“You say that your mother was committed?” Angela said, suddenly looking up with a piercing gaze, “Do you remember the diagnosis? Or anything about what she was like in the time leading up to such a drastic measure?”
Nathan pasted a vaguely regretful look on his face, “Honestly, I really don’t.”
He shrugged and attempted a sad half-smile, “I believe she had a difficult time of it, perhaps a bad childhood? I really don’t know. It wasn’t talked about and it just seemed as if one day I was in one school and the next in a completely different one, and moved into Hal and Mary’s house. They really took good care of me, but we never spoke of my mother.”
Angela latched onto that last bit, leaned forward slightly, her interest peaked.
“Didn’t you find that strange? Weren’t you curious? “
Nathan shrugged, “I’m sure I had questions at the time, but the house was full of children, activities, and I just remember that Hal and Mary, well, Mary especially, were always encouraging my interests – primarily language and computers.”
He smiled, “She worked from home. She was a software engineer, taught me code my first winter with them and paid for me to learn German.”
His smile grew broader, “We used to tell jokes in German, for practice. They really fed my interests, y’know?”
Angela wouldn’t let it go. She was persistent, that was for sure. “Surely when you grew older, in your teenage years or early twenties. You must have wondered, even looked her up.”
I have to give her something, or she will never let it go. And besides, the visit had been public record.
He looked down, toyed with an unraveled edge of the fabric from the armrest of his chair. “I did look her up. A few years back. It was...it...it didn’t end well.”
He told her the truth of it, which was that his mother was as unhinged as they came, but that it was most likely due to a childhood and adolescence spent separated from her own parents, shuttling back and forth between foster parent situations, and worse, living through The Collapse.
“So how old was she when you were born?” Angela asked, scribbling furiously in her notebook.
“Mm, in her 40s, I think.”
“And you were her only child?”
Immanuel falling to the floor, his tiny body arcing, his bones and tendons twisting in unnatural ways, head slamming against the concrete with a sickening crack, teeth clacking together hard. There had been blood, trickling from his mouth, a corner of his tongue caught between his teeth. Not enough blood to warrant the stillness that followed. That empty, dead stare as Nathaniel shook him, lifting him from the cool basement floor, their Legos spilled between them. Mother had buried him beneath a small willow tree in the back yard, humming the lullaby, tears running down her face. She had told no one, and no one had ever known. Only Nathaniel knew. He was so small then, without words, and lost without his twin brother.
“Yes, I’m an only child.”
Angela nodded, staring at him pensively, and finally closed her notebook.
“Well, Nathan, thank you for coming in. I’ll go ahead and pass your file on to the committee for review.”
She smiled, “I do wish you the best of luck in all of this.”
Nathan thanked her and left, wondering if he had just shot to hell his, and more importantly, Jennifer’s chances of ever leaving Earth.
After he had left, Angela put a question mark down in the margins of her notes. The Selection Committee had been clear, mental illness and long space voyages did not go well together. This would need to be referred for further investigation with the committee. The candidate appears stable despite the possibility of traumatic difficult childhood, Angela wrote in the Notes section of her tablet.
Next up was Daniel Medry. Moments after Zradce had made his exit, Daniel Medry had checked in at the front desk. A small light went on in the corner of her office when a new patient arrived, and Angela reached a hand up to her hair, fluffing it slightly, and then freshened her lipstick before rising, walking to the door and beckoning Medry to come in.
She couldn’t help but want to return the attentions he had shown her the last two sessions. She knew it wasn’t professional, but the man was sexy, smart, and funny – just the way she liked. He was irreverent, and surprisingly at ease around her, despite what was at stake. And those deep blue eyes, paired with that quirky smile. Angela was tempted to make something up on his records just to keep him on Earth.
But she couldn’t bring herself to do that, it would be wrong, and some people were just lovely in theory, but not so much in practice. Medry gave hints of being the latter – he had the qualities of a rolling stone, a real “love them and leave them” type. He smiled at her with that quirky mouth, a flash of white teeth. Yep, Medry had her number and he knew it.
He took the seat that Zradce had barely vacated, leaned back, relaxed and flashed her yet another grin that gave Angela a sharp thrill. She sat down across from him, wondering if she had made a mistake in her dress choice today. The skirt was shorter than she normally wore, and the blouse perhaps too flattering with its scoop neck and clingy fabric. She had known she would see him today, had it affected her clothing decisions? Angela Di Marco, you are playing with fire.
Off-kilter, she blurted it out, “Why do you want to leave Earth so bad, Daniel?”
God, why? She couldn’t help the fantasy that flitted through her mind – him, her, twisted bedsheets. Damn him and his sexy self.
He blinked, “Well, good afternoon to you too.”
That touch of normalcy broke the spell, at least for the moment, and Angela flushed in embarrassment. She had to take control of the situation. So instead of backing off, she pressed forward.
“Well?”
He considered her for a moment, probably assessing her elevated heart rate, noting her clothing, the touch of blush she had added to her cheeks this morning. He was the type of man who noticed such things. As he rolled her question through his head, his attitude changed and a look of pure joy stole over his face. The sexy look he had cultivated since laying eyes on her in their first session was gone, replaced by an almost child-like wonder.
