in an oxygen-free environment in three atmospheres of pressure- the equivalent of one hundred feet underwater.'
Haley leaned forward for more, the eager protegee completely absorbed in the scientific process.
'Part of the joke there is that we had thousands and thousands of Arc genes from numerous drilling rigs, all brought up under pressure. Through an unfortunate string of circumstances we don't know exactly where the magic gene came from.'
'You mean you have the Arc, but you don't know where to find more?'
'It's not even that good. Now all we have is yet another Arc species that has been genetically modified to contain the original special Arc gene.'
'These would be the Arcs you kept a sample of?'
'Right,' Ben said. 'Unlike their deep-sea cousins, these Arcs can be mass-produced somewhat quickly, and I do have a supply of the necessary peptide in a Seattle lab. But that's just the product. The only place I have the gene that produces the peptide is in the genetically engineered Arc.'
Sam wondered whether Ben had hidden the flask of the genetically engineered Arcs on his person or elsewhere. As if reading his mind, Haley asked that very question of Ben.
Ben smiled and opened his coat and removed what looked to be a custom-made flask. It was roughly two inches thick, flat in appearance, and a little larger in surface area than a phone book. It could be strapped to Ben's chest using shoulder straps.
'Of course, having this on me,' Ben said, 'leaves me with an obvious problem. I can't have Frick catching us and somehow getting these.' He patted the flask. 'That's the first problem. Frick aside, I have no place to multiply them at the moment. And no idea where to find the original Arc that naturally carries the gene.'
'But you found them once,' Haley said.
'Yes, and I'm sure someone will find them again,' Ben said. 'Most of the Arcs were in the North Sea, but others came from off South America, southern California, and even from below stagnant freshwater ponds.'
Haley didn't look like she wanted to believe in the enormity of the task. 'There must be some way to trace… I mean forensics.. mud…?'
'All long gone, and nothing saved. Everything's gone now, except what's in the flask,'
Ben said, 'and if for any reason we can't mass-produce it, we could spend the next one hundred years looking for the special Arc, the original, and still never find it.'
Haley groaned. 'The Sargasso stew. That's why you want a Venter-like system, to sort through gazillions of Arc genes.'
'You got it.'
Carefully Ben handed the heavy flask to Haley. After she had examined it for a moment, Ben spoke again, his tone different. 'Maybe I should lose these Arcs.'
Haley cradled the container in her hands. 'You don't think the world's ready for it.'
'Look at us. Look at Frick, willing to murder. Look at the subjects, moved to kidnapping by their paranoia. Who can you trust? The government?'
'What are you going to do?' she asked.
'I don't know.'
Sam knew there was an underlying, damnable truth. Humankind could sometimes only take so much good stuff; then it had to digest it before it could advance. Like nuclear energy, for example. During the digestion, just about anything could happen, and it usually wasn't good.
'We discovered antibiotics without murder and mayhem,' Haley said as if reading Sam's mind.
'I'm afraid the fountain of youth has a lot more food for greed and the lust to live, than do ordinary discoveries. Antibiotics only cure a disease until the next resistant disease or aging gets you.'
Haley remained silent, as did Ben. The Whaler was now just south of the Wasp Islands.
Sam stepped out of the cabin and scanned the horizon for a moment. Still no sign of a sheriff's boat. There were breaks in the overcast and with them came a little sun.
'We read about the manifesto,' Sam said, breaking the silence. 'No surprise that the government wouldn't play ball, but I'm curious about the thinking behind your manifesto.'
Ben sighed and sat back in his seat, looking as if he'd suddenly aged a bit.
'Nelson called me an idealist. I suppose he's right. It was beautiful, at least to me.'
'What?' Haley asked, turning to face him and putting her hand on his knee.
Ben shrugged and snorted a small laugh. 'Everything. Nothing. You read about methane mining, other alternative-energy sources, energy potential, and the risks involved. Yes?'
They both nodded. 'Some of it, we tried to learn; there's a lot of material,' Haley said.
'Did you read about the other alternative-energy sources, like tidal, methane from coal mines, and solar?'
They shook their heads.
'Well, you couldn't be expected to find it all in twenty-four hours. It's an extensive and grand scheme. For me, it was a beautiful integration, like the symmetry of a snowflake.
The secrets of the Archaea. ARCLES means abundance, replenishment, climate, longevity, energy, and security. It's a global cycle, and it begins with mining the methane and other alternative-energy sources. You do that in a planned way, with government oversight, and you not only get massive energy benefits, but you reduce the long-term risk of methane eruptions. Everybody agrees that greenhouse effect is going to materialize if you put enough junk in the air; it's just a question of whether it has started yet to cause global warming. To me, that's not the issue.
'Anyway, back to the point. Greenhouse gases will be an issue if we keep emitting volumes of CO. If methane escapes in abundance, the CO will be a bigger issue. We need to learn to cope with it.
'We must get over the notion that if it's natural, it's good. Polio is natural; cancer is natural; tsunamis, volcanoes, earthquakes and forest fires are natural; ice ages are natural. We're moving into the age where humankind must begin to act as the custodian of its environment. It requires thoughtful leaders. Probably an oxymoron.'
'We read about possible thermonuclear methane release.' Ben waved his hand as if to dismiss it. 'Good political talk to stimulate methane research. Some of the guys calculated that one well-placed nuclear device in the right deep-sea trench could start a chain reaction of methane release, but in the end I didn't think this was the key risk for our planet. After all, it's hard to heat enough water or change enough water pressure or salinity even with an atomic weapon. No… the risk is elsewhere.'
'We read about asphyxiation, conflagrations,' Haley said.
'I'm not a big believer in the instantaneous, all-at-once methane release theory.
Although I believe it happens, and could theoretically happen perhaps from deep-sea events like volcanoes or the giant hot-vent system under the ocean undergoing a change, as it has in the past. These natural furnaces can really heat water and it only takes a few degrees and the changing of ocean currents and the like-not many realize it, but a five-degree change in ocean temperatures could release half the methane on the planet.
Startling.
'But more likely than quick release in a matter of days, I think-given our knowledge of history and prehistory- is that the methane will be released more gradually. Is being released gradually. Global warming has already started or will start if our emissions continue. We have cars running all over the planet, and at some point..' Ben shrugged.
'So the methane release would only exacerbate it. Once atmospheric warming starts, it triggers more methane release. It's a potentially bad cycle.
'I think the real catastrophe is climate change, though it will happen over time-slowly, in human time.'
'Will mining the methane help?' Haley asked.
'A little. But my vision is this: you finish the cycle by growing plankton or scrubbing the air in other ways. We know how to take CO, make water vapor, and dispose of the 2 carbon in the ground.'
Ben appeared transported by this grand scheme of his. This dream. ARCLES. Sam nodded, although he knew the devil was in the details.
'Did your colleagues buy the whole ARCLES vision?' Haley asked.
'We were all excited about it. We saw the longevity benefit as the reward for humankind's improved
