Chapter 173: GSC (5)
Out of the thirteen mosquito species, Asian tiger mosquitoes would be prioritized for extinction. If they were successful in doing that, they would be able to sequentially eliminate the other mosquito species one by one.
“... As such, mosquitoes cause the most human deaths on the planet. According to a report from the World Health Organization, one million people die every year from mosquito-borne diseases, steadily accumulating more damage than any war. With this project, we hope to eradicate this problem once and for all.”
As soon as Young-Joon finished his presentation, several GSC scientists raised their hands.
“To be honest, I don’t know much about ecology because my major is in nuclear physics. You or Doctor Legion probably know better than me,” Robert said. “But what I am concerned with is whether it is really possible to accurately predict the consequences of wiping out a species?”
“You don’t think it will be possible?” Legion asked Robert.
“Because there are so many variables. There are so many organisms in nature, right? I don’t think anyone can predict the changes in the food chain that would result from the disappearance of one of them.”
‘But Rosaline can.’
Young-Joon smiled on the inside.
Besides, this was a question Young-Joon’s team had expected, and they had an answer prepared.
“First, we looked at all two thousand species of direct and indirect prey and predators associated with the Asian tiger mosquito and identified their trophic level,” Young-Joon said. “There is no possibility of a problem occurring. We also ran a simulation with Ms. Tanya Manker’s artificial intelligence program, which was famous for predicting red mold.”
“You’re saying that there won’t be any problems?” Robert said.
“That’s right,” Young-Joon replied.
“But as long as it is a human intervention, we don’t know what variables will occur in the natural world,” Doctor Louis interrupted.
Louis was a scientist from Saudi Arabia, and he was the one who first created porous carbon fibers.
“All science is a game of probability, right? If the balance in the ecosystem is destroyed, even a little bit...”
“Those situations won’t occur, so you won’t have to worry about it,” Legion said.
“But it’s a bit of a stretch to do a project like this on a global scale right away,” Jane Dalinar, an ecologist, objected. “For a project like this, it’s standard to do a pilot experiment on a small scale first.”
“That’s right, and that’s why we’re going to conduct the pilot experiment on two islands in the Guangdong province in China. If we successfully eradicate the Asian tiger mouse, we will expand the project to a global scale,” Young-Joon replied.
“Is there any chance that the Wolbachia bacteria could spread to other organisms?” Jane Dalinar asked.
“We experimentally tested that.”
Young-Joon went to a new slide. It showed the results of Wolbachia infections on one thousand three hundred insect species.
“Wolbachia is infectious to some species, but it won’t spread to other insects because the infectivity is low.”
“But mosquitoes suck the blood of other animals, so they could be transmitted in the process, right?” Robert asked.
“No. Wolbachia multiplies in the gonads and stays there. Wolbachia is not transferred during the process. We also experimentally confirmed this.”
“It’s Doctor Ryu’s experiment, so it’s trustworthy...” Jane mumbled.
“We will start it in Shazai Island and Dadaosha Island. It will be clearer once you see the results,” Young-Joon said.
“Was this approved by the Chinese government?” asked He Jiankui.
“Of course.”
“But couldn’t things have changed? You should check,” He Jiankui said, chuckling.
“What are you saying?” Legion asked.
“Well, I don’t know. Approval for this kind of experiment is based on the scientist’s name, right? You don’t know what will happen if there’s a problematic issue.”
“Doctor Ryu is the one who predicted the red mold epidemic and prevented the spread of Ebola. Of all the scientists out there, he’s probably the second best expert in ecology,” Legion said. “With the first being me.”
“I don’t know. I have some ties with the Chinese government, so I hear things. It seems like there’s a lot going on in Africa right now,” He Jiankui said.
“... Thank you for the advice. I will check it out,” Young-Joon said.
The conference ended well, but something felt wrong. As soon as the conference ended, Young-Joon, who was overwhelmed with an indescribable anxiety, asked the GSC conference coordinator, “Is Doctor Michelle present today?”
“No, Doctor Michelle signed up to participate, but she canceled a few days before.”
“She canceled?”
“She said something urgent came up and that she couldn’t come.”
Young-Joon took out his phone right away and called her. Something was wrong.
‘What the hell is going on?’
* * *
“You did what?”
Yoon Dae-Sung’s body froze in shock. The merger was almost complete, and all there was left to do was to elect the CEO. What Yoon Bo-Hyun told him was just shocking.
“The anthrax bioweapon you developed,” said Yoon Bo-Hyun. “I sold that to Africa.”
“...”
“Director Kim Hyun-Taek had one, right? But he’s in a coma right now, and you only have one as well. So where’s the rest? I asked the directors and found out it was with Director Gil Hyung-Joon.”
“So...”
“I got it from him. And when I opened the package, it was a plastic vial the size of my fingernail. It only had a dust-like powder of tiny spores. I’m guessing it’s trace amounts because it’s only for development. He said it was in the micrograms.”
“...”
“It’s so small and odorless that it can’t be detected by sniffer dogs. It’s also easy to travel with it because it looks like a lotion bottle under X-ray. I thought biological weapons are wonderful because something this small can kill thousands of people, and it can kill an entire country if it is cultivated and grown,” Yoon Bo-Hyun said. “Well, that’s probably why a country like the United States that has the best security in the world, was attacked by anthrax.”
“But the bacteria in Director Gil’s sample was sterilized.”
“Yes. Director Gil said the bacteria in that sample were dead and had no activity. But there is a way to use it because you sold the anthrax to Africa.”
“The U.S. military sold it, not me!”
“I couldn’t care less. I asked General Manager Ji Kwang-Man to let me borrow his account for a short amount of time. I dug through the old sales records and found the broker’s contact information. I contacted them in China and passed it on,” Yoon Bo-Hyun said.
