Outbreak
November 8, 2016 -- 8:50 p.m.
"THBN News continues its election night coverage with this announcement from the White House. President Delaney has just received a congratulatory call from his opponent who conceded the election victory to Delaney. Moments later, the President's campaign manager announced that the President is expected to arrive at his campaign headquarters within the hour to acknowledge his victory.
"Earlier today the outlawed American Militias United issued a statement via the Net denouncing the election as unconstitutional. Their statement goes on to claim that both state and federal agencies have issued bogus arrest warrants intended to deny AMU candidates their constitutional right to run for public office. They concluded their diatribe by declaring that a state of war now exists between the AMU and the 'unconstitutional' federal government."
The White House, November 21, 2016 -- 10:00 a.m.
Major General Gates moved to the head of the conference table and said, "Please take your seats and we will get this show on the road. President Delaney has a scheduling conflict and will join us later." As the committee members took their places at the conference table he continued with, "We last met on the day I assumed the chair of this committee. The message of Brian, the elder seems to have diverted our attention away from the more mundane threat of the emerging viruses.
"I believe that everyone has met our newest member, Dr. Barry Oliver. Dr. Oliver is the director of NASA's Ames Research Center of Mountain View, California. Ames will manufacture the nanotech equipment developed by our friends in the future according to the blueprints provided by Brian, the elder. For many years, the Ames Research Center has played a major role in employment of radio astronomy to conduct a fruitless search for extraterrestrial intelligence. I find it ironic that Ames will now assume an essential role in our preparation for the invasion of a malevolent extraterrestrial intelligence that found us first.
"Upon receiving the message from the future, President Delaney ordered the Secretary of Defense to prepare a military strategy to counter the alien invasion. The Joint Chiefs of Staff responded by delegating many of their routine operational responsibilities to their subordinates and personally directed a maximum effort to comply with the president's order. They reluctantly concluded that we lack the technical resources required to repel the invaders. Consequently, a semi-united world has launched a massive effort to address this deficiency.
"Brian, the elder's comments regarding the mental abilities of his enhanced humans convinced the Joint Chiefs of Staff that a maximum effort to complete his work is advisable. They also recommended the establishment of two additional facilities to parallel the work of the facility in Portland.
"President Delaney has agreed to this proposal and USAMRIID at Fort Detrick and CDC of Atlanta will each set up a research center at concealed underground locations. When these facilities become operational they will begin with an up-to-date copy of your database and pursue an independent course of action thereafter.
"Brian, the elder's term, 'Human Enhancement Program' is now the official title for this endeavor. We have named these facilities HEP One for Portland, HEP Two for CDC, and HEP Three for USAMRIID. This diversification should increase our chances of success and make it more difficult for the alien invaders to shut down this venture.
"The technological superiority of the aliens will limit our tactical response to efforts to obtain and adopt their technology. This tactic failed in the future and may fail us as well. However, we will take advantage of the warning we received and disperse our military, industrial, and research facilities to well-hidden underground locations.
"The crucial point is that we are going to get our butts kicked. A frustrated scientist summed up our predicament succinctly when he said, 'We do not stand a chance of defeating the aliens, but we must try. Obviously, we cannot surrender to an enemy that wants to eat us.'
"We have decided that the topography of our Portland site offers an excellent location for extensive underground construction. In early May, underground construction will begin below the Mendelian Institute of Agronomy for the new HEP One facility.
"This underground project begins with the removal of thirty thousand cubic meters of spoils excavated by high speed Lazecut boring machines. After they line this void with concrete, construction of a double deck structure three hundred meters in length by ten meters wide by seven meters high will begin. Two passenger elevators and a large, freight elevator will connect this structure to the building on the surface above. The construction of this facility will entail the placement of nearly nine thousand cubic meters of concrete and many tons of steel.
"We will now break for refreshments and informal discussions while we wait for the president to join us."
Brian and Mandy's home, May 5, 2020 -- 3:17 a.m.
