“Why? Why on earth wouldn’t he?”
“They’re very appealing. They seem attracted to people the way dogs are, they’re affectionate.”
“That can’t be a fully informed opinion. Not in the little time you’ve had. That’s just a first impression.”
“All right, sure,” Cammy acknowledged, “a first impression. But it feels right. Eleanor, you’d understand if you were here and could see them firsthand.”
“Maybe I would, but you can’t let these creatures get away.”
“They don’t want to get away. They want a home. They’re cozy with Grady.”
“You’re ascribing human motivations to them. You can’t know what they want. Cammy, I know you must understand what they are.”
Unable easily to put into words the ineffable quality of Puzzle and Riddle, which suggested that they were something different from any of the easy explanations that came to mind, Cammy merely said, “We’ve been avoiding theories.”
“They’re engineered,” Eleanor declared. “Multiple-species DNA.”
“It crossed my mind.” Cammy tossed back the covers and sat on the edge of the bed. “But creatures this complex? Nobody’s that far along yet.”
“These days, it’s not just engineering new bacteria to make them into little factories producing insulin and interferon. It’s not just modifying Thiobacillus ferrooxidans so it’ll be a better uranium-mining bacterium. We’re way beyond that.”
“Sure, I know. Some Chinese scientist imported a gene into pigs that makes them glow green in the dark. All kinds of crazy things are happening out there. But if Puzzle and Riddle were engineered, the science that made them would be magnitudes beyond the glowing-green-pig stunt.”
“Let me bring you up to date,” Eleanor said. “Let’s stay on pigs for a minute. Did you know pigs are being radically engineered to have organs suitable for transplantation into people?”
“I’ve heard something about it.”
“Pig organs that will be structurally, chemically, genetically so human that the recipient’s body won’t reject them. It’s coming fast.”
Getting to her feet, Cammy said, “But still—”
Eleanor interrupted once more: “Pigs again. At universities here and in other countries, there’s a race on to be the first to engineer a pig with a human brain.”
The cordless phone allowed Cammy to move to the nearest window. “For God’s sake, why?”
“Arrogance. Because it negates the idea of a soul. There’s no practical application. The creature will be tortured by loneliness, by the incongruous nature of its body-brain relationship. It’ll have no refuge but insanity. It’s Frankenstein to the tenth power.”
Hard flat morning light. The sky a pale, pale blue.
Cammy said, “You’re talking about monsters. These animals aren’t like that. They’re … quite wonderful.”
“They might be as peachy keen as Mickey Mouse, but if they were engineered, there’s no way of knowing what havoc they might wreak on the environment. Like … if they give birth to large litters and they make good use of those incredible hands, they could displace one or more indigenous species.”
The window glass felt cold. The air temperature had fallen at least fifteen degrees after midnight.
“If they were born in a lab,” Cammy said, “how did they get here? There’s no university in this county, no companies in the bioengineering business.”
“They probably wouldn’t have gotten out of the lab on their own. Maybe some animal activists did it. That bunch is causing havoc these days. Vandalizing scientists’ homes, raiding laboratories in the night. Some of them – they’re fanatical enough and ignorant enough to turn an experimental species loose in the wild. They could’ve brought them from anywhere.”
“An experimental species,” Cammy said dubiously. “This is just gut instinct, Eleanor, but that isn’t what they are.”
“Then what are they, Dr. Rivers? They’re not in the encyclopedia of known species. Their eyes alone qualify them as an astonishing singularity.”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what they are.”
“Previously undiscovered species of insects, various aquatic forms, even mice are turned up from time to time. But we haven’t overlooked any large mammals, not in an area as fully explored as the Colorado Rockies, not anywhere. The moment I hang up, call this Grady and tell him to secure those animals. Insist on it. Then wait by your phone.”
“Wait for what?”
“You’ll be getting a call. I had to report this.”
Misgiving honed an edge on Cammy’s voice: “Report? To whom?”
“To a man I know at the National Science Foundation. He gave me the name of someone at the Environmental Protection Agency, and it’s snowballed from there.”
“But I contacted you as a friend. I expected discretion.”
“Cammy, even as much as I like you, I can’t possibly conspire with you regarding something like this. I have professional and legal obligations to report it.”
“Yeah. Okay. I guess I understand. I just didn’t realize …”
Eleanor said, “Sidney Shinseki called me from Texas this morning, as soon as he read your e-mail. We reported this together. Anyone in our positions would have done the same.”
“I see. Of course.”
“Now call Grady and make sure those animals are secured. Then wait by your phone. I think the name of the man calling you will be Paul Jardine. He works out of Denver, I believe.”
“What’re they going to do?” Cammy asked.
“The authorities? They’ll take custody of the animals.”
“And then what?”
“Then you’re out of it. You didn’t steal the animals. You’re cooperating, doing the right thing.”
“No, I mean then what happens to Puzzle and Riddle?”
“Research animals have embedded microchips under the skin of their necks. Or at least ear tattoos. They’ll be easy to trace.”
“Then … they’ll be sent back where they came from, to the lab.”
Evidently hearing a note of dismay in Cammy’s voice, Eleanor said, “You know that’s where they belong. They don’t belong in the wild.”
“I wish you could see them.”
“Get straight about this, Cammy. If you turn the animals loose, you could be criminally prosecuted.”
“Okay. I get it.”
“Do you get it?”
“I totally get it.”
“Good.”
“I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m embarrassed. I was caught up in the … the magic of it. I should have realized.”
“Make Grady secure the animals. Then wait by your phone.”
“All right.”
“I’m sorry, Cammy. If I snapped at you, I mean.”
“I was a little obtuse. I needed a snap.”
“We’ll talk later,” Eleanor said, and hung up.
Cammy pushed the END button on her cordless phone.
She