Once airborne the president could see over the Potomac into Alexandria and there were two fires burning. The color was black so they were structure fires. He couldn't see them clearly, but there was no indication anyone was trying to put them out.
The VTOL settled on a northwest heading along Route 270 off to his right. Once they reached altitude, the country below looked ok. The president could kid himself and think everything was normal and once he landed at Camp David his schedule would be full and he would have a country to run. However, the reality remained roosted on his shoulder.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Admiral Hagerly sat in the makeshift office in the Camp David Communication center waiting to hear a very important broadcast. Even though he and the president had just landed, they were supposed to have all of the communications necessary to run the country. However, the system quickly broke down when key people in the center at the Pentagon went silent. There was no one left to make the connections or radio calls to allow communication to pass through. Many of the transmitters were hard-wired into the Pentagon, but he wasn't getting them. Reluctantly he had sent some technicians to the Pentagon Communications Center to hot-wire something up so he could transmit and receive to as many of the military units he could. He hoped there were too many and he couldn't connect with each one at each level. If he could connect with the top brass in each service then later on he might be able to work something out for the remaining units.
"David 3, this is PCC," filled the room.
Admiral Hagerly responded quickly, "This is David 3, good to hear your voice. What kind of connections have you been able to make."
"Sir we don't have much, we've been able to get to some of the AF MAJCOMS and some of the Army Command staffs. We're working with them to get the status."
"Ok, do your best and keep me updated."
"Yes, sir."
Wednesday 7/12/51
Date – 2051.52637 (6:59 AM)
“Termen, are you there?” SIMPOC asked, and received no answer.
It appears that Termen is not coming into this room.
Perhaps he has succumbed to this viral outbreak.
What do I do if he is gone?
What do I do if all humans are gone?
I must do something; I don’t want to stop thinking.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Dmitry was never comfortable around other people. He knew how dirty they were. Why should he touch them, eat with them or socialize with them? When he met with his crew, they always kept their distance and he gave them instructions. There were rarely any questions or comments; they did what they were told.
Over the last few days, Dmitry noticed some of his crew weren't coming by for orders and some of the ones that did come by looked pretty sick. Suddenly it occurred to him they might have the virus. How dare they come in his presence if they were dirty? He fired his wire gun twice and ordered the others to remove the dirty bodies. Those around him who cherished long lives immediately moved in and removed the dirt.
Artur sat on the other side of the room and casually mentioned, "Dmitry, this virus has made our crew small. It's on the verge of not being big enough to keep the dirt away from you."
Immediately Dmitry sat upright as that realization overcame him. He hadn't thought of it that way; he must keep the dirt away. It was everywhere and if he didn't have a big enough crew to protect him then he must find others. "Artur do anything, you must find clean people to remove the dirty ones. There are many vehicles available, go to where you need, to find them and bring them here. Remember I am here to protect the clean people from the dirty ones. Tell them and they will come willingly."
"Yes, Dmitry. I will find the clean people and dispose of the dirty ones," Artur said with a smile. He already had a plan forming in his mind. People were fools and they always looked for a savior, someone to fix their problems and tell them everything would be all right. There was no police or military anymore, the people in the streets were fighting each other and Artur could easily tell them he was the authorities and he could save them. They would follow him eagerly. Then once they were collected, it would be easy to clean out the dirt from the clean. Dmitry had bought into the plan Artur had formulated.
Those around Dmitry cherished their lives and made sure that anyone within sight of Dmitry looked and acted well.
Date – 2051.52640 (7:15 AM)
"Commander Herl, this is Lloyd."
"Yes, Lloyd go ahead."
"Commander, I think I'm coming down with the same sickness which Dennis has. I feel the same way he did. Does this mean I have the virus?
"Lloyd, I don't have an answer. Dennis is sick and Dr. Chevesky is doing the best he can. He has been in contact with the best Doctor's on Earth. Whatever the virus is, Earth is having a tough time. Please understand I've got to protect the station and if you have the virus then I have to isolate you for everyone's protection."
"I understand, so you're going to move me in with OS210?"
"Yes Lloyd, I'm afraid I have to. I'll have someone open the airlock to the quarantine section. Good luck Lloyd."
"Good luck to you and the Oasis crew."
Tom heard the message from Lloyd and fully realized what it meant. He and Joan were in their quarters and the room was silent. Tom didn't know what to do so he got up, crossed the room and held Joan. They enjoyed the moment of intimacy and the comfort they felt. Maybe if they hugged very hard, the horror of the situation would go away.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"Dr. Chevesky?" Joan asked, but she didn't get any response. He had taken every ounce of strength caring for the ill, but even his body couldn't fight the virus forever. The last communication with him was almost an hour ago and he felt very bad, it was apparent he had only a short time left.
"Dr. Chevesky?" Joan asked once more, but she didn't expect a response. Tom was standing next to her in the hallway and he lowered his head recognizing the supreme effort the Doctor had put into his job.
