Lethal Outbreak

A world inhabited by two distinct and non-interbreeding humanoid species:
majors
(the majority) and
outers
. The two races are outwardly similar, but they have different talents, different genetics and different body chemistry.

In this world, meet major Troy Goodhart and outer Lexi Iona Four. They make an amazing crime-fighting partnership.

On the other side of the thickened glass, three lifeless bodies in sky-blue overalls lay on the floor of the high-security laboratory. They looked like astronauts who had been exposed to lethal alien air. On the wall above them, a red light glared with the warning:
EXIT LABORATORY.
Two detectives – Troy Goodhart and Lexi Iona Four – stood outside helplessly, unable to enter and examine the bodies in case the sealed lab was contaminated with poison.

‘So,’ Troy said, ‘to go in, we’d have to dress up in all that space-suit gear?’

Lexi was an outer and, like most outers, she had a talent for science and technology. ‘They’re called positive-pressure protective suits, or PPPS, but they’re usually known as moon suits or blue suits – and, yes, sometimes space suits. They cover you completely and they’re airtight.’

‘How do you breathe in them?’

‘This is a Biosafety Level 4 lab. The most secure there is.’ Lexi pointed to the ceiling of the room. ‘If you’re working inside, you get fresh air through that tubing – see it dangling down? Everyone in there has an air tube sealed into their suits. It’s their own private life support system and it’s there so nothing in the lab comes into contact with them. Not even the air.’

Troy was a major. He wasn’t so skilled in science but he had an instinct for people and the things that they did. ‘How do you take a drink? Or go to the loo?’

‘You don’t,’ Lexi replied. ‘It’s not easy work in there, weighed down by all the gear, getting hot and sweaty, not able to take a drink or even scratch an itch. And all the time you’re wondering if you’re going to slip and puncture the suit. That’s pretty much a death sentence. Requires a lot of concentration. Very tiring. So, they don’t do long shifts. They come out after a while. That’s when they visit the toilet.’

Both of the detectives were sixteen years old and they had been a team for just one week. Investigating the deaths in the BSL4 laboratory was their second case.

‘If the idea is to stop anything getting out of the lab – any poisons or fatal bugs or whatever,’ Troy said, ‘they can’t just open a door and walk out when they want to go.’

Lexi smiled. ‘No. It’s a bit more complicated than that. They’ve got to be decontaminated before they can leave. On the way in and the way out, they go through a few showers – one’s a quick-drench disinfectant – and a vacuum room where all the air gets pumped out.’

‘An airlock like you see in spaceships? In science fiction films?’

‘Usually more than one. There’s a room that blasts you with ultraviolet light as well. That’s to kill any biohazards, like nasty microorganisms. There might be a section that fills with killer fumes as well. Sometimes there are even more safety steps. In some labs like this, they come out two at a time so they can scrub each other’s suits down with disinfectant. All the doors are electronically controlled to make sure only one can open at a time. If two or more opened together, it’d be a security breach.’

‘That fits.’ Pointing to the right, Troy said, ‘There’s a sink in all three cabinets over there. That means water. And cages – with dead mice in them. So, there’s air, equipment, animals and food. What happens about all that?’

‘Everything that goes in or out – including air and water – goes through much the same decontamination. Equipment and clothing is steam-cleaned at 130 degrees to kill off any nasties. The whole thing’s designed to stop accidental release of whatever dangerous stuff they’re handling.’

‘Have you ever worked anywhere like this?’ Troy asked.

‘No, but I learned all about it. There’s quite a lot of training just to go in and come out safely.’

Troy gazed sadly at the three scientists sprawled on the floor. ‘But something can still go wrong.’

‘Looks like it. They’ve got microphones – so they can talk to each other and to their supervisor who monitors their life signs from out here.’

Troy sighed. ‘And there hasn’t been any chat – or life signs – since this morning.’

‘That’s what the supervisor said.’

‘Why are we here? Isn’t this just an accident? A horrible accident.’

‘Maybe,’ Lexi replied. ‘But these people are
brilliant at handling dangerous stuff. They don’t have a lot of accidents.’

‘How about equipment failure?’

‘I think you’ll find the people who make BSL4 systems are pretty brilliant as well.’

‘And if it wasn’t an accident … ’

‘Yeah,’ said Lexi. ‘It was something else, like sabotage and murder.’

‘These weird blue suits. Why are they called positive pressure?’

‘They’re pumped up like a tyre. Only nowhere near as much. If the suit’s punctured, air blows out instead of getting sucked in. It gives the scientist wearing it a bit of protection against the damage.’

‘A
bit
of protection,’ Troy murmured.

‘A slow stream of air isn’t perfect. And if it deflates completely … that’s that.’

‘Time to see the lab supervisor and unit director.’ Nodding towards the victims, Troy said, ‘We need to find out who they are, what they were working on and what we do about them.’

