Dawn of a New Day

by Mariano, NIck

  After ISIS successfully released the virus in upstate New York and later New York City, doctors and scientists at Fort Detrick and the CDC finally realized that it was impossible to cure those who had already become infected either by inhaling the virus or after being bitten by an infected person. One group of scientists finally decided to try to develop a vaccine to prevent people from becoming infected in the first place. Working with various vaccines that were developed during the Cold War to combat possible biological attacks by the Soviets, one group finally made a major breakthrough. A number of lab animals were inoculated with a vaccine labeled X554 and then exposed to the virus by using tissue from infected bodies. After five days the animals showed no signs of the infection and the scientists decided to rapidly move the experiment to the human stage. A volunteer came forward to act as a test subject and the vaccine was administered. The subject was then exposed to some newly infected patients for several hours and then put in isolation. After five days the subject reported no ill effects from the exposure and blood tests confirmed that the virus had not taken hold in his body. Although the scientists weren’t 100% sure that they had a totally effective vaccine, they also knew it was the only thing they had so far. An initial supply of the X554 vaccine was stored at Fort Detrick and medical teams were dispatched to outlying areas in NY where the virus hadn’t spread. People were administered the vaccine and the scientists and doctors sat and waited to see if any new cases would be reported in these areas. Meanwhile a number of pharmaceutical companies were pressed into service by the federal government and started to manufacture the vaccine. Gradually all the Northeastern states were brought under control and only a handful of new cases were reported. By this point in time, however, over 15,000 had been infected and 13,000 had already died. Two hundred new cases were reported and authorities moved into these areas quickly and cordoned off the towns so that the infections could be contained. The government then mandated that all persons in certain areas of the United States, where infections were previously reported, must be vaccinated. The program continued for several weeks and it appeared that things had finally slowed down and the virus had run its course.

  Over the next several weeks only one case of the virus was reported on the East Coast and thankfully the virus never moved to the south or westward. Everyone was hopeful that they had seen the last of the virus and of zombies roaming city streets.

  After a few months, most people had begun to forget that the pandemic had ever taken place. No new cases were reported and people had just assumed that ISIS had somehow manufactured the virus on their own. No one was ever privy to records held by the government, which revealed that this was a Nazi weapon of mass destruction. Even the U.S.Government put the incident on a back burner and when the U-756 was discovered off the coast of North Carolina, no one ever thought this might be one of the three lost U-boats that German Intelligence indicated had been part of Himmler’s project. Had someone put two and two together the following events might never have taken place.

  HITLER'S REVENGE

  Everyone from the dive the day before met at the local wartime museum to further examine the mystery box and begin the opening process. Gary, Reed and the boat Captain arrived early and met with Strauss in his office. Everyone was excited to see just what they had uncovered. They again went over the rules regarding naval wartime graves and believed that the box did not come under any of the articles outlined in the government rules. If it turned out to be something really significant they would notify the appropriate authorities and turn the box over to them. Strauss had a number of items in his museum that were discovered on U-boat wrecks found off the North Carolina coast and so he knew what was appropriate and what was not.

  They examined the box again and confirmed that the hasps were designed to keep the box from opening by itself or from any jarring movement. The hasps were intact, however, they were corroded by the seawater and would need some sort of chemical treatment to loosen them up. Strauss said there was nothing like good old WD-40 to get rust and corrosion off metal. They sprayed the hasps with a generous amount of the lubricant and decided to have a late breakfast, and let the WD-40 do its job, before trying to get the box open.

  Strauss picked a local restaurant famous for its pancakes and omelets and everyone ate a hearty breakfast while talking about yesterday’s dive. Strauss was anxious to hear about Gary and Reed’s dive and any observations they may have made. They talked for a while about the fact that the sub appeared to have blown outward from the inside versus an inward explosion from a torpedo or depth charge. Gary and Reed said that they had partially penetrated the hull and the inside looked to be totally destroyed. They told Strauss how they had circled the sub a number of times and just before they were to begin their ascent, Reed spotted a metallic object in the sand a short distance from the hull. It was still partially buried in the sand and probably had been totally covered by sand at some point. The recent storms must have uncovered it and made the discovery possible. They attached the box to a lift bag and sent it on its way to the surface while they began their ascent and several decompression stops. Initially they had hoped that the box might contain some German gold, as several U-boats had transported gold bars during and toward the end of World War II. When they got the box on board they decided that it was too light to have heavy gold bars in it. As the groups debated what the box might contain, no one had any real idea about its purpose. Strauss finally said that it was time to find out what the mystery was all about. The group returned to the museum and began the opening process. It appeared that the WD-40 had done its job and now the bolts securing the hasps could be turned with a little effort and a strong wrench. One by one the bolts spun off and finally after an hour all the hasps were free. The lid was still stuck to the bottom section but a rubber mallet finally dislodged it. Strauss gently lifted the lid and saw that the contents were covered in a sort of heavy padding. The interior was dry to the touch and Strauss began to remove section after section of padding to finally reveal four vials, three of which had some sort of aerosol device on top of them. There were no markings on the vials and no one could imagine what they might contain. Rather than leave the contents as it rested, Strauss decided to remove one vial so the group could further examine it and try to determine its purpose. The vial was a sort of canister constructed of metal and the top appeared to be some sort of dispersal device. The group said that this was definitely not what anyone had expected and that perhaps they should leave everything as is and call the authorities. After several minutes of debate the group finally decided that Strauss would call the FBI and have someone come down to examine the item. Although everyone was a bit disappointed by the box’s contents, Strauss said the box itself would be a nice addition to the museum, provided the authorities returned it to him. Gary and Reed and the boat Captain thanked Strauss for all his help and Gary and Reed headed back to Myrtle Beach and work at the dive shop.

