Having sorted the information she saw that her initial hunch was correct. The largest number of initial deaths were from Siberia, so she started analyzing the blood data from that region next. Two hours lost, maybe, but maybe, just maybe, two days gained. If she could pinpoint where this all started, then they would surely have a leg up on determining the cause.
As she reviewed the data, she noticed that some of the increased blood levels seem to have occurred around sixty months ago. This was before the increase in blood levels in Africa, so she knew she was headed in the right direction. After another two hours of analysis she had all of the region in hand and what she saw was a consistent increase in the four blood test levels at the sixty month mark. The African blood levels didn’t start going up until fifty-four to fifty-seven months ago. “This is significant,” she thought.
Next, she decided to look at China. It was a large area in the vicinity of Siberia, but to the south. Maybe she would see some correlation. As she started to review the data she checked the files to make sure she wasn’t looking at Africa again. The data was, in fact, the Chinese data but it followed a similar pattern to that of Africa. By now it was getting late, so she decided she would have to stop. She put the finishing touches on the data from Siberia, along with a short explanation of why she chose to look at Siberia second and then sent the data to Ben. The rest of the data analysis would just have to wait until tomorrow.
It was almost 10 p.m. by then. Katie logged off her computer and was just getting ready to head out the door when her phone rang.
She looked at the phone number, but didn’t recognize it as Sarah or Ben, so she thought it must be someone else who is working on the project. “Hello, this is Dr. McMann,” she answered.
“Hi Doctor McMann, my name is Marvin Hughes, I am with the Washington Post. Do you have time to answer a few questions for me?”
“Actually, no. I was just heading out the door when the phone rang. I am headed home,” said Katie.
“It won’t take long, just five minutes of your time,” he said.
“I’m sorry, but I really don’t have time right now. How about tomorrow during the day sometime? I will be in the office for a short while tomorrow. Why don’t you call around 11 a.m.,” said Katie, thinking that would give her enough time to talk to Sarah about the reporter who is now snooping around.
“I am really trying to make a deadline tonight. It is about the disease that is killing everyone. I understand you are doing some research on it,” Mr. Hughes said.
“Mr. Hughes, I am not available to talk right now. If you would like to call back tomorrow, I will be happy to talk to you. Good night,” said Katie as she hung up.
Katie wondered who had given the reporter her name and number. She wondered also how much he knew. These press people were always snooping around and he would act like he knew more that he did. She had been giving interviews for several years now and she had been glad she had taken a course on how to respond to press inquiries. She kept thinking about what Jim Redman had said: “No one talks to the press without my permission.” She would let Sarah know she had been contacted and see where it went from there. If worse comes to worse, Mr. Hughes would receive a “no comment” response tomorrow.
Driving home seemed to take forever. Her thoughts kept jumping back and forth between her work and her family. She had a strong desire to just put the work aside and hunker down with Rob and the kids, but she knew her work was important to the effort in finding a cure to SDX. Sunday would be a welcome break. She had needed to get away before this week and now she needed it even more.
When Katie arrived home, Rob was waiting up as normal.
“Hi Sweetie, how was the rest of your evening,” Rob asked.
“I got two regions and a little bit of the third finished. Actually more than I thought I would. Oh, as I was heading out the door I got a call that I shouldn’t have answered. It was from a reporter, Marvin Hughes,” she said.
“Isn’t he one of the Washington Post’s local investigative reporters? I have read some articles of his. Normally he is looking into scams and the sort. What did he want to know?”
“He wanted to know what I was working on and I told him to call back tomorrow,” Katie replied.
“You are not really going to talk to him, are you?” asked Rob.
“If I can get cleared to talk I will. Otherwise, I will have to refer him to the Secretary’s office.”
“Have you seen the latest news?” Rob asked. “There is rioting in China and India. Their people want to know what is going on and their press is saying that the government is holding back from them.”
“What are their governments doing?”
“They have called out their troops to suppress the crowds. They said hundreds have been killed in China. India has been able to keep a lid on it so far. The fear level in the U.S. seems to have plateaued at ‘wait and see’. Give the Feds a few more days to figure this out, maybe, but it could worsen here too,” Rob said.
“Well, I can certainly say that it is going to take more than a few days, based on what I have seen and heard. Has the press reported any promising breakthroughs?” asked Katie.
“No. Not even the WHO has a concrete plan on how to proceed. Did you see the press briefing by the Secretary this afternoon? I thought she was doing pretty well until she started talking about preparation for mass graves because the infrastructure is starting to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of deaths,” said Rob.
“No, I haven’t really seen or heard any news. I listen to music on the way home to try and unwind. I expect people are going to start to get nervous and start to do irrational things,” said Katie.
“What kind of things are you talking about?”
“You know, like hoarding food, taking their money out of the bank, looting and so forth. This could turn into a real problem. Of course that is still only conjecture until we perform broader testing on the general population. I should start to get those test results in on Monday. That will give us new data points to consider and use to draw new conclusions.”
