Plague Planet (The Wandering Engineer) (54 page)

“Yes, but remember, I'm only immune to feline and Neo pathogens,
not to any of the others.”

“It's a start.”

...*...*...*...*...

Phoenix updated the feed over the continent The weather report
stated that winds would pick up as the high pressure zone which had kept the
winds almost nonexistent would move north. The low coming in behind it had a
lot of wind and clouds. They projected the viruses would hit by mid-morning.
All hands were told to suit up and institute protocols.

The suits hampered the vital work the virologist were doing.
Ivanov constantly complained about it, but his lead nurse threatened to brain
him if he so much as thought about taking the suit off. Reluctantly he agreed
to keep it on.

...*...*...*...*...

Just after 12 noon, Ivanov reported the pathogens had been
detected in the outskirts of Hazard, but so far in low levels. The viruses had
changed, going from an immediate kill to a longer incubation and infection
period. Another point to Sprite that there was some sort of driving program
behind the infection. The expected protean element wasn't detected in the water
through, at least not with airborne viruses. “They're too specialized,” Helen
theorized. “I'm still getting the hang of all this information, but if I'm
reading this right, in order to keep the virus viable for the length of time it
has been, they had to sacrifice something.”

“In this case what? It's adaptability?”

“Yes,” Helen said, still scanning the screen. “I'm not sure, we'll
need to test it to be sure. But if this is correct, once we kill one strain off
it should stay dead.”

“Which will be fun to do. First we have to kill it.”

“Well, the good news is, that even though they made it hardy,
meaning able to stay alive longer, it's not perfect. It needs some source host
to breed in. It's actually too perfect, it kills the host before it can
replicate and spread.”

“So we're looking at a possible endemic? Localized?”

“As long as we can keep it contained. Right now...” she shook her
head. “And that's just the strains we can see.”

“Right, that's what I thought.”

...*...*...*...*...

“Wagon shipment is in, you better keep an eye on it, we've had
some reports of shifty people making off with small items,” the sheriff said,
ordering Bullet off. Bullet frowned a bit, but nodded and flicked his ears in
agreement. People were going nuts, hoarding and looting. It was smart covering
the supplies.

“Let me know if there is a problem,” the sheriff said.

The Neodog snorted. “If there is a problem I'll howl,” he said,
leaving the sheriff's station. He made his way to the warehouse district,
annoyed at having to do this. He was a keen tracker, not a damn glorified security
guard. Everyone was on edge about this damn mystery plague too. Many were
stocking up and heading into the back country. He could understand why the
sheriff was nervous, some who were desperate and short on funds might take what
they could get without paying for it.

The jingle of the animals in their harness alerted them that they
were coming. He turned, noting the ox team in the lead didn't look at all
happy. Nor did some of the other animals. It was probably because they'd been
worked hard. Harry was a bastard when it came to his animals, making them trot
the trails from sun up to sundown. He didn't stop at regular stops like some
people did, preferring to press on.

The wagons pulled up to the tall warehouse buildings and stopped
in a cloud of dust. Bullet waved the dust away. The warehouses were up about a
meter higher than most buildings that made them about level to the wagon doors.
That way people could unload or load goods straight from the dock to the
warehouses. He could see the wagon team getting off, many were a bit sore and
slow. Again normal, they had been on the road for days.

Bullet heard the coughing and turned. Probably travel dust he
thought, the wagon team would most likely head out to the nearest bar the
moment they had their animals penned. But something in the cough... a wet sound
just didn't sound right. He turned, tracing the source. The wagon master down
the street didn't look right. The Neodog sniffed the air. Come to think of it,
he didn't smell right either. The guy waved it off, saying he must have caught
a summer cold.

The crowd of people around were wary though, jumpy. Suddenly
people weren't so eager to get their goods or to work unloading the wagon
train. The supervisor cursed as his men shook their heads and melted away.

The wagon master started to curse about running late, started
coughing and then collapsed. Bullet didn't wait, he lifted his muzzle and
howled a warning cry.

...*...*...*...*...

News that Crater City had been infected and that people were
dropping like flies there hit the morning media like a firestorm. Finally the
threat was made flesh for all to see in large enough numbers to alarm the
population. Helen now had a war on another front and had to cope with it and
the media backlash that she wasn't getting enough done. Some of the
conservatives demanded her head, saying she wasn't the right person to the job.

“How bad is it?” Irons asked.

She frowned pacing. Some of the attacks stung, and some were
getting entirely too personal.

“Director, focus. Screw the crap they are saying, we need to keep
focused.”

“Bastards,” she muttered and flopped down into her chair. “What?”

“Crater City,” Irons replied.

She let out a long soft sigh. “It's bad. I don't know how bad,
when the wagon master died it spread mass panic in the population. The people
scattered from the area and headed to their homes. That's both good and bad.”

“Good in what way?” Irons asked, trying to think of a reason.

“Some went to their homes, locked the doors, and hid.”

“Self-quarantine,” Sprite commented.

“Correct. But in doing so they infected every surface in their
homes, in between there and the warehouses, and anyone they came into contact
with.”

“What I'm wondering about is, if the wagon master was infected...
how? He was what? North west? Weren't the prevailing winds North east?” Ted
Zane asked. Sprite put up a helpful map to help illustrate his point.

“Exactly,” Sprite said, turning expectant eyes on the director.

“From what I've gathered, the wagon master is a regular. He runs,
or should I say
ran
a cargo convoy circuit. He took low priority goods
from Rubicon to and from Crater city.”

