A.D.A.M. Read online

  A.D.A.M.

  Dr. Melissa Caudle

  Copyright 2019

  A.D.A.M.

  Copyright 2019

  Dr. Melissa Caudle

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. A.D.A.M. was based on the screenplay A.D.A.M. (2011) by Dr. Melissa Caudle.

  Publisher: Absolute Author Publishing House

  Developmental Editor: Dr. Carol Michaels

  Proof Editors: Kathy Rabb Kittok and Erin N. Wright

  Copy Editors: Bea Syer, Monique N. Johnson, and Robby Cook Stroud, Helen V. Ray

  Line Editors: Elisha Grace Dracoulis and Jamie Alyson Dwyer

  Cover Photo: Ian Parker of Evanescent Light Photography

  Back Photo: Ian Parker of Evanescent Light Photography

  Cover Design: Rebeca@rebecacovers

  Author Photographer: Robby Cook Stroud

  Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. Contact author at [email protected] or www.drmelcaudle.com.

  _________________________________________________

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Caudle, Melissa.

  A.D.A.M. / Dr. Melissa Caudle

  p. cm.

  ISBN-978-1-7337182-0-2

  Science Fiction 2. Alien

  DEDICATION

  This book is for my mother, daughters, and sisters.

  BY THE AUTHOR OF

  ACKNOWLEDGMENT

  There are so many people to thank. First, I want to thank my family, who have supported my efforts from the beginning of my writing career. It’s not easy living with an author who sometimes fixates on their novel. I realize this, and I have learned to stop and smell the roses because of you.

  To my best friend, Tina Rubin, thank you for always having my back and your unconditional support.

  I owe a special acknowledgment to Ian Parker of Evanescent Light Photography for the gorgeous photograph of Mono Lake that graces my cover. Ian is a talented photographer who can capture the gloriousness of Mother Nature. I will be forever grateful to you for allowing me to use your photograph.

  To my editing team from Absolute Author Publishing House, Kathy Rabb Kittok, Erin N. Wright, and Dr. Carol Michaels, I welcomed your edits, feedback, and comments. To the rest of the editing team, Elisha Grace Dracoulis, Monique N. Johnson, Robby Cook Stroud, Helen V. Ray, Bea Syer, and Jamie Alyson Dwyer, thank you for your eagle eyes.

  I want to thank Rebecca, of RebbecaCovers, for her beautiful design of the front and back jacket of this book. It exceeded my expectation.

  To my focus group members, I value your opinions, and I’m grateful for your insight and your time and support. In no order, the focus group members included: Freida Johnson, Mary Whitworth, Timothy Mayeux, Sandra Belington, Sasha Standford-Smith, Helen V. Ray, James T. Bradford, Tina Rubin, Jamie Alyson Dwyer, Kelly Rae Cheatum, Erin Wright, Robby Cook Stroud, Stamatis Gamvrogianis, and Diane Lang.

  Lastly, I am grateful to Dr. Felsia Wolfe-Simon for discovering the arsenic driven microbe.

  Contents

  PREFACE

  CHAPTER 1 - SAMPLES

  CHAPTER 2 - TRUTH

  CHAPTER 3 - CONSPIRACY

  CHAPTER 4 - LIFE

  CHAPTER 5 - PRISONER

  CHAPTER 6 - BEIGNETS

  CHAPTER 7 - TREASON

  CHAPTER 8 - BREATH

  CHAPTER 9 - UNIQUE

  CHAPTER 10 - ENERGY

  CHAPTER 11 - CONFUSION

  CHAPTER 12 - PAIN

  CHAPTER 13 - COLLISION

  CHAPTER 14 – A.D.A.M.

  EXCERPT: THE KEYSTROKE KILLER

  EXCERPT: NEVER STOP RUNNING

  EXCERPT: SECRET ROMANCES

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  PREFACE

  Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. In this case, it is. The inspiration for this fictional novel, A.D.A.M. came from a scientific discovery by Dr. Felisa Wolfe-Simon, a NASA Astrobiology Research Fellow in residence at the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, California and the research team’s lead scientist who, in 2010, discovered a new life form that thrives off arsenic in the bottom of Mono Lake, California. Her discovery led to an international debate on what defines life.