“Do you think I should go to the grocery and stock up?” Rob asked.
“I think that is a little premature right now. The transportation and food infrastructure is still intact. I think we should be good for a little while.”
Rob started to get concerned for his family despite what Katie said. He figured that tomorrow he would slowly start stocking up on staples and canned goods -- things that they could eat if the stores went empty. He hadn’t really thought about this part of the puzzle before.
“Well, at least that is good news. I know you will keep me posted,” said Rob.
Katie just smiled trying to mask her concern. She was keeping it together up to now, but always wondered how Rob would react. She could see he was getting anxious.
“Are we still on for Sunday?” asked Rob. “That’s all the kids have been talking about, the trip to the farm. They are really looking forward to it.”
“Of course they are,” Katie replied. “We have to keep our family together. That is an important part of this process. I don’t know how many more times we are going to get to see them.”
After a brief pause, Rob said:
“If something happens and you have to work, then I don’t want to have the kids left in the lurch.”
“Well, I don’t think anything is going to happen and if it did you could always go without me.”
That isn’t exactly what Rob wanted to hear. It sounded like there already was a chink in the armor of their Sunday plans. He just didn’t want it to unravel. They needed to be together for this trip.
“I will just count on you being ready bright and early Sunday morning,” he said. “We plan on leaving about 8 a.m. You can catch some shut eye in the car if you are running a little low on zees.”
“Sounds good,” responded Katie.
They sat in silence holding each other closely while sharing a bottle of wine. They were both thinking th
e same thing, but they didn’t share their thoughts. If only they could just stay like this forever.
CHAPTER 22
It was Saturday morning and the kids were sleeping in as normal. Rob was up early, as was Katie. Rob planned on heading over to the Center to check on the construction progress. It was a beautiful fall day with the birds singing in the trees and the sun shining brightly off the water. These mornings normally made Rob grateful for all that he had. But now there was a cloud hanging over his head and he was having a hard time feeling good, but was making a valiant effort.
Katie came downstairs and gave Rob a good morning hug and a kiss.
“What time do you think you will be home this evening?” asked Rob.
“I will probably be late. It depends on how much I get done and I also have to make sure I have everything ready for my move to the headquarters building on Monday,” said Katie.
“I’ll get us all packed and ready to go to mom and dad’s,” said Rob. “Call if anything comes up. I know you might not think I am interested, but obviously we all have a vested interest in what you are doing, at least the ones of us who have the inside track.”
“I sure will, honey,” Katie replied.
They embraced and Rob whispered in Katie’s ear “I love you my sexy wife. I will be waiting for you when you get home tonight.”
“You’re on,” Katie said with an ear-to-ear grin. At least the turmoil hadn’t affected their love life. In fact, it may have improved it a little, knowing how precious time can be.
They both headed down the road, one behind the other. When they reached Route 4, Rob turned right towards the Center and Katie turned left towards the center of power, Washington, DC.
When Rob arrived at the Center, the construction crews were already at work. The progress they were making was astonishing, he thought. He saw Marge’s car but she wasn’t in sight. He figured she must be in the office. As he pulled up, he noticed a commotion in front of one of the greenhouses. He headed over in that direction. It seems that the guys that mark the underground electrical, sewer and gas lines had incorrectly marked where some of the underground electric cables were located. As a result, the construction crew, while digging, severed the cable to the water pump and lighting for a section of the greenhouses. He figured it would be an easy fix. The electrician from the crew was onsite and he had immediately turned off the power.
“Hi Mr. McMann,” he said. “Looks like one of the cables was mismarked by about five feet and when we went to dig we dug it up and accidently sliced it in half. We should have it repaired and the electricity working again in about two hours.”
“Nobody got hurt, did they?” Rob asked.
“No, fortunately the backhoe made a clean break and didn’t stay in contact with the live side of the line.”
“That is good to hear. Do you think there are any other problem areas that you need to avoid?” asked Rob.
“Potentially,” said the electrician. “We have stopped the digging until we can get the utilities personnel back out here. They do have a crew that works today and we have a call in already. We have plenty of other work to accomplish, so I don’t expect this to slow us down too much, but we do apologize for the inconvenience.”
“Okay, thank you. I totally understand. I will leave the details up to you guys,” said Rob.
Marge was standing next to Rob now.
“If they get this fixed in time, it shouldn’t affect our curriculum plan this morning by too much. I am going to reverse the projects we had planned and we’ll head out to these greenhouses as the last thing we do this morning.”
“Sounds like a plan,” said Rob nodding. “How is everything else going?”
“Bill was here until late yesterday. He is really pleased with the progress. He expects to have one of the pods installed and powered up by the end of next week. It will be the prototype to connect the other fourteen. Even I am now getting excited, although I know once they open up, our work is going to double if not triple.”
“How are you doing finding live-in trainers for each pod?” Rob asked.