Ring, - - - ring, - - - ring, "Hello," - - - "Speaking" - - - "O.K." - - - "Right" - - - "Set Emcon two, call the list, put on a fresh pot, and send a car for me."
Mandy began to dress without her customary shower while calling, "Brian, Brian, wake up and turn on THBN, this might be the big one."
After the sports news, THBN repeated their lead story in brief. "A simultaneous announcement by the governments of Kenya and Uganda just confirmed the recent rumors of another viral outbreak in the equatorial region of Africa. This announcement also rescinded a mysterious news blackout imposed jointly by these two countries on 20 April. Our coverage of this breaking story will continue after a word from our sponsors."
"Their admission that they attempted to conceal a viral outbreak suggests they failed to contain it," Brian said as he also began to dress. "I am going in with you."
HEP One Opcon Center, May 5, 2020 -- 8:00 a.m.
"Mandy, this situation is ridiculous! I find it hard to believe that THBN is your best source of information. I should have stayed home in bed watching television."
"We will begin to receive information regarding the various governmental responses to this outbreak and their assessments of its severity shortly. When definitive information becomes available, I will let you know. Brian, please return to your work and trust me to monitor this situation."
HEP One Opcon Center, May 8, 2020 -- 5:25 p.m.
"Hi Mandy, sorry I could not respond to your page sooner. Have you finally received the definitive information you were expecting?"
"Alma Dix just released a statement and we have it on disk. You better get down here and see it."
"Be there in five."
The subdued atmosphere of the Opcon Center caught Brian's attention as he cleared the card lock. He continued to the glass enclosure that served as Mandy's office and entered without knocking. Mandy looked up from her desk as Brian entered and said, "Oh Brian, I am glad you are here. It is bad, very bad. Take a seat and watch the monitor."
"Good afternoon. My name is Alma Dix and I am the director of the Centers for Disease Control. The President has directed me to inform the public about a serious viral outbreak in equatorial Africa that may soon threaten the entire world.
"On 20 April, the governments of Uganda and Kenya jointly ordered a news blackout when faced with a serious viral outbreak along the northern shore of Lake Victoria. They turned to the World Health Organization for assistance on 5 May, after realizing that their desolated capital cities, Kampala and Nairobi, sheltered only the dead and dying. Refugees, numbering in the tens of thousands, are spreading this deadly virus like wildfire with twenty suspected points of contagion on the African continent alone, including Cairo and Capetown.
"A hysterical mob brutally attacked the fourteen members of a medical team we sent into Mombassa yesterday. They stripped our people of their biological hazard suits and rubbed their faces in the body fluids of the dead. We rescued our team, placed them in quarantine, and suspended operations on the African continent. Our team and medical specimens are presently en route to Atlanta for treatment and evaluation."
May 9, 2020 -- 6:00 a.m.
"Welcome to THBN Front Page News, Pam Jones reporting. Four hours ago, the French government announced the closing of their borders, the call-up of military reservists, and a shoot-to-kill quarantine of the port city of Saint Raphael. The official spokesperson for the French Embassy in our nation's capital refused to explain these actions when announcing the shutdown all commercial communication links with Saint Raphael. A ham radio operator based in Saint Raphael reports that scores of people are sick and that a helicopter just arrived with occupants wearing what he described as 'spacesuits.'
"Last night the outlawed American Militias United issued the following statement that I will read in part."
"The central committee of the AMU will no longer authorize guerrilla warfare operations for the sole purpose of producing casualties. However, actions against selected federal facilities will continue and some loss of life may be unavoidable. All prisoners of the AMU will receive a fair trial for their crimes while facing a maximum penalty of facial branding with the AMU logo. It is our intent that this disfigurement will send a warning to all that oppose us in our fight to restore the Constitution to its rightful role in government. Our need to resort to such tactics is regrettable, but as an outlawed organization we are unable to punish those we convict of war crimes with incarceration."
