Extermination Day (4 page)

“I have the
nuclear football here. Ready ,” Paulson said emphatically.“If it comes to that.”

“We should be prepared for all contingencies,” Rowan said, nodding. “Right now we need to continue gathering data about what’s happening around the world and what the virus is doing.”

“Let’s bring Bellany back on.”

Paulson quickly briefed the doctor about the origin of the virus in the meteor cloud, but he was careful not to reveal anything about their speculations concerning China.

“Incredible,” Bellany said, eyes wide. “But theoretically possible. I’m a microbiologist, and I’ve seen species of viruses survive in extreme conditions for long periods in a spore-like state. When a more hospitable environment presents itself, the microbes become active. Other, larger, organisms can survive droughts for decades and then come back to life when it rains again.”

He leaned close to the camera.

“Also, if what you say is true, that this virus originated in the meteor cloud, that would explain the degree of saturation in the atmosphere. This is truly an incredible virus.”

Paulson grunted. He knew how these scientist types could get all gushy over their organisms, even the deadly ones.

“Yes, Doctor, it’s an incredible killing machine that spreads with the wind. How the hell do we stop it?”

“Let me start by explaining the nature of the virus,”
Bellany said. “It seems that it attacks only human cells. No plants or other animal species are being affected.”

Paulson had guessed that to be the case. So whoever was left standing would have access to all of earth’s resources.

Bellany cued up a video feed of the virus.

“One of the robotics units was able to conduct a preliminary autopsy on one of our scientists. Here’s what happened inside his body.”

The video showed a microscopic view of the victim’s blood and from what Paulson could tell, it looked like a warzone. Cell matter and debris were scattered everywhere.

“As you can see, cells from all over the body have been destroyed from the inside out.”
Bellany circled and enlarged one area of the video. “The nanovirus enters a cell, replicates itself using the cell’s DNA, and then bursts out to do the same damage to the next cell. This is typical of any virus, but this one is able to replicate at an astounding rate, faster than any virus we’ve ever seen.”

Paulson could see the virus inside one of the cells, a metal and organic killer capable of ripping through human blood cells
, devouring their host from the inside out.

“But the mechanical parts, how are they reproduced?” Rowan asked.

“It appears to use the iron present in the blood as well as naturally based carbon to create its mechanical parts,” Bellany answered. “All the nanoviruses then work together to destroy the host from the inside out. Each
creature
. . . ”

Both Paulson and Rowan scrunched their eyes up and frowned when
Bellany referred to the virus as a creature.

“ . . . is also equipped with its own microscopic atomic memory cell and chemical power source, like a battery. You can see that here.” He pointed to a spot inside the
nanovirus.

“The technological components built into this virus are beyond anything we’re capable of, even at the most forward-thinking research facilities. The processor memory on this thing is incredible. It’s engineered and controlled on an atomic level and looks to be even more advanced than the processors that run the average household laptop.” Dr.
Bellany was clearly in awe of the virus’s makeup. “If we had time to study this thing, we’d be able to make huge leaps in medical science and computer engineering.”

“You mean if any of us are left,” Paulson said, unable to rein in his sarcasm. “So you’re telling us that one of these microscopic
nanoviruses has more computer processing power than a full-sized computer? And there are millions of these things floating around in the air?”

“Billions, and growing
in number as they pass from person to person. I know how that sounds, but that’s what I’m seeing here, Mr. President,” Bellany said.

“Does that mean they could be intelligent in any way?” Rowan asked.

“I have no way of knowing. They were clearly built or evolved to do a task, and they’re damned efficient at that task. And that is to kill us.
Humans
. Watch this.”

Bellany
touched his screen and the video showed several large drops entering the screen near the inert nanovirus.

“I’ve added cow’s blood to the mix here. Look how the
nanovirus remains inert, not moving in any way. Now here’s blood from one of our monkeys.”

The virus shuddered, and its small sharp edges started to unfurl as it spun toward a large semi-circular object on the screen. Other
nanoviruses entered the picture as well, heading for the object.

“See how they respond to this chimp red blood cell? Now watch.”

