Pale Horses (31 page)

‘What’s the problem, Danie?’ Zelda sounded surprised.

‘It’s just that … never mind. Don’t worry.’

‘Well, are you ready to carry on?’

‘Ja … let’s carry on.’ A heavy sigh. ‘The research – you wanted to know about that, right?’

‘Yes.’

‘It was done after various investigations into the unusual longevity of a certain rodent, the naked mole rat.’

‘Why the naked mole rat?’

‘This animal not only lives ten times longer than a typical mouse, but it has an exceptionally high resistance to cancer. Scientists have, from previous research, identified that this is due to the mole rat’s having eight cancer-resistant genes, including the protein P16, which is one of the major human tumour suppressor proteins.’

‘So you used this gene in the creation of the hybrid? An animal gene? How is that possible?’

‘You know how it’s possible. I’ve told you before.’

‘Please could you explain again – for the record,’ Zelda responded. Jade could hear a hint of dryness in her voice.

‘Well,
DNA
itself, which is found inside every cell, is an extremely complex molecule. It contains literally billions of atoms which are coiled into the double helix formation that you are probably familiar with. About one to three per cent of this molecule consists of genes.’

‘Carry on.’

‘Now,
DNA
can and does mutate. Some of these mutations will be passed on to the next generation. Farmers and breeders have, for hundreds of years, bred plants with other plants and animals with other animals in the hope of combining, or amplifying, their more desirable traits. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.’

‘And this is what genetic engineering does?’

‘No. Genetic engineering is as different from this as … as car travel is from time travel. Instead of helping nature’s processes along, biologists simply identify the gene they need from the
DNA
of one species, cut it out, and insert it directly into the
DNA
of another. This means that plants can, and do, have genes from animals, bacteria and even viruses spliced into them, creating new organisms that would never have come about through natural means.’

There was a short silence. Jade wondered whether Zelda had been listening as intently as she was now.

‘It sounds like a very scientific and exact process,’ Zelda observed.

‘It is and it isn’t. In fact, the actual process is very much a hit-and-miss affair. For example, one of the most commonly used and cheapest
methods of gene insertion is to simply launch them into the host
DNA
by blasting a 22-calibre gene gun at a dish containing the cells. Scientists do this hoping that at least some of the genes will end up in the right place in at least some of the
DNA
.’

‘Is that so?’ Zelda’s tone was filled with irony and Jade had no doubt that this was not new information to her, but that she was enjoying having Danie state it for the record.

‘To find out which cells got the new
DNA
, they attach antibiotic-resistant markers to the genes. Once they’ve fired the gene gun they then douse the host cells in antibiotics. Those cells that die didn’t get the new
DNA
. The few in every thousand that survive, did get it.’

‘You’re right. That doesn’t sound very scientific. Or very safe.’

‘There are risks attached to every procedure. The major risk, though, is that gene transfer by this method – in fact by any method – does not always produce reliable results.’

‘And why is that?’

‘Very often, a phenomenon called gene silencing occurs. This is when the foreign gene or else existing genes in its vicinity get shut off during the transfer process and become disabled. They no longer work, in other words, they cannot produce their protein.’

‘Could you expand on that, please, and explain more about how Global 10-422AM was produced?’

‘To obtain accelerated, vigorous growth in the plant, our technicians experimented with splicing certain special genes into the hybrid. Some of these genes were obtained from fast-growing cells. Others, from the naked mole rat, produced the P16 protein. In addition, we used a promoter which was obtained from the cauliflower mosaic virus. This promoter acted as an engine, allowing the newly implanted genes to express themselves.’

‘Is it common practice to insert virus genes into plant seeds?’

‘Using viral
DNA
promoters is commonly done, yes.’

‘And do you have any further details on those fast-growing cells your company used?’

‘Not at this stage, no,’ Smit snapped.

