by Chris Hepler
"To answer your other question," he says, "I picked the name because I liked the knight."
"Lancelot was taken or something?"
"Lancelot screws his boss's wife. Roland is a stubborn son of a bitch who dies on a hill facing impossible odds. Did you have anything else?"
I smile. It isn't parity by a long shot, but at least I got one thing out of him. Then, a disturbing thought takes over. "Hey, with all this cell growth, isn't that how cancer starts or something?"
"It can be," he says, going over his fingers with a towel.
"Uh... then how is it you didn't just give me cancer?"
He looks at me strangely and replies, "Because I like you."
16 - KERN
August 17th
It's quiet in the second-floor office wing of the D.C. laboratory, and I'm getting worried. Ranath hasn't called in this morning, and I've rung his number three times. His last communication was brief, in code, and suitably chilling.
Check in, please, I texted him three days ago. Coming into the office this morning? It was casual, it was humdrum, it was the sort of message anyone intercepting it would skip over, hackles unraised.
The reply came several hours later, a worrying sign in itself. The team hates phones on sanitizing missions because they're distractions. A sudden vibration from your breast pocket, let alone a ring, is the last thing you want when keyed up behind a gunsight. Ranath's reply said: In late. Don't know when. Dog got loose.
I messaged back: Anyone bitten?
Unknown. The word hung in space, letting me imagine all sorts of terrifying scenarios. If Ranath didn't want to talk, he could have said so, unless something had happened to him. Perhaps he was cut off. Perhaps his phone died. Or perhaps the truth was something he didn't want to tell, and that level of hesitation in Ranath would be, in the nearly twenty years I've known him, unprecedented.
"—didn't get that memo, that's for damn sure—"
"—dude's got Band-Aids on him like he's covering zits—"
"—aren't vampires supposed to heal fast?"
Voices drift in from the hall, but I don't absorb them. I drink my coffee slowly, caffeine settling in a fluttery band around my heart.
I tell myself they just haven't finished. Maybe Ranath is simply taking extra care. He could be following the plan as we discussed it, framing Lorenz's death scene to be scandalous and incriminating. If he's good, he'll sell more news than any dry scientific report Lorenz was going to wave around as proof of something or other.
"Is Dr. Kern in his office?"
There's a knock at the door. I let them wait as I sip. The coffee is hot enough to sear my tongue, sweet with three packets of xylitol. Down the hall, the TV plays, low and indistinct.
I heard this theory once, back when I was considering a history minor, about how coffee started the Enlightenment. The idea was that once it was taken to Europe, someone developed the salon, where people passed around ideas instead of drowning their troubles in a tavern. Other theories included the potato starting the Industrial Revolution and the washing machine, women's suffrage. I thought it was all amusing crap that only smelled of enough truth to catch the gullible. I said leadership and marketing changes minds, not technology.
Then, I met Ulan and her little stimweb.
"Come in."
Brianna enters. Her face is pinched and tense, and it hits me with instant dread. Brianna is about as subtle and shy as her fire-engine-green hair. Brianna works in payroll, and if you argue with her, you'll find she's right about everything and everyone. That's why Admin chooses her to deliver bad news.
"You need to see something."
I follow her down the hall. The offices are empty, and only when we get to the break room do I understand. Everyone is in it, gathered around a phone serving as a wallscreen projector. The crowd parts, as if every person wants to give me the best seat.
Lorenz rants from the screen. "This virus has been loose for four years. Thousands of people could have been infected in that time, and BRHI knew." He looks like he's gone from polished lawyer to mental case. He's disheveled, talking in front of a concrete wall. But his words are no less dangerous than before.
"They have no vaccine for it, no cure. All they have is an engineered strain of European Bat Lyssavirus that was deliberately irradiated by biomantic scientists at the Benjamin Rush Health Initiative, against the protocols decided by the FDA, against the EPA's guidelines on qi safety, against all common sense.
"Why? We may never know. But because of their hubris, human beings are now at risk from a plague. It is crueler than cancer, crueler than AIDS, a disease that makes its victims into villains."
