Having scrabbled down the rough steps to sea level and entered the complex, Max and Star continued into the large inner chamber where a 30 seat submersible was docked. The large yellow boxy shaped vessel was intended to offer protection to its passengers, typically from sharks. The passengers sat facing forwards, with large side windows to view from, and were supplied with air, to masks. The vessel was designed to provide safe, rapid underwater transport for marine exploration in shallow water, like reefs.
To go further into the complex, there were two doors marked MALE and FEMALE, DECONTAMINATION.
“This doesn’t look good, Star. What have we got ourselves mixed up in?
“Perhaps they are carrying out nuclear testing, like on Bikini Atoll in 1954. One thing is for sure; we must be at risk and need to get cleaned up.”
“Yes, I think we should decontaminate and then try to sneak through and hide. We might be able to get food and drink, a couple of hazmat suits and maybe steal the work boat. What do you think?”
“I don’t see any other option, Star. We have no idea what we have become contaminated with. At least this way we can find out and perhaps deal with it.”
“It’s very strange though, isn’t it? The natives are free to wander the island, but the people from the complex wear protection. If it was nuclear radiation, it would affect everyone.”
“I was wondering about that, myself. Remember the zombie like behavior of the natives, their eyes, and their resistance to pain? Perhaps there are genetic experiments going on here, breeding radiation resistant humans. The only way we will find out, is to get inside.”
Cautiously they entered the Male entrance (there was no way Star was going anywhere on her own.)
Inside there were signs in several languages, including English, telling them to remove all clothing and footwear, place them in a drum like a tumble dryer built into the wall, close the door and start the decontamination process.
The next sign pictured a naked person, standing arms and legs apart in the glass booth, being sprayed and dried. There was only room for one person at a time, so Max went first.
As the entrance door slid shut, Max was sprayed all over with fine foam, smelling faintly of lemons. It did not hurt his open eyes any more than fresh water would, but he still blinked hard to clear them.
As the instructions stipulated, he rubbed the foam into his hair and over every part of his body, and proceeded through the rinsing and drying cycle. After several minutes, the exit door opened and Max was instructed to remove a drug injector gun and a self-seal drug bottle from a cool cupboard. He assembled the gun and prophylactic, then injected it into his skin. The instructions explained that if he could not do this he could call for assistance.
Max waited for Star to go through the washing process before injecting themselves.
“Star, I am surprised no one is on duty here. I know it is automated, but they must know there are intruders on the island. You would think they would be here, guarding the only obvious way into the complex.”
“Don’t bitch about good luck, let’s get some clothes on and find safety” she whispered.
There were two options for the clothes. They could put back on their old decontaminated clothes, or use a one piece cotton suit. The suits had a VRC logo on the front. They decided it was the best choice as they would blend in with the others in the complex. They dumped their old clothes in mesh bags, marked ‘laundry’.
To get up to the higher level, they could either climb stairs, made from steel scaffold tubes and timber planks or use the lift. At the top they were astounded at what they saw. A very large, two storied prefabricated building sat on a long stone ledge.
The whole building was inside the sprayed concrete shell they had climbed over earlier. There were no windows in the building, just a few large doors at the top of shallow ramps to where the building had been built on short levelling stilts. People were busily rushing about carrying out their duties, both in the one piece suits and ordinary clothes.
No one paid any attention to Max or Star, who casually approached a personnel door and walked in. It opened onto a long passage, similar to a cruise ship with cabins on both sides. According to the numbering, there were about 150 rooms.
Half way along, a cross passage took them towards the smell of cooking. They could not resist the temptation of heading that way.
They walked in to a large, comfortable canteen area, with four uniformed security people waiting there. They turned towards Max and Star, smiling, and beckoned them over.
They were expected and had walked right into a trap.
None of the security people had weapons of any sort, which surprised Max - it just did not seem right. Private or government research premises always had some means of enforcing their will.
A man with a different uniform followed them in, so their escape was cut off. He had great charisma, tall and physically fit with a muscular body. His thick greying hair and clean shaven, wrinkle free face put him at about 40. He introduced himself as Conrad Phelps, Project Director for the Viral Research Consortium.
“We have been waiting for you. Please be seated and we will get you some refreshments.”
Max and Star were stunned at the casual reception because they had justifiably feared the worst and this left them deeply confused. Moments later, a generous selection of food and beverages arrived. They stood at the table and began eating.
“Will you tell us what is going on here, Mr. Phelps?” Max enquired. “Are we safe from harm?”
“Please, sit down and I will explain everything, and you must call me Conrad” stressed Phelps.
“To begin with, perhaps you will confirm your names. I presume you are Ray Forbes and Anna Short, the only survivors of the plane crash?”
“That is right Mr. Phelps, sorry, Conrad. I presume you know this from the news reports.” Max adopted a friendly approach to their predicament; there was no point in being aggressive right now. He was very suspicious though - after all, these people had hidden the plane and sent the natives to capture them.
Conrad spoke, “I need to know that you both followed the decontamination procedure, and took the injection. You have been exposed to a lethal pathogen and we must be certain you are protected. Not only you, but everyone else in the complex.”
“Yes Conrad, we did decontaminate and we both took the injection. We were also the only survivors.
“What have we been infected with?” asked Max.
“Thank you both for confirming that. I can assure you, you are safe. It will be necessary to take blood at the end of our talk, just to ensure everything is working as it should. Without the injection, you would both die a horrible death but, more about that later.
“About 7 years ago, an Antarctic expedition took ice cores to look back in time at the conditions prevailing when the ice was laid down. Amongst the many findings, a unique virus was identified. Sadly, the team were exposed to it at the drill site and died horribly, in unbelievable agony.
