The boys headed down the hall mumbling to themselves, still unconvinced, but they would do as they were told. Dad always seemed to know the right answer even though they rarely wanted to admit to it.
“Hope, if you are ready now, we can stop by Panera Bread and get you a treat on the way. What do you think?” Rob asked.
“That would be great,” replied Hope cheerfully.
Moments later they were pulling out of the driveway headed for Hope’s weekly class. Rob couldn’t get the thought of survival out of his mind, but then a revelation came to him. He had been training Hope for survival all of her life and today was just a continuation of that. He had worked to give her every opportunity to have a fulfilled life. Now he would do the same for the rest of the family as they face this new challenge.
CHAPTER 23
Driving into work, as Katie thought about all of the things she had to accomplish today, panic ran through her body. She remembered that Sarah had mentioned she may have to go to the White House today to give a briefing to the President. How could she forget such an important point? She would call Sarah as soon as she got to the office to find out if, in fact, this would take place.
As soon as she got to her desk, she checked her messages. The first was from Sarah. She did have the briefing today for the President at 2 p.m. At least she would have time to prepare. There was a second message. It was from the reporter, Marvin Hughes, asking if they were still on for 11 a.m. Perfect timing, she thought. She needed to call Sarah anyway to get her orders for the afternoon meeting and she would ask about the reporter’s request at the same time.
“Good morning Sarah, this is Katie. I’m glad I caught you in the office. Do you have a particular agenda you would like me to cover for the President’s briefing?”
“I’ve been working on it for the last half hour. I’ll email it to you after we get off the phone and you can see if I’ve missed anything. I need you to prepare a briefing paper to accompany your oral presentation, and I need it by 10 a.m. so that it can be reviewed and approved by the Secretary before being forwarded to the White House,” Sarah said.
“I’ll get to work on it right away. I’ve been keeping a summary of my hypotheses as we go along so it shouldn’t take me long to polish it up and send it over to you. Do you know who else will be in the briefing?” asked Katie.
“From our offices just you, Ben, the Secretary and me. I’m not sure who’ll be attending from the White House staff but I’d expect Jim Redman and the Chief of Staff as a minimum, maybe Dr. White from Johns Hopkins too,” said Sarah.
“Well, let me get to work and I should have something for you to review in the next hour.”
“Any other new information or conclusions since we last talked?” asked Sarah.
“Not really, but one last thing. I got a call from a Washington Post reporter named Marvin Hughes at 10 p.m. last night. He wanted to talk to me regarding the research I was doing on SDX. He said he had a deadline to meet. I told him I didn’t have time to talk and to call back today. How would you like me to handle this guy?”
“As of right now, the only response you should give Mr. Hughes is “no comment” and refer him to the Secretary’s office. I’ll contact the Secretary’s Press Officer and alert them to the possibility of Mr. Hughes’ call,” said Sarah.
“Thanks, that makes it easy. Great advice. Let me get to work and I’ll email you the brief shortly,” Katie replied.
They both hung up and Katie prepared her briefing paper. It was basically unchanged from what she had presented two days ago, but had additional results from the live testing, her recommendations for expanded testing, and the little bit of analysis she had performed on the longevity project data.
Katie received the agenda forwarded by Sarah and quickly reviewed it to ensure she had covered all the points in her briefing paper. She had, and then some. She sent her work to Sarah and then got down to business, concentrating on today’s analysis of additional regions in the longevity project. Back to the Chinese data.
She decided she’d take a shortcut and review a small sample of each region first, but only if it appeared to be consistent. Her initial analysis of China showed that the SDX blood test indicators started appearing about fifty-four to fifty-seven months ago. The same as Africa, and about three months after Siberia’s levels increased. She decided to move onto another region.
Next, she looked at the data from Japan. Japan accounted for about 17% of all of the people in her study. She saw a similar phenomenon there. The initial data looked consistent, so she moved on to the next region. At this rate, she should be able to complete a total of six regions by noon. It wouldn’t be 100% accurate, but it would be close enough to point them in the right direction.
Next, she looked at India, another large population area where she’d tracked over 400 centenarians. The levels had started to increase between fifty-seven and sixty months ago. This was more in line with Siberia, yet apparently before China and Africa. Now, the lines were starting to blur. She knew that the analysis was lacking rigor and thorough review. She would send what she had to Ben for any recommendations and analysis he could offer. She zipped the information for China, Japan and India into an email and wrote a quick note:
Ben,
Here is what I have for China and Japan and India. I sped up the process by sampling only 10% of the subjects from each region. China and Japan start dates are comparable to Africa, whereas India is closer to Siberia, although probably somewhere between Siberia and the others. I am going to do one more region this morning before I leave to go headquarters in preparation for this afternoon’s briefing. Let me know if you have any ideas or if your analysis has shown any anomalies. I will see you around 12:30 p.m.
Happy hunting,
Katie
It was almost 11 a.m. and the phone rang. She looked at the number. It was the Post reporter. “Hi Mr. Hughes,” she answered.
