Transgenic

Transgenic

Rajesh Bose

The place was marshy. But not deep. The heel would sink at the most. Maybe that was the reason she didn't drown. She sat up somehow. The whole body ached. Particularly painful were the back of the head and the left knee. But in any case, she thanked God that at least she was alive.

It was a lovely sunny day. The sky was clear when she set out. Good luck was also by her side. So many rare birds were appearing as a surprise. She was so engrossed in photographing them, didn’t notice how far she had travelled. When she decided to return, it started raining all of a sudden. She was about to run for a shelter. But who knows that the ground under her feet will move! Along with her, a branch of a dead tree also fell. That might have hit her on the head and made her faint. Even better, at least no boulder fell instead. God knew how long she had remained unconscious here.

Anyway, she somehow managed to stand up. It was quite heartbreaking to find her camera lying with a broken lens. She looked for her cellphone. It was still resting in her dump jeans. Water had made it damaged too. So there was no provision for seeking assistance either. The sky was still cloudy. It was not clear if the sun had set yet. Darkness was spreading fast, though. This part of North-Eastern India was not devoid of wild animals, particularly in the night. She had to look for a safe haven immediately.

Her thought was abruptly diverted by the sound of rustling tree branches. A troop of monkey had suddenly appeared from nowhere. It seemed that they had returned from an expedition. Surprisingly, two or three of them had a piece of bread in their hands. Undoubtedly, there was a neighborhood nearby. She thanked the monkeys and started walking in the direction the troop had come from.

Her hunch was correct. After a short walk, the forest thinned a little and a two-story house could be seen. It was encircled by a barbed wire fence and had a sloping red tiled roof. The front had a modest flower bed as well. There was also an outhouse on one side of the house. On the roof of it, a dish antenna and a solar panel were also visible.

She stood in front of the wooden gate, a little scared. In such a secluded woodland, who knows who might be inside! Fear of people, of male in particular, would never go away.

In any case, she gathered courage in her heart, opened the gate and entered. A narrow paved path across the flower bed, reached a short bamboo staircase. Then there was a small porch, middle of which was the entrance, a big wooden door. She hesitated a little, but still knocked at.

The one who opened the door, looked as formidable as a goblin or an elf. The lips nearly reached his ears. He was wearing a baggy tee shirt over Bermuda shorts. The feet were bare. What caught her eye was that every visible part of his deep brown skin was full of small warts. The most uncomfortable were his abnormally large eyes. Instead of being where it should be, it had risen to the forehead. The age would be similar to hers, between twenty-five and thirty. He looked at her in great astonishment.

“Eh, well, I’m Tithi, Tithi Chatterjee.” She briefly described what happened. The man didn’t utter anything, just kept on looking with that peculiar gaze. Meanwhile, a good looking old man appeared behind the boy. He had a very manly look, upright and straight. Clean shaven and spectacled. His curly white hair was the only testimony of his age.

The man must have overheard Tithi’s plight. ―“Come on in. You look miserable.”

Indeed. It was the end of November. The day remained rather warm, but as soon as the sun goes down it gets quite cold. Furthermore, her cloths were all wet that made her shiver incessantly.

“Actually, I don’t want to bother you much.” She hesitated, “Just allow me to make a call from your cell.”

The old man smiled amiably, “Uh-huh, you need some first aid immediately. I have all the arrangements. So no argument. By the way, I’m Professor S K Sen and he is my assistant Rana.”

There was something fatherly touch in his voice. More to it, the name of the old man rang a bell, was he by any chance the famous scientist Sanat Kumar Sen? Who once taught at the famous Presidency in Calcutta? Tithi couldn’t help mentioning it.

“Yes. I am.” The old man nodded his head.

So Tithi entered.

Professor Sen turned to Rana, “What are you waiting for? Go and make some hot coffee.”

Rana said something in a low, coarse voice. Then, not quite like walking, but rather hopped away inside. It appeared that his legs were also disproportionately large.

Tithi suddenly felt that the boy's face might be quite awkward, but not unfamiliar, as if she had seen him somewhere.

Chapter Two

Coincidences did not occur much in Tithi’s life. But, what happened today could be said to be a coincidence. Meeting with a scientist like Samrat Kumar Sen in this secluded part of Arunachal was nothing but a coincidence. Whoever didn’t know his name? A doyen in the field of modern genetics in India. He was even a senior advisor to the International Human Genome Project for a brief period of time. Maybe he had given up that to do his own research. But, who knew that Sanat Kumar Sen had been working in this remote part of the country? That’s why his name rang a bell when she heard.

