by Dave Edlund
“I stand by my reasoning. And I was right. The virus has raged unchecked for two weeks. Because the patients sought medical care, we have access to the data, albeit a limited data set. We’d never have had this opportunity anywhere else. If we’d selected a mainstream test population, the Oregon Health Authority and CDC would have descended upon the outbreak within forty-eight hours. The reservation, on the other hand, is a sovereign nation, outside state jurisdiction and too far away from Atlanta, or Washington D.C., for anyone to care. If it wasn’t for this Peter Savage drawing attention, I doubt the media would have even picked up the story.”
Corbett couldn’t care less about the politics. As the Director of Security at Utopian-Bio, his concerns were more immediate. He decided to move on. “What are you suggesting I do?”
“Nothing, specifically. What is the status of the culture?”
“Utopian-Bio has designated it an experimental contagion. As a result, access is restricted. My authorization is required before anyone can withdraw samples.”
“And you will deny such authorization.”
“Of course. We can replicate the virus in 2-kilogram batches within seventy-two hours of notice. It can be stored indefinitely as a dry powder under refrigeration between 5 and 15 degrees Celsius.”
“Have your scientists determined the virus’s lifetime in water?”
“Not exactly, but we know it’s at least several weeks,” Corbett replied.
“All we need is a month. That’s plenty of time to expose a large population center.”
“My understanding is that the experiments are in progress and will continue as long as the results remain encouraging. So far, the virus appears to be very stable in water at temperatures less than 20 degrees Celsius.”
“Excellent. It sounds like Dr. Ming’s scientists have achieved a remarkable breakthrough. I will let you know when to provide a dosing sample again, although that may not be necessary.” Price ended the call.
The pieces were falling into place. And soon, he would implement the final phase to save humankind from itself.
s
Peter recognized the voice right away as Lee Moses. “Well, my friend, you really know how to poke a stick into a hornet’s nest.”
“Oh?”
“I just had a long conversation with the CDC—a Ms. Julia Zhong. She made it clear she was reaching out based on recommendations from higher up. She didn’t sound at all regretful that my prior phone calls had been disregarded.”
“That’s all well and good, but what really matters is the action they take going forward. What did she commit to do?”
“She’ll be on a flight today to Portland, then by car to Warm Springs. I gave her the names of a couple hotels. She’s bringing along an investigation team. I don’t know how many. Guess we’ll find out when she arrives. She said she would call me tonight when she gets to the hotel.”
“That’s great news. Are you ready?”
“Yes. Lucy has compiled all the data, including the latest results from the interviews my team has conducted of the patients and their close family and friends. It’s everything we have. I hope it’s a good starting point.”
“Look. You’ve done everything you can do to protect your people. Every investigation starts with the facts. Where it goes from there—well, who knows? But you should feel good. You did the right thing.”
“Peter Savage, you are a true friend to my people. We are indebted to you.”
“Ah, forget it. When someone asks for help, you do what you can. But I am curious. Have you heard anything from Captain Meadows about the two people who attacked me?”
“Oh, yes. I spoke with the captain this morning. He said that the young man, Tommy, is a suspected drug dealer. He and his friend Travis have been ‘persons of interest’ with the Tribal Police for close to a year. They are searching their home and hope to gain useful evidence for the prosecution.”
“Did Captain Meadows share anything about a contract on my life?”
“No,” Lee said. After a pause he added, “Is that what prompted those two to try to kill you?”
“That’s what Tommy said. Supposedly something they read in a chat room. Look, if there is anything suggestive of this from their computer, please let me know. I understand it may be a breach of procedure, and I’ll be discrete with any information you can share. But if there is any truth to this…”
“Then you must know,” Lee said. “I pledge this to you.”
“Thank you, Lee.”
“In the meantime, may I make a suggestion?”
“Of course.”
“Carry a gun. I’ve read about you. And I know you can use one.”
“You know too much about my history, but that’s not me. I’m not looking for a fight. I don’t want to hurt others.”
“Sometimes, it’s not our choice. Throughout our history, my people only wanted to live in harmony with Nature. Harvest only what we needed to survive, no more. Then, the White Man came to our land. He always wanted more. Whatever we freely gave or surrendered, it was never enough. Eventually, we resisted and fought back. Not because we wanted to, but because we were forced to do so.”
“This is not a life I choose. I never forget the faces.”
“You mean of those you have killed?”
“They’re burned into my memory.” Peter paused. “At night, I see them.”
“You do what you must, just as my ancestors did. Choice is a luxury reserved for only a few. And that short list does not include you and me.”
Chapter 17
Warm Springs, Oregon
March 16
The three-person team from the Centers for Disease Control arrived at Portland International Airport right on schedule. It was mid-afternoon, and once they collected their bags and loaded them in the rental car, they drove southeast over Highway 26. The views as they passed snow-covered Mt. Hood were spectacular.
