The doctor and pastor continued going back and forth. Collin tuned them out, stared at his folded hands, and thought about what Anna told him. He wondered if she knew about this. Was this what she meant by everything not being what it seemed? It was hard to say. Had there always been a cure? Was a cure even possible? Had he really been asleep for years? Then thoughts of his family filled his heart and mind.
When Collin looked up he realized that Pastor Pendell and Dr. Horner were staring at him.
A half-smile played across his lips. “So, um, what’s next? How can we turn this into an effective treatment as you said, doctor?”
Pastor Pendell shook his head.
“Never mind all that. You should just be grateful that you alone have given hope to all mankind.”
“Alone?” Dr. Horner asked, looking sideways at the pastor.
“My apologies, doctor. Of course your lab work has been vital. But without the raw materials from Collin, and divine insight from the Lord, the lab would sit idle.” Pastor Pendell smiled at Collin again.
Not wanting to hear them bicker, Collin cut in. “Doctor, can you explain how this potential treatment works?”
“Certainly,” she said. She thought for a moment before speaking. “Normally, when an allergen such as pollen enters the body, it is attacked by our immune system, which sends out antibodies to fight the allergens. The antibodies fight off the foreign object, in this case pollen, and the body learns from this encounter and is better able to fight it in the future. Or you develop an immunity. If the body overreacts, then you get symptoms such as itchy eyes, a runny nose, a rash or other more deadly symptoms like anaphylactic shock.”
Pastor Pendell waved his hand like he was shooing a fly. “We should give thanks to the Lord.”
“If you interrupt me again, you can thank him in person, pastor,” Dr. Horner said. She smiled, but Collin didn’t doubt her words.
“Very well.” Pastor Pendell chuckled. He motioned for her to continue.
“Histamines facilitate the body’s defenses against foreign objects, but in the case of allergies they’re helping to attack something that’s not dangerous to us. It’s this overreaction that people associate with ‘having allergies’ and taking an antihistamine can reduce the body’s attack on foreign bodies that aren’t a true threat,” Dr. Horner said.
“So why don’t antihistamines help against pollen now?” Collin asked.
“The pollen produced by HAGS’ plants isn’t destroyed by white blood cells because they don’t recognize it until it’s already latched onto cells and the reaction it incites can’t be managed by antihistamine. It still kicks the body’s immune system into overdrive. It’s like the pollen mimics or possibly creates a serious infection so the response is way stronger than it needs to be and that leads to-”
“The fever,” Collin said.
“Exactly,” Dr. Horner said. “The fever continues to climb until it renders the victim unconscious, sending them into a coma, or sleep as some people politely refer to it. Since we lack a lot of basic equipment, we can’t sustain everyone that lapses into a coma. Some people’s fever gets so high that they end up dying from that. Others dehydrate or just starve.”
“Why doesn’t the body destroy the pollen before it infects them?” Collin sat forward in his chair.
“There is still a lot we don’t know about how all this happened due to limited resources and facilities. But basically, the white blood cells just don’t recognize the pollen as a threat. Almost as if the pollen molecules are shielded until they infect the body.” Dr. Horner shrugged. She was obviously frustrated by the lack of specifics. The inability to research the issue effectively had to be wearing on her.
“What does BT76 do that other medicines can’t?” Collin asked.
“Good question,” Dr. Horner said. “From what we’ve been able to observe, BT76 attaches to the pollen spores and breaks down their cellular membrane. Once it bypasses the ‘shield,’ for lack of a better description, then the body’s natural response kicks in and it’s dealt with like any other minor problem.”
“How do I factor into this? What’s unique about my blood?”
“Your white blood cells are able to defeat the ‘shield’ without BT76 and defeat the pollen before it triggers a response. Or at least that’s how it developed slowly over time. We think that’s why your fever only reached a certain point and then you stabilized. Eventually your immune system was able to defeat the infection without any BT76.” Dr. Horner shrugged again. “I’m limited in what I can verify so a lot of this is hypothetical or guessing, really. It took sixteen years, but my guess is that your body evolved, shall we say.”
Collin let out a big sigh and leaned back. He thought about what she said. “What are your thoughts?” he asked the pastor.
“The Lord works in mysterious ways, my son.”
“Great, I’ve evolved, but how does that help? We can’t keep Doris and all these other folks alive until their bodies figure out how to fight,” said Collin.
“Too true,” said Pastor Pendell. “Here’s the good part. Doctor.” He motioned again for her to continue.
Dr. Horner pursed her lips into a frown. Then she continued. “Your white blood cells are special, like I mentioned, they can recognize and defeat the HAGS infection without any assistance from BT76. Thankfully, your blood type is universal so we are trying to use the cells as a treatment.”
“So if you give people my blood then they can fight the infection?”
“Yes! A blessing from God,” Pastor Pendell said.
His enthusiasm was contagious, Collin thought. He couldn’t help smiling, even if it sounded too good to be true.
“Maybe,” said Dr. Horner. “We still need to test the procedure and it may not work with everyone. In the lab, our success rate is roughly seventeen percent.”
“That’s it?” Collin’s heart sank. “And the rest of the time?”
