That day was only a blurred memory for John. The medical team watched and waited as his temperature spiked and his breathing got worse and worse. The only bright sign was that the ibuprofen now administered through the IV was keeping the temperature down. He was also coughing and sneezing. The medical team kept the air filtration in high gear to trap every bit of the airborne virus. Sometime the next morning John was awakened with a push on his shoulder. “John, here’s your two omeprazoles and the Diminaflu.” She held his head as he swallowed and coughed. Fortunately, everything went down. Roberta didn’t try to get him to eat. One look and she knew it was fruitless.
Later that afternoon around five o’clock, Roberta sat by his bed fully expecting him to die. No one should die alone, she thought. John’s breathing was ragged and he constantly gurgled and swallowed phlegm. Dr. Miller had given up hope. Suddenly John opened his eyes and tried to sit up. Roberta went over and pressed the button to raise the bed into a sitting position. “Thanks,” said John. “I’m still weak, but very hungry. Could I have something to eat? Say a nice juicy medium rare steak and a glass of red wine?” Roberta looked astonished. She picked up the intercom and said, “Dr. Miller, please come here quickly.”
Dr. Miller finished his examination. “John, you seem to be on the mend. Your temperature is almost normal, you are hungry, your heart rate and blood pressure are good, and your breathing is much better. I hesitate to say you are cured, but I would bet money on it. I think we have a winner with Diminaflu.” “Not so fast, Ralph. You’re making assumptions about Diminaflu with no controls over all other variables. We’ll need to start clinical trials right away. You know that.” Ralph smiled. “That’s why we have you here. Welcome back and get to work as soon as possible. Nurse, bring him the requested dinner and one glass of red wine.” John piped up. “Make it a large glass, Roberta. By the way, Ralph, I assume you have saved my urine and blood samples. They’ll need to be analyzed. And one more thing, get this damn catheter out.” “First thing tomorrow morning John. Glad to have you back.”
Next morning John awoke to Roberta wheeling in the food tray. “John, here’s your omeprazole and some Diminaflu. Dr. Miller thinks you should take it one more day to be certain you are OK.” “Fine; I’ll also take two omeprazoles today. Tomorrow I’ll drop back to one.” After he finished eating, Roberta said, “Time to take out your catheter. First, take these antibiotic pills, just in case. We’ll keep you on antibiotics for 10 days. John flushed as she raised the covers. “This will be uncomfortable, I’m sorry.” He felt the gloved hand on his penis and the gentle tug of the tube and the uncomfortable pressure that seemed to go on for an eternity. Finally it was done. He had a burning sensation down there. “John, it might be uncomfortable when you go. Don’t worry if you see a little blood.” John smiled inwardly. It crossed his mind that there might be better ways to be intimate with Roberta. He had no idea what she looked like with that damn suit on. “How soon can I get out of this room and start to work,” he asked. Roberta just smiled and said “One day at a time, John. I’ll speak with Dr. Miller.”
Meanwhile in a different part of the Area 51 complex, General Straub was having a meeting of his Crisis Management Team. The topic was how to respond to the Blue Flu virus outbreak. Dr. Miller started first. “To date, we have cases in all the big cities where an alien craft was previously overhead. They include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Philadelphia, Dallas, Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Washington, D.C., Detroit, Phoenix, and San Francisco. In addition, we have a few confirmed cases in Rutland. Major cities across the globe are also reporting outbreaks. So far the Guard and local police have been able to keep order and prevent travel into or out of these infected areas. Some people fled the cities before the lockdown occurred. We think that they were not infectious, with the exception of one individual going to Rutland. That status might be revised as new information comes in. For the most part, citizens have listened to the President and are staying put in their homes.”
Colonel Kyle Lanzo of Military Intelligence spoke next. “We see several problems on the horizon. Food could become a problem first. Water systems should remain functioning. Currently National Guards, wearing protective suits, have started bringing food to locations throughout those cities for distribution. Supermarket shelves were emptied through panic buying when the virus news broke. Food deliveries are stopped by the Guard at the roadblocks and then transported into the cities by armed bio-suited troops. The civilian drivers are kept comfortable outside the city limit, if they need to rest prior to turning around for more supplies. Hopefully, that keeps them from becoming vectors for the virus.”
“Getting the food to individual family units poses a logistical problem. We’ll have to draw up street distribution lists for each food center that serves a given area. That information will go out by radio, TV, internet and reverse 911. People will be told to not carry weapons to the food center and to bring two recyclable bags. If they don’t obey, they risk arrest. So far, communication systems are holding. Should the virus result in a major epidemic, we have to assume that some of these systems will fail.”
“People will have to come to the distribution centers through a series of roadblocks. At the outermost one, they will be scanned by bio-suited troops with infrared thermometers. Anyone having a temperature over 100⁰ F will be immediately quarantined. They will be frisked for weapons, which will be confiscated. Those who pass muster will be given a disposable mask to wear similar to those used in hospitals. Supplies are adequate for now. At the second roadblock, IDs will be checked to prevent hoarding and over-dipping. At the third station, they will get two recyclable bags, if they have none, and then will enter the distribution center. They will go down the line of tables and get essentials like milk, margarine or olive oil, bread, some meat, fish or chicken, vegetables, and fruits. They will then leave by another door to return home. Police will patrol the streets to prevent muggings of those carrying bags home. The system should work fine, unless an epidemic or panic sets in. We need to control information carefully, respond to rumors immediately, and appear to be transparent at all times. Our most critical point is under what circumstances to use deadly force.”
