Dead in Love (Dead Series)

by Colby Van Wagoner

  In 1941, the US Army Chemical Warfare Service determined it needed a testing facility more remote than the US Army's Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland. The Chemical Warfare Service surveyed the Western U.S. for a new location to conduct its tests, and in the spring of 1942, construction of Dugway Proving Ground began. The U.S. Army United States Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School are the home of the Army's Chemical Corps, located at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. There are approximately 22,000 members of the Chemical Corps in the U.S. Army, spread among the Active, Army Reserve and Army National Guard.

  The school trains officers and enlisted personnel in warfare and defense; its stated mission is “To protect the force and allow the Army to fight and win against a Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear threat. Develop doctrine, equipment and training for defense, which serve as a deterrent to any adversary possessing weapons of mass destruction. Provide the Army with the combat multipliers of smoke, obscurant and flame capabilities.”

  Testing commenced in the summer of 1942. During World War II, Dugway Proving Ground tested toxic agents, flamethrowers, chemical spray systems, biological warfare weapons, fire bombing tactics, antidotes for chemical agents and protective clothing. In October 1943, the base established biological warfare facilities in an isolated area within the base known as the Granite Peak Installation, the Utah Test and Training Range’s range telemetry and tracking radar installation. Dugway Proving Ground was slowly phased out after World War II, until becoming inactive in August 1946.

  The base was reactivated during the Korean War and in 1954 was confirmed as a permanent Department of the Army installation. In October 1958, the U.S. Army Chemical Center, Maryland detached the U.S. Army Chemical, Biological and Radiological Weapons School to Dugway Proving Grounds. From 1985 to 1991, Dugway Proving Ground was home to the Ranger School’s short-lived Desert Training Phase. It was first known as the Desert Ranger Division until designated the Ranger Training Brigade’s 7th Ranger Training Battalion in 1987 and taught students basic desert survival skills and small unit tactics. The program was later moved back to its original site at Fort Bliss, Texas in 1991, where it was deactivated in 1995.

  On September 8, 2004 the Genesis, a NASA spacecraft, was directed to impact into the desert floor of the Dugway Proving Ground because the topsoil there is like talcum-powder or moon dust and would likely cushion the troubled spacecraft’s impact. The Genesis spacecraft’s accelerometer was installed backwards, which caused the spacecraft to malfunction upon re-entry to Earth's atmosphere.

  Dugway Proving Ground was also home to the High Resolution Fly’s Eye Cosmic Ray Detector, which discovered the first Ultra-high-energy cosmic ray. Dugway is home to several radio telemetry and tracking radar sites, which track national flight assets during flight tests at Utah Test and Training Range.

  Recently, at the facility, Dr. Omar Weiss was appointed as the lead scientist of a program developing chemicals to make soldiers stronger, faster and with unstoppable strength and agility. If what Dr. Weiss was beginning to uncover were true, the chemical compounds he had developed could be given to the U.S. soldiers and the anti-compound, used against the enemy, to slow them down and be easily defeated. His presentation would be crucial to the program’s success and every detail was requested to be presented in the meeting with the program’s director and committee members.

  Dr. Weiss entered the conference room with top military officers of the Department of Defense and top members of the National Security Agency. General Conrad Raymond stood at the head of the table, he was in charge of all the activities on the base. The general’s uniform was neatly pressed and with his files carefully arranged in a black briefcase, he stood among the committee, “Gentlemen, today Dr. Weiss has assured me his program has made major advancements in a variety of chemical weaponry, which can be applied for the benefit of our troops. The anti-compound will cripple our enemies, on the field of battle. Dr. Weiss the stage is yours.”

  “Thank you sir.” Dr. Weiss stepped to the front of the room, standing near a projector. He was wearing a long, white lab coat and had two assistants standing with him, “A microorganism or microbe is an organism that is unicellular or lives in a colony of cellular organisms. The study of microorganisms is called microbiology, a subject that began with Anton van Leeuwenhoek’s discovery of microorganisms in 1675, using a microscope of his own design.” His assistant stood at the projector, switching on the power and the other dimming the lights of the conference room.

