“There is one more thing, John. General Straub has asked me to relay the following to you. There is a state of the art BSL-4 lab facility underground here. It is at your command. You probably know that the CDC was destroyed. You might not know that all the BSL-4 labs in the United States and around the globe were destroyed by the aliens. Clearly, they wanted to prevent us from working on the virus. That’s the bad news. The good news is that they must think our current technology is capable of viral remediation. Our lab here is a top secret facility and was never entered into any computer data base. That’s likely why we are still here and the aliens didn’t hit us harder than any other military base. We are convinced that they mined computer databases prior to their attacks. So, all BSL-4 protocols with the Blue Flu virus will have to take place here. Any samples not contagious can be farmed out to academic or industrialized labs anywhere in the U.S. The President, under the Emergency powers Act, has decreed that they must give anything from here top priority. General Straub has military couriers on the ready to transport samples wherever you or your team wants. Do you have any questions?”
“Yes. I’ll need all the data regarding Blue Flu virus incidents, including numbers, time lines, locations, observations, death rates and whatever else you have. I’ll also need a list of lab personnel under my command and their resumes. I want all this material this morning so I can be ready to roll after lunch. Is that a problem?” “No, John. We have already anticipated your needs. The materials are on their way to your new office as we speak. We’ll go to your new office right after lunch. I wouldn’t be surprised that the materials have been delivered there already.”
Lunch was delivered later. John noticed that both Ralph and Roberta were still wearing their bio-protection suits. They left the room. Good, he thought. One can’t be too careful with this virus. When he was finished lunch, he looked up and saw Ralph at the window. “John, we are ready to get you out of the isolation room. While it is unlikely the virus is still alive on some surface or your skin, we can’t take any chances. I’m going to ask you to enter the air lock naked when I open the inner door. Seeing John blush, Ralph said smiling, “Don’t worry, Roberta won’t be watching. Oh, bring Roxanne with you.”
John heard a hissing noise as the door opened. He stepped inside. The outer door remained closed. “John, I’m going to activate a disinfectant shower. Try not to swallow or inhale any of the liquid.” A rather heavy rain of disinfect-smelling water came down, but felt pleasantly lukewarm. After several minutes it went off. “OK, John. See the bottle on the shelf to your left? Take it and gargle three or four times and spit it into the floor drain.” John did as he was told. Roxanne protested miserably. She shook off drops of disinfectant in every direction. “Next we are going to bathe you in ultraviolet sterilizing light for a few minutes. Good, we have one more step. You will feel hot air blow dryers.” John felt hot air blowing at him from every angle. Some of it tickled a bit. “Final step is here, John.” A drawer suddenly hissed open nearby with some clothes. “Get dressed.” John happily donned the underwear, socks, pants and shirt, feeling great pleasure at putting on normal clothes. Finally he put on the white sneakers, feeling happier than he had in days. He was glad that Roberta wasn’t there with Ralph. He smiled as he spotted the towel, nice pink collar, and pink lead for Roxanne. John briskly toweled Roxanne down. Roxanne loved it. The outer door opened and John stepped out leading Roxanne. Ralph pressed a few more buttons and a fog-like vapor filled the isolation room. “Let’s go to your new office, John. The room will be sterilized by the automated program. Oh, your office and residential area have convenient access to the outdoors. Don’t go far though. Security is a bit touchy.”
As he walked along with Ralph, he listened. Roxanne sniffed everything along the way. “You have top level computer clearance and are in charge of the virus effort. There are a few lab and medical personnel that won’t report to you in the lab and some areas are off limits. I can only say that you don’t have clearance for what is going on there. Here, wear this badge and name tag. That should get you whatever you want.” John entered his new office. While large, it was sparsely decorated and the furniture could best be described as utilitarian. John mused that since it was a military base, what else would you expect? He was pleased to see a large conference room nearby. “Ralph, can you have my team assembled in the conference room at 2:30 with coffee and some pastries?” “No problem, John. I’ll take care of the team and get some Privates to procure the coffee and pastries.”