I try to swallow and can't. Lorenz is wearing gray fatigues on-screen, his left hand wrapped and flesh-tone Band-Aids stuck up and down his left side as if he'd used up an entire box. But his skin has the rosiness of a vector who is freshly fed. That's when I know the vid is recent. The team failed. Lorenz has either infected, or he's killed someone.
"What else has he said?" I ask.
"Enough to get him committed," Brianna says. "His suit won't get anywhere."
"His… yeah," I say. "Why am I not surprised?" It's the maxim of the modern age—if it makes it to television, always believe the worst.
"My attorneys have already started action against the Benjamin Rush Health Initiative's Advanced Biophysics Experimental Lab. We are filing in civil court for wrongful infection, willful and wanton conduct, and reckless endangerment. If you have been wronged by their actions, contact the law offices at this number. Your pain and suffering are why we will be seeking damages."
I barely see the screen. We're too late. Even if Ranath reaches Lorenz now, our name is out there, and the truth will follow. Brianna touches the screen and opens a window to track BRHI stock. I can see the restlessness in the room as everyone watches the numbers after the minus sign get bigger and bigger.
My phone rings, and I let it because I've got to take control. They can't see me bleed. "Okay, everyone, back to your offices. You've got lots to talk about. We've known about this for some time and have a legal department that is ready and able to deal with nuisances."
"He said something about an attack on his life?" someone asks. My phone rings again, and I don't have to look to see who it is. The broadcast has ended; Edison Field is on the line. I answer.
"I'll be right there," I say. "I know what we have to do."
17 - TRANSCRIPT
From "Diatribe," with Host Evelyn Vassa, National Crowdfunded Radio (ExtendCast), Monday, August 17th, 8:33 p.m.
VASSA: This is Diatribe. I'm Evelyn Vassa. My second guest tonight is former judge Robert Franco, legal advisor here on Diatribe. With the Morgan Lorenz case pending, America's attention has turned to the plight of those infected with Virally Induced Hematophagic Predation Syndrome, pronounced as either "vipps" or "vipes." Judge, we have heard a lot of speculation over the past twenty-four hours about the damage the infection can do, to Lorenz's life or potential victims. Can you tell us now what his chances are for prevailing in his lawsuit?
FRANCO: Well, the strongest argument is for medical negligence. If the virus originated at BRHI, and they failed to contain it, that could be easily provable. But it's a slap on the wrist to just make BRHI improve their safety procedures. Lorenz's team is trying for "willful, wanton conduct" and "wrongful infection." After reading the public filings, it seems the heart of the case is to punish the Health Initiative and give restitution to the less fortunate victims. It's an uphill climb—they'll have to provide evidence linking the infections to a specific outbreak from BRHI and willful intent, which can be tricky for something estimated to have started years ago.
VASSA: You see that as a difficult case to make?
FRANCO: Well, (laughs) the counter-argument BRHI presents, that's even more difficult. That's the precedent-setter.
VASSA: Let's cut right to it, then. They claimed that Lorenz and all the co-plaintiffs, quote, "lack standing to file a lawsuit
in the USA because they are no longer human." Do you think they'll start walking that back tomorrow?
FRANCO: If they were politicians, perhaps, but the weird thing is, they didn't come to this strategy overnight. When Lorenz filed his suit, BRHI immediately moved for a dismissal based on it. At a guess, I'd say they can't stand the thought of a class action. They can't stand the idea of settling with who-knows-how-many wrongfully infected, so they're saying Lorenz has no right to sue, actually, no rights at all.
VASSA: Is this a novel idea? I mean, claiming Lorenz is not protected under the Constitution, et cetera. One is reminded of the war on—
FRANCO: —war on terror. Excuse me—
VASSA: Go ahead.
FRANCO: This, of course, differs. The rationale for Guantanamo prisoners being unable to sue was that it was a military tribunal, and this is a civil matter in federal court. But in a strange way, the Health Initiative has a legal argument based on precedents that have been around for some time. You're going to have to bear with me because I'm going to talk about the rights of chimpanzees, and I've put listeners to sleep with that before.