“When it doesn’t work, it accelerates the overreaction of the defense response. I believe it would lead to a severe case of anaphylaxis and would cause death in a very short period of time,” Dr. Horner said. “In a normal case of anaphylaxis, it can cause death in as little as five minutes for contrast media and medication, and as slow as thirty minutes for food ingestion. We don’t have enough epinephrine to treat more than a few people, if it even works at all.”
“Doc, I have to be honest. It sounds like you’re going in the right direction, but those are unacceptable odds. We’d be killing nearly everyone to only save a few,” Collin said. He whistled like “whoa” and raised his hands in the air.
“Even if we moved forward and started using the treatment as is, which we are not, it could only be done on people already developing the fever,” Dr. Horner said.
“How can we improve the odds?”
“I’d like to attempt to modify your red blood cells to carry antibodies that recognize the pollen and allow the body to destroy it before it causes an infection,” said Dr. Horner. “Since you’re a universal donor, it seems like our best option. This way, people develop the ability to produce their own antibodies and improved white blood cells that should be like yours and able to defeat the infection. I know you turned down the BT76 from Major Logan and at this point, I’ve come to the conclusion that you should be immune to the HAGS fever. If I can modify the blood cells, we could effectively immunize everyone.”
“What do you need from me, doctor?” Collin liked the doctor’s alternative.
“More blood. Not today though. I have enough to attempt the modification. We’ll draw some more tomorrow,” Dr. Horner said. “Other than that I need some time to try the procedure. I haven’t done serious lab work like this in quite some time. If this works we should come close to a perfect solution and even be able to treat the people that have already slipped into a coma. All we have to do is keep them alive while I modify your cells.”
Collin nodded. “Excellent.”
Pastor Pendell looked deflated.
“But we have a treatment available now,” said Pastor Pendell. “If the Lord is with them, people will be saved.”
Collin couldn’t believe he was pushing the issue. “Pastor, considering our recent losses, we can’t afford to lose anyone in town and there’s no point accelerating the deaths of the-”
“If they volunteer and I bless them, then it’s perfectly ethical,” Pastor Pendell said.
“I won’t have my blood used on a treatment that has more than an eighty-percent chance of failure,” Collin said. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “We can wait for the new procedure.”
“You would deny the people of Goshen the hope of a cure?” Pastor Pendell stood up and glared down at Collin. “Who are you to decide what’s good for them?”
“You want to give them false hope, pastor,” Collin said. “All we have to do is wait a while longer and let Dr. Horner test her blood cell modification theory.”
“This is my town, Collin. You will not dictate to me-”
“I’m not dictating anything.” Collin stood and met the pastor’s glare. “I’m trying to help you see reason.”
“Gentlemen, please. Sit down. Our energy is better focused on solving the problem,” Dr. Horner said.
Collin sat down, his gaze never wavering from Pastor Pendell’s. The pastor waited until Collin sat before sitting down.
The doctor looked at them both then said, “I should be able to show you preliminary results on the gene modification in a few days.”
“Can you accept that, pastor?” Collin said. “A few days to drastically improve people’s odds.”
Pastor Pendell thought for a moment, tapping his chin.
Finally he spoke. “Fine. Three days,” he said. “If you don’t have results for me on the morning of the fourth day, I make the announcement, and we go with the treatment we have now, and place our fate in the Lord’s hands.”
Collin looked at the doctor.
She nodded her acceptance.
The pastor looked at Collin.
“Fine,” Collin said. “Let’s do this for the people of Goshen.”
“Amen,” Pastor Pendell said. “The saved will be saved.”
After a quick pounding on the door, Anna burst in without waiting. Her face was flush and she was breathing heavily. In her hand, she clutched a wrinkled handful of paper. She thrust them out with a pained look on her face.
Chapter Seventeen
Doctor Julie Horner faced her daughter with concern plain on her face.
“Anna, what’s the meaning of this?” she said.
“An airplane flew by and dropped these over the town. They’ve spread everywhere,” Anna said, shaking her fistful of papers. “After it dropped the pamphlets, it turned and swooped down, spraying a foggy substance over the crops.”
“What the hell?” Collin said.
“Then it just flew away over the mountains,” Anna said.
“Let me see,” Pastor Pendell said. He reached over and grabbed a paper from Anna.
“Mom, um, Dr. Horner, I haven’t see an airplane like that since I was a kid,” Anna said. Her eyes were wide and her face was still flushed. “It had the same logo on it that the helicopters have.”
Another knock on the door.
“Come in,” Pastor Pendell said.
Kobyashi burst into the room. “Hey guys, the nurses said you were in here. Guess what?”
“HAGS just flew over and crop dusted the field,” Collin said.
“Good guess, sleeping beauty,” Koby said. He looked at Anna and his enthusiasm faded. “She ruined the surprise, huh?”
“Actually, while you came empty handed, Anna brought us this,” Pastor Pendell said. He waved the flyer in the air.
“Ouch,” Koby said, making a face as he placed a hand over his heart.
“Here,” Anna said. She handed everyone a copy of the flyer.
Collin read the paper.
