Death and The Divide

by Lara Nance

  Ria glanced up from her screen. She tilted her head to one side and smiled. “Thanks. Maybe we’ll be able to share some technology after this.”

  “That would be a great outcome from a horrible situation.” He entered the next batch. He’d bet his brother had enjoyed his opportunities here, unhampered by prejudices and discrimination. That hadn’t occurred to him until now. He’d only focused on the pain of their separation. A part of him wanted to peek at the possibility of staying here, explore the possibilities of life in this progressive environment. However, that went against his loyal nature so he set such ponderings aside.

  The worked silently for a while, the only sound the whir and click of machinery. Occasionally he stopped to view the screen for an update on the outbreaks.

  A siren sounded, and Ria pointed to the window. “They’re raising the shield around the city. You’re officially locked in now.”

  “Hmm, safe and sound in the North. Never thought I’d say that.” He laughed.

  She chuckled. “I bet. It’s not so bad, though, is it?”

  He grew serious. “No. It’s not bad at all. I’m glad I had the opportunity to be here. I see so much that we need to focus on in the South.”

  “I’m glad you’re here, too.” Her cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink and she averted her eyes.

  He smiled and reset the machine for the next sequence. “Annaria. I wanted to ask you about your name. It’s unusual. Is it a combination?”

  “Yes.” Her eyes brightened as she glanced at him. “Astute of you to notice. My grandmothers were Anna and Maria. My parents wanted to honor them both, so they came up with Annaria. What about your name. It’s rather old-fashioned, isn’t it?”

  “Ah. Yes, it is, I suppose. My dad was a history teacher. He had a thing for the early leaders of the United States. His favorite was Abraham Lincoln. I think he was fascinated by how that president kept the country together during the old civil war. He used to quote him all the time. I remember when I was young and asked him why the United States had to be divided, he quoted Lincoln. This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or exercise their revolutionary right to overthrow it.”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t know much about him, but that is amazing to have said such a thing so long ago.”

  “I doubt he thought it would come to dividing into two separate countries, though.” That president fought hard to keep the country together, and yet it inevitably split anyway. So many deaths from those two wars, so much destruction. The waste pained him. Why was it hard for people to agree on government? Meeting Ria made him feel there was hope for better understanding in the future. If such a thing came from this crisis, then they’d have something to be thankful for amid all the deaths.

  “It does seem a harsh outcome. People must have really hated each other back then.” She set up a new sample and turned on the sequencer. “Do you think much has changed?”

  “Well, here I am locked in the North and it’s not that bad,” he said with a half grin. In fact he enjoyed working with her. He couldn’t imagine a better partner. “And there’s at least one Northerner I’ve come to like and respect a great deal.”

  Her cheeks grew pink again, and she smiled. “That’s nice. I like and respect you, too. Now if we could only make our countrymen be so open, we might make some progress.”

  “One of your leaders, Mr. Rominoff, wants to ease the boundaries. It could happen.” A hopeful glow warmed him as he projected a better future.

  “You forget he was attacked right after the election,” she said. “Some factions are dead set against any form of reconciliations.”

  His warmth waned. “How does that work anyway, this triumvirate?”

  “They are the guides and final lawmakers for the country. The founders wanted to do away with the old state system with two parties, and create a true democracy where everyone’s vote counts. So, they set up a National committee of people from the different sectors of the country to make recommendations, with the Triumvirate over them.”

  The South had stuck with the old style U.S. government. He’d long seen the problem with a strict two party system. It had allowed his country to skew toward favoring the wealthy. The North’s system interested him greatly. “How are they elected?”

  “By popular vote. There is one from the military, one from the judicial sector, and the other is a scientist who’s won at least one Hawking Award.”

  “Didn’t Manson win a Hawking Award?”

  “Yes, but he’s not interested in being a T.M. He loves research too much. Although he does relish winning awards and the accolades that accompany them.” She offered a wry grin. “He was nearly unbearable after the Hawking win. I think his head swelled three sizes. I had to start calling him Dr. Manson again after years of calling him Louis. I dispensed with that requirement after this mess started, though.”

  “At least he’s clear what he wants to do.”

  She turned from the sequencer screen to look at him. “Does that mean you aren’t?”

  Her comment struck a nerve. His constant internal battle of supporting his country against their blatant disregard for the environment. The vision of oilrig city in the Gulf rose to mind. “Oh, I love being a marine biologist. The problem is that it’s a struggle working for protection and conservation in a country that still denies global warming and the effects of activities like fracking, and deep sea oil drilling on creatures of the sea. Who knows? Maybe something we introduced into the environment in the past caused this problem.”

  Her mouth fell open. “Linc! Maybe that is what happened.”

  A quiver of apprehension had him hesitate before asking, “What do you mean?”

  “How did this virus develop, and how was it able to invade a parasite that shouldn’t have one?” She leaned over her desk and swiped a finger across the screen of her computer. “I remember something Louis said when this started. I was talking about the ability of a parasite to mutate so quickly, and he said something about how this should take a hundred years or more. I’m going to look at devastating environmental accidents that affected the ocean back then.”