From the head of the conference room table, John looked over the team. From reading the resumes, he felt pleased. The team included molecular biologists, microbiologists, virologists, and biochemists. Some of the covered specialties included proteomics, genomics, proteogenomics, bioinformatics, electron microscopy, and immunology. The lab complex had impressive equipment. There were ultracentrifuges, high pressure liquid chromatography set-ups, gas chromatographs, an electron microscope, NMR, microarrays, thermocyclers, and so forth.
John addressed the team. “Welcome. You probably know who I am, but for those who don’t, I am John Cabrot. I was Associate Director at the CDC before my recent retirement. To date, I am the only known survivor of the alien Blue Flu virus. We need to get a handle on this virus before it becomes a global pandemic. We don’t have much time. As you know, I took Diminiflu. Was that responsible for my recovery? If yes, great, we’re done. If not, we need to find another alternative. I’ll need two teams. Team A will set up clinical trials of Diminiflu at hospitals in New York and Los Angeles. Team B will work on analyzing the virus. You will work around the clock, seven days a week. However, no one will work more than 16 hours a day and you will take breaks for food and snacks like normal people. Given the need for BSL-4 protocols, we all need to be alert and adhere to all lab safety requirements. I will follow the same schedule. I need volunteers with clinical experience for Team A. Numerous people raised their hands, including Ralph. OK, you are Team A and Dr. Ralph Miller is in charge. You have authorized access to whatever you need. If you need additional personnel, recruit them at the hospitals or wherever else you wish. If you have any problems, see Dr. Miller.”
“The rest of you are Team B. I would like Dr. Ahmed Gupta to lead Team B. Are you OK with that, Dr. Gupta?” “Affirmative,” replied Dr. Gupta. John continued talking. “Direct fluorescent antibody stain tests on early victims of the Blue Flu virus indicated that their virus was related to the influenza virus. I want you to take the alien virus apart. Get some electron micrographs right away. Look at the hemagglutinin and neuraminidase and the DNA and RNA. An obvious question is what relationship does it have to the flu? Is it type A? Is it related to the Spanish flu from 1918? Is it more like the avian flu of recent times? Why does it lead to a cyanotic outcome at the end? Concentrate on the quick term answers. Yes, X-ray crystallography would be helpful. Farm that one out to an external group. I suggest the Scripps Research Institute, unless you have something better. Other long range work should also be farmed out. That way we’ll have short and long term tests running concurrently. Samples from me, blood, urine, and nasal/throat secretions are available as are similar samples from those who died elsewhere. You are to report to me on a daily basis or as soon as any results come in. I will be working on the epidemiology parts from best case to worst case scenarios. Much of that activity is software oriented, so you will find me mostly in my office. Do you have any questions?” Seeing no hands, John said, “OK, let’s get to work people.” Roxanne thumped her tail vigorously and with pleasure on the floor under the table. That was her way of showing she approved of the newly constituted pack.
John sat in his office looking over the data collected to date. He was aware of Privates Joe and Lisa stationed outside his door. They followed him everywhere. At least he had privacy in the bathroom. He had protested, but they pointed out that General Straub had ordered them to protect him. Undoubtedly Joe and Lisa did not guard him at night when he slept, but he had no idea who wat
ched him then. John wondered if they had another function, too. At one point, he had started to turn down a hallway, having lost his sense of direction. Joe and Lisa quickly corrected his error. Almost too quickly and rather sternly, thought John. It was almost like he wasn’t allowed in that area. He wondered what could be going on in that area. Hmm, maybe he was starting to believe all those whackos and their conspiracy stories about Area 51. Eventually, John learned that there was an actual recently captured alien. Secrets are so hard to keep.
