“Begin scanning layer one of the virus. Full scan and report.”
“Scanning.”
“What are you thinking?” asked Nelson, pulling up a chair. Peter listened in. The bottom layer of the virus was highlighted on the computer screen, which began to change color as it was scanned and processed.
“Scanning the entire virus would just complicate things. I want to know what each layer is, how it works, and then try and put together the larger picture.”
“And hopefully find a weak spot, a way in,” said Peter.
“Can you create a vaccine from it?” said Nelson.
“I’ve never failed yet,” she replied, sipping the now sweet-tasting brew. Perfect.
“That’s true,” said Peter.
“Analysis complete,” said the Chinese computer after ten minutes.
“Fascinating,” said Ursula. The report was summarized on screen for her, and she quickly sped through it with eagle eyes.
“Fuck, I really need to be there,” swore Peter.
“Watch your language,” she said. “Computer, analyze layer two.”
“Well, what about layer one?” asked Peter.
“Strange…”
“Tell me!” he said.
Her eyes were transfixed on the data. “It is designed to completely overwhelm our immune system.”
“How? What method?” said Peter.
“Rather simple, actually,” said Ursula. “Layer one is made up of thousands of pathogens.”
“How can you be sure?” asked Peter.
She shot him a disapproving stare.
“Sorry,” he said quickly.
“Thousands of pathogens, but all very run-of-the-mill. The overall fatality rate has been calculated to be less than point four percent for a healthy human with an uncompromised immune system.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” said Peter. “Why have one layer…”
“Maybe it’s a diversion,” said Nelson.
“A what?” said Peter.
Ursula looked at Nelson.
“A diversion,” said Nelson. “These pathogens, they distract our immune system.”
“And let the real threat slip on in,” said Ursula.
“Which is?” said Nelson.
“God only knows,” she said, looking at Peter. “It makes you wonder what they’re hiding.”
“Nothing,” said Peter. “This is a virus gone horribly wrong.”
Ursula and Nelson looked at each other, knowing they both thought otherwise.
“Let’s not jump to any conclusions until we find out what’s in layers two and three,” said Peter.
She agreed, but that troubling feeling in her gut, which was never wrong, was getting stronger.
“Taking its time with this one,” said Nelson. He nodded to the screen, the percentage bar now crawling for layer two.
“A lot more data,” said Ursula. “But it is working.” She made a mental note to try to discover the author of this fantastic program. Their name didn’t deserve to just fall into time, unrecorded.
They all shared a moment’s silence.
“Layer two?” said Peter.
“Ninety-nine percent done,” said Nelson.
“Once we get all three layers scanned—” Her thoughts were interrupted as the power cut out, blackness capturing them both.
“That was unexpected,” said Nelson, not a decimal of fear in his voice.
“What happened?” Peter said loudly. The briefcase had maintained the video connection.
Ursula remained still, using every ounce of her concentration to stay calm and not overreact. She just kept thinking about the data, hoping it wasn’t lost or corrupt. They couldn’t afford a setback now. Worse, if they lost power permanently, then the mission would be over.
“You okay?” said Nelson.
Ursula stayed still, the light from the video stream with Peter allowing them to see shadows. She prayed silently to some higher being for mercy. The answer came quickly enough, and power pulsated through the laboratories in a flash.
“Thank God,” she cried, finally letting herself breathe. The computers rebooted.
“Peter, we have layer two.”
“Well?” Peter asked, the power cut completely forgotten about now.
Ursula shifted in her chair, unable to get comfortable. Writing down a few more notes, she kept a sharp eye on the minutes that continued to pass her by. Time was her real enemy now.
“Ursula,” said Peter again.
“None of this makes any sense,” she said, her eyes stinging. “I’m bloody confused… It looks like layer two is a neurotropic virus.”
“So the Eugenics Virus is made up of different viruses working together?” said Peter. He instructed CIM to begin researching possible virus combinations.
“Neurotropic doesn’t sound good,” said Nelson.
“It’s not as bad as it sounds, Commander,” said Peter. “A neurotropic virus can be something as simple as the herpes disease.”
“Cold sores?” said Nelson.
“Yes,” said Peter. “Amongst other things.”
Ursula continued to stare at the data on screen.
“Peter, this isn’t as simple as the herpes virus,” she said. She gave the computer her own parameters for a neurotropic virus, and a new scan began.
“Confirmed,” said the Chinese computer. The Chinese system displayed the test results on screen for her.
“Just as I suspected,” she said. “Peter, it’s neurovirulent.”
“Not neuroinvasive?” said Peter, nearly shrieking.
Nelson looked at her, and she got the hint.
“Neurovirulent means the virus can enter the central nervous system of humans and cause damage there.”
“So it’s worse than neuroinvasive?” said Nelson.