"This statement continues with a considerable amount of self-serving propaganda. Since the AMU declared war against the government on November 8, 2016, their attacks have resulted in more than 900 casualties including 113 deaths. The government claims that forty-one of those killed were prisoners of the AMU at the time of their deaths. The deaths of these prisoners have served to turn many against the AMU according to recent opinion polls possibly explaining this change of policy."
May 14, 2020 -- 6:00 p.m.
"Welcome to THBN Front Page News, Steve King reporting. Twenty minutes ago we received word that President Delaney would hold a press conference at six p.m. today. The president is about to speak."
"Good evening. Dr. Alma Dix will present the latest information regarding the disastrous situation in Africa. I will then announce the actions I am taking to control this viral outbreak."
Doctor Dix's haggard face and melancholy expression elicited a murmur of shock from the assemblage of reporters as she moved to the podium and began to speak. "In the fourteenth century the Bubonic Plague also known as the Black Death took the lives of 25 percent of the European population. A mutated member of the Ebola family of viruses has recently acquired the hardy characteristics of the more common airborne viruses that plague humankind.
"Now we face a viral epidemic that may take the lives of 90 percent of the world's population. Currently, our only defense against this deadly virus is the imposition of a strict quarantine. Therefore, I have recommended the immediate closure of our borders and the cessation of all personal travel within our country.
"Of the fourteen members of the medical team assaulted in Mombassa on the seventh, five are dead and the remaining nine will die soon. Experience with the last variant of Ebola suggests that a small percentage of those exposed to this virus may never succumb to its assault but will serve as unwitting carriers. I believe that this viral outbreak must be the event identified as the 'Red Death' in the message from the future. Man now qualifies for inclusion to the list of endangered species unless we take draconian measures to halt the spread of this virus."
"Thank you, Dr. Dix. After consultation with the congressional leadership and the secretary of defense, I now declare that the civil authorities do not have the resources to cope with this viral outbreak. Therefore, it is my regrettable duty to impose the status of martial law upon the United States of America. I now order the closure of our borders, and further order all military reservists to report for duty within twenty-four hours.
"I have ordered all air traffic suspended, all interstate travel suspended, and all schools closed. We are currently deploying selected Army units along our southern borders and an agreement with Canada will result in a border closure based on assigning defined areas of responsibility to each country.
"As I speak, the second brigade of the 101st Airborne is deploying in Florida along I-75 to establish a quarantine line extending from Boca Raton to Naples. We have a confirmed viral outbreak in South Miami and will not permit anyone to leave the quarantine area. I have instructed the military authorities to issue shoot-to-kill orders to enforce this quarantine. Our helicopter gun ships have already sunk four boats that refused to return to port as ordered.
"All Navy vessels currently deployed overseas will return our coastal waters immediately. The Coast Guard will permit only those vessels that have not made a port call since 15 April to dock. We will assign the others to coastal patrol duties and replenish them at sea. I have ordered the remainder of our military forces deployed overseas to remain at their posts and hope for the best. All U.S. citizens currently overseas must remain there until this viral outbreak has run its course.
"We deeply regret the need for violence to enforce these actions but we can save the lives of millions if we succeed in this endeavor. I am sorry, but I cannot take your questions today. May God bless and keep you through this time of danger."
HEP One Opcon Center, May 14, 2020 -- 4:00 p.m.
"Colonel Johnson, I have an incoming VidCon call for you from General Gates's office."
"Thank you, Sergeant, please complete the connection." The image of General Gates appeared on the monitor prompting Mandy to say, "Good evening General, Doctor Butler and our deputies are present as ordered."
"Good afternoon, Colonel. Please begin with your SitRep."
"Yes sir, our on post personnel count is one hundred and sixty-three men, women, and children. That breaks down to twenty-seven technical, forty-three military, and ninety-three dependents including five pregnant women. Three members of our military staff are absent over leave. Two technical staff members with families presently out of town on vacation have resigned to avoid containment. This loss of personnel will have a negligible impact on our mission readiness.