  Linc’s stomach sunk as he realized the perfect scenario, and he held up a hand. “You don’t have to look. I can tell you everything that happened to the ocean for the past three hundred years. That’s my field of study, remember?”

  She straightened. “Of course. What am I thinking? Do you have an idea?”

  “There was an event in 2010 that affected sixty-eight thousand square miles of ocean in the Gulf of Mexico. An oil spill that proved devastating to not only sea life but coastal creatures, as well. It wasn’t the petroleum product alone, either. One point eighty-four million gallons of dispersant were dumped into the ocean and later proved to be a more toxic agent than originally thought, worse than the oil itself. We’ve been studying how that changed the ecosystem ever since.”

  “I remember hearing about that from my studies. Something of that nature could certainly cause long-lasting mutation strands.” She bit her fingernail. “Can we determine if the chemical compound from the combination of oil and dispersant is a factor in our virus?”

  Fear and regret twisted in his gut and caused a twinge of nausea. Why had man been so irresponsible in the past? Now future generations faced the deadly consequences. Still, a surge of enthusiasm for the possibility of this being an answer drove him forward. “If it’s there, we can trace the evolution. It’s a painstaking process and will take some time.”

  She gave a grim smile. “Not to mention a bit of luck projecting the DNA changes backward.”

  He nodded. The process would be difficult and time consuming, but it was the best lead they had on this dilemma so far, given that even the great Dr. Manson hadn’t come up with a clue. “Let’s do it. Knowing the catalyst may help us find a cure.” He crossed his arms. “It’s not like
we have a more promising path to pursue.”

  “That’s true.” She glanced at her comm-unit. “I’m going to call for food delivery.”

  “Good. I’ll start working on the algorithms if I can use your computer.”

  She gestured her agreement, and tapped her wrist comm. She mentioned names of unfamiliar food, but he couldn’t advise her. Everything he’d had here in the North had tasted delicious. He’d trust her to make the choice. She’d done great so far.

  Before starting computations on the DNA evolution, he checked his e-mails and the account on the SatNet group. A coded message from Jack instructed him to attend an emergency IPP meeting tonight. That wasn’t going to happen. If they planned to continue with their coup, this wasn’t the best time. Countries in turmoil needed stability, even under less than ideal political control. His work here had become more important than his participation in IPP. They’d have to continue without him for now. He sent a return message about his current situation and urged the group to put off any action until the parasite crisis ended.

  Jeff continued to feed him developments from the South. His latest report repeated the news of accelerated outbreaks and the corresponding actions the South’s government had taken mirroring those instituted by the North. Their religious deviant prisons would empty to make room for victims not shot on sight, since research needed infected people. How merciful. He snorted.

  Mexico had announced pockets of cannibal appearances along their coast and had closed their border with the South. Not that it was ever that open anyway. No one from Mexico wanted to cross the border into the ROA with that country’s view of illegal immigrants and persons of color. The Mexicans fleeing their country had taken to flying and boating to reach the DOA, a more attractive destination to begin a new life away from the rampant poverty that never ended in their country.

  A trail of partially eaten bodies showed cannibal infiltration further inland, with one found only a hundred miles from The Divide. What would the infected cannibals do when they reached the huge electric fence? Would they try to attack a fortress and cross over? He drummed his fingers on the desk. Damn, this was bad news. Devastating news. Did they have any hope?

  “Linc, I’m starting to worry. Shouldn’t Louis be back by now?”

  He checked the time on the computer. Manson had left a little over two hours. “Can you call him?”

  “I’m afraid of interrupting if he’s with the leaders,” she said.

  “Give it another hour then try. He’d want to know about our theory of environmental influence.” He rose from the desk chair. “In fact, I’m surprised he hasn’t already thought of it.”

  Her brow wrinkled. “You know, you’re right. It’s not like him to miss a vital link like that.”

  “Unless he did consider it and found a reason to disregard the notion.”

  “Hmm, maybe so.” But she didn’t look convinced.

  The next hour went by quickly and stretched into three as they became absorbed in the pursuit of their theory. After entering data for the first parasite DNA, they took a break to eat and then commenced with the second and third sets. His eyes burned and he fought to keep from rubbing them. The screen began to appear fuzzy, and he pressed his fingertips to his temples.

  Ria placed a hand on his back. “You look exhausted.”

  He shook his head. “Then I look the way I feel. What about you?”

  She rolled her shoulders. “Tense and tired. Look at the time. I forgot to call Louis.”

  A wave of unease washed over him, cold and disturbing. The big man had been gone for five hours. “Call him. Something must have gone wrong.”

  She gave the command to her wrist-comm and waited as a steady beep continued uninterrupted. After what seemed an eternity, she ended the connection. “He’s turned off his answering service. What the hell? Where is he?”

