The Perfect Pathogen

by Mark Atkisson

  “Do you really think there could be some commonality between the mammoth’s blood and ours?” said Katie.

  “The mammoth’s sample will be closer to that of an elephant of course, but if it has at least some test levels that are consistent with SDX and abnormal, compared to what a normal elephant has, I think we can make the connection. Of course, it will depend on the condition of the sample. Since the mammoth’s blood was frozen and then thawed there may be damage to its structure. I am also not sure how it is being stored. That said, it may be a long shot but it is all we have. I also talked with my counterpart in China and they are also at a loss right now. The DNA testing they have done has yielded nil.”

  “Well, when you get the mammoth test results, ship them to me as soon as possible. I will arrange with Dr. White at Johns Hopkins to get the baseline for an elephant from the vets at the National Zoo and I will load it into my program, so I will be ready to go when you are. How long do you think you will be gone?” Katie asked.

  “Probably about a week,” replied Ben.

  Katie had a long look on her face for an instant. She had just gotten accustomed to collaborating with Ben. In fact it was one of the main reasons she had moved to the headquarters office.

  Then she quickly pulled herself together. “I assume you will have email, so I can continue to update you with the data stream I will be processing?”

  “Absolutely. I will be available by phone too if there is something you need to get to me immediately.”

  “That should work. Are you going to be on the noon call with the Secretary?” asked Katie.

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I have a lot to say today,” explained Ben. “We better head upstairs to Sarah’s office. We only have about fifteen minutes.”

  CHAPTER 32

  Katie and Ben walked into the Director’s conference room. Sarah was already at the table going over some figures.

  “Hi Ben, hi Katie,” said Sarah. “I was just going over the data and your conclusions regarding the blood bank samples and you daughter’s follow up test. I think we have to mention Hope’s result on today’s call.”

  Katie hesitated. “Of course,” she said, though deep down inside she wanted the fact kept private. This was her daughter, not just another number in a database. “Do we have to mention it is my daughter or can we just say we have found one sample that is negative for SDX and we are investigating the source?” asked Katie.

  The glimmer of hope left Katie’s eyes almost immediately when Sarah replied.

  “That wouldn’t be true. We need to be upfront about this with everyone involved.”

  “Except the public,” said Katie. “Don’t you think they are involved? They are dying by the millions every day.”

  Katie hadn’t realized how strong her feelings were about the withholding of information from the public. She thought Sarah felt the same by the way she nodded her head.

  “You know we don’t make those decisions. They are being made by the President,” said Sarah.

  “Do you really believe that?” said Katie. “I think we all know that Jim Redman is calling the shots and he doesn’t seem to have anyone’s best interest in mind except for his own.”

  “No reason to argue about something we can’t change,” said Sarah.

  While they were talking Ben could see the other members of the call taking their respective seats in the conference rooms displayed on the big screen at the end of the table. Sarah looked at her watch and it was 11:59 a.m. She looked at Katie and Ben and then unmuted the microphone.

  At exactly 12 noon the Secretary started the meeting. The usual cast of characters were present including the National Security Advisor and the Director at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta, and Dr. White at Johns Hopkins.

  “What new do you have from Atlanta?” asked the Secretary.

  “Unfortunately nothing. The DNA testing is slow. The Pandemic Task Force hasn’t come up with anything of note so far,” reported the director. “The death rate is climbing daily. I wouldn’t be surprised if we each 500,000 per day by the end of the month. Right now we have no good measure of how or why the death rate continues to go up.”

  Listening to this an idea popped into Katie’s head. She would bring it up when it was her turn to talk.

  “Dr. White, what about your team?”

  “Ditto here, pretty much. Dr. Kressin has some interesting immunology findings he is following closely, but nothing solid enough yet to report,” said Dr. White.

  “What do you have from Washington, Sarah?” asked the Secretary.

  “We think we have identified the location where the disease originated based on Dr. McMann’s longevity data. It is in the Sakha region of eastern Siberia. Dr. Shah will be leaving this afternoon for meetings with the Ministry of Health in Moscow and plans to continue on to the city of Ust’Nera to test some theories,” said Sarah.

  “Do we really think that this is worth the time and effort?” asked Jim Redman. “We need to concentrate on hard science if we are going to find a cure.”

  “Mr. Redman, it would seem that this is the best lead we have to find your “hard science.” It may prove to be the key that opens the door we all hope to find. Right now, all conventional methods of investigating the cause have led us nowhere. This is worth doing even if it is a longshot,” said the Secretary. “Please Ben, explain in detail what you will be looking for.”

  “Well, Madame Secretary, the permafrost in the Sakha Republic region has been receding for years because of global warming. About five years ago a baby mammoth was discovered on the receding edge of the permafrost. Researchers, at the same time, were able to obtain a blood sample from this particular mammoth. I believe we may be able to find a link to SDX by analyzing the blood of the mammoth to determine if maybe SDX also killed the mammoth,” said Ben.

