The Perfect Pathogen

by Mark Atkisson

  “Thank you, Mr. President,” said Sarah.

  “And you must be Dr. Katie McMann and Dr. Ben Shah. Welcome.”

  “Thank you sir,” said Ben and Katie in unison.

  “Well, let’s get started,” said the President. “I read your briefing papers and I’m impressed with the rapidity with which you have reached your conclusions. However, I am naturally doubtful regarding the accuracy. Are you absolutely sure that the test you have developed accurately indicates the presence of SDX? How can you draw this conclusion without knowing what the cause of the illness is or where it came from?”

  “Mr. President,” started Katie, “because no one has yet been able to identify the cause of the illness, and since I’m not a medical doctor, I decided to do what I could, based on the research I’ve conducted in the past. I’ve always worked on statistics with an eye to figuring out what are the common characteristics amongst people who live long lives. When the deaths started occurring, I realized that I might be able to use a similar analysis to figure out what the similarities are with the deaths from SDX and those I previously tracked through my research. Dr. Shah mentioned that broad lab studies were being conducted on the victims, so I asked if the tests could be expanded to include some less typical lab tests I had used in my longevity study. It was then just a matter of collecting the additional information and analyzing it. Through further study I found a striking consistency among all of the dead. In six separate and different blood tests, the victims’ results were significantly out of normal range. I then expanded this process to the blood tests of living people who may have been infected, and I found their results were also abnormal. My conclusion, by deductive reasoning, was that those particular tests were an accurate indicator that the person was a carrier of SDX.”

  “How do you know you have the correct normal values for these rarely used blood samples?” asked the Vice President.

  “Mr. Vice President, these normal values have been well established over the years. The normal range for these blood tests is an accepted medical fact for all humans,” said Ben.

  “Also,” added Katie, “I have blood test data from my longevity study of the aged that goes back over seven years, and four of the tests were used routinely in my study. As I have gone back through the data over the last couple of days, what I have determined is that about five years ago the levels in the four overlap tests started increasing until they are at the level they are today.”

  “That still doesn’t explain why you are so sure that the blood tests are indicative of the disease. I see this as an easy way to say we are making progress, but it is hardly scientific,” said Jim Redman

  Katie knew Jim was not happy with her conclusions, but she didn’t expect him to challenge her methods in this setting. Katie looked directly at Jim, and deliberately using his first name so that he understood that in this situation she considered him a peer, and spoke.

  “I would ask you, Jim, how do you know when you have a cold? You have a runny nose, your eyes water, you sneeze, and your throat hurts. These are the symptoms. There is no easy test for a common cold, and we may not know the immediate cause, but do we deny that it exists? I believe it would be irresponsible to not support my theory, particularly as at the moment there isn’t an alternative. There is undeniable evidence that people are dying at an alarming rate. We have no leads, except what I and Dr. Shah have been able to develop. We need to continue down this road to see if we can find what caused the disease and determine if there is indeed a way to stop it. The alternative would be to go home and die.”

  Sarah looked at Katie with a slight smile. Katie wasn’t pulling any punches, Sarah thought, and luckily the punching bag wasn’t anyone to high in the food chain.

  Then the President spoke.

  “Dr. McMann, I can see you are passionate about your work. When do you think you will know where the disease started so we can start looking for the source?”

  “Sir, I believe I am homing in on the general region. Based on a review of my world–wide data so far, I believe it started in the Siberian area of eastern Russia and then spread to India, followed by China, Japan and Africa and then to the United States. It will take some in-depth analysis to pinpoint the exact location in Siberia, but I think that it will be possible, given the large amount of data points I have to review,” said Katie.

  “Dr. Shah, I understand that you are working on a model for determining how long we have to find a cure. What have you found?” said the President.

  “Sir, so far, it is only a hypothesis, based on the autopsy results and the age of the deceased. I think that people are aging at an accelerated pace. Unfortunately, I have no way to calculate how fast until we have more empirical data,” said Ben.

  “By the term empirical, I assume you mean more deaths, is that correct?” asked the President.

  “Yes, that is correct. I think it will take at least a month’s worth of data for Katie to model the behavior of SDX. If I had to guess, based on autopsy analysis alone, I would say that the aging process is being sped up by between twenty- five and two hundred times the normal rate. That would give a 40-year old with a normal life expectancy somewhere between three months to two years to live without some type of antidote. So we can only hope the data shows us the aging process is slower, not faster,” explained Ben.

  “If I understand you correctly, if we don’t find a cure to this disease quickly, then about 40% of the earth’s population could be dead in as little as three months?” asked the President.

  “That is correct sir, and possibly three months later everyone could be gone, worst case” said Ben.

  The room went silent. All of the players knew this was serious, but until now had not fully registered just how serious. They were all carriers of SDX. Their days were numbered. The silence felt to Katie like a heavy fog shrouding around her shoulders. And, as Rob could attest, she was never fond of silence.