In fact, Tithi herself was a science student. Chemistry was her major. But nature had always fascinated her. She was also an expert photographer. Actually, that got her a job with a reputed organization as a nature photographer. Since then, the wandering started. However, this time it was her own personal trip. There was a homestay in the deep forest of Roeing, ―Lama’s Homestay, as it was known, run by a family of two, just the husband and wife. Tithi had checked in there. They must have become very worried about her. She had to make a call first. And that’s what Tithi requested when she got back from the washroom.

“Oh, sure.” Professor Sen handed his cellphone to Tithi. But she failed to connect with her host family. The signal was very poor.

“It happens here.” Professor Sen said, taking back his phone, “But don’t you worry. I myself will keep trying. Just make yourself at home. Feeling okay now, aren’t you?”

Tithi nodded. Professor Sen had given her an antiseptic lotion. She washed her wounds with that. It gave her comfort. But what actually relaxed her was the hot coffee that Rana had brought.

“I heard you were in a good position in the world Genome Project.” Tithi couldn’t suppress her curiosity.

“Yes. That’s true. But I left. You want to know the reason, don’t you?” Professor Sen suddenly grew angry. “I resigned, because there was no freedom. There were so many rules and restrictions. Questions of ethics. Moralities. All bullshit, you know. How come a scientist would work if there were so many pointless regulations?”

“What type of restrictions?”

Professor Sen paused a little, then asked, “Do you know what a transgenic organism is?”

“An organism whose genetic modifications have been altered…”

“There you are. You know how is it done? Injecting the foreign gene into the fertilized egg or into the embryonic cells of the receptor animal. Of course, the process is complicated. I’m telling you just the very basics. However, I invented a new method altogether. That was my achievement. But it was not appreciated by the other scientists of the Genome Project. They opposed me on the ethical ground. Ethics! My foot. Why should an inventor care about such nonsense? His task is to invent. Ethics don’t matter to him. So I quit.”

“But a scientist is a part of our society. He can’t go whimsical. There must be some ethical aspect to his work.” Tithi couldn’t stop saying this.

Professor Sen stood up in excitement, “You are only thinking about human society. Don’t forget about plants and animals. They too have their rights. But do we care? Scientists are constantly swapping their genes to create new transgenic plants and transgenic animals. Does it sound ethical to you?”

“Are you working on human genes now?”

Professor Sen squinted his eyes. Stared into her for about half a minute. Tithi was feeling uncomfortable. She was dressed in a Professor Sen’s shirt and pajamas. Nothing beneath. She had to wash every piece of her clothing since it had become so muddied.

Professor Sen was in a thought. Suddenly, he spoke up, “Okay. Come along, I’ll show you my work.”

They came up to the second floor. Rana was standing in front of the stairs. He was looking at her strangely. Rows of rooms on both sides, with a corridor in the middle. They entered the first room of the right row.

The room was lit by a soft white light. There were lots of scientific equipment all around. Along the walls there were large steel racks. Different types of animals were kept there in glass containers, like snakes, lizards, chameleons, guinea pigs, ―frogs were the most, though. They were of different colors and sizes. Some were two inches long and some are about a foot long. Many, however, were dead. Those were immersed in formalin solution.

“You must be surprised to see so many frogs? Amazing creatures. Aren’t they? Think, they have been on the earth since the Jurassic era. Still, over four and a half thousand species exist. Live in water as well as on land, and breathe through the skin. ―Imagine if humans had this quality? We would then start living under the sea. So interesting. The irony is that scientists don’t value this species at all.”

He moved towards a container. It contained two blue-colored frogs. Both were dead and immersed in formalin.

“These are called poison dart frogs. Mostly found in the tropical forests of South America. They have a toxin in their skin that has a paralytic effect on contact. The natives use their toxic secretions to poison the tips of blow-dartsto hunt down animals. So they are called poison dart frogs. Don’t worry. These are not lethal to us. I have, though, enhanced its toxicity at least a hundred times. Now it’s extremely fatal. Even much more effective than our very well-known potassium cyanide. Think, this can be used in capital punishment, or even in painless euthanasia. So, what do you think? It’s one of my inventions.”

He moved a little and opened a big drawer. Inside, there were some small red darts. ―"These are my poison darts. Each tip is smeared with my enhanced toxin. Instant death upon contact with one’s blood. You see, I live here alone. Just a safety measure, in case.”

Tithi felt nauseating. Her tongue was drying up. Professor Sen was in a full mood, though. He now took a test tube out of the freezer. Inside the tube was an opaque substance.

