The Susquehanna Virus Box Set

by Steve McEllistrem

  “His stone dungeon,” Curtik said.

  “What’s that?” Zora said.

  “It’s a trick he showed me—something the ghosts were all taught—a way of insulating himself from the world, from pain and anger. Whoa! Sudden insight! I just realized the significance of his stupid dungeon. He goes there to protect and punish himself at the same time. What do you use, Neddy?”

  Ned Jefferson, sitting in Jay-Edgar’s usual spot, said, “A balloon, floating above the Earth on a gentle breeze.”

  “Well, I’m going to use a meadow of wildflowers—daffodils and marigolds and daisies. Tra la la.” Curtik laughed.

  So did Ned, Zora and even Hannah. Lendra and Dr. Poole smiled.

  “How come he never told me about his dungeon?” Zora said.

  Curtik said, “Because he finds you repulsive.”

  Zora punched Curtik’s arm, hard. “Jerk. So this is a healing mechanism? Which means he’ll pull through?”

  Curtik rubbed his arm as he looked into Zora’s eyes. Poor kid. She’d never land Jeremiah. How Curtik knew that he couldn’t say. He just knew that Jeremiah would never consider Zora as anything but a child. The man was so damn full of duty and responsibility and plowing morality that he had no fun left in him at all. And now he’d retreated to his lonely cell—where he thought he deserved to be.

  Curtik glanced at Hannah, Lendra and his half-sister Sophie. Good God—all these women in love with Jeremiah in some fashion. What was the old man’s secret? “Of course he will,” Curtik replied. “How could he annoy me if he was dead?”

  “Curtik,” Lendra said.

  But Zora smiled.

  She knows I don’t really mean it. I’m being an ass because that’s my role. I’m the obnoxious guy, the guy who says things no one else has the guts to say. But I also tell the truth. “He’s too stubborn to die,” Curtik added.

  He glanced over at Ned, who grinned, so he got it as well. Even Hannah smiled before reverting to her usual stoic self. So it was just Lendra who hadn’t caught on. Was she that infatuated with Jeremiah that she couldn’t get a joke? Love could do funny things.

  “Well,” Dr. Poole said, “everything’s working like it’s supposed to. We’re just going to have to wait for him to decide when he wants to wake up.”

  Curtik said, “We might be here for a long time. What about Sally 23? How’s she doing?”

  “I’ll check on her in a moment,” Dr. Poole said.

  Lendra said, “I need you here first. The President will be calling any moment.”

  “On my way.”

  “Hey, Neddy,” Curtik said. “While we’re waiting, can you bring up the screen for Sally23?”

  Ned touched the console in front of him and another screen appeared, showing Sally23 strapped to a bed in a well-lit room. Beside the bed stood the robot Devereaux and his assistant Quark. In adjoining beds lay the Blantons, also strapped in. All three patients had contracted strains of the Susquehanna Virus, and the robot Devereaux was now experimenting with various treatments.

  Sally23, the most ill of the three, was finally conscious, eyes wide open as she stared at Devereaux. She looked pale and in pain. When Ned zoomed in on her face, Curtik felt his chest tighten.

  “Can I visit her?” Curtik asked Lendra.

  “Let’s wait for the President’s call.” Lendra activated the audio from her desk and said, “Excuse me, Professor Devereaux, I was wondering how our prisoners are faring and if there’s anything else you could be doing for Jeremiah.”

  “I think the prisoners will recover,” Devereaux replied.

  “And Jeremiah?”

  “There’s not much more I can do. His heart and lungs are functioning reasonably well given the amount of damage they sustained. We can replace his crushed organs with new ones grown in the lab, but that will take time and I can’t guarantee that the new organs will be better than the old enhanced ones, so I think the best course of action is to just let him continue to heal himself. His brain is the big question mark at this point. It sustained damage in the explosion and then again in the collapse. He took the brunt of both, while Major Payne was cushioned by his actions and from what I understand is healing nicely.”

  “Isn’t there some way to help him?” Lendra asked.

