The Perfect Pathogen (13 page)

CHAPTER 21

As Katie started analyzing
the longevity data, she realized it was going to take longer than she thought.
Over the last seven years, blood tests for all of her subjects had been taken
every three months. Originally she hoped to get through five out of ten regions
this evening, but at the pace she was going she would be lucky to finish two
regions tonight. She started with Africa because, all things considered, they
had the least longevity and she thought their lower life expectancy had
something to do with SDX, though deep down inside she thought it was their
environment.

She looked at the deceased subjects first. For
Africa this represented about one hundred and fifty of her test group. As she
analyzed the data, she saw they all had elevated levels in the four blood
tests, which were indicative of an SDX carrier. Reviewing the data from the
beginning of the longevity project, it looked like their blood started showing
increased levels about fifty-four months earlier. It seemed like a long time
ago, but she was convinced it would be a key piece of evidence as she moved
forward with her analysis.

The data was also consistent to within three
months, or one sample cycle, throughout Africa. She would have to map the blood
level increases to a specific area in Africa to get a more accurate picture, but
there would be time for that later.

It was already nearly six, so she decided she’d
better head downstairs and out front to meet Rob and Hope. They were standing
at the elevator when she reached the first floor. She gave them both a hug and
then took Hope’s hand as they walked down the hallway to the laboratory.

After Hope had her blood drawn again, Katie talked
briefly with Patti who agreed to send the results to Katie on Sunday evening,
so Katie would have them when she reported to work on Monday. She was anxious
to see what the retest said, but she took a deep breath and decided the extra
day would not make a big difference.

After the blood test the three of them headed over
to the Macaroni Grill for dinner. Hope was sitting in the backseat of the Pacifica
with her headphones on, so Katie took this opportunity to discuss what was
going on with Rob.

“I analyzed the test results for the family,” said
Katie. “They are all positive, except for Hope. Her test shows no increase in
any of the six things we are checking. I discussed this with Sarah and we both
decided that the best thing would be to retest her. She has been living in an
environment that obviously exposed her to SDX, and you and the other kids have
it, so we both thought the test was probably bad. We’re really not sure why,
but I think a retest is warranted.”

Rob drove on, trying to put what he just heard
into perspective. All he could think was that he was going to die. And so was
the rest of his family. After some silence, he asked Katie if she was sure that
the test was accurate and a true indicator of the disease.

“Ninety-nine percent sure. It doesn’t look good,
honey. We are going to have to find the cause and then the cure ASAP. I am
trying to pinpoint where it started, and from that we might be able to pinpoint
a cause. Once we do that I think we can find a cure. I believe you and I have
about six months for them to find a cure. The kids a little longer,” she said.

“Well then why are we going to dinner?  Shouldn’t
you be back at work?” asked Rob semi-seriously.

“I have about three or four days of work to do to
get the data analyzed and then it will be in the hands of others. In fact, most
of what I am doing will be complete tomorrow evening. I think we can afford for
me to go to dinner,” said Katie as she smiled and touched Rob’s shoulder
reassuringly. “Six months is a long time and there are over 200 teams across
the globe working on this problem. We will solve it.”

“I guess you are right. It’s been awhile since I
seriously considered my own mortality. I think we need to start working less
and spending more time with family,” Rob said.

“Me too, but it’ll have to be after tomorrow. I
have a full day ahead of me. I did tell Sarah I had to take Sunday off to visit
our parents. I think we need to do that for our own sanity. Sarah agreed but
wants me on a tether just in case.”

“Do you think they are at risk?” asked Rob.

“I think everyone is at risk. Our parents are in
their late sixties and early seventies. So, if Dr. Shah’s hypothesis is correct
and they are in good health, which we believe they are, they probably have
about three or four months to live,” said Katie.

Rob went silent. All he could think was “Shit.” 
They had made so many plans for the future. They would watch their children and
grandchildren grow. Now, that legacy and their golden years were being ripped
from them. Katie could sense from his expression that he was a little pissed
but at the same time resolute.

They pulled into the restaurant and parked. As
they got out of the car Rob called for a group hug.  He had always said that
when the kids were young. As the three of them huddled together, a tear rolled
across Rob’s cheek. He didn’t ever want to let go.

“Let’s eat. I’m hungry,” exclaimed Hope.

The moment was broken and Rob regained his
composure and they headed for the restaurant door. At that moment he thought
about Hope’s childlike innocence, and smiled. He would move forward and not
give up. This was his family. He would support them, and he was sure that in
the end, everything would work out. Besides, one of the smartest women in the
world was working on the solution. His woman, Katie.

After dinner, Katie returned to work and Rob and
Hope headed south down Route 4 to home. Rob and Hope reminisced about her
childhood and Hope talked about her promising future and the fact that she
could be living alone, at least not with her parents, by Thanksgiving. Rob had
explained that the pods at work should be ready by mid-November and she could
be one of the first students to live at the Center. Rob could see the
excitement on her face. Rob kept falling back into reality, but overall he was
able to keep his thoughts to himself and his energy positive. He loved being
with Hope. She was everything other kids weren’t. She filled their family with
unconditional love, which in turn provided Rob the strength to dream of the
future, even now.

Back at the office Katie continued her analysis of
the longevity project data. She was just about finished with Africa. The
deceased and living subjects had similar elevated blood levels indicating the
presence of SDX around fifty-four to fifty-seven months ago. She expected that
those few still living would all be dead within a month, if not sooner.  They
were all positive. Somehow they had all become infected. How could that be?

