ллллллллллллллллллл л THE ETERNAL MAN л ллллллллллллллллллл Much Science fiction is written for immature adolescent boys with hormone imbalances. Those works tend to be moralistic shoot-em-up westerns transferred to the stars, usually with white, Eagle Scout, American Christian, anti-communists as heroes (or futuristic variations thereof.) The 1960's writer Harrison Greystone once suggested that such science fiction was clandestinely sponsored by the CIA as a subliminal propaganda campaign to rekindle and promote imperialistic, manifest destiny policies of the Teddy Roosevelt/Alfred Mahan variety. Heinlein, Pournelle, et. al. have contributed to that pulp subgenre. After a few pages, such works get tossed into the discard box, and I bemoan the dearth of intellectually-stimulating science fiction. Vernon Davis' THE ETERNAL MAN is on the opposite end of the spectrum from the "starship trooper" pulp mentioned above. The Eternal Man has no villains, no violence, and the sex scenes are so subdued that even our contemporary Queen Victorians of the Republican religious right can have no objections. The Eternal Man is a cerebral tale depicting the battle against viruses that cause cancer, AIDS, the common cold, and other diseases. The hero, Mark Silverman, is seduced into an elaborate labyrinth of interconnected scientific disciplines and scurries around the planet in search of pieces of the virus puzzle. In the process the reader is exposed to a careful analysis of contemporary thinking on the subject. Often, while reading, I thought that the dialogue sounded like reportage from Science News Magazine, and indeed, in the epilogue it is indicated that the author is a reader of that prestigious publication. This novel is, therefore, a good treatise on the subject of viruses, cancer, and AIDS, however, as a work of fiction it leaves much to be desired. It doesn't necessarily need an infusion of Rambo-esque violence, but it does need the addition of conflict to add zest to the narrative. Furthermore, there are numerous loose strings strewn about, then left untied and ignored. Undeveloped or underdeveloped are the relationships between the eternal man, the super-scientist Jeffrey Kylin, and his mysterious helper Gretchen, between the scientist characters and a shadowy U.S. Senator from California, plus the potential conflict between a medical researcher and a science reporter, both of whom are attracted to the hero. Fortunately, electronic publications are not set in stone the way that on-paper publications are when they are typeset and etched onto the printing plate. The author, if he so chooses, can revise and reedit his work to his heart's content, and it won't cost the publisher more than a few minutes time to put out a new edition. (The actual amount of time will, of course, vary depend on the type of interface used with the book. Some will be easier to revise than others.) The Eternal Man has the potential to be a major novel, however, for that to happen it needs an infusion of verve, and there needs to be a significant expansion of the text to develop and tie together all the loose ends and potential conflicts. Let's hope that there will be a version 2 of this book. The Eternal Man is published by Kedco Studios, 575 D Roxella Lane, Las Vegas NV 89110. This is their first electronic book, and the price has tentatively been set at $7.95 plus $1.00 postage and handling. Contact Glen Chavis, Marketing, for the latest information on prices and for a list of other electronic books. ллл An Excerpt from The Eternal Man Copyright 1992 by Vernon Davis Eternal Man Chapter Eight Mark was more comfortable this trip into the cave. He was determined to learn all he could about the building of this superhuman, called the Eternal Man. He marveled once again at the futuristic equipment deep in the earth. He switched on the lights. He didn't use the earphone. He stood by the enclosure trying to distinguish the features of this man of greatness and mystery. All he could get was an impression of size and the rhythmic breathing. A mist or fog of some sort obstructed any detailed view. A menu was on the largest viewing screen to the computer. There was access to telephone lines, military data banks, and an assortment of satellite communications, and Internal Revenue computer files. "Ah yes," Mark thought. 'The IRS, this country's terrorist group, using the power and fear tactics other countries only aimed at enemies. The smaller screens ran programs silently in many different languages from around the world. Mark began thinking about the original Doctor Jeffery Kylin. Many questions raced through his mind, and the large screen changed to a biography of the man. Mark was again stunned when the machine anticipated his request. There was an astounding list of accomplishments, ranging from Nobel prizes in medicine and literature to Pulitzer prizes in journalism. It was apparent the man was at least a century ahead of his time. He discovered a bubble memory for computer data storage, when a computer filled a room the size of a city block. Talk about a lone ranger. This mysterious doctor could very easily have been considered a modern version. One puzzling thing struck Mark. There was no date or place of birth, nor was there any indication that he died. Mark wished he hadn't begun to think about the design of the machine, because screen after screen of technical data and electronic schematics began to run. It seemed like this equipment was so complicated the information would run forever. Mark walked over to the headphones to talk with Gretchen. "Hi, Gretchen. Did you know I was here?" "Hello, Mark. Yes, I knew. I'm always monitoring the computers." "How long will those electronic prints run?" "About an hour unless you interrupt them for new access." Mark looked at the screen, and sure enough, it changed to the main menu again. "That's one spectacular piece of equipment." There was no answer from her. He hadn't asked a question. "Why did Doctor Kylin go to Egypt? What was he looking for?" "He went to study medical information and records of a long time ago." "Then we have to go there, too?" "Yes" "Okay, I'll make the reservations when I leave here." "I can do that for you right now." "Really? That would be great. Go ahead." Mark looked at the screen. An airline ticket office computer