The Fog - James Herbert [74]
‘And is this, er, disease infectious?’ Sir Trevor Chambers asked, carefully avoiding Holman’s eyes. ‘Could Mr Holman pass it on to others?’
‘Well, that doesn’t appear to have happened, does it?’ Ryker answered with a restrained smile. ‘My opinion is that the DNA – the genetic material – of the organism immediately combines with the DNA of brain cells, in a manner similar to that in which cancer-causing viruses are believed to join up with cellular material. In the case of cancer-causing viruses, of course, the extra genetic material can lie dormant for years until something triggers it off. I suggest that in the case of Broadmeyer’s mutated organism, the DNA produces extremely malignant cells almost at once, which cause the untoward effects which make the organism non-infective.
‘Our problem is that we do not even know enough about mycoplasma in its normal state, let alone when it has been tampered with. I shall tell you briefly of what we do know. Also called PPLO – pleuropneumonia-like organisms – mycoplasmas include the smallest known cells able to multiply independently of other living cells, some being almost spherical and only 0.001 mm in diameter. The chromosome of many probably contains not more than 650 genes – about one-fifth the number found in common bacteria – and from the physiological and biochemical viewpoint microplasmas are similar to bacteria, with the one important exception I’ve already mentioned: they lack a cell wall.’ Ryker paused to look around at the blank faces.
He continued, his next words cutting through the incomprehension like a knife. ‘This means, because they are not restricted by this rigid wall, they can be deformed and are able to squeeze through narrow pores smaller than their own diameter. It also means they are completely resistant to penicillin and any other substances which act by disrupting the synthesis of bacterial cell walls!’
An uneasy silence flooded, broken finally by Sir Trevor clearing his throat. ‘Er, you mean there is no cure?’ he asked.
‘No, no. We will find one,’ Ryker assured them all, ‘but to produce a serum, we need to know exactly how the mycoplasma has been mutated.’
‘But surely you must have some idea?’ said the Defence Minister.
‘Oh, I have an idea. But do we have the time to experiment with and develop ideas?’ He spoke as though to a child who had asked a foolish question and was being given a kind answer. ‘No. But we may draw off some of the organism from the living victims. Then we could analyse it, discover its contents and then develop a serum. But of course, to manufacture it in bulk would take time. And we do not have too much time, do we?’ He looked around at them, then added, ‘Of course, if we had some of the mutated mycoplasma in its pure state, then it would be an enormous advantage.’
‘Well, what’s to prevent us from containing some of the fog?’ Douglas-Glyne, the Defence Under-Secretary, asked impatiently.
‘I said “in its pure state”. The fog, apart from being a mutated organism, now contains carbon dioxide and various other impurities. I suspect the yellowish colour is due to the pollution in the air – our own man-made pollution. To sort out all these elements to find the mutated mycoplasma in its purest form would take time.’
‘This is leading on to our next point, gentlemen,’ said the Home Secretary. ‘I’d like to get back to Lieutenant-General Macklen. Sir Keith, would you tell us how the virus had been contained?’
‘And how it escaped!’ snorted Sir Trevor Chambers.
Sir Keith Macklen rose to his feet as though to address the officers on his staff.
‘The Broadmeyer Mycoplasma,’ he began, purposely avoiding Professor Ryker’s name for it, ‘was contained in a sealed-off room in small