  The majestic and colossal monolith limestone crystals, calcium-carbonate spires and knobs formed by the interaction of freshwater springs and alkaline lake, mark the area called the Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve.

  Taking up sixty-five square miles, the area looks like an alien world, is over one million years old and is one of the oldest reserves in North America embracing over one thousand plant species, including algae; four hundred recorded vertebrate species, including brine shrimp, alkaline flies, and fourteen different ecological zones within its watershed. It is an astonishing ecosystem where birds in the area can thrive without having to fight fish for food.

  In 1872, Mark Twain wrote about his impression of Mono Lake and said, “It lies in a lifeless, treeless, hideous desert,” not being impressed when he traveled to the area. “This solemn, silent, sailless sea—this lonely tenant of the loneliest spot on earth—is little graced with the picturesque.” Like an alien world, the murky waters of the lake crawls with trillions of microbes and life forms. The “venomous waters are nearly pure lye” and twice as salty as seawater complained Twain. “There are no fish in Mono Lake--no frogs, no snakes, no polliwogs--nothing to make life desirable.” In the middle of the lake is an island covered with ash and spitting hot springs, and it is here where A.D.A.M. begins. The findings challenge the definition of life for the scientific community.

  There are six basic building blocks of all known forms of life on earth - carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur. When Dr. Wolfe-Simon conducted tests on the microbes from Mono Lake water samples, she discovered the first known microorganism on earth to reproduce and survive using arsenic. Unlike our carbon-based life forms, humans, this microorganism substitutes arsenic for phosphorus. Oddly enough, arsenic lies just below phosphorus on the periodic table. Ed Weiler, NASA’s associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, said, “The definition of life has just expanded. As we pursue our efforts to seek signs of life in the solar system, we need to think more broadly, more diversely, and consider life as we do not know it.”

  Let’s ask the question if an extraterrestrial alien came to earth, would it be able to breathe our air and survive? What would be the odds? According to David Catling, a planetary scientist at the University of Washington in Seattle, the answer is that it’s likely they could. How? Catling contends that their species would have evolved to use molecular oxygen for respiratory metabolism. In an interview, Catling said, “There’s wide agreement that life originated without oxygen. But to get complex life – mobile, multi-cellular organisms with specialized differentiated anatomy, you need oxygen.” Therefore, scientifically oxygen is needed for metabolism to occur. Oxygen is the best element on the periodic table to produce abundant amounts of energy, that in turn allows humans, our species, to evolve. In a sense, Darwin’s evolution comes into play. It is this same belief that once oxygen came into the picture, it allowed them to evolve as well – meaning they too would be able to breathe oxygen.

  When you research the viability that oxygen and energy creates an environment conducive for evolution, the concept brings us to the arsenic driven microbe discovered on the bottom of Lake Mono in 2010 by Dr. Felisa Simon-Wolfe. If Catling is correct, once a non-oxygenic (or anaerobic) microbe encounters oxygen it can or will evolve to become something
significant or more complex.

  Victor Thannickal, a Professor of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham said, “From accumulating geological evidence and biological plausibility, it’s becoming increasingly clear that oxygen sparked speciation and the evolution of more complex earth forms,” that new life dawns. Catling speculates that some six hundred million years ago when Ediacaran organisms first encountered atmospheric levels of oxygen, they evolved most likely by relying upon diffusion of nutrients through their skin because they had no mouth or nose. As they developed, so did our planet’s oxygen levels, and it was only then that oxygen breathing species evolved, including our own. In hindsight, it appears that the writers of the early black and white film era got it right. Aliens and creatures could breathe oxygen on earth.

  Dr. Felisa Wolfe-Simon said, “If something here on Earth can do something so unexpected, what else can life do that we have not seen yet?” In A.D.A.M., the scientific discovery by Dr. Felisa Wolfe-Simon propelled into the science fiction arena when the microbe develops from its original microbe state with the ability to morph, transform, and breath oxygen. In essence, a new life form challenging the long-held scientific belief of what constitutes life.