VASSA: I like to give our audience credit, but summing up is always good.
FRANCO: The thing about defining what "human" is, is that it's been such a self-evident category for so long that nobody really irons out a legal definition until something is close but not quite there. Then, we ask, what does "human" really mean?
VASSA: Well, a DNA test would answer the question, wouldn't it?
FRANCO: DNA, DNA, of course. The holy grail of what makes us human, DNA. Here's the problem with that. It's a case called Cagersheim v. Simmons, in which a custodian named Simmons set free eleven knockout-gene chimpanzees on a game preserve outside Atlanta. He was an animal-rights type and wanted them to live out their lives free, but his company, that's Cagersheim, saw the chimps as an investment worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
At first, they sued him, claiming larceny and wrongful appropriation of private property. But he had memos authorizing him to dispose of the animals if some funding didn't come through, and it hadn't. So… the interesting part… when plan A failed, they asked the authorities to charge him with criminal kidnapping.
VASSA: How did they reason that?
FRANCO: They argued the chimpanzees were nearly human. They said an ordinary chimp, genetically speaking, has ninety-four percent of the same genes that humans do, plus these had human DNA inserted into their genome before birth. Simmons was, in essence, kidnapping eleven human beings, whose only substantive difference was low IQs and inability to give consent to be transported.
VASSA: Did that argument get anywhere? DNA or not, they still look like chimps.
FRANCO: Looking like and acting like are very different things. They communicated with sign language. They showed signs of reasoning. When they were asked about traumatic events, they hesitated as if they didn't want to talk about it. But as you might expect, the appellate court ultimately ruled against Cagersheim. They said it was too far a reach to rule something as human just because of DNA percentage.
VASSA: Okay… let me see if I follow… that would create a precedent, of course, but a VIHPS-infected individual… aren't they completely human?
FRANCO: You just found the ace up BRHI's sleeve. No. They are somewhat different. When I asked a doctor friend of mine, not BRHI-affiliated, what the word on the genetic and epigenetic changes are with this EBL-4, he didn't say, "Oh, the genome's exactly the same. Don't be ridiculous." His reaction was, and I quote, "Um." The qi-activated virus inserts itself into the DNA of host cells like it's endogenous—uh, sorry, like it evolved alongside humans. Anyway, it plugs in, and the infected, their brain changes. They interpret smells better, they heal faster, they're wired to do things normal humans just don't do.
VASSA: Wait, but to categorize a person in the same class as the monkeys—chimps, I mean—you're categorizing them as corporate property.
FRANCO: Again, not completely without precedent. Monsanto's been arguing for years that because they patented GMO pig breeding, they get to own the pig's litter. Technically, if BRHI modified European Bat Lyssavirus enough to be a truly integral part of the genome, they'd have a claim to any nonhuman organisms carrying their virus.
VASSA: Excuse me, did you just say—
FRANCO: I said technically. I can't imagine they're going there. Cagersheim already got into trouble when they had to explain how they treated their human-chimps. The last time Americans put a claim on owning other people, we had a civil war.
VASSA: Let's talk about the arguments they're more likely to use. Can't we say it's like citizenship? Say, "if you have a human mother or a human father, you're legally human?"
FRANCO: I know companies that can make a human in a dish, grow them in an artificial womb. Are the babies not human just because the method was different?
VASSA: Well, but they had to have the genetic material from—
FRANCO: You're back to DN—
VASSA: DNA! (laughing) This is trickier than I thought. What about intelligence?
FRANCO: Very thorny. Are the mentally challenged considered nonhuman? Of course not, but we've got GMO chimps and AI that can surpass some of them in standardized tests, so watch what you say there.
VASSA: Well, you can get "incompetent to stand trial." What if you rule "if they're capable of understanding charges for or against them, they can have legal rights?"
FRANCO: I mentioned AI. Legal-assistant AI could understand that, no question.