Shallow End Laboratories carried out scientific research for The National Space Centre, and the whole unit was managed by a middle-aged major called Saul Tingle. Troy and Lexi stood in front of him as he sat behind his huge desk. To the side, the victims’ laboratory supervisor slumped against the wall, her elbow resting on a shelf.

‘It’s all very regrettable and … embarrassing,’ Saul admitted to the detectives. ‘Our thoughts at this difficult time are with our colleagues. They were all outers, so they didn’t have families. No one
to offer our sympathies to. Even so … it’s a great loss.’

His words sounded sincere, but Troy detected annoyance in the man’s body language. He also sensed that the unit director was trying to cover up nervousness. ‘Who were they?’ Troy asked.

Saul waved towards the lab supervisor and Troy suspected that the gesture meant he didn’t know the names of the victims.

Clearly upset, Julia Neve Nineteen said, ‘Konnie Marina Five, Brandon Kane Six and Tyla Sorrel Three.’ She paused before muttering, ‘My friends, as well as work colleagues.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Troy said. ‘What were they working on?’

‘I’m a manager and director,’ Saul replied. ‘I’m not a qualified scientist so I let my staff deal with the nitty-gritty science, but let me say this. You’re probably aware that a Mars probe returned to Earth a few weeks ago. It was all over the news. It brought back a Martian soil sample. We call it SUMP, short for Substance Unknown from Mars Probe.’

Julia Nineteen took up the story. ‘Before we try to identify all the substances in it, we had to make sure it’s safe to be allowed in our atmosphere.’

‘In your highest security lab?’

Julia said, ‘We always handle alien material with unknown toxicity at containment level four, until we’ve found out if we need to carry on working at that level or if we can safely drop down to lower security.’

Butting in, Saul said, ‘It’s very important you understand we take every possible safety measure. This is our protocol. Dangerous alien substances that carry a high risk of infection are always contained within BSL4. It’s the same for Earthly microorganisms if they cause serious-to-fatal disease and there’s no cure or vaccine available. Because we’re
ultra-cautious
, all unknowns and suspected biological hazards get the highest security treatment until we test how harmful they are and find they don’t merit it.’

‘That figures,’ Troy replied. ‘And what was the result on SUMP?’

‘It wasn’t good news,’ Julia answered. ‘Something in it kills mice and a lot of other lab animals we tested. It also kills outer cells – but not major cells – very quickly and very efficiently. That’s why we were still working under BSL4 conditions. We were trying to identify the toxic component.’

‘So you think the cause of death is this poisonous soil from Mars.’

‘It’s obvious, isn’t it?’

‘But if I went in, I could ignore all the safety stuff because I’m a major and the poison wouldn’t affect me. Is that what you’re saying? I could just walk in there and sort it out?’

‘Yes and no,’ Julia Nineteen replied. ‘Obviously we can’t put a living major at risk by exposing one to SUMP, but we know cells from majors aren’t affected. So, if you got contaminated, as far as we know, you’d be fine. But if you brought the slightest amount out – which would be unavoidable – I’d drop, along with every other outer. Somehow, it blocks our metabolism. In other words, it stops the chemical reactions in our cells. It stops outer life.’

‘There’s something else you need to appreciate,’ Saul said. ‘If the toxic ingredient’s a bacterium that’s evolved in the extreme extra-terrestrial conditions on Mars, it must be very hardy indeed. If it was ever released into our milder environment, it’d spread like wildfire and we wouldn’t have the tools to stop it. If it can survive on Mars, it can probably survive any antibiotics we throw at it.’

Troy shivered. ‘An outbreak would be lethal to half of humanity?’

‘Almost certainly,’ said Saul. ‘Now you know why we’re so careful. All work with biohazards like SUMP
– or materials of unknown toxicity – is confined to Class 3 safety cabinets within the BSL4 lab.’

‘So,’ Troy asked, ‘have I got this right? If your people were killed by Martian soil, the poisonous part must have escaped from a safety cabinet and into the lab air. But that wouldn’t affect them unless all three had faulty space suits as well.’

‘That’s right.’

‘When there’s a lot of smoke, there’s almost always a fire.’

‘Pardon?’

‘Faulty cabinets and faulty suits. It’s too much of a coincidence to be an accident.’ Troy glanced at Lexi and took a deep breath before turning towards the laboratory supervisor. ‘Your three colleagues. Konnie, Brandon and Tyla. Do they grab any available protective suit to go in the lab or do they have their own?’

‘They’re personalized,’ Julia said. ‘They’re highly specialized, made to fit each individual worker. There’s a little identifier on the chest. Mine’s got JN19 written on it.’

‘Who looks after them?’