  Strauss continued to play with the canister, trying to figure out its purpose when suddenly a light mist began to escape from the aerosol top. He quickly moved the canister away from his person but he detected a sight odor as he did so, and then it disappeared. Strauss was shocked by the course of events but after sitting there for several minutes finally decided that he was still alive and so there hadn’t been anything deadly inside. He returned the canister to the box and placed everything on a table until the FBI showed up.

  The following day Special Agent Max Taylor from the local FBI office visited Strauss who conveyed the story about how the two divers had found the box on the ocean’s floor while diving the U-756. Taylor was new to the FBI and so even though he was aware of the pandemic that had erupted in the northeast, he didn’t know anything about the ISIS group who carried out the attacks or the fact that the virus had originated from a weapon developed by the Germans and brought to U.S. shores during the war. Taylor examined the canisters and said he would take the box and it’s contents back to his office and check wi
th his Washington Headquarters on what to do next. Strauss thanked him for his assistance and decided that he wouldn’t mention that one of the canisters had emitted some sort of vapor, since obviously nothing adverse had happened to him as a result.

  Taylor placed the box on the back seat of his government ride and headed back to the office. He was scheduled to leave in four hours for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to assist in a terrorist investigation there. As he drove along the highway back to town he thought he detected a faint odor in the car, which quickly dissipated. He thought it was just a smell from the box as it had been lying on the ocean’s floor for over 75 years. When he got back to the office he decided he had to get going to the airport so he placed the box and it’s contents in an evidence room inside the office for safe keeping until he returned from his trip. He thought, “This has been lost and on the bottom of the ocean for all these years, another week won’t make any difference.”

  PASSENGER ZERO

  Patient Zero is defined as the index case, or patient zero, and is the initial patient in the population of a pandemic event, or more generally, the person who is thought to be the first person affected by a particular illness or disease. Unbeknownst to Special Agent Taylor, he would be one of the first people infected with the super virus engineered by the Nazis and the first to leave the United States before authorities later learned about the virus. By that time it would be too late to stop the spread of the deadly virus to several countries overseas.

  Agent Taylor arrived at the Wilmington Airport and was scheduled to take a short flight to Atlanta, where he would connect to a Korean Airlines/Delta Flight to Seoul, Korea, and then connected to a flight that took him to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He was excited about the trip as he had never been to Malaysia, plus he would be flying on the new Airbus A380, double decker plane. Since the flight was almost 25 hours long, the Government had authorized First Class travel for Agent Taylor, so he would be comfortable and happy during his long trip. The down side was that he had a four-hour layover in Atlanta before heading to Korea. Good thing he had access to the Delta lounge for a few drinks before hand.

  Agent Taylor sat in the Delta Lounge at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport snacking on some food and having a beer or glass of wine while he waited for his flight to Korea, departing in about three hours. He thought to himself, “If you’re delayed for 3-4 hours, you have to have the Delta Lounge.” The several drinks started to loosened him up and he hoped he’d be able to sleep on the flight but knew he always had difficulties doing so when he flew. He figured he would eat and drink well in First Class and there were a lot of new movies on the flight that he hadn’t yet seen. He might even sit next to some good looking woman and that would help make the flight go quicker, although he wasn’t counting on that to happen.

  The receptionist at the main desk of the Lounge finally came over and told Taylor that First Class would be boarding in about 30 minutes. He got up and felt a little light headed but figured the beer and wine were just starting to kick in. He made his way to the International Departures Gate and by the time he arrived boarding had already started. The First Class passengers were boarding and the seating on the A-380 was divided into First Class, Business and several Economy Class sections. First Class was located on the upper level of the A-380 and besides luxury seating that folded down into actual beds; there was also a cocktail bar for its passengers once the plane leveled off after takeoff. Taylor thought, “This is going to be good!” When he finally sat down he was pleasantly surprised to see that there was an extremely good-looking and friendly woman sitting next to him, and that she had no wedding ring on. “Could this get any better?” he thought to himself.