  While Ben was speaking, another idea popped into Katie’s head. She was wondering if the baby mammoth that Ben was referring to was the same one that was on exhibit at the Museum of Natural History that her conference attendees went to see.

  Ben continued. “If the serum sample can be linked to SDX, then maybe we will be able to take some tissue samples from the mammoth to see if the cause of the disease can be isolated.”

  “So, all of this ties into the theory raised by Katie’s longevity study that about five years ago the infection started in the Sakha Republic of Russia. This is all very interesting, and when are you leaving?” asked the Secretary.

  “In about three hours,” answered Ben.

  “Well, we wish you a safe trip and bring back a new discovery that will aid in fighting this epidemic,” the Secretary added hopefully, then nodding toward Katie.

  Katie was up next.

  “I have analyzed over 3,000 blood samples from live donors. They have all turned up positive for SDX. That said, my theory that everyone has SDX is not conclusive because I have stumbled upon one person who is not positive. That person is my daughter.”

  Interest in each of the conference rooms perked up immediately. Maybe there was a chance they would find the cause and develop a cure. Someone was immune to this disease. It was a miracle.

  “Are you sure?” asked the Secretary.

  “Yes. I have tested her twice and Dr. Shah has confirmed the validity of the tests. Her blood shows no sign that she is a carrier of SDX. Quite frankly, this gives us hope that we will find others. I will be analyzing between three and five thousand live blood samples a day for the next two weeks. I expect this sample size should be adequate to find others who are negative for SDX,” explained Katie.

  “And what is your daughter’s name, Katie?” asked the Secretary.

  “Hope.”

  “How appropriate. We now have Hope that will lead us to a cure. Katie, find us another negative so we can compare their blood with Hope’s. We will find a cure,” said the Secretary. “Let’s discuss this more later.”

  “I did have one question, Madame Secretary,” said Katie.

/>   Sarah was holding her breath, hoping Katie wouldn’t step out of her lane and give a speech about morality to the Secretary.

  “Sure, Katie, what is it?”

  “I was just wondering why we haven’t shared any of this information with the public. They have a right to know. Sooner or later they will demand that right and by then it could get downright nasty and confrontational.”

  Jim could feel his anger rising. He wanted that bitch silenced right now.

  “That is a good question,” said the Secretary. “I will have to defer you to Jim.

  “This is not the proper forum to address this question,” said Jim curtly. “The President has his advisors and they have considered the pros and cons to releasing this information and they are formulating a strategy,” said Jim. “All that takes time.”

  “We seem to be running out of time with over 300,000 people a day dying in the U.S. alone,” said Katie with a firmness of her own.

  “End of discussion. Jennifer, we will discuss this with the President at your two o’clock meeting today,” said Jim in a huff.

  There was silence all around, until finally after a long pause, the Secretary ended the call and confirmed that the next one would take place the following day at 2 p.m.

  Sarah looked at Katie and just shook her head. “You really know how to piss Jim off, don’t you?”

  “Sometimes you just have to stand your ground and I feel that this is one of those times,” said Katie.

  “Well, be careful. Whether you like it or not, he wields a great deal of power.”

  “What is he going to do, fire me? I doubt it, he isn’t that stupid,” said Katie.

  “All I am saying Katie, is that I wouldn’t put anything past him.”

  “Ok, I will keep my opinions out of the calls and stick to the facts,” said Katie grudgingly.

  “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear,” said Sarah.

  “Oh, I almost forgot. Two things came to me during the call. First thing: if we look at the population of the world based on an average of life expectancy age by region, I think we can estimate the death rate pretty closely. I’ll work it out for the U.S and see if it agrees with what we’re seeing. Second: I think there is an exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History right now that includes a baby mammoth. I am wondering if it is the same one that you have been talking about, Ben. I’ll head over during a lull in the action and check it out. It might provide us with more information you can use when you are attempting to convince the Russians you are hot on the trail,” said Katie.

  “I like the way you think my friend,” said Ben. “Email me as soon as you have any information on the mammoth.”

  “Safe journey Ben,” said Sarah as they all went their separate ways in search of answers.

  CHAPTER 33

  Back in her office, Katie was happy to see that she had received another email with another 1,000 blood test results. She immediately entered the data into her program and set the wheels in motion. She wanted to find another negative to compare with Hope’s data. There had to be something in common she thought.

  Next, she gathered the information necessary to try and calculate the projected longevity and death rate, all based on the reporting they had received thus far. She figured if she could determine how fast people were dying, then she could not only predict how many people would die per day, but she could also predict how long people had to live. Once she had this worked out, it would be a simple process of monitoring the casualty figures to see if her calculations were in the ball park.

  Picking up the phone, Katie placed a call to Beth. “Hi, Beth. How are things going at your end of things?”

  “Pretty good. It is quiet here without you, but there are plenty of things to keep me busy,” said Beth.

  “Any more creepy calls from Mr. Hughes?” asked Katie.

  “No, not yet.”

