomal RNA of these flies' mitochondria was infused into the zygote, specifically in those cells that were going to become reproductive organs, it caused the division of those cells to accelerate.
Not only that, but during sp.a.w.ning, the rRNA actually entered into the cytoplasm to induce division in the reproductive cells.”
This was over Yos.h.i.+zumi's head.
”What I'm saying is that mitochondria hold the key to reproductive division. It has yet to be reported in human beings, but the possibility is still there.”
”So in other words...she can grow a fertilized egg at whatever rate she chooses?”
”That's what I'm worried about. She has total control over the propagation of her host cells, which leads me to believe she can develop a fertilized egg in a very short period of time.”
”So if we don't find her soon, the child might already...?”
”Stop it, you two!” shouted Anzai, tears streaming down his tired face. ”There's no reason Mariko should have to give birth to a monster! She's only fourteen years old!”
They reached the elevator in silence and Tos.h.i.+aki pushed the b.u.t.ton. The floor numbers lit up slowly.
Short of breath, he asked Yos.h.i.+zumi where the guards were searching.
”The wards. They're checking every single room to see if any of the other patients have been harmed.”
Anzai shouted, ”But that thing already has what she came for! I thought she was taking her someplace out of sight?”
”She's probably looking for somewhere to complete what she came for. It'd have to be a place where there's no one else around. Somewhere where she can lay Mariko down in preparation for the birth itself, ”Tos.h.i.+aki added.
”That still doesn't narrow it down much. Let's see...there are couches in all the offices, CT scanning beds, stretchers in the storehouse, brain wave exam rooms, operating rooms, the morgue, the autopsy room...”
At those last words, the three of them looked up suddenly.
Just then, they heard a chime and the elevator doors opened.
20.
SHE looked around.
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