  After takeoff, the bar was opened at the rear of First Class and Taylor asked his travel companion, now identified as Alex Pogue, if she would like to join him at the bar, have a drink or two and talk a while. Alex smiled and said, “That sounds like a plan to me!” They grabbed a table by the bar and Taylor took Alex’s order and returned shortly with a gin and tonic for her and a glass of Merlot for himself. After some small talk, Taylor learned that Alex was the Executive Officer for a U.S. company that did a major part of their business in the Far East. He also learned that she was single and would be traveling onward with him to Kuala Lumpur, where they were staying at the same hotel, The J.W. Marriott-Kuala Lumpur. Taylor thought, “Can it get any better, other than of course, shacking up with her while in KL?”

  They drank for almost an hour when the stewardess announced that the dinner service was beginning and they should return to their seats. Dinner was a nice affair of filet mignon with potatoes and vegetables and the flow of wine continued throughout the meal. Taylor and Alex continued their small talk during dinner and Alex said she would like to have dinner with him while they were in KL. They might even hit some of the clubs together. Taylor couldn’t believe that after numerous flights, he had finally gotten a traveling companion as good looking and friendly as Alex. Dessert was a combination of ice cream sundaes and assorted cheeses and after the meal ended, both Alex and Taylor retreated to their lay down beds for some sleep or late night movies.

  Taylor awoke several hours later and although he had slept for almost five hours, he felt like shit. His head throbbed and he felt stiff and achy. He thought to himself, “Fuck, don’t let me be coming down with something, especially after getting Alex for a traveling partner.” He popped a few Aleve and hoped he’d feel better soon.

  Two hours later he was up again and his throat was sore and he had started to get a slight cough. “Fuck me”, he thought. By the time the flight crew was serving breakfast he was feeling a little better and he had a nice conversation with Alex while trying not to cough all over her. He could feel that he was catching something and they still had almost 7 hours left on this long 18- hour flight. He tried to catch some more sleep but woke up coughing but finally managed to get control of it and was able to spend some talk time with Alex. They were both staying at the same hotel in KL and he hoped he’d be feeling better soon so that he could spend some quality time with Alex when he wasn’t working on his case.

  The Airbus A-380, like all modern day airplanes circulates the cabin air continually while the plane is in flight, and so, even though the air is partially filtered and remixed with fresh air during the flight, some of the germs and microbes still manage to survive and are distributed throughout the cabin. The longer the flight, the more chance that these microbes will eventually reach a passenger and later cause some sort of sickness. The microbes from Agent Taylor’s cough would circulate throughout the Airbus during it’s 18 hours of flight time and by the time the plane landed in Seoul, Korea, over half the 525 passengers that it carried would become infected with the super virus. Many would not begin to feel the symptoms of the virus for several days and several, like Agent Taylor and his traveling companion, would connect to onward flights in Seoul and infect passengers on these flights. The virus would travel like a row of dominoes, once the first domino fell, the others would follow.

  By the time Agent Taylor reached Seoul he was beginning to feel a little better and hoped that whatever he was getting had miraculously passed. He and Alex connected with a Korean Airlines flight to KL, flight time approximately 7 hours. Taylor again began to feel achy and the cough returned. Microbes were again spreading throughout the plane and additional people would become exposed to the deadly virus. By the time the plane reached KL, Taylor wasn’t sure he had the strength to make it to the hotel but he discounted his condition to the flu and the long flight. He thought a day or two of rest would have him back to normal. He caught Alex at the baggage pickup and said that he thought he was coming down with something but would connect with her later when he felt better. Alex said it must be from breathing all the recycled air as she too was starting to get a sore throat.

  Taylor got checked into a Deluxe Room at the Marriott and decided that a day or two of bed rest would get him back on his feet. He called the Embassy
and said he was a bit under the weather but would connect with the investigative team in a day or two. The Legal Attache told Taylor to “get well” and he would check in with him in a day or two. Taylor drifted off into a deep sleep and finally awoke twelve hours later, still feeling bad, in fact maybe worse than when he went to bed. He decided a hot shower might help things and he was shocked to see dark black and blue spots on several parts of his body when he got undressed. He panicked and thought he better get some medical attention immediately and so he called the Legatt at the Embassy and asked if he could see their doctor immediately. A car was dispatched and by the time Taylor reached the Embassy some of the dark spots had begun to swell to the point that pus, or was it blood, was starting to ooze from his body. When the Embassy doctor first saw Taylor the only thing he could think of was the plague, but how Taylor could have contracted this deadly disease was beyond him. He called the local hospital and explained the situation and Taylor was transported to an isolation section of the hospital, which had been constructed and reserved for persons exhibiting symptoms of the Avian influenza, or Bird Flu. The doctor had never seen a skin eruption on a person even close to what Taylor was now displaying. The local doctors quickly discounted the Avian Flu and several other possible infections and finally agreed with the Embassy doctor that it had to be some form of the plague. Taylor was started on a series of antibiotics and saline drips in order to try to stop the progression of the disease. Blood samples were taken for analysis and it would be several hours before the startling results were received back.