  “Microorganisms are very diverse; they include bacteria, fungi, archaea and protists; microscopic plants and animals such as plankton and the planarian. Some microbiologists also include viruses, but others consider these as non-living. Most microorganisms are unicellular, or single-celled, but this is not universal, since some multi-cellular organisms are microscopic, while some unicellular protists and bacteria, like Thiomargarita Namibiensis, are macroscopic and visible to the naked eye.” The projector illuminated various microorganisms as the doctor spoke.

  General Raymond shifted in his seat and reached for a glass of water. Dr. Weiss paused for a moment, clearing his throat, “Microorganisms live in all parts of the biosphere where there is liquid water, including soil, hot springs, on the ocean floor, high in the atmosphere and deep inside rocks within the Earth's crust. Microorganisms are critical to nutrient recycling in ecosystems as they act as decomposers. As some microorganisms can fix nitrogen, they are a vital part of the nitrogen cycle and recent studies indicate that airborne microbes may play a role in precipitation and weather.” “Microbes are also exploited by people in biotechnology, both in traditional food and beverage preparation and in modern technologies based on genetic engineering. However, pathogenic microbes are harmful, since they invade and grow within other organisms, causing diseases that kill people, other animals and plants. This is where we first began in the program, by utilizing the microbes’ ability to invade and grow within other organisms, as you will all witness later on.”

  “Single-celled microorganisms were the first forms of life to develop on Earth, approximately 3 to 4 billion years ago. Further evolution was slow and for about 3 billion years in the Precambrian eon, all organisms were microscopic. So, for most of the history of life on Earth the only forms of life were microorganisms. Bacteria, algae and fungi have been identified in amber that is 220 million years old, which shows that the morphology of microorganisms has changed little since the Triassic period. There are organisms that we have yet to discover and the ones which we have discovered and yet to understand their capabilities. That is why this team is here to study, develop, test and research the capabilities of two unique compounds.”

  “Most microorganisms can reproduce rapidly, but not as much as when your environment is cold, in fact, the colder the better. And microbes such as bacteria can also freely exchange genes by conjugation, transformation and transduction between widely-divergent species. This horizontal gene transfer, coupled with a high mutation rate and many other means of genetic variation, allows microorganisms to swiftly evolve to survive in new environments and respond to environmental stresses. This rapid evolution is important in medicine, as it has led to the recent development of 'super-bugs', pathogenic bacteria that are resistant to modern antibiotics.”

  “Microorganisms can be found almost anywhere in the taxonomic organization of life on the planet. Bacteria and archaea are almost always microscopic, while a number of eukaryotes are also microscopic, including most protists, some fungi, as well as some animals and plants. Viruses are generally regarded as not living and therefore are not microbes, although the field of microbiology also encompasses the study of viruses.”

  “Unlike bacteria and archaea, eukaryotes contain organelles such as the cell nucleus, the Golgi apparatus and mitochondria in their cells. The nucleus is an organelle which houses the DNA that makes up a cell’s genome. DNA itself is arranged in complex chromosomes. Mitochondria are organelles vital in metabolism as
they are the site of the citric acid cycle and Oxidative Phosphorylation. They evolved from symbiotic bacteria and retain a remnant genome. Like bacteria, plant cells have cell walls, and contain organelles such as chloroplasts in addition to the organelles in other eukaryotes. Chloroplasts produce energy from light by photosynthesis, and were also originally symbiotic bacteria. Now my assistant, Matthew Thomas will present the field of Unicellular Eukaryotes.”

  Matt Thomas was a skinny-framed, young scientist with thick glasses and a high voice. He stepped to the front of the committee, with a slight nervousness about him, “Unicellular eukaryotes are those eukaryotic organisms that consist of a single cell throughout their life cycle. This qualification is significant since most multi-cellular Eukaryotes consist of a single cell called a zygote at the beginning of their life cycles. Microbial eukaryotes can be either haploid or diploid and some organisms have multiple cell nuclei. Without getting too far ahead of our presentation, we will show you the series of our work after the presentation of the basic knowledge that has already been studied.”

