"Julian May - Rampart Worlds 3 - Sagittarius Whorl" - читать интересную книгу автора (May Julian)

preliminary procedures, insulting one's assistants and behaving in an arrogant and
offensive manner."
The Servant of Servants uttered the grotesque laugh of his species, which sounded like
a miniature poodle choking to death. "Fortunately for us, the rascal's usefulness to the
Sovereign Haluk Confederation does not require a congenial disposition."
"Yes," the Locutor said. "However, his usefulness does require that his true identity
not be detected. One was somewhat disconcerted to learn that the demiclone is not, after
all, an essentially perfect replica of this original."
"True enough," Mustard Smock conceded. "The restricted time frame we were
allowed precluded optimal DNA transfer. It was necessary to use an abbreviated genetic
engineering procedure. One made this quite clear to the Servant of Servants and to the
demiclone subject himself at the outset. Even using the most advanced human equipment
and techniques, along with broad-spectrum PD32:C2 transferase agents, four weeks in
the dystasis tank is inadequate for complete chromosomal transformation, given the
relatively large amount of intron material in the human genome. Introns are more difficult
to exchange than exonsтАФ"
The Servant of Servants interrupted, addressing the female. "Nobody's going to test
him, Ru Kamik. They'll have no reason to doubt his identity. He will be carefully
coached in his role."
"Nevertheless," said the Locutor firmly, "please explain to this one the circumstances
under which the demicloned person might be differentiated from the original subject by
expert investigators of the Commonwealth of Human Worlds."
The Haluk scientist made the gesture signifying self-abasement. "You'll forgive if one
gets a bit technical, Great Lady?"
The Locutor steepled her four-fingered hands in a gesture of condescending assent.
"Continue. One is by no means completely ignorant of genetics."
"As you may know, not all of the DNA within body cells acts as a blueprint for life
processes. Those segments that are active are often called exons. They trigger protein
productionтАФbuild the body and keep it in operation. The other DNA segments, those
with no known function, are called introns. The noncoding introns are intermingled with
the exons. In the human genome, about ninety percent of the DNA is noncoding. By
comparison, we Haluk have a smaller percentage of introns, even though our total
number of exons is close to the human complement."
"I understand."
"Because one was commanded to perform this procedure in the shortest possible time,
one transferred only the exon DNA and about one-tenth of the introns from the donor to
the recipient. As a consequence, even though the recipient exhibits the physical
characteristics of the template as perfectly as an identical twin, he nevertheless retains a
large part of his original intron DNAтАФthe genetic material that seems redundant."
"And this can be detected by forensic analysis?"
"Readily, Council Locutor. Most of the genetic variation among human individuals is
in the introns. Even a rough comparison of the demiclone's DNA with that of the original
will reveal the fake. If one had only been allowed more timeтАФ"
"It was not practical," the Servant of Servants said dismissively. "And one must
repeat: the chance of the demiclone undergoing DNA testing during his mission are
vanishingly small."
The Locutor spoke in a neutral tone to the Servant of Servants. "Certain members of
the Council of Nine have very grave misgivings about this stratagem. Using the human
demiclone, that is, rather than one of our own race."
"Their doubts are groundless, Ru Kamik," the leader insisted. "The revised Grand