But the Children Survived (11 page)

George rocked the recliner back and forth to get the right leverage.  On the third rock forward, he propelled himself up out of the chair, put his arms out to his sides to balance himself, and turned towards the chair.  He put his left hand on the arm of the recliner while reaching for the remote with his right hand.  He was able to grab it on the first try.  Then George once again prepared himself to go down into his chair.  George was 91 years old today.

Becky was supposed to stop by for a visit this evening.  George looked forward to her visits.  It was nice to see young people, but especially Becky.  She reminded George of his wife Alice.  She even talked like Alice.  This brought a great deal of comfort to George.  He hadn't been a very good husband to Alice, and he felt he could make it up to her by being kind to Becky. 

Earlier that afternoon before his shows came on, he made sure that the tea cups were clean and the silverware had no spots.  Becky would bring a small cake and they would celebrate. 

George had wiped the lunch crumbs off the table and tried to catch them in his hand.  The rest would have to be swept up when Becky came.  He decided the house looked presentable and went back to his bedroom to put on his good shirt.  Might as well make an effort on your birthday.

Becky arrived right on time with the small cake.  She asked George if he had eaten anything for dinner and he waved his hand.

"Pop Pop, if you don’t start eating I'll make you come and live with me.”  Becky always threatened George with forcing him to leave his home of sixty years to live with her in the city.  “I will, I will force you to come with me.  Then you'll have to watch PBS, no more Judge Judy.  Do you hear me, Pop Pop?” 

George just waved his hand again.  Becky came over to the recliner and kissed him on the cheek. 

"I don’t want to lose you, Pop Pop.  You have to take care of yourself.  Please, for me.”  Becky smiled and kissed George’s cheek once more, and went to the kitchen to set up the cake.  George got up off the recliner, steadied himself, and followed her. 

They sat down together after Becky lit the 9 + 1 candles and sang “Happy Birthday” to George.  He mustered up all his breath and blew out the candles.  Becky clapped and cheered.  Then they each had a slice of cake, and Becky told George about her day.

Around 9 p.m., Becky cleared the plates and cups and told George she had to go.  He said he would get the dishes done, just leave them.  She did.  Then she kissed George on the cheek again and said good night.  She told him she would come by over the weekend.  George followed her to the door and made sure the locks were all in order.  Then he turned off the lights and went to bed.

*****

George had been a military hero during World War II.  When his plane crashed two miles from the British coast after a routine photographing mission over Germany, George carried what was left of the flight crew on his back as he paddled his way to the shore.  George received the Medal of Honor for saving Matthew Wilmer’s life.  In return, Matthew Wilmer had offered George the opportunity of a lifetime.  He told George to look him up when he got out of the Army.

Matthew Wilmer’s father had a small manufacturing plant in Freehold, New Jersey.  During the war, he’d won a government contract to produce artillery for the armed services.  The old man made a mint during the war.  When his son came home, he went to work for his father.  He came into the plant with a host of new ideas. 

The younger Wilmer believed that biological weapons were the wave of the future, and he tried to persuade his old man to convert the plant into a chemical laboratory where they wouldn't just research weapons, but also pharmaceuticals.  This was a fairly big gamble. 

The old man argued that it was too risky an investment, but Matthew Wilmer was determined.  If his father wasn't interested, he would take his share of the business in cash and go out on his own.  Try as he might, the elder Wilmer just couldn't bring himself to take on the risk.  So, with his 20 percent share of the business, $20,000, Matthew Wilmer left New Jersey and headed for New Mexico.

When George Ranier was discharged from the Army in 1947, he headed for Freehold.  He was disappointed when he found that Matthew had already gone to New Mexico.  He took his last dollar and bought a train ticket to Albuquerque.  Matthew’s father gave him a heads-up that George was on his way, and Matthew met George at the train when he arrived. 

Matthew drove George to a small piece of land Matthew had acquired to build his laboratory on.  He had named his little town, his small piece of land, Los Arma, or the weapon.