“I have lined up a group of house leaders who have learned to live on their own through our program. I plan on having 30 previous graduates. They can split their time among the pods. I think it will be valuable to have them show what can be done with perseverance. They are all proven success stories, so I figure we may be able to get by with as few as three educators/social workers to fill the other overnight spots. Our day shift will still handle the daytime education. What do you think?”
“That’s great. It will be interesting to see how this works out. With any luck, the first group of five pods will be up and occupied before Thanksgiving. That is only two months away,” said Rob with a questioning look on this brow.
“As long as the buildings are ready, the staff will be ready,” said Marge emphatically.
Rob knew he could trust Marge. She had been a mainstay of the operation for the last twenty years, and he hoped she would be around for another twenty. Indeed, he hoped they would all be around for at least another twenty years.
“I am going to take a stroll around the site and then I’m headed home to pick up Hope for her session this afternoon. I will see you back here a little before one this afternoon.”
Marge smiled. “Ok boss, see you a little later.”
Marge headed back up to the office to check the schedule and make the necessary adjustments to account for the power outage. Saturdays were one of her favorite days because she had Hope to assist as one of her advanced students. She had known Hope since she was just a baby and now she was a grown woman. What a magnificent young lady she thought. Marge felt like a second mother to Hope, although she knew she could never replace Katie, for Hope idolized her mom, and for good reasons. The love that flowed from Katie to all of her family was unparalleled and noticed by all who knew the McMann clan.
Marge saw Rob’s car go down the driveway and turn left onto Route 231 headed back towards Calvert County. She couldn’t help wishing that she had found herself a man like Rob and maybe had a family. But now, in her early fifties she knew it was too late for her. Still, she was happy in her life, filled with joy everyday by her adopted family, the students at the Center. She had seen them grow and flower into young adults and she was immensely proud of the work they did to give these young adults a semblance of a normal life. In most cases the deck of cards had been stacked against them from birth, yet through the work they did here they were able to turn some of the cards into winning hands. What she experienced on a daily basis was pure joy. Really, inside she knew that she had a great family too.
Heading back into Prince Frederick, Rob decided to stop at Walmart to start stocking up. He was starting to think like a survivalist. Maybe he should be stocking up on batteries, candles and all of the other stuff. Maybe all of those people he thought were nuts over the years, because they had backpacks full of supplies in their garages, weren’t so crazy after all. Luckily, the Center had its greenhouses that provided a large variety of vegetables. If the worst came to worst, they would still have that to eat and they could fish along the river to add some variety.
Arriving home, Rob noticed the kids were just getting up. He took his stash of new supplies to the garage and put them on the shelves in the corner. He would organize things properly over the next several weeks. There may be some rough spots along the way, but he would be prepared.
He went over to his gun cabinet and checked his ammunition supply. He had about 200 rounds each for his rifle, shot gun, and his chrome plated 9mm Glock. He figured the next time he went by the store he would get a little more ammunition. They were rioting in other countries, and he didn’t know what people were capable of in the U.S., but he wasn’t going to take any chances. He would be ready to defend himself and his family. He made a mental note to ask the solar power contractor for the new pods at the Center to give him a quote for a similar system at his home. He would still need power to run his well at
the house, and for who knows what else. He tried hard not to think about it all right now.
The kids were all sitting around the table in the kitchen as Rob came back into the house. They were eating cereal and talking about last night’s high school football game, and how the home team had been completely embarrassed by one of its main rivals. They laughed and joked. Rob smiled, and though how nice it would be to be young again with no cares in the world. But then, he remembered, they did have the worries for their life ahead of them too, they just expressed their feelings differently when they are young. Hiding fear of the future behind laughs and ill-timed jokes is probably as old as mankind, Rob thought.
Right now Rob felt like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders and he was determined to do whatever was necessary to guarantee that his family would have a life as normal as possible for as long as possible. For now, his children were oblivious to the problem. Maybe that was best. When and what to tell the kids would be a discussion he would have to have with Katie in the days to come. So many decisions ahead.
“Hope, we need to leave in about thirty minutes to get to the Center on time. Will you be ready?” asked Rob.
“Dad, I always get ready on time. All I have to do is finish eating and put my shoes on. I already took my shower and made my bed.”
“You are my perfect child. Boys, did you make your beds yet?” asked Rob.
“Why do we have to make the beds?” asked Sam. “We are just going to mess them up again when we sleep in them tonight.”
Rob thought about this for a second and then said, “Because we are civilized and civilized people like things to be in order. Everything has its place and to have order in your bedroom your bed must be made.”
“I don’t understand what is so important about order,” said Sam.
“As you get older you will. Order has a way of lightening your load, relieving your stress, making you feel that your life is going in the right direction. It is a good habit to start now so you can enjoy its benefits later in your life. So, go make your beds and clean up your rooms!”
The Perfect Pathogen Page 13