The Genesis Key Read Online Free PDF

the most
sophisticated drug cartels in Venezuela, Panama, and Mexico, posing as Joseph
Browning, an international tax attorney with Langston and Darby of New York,
London, Hong Kong, and Buenos Aires. His polished appearance and world-class
education allowed him to mix easily into Latin-American society, where he
casually collected information at cocktail parties and befriended key
individuals, gaining their trust over a period of years.
    The large window behind Venfeld’s desk framed the
Washington Monument and the federal buildings at Madison Place like a postcard.
At this early hour, the morning sun was just breaking the horizon, backlighting
Washington’s famous limestone obelisk with a soft peach glow.
    Venfeld read with mild interest the story that
began on page one of the business section, titled A REA B IOTECH S TARTUPS R EACH FOR THE S TARS .
The byline attributed the story to “Bryce Whittaker, Staff Reporter.”
    â€œIn the past decade,” the story began, “the
Washington area has become a major biotech hub, with dozens of biotech and
life-sciences companies establishing headquarters in Maryland, Virginia, and
even the District.”
    The article went on to recount the numerous reasons
for this rapid growth of the biotech sector around the capital beltway. For one
thing, the Washington area offered easy access to important government resources
such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Cancer Institute
(NCI), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA). The area boasted several universities with
renowned health and life-sciences programs, including Johns Hopkins University
and the University of Maryland. The Washington area was also incredibly wealthy,
claiming four of the five richest counties in the United States: Loudoun and
Fairfax counties in Virginia, and Howard and Montgomery counties in Maryland.
Those affluent counties had each created tax-funded “incubators” to help small
startup companies get off the ground, including many biotech, bioinformatics,
and nanotech companies.
    â€œHere,” the article continued, “we will take a look
at eight biotech startups in the Washington area, each hoping to ride the area’s
biotech boom to new heights.”
    Venfeld casually sipped coffee as he skimmed the
remainder of the article, which included a short synopsis of each of the eight
spotlighted companies. He read with waning interest until he reached Quantum
Life Sciences on page three, at which point he suddenly sat straight up in his
chair, nearly spilling his coffee.
    QUANTUM LIFE SCIENCES
SEEKS TO EXTEND, IMPROVE HUMAN LIFE
    Imagine living an active life for two
hundred, three hundred, even four hundred years or more! It may be possible,
according to the scientists at Quantum Life Sciences, Inc., a two-year-old
biotech startup in Rockville. QLS has already isolated a gene in fruit flies
that triples their life expectancy, while also making them more active and
productive. Though it is unclear whether this gene—called “INDY” for “I’m Not
Dead Yet” (a Monty Python reference)—occurs in humans, QLS is studying how the
gene operates in fruit flies and hopes to replicate the same biochemical
processes in humans to achieve a better quality of life in old age.
    â€œClinical tests are several years away,” said
Dr. Kathleen Sainsbury, QLS’s founder and CEO, “but we feel we are moving
steadily toward a meaningful treatment for Alzheimer’s, dementia, and other
age-related diseases.”
    QLS raised approximately $2.5 million in
its first round of financing. The company had no comment on whether it plans to
seek further private equity or make an initial public offering to finance its
continuing research operations.
    Venfeld studied the picture of Dr. Kathleen
Sainsbury that accompanied the article. She stood, arms folded and smiling
broadly,