“Do you know what it is?” He asked, pointing to the tube, “Skin mucous of a species called incilius alvarius. These frogs are found in the Sonoran desert of North America. Their toxin has strong psychedelic properties. In fact, I am working on it. I would make such a drink that people would forget the champagne and all the bloody alcoholic liqueurs that they now devour. Just think that the frog is also the source.”

“But will these really benefit people?” Tithi couldn’t help asking.

“Don’t be impatient.” Professor Sen said in a rough tone, “These are only the by-product of my research. The real work hasn’t been shown yet. No Nobel laureate can even dream of what I am going to achieve.”

At that time, someone knocked at the door of the lab. It was Rana. The professor seemed to be a little annoyed, “What do you want here? Is dinner done?”

Rana nodded his head.

“Good. Go then. And be careful about the monkeys. Don’t leave the kitchen door open again. So much bread has already been wasted for you.”

Rana again nodded his head in obedience. He also mumbled something that Tithi couldn’t understand. Then he almost hopped for downstairs.

“Can't he talk?” Tithi couldn't help but ask.

“Who? Oh, Rana? Actually, he has some birth defects. I will talk about him later. The boy has some education, so I brought him as an assistant. Later I saw that he can only cook and do some housework.” Professor Sen shrugged.

Tithi walked out of the room, “Let’s go downstairs. I haven’t called my homestay yet.”

“Don't panic. I will tell them. Tomorrow morning, I will drive you to your homestay. There is a straight road behind this house that goes in that direction. ―By the way, do you have a baby?

“I’m unmarried.”

“Ah, I see.”

Chapter Three

Tithi had to stay back here for the night. Despite many attempts, she couldn’t call her homestay. There had been no signal. In addition, rain had also resumed. She requested, though, that if Professor Sen could drive her to the homestay.

He didn’t agree. ―In this weather? Have you gone mad? We will be stranded somewhere. So ultimately, Tithi had to stay. Professor Sen had arranged a room for her in the upstairs. A small one, but okay. It had a clean bed, a reading table, a wardrobe, even a TV set. The only issue was that there was no door lock. How embarrassing. She had to place the reading table against the door.

It's almost twelve o'clock at night. She was feeling so tired, but sleep was not coming. There was a sense of unease that kept her awake.

What was this man exactly doing in this secluded place? To be honest, she didn’t find much interest in his research. The actual work had not been shown, though. But she had enough doubts about that too. The man appeared to be a megalomaniac, even quite mysterious to her. In fact, his assistant Rana was not less mysterious either. The boy seemed familiar to her. Somewhere, she had met him. She was certain about that. But, where?

… Yes, she could remember. She went back a couple of years. Her college. The chemistry laboratory. The practical examination was going on. Tithi couldn’t confirm her salt. Suddenly, Diya gestured at something. Tithi saw Toton Das slipping a note under her beaker. Oh, no, not again. She knew what that was ―a love note. The lad was turning her mad. How many times had she told him to stop this nonsense? She just had no feelings for her.

Tithi took up the note in hand. Only three sentences: Please come to the library after the exam. If you don’t, I will drink acid. So, it’d be your acid test today.

“Okay, lover boy, my acid test! Hold on, what you will taste today!” Tithi told herself.

When the exam was over, she went straight to the Principal’s chamber and handed the note to the Principal Mrs. Roy. She summoned Toton right away and severely reprimanded him. She also referred him to a psychiatrist for his intention of taking acid. So that was that. Toton never disturbed after that. In fact, he didn’t even complete his course. Left the college for good. So after all those years, she ran into him again. But, what happened to him? Why did he look so peculiar?… So many odds, she couldn’t think more and eventually fell asleep.

However, the sleep didn’t last longer. A humming sound woke her up. But where was she? There was no cozy mattress under her back, instead she had been lying on a cold metal sheet. Her body was also numb. Somehow, she helped herself to sit up. The sound was coming from a machine close to her head.

Good heavens! It was the laboratory of Professor Sen. And, she was on a steel table. She could even see Professor Sen holding an injection syringe in his right hand. Inside, there was a bluish liquid. Was that meant for her?

She tried to get off the table. Couldn’t. Professor Sen pushed her back. ―“Why is the girl coming round so quickly? Haven’t you spiked her dinner properly? Have you? You asshole!” He shouted to Rana. She could now see him too. Helping Professor Sen hold her back on the table.

“You are not Rana. You are Toton Das. Aren’t you?” She shouted.