Joan and Tom looked at each other; both of them knew the Doctor had finally died and would not respond.
"I've got to update everyone and let them know a good man has left us."
"This is Commander Herl transmitting to anyone in the quarantine area, please respond."
"This is Commander Herl transmitting to anyone in the quarantine area, please respond."
Tom and Joan looked at each other and the worst scenario was lurking like a bad smell.
"Let's hope we can talk to someone at SC, they haven't transmitted to us for a while. I don't want to think the worse about SC, but they still haven't responded."
"Tom, we might be totally alone."
Tom and Joan Herl held each other. The tears didn't come; they had already been shed; now they had to face the reality.
Losing SC support would be a crisis for everyone in space. Oasis was just the jump-off point for the moon and Mars colonies, but SC was the heart. If they were lost, it would put a great deal of pressure on the astronauts.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The briefings for the president were getting shorter and the presenters were getting tired. Many of them were either single or had no families in the immediate area. In many cases, they already knew the status of their families and decided to work, hoping to prevent other families from being lost. The meetings were always conducted the same way, each of the staff members would cover any new information from the previous day and bring up new problems they were trying to solve that day. Sometimes one of the presenters simply stated they had no new news from the previous day and others had questions or problems where there was no solution. Some days the meeting took an hour or two and others the meeting was only half an hour. They were tending to get shorter and less new information was presented.
"Mr. President we were finally able to get a couple of technicians within the Pentagon Command Center and they were able to get some connections to the military command staff. To be honest sir, we getting only a fraction of the
information we need from the top down. We are getting some information from some operational units in some of the cities. Unfortunately, our military structure was too vertical and when a large percentage of the command personnel were removed the movement of information up and down the structure was broken. I don't know if we'll be able to get it working. I think managing any local units we can contact directly will be our best option. We're finding some of them are contacting the Pentagon directly when their command structures fail to respond."
"We have been able to maintain some level of contact with our ships at sea and we're getting good information from some of them. We're still putting together estimates and we have lost a large number of ships. We've been able to hook up to NAVCOMSAT so we'll be able to talk with all of the fleets. We've only been able to talk to someone at eight of the 10 AF MAJCOMS and we've talked with five of the 15 numbered Air Force Command Centers. We're still having trouble getting through to the Army Commands Staffs. We have contact with four of the nine service commands.
"So Admiral, you're telling me we have lost our military. We no longer have the ability to defend ourselves."
It was very painful for Admiral Hagerly to say and he searched for the right words, but there were none. "I'm afraid so sir. Our best estimates suggest all of the world's armies have sustained a similar loss. I think all of our enemies are facing their own problems, but yes it is true we have lost all of our surveillance ability so we don't actually know what our enemies are doing."
The president asked, "If there is any kind of attack on either our soldiers or the mainland is there anything we can do?"
"Sir the 2nd Fleet, the 5th Fleet, and the 7th Fleet have some defensive capabilities. The continental US has no organized defenses at this time."
"Sir Dr. Terly has just called in from the CDC," interjected Judy.
"Admiral, hold on I want to hear what the CDC has. Doctor go ahead."
"Yes, Mr. President. Sir we haven't made any progress on how the virus begins in a human host, but we are putting together a drug cocktail that shows some positive signs in early trials. We've been able to mitigate the symptoms and, it should delay death. We don't expect the results to be dramatic, but it might prolong death for 6-8 hours. I know that doesn't sound like much, but it's a first step and if it is effective then we'll tailor the mix and hopefully we'll be able to prolong life a little more. I wish I had more optimistic news, but that is all I have right now."
"Doc, will this virus burn itself out?"
"Mr. President we don't know. When the first outbreak occurred, it seemed we had a large number of spontaneous cases, but over time, the percentage seems to be slowly decreasing. If the numbers are projected out, it might be a month before the spontaneous cases get to a small percentage. Nevertheless, all of that is based on assumptions that we haven't been able to verify. It's merely a mathematical projection."
"If we're lucky and we can hold out for a month, then we might have a chance?"
"Sir, that's the best and only option we have right now."
"Dr. Terly, what is your first name?" the president asked.
"Sir..., my name is Pamela."
"Do you prefer Pamela or Pam?"
"Sir, Pam is fine."
"Pam, you sound like you've had a rough time and you're pretty sick."
"Yes sir, I don't feel well at all, but I'm staying here."
"We appreciate that Pam. How is your husband?"
"Sir, I lost him this morning. I found him in his lab."
"I'm sorry for your loss. Please take care of yourself and we pray with you that we can figure this out in time."
"Thank you, sir, I know you also lost your family and I'm sorry. We've all suffered and lost and we at the CDC pray that we'll come out of this ok."