“It means it’s much more difficult for our immune system to fight against, never mind trying to repair the damage to the central nervous system,” said Peter.
“It is,” said Ursula. “A lot worse. We’re talking irreversible damage here.”
She sat back, feeling uncomfortable. Clicking her pen against her teeth, she said, “No, this isn’t right.”
“Pardon?” said Peter.
“I’ve worked with viruses all my life, and I see no sign of mutation here,” said Ursula. “Nothing at all—everything seems to be fine.”
“Maybe to us,” said Peter. “But the Bernay are experts.”
“Wake up, Peter,” she said, not letting him sugarcoat it anymore. “I know what’s in front of me.”
“You think it was designed like this?” Nelson said.
Ursula nodded. “I don’t think it ever mutated. It’s designed to cause maximum genetic damage to the human body.”
“Ursula, come on,” said Peter.
“Would you rather I don’t tell you what I think? This virus was never designed to cure humanity of genetic illness.”
“Now hold on,” said Peter, angry. “I know the Council has its problems, but they don’t practice genocide. Freda would never have allowed it.”
“How do you know!?” said Ursula. “Freda is gone. I’m telling you what’s in front of us right now.”
“Layer two might be the ship that transports the genetic resequencers into our brains,” said Peter.
“Well, if that’s the case, layer three will have these resequencers,” said Ursula. “Computer, begin scanning layer three immediately. Maximum priority.”
There was another tense silence, and her own silence spoke volumes.
“Do you think this could be an attack?” asked Nelson.
“Yes, I do,” she replied, ignoring Peter’s stern look.
“I’m with you,” said Nelson. “Doesn’t feel right. Hasn’t from the very beginning.”
Peter rolled his eyes, but she kept working, waiting patiently for layer three to be decoded.
Nelson lifted a few printed images of infected humans, some of them aerial shots.
“You know what I’ve always wondered?” said Nelson.
“What?” said Peter, making his distress obvious.
“Well … how do they know who isn’t infected?” he said.
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Come on, Doc,” said Nelson. “The infected. They chase the uninfected, as if they know. They chase them off building rooftops. They die trying to infect the uninfected.”
“We have seen hundreds jump off building rooftops chasing a lone uninfected person,” said Ursula, agreeing.
“But how do they know?” said Nelson.
“Maybe they’re attracted to a particular type of pheromone in the uninfected?” suggested Peter.
“It is possible,” said Ursula. She hadn’t done much work in pheromones, but the basic principle was sound. “A virus designed for maximum spread, whatever the cost.”
“Well what’re your thoughts for a vaccine?” said Peter, quicker than she expected.
“Nothing yet. Our immune system won’t be much help.”
“Because a neurotropic virus usually evades the immune system anyway.”
Nelson looked between the two.
“Yes,” Ursula said. “The Eugenics Virus, as a whole, is a combined three-pronged attack, and we need to alter our approach from normal vaccine discovery procedures. If we disrupt the ability of each layer to communicate, then it could render the virus inert.”
“Slice the layers apart,” said Peter.
“And therefore disrupt their ability to communicate and work together.”
“But if you’re talking about not letting each of these three layers talk to each other, won’t they still operate independently?” said Nelson.
Peter grunted, something Ursula found infuriating.
“He may have a point,” said Ursula.
“Really?” said Peter mockingly.
“I can tell why she’s the more respected one,” said Nelson, finally digging back.
“Peter,” said Ursula, trying her best not to smile, “the good commander may have a point. This virus was designed by aliens. I think we have to presume each layer was constructed individually and then linked together. If that is the case, disrupting the data links may not be enough. I’m worried about layer two. If layer two was to function even if separated, then we’d still have a neurotropic virus to deal with, which can cause damage to the central nervous system.”
“I still think disrupting the links is our best option,” said Peter. “We create a vaccine with a weakened virus made up from the exact compound of the data links. The body destroys it, and then if a body is infected, the immune system will destroy those data links and send the virus into chaos.”
“I don’t think an attenuated virus would be that effective,” said Ursula. “Not for our end goal. Even if layer three is responsible for deleting the SRGAP2 genes…”
“Ursula,” he said, protesting.
“The benefits of a virus that turns the host into an uncontrollable animal who can’t be reasoned with are obvious,” Ursula said.
“Quick infection?” said Nelson.
“Yes,” she said. “The infected chase the uninfected. The virus is airborne. It’s perfect for taking over an entire species.”
“And we’ve proven how ineffective we are at trying to stop it,” said Nelson. “Governments are powerless on the frontlines.”
“Both of you really believe the Council set out to do this on purpose,” said Peter. “I can’t believe that.”
“Give me a credible counterargument,” said Ursula.
“Why not just kill us?” said Peter, looking between them. “Well? Why not? Why go to so much bother? Why would they go to all the bother of creating a virus? It makes no sense at all.”
