Chapter 3

[Washington, D.C.]

"I was the coordinator for a project working on a vaccine for the SL47 virus that was discovered in Europe. This morning at our facility in central Florida, a holder broke causing the virus to escape into the containment room. Almost immediately, our sensors detected a roof breach. Within minutes of that, the entire facility exploded. We have since learned that the roof breach was at a junction that had been suspicious. It was supposed to be checked tomorrow by maintenance. I personally believe that the pile was already shaking things and damaged the roof. Why this was occurring and how the pile could have malfunctioned so badly is a mystery that we are trying to discover by reviewing the sensor data that we have.

"At any rate, the SL47 escaped into the atmosphere. I don't know your knowledge of it but it is airborne and can multiply in free nitrogen. It's deadly. As it ages, it loses its potency. That's our primary hope for survivors. In the three instances reported thus far, there have been no survivors from any initial infection.

"The vaccine which we were testing at the time of the accident was, in itself, virulent with a ten percent rate of infection and only a fifty percent suspected success rate after that. That was the best we had developed thus far."

An older woman looked up and said, "Thank you, Doctor Andrews."

I said, "George, please."

"Very well, I am Doris. If I understand correctly, this is an airborne virus. We need to prepare recommendations about what to wear and how to cover various body parts. George, does it seem that people can absorb it through their skin?"

"Our studies do not show that to have happened. It will come through open sores of any kind. It's so fast that the body just doesn't have time to react to the infection before you're dead."

An older man said, "George, I would guess that facemasks are expected. What else?"

"If it were me, I would want goggles and earplugs as well as to cover most of my skin. This is a situation in which an ounce of prevention is all. There is no cure.

"George and John were the lab guys and had the most experience. They used complete suits. They kidded that paper masks would be just as effective. They were killed in the explosion. John was in trouble anyway because the holder cut his leg when it broke and fell. He was exposed when the vial broke."

Doris looked over at an army guy and asked, "Do we have any troops on the ground?"

He said, "Tom Glass here. Not yet. There are copters moving into the area now with full containment suits. They are tasked with nuclear radiation monitoring. What can we tell them about checking for the presence of the virus?"

"Unfortunately, very little. The virus has not been readily traceable outside a containment room except for the sick and dying people. We kept it in a suspension that allowed us to track it that way. You can take air samples but it takes some pretty good equipment to find it. It's not something to try in the field. It will be tomorrow morning before symptoms begin to show. We need to warn people this afternoon. Tomorrow will be too late. We need a meteorologist to give us wind patterns. The wind will blow it around."

The phone rang and the young lady who had been my guide answered it. She said, "We need to watch the screen. The copters are giving live coverage on government channels. All other aircraft are barred."

We watched the screen and saw the terrible effects of the blast and the earthquake and tsunamis that followed. We were shocked as we watched the cameras as the copters sped south. One was going along the Atlantic coastline and the other was headed straight for Polk City. The picture was split in two and labeled.

There was an area cleared by the blast but it was not big compared to the fault that had opened. Florida was now in two pieces and the areas just north and well south of the new waterway were wiped out. The tsunamis had wiped out people, buildings and plant life for miles on each side. Disney World was gone! Orlando, what was left of it, was in ruins. Very few people were outside and they didn't look to be in good shape.

Doris said, 'I see two issues. First, we must warn people and give them precautions that will give them a chance to survive. Second, make some effort at containment, either of the virus or of the people it infects."

"The copters are confirming what the prior high speed recon jets showed us." The young woman with me said.

I said, "The view is the same. You're right. Doris has our direction. We must get out warnings right now. Those warnings will tell people to use masks at a minimum and strongly suggest goggles and earplugs. We need to emphasize the danger because the danger explains the need for the precautions."

I looked over at the young woman who had been accompanying me and said, "Miss, we need to see the President. And what is your name, please?"

"It's Jane, Jane Simmons. She pressed a button. The President is now aware that you want to see him. I would suggest that you take a couple of others from here with you."

I said, "Thank you, Jane. Doris, would you come with me?" She nodded grimly. "Who else will come with me and be willing to be on TV on this issue?"

Tom stood. "I'll go with you, too."

We left the others as they watched the screen and headed for the Situation Room. The President was waiting for us. I said, "Mr. President, we believe there are two things to do. First, we must warn people and give them the precautions to take to have any hope of surviving the virus. Second is containment in so far as is possible. However, we believe getting on the air with warnings is most urgent."

The President said, "What do you want to do?"

"Call a news conference. The three of us will go on and explain what happened and what should be the concern now. We will have a list of what to wear in, how long, fifteen minutes."

"Dr. Andrews, we will not go on the air until we can confirm that the virus is out there. There is no need to panic everyone over nothing."

"Who, Sir, are you?"

"I am Marlon Genruss, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation."

"Mr. Genruss, you understand that confirmation will occur when people begin to show symptoms. That means they will die. There is no cure. There is nothing to investigate. We know the threat and what little can be done to combat it."

"Dr. Andrews, if the virus didn't survive the blast, then there are no precautions to take and there will be needless panic. The question is, 'Did the SL47 survive the nuclear blast?' The answer to that question is needed to determine what our next moves should be."

"Mister Genruss, again I say that the confirmation you seek will be people dying. Waiting could have deadly consequences for hundreds of millions of people. We cannot wait!