The Testament of Jessie Lamb Read Free Page A

person?’
    â€˜Nearly. What’s the baby made of?’
    â€˜Doh. Blood, bones–’
    He shook his head at me. ‘In the very beginning.’
    â€˜An egg.’
    â€˜And?’
    â€˜A sperm.’
    â€˜Thankyou. Which comes from someone else. And for the baby to grow, that sperm needs to survive, and all the cells that grow from the union of the sperm and the egg need to survive. But the woman’s immune system should attack it. Because it’s a foreigner in her body.’
    â€˜OK.’
    â€˜But it doesn’t. In most normal pregnancies, the woman’s immune system does not attack the sperm or developing foetus. Her immune system takes a step back, in order to let the baby grow. And while the woman’s not being defended against the sperm, she’s also not being completely defended against various other nasties that might want to invade her system.’
    â€˜And that’s why she gets MDS?’
    â€˜So they think. The blip in her immune system, which allows her to remain pregnant, seems to make her vulnerable to Maternal Death Syndrome. That’s when it kicks in. It’s a freakish chance–whoever worked it out is either a genius or very lucky.’
    â€˜So when they say it’s full-blown–’
    â€˜They mean it’s triggered CJD. Prion disease. They’ve married the AIDS virus with CJD, that’s what researchers reckon. So the AIDS gets a hold and makes the woman vulnerable to everything going, and the first thing that’s going is CJD. For which we have no cure in sight–never have had, not back since the days of Mad Cow disease.’
    â€˜A scientist must have done it.’
    â€˜Well it hasn’t happened by accident.’
    â€˜But why ?’
    â€˜Power? Religion? Your guess is as good as mine, Jessie.’ He’d cut the potatoes into chips and now he lowered them into the pan, and they hissed and fizzed. The smell of hot oil filled the kitchen. ‘Set the table, love, these are nearly done. And let’s change the record, shall we?’
    I shifted my books off the table.
    â€˜Come on,’ he said, ‘how about a perfect crime? You have to use an ostrich feather and a safety pin. I’ll give you three minutes.’ That’s what we used to do. Give each other a clue, or a weapon. We could always make each other laugh. It’s like remembering another life. ‘Come along,’ he said. ‘My nut-brown maid.’
    The next thing that happened was that Sal’s aunt in Birmingham died. She was 10 weeks pregnant. Sal’s aunt and uncle already had three children. ‘Mum says we might have Tommy, the little one, to live with us,’ Sal told me.
    â€˜Is your mum very upset?’
    She pulled her face.
    I felt clumsy and thick and miserable but I wanted to talk about it. ‘Why do you think this is happening?’
    â€˜Doh.’
    â€˜No, I mean, what’s behind it?’
    She blew out through her lips. ‘Someone wants the human race extinct.’
    â€˜But why ?’
    â€˜How should I know?’
    â€˜I’ve been thinking about it.’
    Sal started picking up clothes off her floor and flinging them into a heap in the corner. ‘Go on, wonder-brain.’
    â€˜Maybe they’ve done it for a reason.’
    â€˜Like?’
    â€˜Well they must hate everyone.’
    â€˜Brilliant.’
    â€˜They must–they must be really angry.’
    â€˜What about?’
    â€˜Anything. Wars. Injustice.’
    â€˜This isn’t exactly going to fix anything, is it?’
    â€˜Yes. It’ll make all the bad things end.’
    â€˜Why are they targeting women? Of all the people in the world, why women and their babies? If you want to wipe out bad people why not start with politicians–or paedophiles?’
    â€˜Because–I don’t know.’
    â€˜Why are you thinking about whoever did it? They’re a