  A.D.A.M. is an acronym for Arsenic Driven Astrobiological Microbe. As the life form develops, my fictional protagonist, Dr. Sandra Bradford, builds and establishes a bonding relationship with him. Over seven days, she and Adam, the name she gives to the life form, explore a range of human emotions including love, pain, hate, fear of death, and confront the question of whether there is a God.

  A deadly cover-up conspiracy is born when Dr. Bradford becomes caught between one of the most important scientific discoveries and the government’s fear of it. The novel explores the reality of finding an alien life form, and explores what if the microbe developed when introduced to oxygen, what would it become, and what would be the impact on humanity? Are we alone in this universe?

  CHAPTER 1 - SAMPLES

  The blue moon lit the monolith crystal formations in Mono Lake, California. The tufa, limestone columns, towered over the glassy surface as they reflected onto the calm water. A canoe, filled with three passengers, followed the moon’s reflection toward the island in the middle of the lake as shelf storm clouds approached filling the ominous cloudy sky.

  “We’re almost to the spot where I’d prefer to gather the samples.” Dr. Sandra Bradford rowed from the bow. Her shoulder-length platinum hair shone beneath the moonlight.

  Thunder in the distance reverberated as the clouds pushed passed the moon.

  “Good to hear.” Dr. Peterson paddled aft in sync with Dr. Bradford. “I don’t like the way the weather is looking.”

  “I don’t like the way that sounds.” Jessica Parker, Dr. Bradford’s twenty-six-year-old undergraduate student, sat on the middle bench. She wore pink horn-rimmed glasses as she prepared a five-gallon sample container marked “Biohazard.” A small twelve-volt battery-powered siphon pump with a one hundred foot clear one-inch hose attached to it, an assortment of scuba gear, a fishing net and two diving mesh bags with several plastic test tubes with caps rested up to her knees preventing any leg movement without her tipping the canoe. Jessica’s nose flared. “I don’t think I could ever get used to this smell. What is that? Pew.”

  Dr. Bradford glanced over her shoulder toward her young graduate assistant. “That is rotting fish and a combination of ammonia causing the sulfurous smell.”

  “I didn’t know this lake had fish.” Jessica gagged and shivered. “I just thought I hated it; now I know I do.” A clap of thunder jolted Jessica as she tossed the flipper in her hand and it smacked into Dr. Bradford’s leg.

  “Will you be careful?” Dr. Bradford grabbed the flipper and eased it back to Jessica.

  “Careful! That’s a strange thing to say since we could all get electrocuted if those things hit the water.” Jessica shivered; her lips spread into a thin line as she pushed her glasses higher onto her squinched nose. “Did you know that lightning strikes forty-five million times a year, and about fifty people a year are killed that way? Thousands are injured.”

  Dr. Peterson rolled his eyes. “You have nothing to worry your overloaded brain. We’ll be in and out of the water before the lightning gets close.”

  Jessica squinched her nose. “I’m going to throw up. This smell is nasty. How can anything survive living in this water?”

  Dr. Bradford glanced toward Jessica. “Since you asked, rumor has it that sometimes trout fish dart in from the freshwater streams to eat the brine shrimp. The lake is full of them. Then, it’s a death trap because of the saltwater.”

  “I learn something new every time we come here.”

  Dr. Peterson shook his head. “Okay, Jessica, name one thing you learned the last time.”

  “That’s easy. All of these towers were created when rainfall couldn’t keep up with the lake’s evaporation allowing the minerals to build up like that.” Jessica pointed to the largest tufa in the area. “They grow one inch a year.”

  “That sounds like two things.”

  “I’m glad we have wetsuits this time. Last time I thought those bitey shrimps were going to eat me for lunch.”

  “Not likely, keep on imagining Alice.” Dr. Bradford pursed her lips.

  “Why did you call me Alice?”

  “Jessica, ever heard of Alice in Wonderland? Forget it; start sorting the gear.”

  “What do you think I’ve been doing?”

