The Visitor (21 page)

“Does it take a lot of the virus to infect someone?” Baron asked.

“Not at all. You realize that Ebola is a microscopic-sized item. It’s about eight-hundred-five nanometers in length, and eighty nanometers wide. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. A single Ebola entering the body can infect and kill, and, unlike a flu virus, being in good health will not prevent it from taking hold and killing. Just ounces could theoretically infect the whole country, if you were able to spread it widely and rapidly. I can make it in a fluid medium and, bringing it in with liquid-nitrogen canisters disguised as mineral water or liquor bottles, for example, should work.”

Tak realized that Baron was still learning about it and decided to ask her own questions. “I’m interested to hear more of the details of how the race-specific Ebola is made.”

“Certainly. Actually, the techniques are very simple, but of course I know what to look for, having done it before. The hard part is the fact that it needs to be done in a level four bio-warfare high containment center like this, which would take several billion dollars today to make new.

“I first get tissues from the target race, which in your case would be the Han Chinese. I’ll look at the stomach, lungs, and liver, but other organs work as well. I look for unique antigen protein of the target race. Some are much better than others for passing along the infection rapidly, and the lungs are the fastest for an application such as this because, if infected in the lungs, the infected person will cough up an aerosol of contaminated fluid which will infect others very well.

“To find the unique cells, I sonify the cells--that is to subject them to sonic waves, which makes up a homogeneous paste of them. Then I begin looking for something unique about the cells. In this case, we have to find antigens that are not found in Tibetans. While I’ve done this with a few Chinese, but no Tibetans, I predict that I’ll find just what I need. The Tibetans must not have the same antigen.

“After I sonify the cells, the protein is then mixed with an eluent solution, and put in a high pressure column. This displaces the cells according to weight. Then a tiny fraction of each is taken from the bottom of the column in a fraction collector tube--the most would be, say, five hundred to a thousand, but I can usually do it with a hundred as I’ve done it so often. Then the optical density of each sample is tested against a standard of two-hundred-seventy. Light is passed through each tube and recorded optically.”

Dr. Dorogomilov stopped to prepare a freehand graph on paper. He drew an X and Y axis, and a hypothetical horizontal line across it with several vertical sections, one of which was very high.

“These elevations I have drawn are similar to what I’ll find eventually in the sample antigens. Now, of course, I’m simplifying things for you, but the result is the locating of the unique peaks of cells, until I select one that is not found in the control, that is, the Tibetans.”

“I understand,” Tak said.

“Good. Now, once this process is done, the unique protein is concentrated,” the doctor continued. “It’s then put into a dialysis tubing that will retain the proteins but will allow the salts and electrolytes to pass. Then the solution goes into a beaker with ammonium bicarbonate and is freeze dried, just like foods at the market. That is called lyophilization. The result is a powder of a race-specific antigen, in this case Chinese.”

Baron smiled. “A very special freeze-dried substance, indeed!”

“Yes, very special,” the doctor answered. “This special powder is then dissolved with saline and injected into the inner canthus of the eye of a mouse. Detecting this substance in the mouse’s eye, the mouse’s spleen begins producing antibodies. The cells can then be identified from the spleen of the mouse that interact with the original antigen, the hybridomas yielding the monoclonal antibody. The identification has to be done by reading the original antigen peak, another process similar to the first one.”

“How do you reproduce the antibodies?” Tak asked.

“Now come the rabbits,” he responded. “The peritoneal cavity of the rabbit is an excellent incubator for monoclonal antibody production. So I inject it there and let it grow, and the abdomens of the rabbits will be swollen with it. With a peritoneal tap, I remove the antibodies and put them in put them in the ultracentrifuge. The antibodies go to the top and the cells to the bottom with the help of ammonium sulfate. This is now concentrated, but not pure.

“You also need Ebola in sufficient quantity, depending on the size of the place you wish to infect. This is done with the monkeys. I infect the monkeys with Ebola in whose bodies it grows rapidly, even continuing after they die by living on the dead tissue. This means turning part of the lab into a deadly zoo. The monkeys will grow the Ebola and infect others in the cage. I then take the tissues much in the same manner as the non-infectious procedure, segregate the Ebola from it, and cleanse them. Extreme precautions are needed, so as not to allow a single Ebola particle loose or to come in contact with one of us, which makes this delicate work. One mistake and we all die.

“Then, I’ll have the Ebola in quantity as well as the unique antibody of the target race. The two are then linked together chemically and reproduced in incubators. If anything goes wrong and Dr. Volkova and I become infected, you will not get your Ebola.

Tak looked at Baron, as though to communicate that she had no further questions and was satisfied that the doctor had a credible presentation.

Baron summed it up. “You have created a magnificent biological weapon. The beauty is that a small crew, disguised as tourists, for example, can take in Ebola into a country, spread it about, and not get infected themselves. They would never be suspected since there would be no trail back to anyone, as they would be long gone with so many other tourists. There is no other weapon like it. Terrorists would love to get their hands on this. This is so unlike an atomic weapon, for example, as the type of radiation can be easily traced back to the reactor where it was made and all involved would surely be caught. What do you need to undertake the project?”