  “One more thing I think you should be made aware of, if you haven’t already been informed, Mr. President. I had newspaper reporter ask me today if I had developed a test to predict if someone had this disease. And the follow up question was, isn’t it true that everybody has this disease and we are all going to die?” Katie added.

  “And what did you say?” asked Jim Redman.

  “I said that all press inquiries were to be handled by the Secretary’s Press Office, as we had all agreed. I provided no comment whatsoever.”

  “Well, at least you got that right,” said Jim sarcastically.

  “Well, the good news is that we think we now have some direction, and we believe that further research will prove promising,” rejoined Katie.

  Sarah looked at Katie, furrowing her brows. Katie’s retort had clearly disturbed her. But Katie was an optimist and she wasn’t about to let this negative talk from Jim get her down. These were the most powerful people in the world and she was witnessing their shock. It was unnerving. She, for one, could be a cheerleader if the situation warranted it.

  The meeting ended unceremoniously. The President thanked Katie, Sarah, and Ben for coming. They left the Oval Office, and while the others remained in the room, were escorted out of the building and into Sarah’s waiting car. As they drove out of the White House, Katie wished she could be a fly on the Oval Office wall right now, as they discussed further strategy.

  CHAPTER 25

  As the Chief of Staff re-entered the Oval Office there was already a vigorous debate in progress regarding what they should do in the face of the looming epidemic.

  “As of today, we are losing about 300,000 people a day. I would expect by the end of the month it could climb to between 750,000 and 1,000,000 people a day,” said Jennifer. “These are facts that the press are reporting on continuously. There has to be a point when we tell the people what we know. If I only had maybe six months to live, I sure would like to know.”

  “If you knew, what would you do differently?” asked Jim Redman. “Maybe you would stop working. Maybe
you would steal a car, rob a store, and take whatever you wanted, if you thought it didn’t matter because everyone was dying. Who would operate the public utilities such as water and power, who would stock the grocery store shelves or drive the truck to deliver the food? We have to be very careful about how this is portrayed to the public, if it is portrayed at all.”

  “But they already know,” said Jennifer. “Don’t you think the reporter is going to report what he has heard? What we need to know is how did he find out? Is one of our phones bugged, or is there someone on the inside that alluded to what is going on?”

  “At this point I think we need to hold off reporting on speculation,” said the President. “It’s not that I don’t believe their hypotheses. I do. But they haven’t proven it to a level I feel is appropriate to release to the American public. I hear your concerns Jim, and they are valid. Hell, look what’s happening in China. We need to have a better contingency plan in place in case the word gets out before we’re ready to provide facts regarding a cure. Meanwhile, the governors are telling me they are coping with what they have in each state.”

  “But is it ethical to hold this information back from the public?” asked the Speaker of the House, Ed Savage. “We’re pretty sure it is accurate. We could tell them that we are getting close to determining where it started and what the cause is. Maybe we can buy some time by convincing the public that a solution will be at hand shortly.”

  “Ed, spoken like a true politician,” said the President. “But I think we need to hold off until we have an idea what the cause is before we go public. If we jump the gun it will just raise too many questions, and we just might have what we need soon.”

  All remained silent after these words.

  After a pause, Jim was the first to speak.

  “So we are in agreement. No information is released until we have a breakthrough or we get more information from the CDC regarding where this started and what the cause is.”

  “It will be increasingly difficult to hold the line as the death rate continues to increase,” said Jennifer. “We’ve already established mass graves in all of the major metropolitan areas. People are not going to the hospitals because the ambulance services are inundated. The healthcare and mortuary infrastructure is stretched to the breaking point. People are going to want definitive answers soon, not more of the same.”

  “If you are not up to the task of being spokesman for the epidemic, then maybe we need to find someone who is,” Jim scolded. “Mr. President, I think it is time to pull this back into the White House and have the White House spokesperson handle the press. He can provide a measure of deniability since we get our information from the CDC, the military and others. It should gain you some credibility as well as free up Jennifer to pursue the cure.”

  “Not a bad idea Jim,’ said the President. “What do you think Jennifer?”

  Jennifer was relieved to not have to lie to the public, but was pissed at the way Jim put it.

  “Mr. President, I do believe it is a good idea, because I don’t know how effective I would be at deceiving the public. Jim, on the other hand, can provide your spokesman with some rationalized reasoning, or should I say rational lies.”

  “Now let’s all remember that we are on the same team and we have the same goal of finding a cure for this disease and doing the best for the country and our people. If that requires delaying the telling of the full truth, so be it,” said the President. “You two have to work together, so I want you to maintain a professional relationship. Are you both able to do that?”

  “Yes sir,” they said in unison.

  “Good. Starting this afternoon, the press conferences will be held from here,” the President continued. “We will use the information provided earlier today as speaking points, minus the hypotheses. Jim, come up with a timeframe based on our discussions today as to when we think we will have some concrete information to share with the public. I want a draft briefing in one hour. Any questions?”

