Chapter 32

Chen Li Wang wondered why all of the fuss. He had seen various parts recalled before, but they were usually a single part or assembly for a specific airplane; not so this time. For whatever reason the Air China head mechanic in Beijing was given instructions to install some new type of air filtration system in just about every bird in the fleet with first priority going to aircraft flying international routes. In a way he thought it might make some sense, after all the international flights were generally longer and if there was some issue with air quality those flights would benefit the most from any improvement the new system might deliver, but it was still highly unusual.

Fortunately, the new filtration component came pre-fitted for the most popular types of aircraft used in the fleet he maintained. In most cases putting them in place just involved unsnapping one of the joins between two lengths of filter tube and reconnecting them with the small cylindrical filter in place of the old connector. In the past two weeks Chen Li and his four crews had completed the ordered enhancement on all of the birds he was responsible for except the eight that were scheduled for today. "Well it will be good to get this job off of my list," he thought as he finished his mid day break.

"I am one lucky S.O.B.!" Jim Phelps laughed as he looked at the check that had arrived in the morning mail. Trade restrictions had eased over the years for many countries around the globe and Jim had seen fit to take advantage of the situation. For the past seven years he had been running the business his father had begun years earlier. The main source of work for his company had been supplying air filters for the automotive industry. His company's filters were marketed under a wide range of brand labels and could be purchased in most auto parts store as well as being found in three out of five cars on the showroom floor. Over the last four years it had been getting harder and harder to turn a profit but just recently he had located a new supplier for the special filtration paper used in the bulk of his filters. This new supplier out of China had charged him less than a tenth of his former supplier.

It was such a small thing really. New businesses were springing up all around the globe as trade in a broader global market picked up. Why should anyone have noticed another one? Was it really so unusual that seemingly overnight a small never before heard of Chinese firm was winning bids on almost every new contract for the special type of air filtration material they manufactured? Wasn't it just a well funded startup trying to get their foot in the door of a very competitive market? Really, it wasn't very noticeable at all.

Evelyn hadn't felt this bad in years. The cramps she had been feeling were severe. Her period wasn't even due yet and she had no menstrual flow. And this cramping had come on so fast to! She had called in sick early in the morning and by noon she felt so awful that she had driven to the emergency room. When Evelyn arrived at the ER there were many others, both male and female, who seemed to have the same conditions she did. After several hours she found herself admitted into the critical care unit.

"Dale!" Vyagar called with some urgency.

"What is it?" Dale replied immediately brought to full wakefulness by the tone Vyagar used.

"I'm sorry to awaken you in the middle of the night like this; but something very strange is happening on a rather large scale and seems to be growing rapidly. I think we need to talk about it together right now."

"Okay. Just give me a minute and then I'll come to you," Dale said as he carefully slipped out from underneath the covers without waking Angelina.

Dale ran his fingers through his hair to straighten it up a bit and checked little Edward to see that he was okay and then said to Vyagar "Beam me up!"

Dale found himself in one of the large laboratories in the spaceship under Spirit Mount. Vyagar's holographic form was waiting for him.

"Hello Vyagar. What has you concerned?"

"At various times over the past ten thousand years virulent plagues have struck different species on this planet. Generally these plagues strike when the majority of an affected species are already facing great stresses on their health caused by famine, drought, or unsanitary living conditions."

"Like the Black Plague?" Dale asked.

"Yes, that would be a good example. In any case I constantly monitor conditions around the globe via the extensive network of satellites, probes, and OAIs we have deployed. About two days ago an unusual microscopic organism began appearing in the bodies of the Human OAIs. Using the nanomedic technology implanted in the OAIs, the organism was isolated, analyzed, and destroyed. Since this heretofore unseen organism had appeared in Human OAIs in hundreds of different locations I scanned the bodies of all of those that you have placed under my care. I found the same microbe present so I introduced the nanomedic units into the bloodstream of those in my care. As an aside you should know that these nanomedic units perform only preventive and regenerative medical processes and can be totally removed in the same painless and un-intrusive way they were introduced. In any case, I do this routinely to ensure the continuing health of my charges.

The problem is that the organism bonds itself to human DNA and seems to have an incredible appetite for hydrogen molecules. At the pace it multiplies within an infected host, it could conceivably kill the host of dehydration in a matter of a day or two. So, while you and yours are protected, anyone who isn't so well protected might quickly die of dehydration."