Free The Merlin Effect by T. A. Barron Page A

see. Kids grow old so fast that by the time they’re nine or ten years old, they look like they’re eighty. They develop arthritis, hair loss, bone deterioration, everything. By the time they reach eleven or twelve, they die. And all this happens because one tiny little gene on Chromosome Eight—that’s
one gene out of three billion
—happens to be in the wrong position.”
    Terry checked his watch. “What’s this got to do with your fish?”
    “Now, it’s been proven that some viruses can carry a gene that can change the regulatory system of the host being. So it’s possible there is some sort of virus or other substance in the water that can rearrange the genetic material of the sea life around here.”
    “In the water?” asked Jim.
    “Why not?” Isabella replied. “We’re only beginning to learn about the strange things that inhabit the sea. You’ve heard about the undersea volcanic vents—smokers. They breed forms of life that can exist at temperatures above three hundred degrees Fahrenheit, that can live off of sulphur instead of light and air. Like nothing else on Earth.”
    “So you’re saying,” pressed Jim, “that something in the water here is altering the genes, causing the aging process to slow down.”
    “Or even stop.”
    “But that would mean that creatures could go on living…indefinitely.”
    “That’s right,” said Isabella calmly. “Think about it logically. Germ cells and cancer cells can reproduce endlessly, making them practically immortal. So might it not be possible, just possible, that the right genetic formula could do the same for us?”
    Terry frowned skeptically. “This is ridiculous.”
    “Is it? In some ways, the fish I examined is not so different from you or me. Our own bodies are constantly replacing themselves, aren’t they? Over a seven-year period, every cell in our bodies is replaced. So I suppose you could say that we have some of the same power of renewal. Maybe we just have to learn how to use it better.”
    Jim considered the notion, like a gourmet savoring a rare delicacy. “You know, legend has it that Merlin somehow learned how to stay the same age. He even figured out how to live backwards, growing younger instead of older with time. The bards called him
oldest at birth, youngest at death.
”
    “Hey,” piped Kate. “Maybe you should call this thing
the Merlin effect.
”
    For the first time in two days, Jim Gordon smiled at his daughter. He then asked Isabella, “Could this—this
Merlin effect
of yours also slow down the deterioration of things that aren’t alive, things like wood and cloth and rope?”
    “Perhaps, if they’re made of organic materials.”
    “Now look here,” said Terry, his normally pallid skin flushed with color. “I’ve had about enough of this. Are we talking about science—or hocus-pocus?”
    Isabella studied him with something like pity in her eyes. “For some of us, the more we learn the less we know.”
    “Come on, Isabella! You’re a scientist. This doesn’t stand to reason.”
    “Reason isn’t always enough,” she answered. “As a scientist named Einstein once said,
Subtle is the Lord.
”
    “Let’s get back to the facts,” insisted Terry. “Couldn’t this fish be just some kind of mutant? A random, isolated case that will never happen again?”
    “Sure,” answered Isabella. “But it’s possible somethingmore is going on here.” She scanned the faces inside the tent, listening to the sloshing and splashing of waves in the lagoon. “Have you ever wondered why this area is so rich in species found nowhere else, or thought to be extinct? Not just fish but crustaceans and porpoises and other things, too. No one, as far as I know, has analyzed their DNA structures, but there is no question now that we should.”
    Kate stopped twirling her braid. “Are you saying,” she asked hesitantly, “that the whales who stay here year round might have been here for ages?”
    “Could be. That whale you