Algorithm - Book 1 - The Medallion

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Dawn brought with it rattling surges of rain against Adam's bedroom window. He couldn't sleep. His mind had been racing feverishly through the few hours of darkness that remained when he got back from the lab, looping endlessly through each analysis and each conclusion, fruitlessly seeking out rational explanations. This went on and on until, at last, the subdued glimmer from the tempest outside heralded the arrival of a new day. Adam arose from bed and bounded down the stairs for a cup of coffee, not at all surprised that he was still dressed. 

***

A gray smear of a sky hung overhead as he entered McArdle Hall. A glance along the length of the hallway toward the analytical lab availed him of nothing but a cavernous gloom.  He was about to enter the stairwell leading upstairs when a movement in the dark caught his attention. Thinking it might be George, he paused, turned, and stuck his head back into the hallway for a closer look. Someone pierced the single cone of light from an overhead ceiling lamp.

"Oh. Hi, Dr. Dove … Adam."

It was Linda.

Startled, Adam took a moment to respond. "Linda!  I thought you were someone else."

Her mouth curled up slightly, pausing before answering. "Sorry to disappoint. I'm on my way to get a cup of coffee. Would you like to join me?"

God…she's beautiful. Maybe it's the lighting. The scent of her.

Besides offices and analytical labs, the first floor boasted a small breakroom equipped with the requisite coffee maker, microwave and a last-resort donut vending machine. Adam had almost forgotten about the DNA pattern recognition analysis he had started up the previous day. It already seemed like ages ago.

"Let me get my stuff upstairs. I'll be back down in a few minutes. Sure, coffee would be great."

No one else had come into work, at least not into his lab at this early hour. When Adam arrived at his office, he immediately fired up his laptop and downloaded a brief progress report on the analysis. With billions of base pairs making up possible patterns, he did not expect to see much. However, a cursory look suggested that even at this early stage there was some evidence of repeating patterns surfacing, and he could bring these up to Linda over coffee. He waited for the printout before going downstairs to the breakroom with laptop in tow.

***

Adam sipped carefully at his Styrofoam cup, as he listened.

"I'd have to check with my database, but these sequences you've identified as repeating are probably well known. The current thinking is that they may represent 'spacers' between coding regions."

"That may be, but the results of my analysis thus far suggest a more subtle purpose. It would appear that the coding regions are more random than the non-coding regions."