any good any more. These mutated bacteria have been
‘selfed’ by the mutation. In other words, some of their protein
molecules, probably desoxyribonucleic acid molecules, carry
configurations or ‘recognition units’ identical with those of our
body cells, so that the body can’t tell one from another.”
“But what has all this to do with re-education?”
“Just this,” Carson said. “What we do here is to impose
upon the cells of the bodyall of thema new set of
recognition units for the guidance of the lymph nodes and
the spleen, which are the organs that produce antibodies. The
new units are highly complex, and the chances of their being
duplicated by bacterial evolution, even under forced draft,
are too small to worry about. That’s what Re-Education is.
In a few moments, if you like, we’ll show you just how it’s
done.”
Hamelin ground out his fifth cigarette in Mudgett’s ash
tray and placed the tips of his fingers together thoughtfully.
Carson wondered just how much of the concept of recognition-
marking the Under Secretary had absorbed. It had to be
admitted that he was astonishingly quick to take hold of
abstract ideas, but the self-marker theory of immunity was
like everything else in immunologyalmost impossible to
explain to laymen, no matter how intelligent.
“This process,” Hamelin said besitantly, “it takes a long
time?”
“About six hours per subject, and we can handle only one
man at a time. That means that we can count on putting no
more than seven thousand troops into the field by the turn
of the century. Every one will have to be a highly trained