"Chris Lawson - Written in Blood" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lawson Chris)

Da said, тАЬThe other pilgrims tell me that you can write the QurтАЩan into
their blood.тАЭ

тАЬThat I can, sir,тАЭ said the old man. тАЬLong ago I learned a trick that
would get the adeno-associated virus to write its code into bone marrow
stem cells. It made me a rich man. Now I use my gift for AllahтАЩs work. I
consider it part of my zak├вt.тАЭ

Da suppressed a wry smile. Zak├вt, charitable donation, was one of
the five pillars. This old man was so blinded by avarice that he believed
selling his inven-tion for small profit was enough to fulfill his obligation to
God.

The old man smiled and raised a small ampoule of red liquid. He
continued, тАЬThis, my friend, is the virus. I have stripped its core and put the
entire text of the QurтАЩan into its DNA. If you inject it, the virus will write the
QurтАЩan into your myeloid precursor cells, and then your white blood cells will
carry the Word of Allah inside them.тАЭ

I put my hand up to catch his attention. тАЬWhy not red blood cells?тАЭ I
asked. тАЬThey carry all the oxygen.тАЭ

The old man looked at me as if he noticed me for the first time.
тАЬHello, little one. You are very smart. Red blood cells carry oxygen, but they
have no DNA. They cannot carry the Word.тАЭ
 It all seemed too complicated to an eleven-year-old girl.

My father was curious. тАЬDNA codes for amino acid sequences. How
can you write the QurтАЩan in DNA?тАЭ

тАЬDNA is just another alphabet,тАЭ said the old man. He handed my
father a card. тАЬHere is the crib sheet.тАЭ

My father studied the card for several minutes, and I saw his face
change from skeptical to awed. He passed the card to me. It was filled with
Arabic squiggles, which I could not understand. The only thing I knew about
Arabic was that it was written right-to-left, the reverse of English.

тАЬI canтАЩt read it,тАЭ I said to the man. He made a little spinning gesture
with his finger, indicating that I should flip the card over. I flipped the card
and saw the same crib sheet, only with Anglicized terms for each Arabic
letter. Then he handed me another crib sheet, and said: тАЬThis is the sheet
for English text.тАЭ
 тАЬThe Arabic alphabet has 28 letters. Each letter changes form
depending on its position in the word. But the rules are rigid, so there is no
need to put each variation in the crib sheet. It is enough to know that the
letter is aliph or bi, and whether it is at the start, at the end, or in the middle
of the word.

тАЬThe [stop] commands are also left in their usual places. These are