“Can you imagine it? This other world? Breathable air, a rocky world like ours. The pictures the probe took don’t do it justice, not really.”
He sighed then, “I’ve walked on the moon, climbed parts of Mt. Kilimanjaro, walked where few humans have ever gone, but this....what an adventure!”
He leaned forward, towards her, and the delight poured out of him as he continued to describe the photos and reports the D.O.V.E. probe had showed the world. As he did, a streak of intense attraction formed in the air between them. Angela couldn’t help but share his excitement and a small part of her longed to see those alien landscapes, to walk on the surface of a distant planet and spend the rest of her life exploring the mysteries of an alien world. It wasn’t her dream, it was his; yet he made it sound so amazing, the ultimate in adventure, the ultimate in being alive.
Medry didn’t get any question marks or concerns written down in his file. Weeks later, along with a few twisted bedsheets, and Angela Di Marco signed off on Daniel’s file. As far as the area of mental health, he was in great shape. She didn’t mention that he was talented in other ways, and she knew better than to fall in love.
Medry had just passed the final hurdle.
We Need to Talk
“To get anywhere, or even live a long time, a man has to guess, and guess right, over and over again, without enough data for a logical answer.” –– Robert A. Heinlein
Date: 01.16.2102
Calypso Colony Ship
Daniel and Kevin emerged from Communications at 1645 hours and headed straight for the Command Deck. It wasn’t far, just the other side of the same level. The captain maintained an open door policy for all crew. There were only a handful on duty – a total of twenty-three currently on shift in total. The ship ran 24 hours a day, although Shift One from 0100 to 0800 and Shift Four from 19
00 to 0200 were only minimally staffed.
Captain Aaronson was dictating the daily log, and looking over the digital reports from the half-dozen techs. Until Daniel and Kevin walked in, it had been a routine day, with only a slight mold issue reported on the ‘Ponics Deck that was affecting the broccoli production. He nodded to the two Techs and motioned for them to sit as he finished the last part of his log. A moment later he was done. He toggled a button on the headset and turned towards them.
“Medry, Edmonds, what can I do for you?”
Kevin nodded to Daniel, “You found it...”
Daniel took a deep breath, “Sir, Edmonds and I have spent the past eight hours reviewing transmissions, and, I don’t know how to say this any better sir, but there has been a Level Five extinction event on Earth.”
The captain’s face turned grim, “Level Five?”
“Yes, sir, a virus. They refer to it as ESH and it has spread world-wide and also affected the space stations, Moon, and Mars colonies. All space stations and both colonies appear to have completely ceased transmissions.”
The Captain sat there for a moment, saying nothing.
“And Earth?”
“The virus was infectious through even limited contact. Initially there was an extremely long incubation period, thirty-five days or more, allowing for maximum transmission among the population. Over time the virus seems to have mutated and the incubation period has lessened to approximately eighteen days. The virus attacks the hypothalamus, in the lateral nucleus to be exact, and the affected literally eat themselves to death.”
The captain rubbed his forehead, closed his eyes for a moment, and then asked, “The mortality rate?”
“The reports vary, but we are seeing averages of over ninety-nine percent.”
“Ninety-nine percent?”
“Yes sir.”
Captain Aaronson stared at Medry and Edmonds, both looked pale, sick.
“Due to the long incubation period, the infection was widespread before anyone knew what was happening.” Medry added as he looked back down at his tablet, “Patient Zero is listed here as Dr. Edith Sarah Hainey. Also, there are reports of a large-scale simultaneous outbreak in the Ghizhou Province in China. As best as I can tell from the reports, the virus began there.
There are some theories that it was possibly a variant of the VOS-MRSA mutation, a holdover from when we still used antibiotics. But those theories were apparently disproved. Also, there seems to be some kind of link as far as blood type. We are seeing reports stating that the only surviving population are the ones who carry AB negative blood.”
The Captain looked ill. The lines on his face deepened.
Daniel continued, “The incubation period also includes what they refer to as a ‘whiteout period’, where the infected is relatively asymptomatic yet infectious as hell. Originally it may have been as long as thirty-five days that a patient was infectious, yet asymptomatic. That led to widespread infection and by the time the CDC understood the situation, containment was impossible.”
He stared at the Captain, “Sir, they are ordering us to not return to Earth under any circumstances. I’ll send you a synopsis of what we have learned.”
Daniel tapped Send on his tablet and the Captain’s tablet pinged.
Captain Aaronson picked up the tablet and paged through the documents, silent. After a long moment, the Captain said, “Say nothing, not to anyone. Collect all of the transmissions regarding the plague and consolidate them for me in one main report. How long will this take?”
Kevin looked at Daniel, who shrugged, “We have a lot of data to go through. I’ll create a search string, have the computer isolate all transmissions containing ‘plague’ or ‘ESH,’ and then we can follow the updates, consolidate them and give you at least a basic report by 1900 hours.”
The Captain nodded, “Do it. I want a full blackout on any communications packets until we fully understand what we are looking at. If anyone questions you on the communications blackout tell them that you are working on a project that I have requested. I’ll handle any further questions from here.”