  “I am helping,” the robot replied. “As we speak, I’m making minor adjustments to the AutoLife machine, tweaking the genes, as well as the bacteria and hormones it’s delivering to him. But I’m concerned that he might not want to live anymore. He doesn’t seem to be fighting.”

  Ned interrupted: “I’ve got that call from the President.”

  “Put her through,” Lendra said. “Professor Devereaux, please stay connected.”

  “Hang on a second.” Ned moved his hands over the control panel for a moment, then said, “Ah, here it is.”

  President Hope appeared by holo-projection. She sat at a table with General Horowitz by her side. “Good morning, Lendra,” President Hope said. “How are things there?”

  “We’re doing fine,” Lendra replied. She handed Sophie to Curtik. He hesitated before grabbing his little sister, and she squirmed until she caught sight of his face. Opening his mouth in a wide grin, he began to bounce lightly, keeping her moving, keeping her calm. He noticed Ned grinning at him again and was surprised that he didn’t feel embarrassed to be holding Sophie.

  “What’s the latest on our situation?”

  At that moment, Dr. Poole entered the office. Seeing the holo-projection, she stopped just inside the door.

  “As you know,” Lendra said, “the virus has been contained. Jeremiah and Major Payne were able to seal the canisters completely before the building collapsed, and the canisters survived the explosion intact. We are now collecting tiny samples of the virus from those canisters to compare with known strains.”

  President Hope said, “To determine whether it’s a new strain or an old one?”

  “Exactly. If it’s a new strain, Professor Devereaux will add it to his research on possible treatments and antidotes.”

  “So the threat has passed?”

  “For the moment,” Lendra replied. “We’ve completed our scans on what remains of the building and have found no evidence of any further stores of the virus. We also managed to recover the body of Manyara Harris. We found no additional information on her person either.”

  Curtik recalled seeing the vid of Manyara. One moment she was standing at the back of the boat, speaking to Jeremiah; the next, she simply stepped forward and dropped straight down into the water. Then the vid showed the drone sub reaching her weighted body and attaching a harness that pulled her to the surface. The final shot showed her on a metal slab, looking small and powerless. Poor deluded woman.

  Lendra said, “We obtained the contact information on the various cells from the Blantons’ PlusPhones and we sent teams to each location. Many of them were innocuous-sounding environmental groups—though not all. In total, we’ve arrested more than seventy people. Combined with what we’ve learned from Dr. Shafer, a/k/a Sally2, we believe we’ve found all the Sally terrorists.”

  The robot Devereaux said, “There is, however, the possibility that Manyara relayed information about the virus or her research to a person or persons unknown, and we can’t be certain we’ve eliminated every last Sally cell. I’ve been mining information from the woman who calls herself Sally23 as I’ve been treating her, which brings us closer to a cure, though a true cure or antidote may be some time away.”

  “Will she live?” President Hope asked.

  Sophie wriggled in his arms and Curtik realized he was squeezing her too tightly. “It’s okay,” he whispered as he loosened his grip and shuffled back and forth. “Everything’s okay. Please.”

  “I believe so,” the robot Devereaux replied.

  Zora reached over and patted Curtik on the shoulder.

>   “I’m getting pressure to send her back to London. When will she be able to travel?”

  The robot turned toward Curtik for a moment before addressing the President: “We’ll need more time. We want to be certain we’ve extracted every available piece of Intel from her. If we release her too soon, we might miss some valuable nugget that could help with treatments or even finding rogue Sallies that weren’t in the Blantons’ PlusPhones or Dr. Shafer’s list of contacts.”

  “Fine. I’ll put them off a while longer.” President Hope looked at Lendra. “And I see Sophie is recovering. How is Jeremiah doing?”

  Lendra turned to Dr. Poole, who stepped into the camera pickup and said, “As I’m sure you remember, Jeremiah has been infected with many strains of the virus, all of which continue to attack him. When you add that to the abuse his body took in the explosion, well, it’s amazing he’s still alive. He’s now in a self-hypnotic state. I don’t know for certain, but I believe he may be preparing himself to die.”

