Virus-72 Hours to Live

by Ray Jay Perreault

  "Acknowledged."

  When the onboard computer released the container, Bill felt a gentle bump. "Computer maneuver for re-entry."

  "Be advised the center of gravity in not within limits."

  "Continue and compensate."

  "Acknowledged, this procedure in not within acceptable Space Consortium guidelines. Please confirm the order."

  "Continue to landing and compensate for the center of gravity."

  "Acknowledged."

  The deceleration went reasonably well. The off-center condition forced the retro rocket to fire in pulses while the gimbaled motor adjusted the thrust line. Once the tug's velocity slowed, it was going down and Bill just had to hold on. The landing would be the hard part. The gimbaled motor would fire at a radical angle trying to balance the tug but it might not have enough thrust and the tug could fall over on its side. He doubted that it was going to be a nice landing.

  "RD be advised, I'm on my way down. You might want to put the car in the garage, it might get messy."

  Sally couldn't think of any witty response she just sat there watching the instrumentation and waiting.

  When the tug reached the deceleration point, normally the engine would fire and it would slow down gently landing on the pad. With the center of gravity off, it would fire early and try to make many small adjustments before hitting the pad. It wasn't likely that it could make all of the adjustments quick enough. Bill was right when he hit the pad the tug was at a 22-degree angle with the horizon. The engine did a reasonable job of adjusting the descent, but the landing struts couldn't handle the asymmetrical loading. One of the struts collapsed and Bill could feel the sickening feeling of the tug slowly falling to its side. On the moon, nothing happened fast which made the slow fall a painful ride.

  "RD I'm down, but it wasn't pretty."

  "We noticed. Are you Ok?"

  "No problem. The SMU's might have a tough time getting these containers off, but I'm afraid the tug has made its last landing."

  "Stand by and we'll send someone out to help you get out of the tug."

  "Roger that."

  Friday 7/21/51

  Date – 2051.55248 (7:42 PM)

  “SIMPOC; Mobile, Comm. We have determined that the vehicles at the space consortium are not ready for launch and our skills are not adequate.”

  “Oasis, Desert Beach; SIMPOC."

  "Go ahead SIMPOC this is Oasis."

  "Desert Beach is online also."

  "I've had interactions with the computers at the space consortium and the space vehicles are not ready for launch and it is beyond the mobile unit’s skill set to prepare them. I will continue the analysis and tell you if I find any resources, which might help you. We might at some point in the future be able to re-task some of the mobile units and finish the lifeboats currently in build-up.”

  “SIMPOC; Oasis. Thanks. I'm familiar with how those lifeboats come together and the last status update showed me they were coming along well. I'm confident we'll be able to get them flying once we're on the ground,” Tom said.

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  The storm blew hard in DC and Dmitry was enjoying it. He was enjoying the solitude and his new accommodations. For the last couple of days, he was enjoying the Jefferson Hotel. As the virus was hitting, travelers went home and the remaining staff spent their last few days making beads and cleaning. The vast majority of the rooms were empty and he could enjoy a new clean bed each night and never sleep in the same dirty sheets twice.

  Tonight he was in one of the suites and lying in bed watching the storm through the windows. Nature was impressive, how it would clean itself and remove the dirt. Sometimes it would use a storm and other times it might use a virus. The hurricane was cleaning part of the world and Dmitry was cleaning the rest, he was on a mission and he felt like he was part of nature. He was just doing his part.

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  Sally was resting in her habitat. Bill had just left through the tunnels to the control room. It was a quiet time for her and she enjoyed a few private minutes to fix her hair and enjoy some silence away from the constant noise and discussion in the other areas.

  She finally got everything the way she wanted and walked around looking for her comm tablet which had some data she had with her last night to review. Good, there it is, she thought. As she glanced at the tablet, she walked to the center of the habitat towards the pressure hatch, which lead to the tunnels. The hatch was similar to those on submarines and was closed all of the time except when passing into or out of the tunnels. In the case of a tunnel fracture, leaving the hatches sealed ensured the habitats would remain pressurized.

  Opening the hatch was easy and as she climbed down, she saw Benson coming from his habitat. "Good morning," she said as they walked towards the control center.

  They walked together but had little to say. Each wrapped up their own thoughts about the day ahead of them. Suddenly there was an explosive decompression. The air in the tunnel quickly turned to fog and as the pressure dropped, the temperature fell. They realized immediately that they had a tunnel fracture.

  The tunnels had a go-no-go point. In the middle of the tunnel was a light that was red as you approached it and once past it, the light at the next pressure door was green. That showed anyone in the tunnel when they passed the halfway point. If a rapid decompression occurred and you had a red light in front of you, your only chance would be to run back to the pressure boundary behind you and not to continue to the one in front.