“Money for some new equipment and for supplies. I’ll need five expendable Chinese and two Tibetans, but they must not be related by blood. I’ll take tissue from the subjects without killing them, and then use them later for testing on how well the Ebola works, which will kill them. There are jail cells here in the building that we used to put criminals in that were sent to me for experimentation. I’ll need several very good security guards to help me with the Chinese, as they will object to being cut on for body parts. I’ll also need to hire some help, but that is available here. However, I need money to pay them.”

“What equipment do you need? Baron asked. “I thought that you would have most everything here in this billion dollar lab.”

“There are vast resources here such as the electron microscope. But the primary asset is the level four containment of the place. That’s the huge expense. There is simply no way to create a large quantity of Ebola without such a place. As for equipment, there have been advances in the equipment that, if I had it, would make the work go more quickly and more efficiently. I’d like to have a new ultracentrifuge. That is one that slings the samples to one hundred thousand times normal gravity. The one left here only goes to forty thousand gravities. That is very helpful in isolating different parts of the tissue based on their density.

“Then I’d like to have one of the latest laser densitometers. I have a column chromatography and a gamma ray counter. I’d like a new cell fluorescent sorter--a fluorescent material can be added to the proteins, and actually lights up in the device so the proteins can actually be seen, and is very helpful in observing the linked virus to the antibody in the linking process.”

The doctor became a little excited, like a kid in a candy store, adding whatever he could think of to his shopping list of goodies. “I’ve got a C02 water-jacketed humidifier which provides an atmosphere in which cells will grow very well. But a new spectrophotometer would be helpful. And, of course, I’ll need supplies and lots of mice, rabbits, and monkeys. I already have cages here for them, but I might need to convert some rooms to large cages when I go into production. Oh, yes, and I would like to have two of the latest and fastest computers available. I’ll put Russian Windows on one, and English on another, as I need both, and the two versions sometimes conflict. And, of course, the expendable subjects.

“I should buy a few pressure suits, as mine are old. I can possibly get by without getting the best of everything, but if I have what I want, and if you can afford everything, I can almost assure you that it will go very quickly. With the right equipment, I can probably isolate what I want in a matter of days.

“Then I’ll need operating money for wages, but the wages are very low here. I would use as few people as possible, and limit their knowledge. I would tell them that I’m working on the fungi for the project of eradicating the opium poppy for the Americans, which the Americans are presently funding.”

The doctor seemed to have completed his shopping list.

“How much will all that cost?” Baron asked.

The doctor looked up and calculated in his head. “I’d say about two hundred fifty thousand dollars, not counting the cost of help and local expenses. Three hundred thousand US Dollars altogether will be sufficient. As for the animals, the cost is not high, but they have to be flown in so they don’t die in transit. There are places that grow mice and rabbits for labs, and those are easy to get. However, the monkeys are more of a problem. They can be bought in the Philippines, India, and Africa, and have to be flown in special cages. Not all the airlines like handling monkeys in cages, as you can appreciate.”

Baron was relieved that it would only take so little for the equipment. “Here’s my proposal. I’ll pay for all the equipment from a special account, which will not go through the corrupt Kazakhstan government or banks. For your expenses locally, I will give you one hundred thousand US Dollars now in cash. As the equipment will come from Europe or the US, the payments made will go unnoticed and the arrival of equipment can be explained as from the US money for your fungi research. I will send some men here with the subjects, to assist with the handling of them and to keep an eye on the progress.

“I’ll get you the Chinese and Tibetan subjects at my expense, within two to three weeks. They will be delivered here through Russia via Vladivostok on the TransSiberian Express.

“The deposit will be in the account in a few days. I want everything set up at once. I want you to obtain the nitrogen canisters. I’ll get labels made to disguise them as Russian mineral water. They can be large sizes, perhaps a liter and a half on the outside. You will notify me when you are ready to ‘bottle’ your samples, and I’ll have several men here to collect them. I’ll have a crew ready to go on a tourist trip to Tibet and they’ll take the bottles.

“When the product is shown to work in Tibet, the sum of five million additional US dollars will be deposited into the same account. I’ll get started on travel visas for you and Dr. Volkova now, so I’ll need copies of your birth certificates and Kazakhstan passports to take with me.” He thought this would also make it easier for him to find them in case they bolted with his money. In which case, they would soon thereafter die at the hands of the Russian mafia.

“Agreed,” Dr. Dorogomilov said.

“Of course this agreement cannot be put in writing,” Baron said. “And we will rely on a gentleman’s agreement where a firm handshake is our contract.” He held out his hand to shake that of the doctor, and they sealed the deal.

Baron opened his brief case with his travel and other documents in it and took out one hundred thousand US Dollars in one hundred dollar bills.

“Do not show this about so as not to bring attention to yourself. You can rely on me, and I expect to rely on you. You are to notify me as to your progress, and I wish to be advised of any problem. Do not forget that I have friends nearby in Russia who can act on my command, and I will also have four or five here as guards with the subjects.”

That was stated to let the doctor know not to take off with the deposit, in which case he would be hunted down and murdered.

The doctor, holding the stack of money, smiled for the first time since they had been there. “I’ll make exactly what you want.”

“Doctor, I recognize your genius. You will not have to work again after this. Oh, you may also keep or dispense with the equipment that you buy. However, you are not to take any risks by the selling of equipment that could lead to us.”