Russell Andrews - Aphrodite

"But you don't have that problem."

"No, of course not. Since the president restricted use to cells that have already been extracted, we're in the driver's seat. We're private. We don't have to worry about those kinds of restrictions."

"And what's the emphasis in this area?"

"The same as everyone else. Stem cells are just a tool. The more we learn about basic biology, the more likely it is that we can take these stem cells, reproduce the steps inside them, and make them behave in a specific way. It's extraordinarily complicated, but the embryo does it naturally. If we can learn how the embryo does it, we can duplicate the process to make something similar to what the body loses when it has certain diseases. Ultimately, the goal is to develop and market treatments for cancer and degenerative diseases."

"You said it's a tool. A tool for whom?"

"For KranMar." He scratched harshly at his chest, as if the conversation was making him itch. "There's nothing illegal about this. It's why I can't understand all the precautions and secrecy. KranMar's the third largest pharmaceutical company in the world. Of course they're going to be developing products for profit. There's nothing wrong with their research program."

"Give me the two other areas you prioritize."

"Recombinant DNA technology…"

"Try to give it to me in English, please."

"Essentially, that's reaching inside the body and directly fiddling with gene patterns, with DNA sequences."

"And the goal?"

"You figure out how to change DNA, you can actually alter the species."

"You mean, like make people stronger or handsomer or… whiter?"

"Agent Rollins, I don't think any of us are in this for those kinds of neo-Nazi purposes. Even if those things were possible, we're talking about altering diseases. Potentially even eliminating some of them. It goes hand in hand with the stem-cell research."

"And the third?"

Marion hesitated, then he said, "Human growth hormones."

"Growth as in make things bigger?"

Ed Marion laughed. "No. Growth hormones affect the aging process."

"Keep going."

"I feel a little strange talking about this. We're in a very odd area here and I only know bits and pieces. The other two areas, that's hard science. I wasn't kidding when I said that there are several people working for us who could easily win the Nobel Prize. Growth hormones…well, it's different. Some people inside Ellis, the other two divisions really, think it's crackpot science. Kransten thinks it's the key to the future."

"What do you think?"

"I think it's both. There's a certain logic to the experimentation and I know enough never to bet against Kransten. The growth-hormone people maintain that the key to aging lies in the pituitary gland. The theory is that once we're over twenty, the gland begins to slow down, providing decreasing levels of HGH. Human growth hormones. By around age sixty-five, most of us are producing little or none. It's this decline that leads to most of the symptoms that we associate with aging- wrinkled skin, expanding waistlines, less energy and vitality…"

"So you're developing artificial hormones?"

"They've been developed for years. It's how menopause is treated, for one example. And a lot of companies aren't just producing growth hormones, they're also producing something that helps the body distribute them. It combats the somatostatin."

"You've lost me again."

"The pituitary gland doesn't just produce less HGH as we get older. It produces something called somatostatin. It's a substance that inhibits the gland from distributing even the reduced levels of HGH that are produced."

"Where does the crackpot stuff come in?"

"Basically, what's out on the market is a lot of cosmetic bullshit. All you have to do is go on the Internet and look at all the anti-aging sites. They're all selling miracle pills that keep you young. Selling growth hormones is probably already a billion-dollar business."

"But they don't work?"

"Marginally at best. They all claim that they'll improve your cardiac condition and lower blood pressure and rejuvenate your kidneys and get rid of wrinkles. It's more marketing than medicine."

"That's supposed to be illegal."

"It's not drugs. So it's not regulated. The FDA allows them."

"And why is KranMar so gung ho on growth hormones?"

"Because most companies have only been turned on to this in the last decade or so. KranMar's been researching it for thirty years." Ed Marion sighed. "And because most companies really do consider it cosmetic, no matter what they're saying. They'll be happy if it gets rid of a few wrinkles. But KranMar's had some extraordinary results with various experiments."

"Like Bill Miller?"

"Yes. Like Bill Miller."

"And how many others?"

"I don't know exactly. I only know about my group." When Rollins waved for him to continue, Marion said, "I have nine of them, all in the Northeast. Well, eight now that Miller died. They've all lived to be over a hundred. One of them's a hundred and sixteen years old."

"How many other groups are there?"

"I don't know. I think they're regional, so I'd guess five or six others. Maybe a few more than that. We're isolated from each other. For all I know, my group's the only one that's worked."

"Do you know why KranMar is keeping this so secret?"

"No. That's what I can't understand. I'd think they'd be trumpeting this all over the world. I told him that once-no, I asked about it once-in a meeting with Kransten."

"And what was his response?"

"He said that my job was to do as I was told and that if I asked so much as one more question, I would be replaced. I understood the word 'replaced' to mean a lot more than just being fired."

"And why do you think he's so afraid of making this public?"

"I don't know."

"But you've thought about it."

"Yes," Marion said. "I've thought about it a lot. If there are people who've been treated who have lived to be over a hundred, there must be other people who have… not lived to be over a hundred."

"They've killed people?"

"They've experimented."

"And people have died."

"I can only go by the odds. And the nature of experimentation of this sort."

"Where's Kransten, Ed?"

"I haven't seen him in months. It's strange. He's dropped out of sight. A lot of the more serious research, particularly in stem cells and growth hormones, is done over in Europe. I know he's got a large number of holdings over there and he spends a lot of time there. But, even for him, he's been relatively invisible."

"How about Helen Roag?"

"What about her?"

"Where is she?"

"In Boston, I assume."

"She's gone." When Marion looked genuinely confused, Rollins said, "She hasn't shown up for work. Her family says she's missing."

"Jesus…" Marion trailed off.

"Tell me about Aphrodite, Ed."

"I told you, I only know bits and pieces. It has something to do with Bill Miller and the others and the aging process." Miller twisted his neck as if it had suddenly stiffened up. "It's the code name we use for the program."

"No good. You know more than that, don't you, Ed?"

Ed Marion sensed the change in Agent Rollins's voice. It had turned hard. And cold. "Yes," he said. "I do. But I have to keep some things in reserve. I'm not saying anything more about that until I know exactly how I'm being protected. Until I know exactly what's going to happen to me."

"Fair enough," Rollins said.

"I've told you enough, haven't I? To get to the next step?"

"You've definitely gotten to the next step. Why don't we go out and get some food now?"

Marion was still uneasy. It wasn't just Rollins's voice, it was his eyes now. But then, he thought, that's just the nature of the business. He's FBI, he's a tough guy, he was born with those eyes. So he nodded, got up from the bed, turned his back on Rollins to get the sport jacket he'd hung in the closet.