  “Great. The reason I was calling is that I need you to go through some of Herb’s files. He was working on a project to calculate average life expectancy ages in the same regions I was using for my longevity study. He had it broken out in a bunch of different ways. Can you find that data and any summaries he had and email them to me? I think it will be valuable in figuring out some of the parameters surrounding SDX,” said Katie.

  “Sure, no problem. I know exactly where the hard copy files are but, I think I scanned most of the information into a SharePoint site. I will find the information and forward it to you. I guess it will probably take me about thirty minutes, if we are lucky,” said Beth.

  “Thank you. Super. I will be standing by. Talk to you later then,” said Katie as she hung up the phone.

  Katie’s next move was to head to the museum to check on the woolly mammoth. On her way out she stopped by Sarah’s office to let her know her plans.

  “Hi Sarah. I am headed over to the Smithsonian right now. I will probably be gone a couple of hours. I forgot to ask you earlier, but did you ever find out anything about the tag on the car that was following me on Friday?”

  “Oh yes, I meant to tell you,” said Sarah. “They said it was a cover plate for a diplomatic mission. They weren’t able to tell me which one though. Someone has to go to Foggy Bottom to get the answer if we really, really, want it. Very strange, if you ask me. Have you had any other problems?”

  “Not really. I did get another call from the reporter this morning, but Beth handled it,” said Katie.

  “Well, as long as it doesn’t happen again, I wouldn’t worry about it,” said Sarah.

  “Ok, I will see you a little later.”

  Katie left the building and caught a cab to the museum. Ten minutes later she was going through security. As she entered, she saw a big replica of a wooly mammoth staring right at her from the Center of the atrium. “Could you be the cause of all of this?” she said to herself.

  She saw the signs for the special exhibition leading visitors to the left, so she headed down through the hall directly to the exhibition area. There was a young woman in a side office near the glass case displaying the baby mammoth. She went to the door and knocked.

  The young lady answered. “May I help you?”

  “Yes. My name is Dr. Katie McMann and I am from the CDC,” handing the lady her business card as she spoke. “We are working on the SDX epidemic and one of my colleagues thinks that there may be some link between what caused the disease and a baby mammoth that was found in the Sakha region of Siberia in 2010. This wouldn’t happen to be the same mammoth, would it?”

  “I don’t know for sure, but I do know that this mammoth was discovered in 2010 near a town call Ust’Nera in Russia. Says so on the display right over there,” she said as she pointed to the glass. “That might be in the same area.”

  “Bingo,” said Katie. “That is exactly where the mammoth we are looking for is from. Do you have any statistics on this mammal? It is a mammal, isn’t it?” said Katie.

  “It most certainly is. I don’t have a lot of information. DNA testing has been done to find out why it died, but it hasn’t revealed any significant information. We believe this youngster was about ten years old, based on how developed she was. I know there were fluid samples taken when they first found her, but those are in Russia, I think. She sure is really well preserved and that is why we keep her behind the window here in a refrigerated display case. We are trying not to let her decompose.”

  “So, you are an anthropologist I assume,” said Katie.

  “Yes, that is correct.”

  “So why do you think the mammoth became extinct anyway. Have you been able to tell anything based on this specimen?” said Katie.

  “Nothing is certain, but it doesn’t seem to be due to some cataclysmic event. They didn’t all die at once either. They died out over a period of time, and about the same time, relatively speaking.”

  “Do you think they died of a virus or bacterial infection?” asked Katie.

  “That is really hard to determine. What we know is they all disapp
eared due to hunting, disease, climate – maybe all the above. My bet is that there was something in the environment or a disease that infected them and the last of their kind were all wiped out.”

  “Sort of like the epidemic that is killing people around the world right now,” said Katie.

  “I never really thought about it like that. Gee, so you think the disease going around right now could result in the extinction of the human race?” she asked.

  Katie was now skating on thin ice. She would take to the shore. “Not right now, but like any disease, whether it is the plague or the avian flu, we need to determine why and how it started and then find an antidote. I am just hunting down all possible leads,” said Katie.

  “Oh, I understand. I hope I was helpful.”

  “You sure were,” said Katie as she thanked the young lady and said good bye.

  Katie sat down at her computer to write a quick email to Ben. “Hi Ben, I saw the mammoth and it is the same one that was found in 2010. What luck! I confirmed that they did a blood draw and they think it is being stored in Russia. The find was near the city of Ust’Nera, which coincides with our hypothesis that the disease started in that area. I am starting to think that whatever killed the mammoth might be what’s killing us. Maybe the pathogen was spread from the mammoth when it was thawed out. You mentioned that the cells in the blood may have been damaged and what I am thinking is that whatever killed this mammoth could have mutated when it thawed. That may be why it is now killing humans. I will check to see if any elephants are dying. There may be some type of link there too. That’s all I have for now. Keep us posted on your progress. Bye, Katie”

  Katie pulled up the results of the latest run on her blood samples. All positive again. “Argh, Why weren’t there any negatives?” she asked herself.

  The next batch was already here, so she entered that data and started the program running. Just as she had completed the process her phone rang. It was Sarah.