The Virus
By Steven A. Spellman
THE VIRUS is published by:
Deer Hawk Publishing, an imprint of Deer Hawk Enterprises at Smashwords
www.deerhawkpublications.com
Copyright © 2013 by Steven Spellman
All rights reserved. Without limiting copyrights listed above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright owner and/or the publisher, except for excerpts quoted in the context of reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media and incidents portrayed in this book are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover design by:
Raymond Polizzi
ISBN:
978-1-62596-990-3
For my wife, the only reason I've made it thus far...
Chapter 1
“I need a heart monitor in here stat!” the doctor yelled.
“Get me an oxygen machine!” another demanded.
The scene was chaotic: Nurses and assistants rushing to and fro, struggling to gather machines and medical materials that were being demanded much more quickly than they could be produced. Everyone was wearing thoroughly-sanitized, impeccably clean white hospital gear. With the bright lights and ubiquitous stainless steel surfaces, the scene was unreal; a blur of cloudy movements against a backdrop of colorless walls and glistening instruments. All the chaos was because a single female patient had complained of minor shortness of breath. But this was not just any medical facility, and this was not just any patient. This was the patient, the only woman left who could save mankind.
Chapter 2
The United States Space Quest Program was something completely new to the nation’s wealthy elite. Russia had been sending civilians, for a very hefty fee that is, to the International Space Station orbiting Earth for nearly a year now. Just as with the Sputnik crisis, the U.S. was scrambling to catch up. Sure, there was a U.S. startup company that could broker a private trip into the great beyond for an American at a cost of a miniscule 25 to 30 million dollars but, like all private space trips at the time, transport was handled solely by a Russian government agency, the Russian Space Alliance, and thus all flights launched from Russian soil…not very patriotic.
Then, a massive break for the U.S. came in the form of a shrewd political maneuver on the part of the Russian Federation. Russia’s human presence on the International Space Station was of paramount importance to the Federation. When the Russian men on the space station informed their home country that they needed more men and additional provisions, Russia was quick to act. Unfortunately for the Federation, however, this meant that private flights to the International Space Station would have to be temporarily halted, as all available space on flights, private or otherwise, would be needed to carry Russian astronauts and supplies. With so many private entities more than willing to foot the bill to say that they had ventured into space, this halt, even temporary as it was, could represent hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue for Russia. With America being the only other country with the technology and money to send ordinary civilians into space, what could they do? Would they be willing to lose their stranglehold on the extremely lucrative fledgling space tourism industry, and, to, of all countries, America? Absolutely not, was the cumulative Russian cry.
The stalemate seemed impossible, until some of the Federation’s top officials came up with an ingenious plan. Through a series of secret meetings, the United States government was presented with an interesting opportunity. The Russian Space Alliance would temporarily concede its monopoly on the space tourism business to the U.S., allowing private companies in the U.S. to host flights from American soil, but with two conditions: America would announce publicly that the flights were still Russian endeavors, and pay the Russian government a sizeable 25 percent of the proceeds. With returns of over 150 percent, 25 percent was more than reasonable, even though American companies would have to pay 100 percent of the bill, and so, the U.S. eventually agreed to the terms. It would seem that, at least sometimes, American patriotism extended only to where the product ended up…not from whence it originated.
As soon as the word spread that private flights were leaving from American soil, the already lengthy waiting list grew tenfold. To be the very first in outer space was everyone’s great desire, but, it would only be awarded to one. The lucky participant—lucky being a very subjective word, considering the fact that the participant paid close to 60 million dollars for the privilege—was a successful American entrepreneur named Lenard Hanson. He was the well-known founder of the largest luxury hotel and spa chain in the world, Hanson Hotels. A billionaire in his mid-seventies, Lenard Hanson saw a trip into outer space as one of the final accomplishments he could hope to enjoy before his life drew to an inevitable end. He had been on the waiting list for a number of years, and never expected the possibility of actually taking off from his own country. Now that such an opportunity had unexpectedly arisen, he was happy to pay a few extra million dollars to be secretly moved up the list, and thus, Lenard Hanson secured the glorious privilege of being the very first non-astronaut American to be launched into space from his native soil.
But, for all the excitement, the milestone was not to be reached, at least not by the elder Mr. Hanson. He had been on the waiting list for more than a few years (twelve and a half to be exact) and back when he had first signed up, he was in much better shape. Now, he was an old man, not capable of handling the particular rigors and stresses associated with being blasted through Earth’s atmosphere, as was clearly shown by the fact that he could no longer endure the months of intense preparations and tests that were required of any participant before space flight. Of course, Mr. Hanson was greatly disappointed to say the least, but there was still an option left: His daughter, his only child. She was still young, only twenty-two and a half at the time, and so, she could still endure what her father could not. She could still make it possible for the Hanson name to be the first to take advantage of this great privilege. The only thing that remained for Lenard was to convince his privileged daughter that this was an opportunity, as risk ridden as it was, that she would want to take advantage of. Only time would tell if his powers of persuasion were as capable as his business savvy.