He paused, “Let’s hope things turned around.”
Daniel nodded woodenly, “Yes sir, let’s hope.”
Kevin and Daniel got to work, and at 2100 hours, two hours past what Daniel had promised, they presented the full report to Captain Aaronson.
In all, the population of Earth had suffered such devastation that it would take decades if not centuries to recover from it. The ESH virus had infected over 99.95% of the population. The remaining fraction of the population had managed to successfully isolate themselves in remote enclaves, and violently resisted any contact with the infected. In cases where it had been thought safe and non-infected and infected had come into contact, the results were devastating. The uninfected contracted the virus and died within weeks. The virus had mutated, reducing the incubation rate from 45 days to less than two weeks. The mortality rate had not dropped, however, and remained a staggering 99%.
Another detail had revealed itself. Every single one of the survivors were of a specific, and rare, blood type, Type AB negative, which was present in only one percent of Caucasians, 0.3% of African Americans, 0.2% of Hispanics, and just 0.1% of all Asians. Overall, less than 0.4% of the world’s population remained, just 14.5 million.
Daniel pointed to one report dated August 5th, 2100, noting the name of the researcher - Dr. Julie L. Aaronson.
He asked, “Do you know her, sir?”
Fenton nodded, “She’s my aunt, my father’s twin sister.”
“Well she’s the author of a paper that is pointing toward early signs of possible complications with infection from the ESH virus.” Daniel said, “As if the virus wasn’t lethal enough, it has some early indications of teratogenic effects as well. It is causing high numbers of spontaneous abortions and miscarriages in humans.
He read further, “It also appears to be affecting the few remaining simian species who have also been hit hard by the virus. It indicated a possibility for high rates of infertility in the surviving population.
Captain Aaronson sat immobile, realizing the broad-reaching aspects of the disease that had ravaged Earth while he had sailed away into the darkest reaches of space. Their species faced extinction on its home world. At this very moment, lost in the darkness of space, Calypso held what might be the only population of plague-free humans left of a tiny blue planet known as Earth.
The next morning, the Captain called a general assembly and solemnly reported the news from Earth for all of the crew currently on duty.
“We have been tasked to create a new colony on Zarmina’s World, far from the dangers of this devastating virus,” he told the stunned crew.
“We knew the possibility of returning home was small, but now we are certain. There will be no return to Earth. To do so would be to face certain infection and staggering loss of life. We are on our own, folks. And it seems that the fate of the human race rests in our hands.”
The meeting devolved into a quiet panic, along with tears and anger. There were even calls for the ship to be turned around, an impossibility given their current trajectory. In time, the meeting ended, and the crew dispersed slowly through the ship.
Sam Sydan pulled at Daniel’s sleeve. They had maintained a fully professional interaction since that one night together the year before. She had kept her distance, likely unwilling to get her heart entangled with someone who obviously was not ready to settle down.
“Daniel......”
He looked at her, his eyes burned with exhaustion, his head pounded.
“Could you keep an eye out? For a message from my brother Tom? He was captaining a supply ship on the Moon to Mars route when I left.”
He nodded, “I’ll keep an eye out. All of the crewmembers last names have been flagged, we will disburse the data on the family as soon as we find it.”
Her hand slipped up to his shoulder, reassuring and kind.
“Are you all right?�
�
Daniel considered her for a moment. He had only seen her in passing over the past few months. Their shifts had not coincided and she had distanced herself in a friendly yet professional way. She was looking for a future partner, not just a fun tumble in the sack. Daniel couldn’t help but see her for what she was, an amazing, sexy, and smart woman. And at that moment he felt so vulnerable, in such raw pain at the thought of everyone left behind, lost in the chaos of the virus. Very possibly everyone he knew and loved, dead.
“No, I’m not.” He said simply, pulling her close, “I don’t think any of us are.”
Unhappy Meal
“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.” – Stephen Hawking
Date: 03.10.2099
Earth – Kansas City, Missouri
Dale Otterman was the County Medical Examiner by default. No one had hired him for this job and no one had said anything about a pay increase. His boss Jack West, who had run the morgue since Otterman was in preschool, had simply stopped coming into work last Tuesday morning.
Jack was the official County Medical Examiner, while Dale was the Assistant M.E.
Meanwhile, with no word from West or any answer at the door when the morgue director stopped by the house, Otterman had been tapped for his boss’s load as well as his own.
The call had come in after he left the morgue for lunch. He was settled, the day unseasonably warm, and was in no hurry to return to work for at least an hour.
“We have an odd one,” the dispatcher had said, and Dale instantly regretted answering his phone.
“I’m at lunch.”
This was mostly true. He was nearly finished with the large sandwich he had bought from the food truck. He still had the chips to go, but he had a great view of the playground from the park bench which he hated to give up. He was partially shaded by a large oak and none of the rather vigilant mothers had noticed him sitting there, staring at a cute little girl in pigtails and a short jean skirt over a pair of polka dot tights. He wished he had brought his camera, but he had forgotten it next to his computer.
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