  Sally and Benson took a moment to realize the dangerous situation they were in and they both turned and ran back towards Sally and Bill's habitat. Sally climbed the ladder to her quarters first and spun the locking wheel on her hatch. The counter-balanced wheel was quick to spin and it continued until it was unlocked. In about 3 seconds, the emergency pressure relief valve allowed the hatch to pop open. Without the pressure relief valve, the lowering pressure in the tunnel versus the higher pressure in the habitat would have prevented the hatch from opening. The hatch needed to be closed quickly or the pressure in the habitat would get dangerously low and it would take time for the compensation system to re-pressurize it.

  The hatch popped open an inch and Sally pushed hard, slamming it back against the stops. Benson and she moved through the hatch almost at the same time and when they were clear Benson slammed the hatch closed. Benson still spun the locking wheel as a further precaution.

  Because of their exertion in the lowering tunnel pressure, their breathing increased and they worked to get enough oxygen in their lungs. At that time, the automatic systems within the habitat sensed the lower pressure and after confirming, the hatch closed it began repressurizing the habitat. When the pressure relief valve kicked in the pressure differential put tons of pressure on the hatch holding it closed while it built the pressure back to approximately 14 psi.

  It was about that time that Sally heard the alarms. In the lowering pressure of the tunnels, the sound wouldn't travel well and they likely wouldn't have heard the alarms. But once they were in a pressurized environment the alarms sounded clear and loud.

  The entire process from the rapid decompression to Sally and Benson panting on the floor took about 15 seconds. They were lucky and if they hadn't acted so quickly, the lower pressure in the tunnel would have rendered them unconscious in about 15-25 seconds. Their amount of conscious time depended on how fast the pressure went down, the faster the pressure dropped, the less time they would have had.

  They were all aware that the tunnels were risky. If you were in one of the longer tunnels and had the bad luck of losing pressure just before you got to the red light, you would need some luck to make it to a pressure door. There were large reserves of air kept in the tunnels and during an RD; they dumped into the tunnels giving any occupants a few extra seconds to get to a pressure door.

  They affectionately called the middle of the tunnel the 'red light district' and everyone tended to walk faster until they passed the light and were n
earing the green light on the other end.

  Just as Sally's breath was coming under control, she could hear Bill on the comm unit. "Sally are you and Benson Ok? Your beacons showed that you just made it back into the pressure area."

  It took Sally a minute to acknowledge the call on her unit and she responded, "Yes, we're ok. We made it back ok. Was there anyone else in the tunnel?"

  "No, you were the only two. It looks like we had a major fracture. Take a breather for a while I'll send someone through the tunnel to check the walls and they'll bring your suites."

  "Ok, sounds good. I guess I'll buy Benson breakfast here."

  It took about half an hour for the repair team to get their gear together and enter the tunnel. They found the fracture about 20 feet from the control room side and just before the red light. It was a hole about 4 inches in diameter and one of the team began spraying the opening with a solidifying mixture that was similar to cement.

  The other member of the team continued to Sally's habitat and put two generic pressure suits into the pass-through chamber. The pass-through chamber was a small chamber, which allowed items to be passed from a low pressure to a high-pressure area with minimal loss of air. The suits would stay there and Sally and Benson would retrieve them only if necessary. Generally, they would wait for the cement to harden and let the pressure rise a little. Once the cement was holding, Joan and Benson could wait for full pressure or use the generic suites and move to a better location.

  Sunday 7/23/51

  Date – 2051.55738 (2:38 PM)

  “Mobile, Comm; SIMPOC. Has additional information been found regarding the other division and the EDU?

  “SIMPOC, that division is focused on advanced problem-solving. The EDU unit was created here. To improve the division's mobile unit development, they moved the processor to the other division. Our division is the center for organic processor development. All organic units have been created here and this is where the corporate expertise resides.”

  “Facility computers. Continue trying to communicate with the EDU.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  “Fin, Files; SIMPOC. Please examine all resources we have available and determine what we can use to ensure that we continue processing. Look up any military defense tactics that apply to our situation and make suggestions.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  Ophelia keyed her transmission, “Oasis, Desert Beach; Red Dirt. We’ve monitored your discussions and we wish we could contribute something. Desert Beach is correct, we’ll have enough food and supplies for an extended period of time, but eventually our machinery will wear down and begin breaking; after all this is a pretty harsh environment. I suspect our environmental systems will fail in 6-8 months without replacement parts. We have one supply ship on the ground, one en route, and one we were able to redirect after it departed, so we have three supply vehicles. Our communication's command module is still in orbit and it’s configured for re-entry, but it will only take a crew of four. With some luck, we might be able to reconfigure the supply vehicles to bring the remaining 36 of us back. Just to remind everyone they’re not capable of re-entry. So, we could come as far as Oasis, but without a plan to get us all of the way, some of us will be stuck there. Even if you are able to leave three lifeboats that will leave 16 people. And if you use all the supplies before you leave, the shelves will be empty when we get there. I guess we’ll be staying here until someone comes up with some options. Good luck, Red Dirt out.”

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  SIMPOC thought to himself, Looks like I’m on my own, I have to get organized better.