Matthew had dreams of big government contracts, and he was determined to be one of the first to hit the big one, the chemical weapon to beat all chemical weapons.  And to this end, he asked George to begin his career with Wilmer by going to night school on the G.I. Bill. 

To his amazement, George found he had an aptitude for chemistry.  He was fascinated by the table of elements and the reactions he got from combinations of different chemicals.  He was adventurous and loved to experiment, even though his ideas often resulted in a small explosion. 

Matthew was as excited as George and promised George his own lab when he graduated from college.  Right now though, George would have to be satisfied assisting a man named Helmut March in the Wilmer lab. 

George was not fond of Helmut March.  He was suspicious of Germans, as many Americans were at that time, but Helmut was particularly annoying.  He was fastidious and haughty.  Helmut believed his word was law and anyone disagreeing with him was dismissed from his lab.  He had no time for slackers and detested competition.  Worse than that, he was brilliant.  Helmut was God in his laboratory, and George one of his minions. 

George finished college in the spring of 1952.  True to his word, Matthew gave George his own lab on the other side of the small building in Los Arma.  Matthew also gave George the task of developing a biological weapon so great that the government would be knocking down the doors of Wilmer Chemicals.  George was happy to oblige Matthew as it meant he would be kept on a loose leash. 

This didn't sit well with Helmut, who felt he had earned the right to work on the Holy Grail of weapons.  But Matthew reminded Helmut that the American people weren't ready to have a German creating the ultimate weapon right in their own backyard and convinced him to be patient.  Helmut was, after all, the head of the pharmaceutical division, and right now the pharmaceutical division was the only division bringing in any money.  So Helmut resigned himself to heading the drug division as they called it in the hallways. 

George’s curiosity led him to investigate all the latest trends in biochemistry.  He found an obscure article in Life magazine about a young woman named DeMorte who had discovered a plant in the Brazilian rainforest that seemed to have medicinal as well as poisonous properties.  This ying-yang quality fascinated George.  Wilmer’s could greatly benefit from both properties of this marvelous Mortevida plant, as it was now being called.  George quietly began attempting to contact Miss DeMorte to see if she would be willing to give him one of her fabulous plants. 

Margaret DeMorte was having the time of her life.  She had discovered a previously unknown species of plant, a botanist's dream.  The natives had shown her that it could be used as a friend or foe. 

Margaret wasn't eager to share her discovery until she had a firm plan in hand for how she wanted to use it.  The idea of biological weapons was abhorrent to her, but the medicinal qualities of this plant were remarkable - particularly for women. 

The plant had been used by the natives for years to prevent miscarriages.  The success rate of the Mortevida bringing a woman to term was remarkable.  This was what Margaret DeMorte wanted to produce, a medicine that could help women with a history of miscarriage maintain a pregnancy to term. 

When George Ranier contacted Margaret in the spring of 1953, she wrote and told him he should come down to the rainforest.  She wanted to introduce George to the Mortevida in its native environment.  So George requested a short leave from Matthew, who granted it. 

George had to travel first to California to board a ship headed for Brazil.  The trip took him several days.  Fortunately, Margaret had arranged to have him escorted to her camp deep in the rainforest. 

When he arrived at her camp, George immediately asked to see the Mortevida.  He watched Margaret as they walked to her lab which was housed in a Quonset hut.  She asked George to call her Maggie.  She was tall and thin, with short brown hair that she covered with a strange short-brimmed hat.  George found her somewhat attractive, but not as attractive as Alice, the waitress George was dating back in Los Arma. 

Maggie showed George the Mortevida plants.  She had been quite successfully growing the plants, which were proving to be particularly hardy.  She told George only to touch the outer purple line that went along the edge of each leaf.  That was the medicinal part of the plant and wouldn’t harm him. 

The green part, however, was dangerous.  That part of the plant bore a lethal poison that could kill on contact.  George felt the edge of the leaf and noted its texture.  He also noted that purple edge had a spore-like quality, enabling it to rub off on his fingers. 

