Double Helix (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

Werlin, Nancy

ISBN 10: 1417693967 ISBN 13: 9781417693962

Publisher: Turtleback Books, 2005

Synopsis

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Aware that his father is unhappy with him taking the job with Dr. Wyatt at Wyatt Transgenics, Eli takes on his new work with enthusiasm until he begins to uncover the connection between his employer, his family, and his mother's Huntington's disease.

About this title

About the Author:

Nancy Werlin is a New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award Finalist, and Edgar Award winner. She lives with her husband near Boston.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

My new boss, Larry, looked at me. "Our work here is all about human protein development. Um—what do you already know about this, Eli, so I don't waste your time?" He was too nice a guy to add, Or mine.

"Pretty much nothing," I admitted. "Um—you probably know this—I'm just a high school graduate." I felt compelled to add, "I got this job as a—as a sort of favor, but I promise, I'm going to do my best here."

"Yeah," said Larry. "I'd heard that, uh, you were young." He gave me a sideways look. "You know Dr. Wyatt, I understand?"

I didn't know what to say. I half-nodded and half-shrugged.

"Lucky you," said Larry mildly. I still couldn't think of anything to say. I didn't have to, though. Larry nodded, shrugged, and then simply continued talking.

"Well, I'll give you some books and articles to read, but here's the short story. You know what ‘transgenic’ means? It's when an organism is altered by having a gene from another species transferred into it. Transgenic research involves studying organisms that have undergone this kind of manipulation. Clear so far?"

We had started walking again. I had a very unscientific urge to mention Spiderman, who had been bitten by a radioactive spider. X-Men. Behind that silliness was the same idea, I now realized—the transfer of genetic material. Transgenics. Perhaps the very key to the end of suffering that Dr. Wyatt had talked about. "I get it," I said.

But it was as if Larry had read my mind. "Take the Swamp Thing. You know him? Half-plant, half-man?"

"Yeah," I said. I added, gravely: "It was a terrible accident in the lab."

"It's always a terrible accident in the lab." Larry placed a hand over his heart. "Or sabotage." He grinned. "But hey, Eli, did you read the issue where we found out that wasn't quite what happened?"

"To tell you the truth, I just saw the movie. Years ago."

We had reached our own home lab, on the east side of the building. Larry waved me through the doorway.

"Well, get this. Turns out Dr. Alec Holland actually died before he fell into that swamp. His corpse decomposed and got eaten by the swamp plants at the bottom. The plants absorbed the super-growth plant formula and the plants became intelligent. They actually figured out how to mimic a human body in plant form. The plant creature thought it was Dr. Holland! So, Swampy isn't a man who's turned into a plant. Swampy's a plant that tried to become a man."

"Vive la difference," said a dry voice behind us.

"Uh, Mary Alice," said Larry. "I was just explaining our research to Eli. Swampy came up in passing."

"He always does." Mary Alice directed my attention to the far wall. Above a computer desk hung a Swamp Thing poster, meticulously matted and framed. On it, a giant leafy hand was emerging from murky water; above that were the words: Too intelligent to be captured. Too powerful to be destroyed.

"So much weirder than Batman," murmured Mary Alice.

Larry practically choked. "Mary Alice, listen, you don't understand this and you never will, so stop trying. Batman has no genetic enhancements. He's just plain psychotic."

Mary Alice rolled her eyes. "Sorry."

About this edition

• Publisher: Turtleback Books
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1417693967
• ISBN 13: 9781417693962
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 256