Chapter 3
Delilah Hanson was an exceptionally beautiful young lady. Her creamy shade of coppered skin always glistened as if freshly polished. Her hair was always freshly pressed or curled into the most up-to-date styles available, and her face had the high, perfect cheekbones and enviable symmetry of a supermodel. If a book could be judged by its cover, then this one would certainly not disappoint. Delilah was every bit as spoiled and superior as her fabulously good looks suggested. Her face was gorgeous, all the more so when she flashed those well-choreographed smiles of hers, and her body…well, suffice it to say, she was a complete knockout in every respect. Just as she had been born with exceptionally beautiful looks, so she had also been birthed into the great privilege that comes with ridiculous wealth. Since the day she was born, her father saw to it that she had anything she asked for, as well as a great many things that she hadn’t asked for. The few things his money could not purchase for her—and which, consequently, she didn’t desire—were discipline and substance of character. But who needs such trivial things? It wasn’t like intrinsic worth was nearly as important as high limit credit cards.
Delilah had been named so by her mother. Her father, who didn’t often oppose the wishes of his wife, did, however, pro
test at this. Such a name, he reasoned, came with undoubtedly negative connotations, and besides, the name Delilah meant ‘impoverished’, which the Hansons most emphatically were not. Lenard’s wife, however, was the very personification of a strong-willed woman and the fact that her husband told her no on something signified to her that it was the right move to make. Later, when Delilah was teased in school and wanted to know why she had been named thus, her mother kindly and patiently informed her that her namesake embodied strength.
“The world is meant to be ruled by women, My Darling.” said her mother, “The strongest man who ever lived was conquered by a woman, and I named you Delilah because I want you to remember that there is no man so strong that you cannot conquer.”
From that point on, Delilah was proud of her name. It was a faithful reminder that she was the rightful ruler of the world. There was nothing she could not possess and no one who could deny her whatever her pompous heart desired. Thereafter, whenever she was teased by the other girls about her name, she would proudly explain to them that they were weak and frail, destined to be ruled over by men even more weak and frail than they, and that she alone was worthy to be called woman. Any of her female peers who listened to her long enough, would usually end up feeling inferior for not being taught as she was, to know their rightful place of being able to subvert any man. Since the Hanson’s money made Delilah very popular wherever she went, she was sure to turn the tide in her favor among the other impressionable youths in whatever private school she happened to be. As time went on, she began to see arrogance not as a vice but as an extreme virtue that everyone save the elite were just too misled to properly appreciate. When her mother died, she knew that she had to appreciate the virtue doubly so.
Delilah’s mother had smoked expensive cigarettes in the same long, elaborately-engraved, and polished ivory cigarette holder for as long as anyone could remember. The sight of such fashion accessories were extremely rare in modern society and whenever anyone would inquire about the practice, she would kindly inform them that she was a woman of uncommon class, like Marilyn Monroe and the debutantes of old, who also practiced such extravagances, and that such class never went out of style. She believed herself so resolutely that it was difficult for anyone else to not believe, or at least not admire her as well. It was this ‘high fashion’ that brought on the throat cancer that spelled her demise a few years before her husband was medically rejected for his scheduled space flight. As per her ardent demand, she was buried with her cigarette holder and custom-made silk gloves with which she always used to hold it.
One of her mottos was that she had “Lived by my own damn rules, and will damn well die by them too.” And so, even in her coffin, she was dressed to the hilt and accompanied by some of her closest and truest friends: Her dazzling gloves and her expensive cigarettes.
Initially, she was supposed to have accompanied her husband into outer space (or rather, it was he who was doing the accompanying, if you had asked her) and it was not too long after her passing that Lenard began trying to convince his daughter to take her place. Now that he found out that he could not go either, convincing his daughter to assume the torch, so to speak, was doubly important. For one thing, the newly-forged American space tourism project was just getting off the ground—literally—and a strict no refund policy was instituted, which meant that if Delilah didn’t take the trip, Lenard would simply be out of tens of millions of dollars. Even more important than the money though, was Lenard’s reputation. How could he ever face the guys at the country club once word got out that he had forked over a fortune for an opportunity that he was now too old and out of shape to take advantage of? It was already a sensational back alley truth among his peers that it was his wife who had worn the pants in the Hanson household, and now, with her gone and him unable to complete this trip, it would certainly look like he wasn’t man enough to do anything without her.
