His mind swimming with possibilities, Bruce resolved to pay the first in-person visits to Dr. Linda Bèi of the Kunming Institute of Zoology.
Before leaving for Kunming, Dr. Bèi had ended the call Bruce made to her upon introducing himself. So, her equanimity came as a surprise to him when he presented himself in her laboratory. There was little use in evasion now, much easier when half a world and a phone line separated them.
Dr. Bèi didn't play coy. "What do you want to know?" Bruce was almost amused by the doctor's frankness.
"I need to know what Kirk...or you...might have been trying to hide relating to bioengineering," parried Bruce.
Dr. Bèi nodded, appearing ready for transparency. Bruce didn't yet understand why Bèi was willing to be transparent now he was in front of her but accepted it. "I know Langstrom had made overtures to genetic engineering firms," she admitted. "To license their tools in exchange for his findings. I confronted him about it two years ago on the matter. He didn't have the necessary training and background. I felt concerned he didn't have guardrails around whatever it was he was doing. The genetic engineering firm shouldn't have been so lax about whom they shared such tools with."
"Do you know whether Kirk had any breakthroughs?"
"I know he didn't. It was a dismal failure."
"How do you know?"
"He came to me in tears over it - out of his depth. He'd squandered a lot of money on these tools. I don't know the specifics, but my guess is it would have been a small fortune. I don't know if he received funding for it. Some of it, if not the bulk, could have come from his own pocket, is my guess. Very unorthodox. He hadn't staked his reputation on it, as few people knew he was trying these tools outside of myself. There was no shame to be had, as I had no expectation he'd make any headway. How could he, without years of training in using such tools?"
"Do you picture it could be of any use were I to make contact with the genetic engineering firm, to see if they had any clues about Langstrom's whereabouts?"
"You could try, but I don't see why they'd know or care. In some ways, they preyed on his naivete - saw a sucker coming, and took his money, knowing full well it would end in tears. I know two of the directors from my postgraduate studies - cowboys, both. I feared they were in it only for the windfalls."
"Dr. Langstrom intended to use these tools on himself?"
The doctor's face furrowed. "After this, Kirk approached me, outside the context of Project CONSERVE, about gene therapy. He wanted to explore the possibility of modifying genes of cells to create a chimera.
"As in the mythological lion with a head of a goat and a snake for a tail?"
"This is the origin of the term, but it has a different meaning in genetics. I sensed Kirk was curious about a range of applications, such as combining the genetic material of different organisms."
"Bats and human genetic material?"
Dr. Bèi ignored the question. "This all presumed the recombination of the genetic material was successful. For what Kirk put forward, the likelihood of a host organism rejecting the introduction of the foreign DNA was high. But if the introduced DNA did replicate, there could be a chance the genetic material would express itself."
"Meaning the subject could begin to exhibit characteristics?"
"Nothing as fanciful as growing a goat head or a snake tail. But past experimentation has shown fascinating traits. There are many genetic engineering techniques, but I wouldn't presume Kirk, on his own, could become an expert in them. Kirk was a very capable scientist, with good connections. But this didn't mean colleagues would help him with no good reason to carry out whatever experimentation he wanted. His comprehension of genetics wasn't sophisticated. I was able to help him, as an expert in the field, but only up to a point. When Kirk's attention later led where it did, I distanced myself. In hindsight, I should've whistle-blown Kirk. I can recognize my clouded judgment."
"Is it possible he attempted to proceed with manipulating DNA between different organisms with the help of anyone else?"
"If he were running such a program with experts in the relevant fields, I have to imagine it would be public knowledge by now."
"Could he be the lead on such a funding proposal -with a different backer, not Wayne Wildlife Trust?"
"The precautionary principle would apply from grant bodies. No credible fund would finance blending the genes of bats into humans."
"Could Kirk alter sampled viruses taken from bat populations in the wild, and engineer them to make a big dent in the human population? A deliberate zoonosis."
"Do you mean an act of ecoterrorism? You're supposing Kirk sought biodefense ends behind all our backs, to harness a pathogen as a bioweapon?"
"It's a theory I'd prefer to put to sleep, which is why I'm running it past you."
"He would have to be acting alone."
"Dr Bèi, I found the draft proposal showing you, Dr. Bian Fu, and Kirk, misled the Wayne Wildlife Trust."
"It's true. One could argue Kirk, Dr. Bian, and I, took insufficient precautions of biosafety in the lab for the type of pathogens we dealt with. Our facilities here at the KIZ are to the standard of biosafety level 2, whereas many pathogens hosted in bats warrant biosafety level 3 or more. This was not borne out of malice. It was to cut costs, as I understood it. Under US regulation, we would need a BSL 4 facility, which Gotham University had, but the budget would've ballooned. The Wayne Wildlife Trust wouldn't have considered an application so expensive. Chinese regulations have more discretion to choose the level of biosafety on a case-by-case basis."
"Dr. Bian instructed you not to speak to me, correct?"
Dr. Bèi affirmed with a nod.
"Why? What's Dr. Bian Fu's role in all this?"
Dr. Bèi grimaced. "Dr. Bian is a proud academic, with a stellar reputation. Other than Kirk, she has more expertise in this field than anybody. It's understandable why she takes exception to challenges, even from a deep-pocketed patron such as yourself. It's possible she has some guilt about our deception to the Trust in relation to the proposed biosafety levels. We deemed it safe, but others might consider it risky. My bet would be Dr. Bian, like me, had the same concern about Kirk's mental state. Dr. Bian and I should've heeded the signs of his decline, and intervened."
There were now too many possibilities rearing their heads for Bruce. Some of the threads presenting themselves posed risks, but he needed to narrow his field of view - to find Kirk.
Thereafter, he could find out what Kirk had in mind, or his intentions. Only then could Bruce establish whether Kirk's mental state had sidelined benevolent intentions. Bruce was starting to feel overwhelmed, his mind fettered by all the sinister possibilities.
Was Kirk's research toward benevolent ends, intended to further science? One part of Bruce saw a possibility of Kirk engineering a virus sampled in bats to be more transmissible and deadly. A form of population control, to ward off the encroachment of humans upon wildlife. Bruce didn't know whether Kirk's state of mind could've led him down such a path. A lot of theories were floating around in Bruce's head.
Dr. Bèi wished Bruce luck, said to let her know if he discovered Dr. Langstrom's whereabouts, before asking what his next steps were. He told her he was planning to visit Xishuangbanna, to speak with Bèi's Project CONSERVE colleague, Dr. Isley.
"Oh, yes," said Dr. Bei, "Kirk had been conducting research trips to the rainforests there."
"Do you know what for?" asked Bruce.
"No. But it was one of the last trips he made before going missing. The team at Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanic Gardens will know more. One of the cave biologists there - not a member of the Project - was to go with him on the trip but fell ill. You may be able to speak with them there."
"Can you think of anything worth mentioning about Dr. Isley in relation to the Project, or Kirk?"
Dr. Bèi raised her eyebrows. "No, other than she also shares with Dr. Langstrom some of those, uh, sentiments, holding humanity in contempt."