“Nothing like this anywhere in the south,” Dr. Julia Zhong said. She was the team leader. A veteran of the CDC, Julia had a medical doctor degree, specializing in internal medicine and communicable diseases. She was considered an expert in viral infections, and had spent two months in Africa the previous year working to contain and study a localized outbreak of hemorrhagic fever. Her in-field studies revealed that the particular strain of virus responsible for this sudden rash of illnesses was a new strain of Ebola, likely the product of a spontaneous mutation. Under her leadership, her team acquired sufficient fluid samples to isolate the virus for future studies back in Atlanta.
Julia preferred to ride in the back seat with her tablet already fired up and on her lap, papers spread out to her side. She was accompanied by two colleagues with whom she’d worked before: Dr. Adrian Stone and Dr. Lindsey Weber.
Dr. Zhong was tall and thin with high cheek bones and a somewhat petite nose. With hair the color of roasted cinnamon that just touched her shoulders, she presented a striking appearance. However, her male peers at the CDC had long ago stopped asking her out on dates, keeping the socialization to group events. As the cliché goes, Julia was married to her job. The challenge of her profession provided ample reward, and although she accepted that she had long since passed her optimal child-bearing years, she had no regrets about the choices she’d made.
Other than stopping for fast food, which they ate in the car, they drove straight through to Warm Springs. It was dark when the rental car pulled into the motel parking lot. After they checked into their rooms, Julia phoned Lee Moses.
“I understand the number of patients is growing,” she said. “Although it’s been a long day for my team, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get started tonight.”
After the stubborn refusal to help, Lee was pleased with the sudden change in attitude. “Thank you. I can meet you at the health clinic.”
Lee gave her the address and they agreed to meet in thirty minutes.
The clinic was still open when the CDC team arrived. Lee opened the door and welcomed the med
ical experts. All three were wearing brightly colored quilted down jackets, reminding Lee of colored gumballs. Following introductions, Lee brought them into the back office. Two additional folding tables had been set up and chairs added for the CDC team. They wasted no time booting up their laptops and settling in. Clearly, this was something they’d done before.
Lucy joined the group and proceeded to walk the team through the data, including the digital map. All the electronic files had been emailed to the team members prior to their departure from Atlanta, so they were already somewhat familiar with the information. Then Lucy provided printed copies of notes from the many interviews of patients, immediate family, and close friends.
After brief discussion and cursory review of the interview notes, Julia addressed Lee. “Would it be possible to examine a few of the patients? Even one would be helpful.”
“Yes, I think so. A young man came to the clinic about an hour ago complaining of symptoms. Our doctor is seeing him now.”
“Excellent,” she replied. Then she turned to Dr. Stone. “Adrian, would you mind? It will be easier on the patient if you assist with the examination.”
Adrian nodded and followed Lee to an examination room. After knocking, Lee and Adrian entered. The clinic doctor accepted the introductions and provided a succinct summary loaded with medical terminology. The patient sat on an examination table with a towel draped over his lap, his pants folded on a chair in the corner.
Adrian spoke to the young man. “I’m Dr. Stone. I work with the Centers for Disease Control, in Atlanta. We’re investigating this illness that you contracted. Would you mind answering a few questions for me?”
He shrugged. “Sure.”
“When did you first begin to feel pain in your groin?”
“Yesterday morning. When I woke up, it hurt. And then when I took a shower, I saw that my private parts were red and swollen.”
Adrian pulled on latex gloves and then launched a series of questions about sexual activity, unprotected sex, what food and drinks the young man had consumed, had he been vaccinated for childhood diseases, and whether he had been in contact over the previous two weeks with anyone he knew to also have the same illness. None of the replies suggested any risky behavior or contact with an infected person.
“I just want to check your lymph glands. Would you mind unbuttoning your shirt?” He reached forward and pressed his fingers under the patient’s jaw, and then moved to the glands under his arms. The glands were slightly swollen and with an elevated degree of tenderness, especially under the jaw.
“I do have one more question—a request, actually—and I will apologize in advance. It would be helpful to our investigation if I can take one or two photos, to document the visible presentation of the infection. The photos will not show your face, and if you have any unique birthmarks those may be covered. I understand this is awkward, and I would not ask if it wasn’t important.”
The young man thought about the request for a moment, then relented. “Okay, I guess.”
Adrian gently removed the towel and took two photos, then showed them to the patient. He again asked for his permission, which was quickly given.
“Thank you,” Adrian said as he extended his hand. “I assure you my team will be doing all we can to identify the pathogen and devise a treatment.” Then he left the examination room.
Upon returning to the office, Adrian updated his colleagues. His summary was filled with medical jargon, and he shared the digital images on his phone. The pictures earned a frown from Julia. “I’ve seen this degree of inflammation and swelling only a few times. Always with young adults, who were not vaccinated, and after passing through puberty they contracted a severe case of the mumps.”
“Except this patient insists he was vaccinated against mumps, measles, diphtheria, and chicken pox. He said his mother insisted on all the normal vaccines. And the standard vaccinations are required by the school district.”
“That’s consistent with the statements in the interview reports,” Lindsey observed.
“So, the simplest conclusion is that we are dealing with a variation of the mumps virus that is resistant to standard immunization,” Julia said. She rubbed her chin, a sign of deep thought. Both Lindsey and Adrian waited for her to continue. “Could we be dealing with a natural mutation?”
