"I don't believe a word of it. It makes a lot more sense to imagine that there's something which causes the breakdown—a virus, maybe—and the body fights it off as long as possible but at last it gets the upper hand. The whole key to evolution is the need to survive. I can't see life evolving its own anti-survival factor."
"But nature doesn't care about the individual, friend Radek. Only about the species. And the species with a rapid turnover of individuals can evolve faster, become more effective—"
"Then why does man, the fastest-evolving metazoan of all, have one of the longest lifespans? He does, you know ... among mammals, at any rate. Seems to me our bodies must be all-around better than average, better able to fight off the death virus. Fish live a longer time, sure—and maybe in the water they aren't so exposed to the disease. May flies are short-lived; have they simply adapted their life cycle to the existence of the virus?"
Lang frowned. "You appear to have studied this subject enough to have some mistaken ideas about it. I can't argue with a man who insists on protecting his cherished irrationalities with fancy verbalisms."
"And you appear to think fast on your feet, Dr. Lang." Radek laughed. "Maybe not fast enough. But I'm not being paranoid about this. You can convince me."
"How?"
"Show me. Take me into those underground rooms and show me what you actually have."
"I'm afraid that's impos—"
"All right." Radek stood up. "I hate to do this, but a man must either earn a living or go on the public freeloading roll ... which I don't want to do. The facts and conjectures I already have will make an interesting story."
Lang rose too, his eyes widening. "You can't prove anything!"