‘Because the only fast-growing cells I can think of that could logically have produced those results would be cancer cells. It sounds to me like something a group of scientists who believed they were the next
best thing to God might do. Use the
DNA
from cancer cells to promote faster growth, while assuming, in their hubris, that the presence of the P16 protein would actually cause the plant to suppress cancer in its users.’

‘This
was
a highly experimental project,’ Smit muttered.

Jade looked through the passenger window to where a plume of dust was visible on the horizon, signalling the approach of a faraway vehicle.

Hopefully this was just a passing resident, or else perhaps the local police arriving. Even so, Jade kept watching the dust cloud, its progress punctuated by the softly spoken words on the recorder.

‘So nobody took it a step further and did any other testing, even though it was grown for human consumption.’ Again, the irony in Zelda’s tone was impossible to miss. She was starting to like this woman more and more. ‘According to my research, the standard safety test for a genetically modified plant includes seven main parts. Part three is assessing the risk of gene transfer occurring from the food to micro-organisms in the human gut. In retrospect, that would have been useful.’

‘Full testing had been done on mice with earlier prototypes and was on the agenda for Global 10-422AM.’

‘In the meantime, though, the crop was planted by the Siyabonga community.’

‘It was.’ Smit’s voice sounded dry, as if he was not used to talking for protracted periods. He coughed twice and Jade heard the sound of swallowing as he drank some water.

‘You monitored the crop?’

‘As I said, I visited the site three times. Once during planting and once midway through the growing process, and finally just before harvest. This was all in the space of a few months. The crop thrived and grew phenomenally fast, despite a lack of water. It was a dry summer and the irrigation system that was piped in from the river was faulty and worked erratically.’

‘What happened after harvest?’

‘Babes, can we please stop the interview here?’ Now Smit’s voice sounded low and urgent.

‘No. Of course not. I need the full story, Danie.’

‘It’s just that … Look, this whole situation is giving me a really bad feeling. Not just what happened, but the way everyone’s been behaving
since then. Trust me, I’ve never been shit-scared passing information on to you before, but I am now. If they find out …’

‘How could they find out?’ Now Zelda sounded troubled too. ‘Did you make sure you weren’t followed here?’

Danie gave a short laugh. ‘I didn’t have a chance. I was on the damn cellphone to my boss just about the whole way over here.’

‘Oh.’ Zelda paused. ‘Shit,’ she said.

‘Exactly.’

‘Danie, you need to get out of there. I’ve told you before.’

‘I know. But resigning now would be the worst thing I could do.’

‘Mmm. Take a holiday, maybe, and don’t come back? Sick leave?’

‘I’ll think about it.’

‘While you’re thinking, could you tell me what happened next?’

Jade jumped as David’s voice cut urgently across the hiss of the recorder.

‘Jade, could you come over here a minute please?’ he called. Glancing up, she saw him standing by the front door.

She pressed the ‘Stop’ button, got out of the car and walked over to the farmhouse.

The temperature must have climbed by five degrees during the short time Jade had been in the car. The sun was blazing directly onto the front of the house and in through the front doorway. Dust motes danced in the glare.

‘What’s up?’ she asked. Her mind was still spinning with what she’d heard on the recording machine.

‘Thought it would be safer if we both stay here while this car arrives,’ he said, pointing to the vehicle that Jade had seen earlier. Now it was close by, rattling its way down the endless sand road towards the house. ‘I’m pretty sure it’s the local cops, but as I can’t get hold of either of them on their cellphones I can’t be certain.’

‘Good idea to wait together, then,’ Jade agreed.

The car, a silver Isuzu truck, reached the farm gate. It powered its way down the driveway, small stones snapping out from under its wheels. When it turned and parked beside her vehicle they could see the SAPS logo on the driver’s door.

Even so, David did not remove his hand from his holstered service pistol until two burly police officers climbed out, similar firearms on their substantial hips, and made their way towards the house at a pace that could only be described as a ‘mosey’.

Introductions were formal and polite. She saw them both glance at his tight T-shirt but they remained very carefully expressionless and she doubted any comments would be made to his face.

