by Kurt Winans
Colt’s train of thought was interrupted when Tori began pushing on his shoulder while pointing to the communication console as the distant voice asked, “Colt, are you still there?”
“What? Oh, I’m sorry about that. I was just thinking about something else and I didn’t hear what you said.”
The engineer on the other end of the line replied, “No problem Colt. I was just saying that now, thanks to you, we have built a few small wind powered vessels for use in the water. They have tested well, and our intent is to use them for transporting our catch of fish from greater distances. As for the community, a few wheeled vehicles have been constructed to facilitate our distribution needs.”
“That’s wonderful news, but I hope you incorporated the bicycle aspect into your land vehicles as well. It sounds to me as if many members of your community are physically fit enough to employ pedal power into their routines.”
“Indeed we have, and if Tori can spare you, I invite you to visit our community in the future. You can take a look at our altered state of your design, and perhaps you and I could do a little fishing while you’re here.”
“Thank you, that’s a nice offer. I don’t know if such a trip would be possible though, as people other than Tori would need to approve before I could even consider it.”
Colt didn’t know it at the time, but that conversation would be the first of many with engineers from around the planet. With Hank seated beside him for the majority of those conversations, they learned, among other things, that the two population centers located near what had formerly been Tokyo Japan and Hong Kong China had each latched onto the sailboat concept for fishing. Then using different designs, they had also developed a bicycle style vehicle for their respective needs.
In the North African settlement, on what little land mass remained of southern Egypt, solar energy had been plentiful for use as a power source. Although the extreme heat and dry air of the region created a detriment with regard to incorporating pedal power, the population did embrace the concept of adding sails to their solar vehicles.
Eventually, Colt and Hank learned that an example of their design had been developed in an altered state by each of the population centers. Throughout that process, they had also become celebrities within the eyes of the global engineering community. Janet found it humorous to observe her husband and son as they each navigated their way through the potential pitfalls of stardom. Hank, as one would expect of a boy his age, thought the additional attention was cool. That is, as long as the administrators and engineers didn’t treat him like a boy of his age. As for Colt, he had been expertly trained to do so, and had then gladly spent much of his adult years standing as the protective shadow for a person in the limelight. With that in mind, Janet knew that Hank would be well taken care of by his father. The larger question, especially considering her very busy research schedule, was who would watch out for Colt. Janet had noticed that a young woman in local circles had developed an increasing interest in Colt, and because he was completely oblivious to that fact, it became necessary for Janet to monitor his level of vulnerability against her intended actions.
When the opportune moment presented itself, Janet approached the young solar engineer with a smile and said, “You’re Kenna Hayden aren’t you? I know we have seen each other once or twice throughout the past few months when you were helping with the development of the prototype vehicle. I have always thought of you as a pleasant young woman who must possess a high level of intelligence.”
Surprised by the approach and candor of the woman whom she believed had always intentionally kept her distance from the project, Kenna replied, “Yes, we have. I recognize you Janet, and I appreciate the kind words.”
“Good. I’m glad to know that you recognize me Kenna, and you’re welcome. Now if I may, I have something important to discuss with you.”
“Alright Janet, would you like to sit down?”
“No thanks, this will only take a minute. It’s important that you fully understand I have nothing against you personally, but we cannot, and will not, become close friends.”
Shocked by the quick reversal of Janet’s initial warm approach, Kenna replied, “Well, I believe that would be most unfortunate for both of us. Is there a particular reason why you feel that way?”
“Yes there is Kenna. I’m already very good friends with one such person, and that makes our relationship more difficult than it needs to or used to be. I have always been aware that my husband would become a necessary participant in the gene enrichment program, but I don’t, other than casually, have a desire to know the various women who have selected him for that purpose.”
Working in conjunction with Tori at the communication center, Aurora sent a message out to each recruit living in the various population centers around the globe. In the event that other individuals hadn’t kept a record of such matters, Aurora wanted it known that this day marked the completion of one full Earth year since their arrival from ₹-593-Ԅπ-2-2.
After concluding her transmission, Aurora slipped into several moments of quiet self-reflection. Having been tasked by Ross with the meticulous and vital records associated with the gene enrichment program, Aurora was happy that phase five had begun to bear fruit. The birth of babies due to the efforts of several recruits had been reported from around the globe during the past two months, and more women in each of the population centers were expected to add to that list shortly.
Natiya held the distinction among all of the recruits as being the first to deliver when she provided Kristyn with a baby sister, and the Peruvian runner whom Ross had suggested as the final member of the local group was in the late stages of pregnancy. The adult male recruits of the group, Colt and Tikal, had also done their part. A woman who chose Tikal to be the father of her child was due in less than a month, while another was now in her second trimester. Tori had not been far behind Natiya when she gave birth to Colt’s daughter, and there had been recent confirmation that Kenna now carried his child.
