Algorithm - Book 1 - The Medallion

Chapter 3

Adam let that comment sink in for a moment before continuing. "The coding regions, responsible for all the protein that we're made of, consist of base pairs that are statistically random, and the non-coding regions, which represent the vast majority of our DNA, are full of non-random sequences. At first I thought that this was odd, but on second thought it does make some sense. The base pair sequences coding for all kinds of protein would necessarily resemble random numbers. I guess it's weirder that the non-coding stuff is not very random."

Linda put her coffee mug down, sat back, and replied, "So, what kind of patterns are these that exist in the non-coding DNA?"

"Too early to tell. The next stage of the analysis will begin to tease them apart, and that will take at least a few days, even with the speed afforded by our networked system. In fact, I've got a suite of language translation programs which will automatically kick in, programs that will look for possible meaning in the patterns. Basically looking for relationships between these less-than-random patterns."

Adam finished his coffee and stood up to leave. As he did, their eyes met and for a moment Adam glimpsed the promise of a deeper future connection between them. He was still staring when the flash of a bright light transformed her into a dark silhouette. Hallway window panels cracked, followed by a whoosh. A shower of glass shards blew into the room, followed by a burst of heat and a deafening roar. From overhead insulating panels tumbled down around them. Adam instinctively fell forward covering Linda, and the two rolled onto the floor beneath the table they had shared moments before. After a few seconds, Adam shook his head, throwing off dust and glass. A worried look on Linda's face confirmed she was all right, for the time being. He stood, shaking his windbreaker of chalky debris when the wall behind him exploded. He flung himself back to the floor but not before catching a glimpse of a silvery blur flying past his head. It crashed into the wall to his front. He stared at the impact site in bewilderment, recognizing the massive silvery object as a five foot gas cylinder. Its valve stem had broken off, turning it into a rocket. Gas was still shrieking out of it, enveloping the pair in a whirlwind of choking dust. The contents of such a cylinder typically exceeded several thousand psi. A broken valve stem could turn it into a missile. Adam wasn't sure what the cylinder contained but wasn't interested in sticking around to find out, especially since it might be a flammable gas that could ignite at any moment. Linda was already on her feet and he grabbed her arm, leading them out into the smoke-filled hallway. They were greeted by teeth-chattering alarm bells as they ran toward the building's entrance.

Adam yelled, "Is there anyone else upstairs?"

"I'm always the first one in the morning. I didn't see anyone else up there."

A hissing sound from above provided the barest of warnings as they were promptly soaked by several gushing sprinklers. He was sure he had not seen any lights on the second floor. The two held onto each other and hurried along the darkened hallway skirting showers and thick black smoke, exiting through the glass entrance doors. As they slowed to a walk aimed at the parking lot, they heard alarms simultaneously clanging within the building and broadcast on outside speakers. Students from nearby dormitories roused by the commotion were showing up, slogging through the wet grass of the quadrangle toward McArdle.

Troglodytes. They look like they just crawled out of their caves.