  “Not all microorganisms are unicellular as some microscopic eukaryotes are made from multiple cells. Human flora and Human bacterial flora and human health Microorganisms can form an Endosymbiotic relationship with other, larger organisms. For example, the bacteria that live within the human digestive system contribute to gut immunity, synthesize vitamins such as folic acid and biotin and ferment complex indigestible carbohydrates.”

  “Microorganisms are the cause of many infectious diseases. The organisms involved include pathogenic bacteria, causing diseases such as plague, tuberculosis and anthrax; protozoa, causing diseases such as malaria, sleeping sickness and toxoplasmosis; and also fungi causing diseases such as ringworm, candidiasis or histoplasmosis. However, other diseases such as influenza, yellow fever or AIDS are caused by pathogenic viruses, which are not usually classified as living organisms and are not therefore microorganisms by the strict definition. As of 2007, no clear examples of archaean pathogens are known, although a relationship has been proposed between the presence of some methanogens and human periodontal disease.”

  “Microbes are critical to the processes of decomposition required to cycle nitrogen and other elements back to the natural world. Hygiene is the avoidance of infection or food spoiling by eliminating microorganisms from the surroundings. As microorganisms, particularly bacteria, are found practically everywhere, this means in most cases the reduction of harmful microorganisms to acceptable levels. However, in some cases it is required that an object or substance be completely sterile. A good example of this is a hypodermic needle.”

  “Harmful microorganisms can be detected in food by placing a sample in a nutrient broth designed to enrich the organisms in question. Various methods, such as selective media or PCR, can then be used for detection. The hygiene of hard surfaces, such as cooking pots, can be tested by touching them with a solid piece of nutrient medium and then allowing the microorganisms to grow on it. There are no conditions where all microorganisms would grow, and therefore often several different methods are needed. For example, a food sample might be analyzed on three different nutrient mediums designed to indicate the presence of "total" bacteria, molds and coliform bacteria.” Dr. Weiss’ assistant stepped aside, allowing the doctor to continue the presentation.

  Dr. Weiss then turned on the large television and started a video, “There’s a species of parasitic fungus called Cordyceps unilateralis that infects ants and basically does the same thing to caterpillars. It takes over neural pathways and forces it to latch on to the underside of a leaf. Then the fungus basically devours the ant to create spores, which when critical mass is reached, explode out of the ant's head and float down to the ground infecting more ants.” He was playing a video, which included the lab team’s scientific study and the processes they were using in order to develop their unique compounds.

  “Cordyceps is a genus of ascomycete fungi that includes about 400 described species. All Cordyceps species are endoparasitoids, mainly on insects and other arthropods; a few are parasitic on other fungi. The best known species of the genus is Cordyceps Sinensis, first recorded as Yartsa Gunbu, in Tibet, in the 15th Century. It is known as Yarsha Gumba in Nepal. The Latin etymology describes cord as club, ceps as head and sinensis as Chinese. Cordyceps Sinensis, known in English commonly as caterpillar fungus, are considered a medicinal mushroom in oriental medicines, such as Traditional Chinese medicines and Traditional Tibetan medicine.”

  “To break it down and show you what we have been able to synthesize, into a chemical compound, I present the following. When a Cordyceps fungus attacks a host, the mycelium invades and eventually replaces the host tissue, while the elongated fruiting body may be cylindrical, branched, or of complex shape. The ascocarp bears many small, flask-shaped perithecia contain the asci. These in turn contain the thread-like ascospores, which usually break into fragments and are presumably infective.”

  The doctor became more animated and enthusiastic with his presentation, his voice becoming slightly louder, “Some Cordyceps species are able to affect the behavior of their insect host: Cordyceps Unilateralis causes ants to climb a plant and attach there before they die. This ensures the parasite’s environment is at an optimal temperature and humidity and maximal distribution of the spores from the fruiting body that sprouts out of the dead insect. This is how we have achieved the synthesized compound and how it can attach itself to the host.” The presentation broke into a complex video of a viral compound attaching to the brain of a host and transforming and reanimating the host.