Goshen Residents:
Due to unforeseen complications, Hathaway Agricultural Genetic Sciences is unable to continue providing BT76 at previously supplied quantities. Expect a reduction of 40% (minimum), effective immediately. Plan accordingly.
Where possible, we have fertilized farmland to boost crop yield.
Respectfully,
H.A.G.S.
Sustainable For Life
Collin felt sick to his stomach. For the people of Goshen, in the midst of a massive BT76 shortage due to the Viper attack, and the pending loss of fifty-seven residents currently suffering down the hall, this was the worst possible timing. He sat down heavily and groaned.
Would the residents take this in stride like the “lottery?” Or would this be the straw that broke Goshen’s back?
Thankfully, Dr. Horner had a viable plan for dealing with the infection. So Collin wasn’t worried about the long-term plan. He was worried about the immediate state of the town.
Pastor Pendell looked rather furious. Collin suspected it was because HAGS told the entire town instead of going through the leadership.
“Doctor, we’ll leave you now. I expect you have a lot of work to do,” Pastor Pendell said. “Remember, three days. Let’s go folks.” He waved his hand to shoo them out of the room.
“What’s Julie working on?” Koby asked, looking around confused.
“I’m sure Collin can fill you in.” Pastor Pendell glanced at Collin and then walked out of the room.
They filed out of the room, through the office, and walked down the hallway to the staircase. As they walked downstairs Koby asked, “What are you going to tell people outside?”
Collin was thinking the same thing.
Pastor Pendell didn’t respond.
As they approached the front doors, Collin could see people standing around outside holding the flyers. He looked at Koby and raised his eyebrows. There was no telling how things were going to go.
“Oh wow,” Collin said. Anna wasn’t joking about all the flyers the plane dropped. It seemed like they were everywhere. One fluttered through the air and stuck to the trunk of a tree, like a medieval wanted poster.
“Pastor,” a woman shouted, pointing at the group exiting the hospital. She ran over waving one of the pink fliers in the air.
The groups of people who were standing around converged on the pastor, their voices rising as they began talking.
“Sonofabitch,” Collin muttered, as he looked around at all the people.
What had seemed like a ghost town earlier that morning now resembled the first day Collin went to church. People were in the streets as far as he could see. It was as if everyone in Goshen had decided to come outside to investigate HAGS’ message. Nervous energy filled the air.
Pastor Pendell stopped on the sidewalk and held up his hands for silence. The crowd settled down a little, but continued talking.
“Quiet,” Collin shouted. Silence fell over the crowd. Fear was etched on the residents’ faces.
Pastor Pendell nodded his thanks towards Collin.
“My friends, we are aware of this new development. But fear not, the Lord is with us. We are a blessed town,” Pastor Pendell said. “The Council will be meeting soon to discuss our options. We will make an announcement tomorrow morning. If you have questions, please put them in writing, and give them to your neighborhood representative. Representatives, bring those questions to my office before dinner this evening, so the council can review them before we make our decision. There will be an announcement tomorrow.”
Pastor Pendell looked around at everyone. “Take heart, my friends. Isaiah tells us, “For I Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.”
Without waiting for a reaction, Pastor Pendell stepped forward to leave. The crowd parted before him. Collin and Koby followed in his wake.
When they were out of earshot of the crowd, Pastor Pendell said, “Council meeting at Kobyashi’s house, right now.”
Collin glanced at Koby, who looked mildly surprised.
“Um, okay,” Koby said.
“Should I go back and get the doctor?” Collin asked.
“No, this is more of a military matter,” Pastor Pendell said. “Besides, she has her hands full enough as it is. Right?”
Collin conceded the point with a nod.
They walked the short distance across town to Koby’s house in an awkward silence Koby finally broke the tension.
“Here we are,” he said, pointing at the house in front of them.
Collin looked over Koby’s house. It had a neatly tended yard with shrubs similar to his own lining the large porch. The house was painted forest green with white trim. Koby’s front porch wrapped around the side of the house and he had two big trees in his front yard. It was nice. Classic Americana.
Then they saw Major Logan already standing on Koby’s porch. He was holding a green tube.
“Awkward,” Koby said to Collin. He nudged him with his elbow.
Collin grunted and watched Major Logan.
“You two play nice,” Pastor Pendell said loud enough for everyone to hear.
Neither man said anything.
“How’d you know we would be here?” Koby said. “We didn’t even know until we left the hospital.”
Major Logan looked at Pastor Pendell. Then he said, “I was told to meet you guys here. I’ve been waiting about twenty minutes. Now that you’re finally here can we go inside and get started?”
Logan’s face was puffy and slightly discolored, especially his nose, and he had bandages on his cheekbones, covering the cuts. Major Logan looked much worse off than Collin.
“Sure,” Koby said, drawing out the word. He looked over his shoulder and mouthed, “What the fuck?” to Collin.
Collin fought back a smile and followed everyone inside Koby’s house.
“We can use the kitchen table. Please have a seat,” Koby said. “Anyone want a drink?”
“I’ll take tea if you have it,” Pastor Pendell said.
“Coffee, please,” Collin said.
“Make that two coffees,” Major Logan said.
Praying for War: The Collin War Chronicles Page 15