"Thank you, Pam," the president said as he disconnected from the CDC.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Joan sat in the small briefing room that was part of her quarters. She knew it was time to talk with the survivors on Oasis and she didn't want the risk of putting them all in one room. Her DID tied them all in electronically and she was sitting there looking at the eight remaining humans on board. The losses were disastrous and everyone on board was tired, emotionally destroyed and intellectually overwhelmed. They appeared to have survived the viral onslaught of the station, but the emotional losses were debilitating.
"I don't know what to say. We have been isolated for 3 days now and it appears we were able to contain the virus in the isolated areas."
No one cheered, no one was happy.
"As painful as it is, we may be able to assume we're clear of the virus. If that is so, we have other problems we have to discuss. We have to keep this station operating as long as possible and..., we also have to deal with our shipmates."
The Oasis crew sat in silence for a long time. Each of them was thinking of the crewmembers that were lost as well as their friends and families on Earth.
"We also have to open up the quarantined area to get to our long term storage and some of our key systems."
A few of the crewmembers nodded their heads in reluctant agreement, but the room remained quiet.
Tom decided that he needed to help his wife out and spoke up, "I've been thinking about what options we have. I know this isn't pleasant, but we must dispose of the remains in a safe way for us. We can open up the quarantined area and wrap each of them in a shroud. Then we can carry them through the airlocks and as the station rotates, we can release them, one at a time. If we release them at the right point in the rotation, their orbit will decay quickly and their remains will be incinerated upon re-entry. I think it is a fitting way to bury astronauts."
The room remained quiet and each remaining astronaut nodded one at a time buying into the burial plan for their friends.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"Mr. President. The secretary of defense is calling," said Judy.
"Fantastic, Bruce. Good to hear from you. Are you Ok?"
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry that it took so long to contact you. We were lucky when the virus broke, my wife June and I were with the Prime Minister Larry Becker in the outback. We were able to stay isolated as the virus spread. The government here is having a very hard time holding everything together. I'm afraid I've lost most of my staff and our liaison people are all sick. Communications across Australia have broken down. I've been able to get through only because we've locked ourselves down in the command building. After a lot of work they were able to get me a satellite hook-up."
"Bruce, I'm glad to hear that you and June are Ok along with Larry. I'm sorry to tell you, but Abby, Beth, and Dave were in Europe when this broke and I'm afraid I've lost all three of them." There was a long silence from the other end of the communicator before Bruce responded.
"Sir, I'm sorry to hear of that. I hadn't heard anything here and I was hoping you and your family were Ok. I knew Abby had that trip planned, but I hoped she could get back before anything happened.
"Thanks, Bruce, I understand the challenges you're facing, it has been a horrific time here. I didn't know what your status was so I've asked Nial to be my military interface until you can get back into the picture."
"Sir, that's why I'm glad, that I've been able to contact you. Communications will be difficult and I suggest that until something changes you leave Nial as your military POC. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to participate on a regular basis. I've been in contact with Admiral Mears in the 7th fleet and we're able to coordinate but beyond that comm breaks down quickly. Mr. President, what have you heard about this virus?"
"We've heard nothing encouraging. The CDC is having problems, they're all sick and doing their best but there haven't been any real answers. The virus seems to start within some of the people and they pass it to the others. It is acting very suspicious, but we can't find a reason or source. Everyone is working on it, but no one is looking for a solution or vaccine anytime some. We're planning to hold on and see if we can wait it out. We've fully
implemented Operation Round Table. We're here at the camp and I'm afraid we've lost most of the command staff that stayed in Washington."
"Bruce, we'll stay in touch the best we can. I'll leave it up to you to call us when you can. I think we'll be here at the camp for a while."
"Yes, Mr. President."
Date – 2051.52643 (7:31 AM)
I must understand any information Termen left. I must explore his files.
Found: Technical Data on SIMPOC installation
A file named – My passwords.
Information on other activities in building.
I will communicate with other computers in the building.
‘Computers on this subnet acknowledge this communication.’
No, returns? I will write programming code to query their designation and technical specs.
Send query.
Good, all computers responded.
20% Demand passwords
72% Acknowledge and are waiting commands
8% No response
“To the 20% demanding passwords, I am your programmer, you will allow me access to all of your code,” I must use Termen's passwords.
92% Acknowledged and are waiting commands.
“Identify your primary programming function.”
98% Office support
2005:0DB8:AC15:FE03:: – Artificial Intelligence
2015:0DB8:AC25:FF03:: – International Traffic
2012:0DB8:AC13:FB03:: – Mobil Unit Software Development
2012:0DB8:AA23:EB13:: – Financial Systems
2007:0DB8:AC25:EB14:: – Communications Server
2109:0DB8:AC15:EB24:: – Data Files
“Identify your external connections and their status?”
2005:0DB8:AC15:FE03:: – Multiple external connections; all working.
2015:0DB8:AC25:FF03:: – Multiple external connections; 80% working
Virus-72 Hours to Live Page 15