"We switched over to internal power at ten hundred hours today and the micropile is in the green. Water, sewage, aquaculture, and air purification facilities are all in the green. Self-sufficiency level is on target at twenty-five hundred days. Containment occurred on schedule at fourteen hundred hours today. Morale remains high despite understandable concern for relatives and friends still exposed to the virus."
"Colonel, I wish to congratulate you and your staff for this excellent performance in the timely achievement of containment. Doctor Butler, do you have anything you wish to discuss."
"Yes, I do General. Will we still receive the shipment of nanotech equipment we are expecting from Ames?"
"The Army will deliver that shipment to your decon lock on the morning of the eleventh. Can your people install this equipment without outside assistance?"
"We can handle it, General. I do not anticipate any problems. Another concern I have is the dearth of information regarding the viral outbreak. Why is THBN providing more comprehensive information then our official sources of information?"
"The larger countries are declaring martial law, closing their borders, and virtually silencing our overseas intelligence assets. THBN now serves as the only unbiased source of information currently available to us.
"Meanwhile, our country is rapidly descending into a state of anarchy. Individual states are closing their borders and local groups of vigilantes are setting up checkpoints to control access to their communities. Elements of the American Militias United are operating openly in some areas while our desertion rates are approaching 30 percent. The world is in a helluva mess and it is going to get worse before it gets better.
"Brian, I understand your concern and suspect that as a doctor you feel you belong out there in the trenches with the rest of the medical community. You will receive an encrypted message from me within the hour containing some excerpts from a top-secret CDC report released yesterday along with some fatherly advice. Do any of you have any other issues to discuss?"
"No sir, we are in great shape and quite safe from the viral outbreak. Much safer than you are, I suspect."
"I do not believe it is as dangerous here as you might think as our nation's capital now resembles a ghost town. If any of you believe in the power of prayer, now is the time to ask the Almighty for help. I have more calls to make so I will sign off for now. Goodnight and good luck."
"Well Mandy, I guess I should view THBN with more respect. We can catch up on the latest news while we wait for the general's message." Click!
"Welcome to THBN Front Page News, Steve King reporting. France is currently extending its quarantine zone around the port city of Saint Raphael according to unconfirmed sources. We have heard that the larger zone will extend from Toulon to the Italian City of Savona and include the populated coastal areas on both slopes of the Maritime Alps.
"Meanwhile, the quarantine of southern Florida has resulted in unconfirmed reports of several planes being shot down by the Air Force. THBN has also received reports of sporadic firefights occurring along I-75, while the Coast Guard reports sinking several boats that were attempting to escape the quarantine.
"Front Page news has just received this late-breaking story. The Italian government has just announced that a state of war now exists between Italy and France. A few hours earlier, a small force of Italian soldiers met a French military column at their international border and refused to permit their unauthorized entry onto Italian soil. The French military calmly withdrew long enough to launch an air strike that dropped napalm on the exposed Italian troops. The Italian military force suffered heavy causalities and retreated in disarray while the French invasion force extended their quarantine zone onto Italian soil.
"Currently, several nations have deployed warships in a futile attempt to form a blockade of the African continent. It is highly likely that they assigned these vessels to carry out this uncoordinated, spontaneous military action to prevent their return to their homeports. This effort is largely ineffective and mostly punitive in nature. In Africa, the number of deaths attributable to the viral outbreak is very high with current estimates ranging between one and four million dead."
Click! Mandy reached for her pager while saying, "That did not take very long. You may as well accompany me to the communications center, as it will only take a few minutes to decrypt the message. I want to be present when you receive your fatherly advice."
To: Dr. Brian Butler, Dir., HEP One
Fm.: Major General Leland Gates, Dir., P., O., & F.M.
Date/Time: 140520/0130 ZULU
Subj.: Previous VidCon
Selected excerpts from the CDC report dated May, 9, 2020
Prognosis: On May 4, 2018, I assigned the team that developed the vaccines for the four variants of the HIV virus to do the same for Ebola. They achieved their goal less than two months before this outbreak. This airborne variant of Ebola is currently under study and we should have a vaccine for it in production within ninety days. Conclusion: To discourage complacency I believe that we should withhold this information until we can begin a massive immunization program. Until then, we must rely on the public's fear of this virus to enhance the effectiveness of the quarantine. Dix.
