"S. M. Stirling - Draka 03 - The Stone Dogs" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stirling S. M)

The Senator smiled for the first time. "Thank the Yankees; it
was the best we could steal," he said dryly. "How confident are
yo' that these-here results can be transferred to humans?"

"Very, yes," the geneticist nodded. "Chimps are the best
possible test subjects, they're so close to us. Ninety-eight percent
genetic congruence, only five million years since the last common
ancestor, whichтАж Yes. We've managed to move the focus of the
infection from the immune to the limbic systems without'n
much trouble; the original affected the neurologicalтАж Well, it
wasn't much trouble. The problem is gettin' it activated with the
sort of arbitrary external stimulus yo' wanted, sir. We've gotten
promisin' results usin 'particular frequencies of strobe-lightin',
the grand mat trigger effect, yo' know? The endorphine response
is modified into a feedback loop. That still needs work."

The woman to the Senator's left spoke, in a flat Angolan
accent: "What's y're success rate?" She was younger than the
Senator, perhaps forty-five, head of a committee in the House of
Representatives that attracted little public attention.

Melford nodded at the right-hand screen. "Ovah 99%; no
point in 'finin' it down further until we moves to human
subjects."

"In y' professional opinion, is this project go or no-go?"

"Go." A decisive nod. "Provided we get the necessary fundin'
an' personnel. Mo' work on the vectorтАФwe're still relyin' on blood
to bloodтАФand the secondary keyin' sequence. Four years, eight
maximum an' well have it on-spec."

"Chiliarch," the Senator said. A man in the olive-green
uniform of the Security Directorate spread his hands and laid his
fingertips on the desk before him.

"It's tight. Jus' this one facility, an' the Institute's normal
activity is good cover. The computer's not physically connected
to any datalink. Nothin' certain in my line of work, but I'd bet
mah tender pink ass this'un can be kept close. Until operational
deployment, of course."

"Ah." The Senator dropped his chin onto the steepled fingers
of both hands, and the lids drooped over his narrow gray eyes.
"Doctor, what about keepin' it from the Yankees when we deploy
it against the Alliance?"

"Well." A frown. "Well, they're not as, ummm, sophisticated at
biotech as we are. Those Luddite fanatics of theirs who keep
protestin' every time they try to use somethin', and then again