A man wearing a lab coat had quietly slipped into the lab and was observing them, a wide smile on his face. “Frederick!” Professor Throckmorton said, beaming. Turning to the Trouts, he said, “This is my esteemed colleague, Dr. Barker. Frederick, these are the Doc- tors Trout from NUMA.” In an audible aside, Throckmorton said, They may call me Frankenstein, but this is Dr. Strangelove."

Both men laughed over the shared joke. Barker came over and shook hands. He was in his early fifties, with an imposing physique, a shaved head and sunglasses that hid his eyes. His skin had a bleached-out look to it.

“It's a great pleasure to meet someone from NUMA. Please don't let Throckmorton frighten you. You'll never eat a salmon amandine again after listening to him. What brings you to McGill?”

“We were on vacation and heard about Dr. Throckmorton's work/' Gamay said. ”As a marine biologist, I thought there might be something in it NUMA would be interested in."

“A busman's holiday! Well, let me defend myself against this slan- der. I am a strong proponent oftransgenic fish, which makes me sus- pect in the eyes of my friend here.”

“The doctor is more than a proponent. He is affiliated with some of the biotech companies that are pushing to bring these creatures to market.”

“You make it sound like a dark conspiracy, Throckmorton. My friend forgets to tell you that I am working with the full complicity and financial support of the Canadian government.”

“Dr. Barker would like to create a designer salmon, so that peo- ple could have a different flavor every day of the week.”

"That's not a bad idea, Throckmorton. Do you mind if I bor- row it.

“Only if you claim full responsibility for creating such a monster.”

“The professor worries too much.” He gestured toward the fish tank. “That fine fellow is proof there is no need to create a transgenic fish of monstrous size. And as he said, biotech fish are less able to sur- vive in the wild. It's easy enough to sterilize the fish so they won't replicate themselves.”

“Yes, but sterilization techniques are less than one hundred per- cent reliable. You might not be so casual after you hear the news that the Trouts have brought me.”

Throckmorton asked the Trouts to tell their story and run the video again. When they were finished, he said, “What do you make of it, Frederick?”

Barker shook his head. “I'm afraid I share some blame. I got the message from Neal when he called. But I never called him back.”

“And what do you think?”

Barker's smile had disappeared. “I would say that it was impossi- ble, if it had not been witnessed by two qualified observers and video- taped. This has all the earmarks of a transgenic experiment gone wrong.”