General Straub answered. “I’ll take the point on that issue. Under non-life threatening situations, minimal force is advised. The following scenarios are authorized for deadly force if warnings to stop immediately are ignored: looting, arson, and attempting to flee the contagion zone. Unit commanders need to be clear on these orders to their troops and be cognizant of the dislike of firing on fellow Americans, especially women and children. They need to make those troops understand that a few deaths might be needed to prevent total chaos and the spread of the virus. A few deaths weighed against millions needs to be stressed. In the event warnings are not possible such as a patrol helicopter spotting a four wheeler racing across a field at night to escape the contagion zone, shoot to kill no questions asked is an order, not a recommendation. These orders have been cleared with the President. They will be unpopular and she’ll have us take all the blame if things go wrong.”
Colonel Lanzo continued. “We can’t possibly control all roads out of every city. We are concentrating forces at major roads and blocking off all smaller arteries with concrete barriers and barbed wire. That will stop vehicles and most foot traffic. We’ll have helicopter patrols around the clock to look for anyone trying to escape. At the major areas we’ll have barriers and guard posts. The first one will be unmanned and some distance from the troops. Anyone approaching the first barrier will be told via loudspeaker to turn around and that they will be shot if they continue. They will be able to see the troops at the next barrier with rifles pointed at them. Should anyone be able to overrun the second post, a third post with a tank will commence firing immediately. The tank will be in communication with an attack helicopter, should it be needed. We feel this should work really well in cities like Phoenix surrounded by desert, but be tougher in cities surrounded by urban spraw
l like New York. In the latter places, we might have to expand the encirclement should the virus spread beyond our control ring.”
Dr. George Chrispeels, the psychologist, spoke up next. “We’ll have to have therapists on hand to deal with shooting incidents. It can be traumatizing to shoot up a vehicle and then find a family with little children dead in it. Also, the threat of shooting might deter the usual smash and grab looters, but it won’t work against the lone wolf who breaks into a house or business by the back door or roof or tunnel. We can expect some loss of life in those situations. Law and order might fail, regardless of our efforts. I’m worried about the cities where great disparities of income exist. An inner city surrounded by rich suburbs could be a tinder point. Some in the repressed group harbor anger and distrust of authority and might lash out at those who seem to have it all. If it appears that the virus is hitting the inner city much harder, the veneer of civilization will fail rapidly.”
“We’ll have to protect hospitals well. I worry about city universities. While some students managed to get out before we imposed restrictions on travel, others are trapped. We need to make sure that the personnel at these places don’t desert and flee to their own families, leaving the students to fend for themselves. While we can’t worry about politics in this situation, there will be repercussions afterwards, so we need to do the right thing as best we can right now. You can be sure that the second guessers, the armchair experts, and the political opportunists will come out in force. We need to offer hope and the appearance that things are under control. Another speech from the President would help. While it is understandable that she needs to remain in the bunker as shelter from the virus and to assure government continuity, she needs to show strength and offer hope to our nation. The bottom line is the quicker we have a cure, the lower the chance everything will fall apart.”
General Straub spoke up. “Dr. Cabrot has recovered from the Blue Flu virus. We think he is going to be OK, but we’ll watch him carefully. He isn’t contagious anymore, as his fever is gone along with sneezes and coughs. We might be able to assemble his team tomorrow and start working on the cure. No expense or effort will be spared. Dr. Miller, can you make any projections regarding the number of deaths?”
“No, I’ll leave that to Dr. Cabrot. I do believe, however, that death rates will be extremely high across the globe. Heavily crowded cities, like Mumbai and São Paulo, with poor sanitation and reduced medical facilities in parts, will likely have very high death rates. Some of our cities such as New York will, too. The suburbs and rural areas will fare better, primarily because of distance from the epicenters and much less population density. Ironically, prisons will likely have a high survival rate, as long as food, water and security hold out.”
“General, one last thing needs to be raised,” said Colonel Lanzo. “Should this epidemic go on too long, we will have serious problems. Essential services will fail. People will have medical emergencies such as a heart attack or accident. Ambulances will fail to come. Police won’t respond to crimes. Fires will rage unabated without fire responses. Hospitals will be overwhelmed and fail. Food and water riots could occur. It is an ugly scenario. The military might have to pull back to a further out zone and maximize containment and let things within the cities go to hell. I know it’s not a pretty picture, but we can’t ignore the elephant in the room.”
General Straub spoke. “I hope and pray we don’t get to that point. This meeting is adjourned for now. Colonel Lanzo, stay behind. We have a few things to discuss. The rest of you are dismissed.”