Lindsey answered. “Certainly possible. But is there a precedent?”
“Regardless, what I saw with this patient certainly presents as the mumps, although I would have expected more severe swelling in the lymph glands, especially on the throat. Practically speaking, it doesn’t matter if the virus—assuming it is a viral infection—is the result of a natural mutation or otherwise.”
That caught Julia off-guard. She tilted her head. “What do you mean by ‘otherwise’?”
“Just a figure of speech. Scientifically speaking, the possibilities are many.”
“Agreed.” She paused before adding, “And we need to keep an open mind.”
“What are you insinuating?” Lindsey asked.
Julia raised her eyebrows. “Well, we could be looking at a naturally occurring pathogen. Maybe something we have previously identified, maybe a new strain. Or, it could be a natural mutation of a known strain. We’ve seen this many times with Ebola, and it’s an annual occurrence with influenza.” She raised her index finger to emphasize the final point. “But… what if this is not a naturally occurring pathogen?”
“Are you suggesting this could be a human-engineered virus or bacteria?” Adrian looked skeptical.
“I’m simply echoing your statement. Scientifically speaking, it’s a plausible possibility, isn’t it?”
Lindsey spread her hands, not willing to jump to conclusions. “Plausible possibility is a far cry from proof.”
“No argument from me,” Julia said. “And it’s our job to sort through the possibilities and eliminate those that are unfounded, until we do have the proof of the pathogen that is responsible for this outbreak. So, let’s get to it. We have more than thirty patients that are suffering, and God knows how many more if we cannot crack this puzzle.”
Adrian jumped in. “We need to get samples analyzed. I suggest we start with the obvious commonality—water. There is no correlation amongst the patients on canned or bottled beverages, but maybe there is a general contamination in the water supply.”
“You do know that well water supplies the majority of the affected residences and businesses,” Lindsey said.
“I do. But we can’t rule out a widespread contamination of the aquifer. Therefore, we need samples and laboratory analyses.”
“I agree,” Julia said. “Let’s do it. Lee, can you mobilize your people to collect water samples first thing in the morning?”
Lee Moses had been standing off to the side, watching the interaction. “Of course. Let me know how you want the samples to be collected and what volume of water you need. I’ll get my team working on it.”
“Nothing fancy. Do you have clean glass bottles? Two hundred milliliters volume should be fine.”
“I’m sure we do, let me check. Anything else?”
“No, that’s all. Once we’ve collected the samples, Adrian will send them off to one of our labs for analysis.”
“Are there any other beverages or food samples that you want?” Lee asked. “It will be easier if we collect everything at the same time.”
Julia smiled. “Thank you. I think that will do.” She glanced to Adrian and Lindsey, who both nodded agreement. “We don’t see any correlation among the other variables.”
Lee excused himself to seek out the sample bottles. Lucy was one step behind him.
After they cleared the room, Adrian addressed his superior. “You’re concerned, aren’t you.”
She nodded. “The inflammation shown in those photographs is severe. I could understand it if the patients had not been immunized. But all except one state they had been vaccinated. Even if we assume a few are not speaking truthfully, or just don’t kn
ow with certainty, that still doesn’t explain why we have this number of patients.”
“Do you think it’s a new pathogen?” Lindsey asked.
“I think it is a pathogen that is not affected by the standard mumps vaccination. That much seems patently obvious.” Julia clasped her hands. She was the lead investigator in part because of her years of experience with viral infections.
“There’s something more,” Adrian observed. “What are you not saying?”
She hesitated, then drew in a deep breath and exhaled. “How familiar are you with orchitis?”
Adrian and Lindsey both shrugged.
“It’s not that common in developed countries, especially if standard childhood vaccinations have been established for at least a generation. There’s the part you know—painful inflammation of the testes. But there is more to the disease, a dark side, if you will.”
“Go on,” Adrian said.
Julia shifted her gaze from Adrian to Lindsey. “Because the disease is rare, the side effects are little known. And the most severe side effect is… sterility.”
“Are you saying—” Lindsey lowered her voice. “Are you saying these thirty or so patients are likely to be sterile?”
Julia looked hard at her colleague. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. If all the patients experienced as severe an infection as the young man Adrian examined, then yes. The chances are very high they suffered permanent and irreversible damage to their testicles. They will not produce viable sperm and will not be able to father children.”
Adrian collapsed into a chair. “My God. If this is the beginning of a true hot spot and the contagion is communicable…”
Julia finished his thought. “Then we are looking at an epidemic that could bring an end to humanity within a handful of generations.”
Chapter 18
Bend, Oregon
March 17
With the arrival of the CDC team, Peter felt a weight lifted from his shoulders. He was far outside his comfort zone, and yet he couldn’t refuse the honest and humble request for help. Despite the generally heightened public awareness of racial and gender inequities, he felt that the Native American population had been left out of the national dialogue. And whether or not the initial refusal of the CDC to investigate had anything to do with the ethnicity of the Warm Springs population, he could not shake the perception that this was a considered factor.