“Now he has a point,” said Ursula. “Layer three hasn’t decoded yet.”
“It’s like waiting on the lotto numbers,” said Nelson.
“I still keep getting drawn back to layer two … this neurotropic virus. It seems so alien yet, when I look at it, so familiar at the same time.”
“You’ve seen it before?” asked Nelson.
“You said it was unfamiliar,” said Peter.
She stopped herself from speaking, closing her eyes. “It just strikes a familiar chord with me.”
“Would you hedge that it’s an Earth-based virus?” said Peter.
“No, probably not,” she said. “I can’t think why they would use one. It’d be a lot more efficient to create their own.”
“Theorize, Ursula. It’s something you’re good at.”
She wasn’t sure if her old college friend was being humorous or snide.
“What about the carrier? Any change?” he then asked.
“She,” said Ursula, “is an enigma.”
Ursula walked closer to the woman in white, becoming transfixed in her empty, cold eyes.
“There’s a full war waging insider of her, and I can’t do anything to help.”
“Doctor, you need to help the people outside now,” said Nelson, coming up behind her.
“I know.”
“Just think about it simply,” he said. “Don’t try and over-confuse it. The Eugenics Virus is made up of three layers, and at the minute, we think layer two is the layer we have to target.”
“Our goal here is to create a vaccine, yes?” she asked.
They both agreed.
“Then we work to destroy layer two,” she said. “Layer two is the virus that turns us into monsters. But not only that—it may be the vessel that allows whatever is in layer three to enter our brain. To pass the blood-brain barrier.”
“Orders?” said Nelson.
“How can I help if you can’t send me data files?” said Peter.
“I’ve a job for you,” said Ursula to Nelson. “There are over 100 illustrations on this computer of the neurotropic virus we’ve discovered. I need you to show Peter each one of them, allow him to work through them all.”
“How?” asked Nelson.
“Like this,” she said, firing her finger down on a keyboard button. The printer came to life, printing out a colored copy of each diagram. “Hold each page up to the webcam, allowing Peter to see them.”
“I feel like we’re in the Stone Age now,” groaned Peter. “CIM, sync with my computer screen and scan our database for any matches to the images about to be displayed.”
“Best we can do,” said Ursula. “Peter, the blood work of the carrier here shows she is fighting the virus, but neither side is winning. It’s more like stalemate. If I can isolate those fighting properties in her blood stream and supplement them with specific coding designed to actually focus on destroying this neurotropic virus…”
“Then the whole thing might fall apart,” said Peter.
Nelson finally understood where they both were coming from and saw the brilliant intellectual capacity of Barrington go into overdrive as she formulated everything in her mind.
“Doc,” said Nelson, “if we do this and succeed, will that mean any infected human we treat will also become … non-infectious?”
“Technically, yes,” said Ursula. “With the virus destroyed, there would be nothing left inside them to infect others with.”
“But they wouldn’t return to normal?”
“No,” said Peter.
Nelson looked to her.
“No,” said Ursula. “The damage is irreversible.” She was at pains to clarify that point, with
Peter finally coming around to her way of seeing things.
“Normal,” muttered the female carrier, to their astonishment.
“Pardon?” Ursula gasped.
“Pardon,” repeated the carrier.
“She’s repeating us,” said Peter.
“Obviously,” said Ursula. “Hello?”
“Hello,” said the carrier, after a few moments staring at Ursula.
After some testing, she decided the carrier was just mimicking their behavior as the virus continued to ravage her system.
“Almost like a little baby,” said Nelson. He held up another image to the screen for Peter and CIM.
“What?” Ursula asked, confused. Nothing about this carrier reminded her of a baby.
“Mimicking its parents,” he said.
Barrington went quiet, looking at Peter, who also had the same thought. She turned to look at the ravaged woman before her. Could it really be possible?
“Just like a baby,” she finally mumbled.
“Come again?” asked Nelson.
“I wonder, can we train her again…?” said Peter.
“You’re talking about education,” said Nelson.
“I am indeed,” he replied. “Ursula…”
“We can cure them, but we cannot repair the damage,” said Ursula, furious. “We can get the virus out of their system, but the damage is done.”
“It’s not really your place to decide the fate of three-fourths of the world’s population,” said Peter. “If we can reeducate these people—”
“Peter, if we don’t find a vaccine, our race will go extinct.”
The color drained from his face. He was thinking it, of course, but to have it said out loud…
Ursula turned her back to him, looking at the woman in white. If she wasn’t successful, all this would be for nothing, including her own life.
Chapter 48
Freda’s office, despite there being no change in the temperature, felt chilly to Christopher. There was something that irked him about it now. As he looked around, the memories stung. A dozen framed photos told much more than a stranger would know. The phone beeped.
“General Richards due in five minutes,” said Sarah.
The White Death Page 26