“Oh, I see you have caller ID,” said Marvin. “How are you today?”
“I am doing well Mr. Hughes. What can I do for you?”
“I would like you to answer a couple of questions I have regarding the disease that has been taking the lives of many of our citizens. Is there any truth to the rumor that you have developed a test to determine who has this pathogen?”
Katie was a little taken aback. Someone had leaked some information. She managed to regain her composure.
“I am sorry Mr. Hughes, but all press inquiries are being handled through the Secretary of Health and Human Services Press Office. Do you have their number?”
“Yes I do, but I wanted to go directly to the source,” said Marvin.
“Well, unfortunately I will be unable to provide any information. I recommend you call the Secretary’s Press Office. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“Is it true that we may all be contaminated with this disease?” asked Marvin.
“Mr. Hughes, as I said before, all press enquiries are being handled by the Secretary’s Press Office. I have to go, you have a nice day,” and with that Katie hung up.
Katie was alarmed that there had been a leak. Who would do that, and why? Didn’t they understand the mass hysteria that could result from such a breach? Katie immediately picked up the phone and called Sarah.
“Sarah, I just got my call from the Post reporter and referred him to the Secretary’s Press Office. Here are the two questions he wanted me to answer. First, is it true that I had discovered a test for the disease, and second, was it true that everyone has already been infected by this pathogen?”
Sarah was very calm and collected. She didn’t want to discuss any details on an open phone line. “We can discuss this more in detail after lunch when you arrive at headquarters. I will see you along with Ben at half past noon.”
After hanging up, Sarah prepared an encrypted email and sent this information to the Secretary and her Press Officer. Someone was leaking information and this had to be reported to the top.
; Katie had about forty-five minutes before she needed to leave for downtown. She figured it would be best to look at the United States now. It did make up about 20% of her database. Again she selected a 10% sample and started her analysis. After fifteen minutes it became clear that the infection had spread to the United States on the order of about forty-eight months ago. “Clearly, we are further from ground zero,” she thought.
She did a cursory review of the rest of the 10% from the U.S and packaged the data and sent it to Ben in another email with a few questions: “Ben, if we didn’t start seeing the disease indicators in the U.S. until forty-eight months ago, how come people are dying now? How does the gestation period affect individuals? This doesn’t make a lot of sense. Everyone started dying across the globe at about the same time, give or take a few days. What’s up with that? Confused, Katie.”
Katie packed up her briefcase and started out the door for downtown. As she left the building she noticed a man in car parked by the entrance, who was watching her every move. It was a little unnerving at first, but her initial thought was that it was probably the reporter. As she pulled out of the parking lot she saw the car was following her. It was a white Malibu, the same type used by the government, but this one had Maryland plates and not Federal Government plates. She was probably right, it was most likely Mr. Hughes.
Katie kept a check on her rearview mirror as she drove along, and every time she did she saw the white Malibu. She jotted down the license plate and would report this when she got to the CDC headquarters building. When she arrived at the building’s garage, she noted as she pulled inside that the Malibu had pulled over to the curb. She was glad there was an internal stairwell in the building and that she didn’t have to go outside to access the offices.
When she arrived at the Director’s office Ben and Sarah were already waiting.
“This press inquiry is troubling,” said Sarah. “Someone must be talking out of school.”
“What’s more troubling for me is that someone followed me all the way from my office until I pulled into the garage here. I got the plate number for the vehicle. I don’t have a good description of the driver because he kept his distance. It may have been the reporter, but I don’t know for sure,” said Katie.
“Give me the license number and I will have security check it out,” said Sarah.
Sarah, Ben and Katie then got down to the business of orchestrating their briefing for the President. It would only be about twenty minutes they were told.
“Katie, I think they are most interested in why you think your test is an accurate predictor of who has SDX,” said Sarah. “I see that your briefing paper goes into the assumption that it possibly started in Siberia and then spread around the globe. Do you have further proof of this?”
“The analysis I did this morning supports the theory that it could have started in Siberia about five years ago, moved then to India and then onto to Africa, China and Japan, and finally the United States about a year later. The puzzling part is that people are dying now, everywhere across the world pretty much at the same time. Not just in Siberia or India, but in the U.S and South America. It doesn’t make sense. When I analyze South America later today, I expect I will see an infection date maybe even later than the U.S., but the people there are still dying now too. Maybe I’ve gone down the wrong track,” said Katie.
“I don’t think so,” said Ben. “We don’t know enough about the disease and we haven’t had the time to do an in-depth analysis of the samples from your longevity project. I have a hunch the data will reveal more than your current conclusions. We just have to keep digging.”
“Ok, I don’t necessarily want a united front on this,” said Sarah. “I want everyone’s best ideas. Ben, do you have any more data that will support your theory that people are aging more quickly now that they are infected with SDX?” asked Sarah.
