Read Online Double Helix by Nancy Werlin - Free Book Online

intelligent. Get it? The plants actually figured out how to mimic a human body in plant form. The plant creature thought it was Dr. Holland! So, Swampy isn’t a man who’s turned into a plant. Swampy’s a plant that tried to become a man.”
    â€œVive la différence,” said a voice behind us.
    â€œThis is relevant, Mary Alice,” said Larry. “Okay, introductions. Mary Alice Gregorian, Eli Samuels. Eli, Mary Alice actually runs this particular lab on a day-to-day basis; sets the schedules and so on, while I focus on directing our research path.”
    Mary Alice was a middle-aged woman with a long braid of hair. She had a pair of plastic goggles dangling around her neck. We shook hands. “I’ll show you the rabbits,” she said. “We’ll put you on feeding, care, and milking rotation after you learn how to work with them.”
    â€œRabbits,” I said. Well, it wasn’t cleaning beakers. “Huh.”
    â€œTry to contain your enthusiasm,” said Larry. “You’ll like them. They’re cuddly, and, well, you get used to the pellets.”
    â€œThey are sooo cuddly,” said Mary Alice. “But it’s important to remember they’re research subjects, and very valuable. They’re not pets.”
    â€œI was actually just explaining our research to Eli,” Larry said to Mary Alice. “Swampy came up in passing.”
    â€œHe always does.” Mary Alice directed my attention to the far wall. Above a computer desk hung a Swamp Thing poster, meticulously matted and framed. On it, a giant leafy hand was emerging from murky water; above that were the words: Too intelligent to be captured. Too powerful to be destroyed .
    â€œSo much weirder than Batman,” murmured Mary Alice.
    Larry practically choked. “Mary Alice, you don’t understand this and you never will. Batman’s nothing to do with transgenics. He has no genetic enhancements. He’s just plain psychotic.”
    Mary Alice rolled her eyes. “Sorry.”
    â€œYou should be.” Larry sat down. Then I saw a secret smile creep over both their faces and realized I had been watching a little routine between them, a skit that they both enjoyed and probably repeated regularly, whenever there was a new audience—like me.
    â€œAnyway,” Larry said to me. “As I was saying. Here at Wyatt, we’re using transgenic technology to develop human proteins outside of humans—proteins that can then be harvested and used in humans. The potential medical and therapeutic benefits are mind-boggling. It’s not a unique idea. Other companies, like Genzyme, are doing it, too—although - they’re really into working with goats. But we think we’ve got the inside track right now, especially with rabbits.”
    Mary Alice said, “We give the transgenic genes—genes that originate in humans—to the animals. The genes cause the animals to express certain human therapeutic proteins in their milk. Then we milk the animals, and purify the proteins out of the milk. The resulting proteins can then be used in a variety of medical applications.”
    â€œLike what?” I asked.
    â€œTreatments for arthritis,” said Larry. “Cancer. Several conditions that attack the immune system. And that’s only for starters—once you begin thinking about the potential, well, your brain starts to reel. And even the animal rights people can’t complain—I mean, we’re talking milk here. Our animals lead good, useful lives. They’re valuable to us, and we treat them well. We’re lucky; so many areas of biogenetic research are fraught with controversy, but ours hasn’t really had to take those kinds of PR attacks.”
    I nodded. I couldn’t think of any reason why this sort of work shouldn’t be done, either. It certainly wasn’t full of the kind of potentially treacherous moral issues that