‘We all tend to look after our own,’ she replied. ‘I’m told that other people who rely on a bit of cloth to save their lives – skydivers – always pack their own
parachutes. They want to make sure it’s done right. We’re the same. And there’s a sort of ritual we go through after we come out. We all do it. We take off one of our gloves, blow it up like a balloon and watch it for a few seconds. Believe me, after you’ve been working in BSL4 with hypodermic syringes and needles, you’re delighted to see the glove doesn’t go down. It means you haven’t had a puncture.’

‘Do they check the suits are okay before they go in?’

Julia nodded. ‘There’s a routine.’

‘I understand all the safety stages they go through on the way out,’ said Troy. ‘But why do they do the same thing on the way in?’

‘It’s not just a case of protecting the planet from alien samples,’ she told him. ‘The lab’s also got to protect any alien matter from Earthly contamination.’

‘Okay. That fits. When your workmates died, you were supervising them?’

Julia looked away in anguish for a moment. ‘Yes.’

‘So, what happened?’

The lab supervisor was in her late thirties, Troy guessed, but right now she looked haggard and older. ‘I don’t watch them all the time,’ she said.

‘But did they say something had gone wrong?’

Julia’s distraught face reddened with shame. She
glanced momentarily at Saul and said, ‘We’re short-staffed. Sometimes, I get called away from the control room to another job.’

‘Did that happen this morning?’

‘It’s usually fine,’ she spluttered. ‘They’re professionals. They know what they’re doing. They don’t need me breathing down their necks all the time. It was only for a few minutes. I wish … But it’s too late now.’

‘So, no one saw or heard what happened to them at the vital moment?’

Saul put his head in his hands when Julia muttered, ‘No.’

‘Does the control room record video?’

‘No, it’s just a monitor, like a window on the laboratory.’

‘Could anyone have sneaked into the lab and tampered with the equipment?’

Saul answered, ‘Access to BSL4 is strictly controlled by the laboratory supervisor.’

Troy looked at Julia Nineteen. ‘I’ll need a list of everyone who’s ever been inside – and when.’

‘I’ll send it to your life-logger.’

‘Is there any chance anyone else went in this morning when you weren’t watching?’

‘No,’ Julia replied. ‘There wasn’t enough time.
Anyway, one thing the system does log is the doors opening and closing. Today, only one lot of people went in.’ Her voice reduced to a croaky whisper as she added, ‘And none came out.’

‘Who called you away from the control room – and why?’

‘An animal handler called Eric Kiss.’

‘You didn’t say why.’

Julia hesitated. ‘I’d rather talk to you in private about that.’

‘All right. Later.’ Changing the subject, Troy asked, ‘Why is there a red warning light on in the lab?’

‘It’s telling them they’ve been inside too long.’

‘Okay,’ Troy said. ‘I need some help here. We’ve got to examine them and a pathologist needs to check how they died. How are we going to do that without killing every outer around?’

‘We’ve discussed this,’ Saul replied. ‘There’s an emergency protocol for cleaning the lab in the event of a contamination event, but you’re not going to like it. None of us will.’

‘What is it?’

‘We can steam-clean it, suck all the air out, fumigate it and then pump it full of a highly corrosive liquid that’ll destroy any remaining organic matter.’

‘Including the evidence?’

‘Yes. Including the blue suits and most of the flesh on the bodies.’

‘No,’ Lexi said.

‘We don’t have a choice,’ Saul replied. ‘Sooner rather than later, we’ve got to decontaminate the lab.’

‘After we’ve done a post-mortem,’ Lexi insisted.

Saul shook his head. ‘It’s too risky. I can’t have amateurs in BSL4. My scientists go through extensive training in handling extremely hazardous agents. They have to get to grips with all the containment functions of the lab and its equipment, understand the design features, and learn how to manipulate small vials, syringes and so on whilst wearing a blue suit. When their hands are inside a safety cabinet, they’ll be wearing two sets of gloves. Acquiring all those skills isn’t easy or fast.’

‘Your people are experts in what they do,’ Lexi said. ‘But I’m expert in deciding if this is murder and, if it is, getting the most out of the crime scene. I need your cooperation to let me do my job.’

‘I have a greater responsibility to the planet – and every outer on it. I have to make sure we’re safe from a deadly alien infection.’

Lexi glanced towards Julia and then asked the unit director, ‘What if one of your experts volunteered to come in with me?’

Saul took a deep breath as he thought about it. ‘We could get you into some gear, I suppose, and take you in so you can do a visual examination. You could tell a volunteer what to do on your behalf, but you can’t bring out any samples. No clothing, no tissue, nothing. Not even your life-logger.’

‘It’s better than nothing. It’d be me and Crime Central’s pathologist, Kofi Seven.’

Saul sighed. ‘It’s very much against my better judgement.’

‘But it’s a deal. All we need is … ’ Again Lexi looked at the laboratory supervisor.

‘Yes, I’ll do it,’ said Julia.

‘Okay,’ Saul replied reluctantly. ‘But straight after, I’m going to begin the emergency decontamination procedure. I’m not delaying any more.’