“Regrettably, the best data will be empirical and will play out as more people die,” Ben said. “I am starting to have data compiled regarding age at death and I will ship it to Katie to see if she can make some sense of it. But I’m not hopeful that I’ll have an answer as to lifespan with the disease until the deaths reach down into the younger generations. If my hypothesis is correct, then we could be talking about several months until I have firm data. Dr. White and I are on the same page with that. Have you heard anything from the CDC in Atlanta or anywhere else regarding a possible source, or are we still the only game in town?”
“Unfortunately, we’re it right now. We need to keep plugging away to find the source of this bug,” emphasized Sarah. “Okay, that’s it. You guys can grab some lunch if you want. My car will be ready to take us to the White House in about forty-five minutes.”
CHAPTER 24
Ben and Katie went downstairs to the cafeteria. It was lunchtime on a Saturday, so the place was nearly empty. “Most normal people would be home with their families right now,” thought Katie.
“I’m just going to get a Diet Coke. My stomach is a little nervous and I don’t want to fill it with something that might make it worse,” said Katie.
“So, Diet Coke settles your stomach?” Ben was laughing at the apparent absurdity.
“Not exactly, but it does settle my nerves. I don’t know why, but it always works.”
“Well, we’ve got a little time so, I am going to grab a sandwich and some fries,” said Ben.
Ben returned to the table a short while later with his lunch.
“Now this is what settles my stomach and my nerves,” he said, chuckling.
“Those fries do look good,” said Katie covetously.
“Help yourself. I won’t eat them all.”
As they munched away in silence, Katie couldn’t help but think back on how much her life had changed in the last week. She had gone from a carefree analyst to briefing the leader of the free world on a situation that could result in the elimination of every person on earth. She started to get nervous. As she did, she started to eat Ben’s fries with more vigor.
“Slow down and leave some for me,” admonished Ben. “You’re going to choke yourself on my fries. Can you imagine the guilt complex I’ll have after you’re dead?”
“Well, we could all die anyway, but you are right, these fries are settling down those butterflies in my stomach. It’s irrational, but thank you.”
They both laughed and joked a little while talking about how this could all end up very badly. It was kind of morbid, but they needed to lighten up and laugh a little so that they didn’t cry.
“So, I didn’t get a chance to ask you how you are doing today,” said Katie.
“Well, I woke up this morning and I was still breathing, so I would say this is a great day. I hope to have many more ahead of me. How about you?” asked Ben.
“Not too bad. I just worry about my kids, so it gets me down a little. We are driving to my parent’s farm tomorrow, so that’ll be a good break from all of this,” said Katie.
“I should probably break away and take a day off too,” Ben said. “No plans yet, but I’ll relax at least part of the day.”
Ben stood up, took a deep breath, reached his hands to the ceiling in a large stretch and said, “I guess it’s show time. Are you ready?”
“Most certainly. This was a good break. Thanks. I feel rejuvenated and I’m raring to go,” replied Katie.
They walked out of the cafeteria and towards the lobby of the building. As they reached the elevator, Sarah was just stepping out.
“Are the two of you ready?”
“Yes. We’ve been fed and watered. All we need is an audience and we will be ready to perform,” said Katie jokingly.
Later, on the way to the White house Sarah asked, “Have you two ever met the President?”
“No,” said Ben.
Katie shook her head at the same time.
“Well, it can be good and it can be bad. I do know that he’ll be expecting answers and no bullshit, so please keep to just the facts. If it is a theory you
are espousing, say so. Don’t leave anything up to the imagination. If you don’t know, then say so. Follow our agenda and get right to the point. No sugar coating when asked a question. Understood?” asked Sarah.
They both nodded and then Katie asked, “Is he unreasonable?”
“No, Katie he is not. But he is human, and remember you will have just told him that in your professional scientific opinion, he is going to die soon. And Ben, you have said he will die within six months if there is no cure. What response do you expect to get from him?” Sarah quizzed metaphorically.
All of a sudden, the nervousness that had evaporated over lunch returned with a vengeance. Katie’s senses were now on high alert. It was a short drive to the White House and as they turned the corner she could see it ahead. She closed her eyes and said a short prayer to herself. With that some of her calmness returned and she reassured herself that everything was going to work out just fine.
They pulled up to the White House gate and the vehicle was duly inspected. Moments later, the car slid through the entrance to deliver its occupants to the waiting court. As they stepped out of the vehicle they were met by a White House aide who then led them to a waiting room outside the Oval Office. The President’s secretary met them and informed them they would be meeting in about five minutes, then offered them to take a seat in the anteroom.
Right on time, the door opened and the White House Chief of Staff beckoned them to follow him. They entered the Oval Office to find the President, Vice President, Speaker of the House, President pro tempore of the Senate, Secretary of State, the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the National Security Advisor present. This was a bigger crowd than Katie had expected, but it didn’t seem to faze either Ben or Sarah.
“Good afternoon Sarah,” said the President. “It is good to see you again, even if it is under these dire circumstances.”
The Perfect Pathogen Page 14