Having his daughter take their place wouldn’t ease the sting of what Lenard knew to be public perception of him much, but it was better than rock bottom. The only problem was that Delilah wanted nothing to do with it. She was young, rich, and free of concern. She saw no reason to be cooped up in some spacecraft just because it was a ‘historical opportunity’. The space suit she would wear wouldn’t even be a designer label! Outrageous! It was only when her father drew attention to the fact that she would be the youngest person to ever make the trip—something none of her friends could boast—that she began to come around. He told her she could expect to receive considerable press before she left and especially upon her safe return. Lenard painted a picture for his daughter that he knew she would understand: One of flashing cameras, eagerly awaiting throngs of admirers, and most of all—most of all—the envy of anybody who was somebody in the world of privilege.
Much to his satisfaction, his daughter eventually agreed to the endeavor. With that, he had saved a measure of face among his elite associates. During the months of rigorous exercises and tests that Delilah was subjected to, she wanted to quit many times, but even the overly-privileged have something for which they will fight, well beyond their precious comfort zones. For Delilah, that something was the promise of being the recipient of jealousy and envy on an epic scale. The applause of many who she knew would secretly hate her being the youngest and first American tourist in space, was enough for her to subject herself to that which no other motive would—discipline. She completed the course, which was, by no means, an easy feat, and within a few months, was blasted off into the black recesses of outer space. At her beckoning, her father had paid an extra five million dollars for her to be able to take a guided two and a half hour long ‘spacewalk’ on the space station (more for her peers to be envious of) and by all accounts, the trip was a success. That is, except for a single, unexplained phenomenon that took place just before the cramped Soyuz spacecraft housing Delilah and two certified astronauts, exited Earth’s atmosphere.
Delilah couldn’t see anything from the module she was in, but shortly after takeoff, she heard muffled voices. From her long months of training, she understood them to be Mission Control. They told the astronauts in an absurdly calm tone, that there may be a problem. It would seem that a small meteor had entered Earth’s atmosphere a little over a mile from where the spacecraft was. This meteor was unusual in more than a few ways: First, it had not been seen by any of Mission Control’s extensive launch window apparatuses, and in addition, it had not showed up on any of their state-of-the-art tracking devices until it actually entered the atmosphere, which was completely unheard of. The attending astronauts in the spacecraft stood by to initiate the craft’s emergency landing mechanisms, but, like magic, the meteor exited Earth’s atmosphere as suddenly and unexpectedly as it had come. The only sign that it even existed was a pale bluish substance that comprised its tail. This mysterious substance filled the entire skyline, and dissipated into the open air, being carried in every direction by the strong winds of the upper atmosphere. It was gone in a matter of minutes.
It was all very odd, but as there seemed to be nothing more happening and all was again clear, the flight continued as normal. The craft eventually arrived at the International Space Station orbiting the planet, conducted its space tourist on her tour, and reentered Earth’s atmosphere. The descent module of the craft touched down in the Mojave Desert, exactly six days after its initial takeoff. A rescue craft was there to gather the crew, put them through the necessary reentry procedures, and with that, the ride of a lifetime was over.
But, as Delilah and the rest of the world would soon find out, the ride had only just begun. What the astronauts didn’t know was that the ‘meteor’ they were warned about had reentered Earth’s atmosphere again…and then again, some 220 times, at varying points around the globe, until it had circumvented the entire planet, leaving behind the same disappearing faint bluish substance. Nothing, not a planetary aircraft, a meteor, anything could do that, but that didn’t stop this ‘meteor’ from performing such an im
possible feat. What nobody knew at the moment was that interplanetary warfare had been initiated, and Earth had been struck with the first—and maybe the last—blow.
Chapter 4
A blinding cloud of flashing cameras, hot studio lights, and envious smiles: It was all for Delilah, and she bathed in it as happily and naturally as if it was the expensive heated infinity edge pool back at her home. The last seven to eight months had been the most physically and mentally exhausting time of Delilah’s entire life, and it had all been for this. As far as she was concerned, it was well worth it. Her itinerary was quickly filled with so many interviews; photo shoots for magazine covers; and meetings for possible book deals, that she barely had any time to breathe. And she wouldn’t have had it any other way. With the help of her father, Delilah secured a personal body guard, and with her new security man-slash-chauffer always within arm’s reach, she set about the country, staying in only the most fabulous hotels, milking her time in the limelight for all it was worth.
Meanwhile, many thousands of miles away, in the barren recesses of Antarctica, a team of scientists were being drawn to the observation decks of their massively-domed research station by what appeared to be the most awesome display of southern lights any of them had ever seen. It was the proper season for the southern lights, so a dazzling display of colors in the open sky was not unusual. What was odd was that this display was predominantly green with some blue interspersed, which was very rare for the phenomena. To a layperson looking on, this would’ve been a trivial, if even noticed, deviation in what the Aurora Australis usually were, but the scientists watching it just now recognized the absolute significance of it.
Among these scientists, a young intern was standing near his superior.
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