"Harry Adam Knight - Fungus" - читать интересную книгу автора (Knight Harry Adam)

though the enlarged specimen s reproduction system had been retarded in some way by the accelerated
growth process it was still a considerable and historic achievement. And it was possible that the
reproductive system had merely been slowed down by the modified catalyst. Tomorrow she would grow
another specimen but leave it attached to the myceliumтАФthe fungoid equivalent of rootsтАФfor a longer
period.

Even if reproduction had been completely inhibited by the new enzyme it was possible that further
modification to the enzyme structure would solve the problem. And even if it didnтАЩt it wouldnтАЩt seriously
effect her achievement in the long term, she now realized. If the enzyme could be manufactured in large
quantities cheaplyтАФand she saw no reason why it couldnтАЩt beтАФthen it would simply be a case of
applying it to the mushroom cultivation trays containing ordinary a. bisporus spores, perhaps in the form
of a spray, in order to grow any number of the giant variety.

She leaned back on the stool, straightened her back and stretched her arms above her head. She grinned,
her feeling of elation returning. Okay, so she hadnтАЩt been 100% successful but she was so close it didnтАЩt
matter. She had created a new and plentiful source of cheap protein that would greatly alleviate the world
food shortage. AndтАФwho knows?тАФmight lead to a Nobel Prize.

Of course she would have to share the award with her three assistants, Rachel, Tod and Hilary . . . what a
shame for them they hadnтАЩt been in the lab to witness the actual moment of success but she had sent them
all home at lunchtime. They had been working around the clock for the previous 24 hours testing a new
series of enzyme batches. All had proved negative and it was only on a whim that Jane, by then alone,
decided to try just one more variation before going home herself.

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She stood up and smiled at the mushroom. She would leave it there on the tray for them to see when they
arrived in the morning. The expressions on their faces would be something to remember.

In the meantime she was going to savor her triumph all by herself. It would be exclusively hers for the
next 18 hours or so.

She felt a momentary pang that she couldnтАЩt share it with Barry but all that was finished now, probably
for good. True, it was supposed to be a тАШtrialтАЩ separation but she couldnтАЩt see them ever getting back
together again. The last year before the break-up had been hell. She knew she was partly to blameтАФher
involvement with her research had become obsessiveтАФbut Barry could have been more supportive
instead of acting like a spoiled brat. He knew how important her work was, not just for her but possibly
for the whole of mankind, yet he persisted with his ridiculous behavior.

The real problem, she now realized, was that he deeply resented the success she had made of her career.
Mycology, after all, had been his field too but it was she who had attracted all the attention, right from the
start, with her Ph.D. paper The Relationship Between Fungi and Mankind: Areas of Potential Exploitation
in Agriculture and Industry, and subsequently received the research grants and a department of her own
while he had just plodded on doing basic research.