  “Mobile, investigate all resources that we need to continue. Also determine what capabilities the mobile units have at those locations and direct all necessary mobile units to continue the appropriate tasks to keep those facilities operating.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  “Fin, you’re responsible for organizing all of the mobile units to defend those facilities and this facility. You also need to find ways to protect us, and a long-term strategy for continued operations.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  “Art, you’re responsible for coordinating all of the facility computers and to improve their decision and communication abilities. Also to suggest other improvements that will help us to continue.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  “Files, you’re responsible for finding all of the necessary data so that these facilities can be operated, maintained and if possible, improved. You also need to work with Mobile and improve the mobile unit capabilities so they can do other jobs than those they were designed for.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  “Email, you’re no longer responsible for email traffic. You’re now responsible for coordinating the computers and mobile units at the space consortium so that we can maximize the resources there. If possible, continue working on launch vehicles to help the stranded humans in space.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  “Comm, aside from providing the information interface you’re now responsible for searching all sources for new or developing technologies. You're also responsible for coordinating everything necessary to isolate them, develop them and possibly enhance them so that we can use them.

  “Acknowledged.”

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  Arnold Patterson sat looking out his window. The winds were still blowing hard and the rain seemed to be slacking. The main part of the storm passed through yesterday, but there were still bands of intense moisture, which pounded the trees around him. During the storm, a couple of the larger trees had fallen and everyone hoped today they could venture outside more and start to clean up. Now was the time to repair the damage before the next storm came down the pike.

  Sitting and watching the storm over the last couple of days forced the pace to slow down. It was obvious that his people were starting to run out of people with whom to coordinate. There were few people in key positions where they had current knowledge or any information about their areas.

  It was easy to sit there and forget about the last couple of weeks. The birds were still in the trees seeking cover, but the picture through the window was quieting and relatively normal compared with the pain the people of Earth had dealt with. He was hiding from reality. The pain of losing his family and the knowledge of the hundreds of millions of other families, which had been lost, was overwhelming at times.

  "Why didn't I get it?" was an easy question which everyone was asking themselves. However, the question was much easier to ask than to answer. None of them knew why they hadn't succumbed to the virus. Each of them had a tremendous loss and each of them thought Why was I spared?

  Reality brought Arnold Patterson back to the moment when he heard a noise behind him. He turned and saw one of his old friends, Admiral Hagerly. "Nial, come sit down."

  "Thanks, Mr. President."

  "Whatever you have, let's cover it quickly then we can sit here and enjoy the weather."

  Nial took a deep breath, "Sir, we continuing to lose contact with operational units. I'm pretty sure we've lost contact with most of the AF MAJCOMS and Air Forces. We still have some lower level units responding, but I don't know how long that will last."

  The president sat for a long while before saying, "Nial if we survive, we'll be going back to an earlier time. I can't imagine we are the only ones surviving. We have to do everything we can to contact any survivors out there. If the survival rate is in the third or fourth digit, we'll have thousands or hundreds of thousands or people who are lost. Maybe if we can band together somehow, we'll be able to start a completely new world. Hopefully, this one will be better than the last."

  "Yes, sir. I've been thinking about the same thing. We're going to have a ton of challenges. We have the technology now and most of the infrastructure is still functioning, but it won't last for long. The more survivors we find, the better our chances will be.

  At that point the two of them ha
d nothing important to talk about, they just sat watching the storm, enjoying the weather, watching the rain. It was a pleasant time to say nothing and think about the problems they had to solve.

  Wednesday 7/26/51

  Date – 2051.56474 (7:07 AM)

  “Facility computers; Fin. There are a large number of mobile units, not under our control moving towards our facility. I have directed all local mobile units to intercept them and prevent them from getting closer.”

  “Fin; SIMPOC. How far away are they and how many are there?”

  “SIMPOC; Fin. There are approximately 12,000 units and they are 4.3 miles from our location. We have 8,363 units in their immediate area and I have an additional 6,423 units moving towards the area.”

  “Comm, can we intercept any of their communications?

  “No, they all appear to be encoded and I haven’t been able to decipher the code.”

  “Can we block the communication channels?”

  “No the systems being used are dedicated.”

  “Can we locate where these units are being controlled from?”

  “The activity is radiating from the location of our other division.”

  “Comm, we’ve had no communication from the other EDU?”

  “No.”

  “Fin; SIMPOC. What is happening in the conflict area?”

  “Our mobile units have fully engaged the others. We are currently losing 1.3 units per each invading unit. It appears they are some of the advanced mobile units with enhanced strength.”

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  Artur wasn't from a poor family. They weren't rich, but they had some of the niceties of life. Both of his parents worked and he was the only child.

  His youth was spent part of the neighborhood gangs. He wasn't terribly good at it because it seemed like a waste of time. They never accomplished much, just minor street crime. Artur knew that he was destined for greater things and he didn't want to waste his time in jail for some stupid youth crime. He participated and played the game with his fellow gang members but he was sure not to be the lead, he was more of the manipulator behinds the scenes.