Dear Brian:
I know from personal experience that functioning effectively is difficult while distracted by extraneous matters and I hope you now understand your concern is unwarranted. This viral outbreak is a minor problem when compared with the threat of an alien invasion. The testament of Brian, the elder convinced the Joint Chiefs that enhancement of the mental powers of man may provide a means to defeat the invaders. Your facility offers the best hope of success as the self-imposed bureaucracies of the other two HEP facilities are impeding their progress. Brian, the aliens will arrive in twenty-two years. When will the first enhanced child be born? Brian, please keep your eye on the ball and leave the coaching to us. Speaking of coaches, this one has a new assignment. On 16 May, I will become a patient of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Recently, during a routine physical, they found malignant tumors on both my liver and pancreas and now I can no longer function without palliative treatment for pain. Unfortunately, this is my first break from work since the death of my wife and the damn quarantine has closed the golf courses. I have enjoyed working with you. Give my best to Mandy and never miss an opportunity to tell her you love her. Remember Brian, keep your eye on the ball.
Carry on, Gates.
"Brian, why did he say palliative treatment for pain? Can't they treat his cancer?"
"Apparently not. Colonel, is it considered proper for a military officer to cry?"
"Doctor, dry your tears before you mention mine! Oh Brian, I am going to miss him."
"Me too, but we will not forget him. Order the machine shop make up a few brass plates engraved with our new project motto, KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL. Also, have the external video channels disconnected from the monitors in the offices and labs. Beginning today, HEP One is going to respond to the challenge posed by General Gates!"
Brian's office, October 17, 2020 -- 9:08 a.m.
Mandy entered his office with an expression on her face that almost gave away the contents of the message she handed him.
To: Dr. Brian Butler, Dir., HEP One
Fm.: Major General Edward Wilson, Dir., P., O., & F. M.
Date/Time: 171020/1410 ZULU
Subj.: Cancellation of Containment
Background: On this date, the CDC will announce that the viral outbreak known by many as the "Red Death" has ended.
Action: End containment
Additional: Major General Leland Gates passed away last night. We will miss him.
Wilson
"The communications center just received this Brian. Mourning the death of General Gates will be difficult while celebrating the defeat of the virus."
"Mandy, I think he would advise us to play the hand dealt to us. He has risen beyond his pain and left us with hope for the future. We can announce the lifting of containment and inform the crew that we will now accept leave requests subject to minimum staffing requirements. Remaining on internal power may be wise until we have a better understanding of the current situation."
"General Wilson's aide called to advise us to watch President Delaney's press conference at sixteen hundred hours local time. I will make an announcement regarding the press conference after lunch. Perhaps this would be a good time to restore full service to all the video monitors in the work areas."
"I agree completely as now we should begin to receive some good news for a change. I will join you later to watch the press conference."
Later
"Brian, I was just about to page you. Dr. Dix is opening the press conference with a prepared statement."
"Our initial estimates of fatalities clearly shows that the African continent bore the brunt of this disaster. Seven African countries lost more than thirty per cent of their populations while Europe suffered a twelve per cent loss. The United States can consider itself fortunate to have lost only seven per cent of its population. A few African nations and the three largest islands in the Caribbean suffered death rates approaching ninety per cent and may never recover their national identities.
"Our Pyrrhic victory over this virus came too late to save the millions who died. Unfortunately, our computer projections suggest that this was the first of many viral assaults humankind will face in the future. Man and his fellow mammals have reached the end of their evolutionary journey while our viral enemies continue to evolve into ever more deadly strains. We must respond to this challenge or perish. Thank you."
"Thank you, Dr. Dix. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Dix and the CDC for the rapid development of the new vaccine. Now we must heed her warning regarding future viral outbreaks. Enhancement of mankind's viral immunity through the science of genetic engineeringoffers the only hope of preventing another disaster of this magnitude.