“When a team was sent to investigate the cause of their deaths, this virus was confirmed. The core containing it was dated and it appears it arrived about 3 million years ago. We hypothesize that the virus came from space, either from the main meteorite or from a subsequent bombardment - but it was during that period.
“The virus was dispersed in the air, at high altitude. The air temperature is very low up there. Deposits of dust and virus ended up in Antarctica, probably the Arctic as well. It became buried as the ice thickened.
“The virus is destroyed at temperatures above 20 degrees C, unless it has infected a host. Without a host, it can survive for a few hours, much less at warmer climates, but it appears to survive indefinitely at Arctic temperatures.
“An infected host can spread the virus by body fluids, including sweat and spittle from coughing. One cough from the host and you are dead, if it lands on your skin or is inhaled. It is that potent. An infected corpse must be cremated to be sure of eliminating the virus.
“The world leaders were notified of the potential risk to the world, should it escape from the ice. It was agreed universally, that the drill site would be sterilized and the virus buried again for eternity.
“As you can probably understand, the public were never told, because of the risk of panic amongst the uninformed. It was believed to be totally safe where it is, way down in the ice.
“Sadly, this assumption is flawed, because the ice is not a static lump. Think of it in the same terms as a glacier, moving imperceptibly down a slope, like a river in very slow motion. A similar effect takes place with the ice cap. The enormous weight of ice squeezes the lower layers outwards into warmer air or water, and then it melts. Over time, more snow tops up the thickness and so the process continues.
“With the present global warming and drastic loss of ice thickness and area, sometime in the near future this layer will be uncovered. Melt water could carry the virus to civilization. There would be a global epidemic, and all animal life would cease.
“The world powers did not want to acknowledge the risk and refused to carry out research to find a cure for the virus, in good time. They were prepared to leave it to a later government who could make the research funds available.
“The VRC decided to set up a privately funded research facility, 5 years ago, here on this island. The hot climate and warm sea temperature prevent dispersal and the virus only lasts an hour in the air or water. Fish and plankton do not transmit the virus effectively, though it kills them as well. It also remains dormant for years, in plants. That’s why you were infected, and why we do not go outside the complex without protection.
“I will come to the natives, in due course,” Conrad predicted Max’s question. He wanted to tell the story his way.
“A year ago, we made a breakthrough and found a reliable cure. We had tried vaccines, but nothing worked properly. This breakthrough used bacteria to counter the virus. As you might know, in your gut, you have good bacteria and bad. The good stuff helps with digestion and provides vital chemicals. I apologize for the dumbing down here, but I do not know your knowledge of biology. The bad stuff is fine, if it stays where it is supposed to, and this is down to the good bacteria. It maintains a strong boundary that the bad stuff cannot cross. You may be aware that if you take antibiotics, some have the side effect of stomach upsets and diarrhea, this is because the good stuff has been weakened and the bad stuff gets out.
“We found a bacterium that produced an enzyme that destroyed the virus. The neat thing is that the bacterium needs secretions from the virus, to live. So, as soon as the virus is eradicated, the bacterium also dies out.
“Two things stem from this. First, the bacterium has the side effect of flu like symptoms, and you could be infected again, by the virus, when the bacterium has died out. There is no lasting immunity. That is why we cannot risk leaving this complex without hazmat suits.
“An infected person can be injected again, but there is a strong reaction that makes the person very ill.
“The VRC viewed the research as money in the bank.
“In the near future, the virus will get into the world population and it will take at least four years for scientists to find a cure, assuming they work as quickly as we did.
“The world could not wait that long as every living thing would be dead, within months.
“VRC would hold the instant cure, which should be worth trillions of dollars. We would also hold the necessary reserves of the cure, so ramping up time to manufacture it is unnecessary.
“Just so you know, the virus attacks the myelin sheath around nerves. You probably know that multiple sclerosis sufferers experience pain and loss of motor control. This virus also inflames the nerves, so you might imagine the effect if the pain of toothache was applied to every part of the body at the same time, with no hope of relief. If the victim does not receive the injection within 12 hours of exposure, they will still die this way.
“Ok, now I will explain the natives. Our early treatments were only partially effective. During the first three years, natives came here by chance. They explored the island and all died this ghastly death. We just could not save them. Then we stumbled on a treatment that looked promising and when more natives arrived, we tried to treat them and save their lives. Like HIV, we could not cure the disease, only hold it back.
“To overcome the side effects of the early treatment required chemical stimulants of the sort that eventually kill the patient. The side effects are damage to the brain and nervous system, and superhuman strength.
“Everyone is stronger than they realize, it is the body that issues a warning if you over stress it. If you did not feel the pain of over stressed ligaments and muscles, you could lift greater weights.
“The natives are still intelligent and know they have no future, but are content to be looked after and spared the pain the disease inflicts on them. We have experimented on all the life forms we can bring here, in the hope of a different cure. But the type of injection you had is the only thing that works, at present.
“Do you have any questions?”
Star asked, “When can we leave the island?”
“I will be able to answer that tomorrow. One of the members of the Consortium will be here to discuss what we do next.
“As you know, we disposed of your plane, so it would not be traced to this island. We could not afford to be discovered and your rescuers would also have to be cured of the disease, before leaving here. I suspect that soon, the search for you will be called off and the danger for us will pass.”
It was at that point, Conrad noticed Max and Star were looking decidedly ill and arranged for them to share a room. Alone at last, Max and Star discussed the information they had been given. There was a great deal to think about. No wonder these people needed no weapons or the use of force to manage intruders like them, the disease was a death sentence, without VRC’s help.