  “We have only tested with lab animals and have found that one of the test rats has actually become smarter, capable of using tools and the ability to operate continuously without food, water, or sleep. What we are here for, at this point, is to pass off this information to you, in hopes that we can move on to testing human subjects.” The two scientists brought in a large, reinforced, metal cage. They placed the cage on the conference table and removed the metal slides, revealing the animal inside. It was a large black lab rat, pacing back and forth, seemingly analyzing the cage for escape.

  “Gentlemen, this animal was introduced to the chemical compound, CU1, which stands for the first synthesized compound of Cordyceps Unilateralis. The genus has a worldwide distribution and most of the approximately 400 species have been described from Asia. Cordyceps species are particularly abundant and diverse in humid temperate and tropical forests. The genus has many anamorphs, of which Beauveria are the better known, since these have been used in biological control of insect pests. Some Cordyceps species are sources of bio-chemicals with interesting biological and pharmacological properties, like cordycepin; the anamorph of Cordyceps subsessilis was the source of ciclosporin.”

  “First it was zombie ants, now it's zombie caterpillars.” One of the officers whispered under his breath. Some of the other members of the panel broke out in controlled laughs. “Please gentlemen, I have witnessed what the scientists have been able to create and it is no laughing matter.” General Conrad Raymond, stood and walked over to another container. He reached down and placed a smaller cage next to the larger container, holding the rat infected with CU1. Once the smaller cage was placed next to a larger container, the larger rat crouched down and assumed a defensive position. The general raised the cover from the smaller cage, revealing a small white rat.

  The rat, infected with CU1, circled the cage and waited for the other rat to approach the side of its cage. As soon as the white rat reached up to the other larger cage, the infected rat screamed and scurried towards the white rat. It was all over in a flash and the white rat was left bleeding on the floor of the smaller cage. The officers stood up and saw that the white rat’s neck had been slashed open and it was now motionless. Dr. Weiss continued, “Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis is a parasitic fungus that infects a host and alters their behavior in order to ensure the widespread distribution of its spores. This is a prime example of such a parasite.�
�� One of the assistants turned on the projector and presented the slide showing the second compound.

  “The species can be identified, at the end of its lifecycle, by its reproductive structure, consisting of a wiry yet pliant darkly pigmented stroma stalk extending from the back of the deceased ant’s head. Mixing these different compounds has provided us with two different formulas, CU1 and OU2. OU2 is derived from Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis and has the reverse effect of CU1, from the compounds we synthesized.”

  The assistants to Dr. Weiss removed the larger cage, containing the rat infected with CU1 and placed another cage on the table. They opened the sides to reveal another rat. “This rat has been given the OU2 compound and as you can see, has little motor functions, aside from stumbling and crawling around the cage. It requires no food and water, but its functions are nearly depleted.”

  “This compound “zombifies” the subjects and turns them into the zombie like creatures you may know in popular Hollywood movies. The compound comes from the stalk of perithecia just below its tip. Like other fungi pathogenic to insects in the Ophiocordyceps genus, O. Unilateralis targets a specific host species, but have been known to parasitize other closely related species of test animals with lesser degrees of host manipulation and reproductive success.”

  “The chemical compound enters the body, where they begin to consume the non-vital soft tissues. When the compound is ready to spore, it’s mycelia enters the subject’s brain and changes how it perceives pheromones, causing it to climb up the brain stem and uses its mandibles to secure itself to the brain.” The video was playing the OU2 process, taking over a host.

  “Infected, the virus spreads through the veins with abnormal force, leaving telltale dumbbell-shaped marks. The fungus then kills the host and continues to grow as its mycelia invade softer tissues and structurally fortify the body. More mycelia then sprout out of the veins and securely anchor it to the brain stem while secreting antimicrobials to ward off competition.”