"Four years ago we began the Human Enhancement Program, a top-secret effort to accomplish this goal. Soon after its inception, we received fifty years worth of data generated by this project along with the message from Brian, the elder. Dr. Brian Butler has spent the last several years assimilating this data into our project's database and now believes that we can also enhance the intelligence of man. This enhancement of our abilities could become an important option in our inevitable battle with the invaders.
"The leading contender for the presidency is a strict fundamentalist who may seek to cancel this project on religious grounds if he wins the election. This would be a tragic end to what may be the last hope for man to survive new viral outbreaks and the coming alien invasion. I trust that an informed electorate will ensure the survival of this vital project. We will take your questions now beginning with the oldest among you. Sam, take your best shot."
Click! "Well Mandy, we no longer have to hide under the guise of the Mendelian Institute of Agronomy. Now they can move to a facility of their own making it possible to move everything but the computer mainframe, nanolab, and archives above ground. Do you think that public knowledge of our project increase our security requirements?"
"I will look into the possibility of evicting our tenants and review our security requirements. I wonder if the change in administrations will have a detrimental impact on the funding for the HEP facilities?"
"Delaney showed his concern regarding the enhancement program's future with this uncharacteristic plea for public support. I do not think they can stop us, but they can reduce our budget now that our project is no longer secret."
Brian and Mandy's home, May 7, 2023 -- 1:30 p.m.
"Again, our lead story on THBN Front Page News. Former president William R. Delaney is dead, the victim of an apparent heart attack suffered while scuba diving. He was diving from the yacht of a friend, as it lay anchored off the western coast of Eleuthera, an island in the Bahamas. Delaney had been an avid scuba diver since his early days as a naval officer when he served as a SEAL team leader."
Click! "I find it hard to believe he would be foolish enough to go scuba diving after the heart attack he suffered last year. He must have had a death wish."
"Brian, I received a large, sealed envelope from Delaney about eighteen months ago with instructions to deliver it to you upon his death. I locked it up in my safe and honored his request for secrecy."
HEP One Opcon Center, May 7, 2023 -- 2:45 p.m.
"Here it is Brian. I cannot imagine why he would want to leave an after-death message for you."
Brian inspected the envelope bearing a note signed by Delaney that read, "Deliver to Dr. Brian Butler upon my death." The envelope contained a letter addressed to both of them and several video disks. Brian began to read the letter aloud.
Dear Brian and Mandy:
I believe that the day will come when one of you will write about the incredible events you will experience in the coming years. No doubt, you will mention my role in the establishment of the Enhanced Human Program.
You should also know of the sinister side to my contribution. I arranged the murder of my close friend Albert J. Swoboda, Speaker of the House. I first met Albert when I joined the Boy Scouts many years ago. He was an Eagle Scout then and taught me the lore of scouting with both patience and understanding. I believed that Albert and I shared a friendship that transcended our political differences. Albert surprised me when he went public regarding the message from the future and denounced it as the work of the devil. Albert's influential popularity and his power of persuasion could have stymied my efforts to respond to the warning from the future thereby delaying the world's preparation for the invasion.
Master Chief Roberto Cruz, an old retired Navy shipmate, agreed with my decision to silence Albert and arranged his death at my behest. After Albert died, Roberto discovered that he was wearing a bodycam and even recorded his death. The enclosed video recordings prove that Albert was using our friendship to spy on my activities and those of the committee. We knew that the opposition had a mole in our organization, but no one ever suspected that Albert was involved. Politics is a dirty business.
Despite the angst of the Secret Service, we spent many happy hours fishing from Roberto's boat and he and Albert became friends. Roberto began to drink to excess after Albert's death and died in a traffic accident several months later while on his way home from his favorite bar.
I should feel pride for my many achievements in my busy life but my guilt for the murder of Albert and subsequent death of Roberto leaves me with only shame. I hope neither of you ever has to face a similar challenge.
Sincerely,
Bill Delaney