194 „ AMPHISBAENA 



mulation of a new dimension for which we lack even the sHghtest 

 intimation; instead of which we are being fed terminological cant. 

 DNA slowly reproducing itself and at the same time rushing to 

 make hundreds of different messengers; all these messengers mill- 

 ing about madly in search of ribosomal easy chairs on which to 

 procreate and die; proteins peeling off and proceeding to their 

 respective posts; unborn lipids and polysaccharides crying for 

 non-existing templates: a molecular Walpurgis Night, a Feder- 

 ation Meeting of the universe, only even less comfortable than 

 in Atlantic City. It would all be very funny if it did not corrupt 

 our youth. Who, when he knew it when it was so small, would 

 have thought of DNA as the demiurgos of a Manichaean world? 



y: 



You are using too many long words to say nothing. The fact that 

 you knew DNA when it had a molecular weight of 800,000, 

 whereas now it is up to 160 milUon, is of no significance, except 

 to show that you did not know how to invest wisely. 



o: 



Of course, this is not at all what I meant. But even if we reconcile 

 ourselves to this bizarre situation and accept the notion that 

 everything that happens in a cell is under the ultimate control of 

 DNA, we encounter other difficulties. Many viruses are essential- 

 ly ribonucleoproteins; and in several cases their RNA itself has 

 been shown to be infective. You mentioned it yourself before. 

 This RNA is presumably able to repUcate itself; but where is the 

 specific DNA that presides over this replication? 



y: 



I can give you two different answers. I could assume that there is 

 something special about viral RNA that enables it to act as its 

 own template, independently of any control exercised by DNA. 



o: 



But this is a self- strangling argument. Shouldn't in this case viral 