The data were not looking great. If they failed to contain these outbreaks and if no cure was found, John worried about what might happen. He opened the epidemic and pandemic modeling program on his computer and started entering the data. To date, there were now 500 deaths in New York, with some 10,000 people in institutional quarantine. That seemed to be the worst city. All the cities exposed to the alien bio-plague had deaths and people in quarantine, but not yet as bad as New York. Boston was close behind New York and Miami was the least hit so far. Certainly that could change if the elderly started being sickened in large numbers. Given the warmth there, it was not surprising. People tended to be outdoors and not confined where the flu could rapidly spread. The data for some cities beyond the United States was especially bleak. Mumbai deaths greatly exceeded the toll in New York, as did some cities in Central and South America, Africa and the Peoples Republic of China. The first three were the result of poorer medical infrastructure, extensive population density, and inadequate sanitation. It appeared that Mumbai’s warmer weather wasn’t a brake on the spread of the flu, so the outlook for Miami was bleak. The Chinese cities were simply hyper-crowded. That seemed to be the main cause, as their medical technology wasn’t bad. John finished the data inputs and requested the best and worst case scenarios. The program was very complex and dealt with many variables such as population density, climate, technological levels, virus fatality index, past flu epidemics, socioeconomic levels, and so forth.
It would be some time before the run was finished. John picked up the phone and called Roberta. “Hi, it’s me, John. How about joining me for a cup of coffee in the cafeteria?” Roberta replied. “Sure, meet you there in 10 minutes.” John smiled happily as he wandered down the hall to the bathroom with John and Lisa in tow. At least they waited outside the men’s room, including Joe. When he came out, he said “I’m going to the cafe to have coffee with Roberta. Could you at least sit at a nearby table?” Joe and Lisa exchanged knowing smiles. Lisa answered. “Sure, Doc, we’ll be discrete.”
True to their word, Joe and Lisa were discrete. John and Roberta had exchanged pleasantries. John walked back to his office, hardly noticing Joe and Lisa behind him. He felt good about the meeting. He looked forward to seeing Roberta a few more times in order to gauge the chances of their relationship becoming closer. He would welcome that, given how lonely he had been these last several years. He would take it slowly, he thought. Although at his age and the uncertainty of the world conditions, maybe he should speed things up a little. As he walked back to his office, John daydreamed a bit. He envisioned a closeness that would develop between him and Roberta. In time it would turn to love. Las Vegas wasn’t that far away. They would slip off for some supposed R&R, but get married instead in one of those rapid marriage spots so popular in Vegas. John liked his envisioned plan. However, time would tell how things would go.
John sat at the desk and looked at the results. “Shit.” Joe popped his head in and asked, “Everything OK, Doc?” John looked at him and said, “Yah, I’m fine. The future of humanity isn’t.” Joe looked startled. John smiled at him and said, “Sorry, computer stuff only. Don’t worry.” John felt badly about upsetting Joe. He hoped the results were wrong. It was always possible. Overlooked variables and unexpected interaction of variables could produce worse than actual outcomes. The best case scenario showed 25% of the world’s population killed. For the United States it was only 15%. Only, thought John. The worst case scenario over the next year which took into account winters in both the hemispheres was 90%. John wasn’t particularly religious, but he hoped God might help out. He decided to go to the chapel and say a few prayers. It couldn’t hurt, he thought.
The video scene switched to Reverend Jeremiah Cooper’s Church of the Forgiven. It was Sunday morning. Jeremiah was pleased. The church was packed. Doomsday tends to bring them out, he thought. Reverend Jeremiah, as he was called by his flock, went to the pulpit. “Friends, today we will depart from the normal service. Times are bad, the end days are coming. Fear not, for God will comfort you and succor you through these troubled times. God has spoken to me through my dreams. His message is that the Rapture will follow our time of trial and tribulation. If we do as God asks, we will truly be with him in his glorious kingdom forever. Hear now the words of God as he told me last night in my dream vision.”
“Jeremiah, I truly say to you the end of days is almost upon your people. The Rapture waits for those true to God, faithful to my service, and who seek my forgiveness of sins. My angels have already spread the plague. Unclean men have fought them and think they have triumphed, but it was too late. Jeremiah, you and your congregation will be saved. You must remain faithful and pure of heart and follow my teachings. Otherwise, my plague will take you. Talk to your congregation. Tell them you have a plan given from God. Only those who accept the plan will be saved. You will need to be on your own until the plague runs its course. See to the ways that you can be self-sufficient. You will do it well as I will be with you. You need to move your congregation to a place nearby where my blessed animals dwell. When you wake, you will know where. Have your people stay in their homes and avoid contact with the unclean. To not do so means death. When the time comes, you will go to my sanctuary. At the time of chaos and confusion, assemble your people and go there. Avoid the unclean on your way there. You must promise to take care of my beloved animals once there, for their caretakers will be nowhere to be seen.”