As she wrapped up the data from Africa, she zipped
it in an email and sent it on to Ben so he could start his review. After
hitting the send button she sat back in her chair and wondered if she was going
about this the right way. She looked at the remaining nine regions. Maybe she
should be looking for something about the regions that stands out. But they
were all the same as far as she could tell by cursory inspection. Then it
occurred to her that she had the data on all of the deceased. Maybe she should
look at the area with the most deceased. Maybe that region was infected first.

Katie dug into the data with renewed vigor. It
would take her several hours to separate them out, but the more she thought
about it, the more worthwhile she thought it would be. Beth had arranged the
files by dates of death. She went back two weeks and noted that there was
slight increase in deaths and then it seemed to take off about six days ago.
She sorted the individuals by region. When she was about three quarters of the
way through she notice a pattern. It appeared that the deaths seemed to have
occurred first, even if only by days, in an area of northeastern Russia, or
Siberia. It wasn’t statistically accurate yet, and she knew this, so she continued
to process the data.

Having sorted the information she saw that her
initial hunch was correct. The largest number of initial deaths were from
Siberia, so she started analyzing the blood data from that region next. Two
hours lost, maybe, but maybe, just maybe, two days gained. If she could
pinpoint where this all started, then they would surely have a leg up on
determining the cause.

As she reviewed the data, she noticed that some of
the increased blood levels seem to have occurred around sixty months ago. This
was before the increase in blood levels in Africa, so she knew she was headed
in the right direction. After another two hours of analysis she had all of the
region in hand and what she saw was a consistent increase in the four blood
test levels at the sixty month mark. The African blood levels didn’t start
going up until fifty-four to fifty-seven months ago. “This is significant,” she
thought.

Next, she decided to look at China. It was a large
area in the vicinity of Siberia, but to the south. Maybe she would see some
correlation. As she started to review the data she checked the files to make
sure she wasn’t looking at Africa again. The data was, in fact, the Chinese
data but it followed a similar pattern to that of Africa. By now it was getting
late, so she decided she would have to stop. She put the finishing touches on
the data from Siberia, along with a short explanation of why she chose to look
at Siberia second and then sent the data to Ben. The rest of the data analysis
would just have to wait until tomorrow.

It was almost 10 p.m. by then. Katie logged off
her computer and was just getting ready to head out the door when her phone
rang.

She looked at the phone number, but didn’t
recognize it as Sarah or Ben, so she thought it must be someone else who is
working on the project. “Hello, this is Dr. McMann,” she answered.

“Hi Doctor McMann, my name is Marvin Hughes, I am
with the Washington Post. Do you have time to answer a few questions for me?”

“Actually, no. I was just heading out the door
when the phone rang. I am headed home,” said Katie.

“It won’t take long, just five minutes of your
time,” he said.

“I’m sorry, but I really don’t have time right
now. How about tomorrow during the day sometime?  I will be in the office for a
short while tomorrow. Why don’t you call around 11 a.m.,” said Katie, thinking
that would give her enough time to talk to Sarah about the reporter who is now
snooping around.

“I am really trying to make a deadline tonight. It
is about the disease that is killing everyone. I understand you are doing some
research on it,” Mr. Hughes said.

“Mr. Hughes, I am not available to talk right now.
If you would like to call back tomorrow, I will be happy to talk to you. Good
night,” said Katie as she hung up.

Katie wondered who had given the reporter her name
and number. She wondered also how much he knew. These press people were always
snooping around and he would act like he knew more that he did. She had been
giving interviews for several years now and she had been glad she had taken a
course on how to respond to press inquiries. She kept thinking about what Jim
Redman had said: “No one talks to the press without my permission.”  She would
let Sarah know she had been contacted and see where it went from there. If
worse comes to worse, Mr. Hughes would receive a “no comment” response
tomorrow.

Driving home seemed to take forever. Her thoughts
kept jumping back and forth between her work and her family. She had a strong
desire to just put the work aside and hunker down with Rob and the kids, but
she knew her work was important to the effort in finding a cure to SDX. Sunday
would be a welcome break. She had needed to get away before this week and now
she needed it even more.

When Katie arrived home, Rob was waiting up as
normal.

“Hi Sweetie, how was the rest of your evening,”
Rob asked.

“I got two regions and a little bit of the third
finished. Actually more than I thought I would. Oh, as I was heading out the
door I got a call that I shouldn’t have answered. It was from a reporter,
Marvin Hughes,” she said.

“Isn’t he one of the Washington Post’s local
investigative reporters?  I have read some articles of his. Normally he is
looking into scams and the sort. What did he want to know?”

“He wanted to know what I was working on and I
told him to call back tomorrow,” Katie replied.

“You are not really going to talk to him, are
you?” asked Rob.

“If I can get cleared to talk I will. Otherwise, I
will have to refer him to the Secretary’s office.”

“Have you seen the latest news?” Rob asked. “There
is rioting in China and India. Their people want to know what is going on and
their press is saying that the government is holding back from them.”

“What are their governments doing?”

“They have called out their troops to suppress the
crowds. They said hundreds have been killed in China. India has been able to
keep a lid on it so far. The fear level in the U.S. seems to have plateaued at
‘wait and see’. Give the Feds a few more days to figure this out, maybe, but it
could worsen here too,” Rob said.

“Well, I can certainly say that it is going to
take more than a few days, based on what I have seen and heard. Has the press
reported any promising breakthroughs?” asked Katie.

“No. Not even the WHO has a concrete plan on how
to proceed. Did you see the press briefing by the Secretary this afternoon?  I
thought she was doing pretty well until she started talking about preparation
for mass graves because the infrastructure is starting to be overwhelmed by the
sheer number of deaths,” said Rob.

“No, I haven’t really seen or heard any news. I
listen to music on the way home to try and unwind. I expect people are going to
start to get nervous and start to do irrational things,” said Katie.