  “There must be something more we can do,” President Hope said. “We need him alive.”

  “For his precious blood?” Curtik said, immediately regretting it. Fool, he thought. You just can’t voice these sarcastic thoughts to people who can have you killed.

  General Horowitz glared at Curtik. President Hope put her hand on his clenched fist and said, “I understand you’re upset. He’s your father. And yes, we can use his blood. But that’s not the only reason we need him. He’s a living example of how we can strive to become better people. Okay?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Curtik replied. “We do all need to be better. Some of us have a farther distance to travel.”

  President Hope shook her head. “That will be all for now. Thank you.” The screen went dark.

  Lendra sighed.

  “Sorry about that,” Curtik said. “I suppose she’ll be calling you later to ream you a new one.”

  “Probably,” Lendra said. “You know, you can’t just say whatever pops into your head. Not anymore.”

  “I am sorry, but the truth can be painful.” He turned to Dr. Poole. “What about the cutie . . . what about Sally23? Can I visit her?”

  Dr. Poole turned to the robot Devereaux. “Professor?”

  Devereaux said, “I’m still treating her, but Curtik can have a few moments alone with her.”

  Curtik said, “Is she going to be put in prison for the rest of her life?”

  Lendra said, “I don’t know. She’s helped us a great deal. And Devereaux confirms that she was conditioned early on by Dr. Shafer, so she doesn’t merit full blame for her actions. Nevertheless, she did participate in terrorist activities. Oh, and when you visit her, keep in mind that she’s under full surveillance and anything you say will be transmitted to London.”

  “Okay,” Dr. Poole said. “Let’s go.”

  Curtik handed Sophie off to Lendra and followed Dr. Poole out the door. It felt good to walk away from the intensity that Lendra brought to the room. She took life so seriously. He’d thought Jeremiah was tedious, but Lendra worshiped at the altar of solemnity. Was that what Eli had been like? If Curtik was going to become a ghost, he was going to insist that it be more fun.

  As they walked to the room holding Sienna/Sally23, Curtik began to wonder if this was a good idea. Perhaps he’d dreamed up the connection between them. They’d shared a walk to a bridge, supporting a dying man on his way to his suicide. Was that really the foundation on which to build a relationship? Maybe she didn’t want to see him. Maybe he was a reminder of her failure. He found himself slowing.

  When Dr. Poole reached the door, she turned, saw his face and said, “What is it?”

  “I just don’t know if she . . . if we . . .”

  “Listen, Curtik,” Dr. Poole said. “She will be returning to London soon. And she’ll be going to prison for a long time. You two shared a traumatic experience that bonded you. Your feelings for her are real. They may not be permanent, but they’re real. You owe it to yourself to find out how she feels, even if you can’t be together. Maybe she doesn’t feel the same way about you, but maybe she does.”

  Curtik noted Dr. Poole’s pained expression. A wave of guilt washed over him. “Did you love Jack Marschenko?”

  “Yes,” Dr. Poole replied.

  “And I took him away from you.”

  Poole’s eyes began to fill with water. She blinked rapidly. “Yes, you did.”

  “I’m sorry.” Curtik reached out to touch her shoulder, but he couldn’t quite manage it. How she must hate me! “I wish I could bring him back.”

  “I know you do. And I know that no matter how much you pretend to be an ass, you have a good heart. I cut you off from that on the Moon. I have only myself to blame for what happened. And I curse myself with ‘what ifs’ every night.”

  “You thought you were doing the right thing. We all thought we were doing the right thing.”

  “That’s the story of humanity,” Dr. Poole said. “We all think we’re doing the right thing. We all think we know best. It takes a special kind of person—someone like Devereaux or your father—to realize that we’re not the heroes we think we are. Now go in there and say hello. I’ll be in shortly.”

  Curtik took a breath. He felt that this moment would define the rest of his life. The mere act of entering a room could be more than entering a room. It could be the beginning of something wonderful or terrible, something new and unforeseen. It was as if his adult life were starting now and all the sins of his past were melting away. Love, if it was love, could do that. He opened the door and stepped inside.