The scene switches to General Straub’s office. “OK, Colonel Lanzo, Its time for an update on our alien visitor and the recovered items. Where do we stand?” “General, we have the alien in an off limits to all, except for a very few, isolated quarantine room. We have gone through the craft and determined that it needs water like us and basic food. It seems to prefer warmer temperatures that we do. It gets very sluggish at cold temperatures. Its ship rations seem heavy on the protein side and have a few amino acids that we have never seen. Fortunately, our xeno-specialists team has been able to make a protein paste that seems to be working. The Delta force that conducted the operation has been reassigned to Area 51 as a protection team, both for preventing escape and unauthorized entry. We have been unable to communicate with the alien. It has made no sounds and doesn’t respond to anything we say or do.”
“Blood and tissue samples have been subject to DNA analyses. It is DNA-based and clearly not a mammal. To date, the team working with the DNA samples suggests a more reptilian line. I agree with their sense, given the cold yellow green eyes that look at you like you were food and the greenish blood. There is also the grayish green skin with that textured nubby look, like a plucked chicken. Altogether, it gives me the shivers. The team has given it a name, Rap.” The General looked quizzically at the Colonel. “General, no, it does not mean the music term, but the term from Jurassic Park, Velociraptor. It looks mean, has a three digit claw hand and remnants of claws on its feet. Then there are those nubs that make its skin look like a plucked chicken. The scuttlebutt is that they might be evolutionary remnants of feathers. Rap looks like what a highly evolved form of a velociraptor might look like if they hadn’t become extinct, according to our evolutionary biologist.”
“Tell me about the captured aircraft and weapon,” said the General. “Well, there is good news and bad news so far. General Douglas and I have an engineering and physics team looking at both. The bad news is that the craft is analogous to our jet fighters. It does not have any unusual propulsion system and certainly no wormhole technology. That is likely restricted to the larger warships that left or were destroyed. We have fragments of the destroyed warships, but it is unlikely we’ll find anything, given their damage level. The good news is that the fighter ship is constructed from some highly advanced carbon fiber, way beyond our current technology. We are assembling teams to crack the carbon fiber technology and another to reverse engineer the craft. Its design and lighter weight would outrun anything we have. The fighter ship has moderately powered laser cannons and the recovered pistol and rifle are laser-based weapons. Both are more powerful, smaller than anything we have, and seem to need much less power. Teams will be working on those aspects, too. We are getting the best of the best expertise from all over the country. All of this has been classified beyond top secret. Even the President doesn’t know yet. It is your call on the Presidential notification.”
“For now, let’s keep everything in house,” said General Straub. “Eventually, I’ll tell her when it seems to be the right time and place.” The Colonel smiled and said, “You mean when we sense an opportunity to get more resources for our projects.” “Just like you do with me,” replied the General. “Let’s keep this away from Dr. Cabrot and his team. We don’t want them distracted from their project. If they fail, all this advanced technology won’t do us much good. You are dismissed Colonel. Notify me immediately of any breakthroughs.”
General Straub called President Chung on the secure line. “Madame President, my Crisis Management Team has recommended that you speak to the Nation soon. You need to offer hope and buy time before everything falls apart, should the Blue Flu virus spiral out of control. We want to stall breakdown of law and order for as long as possible. Your pep talk could help keep things calm and offer hope to the people. Lord knows they need some hope. Of course, it is a good move to strengthen your political standing with the electorate.” The General smiled as he said the obvious.
“I was planning on doing that, but given your call, I’ll speed up the process. Have you made any progress with the alien or the recovered ship and weaponry?” asked the President. The General answered. “Well, we have stabilized the alien in terms of his or her injuries and managed to provide a food source to keep it alive. There is no progress in the communication area. My teams are still working on the craft and weapons, but I have nothing to report for now. As soon as I do, I’ll let you know.” The President r
esponded, “General, you do that. In my speech I was going to pass on the recommendations from the Surgeon General. I suggest you and your officers listen to those recommendations. Good bye, General.”
The voice-over narration cuts in. Dr. Cabrot woke up early the next morning feeling a little weak, but raring to go. Dr. Miller came in with Nurse Harrington at breakfast time still wearing bio-protection suits.” “Good morning, John. How are you feeling?” asked Ralph. “Fine, maybe a little weak,” replied John. “That’s to be expected after recovering from the flu. I want you to rest this morning. After lunch you are cleared to leave the quarantine room. Your temperature is normal and you are free of sneezes and coughs. I ask you to minimize contact with others for a day or two, but you can meet your team this afternoon.”
“John, your first order of business should be to design Diminiflu trials on the fast track. You can bend the normal rules, as we must know rapidly if this treatment works. You need to get a handle on the virus, you know, structure, RNA units, viral replication, non-human reservoirs, and so forth. If the Diminiflu fails, we’ll likely need this information to come up with some other modality. Last step is to develop a vaccine. I won’t tell you your business, but I can’t stress enough the need for speed before things unravel in our major cities.” John replied, “I’ll do my best. I assume you have distributed breathing masks to the major cities and passed on information about covering mouths and noses when sneezing or coughing and washing hands constantly?” “John, we are working on it. Mask manufacturers are cranking them out as fast as possible, but it is a tall order to get one or two for every city dweller in the 13 impacted major cities.”
The Manhattan Incident Page 15
