Fact: "Kudzu," a rapidly growing and smothering pest plant, is threatening Georgia's peach, pecan, and lumber industries. In an effort to eradicate the kudzu, the State of Georgia has contacted a biotech firm that specializes in solving environmental problems.
Working with insects, the biotech firm's top-rated geneticist performs a "Recombinant DNA Procedure," resulting in the creation of a brand new life form. Scary? Perhaps. However, the new insect has been genetically engineered to eat only the roots of the kudzu.
Then, the unexpected happens. An accidental coffee spill introduces the "bugs" to a new food source and, suddenly, the creatures swarm over the spilled coffee in a frantic and shocking eating frenzy. It isn't long before the little beasts begin to evolve into aberrations more dangerous than anyone could have imagined.
Characters include Rick, the brilliant geneticist who yearns to be accepted by his peers, and his girlfriend Sarah, a world-class entomologist, who is the consistent voice of caution. Together, they struggle to comprehend the consequences of the new creation. There is Doug, the executive officer of the biotech firm who initially sees the risk of such a project, but allows corporate profits to cloud his judgment. There are the opportunistic commodity traders who hunger for wealth beyond their wildest dreams. And Brother Timothy, a dynamic fundamentalist preacher who insists that genetic engineering is the work of the Devil.
In the middle of this firestorm, are Brad Bishop, an insurance investigator, and Hannah Carpenter, a reporter. Strangers at first, circumstances quickly pulled them into the vortex of this genetic experiment gone bad, and they soon find themselves running for their lives.
REVIEWS
"The relentless march of the story's gripping suspense begins to build from the first page. This book is guaranteed to have you sitting on the edge of your seat!"
Emily Wexler, Book Reviews, Barwick Journal
"This may be a novel, but we had better pay attention to what Hunter Silvastorm is telling us."
Cynthia Magnus, Librarian, Mayfield Library
"I've recommended this book to everyone I know. It's an amazing page-turner."
Rob Delaney, Dept. of Biological Sciences, Pritchard College
"Hunter Silvastorm has discovered the formula for writing the perfect suspense / thriller. I'm already looking forward to his next one."
John Bessel
"The level of suspense that permeates this story is phenomenal. It's probably the most exciting book that I've ever read."
Lee Bradenton
"The Coffee Bug" is more than just a good book. Mr. Silvastorm has created characters that are so real, I fully expect to meet them at the supermarket. Even though the plot revolves around a very serious issue, Hunter Silvastorm has not forgotten that humor is a natural part of life.
Joseph Paglia, Smithsonian
"The Coffee Bug is absolutely the best suspense thriller since "Jurassic Park."
Harmon Williamson
"Hunter Silvastorm shines a bright light on the controversy surrounding genetic engineering and cloning. His book is so well written, that we can’t stop talking about it."
Fred and Anita Szabo
"I predict that The Coffee Bug will be on the Big Screen within one year."
Eleanor McDougal
"My advice to all those who are about to read "The Coffee Bug, is not to read the epilogue before you finish reading the book."
Erica Parmenter
"You may have strong opinions about the new science of biotechnology, but Hunter Silvastorm will open your eyes to both sides of the argument by showing you things you never thought about."
Damien Furst, Ventura Ledger
"…even though it was late at night, I found myself boo-ing the villains and cheering the hero and heroine! Now, that's the mark of a great book. Three cheers for Hunter Silvastorm and The Coffee Bug!"
Lia Mazzotti, American Consulate - Rome, Italy
EXCERPT
PROLOGUE
…Little did they know that the future was about to enter like a steamroller.
In the midst of that modern Age of Innocence, there was an unfolding event; an extraordinary, albeit obscure, event. It was Professors James Dewey Watson and Francis Crick’s discovery of the structure of DNA, the famous "Double-Helix, or microscopic building blocks of life.
The scientific breakthrough was a momentous occasion but, strangely enough, almost nobody was paying attention. Until that point in time, scientists theorized that all living things were made up of genes. And genes were, after all, the one thing that transmitted the characteristics of living organisms from one generation to the next. Yet, it wasn’t until Doctors Watson and Crick created an actual model of the DNA that life began to change.
The last four words bear repeating: "Life began to change." Figuratively and literally. Jet aircraft have changed the speed at which we live our lives. Telecommunications have changed the way we conduct our lives. Computers have changed our style of life, but biotechnology, specifically gene-splicing, has changed the very fabric of life itself.
