Page 48
My head is swimming in questions, the more he tries to explain. “But this doesn’t make sense. Six carries the Alpha gene. One I’m guessing came from his father? Why didn’t it kill his mother at birth, then?”
“It was latent. Dormant. Asleep. Basically a phenotypically silent sequence of DNA, which doesn’t mount the same immune response. Back then, we weren’t carriers of the disease, so there was nothing to fight off. Only when it’s been activated in the father does it pose an issue for the mother.”
I’m not seeing the potential in this venture. “So these samples …. How do they help?”
“The early samples contain the purest form of the pathogen, which produced a particular protein that puts the Alpha gene back to sleep, if you will. In Alphas with reactivated genes, like your babymaker over there, there’s a certain resistance to the Dredge. A Rager could practically devour him, and he’d never once fall ill with the disease. Though, I guess he’d have other issues, in that case.” While I find Jed’s explanation informative, I’m not amused by his morbid sense of humor. “However, if he was bitten by one of the very early Ragers who harbor the R-One protein, as we called it back then, and he didn’t happen to carry antibodies to the now circulating Dredge pathogen, he’d turn full on eat-your-face Rager, regardless of the Alpha gene.”
“How is this the cure?”
“It isn’t. Whoever told you it was?”
“Doctor Ericsson,” Cali answers for me. “He sent Alphas down into the tunnels.” She slides her gaze to Cadmus and back. “He referred to it as the cure.”
Jed snorts, shaking his head. “Ericsson had a warped sense of cure.”
“We were told that they had an attenuated virus that might be used to produce a vaccine.” I catch a glimpse of Kenny, standing off to the side, where he keeps his head down, as if he doesn’t care to be mentioned.
“We did manage to isolate the R-One protein. Unfortunately human trials failed.” His brow wings up, as he emphasizes the word. “And that, my friends, is how you end up with batshit mutations who turn on their masters. Mad science one-oh-one.”
“So, there’s no cure, at all. Just a dangerous and worthless contagion that benefits no one.”
“The ones who would benefit most from those early samples, of course, are the females impregnated by Alphas, but even I’m not certain how they’d fare. It would pose a detriment to anyone else. Carrier or not. At least the Alpha proteins offer some protection, which can easily be compromised. Reason number two your idea to venture down there is stupid. Should you encounter one of the early Ragers who harbor the protein, and should it bite you, your Alpha genes could very well go latent.”
“What happens then?” The intrigue in Six’s voice is an annoyance, as I’m certain he’d love nothing more than to have those genes fall back into slumber.
“It depends. If an Alpha is a carrier of Dredge, meaning you’ve already been exposed, perhaps not much. Or perhaps you’d eventually descend into madness over time. Unfortunately, our lab was shut down before we could explore those possibilities.” His brows pinch as he stares off, thoughtful for a moment. “But we do know a function of the Alpha gene is to protect against the plaques on the brain formed by the Dredge. Without that protection, you’d turn full on Rager eventually. I’m guessing you are a carrier, though, since that’s what activates the Alpha gene to begin with.” A serious expression clouds his eyes as he scratches his chin. “Though, I am aware the doctors at Calico tried other … rather unethical methods of bringing it out of latency.”
Provacation tests. I remember seeing the poor boys who were subjected to torturous experiments, in their sick and twisted efforts to stress the body into reactivating the Alpha gene. My own baby brother was subjected to nightmares before they ultimately murdered him.
“And is that the case for the impregnated females? They need to be a carrier, as well?” I ask, recalling the day Papa told me, when I first arrived at Calico, that he’d already checked my blood to confirm I was.
“Yes. Many second generation who’ve lived beyond the wall are carriers. It’s those of us who weren’t born into this disease, or exposed to fresh pockets out in the Deadlands, that succumb to it. In other words, if I were bitten, I’d be fucked. The ancient virus takes minutes to cause serious infection, and it’s pathology is, well … gross. Internal bleeding. Blistering deformations. Not pretty.”
“Just doesn’t seem worth the risk. If I’m the only one who would benefit.”
“I didn’t say that.” Waving his finger in the air, he shakes his head. “There is benefit in having the early samples, as they also produce a pheromone much like those expressed by the Alpha gene, which would allow one to walk amongst the Ragers virtually unnoticed.” His comment takes me back to years ago, when Papa injected pheromones in me to help me escape Calico, ones the doctors there tried to mimic, he told me, but its effects were short-lived. “Those that might be easier to replicate, and allow the non-carriers to go beyond the walls without risk. As it stands now, one whiff of Dredge, and this community would crumble.”
“We need to get down there. We need to find a way in,” Cali says from behind, exacerbating the trembles running through me now.
“And are you pregnant, as well?” Jed crosses the room to pour himself a drink out of the same glass Gregor used before.
“No. But if I was, I can apparently carry the baby to term, thanks to assholes like you who modified me into being so.”
“Cali!” I snap, glowering back at her.
“My apologies.” Gaze lowered, she seems to fidget where she stands between both her Alphas. “I meant no disrespect.”
“Yes you did.” Jed tips back his drink and pours another, which he carries to Gregor. “And you should be pissed. It’s really no different than Szolen swapping my cock for a vagina, just to have it fit with their standards of man and woman.”
“For God’s sake, man.” Gregor groans again and tips back his drink.
“You had injections, then?” Jed asks. “I’m assuming they built up some Alpha proteins over time.”
“Yes. Painful injections.”
“Well, no one said it was easy forcing the body to mount an immunity to something that wants to attack it. It’d be like trying to find enjoyment out of rape.”
I catch Gregor dragging his hand down his face, and he shakes his head. Somehow, the two of them are perfectly matched, though, as I know Gregor can be just as acerbic.