While mentally reliving several events beyond the births which had transpired throughout the year, Aurora also paid respectful homage to the deaths and what had been the root cause for the majority of them. One such memory, the death of Ross, was more vivid than any other. She believed, from a purely personal and selfish angle, that Ross’s death and the events surrounding it had been the low point of the year. Fortunately for Aurora, she was also cognizant of the fact that her feelings were not necessarily shared by the majority of the remaining human population of Earth. Although Ross had intended well with the implementation of the gene enrichment program, he had unknowingly unleashed an epidemic that was spreading throughout the sixteen population centers of the planet. There had been several dozen recent deaths, and unfortunately, each of the respective autopsies revealed the same exploded lungs that Ross had endured.
Returning to the present, Aurora just couldn’t shake the feeling that there must be something more to each of the deaths than was originally believed. While once again mentally reviewing several of the cases, she suddenly realized that a hidden pattern might exist. Turning to Tori, she said, “Will you excuse me for a few moments? I must go check something in my records. If my belief is correct, then we need to speak with Janet and Dr. Halley immediately.”
While cradling her sleeping child that was only days old, Tori replied, “Sure Aurora, no problem. But you make it sound so serious though, is there anything that I can do to help?”
“Not at the moment, but I may take you up on the offer when I return.”
After scanning through her meticulous notes of births, deaths, and other events of significance for more than an hour, Aurora returned with a large notebook under her arm.
When she came through the door, Tori asked, “Well, did you find whatever it was that you were looking for?”
“I did indeed. Now will you please come with me? I must share this information with Janet and Dr. Halley.”
“Of course I will, but can you at lea
st tell me what you discovered before we go?”
“You’ll know soon enough. Now come on, let’s go.”
The two women sped off toward the medical research labs with as much haste as could be managed while carrying an infant. Once there, they located Janet and Dr. Halley.
Turning toward the unexpected guests, Dr. Halley said, “Well hello ladies. Can I help you with something?”
Aurora then blurted out, “I have some information with regard to the virus that I believe is important!”
“Really, well what is it?”
“We have all been so busy looking at Ross as the source of the problem, that we couldn’t see it.”
“See what exactly?”
“If we could just look beyond the role of blame for Ross, and view the problem from a clinical angle, it’s easy to see that his, and each of the other deaths, has been informative.”
Janet intervened, “What are you getting at Aurora?”
“I believe that the mysterious virus strikes, and then advances within each host body, based on a level of prejudice.”
“Interesting theory, could you explain it please?”
“Well, up to this point only adults have died. I have checked over my records thoroughly, and each person to have died was a minimum of sixty years old. Although there has been an ever increasing amount of adults under that age exhibiting the early symptoms, none of them have died yet. Additionally, there has been no report of infection within any of the children or newborns.”
Dr. Halley responded first, “That’s very interesting. Are you sure that your data is correct?”
“Yes I am Dr. Halley, without a doubt. Unless of course there was some incorrect information forwarded to me.”
Having experienced the level of precision with regard to Aurora’s documentation for several years, Janet announced, “I can vouch for her accuracy on such matters Dr. Halley. If Aurora claims there is a pattern in the data, then there is.”
“Alright Janet, that’s good enough for me. Now in order for us to proceed with this, we should first confirm that Aurora was indeed given correct information about those who have, or have not, become infected. Once that has been determined, then we can dig deeper into the data and see if it reveals any other patterns.”
Aurora nodded, turned toward Tori, and asked, “Can you help me send out another message? I need to contact each of your counterparts in the other population centers.”
“Sure, that’s not a problem.”
“Thank you. The sooner we can begin the research on my theory, the better it may be for everyone.”
Throughout the next few days, the two women tended to their mission. They spoke with administrators and anyone else who might assist with validating Aurora’s hypothesis. As records of those either killed by, or infected with, the deadly virus were further scrutinized, the reality of her claim became apparent.
Aurora remembered Janet saying that from the earliest days of attempting to combat the virus, the common belief was that Ross had been the initial carrier. Of that there could be no doubt. Additionally, there had been an early theory by some that the virus was spread via bodily fluids. Gabriela’s intimacy with Ross, and her subsequent illness, had suggested that might be accurate, but it was the only real evidence to support such a belief. With no such personal contact, Janet, among the many others living both near and far to Ross’s location, had provided proof that the virus was spread differently. Consequently, the bodily fluid thought process was quickly dismissed. Much like various strains of viruses during the time of old Earth, it was determined that this lethal bug was an airborne version.