And therein lies the dilemma. What happens when scientists alter life in a fashion that nature had not intended? What are the ramifications? Thanks to Watson and Crick, we know for certain that a single strand of DNA is composed of billions of parts and that its complexity is most uncommon and unrivaled. With that multifarious puzzle bubbling just beneath the surface, consider the following event that occurred in our recent history.
In the third week of May 1979, a geneticist named Darrell Botsworth was working in his laboratory located sixteen miles south of the Tombigbee River that runs through downtown Mobile, Alabama. He was conducting experiments that involved the splicing of certain genes from one species of frog to another.
Something went wrong. Terribly wrong.
His assistant, a young woman, Jeanne Price, who was a Doctoral candidate in molecular biology at nearby Tulane University, was found dead at the edge of a marsh. In later interviews with the noted microbiologist, Dr. Norman Friedman, Miss Price was referred to as "…a brilliant theoretician who had been promised a position with Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals upon her graduation."
The coroner for Pritchard County, Alabama, Dr. John Mastebeau, stated that Miss Price's death was due to drowning. When the authorities went to question Professor Botsworth, they found him dead as well. He was lying on the floor in his laboratory, located some six miles from where Miss Price's body had been found. Botsworth's death was deemed to have been from a heart attack. It should be noted that the young man was fit and trim and, six weeks prior, had celebrated his thirty-sixth birthday.
An autopsy was performed on Jeanne Price. The results were freakish. More than three dozen tiny frogs were found lodged throughout her windpipe, esophagus, stomach, bowels, and lower intestines. A rather large egg sac was discovered in her vaginal area. The medical examiner's report described the odd find as, "…a gelatinous material, approximately 12 centimeters in diameter, that looks strikingly like an amphibian egg-sac about to hatch." Darrell Botsworth was buried without the benefit of an immediate autopsy.
Then, in the spring of 1980, another strange thing happened in the vicinity surrounding Professor Botsworth’s laboratory. A real estate broker, Chris Whitcomb, was showing the abandoned property to prospective clients. As they approached the isolated building, they were amazed to see it surrounded by tens of thousands of frogs. They tried to walk to the entrance of the building, but the frogs had literally made a carpet of themselves. It became impossible to proceed without stepping on vast numbers of the creatures.
Even though Whitcomb called the local health department, the wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly, and several months slipped by before suspicions grew. There was a growing awareness that the mystery of the congregating frogs was related to the genetic experiments of Professor Darrell Botsworth.
By September 1980, there were numerous reports, from various parts of the Southern United States that frogs were dying by the millions. Newspaper articles were cropping up all over detailing the unexplained phenomenon. The geographical epicenter of this oddity seemed to be the marshy area where the dead body of Jeanne Price had been found.
Interviews with scholars and scientists, police and bureaucrats could not determine the reason for the unprecedented deaths of the frogs. The Centers for Disease Control, the C.D.C., was called in to investigate. There were reports that the organization was able to backtrack the event and zero in on Professor Botsworth’s laboratory. The Atlanta-based C.D.C. brought in some scientists familiar with biotechnology and, together, they poured over the remnants of Botsworth’s titillating notes.
A feature article appeared in the October 22nd issue of the Pritchard County Tribune stating that during an interview with Dr. Thomas Cardoza of the C.D.C., he, (Cardoza) admitted to being aware of a gene-splicing experiment that had gone wrong. The article, written by the newspaper editor, Matthew Delahanty, stated:
…Dr. Cardoza went on to say, ‘From what we can gather, Professor Botsworth was attempting to manipulate the genetic makeup of the frogs. However, there weren’t enough of his notes to determine what, exactly, he was trying to accomplish.’
When Dr. Cardoza was questioned as to what he and the C.D.C. felt went wrong, he answered, "It seems rather clear to us that Professor Botsworth did not anticipate the simple fact that natural mutations occur when species reproduce in the wild."
Asked to elaborate, Dr. Cardoza gave the following explanation: "When frogs mate with each other, we know what we're going to get. When spiders mate, we also know what to expect. But, if you engineer a new life-form by combining the DNA of a frog and a spider, what will happen when the offspring escapes out of the laboratory? What manner of mutation will you get when this new species finds a way to reproduce?"