  “Can you contact someone at the capital? Maybe they know where he went when he left there.”

  “Yes, I have the liaison’s connection data on my wrist-comm.” She touched the screen and initiated the call.

  “Hello?” a female voice with a slight French accent greeted. “This is Madeline Jinee.”

  “Hey, this is Annaria Moralez. I work with Dr. Manson, remember? He came to the capital for a meeting with the Triumvirate over five hours ago. I was expecting him to return to the lab, but I haven’t seen him. Do you know his location?”

  Silence stretched so long Ria checked the device to make sure she was still connected. Then Miss Jinee answered in a flat tone, “I’m sorry Miss Moralez. I have no information on his whereabouts.”

  “Did he meet with the Triumvirate?”

  “Yes, he was here…earlier.”

  “Maybe he said something to them.”

  “I’ll be happy to check and get back to you. What’s your connection link?”

  “HM2507.”

  “Got it. I’ll let you know if I find anything. Are you, uh, still at the lab?”

  “I’ll probably be here all night.”

  “Is Dr. Butler with you?”

  “Yes. We’re working on the DNA sequencing.”

  “Of course. Thanks for your hard work. The, uh, government appreciates it.”

  The link ended and she gave him a puzzled look. “Do you think that conversation was as weird as I do?”

  He paced, thinking. Nothing held more importance than Dr. Louis Manson working on solving this crisis. By all accounts of reason, he should have returned to the lab and continued the investigation. Instead, he’d disappeared and the folks at the capital didn’t seem too worried about it.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Linc, something’s gone wrong.” Ria flipped a stylus between her fingers. “There’s no way Louis wouldn’t return to the lab. He lives for this sort of work. He could have had an accident or something.”

  “It also seems strange that Miss Madeline didn’t seem too concerned that the North’s best hope of solving the parasite crisis hasn’t been seen in the past five hours.” He rubbed his chin.

  She stopped. “Right. Shouldn’t she worry he’s not here in the lab working on the problem?”

  “I’m certainly troubled,” he said. “We need him.”

  “What can we do, though? I don’t want to stop our progress to track him down.”

  “He could have fallen asleep somewhere. He hasn’t been to bed in a while. What if he’s circling the city, napping on the monorail?”

  She chewed her fingernail, panic rising in her chest like an inflating balloon. She couldn’t do this without Manson. He was the genius. She didn’t even have her PhD yet.

  “Ria? What’s wrong? You look kind of green.” He left the computer and came to face her, eyes narrowed.

  “I…” She ran her palms down the side of her thighs, imagining the worst. “What are we going to do if he doesn’t show up? I don’t know how to solve this puzzle.”

  “Manson said you know as much as he does.”

  She pressed her hands to the sides of her head, hoping the pressure would keep her brain from exploding from stress. “Sure, I know the names of the parasites, how they reproduce and what organisms they attack. But it’s more than that for people like him. He has a spark of something special that makes ideas ignite when he needs them. That’s the difference between geniuses and mere repositories of information. I don’t have that special something that allows me to piece together seemingly meaningless information into a coherent deduction. Manson does.”

  “How do you know you don’t?” He took hold of her shoulders, his gaze direct. “You’ve never had the chance to work independently.”

  “I just do. I’ve never had a flare of original ideas go off in my head the way it does for him.” She turned her face from him, unwilling to meet his gaze. Failure resonated within her. Always tripping along in Manson’s wake like a good little assistant. “I’ve been with him six years. I should have graduated by now, but I told myself I was incredibly lucky to work with him, so I put
off my final semesters. The truth is, down deep I’m afraid. Connected with him, I was somebody. Once I have my degree and go off on my own, I’ll be exposed, doomed to low level teaching positions reserved for those who couldn’t hack the research route. A nobody.”

  He gave her a shake that forced her to look at him. “Stop it! Ria. You’re wrong. I’ve been with you for enough days to know that you are smart and intuitive. You have to stop being safe in Manson’s shadow and step out into the sun. You have everything it takes. You were the one who thought of the possible link to previous ecological events, right?”

  Tears crept into the corners of her eyes. She was so tired. God, she would never have admitted those things if she wasn’t exhausted. She couldn’t ignore the importance of keeping her fears buried. She placed her palms on his chest and gently pushed away from him. “Linc, I appreciate what you’ve said, but the truth is we’re handicapped without Manson.”

  “We have to keep at it, though. I’ll message the others on the team and see if he’s contacted any of them. Plus they’ll need to know he’s out of the picture right now, too.” He went to her computer and logged into the SatNet. His expression registered shock as he stared at the screen.

  “What is it?” she asked. She hurried to his side. The number of messages from Southern members and Jeff were rolling off the page. “What the hell?”

  “Something big happened,” he muttered and opened the first message from Jeff. They read in silence.

  “This can’t be real,” she said. “An attack on your government?”

  A muscle twitched in his jaw then he read aloud, “A bloody massacre at the capital with the president held hostage, hundreds of army and capital security guards dead.”