Writing for Fun
June 2018
An Inspiration - Bob Wendelkin
Professor Wiles sat at his bench in his Laboratory looking at the Petrie dish under his microscope. What he saw made him wonder as he considered the results of his latest experiment. The clock in the university where he worked began to strike. At each chime of its ancient bell made him consider different conclusions of the experiment and its possible implications. Should he destroy the results and forget that they ever existed or should he publish the results and make it known to the world.
He had been experimenting with DNA and its possible manipulation. He knew from other experiments and investigations that humans had large percentages of DNA that was common in other living things. We have more than 99% DNA in common with the Mountain Gorillas and 50% with the yeast to make our bread, what he wanted to know was why some bits of the DNA were switched on and other bits suppressed, to create different creatures.
He had been trying to remove from a pathogen germ cell certain parts of its DNA that would make them inactive then be reactivate them by the DNA of one specific human.
What he wanted to do was to extract the cells from a cancer tumour then using its DNA, which is slightly different from the rest of the body in which they grew. He then wanted to modify a Pathogen’s DNA so that it would only become activated by the Cancer cell’s DNA. He then wanted to couple them to a virus, as he knew that viruses have the ability to penetrate the walls of many cells and then transport the modified pathogen into the malignant cells. He could see from the results of his experiment that he could couple the virus to a pathogen and then using sections of a Cancer cell’s DNA, that was not common to the host’s DNA, to switch on the pathogen when it entered the cancer cell. Hence destroy the cancer without the pathogen having any effect on the rest of the human body.
Should he publish the results of his trial or not as he could see that it could be miss used. He decided to put the results to one side for a while although he did publish some of the aspects of his experiments.
As he sat in his office reviewing a scientific paper the telephone rang.
‘Are you Professor Wiles?’ asked the voice.
‘I am, who am I speaking to?’ replied the Professor.
‘I’m from a group that has been looking at your latest paper that you published a few months ago. May we talk about the possible application for this technique,’ said the voice.
‘Are you talking from a medical foundation?’ asked the Professor.
‘Not strictly from a Medical Foundation but from a more confidential group,’ replied the voice.
Professor Wiles had been fearing such an approach as he was worried that there could be other more violent applications for his research.
‘Please may we meet and discuss the applications on how we would like to use your technique, we feel that what we want to do will be for the benefit of the whole of mankind as well as its application of making cancer a thing of the past.’
‘Where are you? Where do want to meet? When do you want to meet?’ asked the Professor.
‘My group could be with you very soon as we are very near you. We could meet in your office within five minutes,’ replied the voice.
Within a few minutes, without even reception contacting him that he had visitors, a group of people were at his office door.
‘Thank you for seeing us to discuss its application. What we speak of is very confidential and if you do not agree with us you will remember nothing of our meeting as you will be given knock out drug that will make you forget everything of what we talk. Do you understand?’ asked the leader if the group.
‘Are you from MI 5 or 6?’ asked the Professor.
‘No we are ten times more secretive and far older than any of those organisations. Do you wish to continue?’
The whole of the Professor’s senses were turned on, all his life he had been in search of the unknown now he was faced with a human unknown. So he found it irresistible not to continue.
‘We are from an international group who only owe allegiance to mankind not to any government or faction,’ replied the leader of the group. ‘Do you understand what will happen to you if you talk to us?’
‘Yes I understand, please continue,’ replied the Professor.
‘We are from a group that is said to be half as old as time but we have been called the Knights Templars, the Rosicrucian Order, Bilberberg Group, the Illuminati at various times. We can see that with your research we can at last achieve peace for mankind, by the removal of the despot leaders should they make war,’ replied the leader.
‘Please explain what you mean,’ asked the Professor.
‘For many centuries the ordinary man has been forced into wars of their so called Leaders making. Or should I say pushers, because very few actually put themselves at risk by leading from the front. They prefer to stand on the balcony and wave to the survivors as they go by to collect their bits of tin for their chests after risking everything precious to them their lives, their limbs, their minds. Your research has changed that the leaders will be in the front line and the first to die should they start a conflict.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘We will collect the DNA of all the Leaders of the world plus all their Generals who would conduct the war. Then if they should start a conflict we would destroy them with modified pathogens that could only be switched on by their specific DNA.’
‘My research is to save lives not take them, I’m not certain that I could be involved in murder, even of despots,’ replied the Professor.
‘Our Inspiration for this way forward is taken from history where many millions of people have died as a result of these despots. Napoleon was responsible for about 3 million deaths, the German Kaiser in WW1 was responsible for 17 million deaths and Hitler in WW2 was responsible for 50 million. So if we could have stopped anyone of these Murderers we would have saved many lives. Will you not help us?’ asked the leader once more.
‘I must think about it, I cannot kill,’ replied the Professor, ‘However, I do have sympathy for your argument but I need time.’
‘Very well, as you are still considering our argument, we will leave you but remember if you decline our invitation we will remove your memory of our meeting. Should you wish to meet us again phone this number.’
With that the group left with as little fuss as they had arrived and were quickly gone. This left the Professor with a big question on his mind. Could he treat mankind as a sort of single body and the despot as a sort of malignant pathogen that invades the cell of mankind and destroys many?
That evening the Professor was resting in his chair and was watching TV when the programme was interrupted by a news flash from New York. The news flash said that a plane had crashed into one of the Twin Towers and the picture showed the building on fire. As he watched he could see another plane turn and crash into the second building. As the programme continued the buildings from their great height crashed to the ground, killing many thousands. He could see that it was the work of terrorists.
His mind made up he turned to his ‘phone and he dialled the number he had been given.