  “Just sort the gear, Jessica.”

  The murky lake water splashed against the side of the canoe as Dr. Bradford and Dr. Peterson paddled; a low rumble filled the air.

  Jessica attached the clear hose to the siphon pump.

  “This is the area I retrieved the original samples.” Dr. Bradford released her grip from the oars. “I’m certain of it.”

  Dr. Peterson freed his oars and retrieved a Hawkeye DepthTrax hand-held sonar depth finder from his small black duffle bag that rested at his feet. He fiddled with the device and studied the results. “We’re about thirty feet from the island. That’s the same distance as last time. By all indication, it is about fifty-six feet deep, and the water temperature is seventy-one degrees.” He picked up the small eight-pound black mushroom-shaped anchor and tossed it overboard. “That should keep us in place with these winds.”

  A loud clap of thunder caused Jessica to jump. “I don’t like the way that sounded.” She bit her bottom lip.

  With her hands above her head, Dr. Bradford took a deep breath and sighed. She carefully maneuvered her body to face the others. “Thanks for trusting me. I wouldn’t be able to continue my research without obtaining more samples. That means I would be up against the creek without a paddle if it weren’t for both of you.”

  “No pun intended; I presume.” Dr. Peterson grinned as he returned the depth finder to his duffle bag.

  With an aw-shucked shrug, Jessica flashed a grin. “It’s my pleasure, Doctor B; besides, it’s exciting even with the thunder and bolts of lightning.” She tossed a blue dive fin to Dr. Peterson.

  As Dr. Peterson caught it, he dodged it as if it were a bullet. “Not so hard, Jessica. I’m not that far away.”

  “Sorry, I’m a little anxious.”

  Dr. Bradford’s eyes narrowed. “Jessica, just focus and be careful.”

  “Like I’m not.”

  Dr. Peterson cleared his throat. “Sandra, I’m glad you included me. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get this research back on track.”

  “Glad you think that way because I’m still furious over NASA confiscating everything.” Her voice laden with emotion and intensity indicated her sheer frustration.

  Jessica dug through the gear at her feet. “Me too. They have no right. Who do they think they are? The government or something?”

  “That’s exactly who they are.” Dr. Bradford huffed as her brow furrowed.

  “How can they take it from you? It isn’t right! You discovered that microbe, not them.�
�� Jessica pouted her lips. “It’s not fair. If they believe for one second that Stephen Stone Diamond is going to keep his mouth shut on this one, they have another thing coming. Mark my words, he’ll blast this over and over again on his blog radio show.”

  “That’s enough Jessica, just sort the gear; which by the way, was until you dropped them all getting out of the car.”

  “Yes, ma’am, but he won’t keep quiet.”

  “Jessica!”

  Jessica disappointedly continued to sort the scuba gear. “I think it’s about to pour cats and dogs. Look at the sky.”

  “For once she has a point.” Dr. Peterson glanced toward the nefarious sky. “Rain is approaching faster than I thought it would.” His eyebrow raised with concern as he rubbed his chin.

  Dr. Bradford glanced upward. Large dark shelf clouds covering the once blue moon created an eerie sight as lightning crashed toward the tufa followed by loud claps of thunder. “We need to quickly retrieve the samples because weather like this is so unpredictable.”

  “That’s what I’ve been saying since we got out here.” Jessica huffed exasperatedly.

  Another bolt of lightning jetted from the sky, followed by a thunderous clap.

  Dr. Peterson’s eyes widened. “I agree. We don’t want to be used as lightning rods.”

  Another massive crack of thunder escaped from the clouds above. Jessica jumped as she tossed a purple fin to Dr. Bradford. “I don’t like the way that sounds. We could get struck by lightning and die.” She broke into tears and buried her face into her hands.

  Dr. Peterson smirked. “Then, if that happens, we won’t have to worry about our careers, now will we?” His sarcasm to relieve Jessica’s troubled state of mind had the opposite effect.

  “Did you have to remind me of that too?” Jessica whimpered as she tossed Dr. Peterson his second blue dive fin.