“Why not just use the train? Doesn't the western link go from
Hazard through Crater City?” Doctor Zane asked.

“It does,” Irons replied.

“But Rubicon is a transshipping port for the farms and logging in
its area. They were bypassed by the railroad, though there has been some talk
with governor Oman's office to put a rail head in,” Helen replied, running a
hand through her hair. “Rubicon was doing business with Hazard until a certain
not to be named person took charge there. He charged so much in fees they
decided to go to Crater City and hang the extra transport costs.”

“Ah.”

“The good news is it looks like the convoy picked it up in Rubicon
and brought it straight to Crater City. They didn't stop along the way.
Apparently the wagon master was a real tyrant in that regard, he disdained
stops.”

“Yeah, I'd say he was the last of a dying breed,” Zane replied
with a grimace. “The infection rate has me confused...”

“Well, I've been trying to get a time-line of events. Apparently
the convoy picked up their goods and were in the process of leaving just before
or slightly after the initial release,” Doctor Richards replied, outlining the
outbreak. “What gets me is that they survived. So somehow they weren't killed
right off by the pathogens, but were carriers. Carriers of a lesser strain of
Small pox and something that killed the oxen.”

“Right.”

“So they're all dead?”

“And quite a few of the dock workers. We've been talking to the staff
in Crater City for some time now. They are doing what they can but that city
really didn't have much in the way of modern medicine,” Doctor Richards
admitted. “They never had the budget, and the people there refused to invest
more into medicine.”

“Which is biting them in the ass now I imagine,” Sprite replied.

“Can't be strong everywhere Sprite,” Irons replied. “Quarantine in
effect?”

Helen sighed. “They're doing their best.”

“I can try to send more supplies there way,” Irons offered.

“I don't know. The important thing is containment. Identify it,
contain, and then treat. But a lot of people are going to panic and head for
the hills. I can't blame them, they just want to save themselves and their
families...”

“But they're harming the greater good,” the admiral replied,
frowning. “A case of self-interest verses the population as a whole.”

“The good of the many versus the good of the few... or the one,”
Sprite said softly.

Irons nodded grimly. “I'm curious about the incubation like Doctor
Zane. That is odd. You'd think they would have dropped right away. Was someone
partially immune? But that doesn't make sense...”

“No one appeared sick until near the end of the trip. It did have
a long incubation, it seemed to of just cropped up all at once. I mean in under
a minute everyone in the convoy started coughing and dropping.”

“So... I don't know what to think here. It's odd.”

“Yes.”

...*...*...*...*...

Hank swore softly as he read the attachment. One of the primary
things the AI had recommended were ultraviolet or UV light. He'd read about
them somewhere, something nagged at his memory. Something about killing... he
snapped his fingers and swore softly. “That's it!” he said.

Jerry looked up in surprise. “What?”

“UV! Ultraviolet radiation kills most bacteria and viruses! Why
didn't we think of this earlier!” Hank smacked his forehead. The admiral had
supplied them in the virologist's kit. Portable lamps and big giant arrays for
the work area. He hadn't remembered why but they'd set them up. They certainly
made things glow blue.

“Yeah but isn't this stuff like in the air?” Jerry asked.

“Um... shit,” the lion sighed, shaking his head. He rubbed his
muzzle. “Forgot that.”

“So, somehow it's immune?”

“Maybe... But we can crank up the UV. Double, hell, ten times the
dose! Something is better than nothing! Come on, let's give it a shot.”

“Okay, but if you think a little blue light will help we really
are screwed,” Jerry sighed, shaking his head.

“Just shut up and help me,” the lion demanded.

“If this turns me as blue as you are I'm going to get out a bucket
of paint,” Jerry muttered. “For you not me.”

“Very funny,” Hank said, tapping at the replicator. “Get me some
glass. I'll work through the list here.”

He kept scanning the document as the first tray of lamp parts were
under construction. According to the brief one paragraph description, the
ultraviolet lights worked because they were short wave radiation. The waves
broke up or destroyed the nucleic acids that made up microorganism's DNA.
“Huh,” he grunted as Jerry came in.

“What?” The chimp asked.

“Just seeing how this is supposed to work,” Hank replied, studying
the exploded schematic of a lamp and then the paragraph. “Son of a bitch!” he
said, catching one line. One little line that explained it for him.

“What? What?” Jerry asked, looking up from where he was with the
wheelbarrow of glass.

“Hang on a sec,” Hank said, pulling the tray and then stuffing
materials inside. He hit the key and then turned as the replicator went to
work. “It said that the reason it works is because this level of UV doesn't
exist on a planet because the atmosphere bounces most of the energy back into
space.”

“So... it'll work?” Jerry asked.

“Hell yes! Air or water! Better in air than water.”

“Cool!” Jerry said, eyes wide. “But first we've got to make them
right?”

“Yeah. And I want some for right here,” the Neolion said, pointing
down to where they were. Jerry snorted.

“Can you make a portable one? Stick it on a pole so I can walk
around?”

Hank snorted, and then chuckled, shaking his head.

...*...*...*...*...

Ivanov discovered Prions, and linked them to Bovine Spongiform
encephalopathy, more commonly known as mad cow disease. Doctor La Plaz
theorized that the Prions would not target zoology, mammalian zoology, but may
also be designed to attack Taurens as well.

“Different species,” Sprite interjected, entering the conversation
through the radio link. “Sorry, I was monitoring. There's no relation between
Taurens and Terran Bovines. They just look like Minotaur’s. Fortunately there
aren't any Taurens on the planet so it's a moot debating point if it would
cross over to them or not.”