“After dreaming this vision, I prayed to the Almighty. I now know where he wants us to take refuge and care for his animals. For does not God say in Proverbs 12:10 “A good man is concerned for the welfare of his animals.” The place of refuge is the Bronx Zoo! It is nearby and God’s animals will need our care after the staff flees. We need to be prepared and ready to move fast when the moment arrives. I’ll need a working group to organize our move and to secure the needed resources. Who’s with me? Raise your hands high onto God.” Reverend Jeremiah looked out over the congregation and saw everyone’s hands waving. He smiled and proclaimed, “A good start! We’ll need buses to transport us there and trucks to move our resources. Anyone who drives a bus or truck, raise your hand.” Several hands went up. “All of you stay after the service for a brief meeting. Who wants to help with organization and resources? More hands went up. All of you stay, too.”
Later, Jeremiah felt the first planning meeting went well. Most of the bus drivers drove school buses. That worked out well. Already there was talk that soon schools would close down to prevent the spread of the contagion. School buses would be parked in the depot yard. When the time came, the drivers would “liberate” the buses for God’s work. The buses and congregation would assemble at the church and proceed to the zoo. The truck drivers would bring their rigs here to the church earlier to load the supplies. As luck would have it, two members worked at the zoo. One was a janitor. Janitors had keys to everything from the gates to the storerooms to the cafeteria. The other was an animal caretaker who knew all the feed routines and would make sure feed stocks were full prior to the takeover. With any luck, the zoo would close down to the public because of the contagion, so entry would present few problems. The janitor would also take stock of what was there on the grounds in terms of food storage in the cafeteria and fuel stocks for the backup generator system. Supply lists had been drawn up and people would start assembling the goods.
There was even one policeman in the congregation who threw his lot in with the group. Officer Buford Kidd had agreed t
o ask for the midnight to eight o’clock shift and to lead the bus parade to make it look official. Chances were good he would. It was an unpopular shift. If questioned leading the buses, he would simply say the buses were full of infected people on their way to quarantine. It was doubtful that anyone would want to take a closer look. They had agreed that one hour before the prescribed moment of departure, the church bells would ring. Those within hearing distance would then call others via the telephone tree. Hopefully, landlines and cell phones would continue to work. If not, some form of bicycle brigade would be thrown into action. A group was already compiling the telephone tree. God was indeed good and true to his word, thought Jeremiah. The only complication was his ex-wife and children. Should he include them in God’s plan? He would have to pray on that one.
The scene shifted to a television screen on which President Chung could be seen. General Straub had convinced her that politically she needed to calm people and assure them their government was there for them. Hopefully, that would avert chaos and anarchy when things got bad. Suddenly she could be seen stepping behind the podium. There were no camera crews, reporters, or news anchors present, as President Chung was still in her bunker. Only the media crew in the bunker was there.
“My fellow Americans, I want to assure you that your government is fully behind you and leading the effort to find a cure for this alien infection. As I speak, Dr. John Cabrot, formerly a leading scientist at the CDC is working around the clock with his dedicated team to find the cure. In the meantime, the Surgeon General, Dr. Tanaka Mitsui, has summarized steps that you, every last one of you, must take to avoid getting infected before we find the cure. Stay indoors as much as possible. Avoid physical touch, even with your loved ones. Use hand sanitizer every time you sneeze or cough or leave the house or return to your house or exit or enter any other building. Cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough. Wear face masks at all times when outdoors. Don’t share any glass, cup, chalice, plate or utensil with anyone. Your government will place breathing masks and hand sanitizer at all food depots for your pickup and at all buildings open to the public. When outdoors, avoid crowds and keep your distance from other people.”
The Manhattan Incident Page 16