When the three of them had gone inside, Jade went back to the car, turned the Dictaphone back on, and was instantly transported back to the quiet meeting room and the subdued conversation taking place within its walls.

‘All right,’ Smit said. ‘Let me tell you what happened next. One morning I received an urgent call on my cellphone from one of the residents at Siyabonga. She said that something had happened on the farm after the harvest, and that the cattle had died and people were getting very ill.’

Jade held the machine closer to her ear, hoping to be able to hear better.

‘Could you speak up please, hon? My recording equipment is sensitive, but even it has its limitations.’

‘Sorry.’ In a louder voice, Smit continued. ‘I didn’t think for a moment that this could be due to the hybrid itself, nobody did, but I went out to investigate and what I found was … shocking.’

‘What had happened?’

‘From what we could make out, the entire community had developed a highly aggressive form of stomach and intestinal cancer. There had been a vast number of untreated fatalities. A couple of the residents had sought medical assistance at the hospital, but to no avail. When we arrived the place was basically a morgue. Bodies in all the houses. Most dead; a few still dying, although they were beyond help. It was one of the most sickening sights I’ve ever witnessed.’

‘Did you suspect the maize was to blame?’

‘Well, of course the fact this had occurred after the harvest was significant, but we thought it was impossible.’

‘Why?’

‘Well, probably the real reason is that we were in denial. First, that this could have occurred at all from consuming a crop that had been genetically engineered to promote cancer resistance. Second, that such a disease could have spread so fast, and could have affected humans and animals alike. Obviously, we were extremely anxious to prove that the hybrid had had no adverse effects. So, I took samples of the river water for testing in case it contained toxins, and I also took a sample from one of the leftover bags of seed. This we fed to livestock under controlled conditions at one of our testing stations.’

‘And what were those results?’

Outside, Jade saw David walk out of the back door and lead the men to the greenhouses and the barn beyond. It was some distance away, but she thought the two policemen were walking more slowly, their heads bowed, their complacency shattered by the sight of the farmer’s mutilated body.

‘The river water tested clear for contaminants,’ Smit said. ‘But the cattle who ate the maize all developed internal tumours. It happened incredibly fast, over just a couple of weeks. Every animal that had been fed the grain got stomach cancer and died.’

‘What caused it, Danie?’

‘In retrospect, we believe what happened was due to a tragic series of coincidences. During the gene transfer, we believe that in this particular hybrid the P16 genes were in fact silenced, while the effects of the fast-growing genes were enhanced. In addition, the viral
DNA
promoter caused genetic instability within the seeds, as well as horizontal gene transfer within the hosts. The virus then acted as a growth promoter, encouraging the runaway growth of polyps within the stomach and colon of the people and animals who consumed the maize. These swiftly turned malignant.’

‘What did you do when you had discovered this?’

‘Well, right at the start, when research into what had happened was still ongoing, I was called into an urgent top management meeting.’

‘What happened there?’

‘Look, Zelda, you have to understand two things. First, this was a massive shock to all of us. We had never had anything like this happen before; we did not believe it could or ever would. It was a tragic series
of coincidences … a fatal mistake. What we did was damage control, pure and simple, and you must forgive me for telling you this story because we acted in panic. A team from head office flew to South Africa immediately. Everyone involved in the project was called in urgently and forced to sign additional confidentiality agreements.’

Jade paused the recording again. The damn car was becoming a furnace, but she didn’t want to waste time driving round the property in search of a shady spot. Sweat was trickling down her back and calves, beading on her arms. She turned the air-con up to full and let it run for a few minutes before turning it down again. Instantly, the heat battered at the window glass again.

‘They say …’ Smit sighed and Jade heard the sound of the glass touching a coaster and wished she could be drinking what he had ordered. Preferably something with lots of ice and lemon.

‘They say corporate behaviour is psychopathic, and I have to agree. The decisions we made as a team were not decisions that I believe any one of us would have felt comfortable with making individually.’