Chapter 1

It all began with a crunch. In this case, the all too familiar sound of a cover slip being broken by the lens casing of a microscope as I accidentally strayed too close to the stage. I bit back a curse, sitting up straight and rubbing my eyes to alleviate some of my tiredness. I'd been at work for a long, lime time- not even having been home for two days- but it still did not excuse the kind of stupid, stupid mistake one would expect from a clumsy first-year lab student. And I was hardly that; I was one of the best in my field.

The problem lay with my subject, the rapidly-mutating and devilishly effective single-celled organism that some wag had christened Toxoplasma Lewdii, despite it being in no way, shape or form related to that rather simple organism. This ... abomination ... was monocellular, but seemed to shift between a eukaryotic and prokaryotic state at will, defying standard biology. I felt I was at the verge of some great revelation, a leap of logic that would do Archimedes proud- if I could just grasp whatever was scuttling around at the very edge of my conscious mind.

Wearily, I made to clean the microscope stage and run my tests again; as I did so, warning klaxons sounded. My fingers moved reflexively, the incredibly thin but still razor sharp shards of the cover slip tearing through my gloves. I bought my hand up quickly; there was only a small scratch, and no blood. Behind me, the door hissed open, pressure differential in the lab sucking air in from the hallway to prevent an inadvertent spread of whatever pathogens might be in the air. I moved quickly, palming the slide and jamming my non-sterile hand into my lab coat before turning around to see had come in.

It was one of the higher CDC functionaries. He curtly informed me that there had been a chemical spill on the level beneath my lab, and that I had to evacuate; I nodded, turned my more sensitive equipment off and locked my samples down before leaving the lab. I knew that what I was doing was against protocol, but the cocktail I had been experimenting with, one that mixed a variety of DMSO-bound antibiotic agents, had shown great promise. Indeed, almost all of the T. Lewdii cells in the tiny film I was viewing were dead or dying, and I could not risk being quarantined, unable to work on a solution to the virulent plague.

Times had changed since the first signs of infection had showed. Now, the afflicted lived in vast, walled enclaves- not that they showed any inclination to get out. Rather, they seemed perfectly happy in their own little worlds, where food was shipped in as they needed it, leaving them free to pursue leisure activities ... and, of course, their own family members. The infected would succumb to random outbursts of hysterical lust, throwing themselves on their relatives in an absolute frenzy. Fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, brothers and sisters ... in the grip of their unthinking need, it mattered not.

And whilst they coupled like animals in heat, the rest of the world dithered. Some, more totalitarian countries had simply executed any who showed the symptoms of infection, but a great cry had gone up amongst the rest of the world, who felt they could- would- soon find a cure. But that had been long years ago now, leaving the uninfected in an uneasy stalemate. Many resented the free ride being given to the incestuous infected, though they could hardly be expected to work for their keep. Others were sickened by the thought of family members rutting with each other. More still were horrified by the idea of family members impregnating each other, and with the frequency and fury of the mating sessions, the growth rate among the infected population was many, many times above the world average.

But all that was by the by, I thought. I had returned to my locker room whilst I worked out what to do. I was tired, and in the mirror I could see red-rimmed eyes, bloodshot in a sure sign I was pushing myself too hard. The odds of my breakthrough coming that night were slim, and I did not know how long it might be before I was permitted to return to my lab. Besides, I thought, I should go home, spend some time with Leah.

I changed into my civilian clothes, disposing of the incriminating slide. Gathering my briefcase and greatcoat- it was growing chilly as winter advanced outside- I signed out and shuffled off to the bus stop. As I waited, I felt a tickling in my nose and throat. For a moment, my mind quailed; what if I had been infected? Ah, but no. A much more reasonable explanation immediately surfaced. I was standing right beside an amaryllis, a plant to which I was violently allergic. Not allergic to the point of anaphylaxis, thankfully, but bad enough all the same. I hacked and sneezed all the way home, nose running. I begged off, apologising to my fellow travellers.