The Burning Water

13 - Gene Xq28

As Wing approached the ER, he was stunned to find the hallways lined with patients waiting to be seen, many of them accompanied by their families. A quick glance told him all those who were coughing and moaning were men, from teens to the elderly. The women with them chatted anxiously, and as soon as the first one spotted Wing in his white coat, he was besieged.

The halls smelled of sweat and vomit. All Wing could do was push past them, promising that their loved ones would be seen as soon as possible. When he reached the ER waiting room, he found it jammed to capacity with more patients and their families, occupying the hard plastic chairs, leaning against walls, sprawled on the tile floor.

Dr. Lu told him she was handling triage with the help of Nurse Wen. "I am sending anyone with viral symptoms to the large meeting room on the second floor," she said. "I need you to take care of those patients with other problems."

He nodded, and went to the first bed, a man with a knife wound that needed to be stitched. He got a sterile kit and began to prepare the wound, though he worried that his effort would be useless, and the man would probably die of the virus before his wound had time to heal.

He worked diligently for several hours, trying to treat and dismiss as many patients as possible to make room for the incoming flood of those with virus symptoms. Dr. Lu had called in every healthy hospital staffer, because the ER wasn't the only floor with problems. Wing noted that nearly everyone he met who was able to work was female.

It was early afternoon before Wing could leave the ER for a few minutes to check in with Ho-Sook in the lab. "There is something else curious about the patients," he said. "I don't see any young boys with the symptoms. They are all teenagers or adults." He looked at Ho-Sook. "How old were the orphans at your institute?"

Ho-Sook said, "Dr. Go preferred teenagers for his experiments. He only accepted Likotsi because his two older brothers would not come without him."

"Another clue," Wing said. "Dr. Bing, have you been able to send anything to Dr. Xie in Beijing?" he asked.

"Yes. He and I have had several conversations."

"And have you found anything that will help the patients who are sick?"

She shook her head. "It is still too early."

"Can you show me what you've found?"

Ho-Sook flipped a switch, and a projection screen on the lab wall came to life. "Fortunately, Dr. Go kept very good records of his experiments. This version of the virus is called CD-347-X8q-8q28."

"Such a complicated name for such a deadly virus," Wing said.

"It is very clear when you understand his numbering system. The CD stands for Crocidura dsinezumi, the Latin name for a species of musk shrew found in Japan and Korea. Dr. Go had a contract with a laboratory that raised the shrews for experiments, which sent him samples of blood and genetic material."

She looked around to make sure everyone understood. "Using those two letters first indicated that the original virus had been isolated from this little mouse."

She pointed to the next part of the name. "The number 347 means Dr. Go had already prepared 346 previous versions of the virus. He was working his way through the genes on the X chromosome, trying to find one that would accept the virus and help it reproduce."

"Did he have a reason why he picked certain genes?" Wing asked.

"I don't know. And I don't know if he picked them in a particular order. But these letters and numbers here indicate which gene he was targeting."

She turned to Jasper. "The X is the male chromosome. You know there are twenty-three pairs of genes in human DNA, right?"

Jasper nodded.

"Chromosome 8 has maybe between 700 and 1,000 genes. This last part, Xq28, is the specific gene."

"Is there anything unusual about that gene?" Jasper asked. "Any reason why the virus would work well with it?"

"Not that I understand," Ho-Sook said.

"Wait a minute," Wing said. He had a hunch, but he wasn't willing to say anything until he could check. "Can I use the computer?"

She moved aside, and he opened an internet search window. He typed in "gene xq28," and the second result that popped up was headlined "Does a Gay Gene Exist?"

Suddenly an idea that had been lurking in the back of his brain began to blossom. "We have seen that women do not appear to be affected by this virus," he said.

Ho-Sook and Jasper nodded.

"But there is something more. Why are Jasper and I still healthy, when we should be sick by now? And the nurse Yang An." He turned to Ho-Sook. "Were there any men at your place who were not affected by the virus?"

Ho-Sook and Young-Min spoke in Korean, then Ho-Sook said, "Only one. Our orderly, Gun." She spoke to Young-Min again, and nurse nodded. "Young-Min believes that Gun is a man who likes men." She looked from Wing to Jasper, then back to Wing. "You are..." she began.

"Yes, we are. And Yang An."

"Hold on," Jasper said. "You think this virus is targeting gay men?"

Wing shook his head. "No, somehow the presence of the genetic mutation on gene Xq28 protects us from the virus."

"I read about that study," Jasper said. "It's just preliminary. They don't know for sure that the gene causes homosexuality. Just that the mutation is present in many gay men."

"Yes, yes," Wang said. "It is not a definite indicator. There may be men who have this mutation who are not gay, and who will be safe from the virus."

"There is no similar gene for women, is there?" Jasper asked.

"I don't believe so," Wang said.

"So that explains why women are immune, too," Jasper said. "I'm curious. Was there anything in the doctor's notes that indicated he was targeting gay men for some reason?"

Ho-Sook shook her head. "Not that I saw."

"This is very big news," Jasper said. "Can you imagine what would happen if this virus runs through the world unchecked? Millions of men dead."

"Millions of straight men," Wing said. "Only women and gay men left."

Wing was paged back to the ER. "I have to go," he said, standing up.