information was on the monitor and a reservation was being made for him and Doctor Simpson. After a brief interval, a confirmation appeared on the screen with instructions to pick up the tickets one hour before flight time. The tickets were paid for by direct withdrawal from a bank account somewhere, and travelers' checks were issued, to be picked up at the bank across the street from the airport in his name. "That's fantastic. Thank you," Mark said. "It's nothing," answered the voice. "That's what I'm supposed to do." "Still, that's something. You know I've been thinking a lot about viruses lately. Can you answer some questions about them that I could understand?" "I don't know. I can try. What do you wish to know?". "Why is it so difficult to do anything to stop a virus like the one that causes aids or a cold for that matter?" "You have to be more specific than that. You just asked about two separate, distinct families of virus. The virus, which causes the common cold, is a Rinovirus. The one that causes aids is a Retrovirus. Even then the Retroviruses fall into two groups, Oncoviruses that cause diseases like cancer, and Lentiviruses. Lenti means slowly. This type causes degenerative problems like aids and crapie, a disease of the central nervous system, in people, sheep, and other animals. The main reason they're hard to control is because they have the ability to change the outer layers of protein protective coatings so rapidly. As soon as one enters the body, the immune system produces an antibody to destroy it. Unfortunately, by the time it gets to where the virus is, the outer coating has changed to something different and the antibody can't find it. The fact that the antibody is present will also tell that the virus is present. That's why a test for the antibody is used to see if a person has one of these viruses. Some of these viruses can have as many as two hundred or more varieties." "I see. Once it has disguised itself, what does it do?" "It tries to reproduce. A virus needs two kinds of nucleic acid to reproduce. They need DNA, Deoxyribonucleic acid, and RNA, Ribonucleic acid. All viruses only have one or the other, never both. They have to find a body cell that has the other kind they don't have and merge with it to reproduce, because they can't merge with each other. When this attaching takes place, the virus becomes part of the body cell, and the immune system won't mount an attack on itself. Then the cell ruptures, and the new viruses spread out to do it again, destroying more cells." "Amazing," Mark said. "So if the body's immune system could recognize the invader, it could destroy it?" "Yes," the voice said. "The explanation was a little complicated, but I was able to follow it enough to understand the general problem. I'll bet there's not that many people that really know how much danger the human race is in by not knowing about these different kinds of virus." "Probably not. Most people don't really think of viruses at all, much less the odd ones like the one that causes distemper in dogs and seals. A vaccine is now used similar to the one used for polio that uses a live virus to inoculate against this virus. Ten years ago, if your dog got distemper it died, but today it doesn't get it at all. There also is a false sense of security being promoted by the medical profession sometimes. Most doctors know a virus loses its potency over a period of time, so they use that to pacify the patients. Unfortunately, people keep dying while waiting. What the doctors don't focus on is that the virus doesn't lose potency. It just mutates into something more frightening most of the time." "Couldn't the public be informed how dangerous it is to wait for a deadly virus to simply go away?" "Not unless someone found a way to explain to everyone at the same time, that in fifty to a hundred years, the average life span would be cut back to twenty or thirty years. As soon as a young person got past puberty, they'd have to start having as many children as possible to perpetuate the human race. Because of the short life span, there'd be no educating, doctors, engineers, or any professionals to keep the world and its machinery running. There just wouldn't be enough time in a person's life to get an education, only time to have children to feed to the viruses. Everyone will be born infected with them by then. The human race doesn't have to worry about invaders from outer space destroying the world. The viruses will do it." "That's frightening," Mark said. He stood and paced considering Gretchen's words. He began to take an interest in some writing on a few wall panels, near the smaller monitors. "This must be deja vu," he thought. "I seem to have seen this stuff before." He began to copy the symbols and writing into his notebook. It startled him to hear Gretchen's voice while he was away from the headphones. "There's a reference library through a doorway directly behind you," she said "How did you do that? I don't have the earphones on." "I don't need extra amplification to talk to you. I can just use normal mental telepathy and talk to you anywhere here. Any other time I can talk to you through a device that has a speaker and amplifier. Just put your hand on that dark spot in the center of the wall." "Why didn't you tell me you could do that before?" "You didn't ask. Everything I tell you is in a need to know order." "Could anyone that happened to get in here make these things work for them?" Mark asked. "No. Only you." Mark turned around and placed the palm of his hand where the voice said. A slightly audible sliding noise could be heard as the entire wall shifted, revealing a fantastically large well-lighted room, containing shelf after shelf and row after row of books. The one thing that made Mark the most uncomfortable was that he was too comfortable. He should have been at least a little edgy and apprehensive from this astounding place. Mark glanced at his watch and saw it was nearly time for the caverns to be closed for the night, and he didn't want to get stuck here. There was just too much to do in preparation for an extended trip. He said goodbye to the magical voice in the air and left. PRESS the RIGHT ARROW (numeric keypad) for next file, or PRESS INS key to return to the INDEX MENU. To QUIT, return to the INDEX MENU, then enter 0 (zero). End of file.