Aside from being identified as patient zero, Ross also held the dubious distinction of having been the oldest to have died from it. Others who had met with the same sad fate during subsequent weeks and months varied in ages, but those victims created another interesting pattern. Aurora determined that as the age of each respective victim had decreased, the duration of time from the moment of their initial infection, on through the various symptom phases, and then to their eventual death, had increased.
Up to the moment of that enlightenment, Janet had been the most interesting and perplexing case due to how long she had survived since her exposure to the virus. Although it was unknown to her at the time, Janet’s close proximity to Ross since the day he had contracted the virus weeks before leaving ₹-593-Ԅπ-2-2 had placed her in jeopardy. The concentrated exposure to Ross had continued for the entire eight month duration of his illness, but her symptoms were much less pronounced. Now the age pattern for the dead that Aurora had stumbled upon helped to solve the question of why Janet had not only lived through such extreme exposure, but why she had also survived an additional six months.
Using the newly established template created by the respective ages of both Ross and Janet, those scientists working on the problem could now estimate, with reasonable accuracy, the life expectancy of a patient that had become infected. Additionally, Aurora’s discoveries had also solved the puzzle of why every other person, with the exception of Gabriela, who returned to Earth with Ross was still alive. To that end, Aurora, now the most senior member of the remaining ninety-eight, pondered why her husband Tikal hadn’t shown the slightest sign of infection. Although clearly exhibiting her own symptoms, she remained grateful that Tikal had somehow been spared up to this point. Then what suddenly occurred to her was that at no prior time had she bothered to question why.
For Aurora, the topic instantly became a question that demanded her attention. She inspected her notes closely with regard to those on the manifest, and once again an interesting pattern emerged from the data. Then bursting into the medical labs, Aurora looked at Janet and Dr. Halley, and exclaimed, “I have just discovered some additional information from the data that could be significant!”
As if in chorus, they responded, “What is it?”
“It’s so obvious. I’m upset with myself because I didn’t notice it before now.”
Janet took the lead, and asked, “Notice what exactly?”
“Well, it’s about the Mayan contingent that came with us from ₹-593-Ԅπ-2-2.”
“Fine, now please get to the point Aurora. What about the Mayan’s is so important?”
“Regardless of their respective ages, up to and including Tikal, none of the twenty-one Mayans anywhere on the planet have shown any symptoms of becoming infected.”
“None of them, are you sure?”
“Yes I am. We could easily have the respective medical personnel at each population center run blood tests to verify my findings, but if none of the Mayans come back as positive, then they may somehow be immune to the global virus.”
Aurora’s thesis was proven to be correct within the coming weeks, as each of the twenty-one Mayan recruits, including Tikal, had tested negative for the virus. What had actually proved to be more difficult than the testing itself was the task of locating a few members of the collective. Aurora’s notes had been the primary and accurate source as to which population center that each recruit had been sent to, and in every community but one, they were located and tested with relative ease. The single problem area within that search was in the former South American continent.
Although the site located between the former Brazilian mega cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo had been quick and easy, the community administrators along the west coast had less accountability as to the whereabouts of their citizens. That circumstance was magnified in two ways. First, the community where La Calera had once stood northwest of Santiago Chile was the third largest population center on the planet. Second, the group selected for that location was one of only five that contained two Mayan recruits. An organized hunt for each of them would begin immediately, but the local consensus was that they had separately headed into the nearby mountains.
When Tori delivered the news to Aurora, she replied, “Well that may prove to be quite a challenge, and please ask that the quest not be treated as a hunt. One of the many th
ings that Gabriela taught me about the Mayan culture before she died was that they don’t take kindly to being hunted.”
“I understand, but wouldn’t that increase the time it takes to locate each of them.”
“Yes it may, but we need to expand the blood testing for the virus to every citizen within each of the population centers eventually. I know that we had hoped to test each of the Mayans first, but in La Calera, they will just begin the all-encompassing process before that can be done. Believe me Tori, the medical personnel within each community that are responsible for the testing will be busy for several days. Besides that, I don’t believe that either of the two Mayans is actually hiding from anyone. They should be relatively easy to locate, and will be far less defensive, especially the male, if they learn that the testing is being done to all of the citizens. If however, they feel singled out, they may run for the hills. Each will undoubtedly need to access whatever the community has to offer at some point, and when they do, it’s important that they see, or at least hear of, others being tested.”
“Did Gabriela teach you all of that?”
“She taught me most of it, but being married to Tikal has helped shape my thinking as well.”
By the time Aurora’s prediction came to fruition, each test from the other nineteen Mayans had come back negative. The missing female, now pregnant with her second child, did emerge with her infant from a quiet retreat a few days after the search for her had begun. She complied, as many of her friends had already done, with the blood testing procedure for herself and the baby. It was unfortunate that a tremendous amount of time and resources needed to be applied during the search for the young male, but as finding and testing him was imperative, the quest for his blood would continue.