The viruses swarmed the red blood cell and one used its sharp edge to cut in. Once inside, it appeared to absorb some of the cell’s material, then it stopped moving. Its sharp edges retracted and it immediately returned to its dormant state. The cell remained intact, relatively uninjured.

“You can see what happened here. It ignored the cow blood but homed in on the chimp blood cell.
But when it entered the cell to start replicating, it absorbed some DNA material and then stopped the process. Now watch this. This is human blood.” Bellany moved a robotic arm to add more drops to the mix.

A sudden flurry of activity lit up the screen. Thousands of
nanoviruses starting attacking the human blood cells, sharp spikes flying and spinning as they cut their way inside. Within each cell the virus replicated itself until eventually there were so many in the cell that it burst open, releasing thousands more viruses which then moved on to the next cell. The slaughter subsided when all the red blood cells in the sample lay ruptured. The thousands of new viruses returned to their dormant stage and drifted in a dark cloud across the screen.

“Shit,” Paulson whispered.

Bellany said, “Now imagine this happening to every cell in your body. You literally explode from the inside out at an incredibly fast rate. Extrapolations from our computer algorithms show that just one nanovirus in the average human body would spread and kill that person in less than an hour. The only symptoms would be a slight fever and cough or runny nose. That is until the very end when he’d start coughing blood, every organ in his body turning to mush, and his lungs collapsing.”

“So this thing knows to target only humans? How is that?” Paulson asked.

“It apparently uses its sophisticated processors and chemical readers to target cells that contain only human DNA.”

“So they’re just out there hunting us?” Rowan asked.

“Yes, they’re out there in very large numbers hunting us. If you go outside and breathe contaminated air, you’ll be exposed.”

Paulson pressed his hands to his eyes, squeezed hard, and then dropped his hands back to his desk.
He could feel the plane shake lightly as they hit some turbulence. “How long can they survive? And how do we kill the bastards?”

“As for how long the virus can survive, we don’t know. I would assume that if it can survive in space as a spore, then it could survive on earth for a very long time. And as for a cure, we’re working on that. So far we haven’t been able to find anything that will kill the virus without killing the host. Keep in mind too, gentlemen, that this is a process that would normally take months or years with a full staff of over a hundred researchers and lab technicians.”
Bellany turned to look at the room behind him before he added, “With just four people, I can’t even guess how long it will take.”

“Doctor, let me ask you this,” Paulson said. “Based on your computer modeling, how many dead are we talking here, hundreds of thousands? Millions?”

“Billions, Mr. President,” Bellany said with conviction. “The level of saturation in the air, its virulent targeting of human DNA and rapid reproduction, and its apparent ability to survive in a dormant stage for long periods make this virus essentially a species killer.”

1 am EST, 11:00 pm local time, January 16, 2038

Proj
ect Chronos, Lechuguilla Cave, Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA

Congressman Jeff Madison had been sitting in the control tower at Project Chronos for several hours, watching the feeds streaming in from all over the world. He saw Vice President Paulson sworn in as president. Slowly though, the streams started to fall silent, portables dropped to the ground showing the floor or empty sky. News agencies went off the air as reporters died, leaving no one to cover the growing planet-wide horror.

Jeff also watched the scientists work on the imposing dome device. Several of them had left, overcome with grief. But eventually each returned, sometimes supported by a fellow griever. Jeff was surprised anyone could stay focused on their work in a time of such crisis. But he guessed that work, meaningful work, might be all that most had left when so much else had been taken away.

Reports came in from other levels of the base, showing that anyone not deep underground had become infected and died. Dr. Chen assured everyone that they were safe as long as the elevator doors remained sealed. They had enough air and food to last many months if they needed it to.

Jeff still hadn’t been able to determine what it was they were working on, and Dr. Chen was no help at all. He was too busy working and coordinating various aspects of the project. There were too many unanswered questions. What were they building here deep underground that could save everyone? A cure? A weapon? Who were they even fighting? Who was behind the attack and why? Yes, too many questions and not one helpful answer.

Maybe someone in the government, if there was anyone left, could shed light on what was happening.

He turned to one of his Secret Service companions. They’d been whispering on and off for an hour.

“You wired in to all other agents?”