  Quark saw him and said, “Ah, Curtik. Let me just give her an anesthetic.” He turned to the cabinet beside the bed, opened a drawer and removed a hypo-pad, which he applied to Sally23’s neck. Then he and the robot Devereaux stepped away from Sally23 and positioned themselves between Tad and Rebecca Blanton. Curtik remembered the couple from the bar that blew up: Cole’s Wall. Hard to believe he had once found Rebecca pretty, or maybe it was the virus that made her look so ragged now. She and her husband stared at the ceiling as if unconcerned with their surroundings. The combination of drugs, the mind linkage and the virus had turned them into near-zombies.

  Curtik went to Sally23’s bedside and noticed that her face no longer appeared pinched with pain. She looked at him with an arched eyebrow, as if expecting an interrogation.

  No smile, no welcome in her eyes.

  “How are you?” Curtik asked.

  “Devereaux says I’m going to live,” she replied, though she didn’t sound particularly happy about it. “I suppose that means I’ll be going to prison soon.”

  “Lost,” Tad said. He stared at Curtik.

  “What do you mean, lost?” Curtik said.

  “Everyone lost everything.”

  “Oh, shut up,” Curtik said. He turned back to Sally23. “You helped us,” he said, loud enough for the camera pickup. “You saved a lot of lives by helping Brosk.”

  She smiled briefly as she shook her head. “I know what I did.”

  “I did awful things too,” Curtik said. “Just like you, I was under a compulsion.”

  “Not like me,” she said, her voice flat and distant. “I knew what I was doing. I didn’t care.”

  “That was Dr. Shafer.”

  “Not entirely. I thought we needed to vanish from this planet. I still kind of think we do. You’re a nice boy. Trogan was a nice man.” She tilted her head toward the robot Devereaux and Quark. “They seem all right. And I heard your father stopped the virus from escaping.”

  “Yes,” Curtik said. “But he may not survive.”

  “Sophie!” Rebecca Blanton shouted from the next bed as she continued to stare at the ceiling.

  “You shut up too,” Curtik said. “No one’s talking to you.” He turned back to Sally23. “You seem different somehow.”

  Sa
lly 23 looked at the robot Devereaux again. “He’s been helping me.”

  “What did you do to her?” Curtik asked the robot Devereaux.

  “I’ve been removing the compulsions Dr. Shafer implanted in her mind,” the robot replied. “They were minor tweaks, not major conditioning, so they’re relatively easy to erase.”

  “But she used to be so,” Curtik glanced at her, “passionate, so full of life. Now she’s just lying there like a lump, like she doesn’t care about anything.”

  Quark said, “That’s largely how she was when she joined the Sallies. Devereaux simply returned her to her natural state.”

  “I don’t like it,” Curtik said. He reached for Sally23’s hand. It felt limp. “I know that you’re still inside there. You still care.”

  “Sort of,” Sally23 said. “But what’s to live for? The world’s falling apart.”

  “There’s me,” Curtik said. “I care for you.”

  “And Sophie!” Tad yelled.

  “Of course,” Rebecca replied. “So obvious.”

  “For God’s sake,” Curtik said. “I’m trying to have a moment here.”

  Sally23 smiled. She squeezed his hand lightly. “I like you, Curtik, but I’ll be in prison.”

  “Not forever,” Curtik said. “Not if you tell them you no longer believe in wiping out humanity.”

  “I don’t know what I believe anymore,” Sally23 said. “You used to be like me. Do you think humans are worth saving? Do you think they’ll ever change?”

  “Of course we will,” Curtik said. “I have. Twice. We all change, maybe not as drastically as with conditioning, but it happens. The world forces us to change.”

  “We’re killing the earth.” Sally23’s voice carried a hint of anger. Her eyes flashed briefly.

  “And it’s letting us know. We may change slowly. We may be dragged toward change kicking and screaming, but we’re changing. We have to, and we understand that.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Sally23 said, her voice breaking.

  “See?” Curtik said. “Already you’re starting to care again. We’ll fix you. I’ll fix you.”