  The room was silent. The President had made the final call. He hoped they would all fall in line, but one never knows with politicians.

  Jennifer left the Oval Office along with the other attendees. Her car was waiting near the door. She was thoroughly disgusted by what had happened during the meeting, but if she was anything, she was loyal and the President knew it. She would keep her mouth shut, follow orders, and hold the party line. It was her duty, she kept telling herself. How long would she be able to remain the Secretary was yet to be seen, she thought to herself.

  When the room was empty, except for the President and Jim, Jim said, “Mr. President, you made the right decision. I’ll brief Ted and ensure he is ready for the press conference. I’ll make sure he knows everything he needs to know and where to draw the line. Do you have any special instructions for me?”

  “I think you already know. Do I need to say it?”

  “Well, of course, when I brief Ted I won’t be giving him all of the information, just what he needs to perform his role,” said Jim.

  “Very well. After the conference come see me. We need to work out a plan in the event this thing blows up. I’m sure you already have some ideas and I’d like to hear them.”

  One of the things the President liked about his National Security Advisor was that he always had a way to spin a subject and come up with creative solutions to sticky situations. This one would be a doozy, but he knew he could count on the meister to create a believable fantasy.

  “Mr. President, do you think you can trust Jennifer to keep this under wraps until we are ready to release the information?”

  “Yes. I have known Jennifer for twenty years. She will stick to the party line.”

  “Well if she doesn’t, we need a contingency for that also,” said Jim.

  “Bring me what you’ve got after the press conference,” said the President soberly.

  There was a special press conference at 5 p.m. The White House spokesman dodged the pointed questions with the skill of a butterfly dodging the hand of a child. Luckily, no one asked about blood tests or if everyone was infected. But even if they had, the spokesman would have answered that he had no knowledge in these areas, because the decision had been made by Jim Redman to withhold this information from the spokesman, all with the President’s concurrence. The long slide down the slippery slope had begun, or maybe they had been on that slope all along. It was hard to tell what was truth, and what was not, in this world were information travels at the speed of light and verification gets left in its wake because everyone moves on to the next thing in a flash.

  After the press conference, Jim found the President alone in his office.

  “Hi Jim, what have you got for me?” asked the President.

  “It is not fancy, but I think it will work. If something breaks in the news, we report that we have several leads that are promising and that it appears to be some type of virus that we have not seen before. Trace elements have been found in the victim’s DNA and we are working to recreate these in the lab so that testing for antidotes can commence. The lab will be in an undisclosed, classified location. We have information that there are some criminal sources that would like to find what we are working on and use it to cure the elderly leaders in their communities or for other nefarious purposes.”

  “Of course,” Jim continued, “this will require that Jennifer signs off on the plan, Mr. President. In the event she doesn’t, for National Security reasons, she will disappear, along with anyone else in her organization that questions our reporting. I know the CDC Atlanta director well and I know he’ll go along with us since it is for the greater good. This should buy us several months to actually find a cure. Jennifer, the CDC Director in DC, Sarah Lin, Katie, Ben, and the others that were in our meeting today are all being followed. In the event one of them has to be eliminated, it won’t be a difficult task.”

  “I would like to avoid that if at all possible,” said the President. “You know I don’t like to get my hands dirty wi
th American citizens.”

  “Trust me sir, you won’t. But if it comes to it, the group that will take care of any necessary work is not from here. It will be impossible to trace where or why they received their orders. They even think they are being paid by a foreign government,” said Jim.

  “I think it’ll work. I need you to get in touch with our friend in Atlanta because I know Jennifer will not buy into this. Maybe he can convince Jennifer that he is working on something and that he has had a breakthrough and we can avoid any bloodshed,” said the President.

  Jim thought he wouldn’t mind taking Jennifer out of the picture along with Katie too. He found them both too arrogant, too eager to consider themselves his equal. Neither understood what real power is.

  “I’ll get right on that sir,” said Jim. This was not the first time that Jim lied to the President and it probably wouldn’t be the last.

  “That’s great. Let me know the progress you make. With any luck, we won’t have to use your plan. Maybe someone will actually make a breakthrough before the people get too restless,” said the President hopefully.

  “Let’s keep our fingers crossed.” Funny Jim would say that, for his fingers were already crossed.

  After Jim left the room the President sat by himself pondering if he was handling the situation correctly. He had the safety of the entire American population, if not the world, to protect from information that may drive many people over the edge. The military had never been used large scale on U.S. soil, save the Civil War, but there may come a time when they would have to be and he knew the Pentagon was preparing for that possibility. The National Guard had been called up in forty-five of fifty states, but they were mostly involved with aiding the sick and burying the dead. Luckily, most of them were young too. The President wondered to himself what kind of a legacy he would leave. Several hundred million Americans dead? Collapse of the economy and infrastructure? Maybe the people should know the truth? The questions weighed heavy on his mind. The phone rang startling him.