Later that day, Maggie showed him where the Mortevida grew and she introduced him to the local people who were helping with her research.  Over dinner that evening, they discussed the future of the Mortevida and Maggie’s hopes for the plants. 

George’s heart fell when she said she was vehemently opposed to using the poison of the Mortevida.  Her main interest was fostering the medicinal qualities of the plant, perhaps even propagating the plants to produce a larger purple edge while diminishing the poisonous green center.  George politely agreed that that was the “right” thing to do, for the good of mankind and all that. 

“What happens to the leaves after you remove the spores?” George asked Maggie.

“They wither and die.  The cells turn into tiny little balls.  After that they’re harmless,” she replied.

George tried to figure out how he could get her to part with the plants so he could use them in the creation of his ultimate weapon.  He would have to lie and lie well.  She was hundreds of miles away from civilization.  She would never know how he had used her Mortevida plant.  George had to win her confidence and trust.  And he had to do it in five days.

For the next few days, George wooed Maggie.  He complimented her for the least little thing she did.  At dinner each evening, he would crank up the old Victrola she had in her hut and dance with her.  Maggie wasn't used to so much male attention.  In fact, she had always been shy around boys, and now even more so around men.  George was very attractive, and Maggie was falling for him. 

By the end of the week, Maggie believed George had feelings for her, too.  She asked if he would return someday, and while George wouldn't commit to coming back to the rainforest, he never said he wouldn't.  Maggie heard what she wanted to hear, and George took advantage of her.

George headed home with five Mortevida plants and instructions for their care.  Maggie had agreed to give them to George in exchange for a steady stream of supplies to be sent to her on a monthly basis. 

Maggie also extracted a promise in blood, literally, that George would use the plant only for the good of mankind.  She had punctured his left pinkie and collected three drops of blood that she mixed with hers in a Petri dish.  Maggie told him that this was his sacred promise and she would keep it with her.  If he ever betrayed her, she would give it to the natives, who would put a curse on it that would destroy George. 

As a scientist, George was amused.  In fact, he was surprised that Maggie would believe such hogwash.  But he solemnly shook her hand, and she gave him the plants.  Maggie then hugged George and kissed him on the cheek.

"I look forward to seeing you again soon, George.”  She smiled up at him.  He’d made promises to Maggie in the acquisition of the plants, and now he felt a brief pang of guilt.  Maggie was a lovely woman, but George kept his focus and gently removed her arms from around his neck. 

"I‘ll do my best.  I’ll miss you, Maggie.”  George boarded the small boat that would take him back upriver.  Maggie waited on the landing, watching George until he was out of sight.

George babied the plants all the way home.  When he got to the lab, he had an area sequestered on the side wall to create a harmonious “garden” for his babies.  He placed prominent signs reading “N Do Not Touch! N.”  He then set about studying the mystical properties of the Mortevida plant.  He gave the purple edges to Helmut who sniffed a little and walked away with a dish of purple spores. 

In a room specifically created for testing biological weapons and wearing a hazmat suit, George tested and tweaked the green centers of the leaves.  Every time he cut the leaves from the mother plant, the cells would die and the poison would be rendered harmless.  George had to find a way to keep those cells alive. 

Finally, after years of experimentation, he believed he’d found a way.  By distilling the leaves and extracting the oils, George was able to create a base capable of nurturing the cells.

The resultant poison was capable of replicating itself a million times over.  George believed that once the poison was released into the air, it could travel thousands of miles.  He also discovered that the poison would live for several days after being released, and then began to die off.  The residue left behind was harmless, like the dead cells of the Mortevida leaves after they’d been cut from the host plant. 

When one trial revealed that the structure of the poison broke down when exposed to saltwater thereby losing its toxicity, George concluded that the only deterrent to the poisons survival was saltwater. In a worst case scenario, a whole continent of human beings and animals could be wiped out within a matter of days, but once the poison hit the ocean, it would simply die.