The Emoji Code: Can Science Help Us Crack It?

 Leave it to RG/JKR, mere hours after I write my first blog post in months, to drop another hint that sends the scientist in me down a proverbial rabbit hole.  Prompted by our friends at the Rowling Library, she gave us an emoji "title," just as she had for both The Ink Black Heart and The Running Grave. 

Except, of course, the emoji sequence seems to have nothing to do with the title at all.  TIBH's symbol was, quite simply, a black heart. For TRG, she used a wave to represent the ocean, and a gravestone, a clear indicator of someone drowning off the Cromer Pier she showed us in the Twitter header, and an  reference to the easily-googled George Barker poem that Papa J plagiarized for his first wife's obituary. 

This time, we have a chain, a strand of DNA and a skull, none of which even remotely resemble a "hallmarked man," at least on the surface.  What is going on?

I'll tell you my best guess, in a moment.  But first, I urge you to go read Dr. Beatrice Grove's great essay giving us her take on the actual title. Like me, she made the alchemical connection; unlike me, she included much much more. 

So, the DNA strand sent my scientific senses tingling. DNA testing,  of course, turns up in many murder mysteries; in Strike, it has proved Quine never touched the planted typewriter ribbons the police recovered from his office, and no doubt was necessary to identify the remains of Margot Bamborough. Strike himself erroneously believes it was a DNA test that forced Jonny Rokeby to accept paternity; tt wasn't, since that technology wasn't available in the late 1970's. What came to mind for me first when I saw the DNA next to the skull was some sort of dangerous, or even fatal, genetic disease. We've seen that once already in the series, where Book Four's Lethal White title referred to a fatal condition in white horses.  More on this, after the jump. 

I'll be the first to admit I don't know much about the code of modern-day emojis; I had to look up, for instance, the meaning of the eggplant when someone I know online joked about it.  So, I looked up the meanings of these emojis, just in case.

The chain, I learned quickly, can mean B & D practices when used in sexting. In less erotic contexts, it can mean being jailed or otherwise restricted.  It can also refer to being trapped in a relationship that is going badly, or in a more positive context, strength and stability. Some on twitter have already suggested that this could represent a modern-day slavery or trafficking situation, or a client wrongly convicted and jailed. 

The DNA, thankfully, means DNA much of the time. If the wrongful conviction aspect is true, perhaps faulty or corrupt DNA testing was behind the frame-up job. The emoji, however,  can also mean an erotic coupling where pregnancy is the goal.  The combination of the two, therefore, has led some to think "pregnancy trap," which is certainly another repetitive theme in the Strike series. It is possible that the major case is a client wanting to prove-  or perhaps disprove, paternity. A less pleasant thought is a pregnancy trap for one of our protagonists, either Bijou trying to trap Strike that way (which would mean her havinglied about the dates of her pregnancy back in TRG) or Murphy trying to trap Robin into marrying him by sabotaging her birth control 

While there are several emojis that could have easily said "man"--actual figures of men and the male sign come to mind---JKR/RG choose a skull for the third element. The skull, naturally, represents either a literal or figurative death. If it refers to the agency's major case, it could mean that what begins as a paternity case winds up as a murder.  If Strike or Robin is more personally involved, I think we can rule out a literal death, unless the author concocts an escape from the trap through miscarriage, abortion or stillbirth.  But how would the three of these connect to the actual notion of being a "Hallmarked Man?"  This brought me back to my original idea. 

Scientists refer to genetic "markers" all the time, and our DNA can, in a sense, be a trap, if you carry a deadly gene like the unfortunate foal of "Mare Mourning." But, the only reason I can think of that a person with such a condition might need a detective is to locate a lost genetic relative, perhaps a child placed for adoption, so they could warn of the possibility and the relative could be tested. 

Then, just for fun, I googled "hallmark gene" and hit what could be pay dirt.*  "Hallmark gene sets" are indeed a thing. It's a relatively new concept;  the earliest publication I could find with the term was from 2015, and the vast majority of papers were published post 2020.  This was well after my last molecular biology class, which was for my doctoral research in the 1990's, so I had to do a bit of self-education. Here's what I've learned

A hallmark gene set is a group of genes that tend to be expressed together, as part of a well-characterized biological process. For example, the hallmark DNA repair gene set is a group of genes all involved in DNA repair. The hallmark androgen response gene set is a group of genes activated by androgenic steroid hormones, such as testosterone. The hallmark hypoxia gene set is the group of genes expressed during oxygen deprivation.  And so on.  There appear to be roughly 50 such sets identified. 

Probably the most interesting application of hallmark gene sets is in cancer research. Researchers have known for some time that abnormal gene expression is a characteristic of cancerous tissues. By comparing expression of specific hallmark gene sets in healthly and cancerous tissue, different subtypes of cancer can be identified, and treatments more precisely targeted. For example, this 2021 paper used hallmark DNA repair gene set comparisons to identify a genetic signature associated with a particularly deadly form of liver cancer. 

So, let's assume the title refers to our protagonists in some way, as well as the case. Troubled Blood, for instance, had a dual meaning, refering to Strike's struggles with his blood family, as much as Roy Phipps' clotting disorder.  Is there any character with cancer, whose DNA makeup could be of particular interest to Strike?  

Of course there is, Jonny Rokeby. We  have heard nothing about Jonny Rokeby's cancer, and almost nothing about Rokeby, period, since 2015, in Troubled Blood. We know The Hallmarked Man could take place as early as September 2016, and will last at least until February 2017,  when Strike and Robin will visit Sark; this is a full two years after his diagnosis. As Strike pointed out to Al, prostate cancer is one of the most treatable out there, so it is likely Rokeby will be fine. But, it can turn deadly, and there are multiple subtypes that require different treatments.  And, there are some types for which genetic testing is available; prostate cancer has been linked to the same genes that cause breast and ovarian cancer in women. 

One common treatment for prostate cancer is to block testosterone through either physical or chemical castration. Paradoxically, some tumors that don't respond to castration can be successfully treated by extra-high doses of testosterone. This 2022 paper explains how hallmark androgen response gene sets were used to identify tumors that are good candidates for this high testosterone treatment. 

So, "hallmark genes" have a connection to the specific type of cancer Jonny Rokeby has. As a wealthy rock star, Jonny Rokeby would have access to the most advanced treatments available and, should his cancer not respond to traditional treatment, likely has the connections to access clinical trials for newer approaches than are available to the general public. He may have the means to find out exactly what type of genetic hallmark his own cancer carries. And, given the genetic relationship, Strike may find himself "hallmarked" with the very same genes.

So, could The Hallmarked Man have a connection to genetics and cancer?  It's a long shot, I'll admit, given how cutting edge the science is. Has RG/JKR done the necessary research to make a storyline like that accessible?  Her track record on psychology and neuroscience is pretty good, but she has made some major scientific blunders, like speaking of DNA tests happening many years before they were available, and calling Lady Bristow's Valium an opiate. Could she handle the advanced molecular genetics needed to understand hallmark gene sets and incorporate them into a Strike novel?  We'll see. 

*Or, of course, it could be nothing.