The boy seemed to be taken aback. The look in his eyes changed. He nodded his head with his strange mumble.

Professor Sen now turned to Toton, who suddenly gripped his right hand that held the syringe.

“I understand, she’s your old flame!” He said sarcastically, tried in vain to free his hand, “You blockhead, try to think, whatever I’m doing is for you. Watch the metamorphosis, experience it with your own eyes. You’re going to have a companion. Who will mate with you and give you your very own babies. The world’s first offspring of transgenic parents. Try to imagine what an amazing work this is! Both of you become immortal in the history of science.”

But Toton seemed hell-bent. He would not budge with any coaxing. He was still holding his hand tightly. Professor Sen managed to move, though, he came closer to a particular drawer and, with his left hand, opened it. Tithi felt a shiver go down her spine. She knew what was inside ―those poisonous red darts.

“Beware, Toton!” She screamed, already got down from the table. Professor Sen had also freed himself. Instead of the syringe a small red dart had appeared in his right hand. With a devilish smile he proceeded for Toton. Tithi didn’t know what to do. She still feeling awkwardly dizzy. However, within a blink of an eye so many things happened.

Toton had fallen to the floor. But quickly, he stood up and faced his master. Professor Sen was about to hurt him with his dart, but a tongue about a half-arm long came out of Toton’s mouth with lightning speed. It snatched the syringe that the Professor had kept on the rack. The professor also attacked him at that instant.

Then there was an intense fight, although it stopped as suddenly as it started. The whole room was a mess by then. And both the master and his servant collapsed motionless on the marble floor.

Tithi was watching transfixed in her position. A burning smell brought back her nerves. There were lots of appliances and electric cables all around. The god knew which was burning. She took a few steps forward. Toton was lying prone. She turned him aside. There was no sign of life in him. The red dart pierced his chest. His face had contorted in great pain, but there was a deep tranquility in the dead eyes that still seemed to be looking at Tithi.

She closed the eyelids with her index finger. A drop of her tears fell on the forehead of the dead man. She bade him goodbye. But no sooner did she stand up than the lifeless body of Professor Sen started shaking. He was coming round. So it would be. Toton had died from the poison dart. His master didn’t, he had just fainted, now coming back to his senses. But, why was he shaking like this? Not only that, his whitish skin was turning deep brown. Lots of warts were also appearing on it. His eyeballs had grown abnormally large, it appeared they were trying to come out of the socket. What an unusual sight!

At that point, she could notice the injection that he wanted to push into her blood. The needle pierced him on the left side of his stomach. Bewildered, she stood there for a few moments. So, that was his historical achievement! Transplanting frog genes into a human being, ―but what had he created? She felt so sorry for poor Toton. Undoubtedly, he was the victim of his insane experiment.

In any case, time was running out. She had to leave this madhouse immediately.

She couldn’t, though. The Professor’s right hand suddenly grabbed her left leg. She kicked in the hand with all her might with other leg. It helped, but the man somehow got back his strength, he stood up and blocked her way. How wide his mouth had grown also. The legs were also much longer and so more bent. The throat was also moving just like a frog, giving out a strange sound. The sound was not unfamiliar to her. Mating messages of a male frog.

Tithi missed a couple of heart beats. What a terrible discovery! A wild defiance of nature. What would she do now? The mutant man kept approaching her slowly. She yelled at the top of her voice. That, of course, didn’t faze the deformed man. He was about to hold her. She tried to back away, but there were rows of steel racks just behind her. The mutant man made a terrible laugh. At that point, she noticed the red dart was still resting on Toton’s chest. She picked it up and threw it. She was a good knife thrower during her school days. The dart entered the Professor’s chest at a ninety-degree angle. He stood there in utter shock for a few seconds. Then, removed it with his right hand. Tithi’s blood curdled in great fear. Had the dart’s poison worn off?

Suddenly, something burst with a loud sound. One more of the instruments caught fire. The Professor still had the dart in his hand, he pointed it at Tithi. But, failed, dropped on the floor like a chopped banana tree.

Meanwhile, the room had become full of smoke. So suffocating, Tithi felt like collapsing. But, no, she would not give in. She got to her feet, and somehow exited the devil’s den.

Not a second in this cursed house. She locked the door from outside. When she finally came out of the house, it was almost dawn. There was a straight road behind the house in the direction of her homestay. Before setting out for it, she looked back at the burning house for the last time. Suddenly, she felt like crying. A stream of tear rolled down her cheeks. She wiped it, though and proceeded.

Author: Rajesh Bose

Email id: contactrbasu@gmail.com