“What...”
“And I sold it to the rebels in South Sudan through a broker. It was actually much simpler than I thought,” Yoon Bo-Hyun said. “Partly because biological weapons are so easy to hide, and partly because it’s been nearly thirty years since A-Gen has worked on anthracis.”
“...”
“Isn’t this a very old project that was done by a very small group of people in secrecy? No matter how scrupulous the supervisors or their successors are, do you think they will check to see if the son of the developer from thirty years ago is going to China with a microgram of bacterial corpse?”
Yoon Dae-Sung’s hands trembled.
“So it ended up in the rebel’s hands...?”
“Yes. Those rebels have used the anthrax weapon before, though there’s no bacteria left now because of sex segregation and natural death. I figured if I sent them a developmental female, even the dumbest person could pluck out a few genes and activate the male. And it worked, as expected. You’ve heard, too, right? Anthrax is going around in Africa again.”
Slap!
Yoon Bo-Hyun’s face turned. Yoon Dae-Sung’s hand trembled. He was glaring at Yoon Bo-Hyun with anger in his eyes.
“This is unexpected. You think you have the right to criticize me? I’m just repeating what you started, Father.”
“...”
“Wars in Africa are just a gold mine for big companies like us! American arms companies even sell weapons to their enemies, don’t they?”
Yoon Bo-Hyun leaned close to Yoon Dae-Sung.
“You should praise your employee for selling something.”
“...”
“The outbreak has already started. It’s not just South Sudan. There are incidents in several countries,” Yoon Bo-Hyun said.
“Why did you do something like that?”
“Do you know where the South Sudanese rebels are using the anthrax weapons right now? Angola, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, and the Republic of Congo.”
“...”
“It’s where Ryu Young-Joon set up the anthracis fence.”
“You...”
“Father. The legend of Ryu Young-Joon looks perfect, but it’s easier to tear someone down like him: a man of justice, ethics, and ingenuity. The more heroic and great someone is, the more they will come crashing down with a splash of ink.”
“...”
“Claims that the anthracis fence is unsafe will start to be made. And Africa will start to take a turn for the worse because Ryu Young-Joon used the wrong technology to contain Ebola there.”
Thud.
Yoon Dae-Sung collapsed onto the sofa as his legs gave out.
“You said you would turn yourself in, right? Are you still going to do it?” Yoon Bo-Hyun asked.
“...”
“Now, all the cards are in your hand. If you expose this, I will rot in jail and Ryu Young-Joon will become the CEO of A-Gen. He’s a smart person, so he might be able to clean up this mess in Africa,” Yoon Bo-Hyun said. “That’s the good path. If that’s what you want, do it.”
Yoon Dae-Sung clenched his jaw.
“I will leave everything to you, Father. But...”
Yoon Bo-Hyun sat down beside Yoon Dae-Sung. Then, he quietly said, “If you don’t have the courage to send me to prison, I hope you’ll just watch how I destroy that monster and protect the company we’ve built. Please take your time and enjoy it.”
“... I saw the news this morning that a baby genetically engineered with Cas9 was born,” Yoon Dae-Sung said. “Did you do that, too?”
“Since Ryu Young-Joon first reported Cas9 last year.”
Yoon Bo-Hyun smiled.
“We started then. Didn’t we start a paper company in China back then? I funded them through that.”
“...”
Yoon Dae-Sung covered his face with his hands.
“What are you going to do when Doctor Ryu falls?” Yoon Dae-Sung asked. “All of A-Gen’s research is revolving around him. What are you going to do when Doctor Ryu disappears?”
“Hahaha,” Yoon Bo-Hyun burst into laughter. “It disappears if Ryu Young-Joon disappears, Father. A-Gen will merge with A-Bio. Do you know the kind of drugs A-Bio has right now? The scientists they have? They are all professors from the Ivy League. And they won’t be able to leave easily because of the work they’ve done.”
“...”
“There will be some confusion when Ryu Young-Joon disappears, but A-Gen will be too big and be the number one corporation in the world. No one will be able to threaten us. Conson & Colson? They’re a joke.”
“What if Ryu Young-Joon goes there?”
“He won’t be able to. He’ll lose whatever value he had.”
“You still have more left?”
Yoon Bo-Hyun smiled.
“You’d better do a good job keeping our CTO’s mouth shut, since he especially favors Ryu Young-Joon.”
* * *
This was the second day of the GSC. The second day was usually for physics. Astronomers were preparing to present an item related to blackhole photography. Before the presentation started, Mr. Kim Jun-Seok, the branch manager of GSC Korea, ran up to the podium. Cold sweat was running down his neck.
“Before we start today’s session, Doctor Kristoff has something urgent to announce,” he said.
Kristoff was a GSC member who was working at the WHO. He studied infectious diseases and advised governments on disease control.
“Anthrax is spreading in Africa,” Kristoff said as he grabbed the microphone.
“Anthrax is spreading?”
Young-Joon frowned.
“Yes. I will give you all the information we have from Doctor Michelle from the Congolese Ministry of Health right now, and I would like to ask anyone in the GSC who has knowledge in this area to help.”
Kristoff began explaining.
“How bad is it?” Young-Joon asked.
“The mortality rate is very high, around ninety percent, and it’s quite contagious.”
“Ninety percent!”
The scientists began murmuring.
“What is the route of infection?” Young-Joon asked.
“It hasn’t been confirmed.”
“Which part of the body is mainly affected, the digestive system or the respiratory system?”
“They say it’s the respiratory system.”
“Respiratory!”
Young-Joon froze.
And he wasn’t the only one who was shocked by what he heard. It was Messleson, the great systems biologist who had led the charge for the Biological Weapons Convention.
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