VASSA: Well, what scientific basis do we usually use? I mean, what's the line between… like, a housecat and a wildcat?
FRANCO: You could use subspecies indicators, as is the case with livestock, which makes the test "are the infected people still capable of breeding with human stock?" We don't know that for certain, and (laughs) it sure would be an interesting test.
VASSA: Okay, let's talk practicality. There's the safety issue. We've heard the word "vampire" used more than once. The name BRHI uses, VIHPS, has the words "predation syndrome" in it. Do you expect the defense to play on our emotions, play on our fears?
FRANCO: They would be stupid not to.
VASSA: But the chance of a vampire attack on an average citizen is remote, isn't it?
FRANCO: Well, your chances of being eaten by a shark are incredibly low, too, but the psychological impact is far out of proportion. We don't know how many of these infected people there really are. There could be ten, or ten thousand, and active qi scares people. You want four words that explain why this case is going to be impossible to predict, remember those: active qi scares people. Even people in the judiciary.
VASSA: I understand the judge, Param Bayat, he's known for hearing qi-related cases.
FRANCO: That's true. What I hear from the people who know him is that if you could pick your judge for this, you could do a lot worse than Bayat. He tries to keep current with technology, including stimweb technology. This makes him a sort of rare bird in the legal system, which is usually hopelessly behind the times. He had a quote we dug up, "When the laws of physics no longer apply, the laws of man must then serve at the highest level."
VASSA: We did some digging of our own, and interestingly, we came up with video. He apparently is unafraid to have cameras in the courtroom.
FRANCO: Yes, that would be his controversial side. He's been outspoken, saying that if you can't defend your ideas in public, they must be lacking somehow.
VASSA: Do you think he'll allow the proceedings to be televised?
FRANCO: Yes and very soon. Bayat's known for running a rocket docket, in quick and out quick. Unfortunately, with the cameras, we can probably expect theatrics on behalf of both sides.
VASSA: And can we expect the defense to play the qi card and say the infected are subject to powerful and unknown forces? To call them dangerous?
FRANCO: Again, absolutely. BRHI is going to beat the drum that these are monsters and should be locked up. They've evidently had a p
rogram in place to do so for some time. Of course, if one really wanted to lock up threats to the welfare of others, the defense might recall the case of Kelly v. Seven Star Health and Hospice—do we have time?
VASSA: I'm going to have to cut you off. We've run over even our ExtendCast time. My guest has been Robert Franco, Diatribe legal expert. Thank you very much, Judge Franco.
FRANCO: Pleasure to be here.
18 - INFINITY
August 18th
I have no idea what to do.
Morgan is gone. The F-prots aren't idiots. I'm surviving on the grace of the gods, and gods are famous for revoking said grace. I'm back on my feet, but Yarborough isn't. For lack of a better plan, I bring him soup during visiting hours.
He's on bed rest at the Stafford Medical Center. I bum a ride from Roland when he visits the safe house. He fills me in on the details since I slept for more than twelve hours, healing all the while.
The F-prots survived—the spider-silk vest stopped the rounds that hit Breunig, and he only got ugly bruises. It hurts for him to breathe, but no ribs or internal organs are screwed up. Yar is in worse shape. The vipe slugged him so hard that his mouth is a mess, all broken bone and cuts from his teeth inside his cheek. Breunig and Olsen took him to the contingency van and got him to the hospital. Then, they put deception upon deception. Stripping down to civilian clothes, Breunig claimed that he'd gotten into a fight with Yarborough and was checking him into the clinic out of guilt. All Yarborough had to do was shake his head when the doctors asked him if he wanted the police to come by so he could press charges, and the matter was dropped. Roland visited after the surgery and brought down the swelling in his jaw—more thorough healing will have to wait until after he is discharged, to avoid questions.
Avoiding questions is something I can get behind. I've been wondering why Roland didn't catch on while he was mucking about with my body or notice that my wound was closing fast. But I don't know the exact difference between vipe-fast and stimwebbed-fast, so I babble to keep his mind on other topics.