“Yes, sir, I have direct contact with all other agents at all times.”

“Well, what’ve you learned?”

“At this time I can only reach the five agents on board Air Force One. There is no response from any others anywhere.” The agent maintained a neutral voice and was trying to stay cool, but Jeff had seen the man fingering his service pistol. Both agents had been compulsively checking out the room and the large space at the base of the tower.

“What’s your name?” Jeff asked.

“
Victor Mullins, sir.”

“Agent Mullins, can you put me in touch with President Paulson?”

“Yes, sir. Give me just a second.”

Agent Mullins pulled out his portable and quickly found a patch to one of the agents with the president. Jeff was speaking to Paulson moments later.

“Mr. President, this is Congressman Jeffrey Madison. I was contacted by a member of your staff to take your place during the State of the Union address as you had the memorial service at the University of Georgia to attend. I’m currently located underground at a base near Carlsbad, New Mexico. Do you have any idea what’s happening? What type of attack this is?” Jeff had met Paulson once before, but he doubted Paulson would remember.

“Congressman Madison, the attack is an airborne virus.” The president’s booming Southern Texas drawl came through clear on the video feed. “We believe it originated from the meteor cloud that Earth passed through earlier this evening. There doesn’t appear to be any terrorist group involved that we know of at this time. However, we’re speculating that the Chinese could have initiated the attack.”

“The Chinese?  But why would they do this? Aren’t they killing their own people?”

“General Rowan and I believe that they could be manipulating the Stream and the video feeds to show false information.”

“So people aren’t really dying?  The videos are all fake?”  Jeff was shocked. He couldn’t believe that everything he just saw wasn’t real.

“No, people are certainly dying, at least here in the U.S.”

Paulson paused for a second, then continued, his voice shaky. “I haven’t seen anyone die with my own eyes, in person . . . ” 

He paused again, then spoke more firmly. “We’re still gathering data. I don’t think that we can assume that everything is fake. There are too many of our people not responding. The logical scenario is that the videos from China or another one of the countries outside of the U.S. are fake, while those in the U.S. are real. But we can’t be sure.”

“So those people in China are not dying. How is that possible? Have they been inoculated?”

“That’s what we’re assuming, but nothing has been confirmed.”

Jeff couldn’t believe that China would initiate such a horrendous attack. He knew that U.S. and Chinese relations had deteriorated over the last few years, especially after the U.S. had defaulted on all of the debt they owed, but would the Chinese really resort to killing everyone? And everyone in other countries as well, just to get back at the U.S.?

“So what now?” Jeff asked.

“We have to assume that this is a real attack. Based on conversations I’ve had with the CDC and NORAD, they tell me the virus is everywhere, saturating the air. No one is safe. The only large pockets of survivors are those in secure, isolated locations with their own independent air and water supplies. You can’t go outside without a specialized gas mask or you’ll be infected. We’re telling survivors to stay put until we find a way to destroy the virus and inoculate them. As for the elected government of the U.S., right now it appears to be only you and me left, and Secretary Farrow is here with me as well.  Everyone else is dead.”

“My God, Mr. President, what are we going to do?” Jeff was unable to keep despair from his voice. Everyone was dying and the U.S. government had been wiped out. He had a sudden urge to throw up or to scream his rage into the strong walls of the cavern.

“I suggest you pray, son. I’ll be in touch as I learn more from NORAD and what remains of our government and national defense. I’m also trying to contact any other governments still operating, see if they have answers. Stay safe, and God save us all, Congressman.”

Jeff could hear chatter at the other end as President Paulson signed off. He quickly looked around and saw the work still continuing frantically on the dome and in the central control room. There was nothing for him to do here, so he got up and headed out to see if he could uncover information on Project
Chronos. The two Secret Service agents followed him, mumbling to themselves about what they had just heard from Paulson.

He knew the best place to find loose tongues was in the break room or cafeteria. He noticed Dr. Conner, looking agitated, sitting at his desk near the exit of the control room, and walked over to him.

“Dr. Conner, I’m starved. Is there somewhere to get some something to eat?”

“There’s a twenty-four-hour cafeteria in the building right beside this one. You can’t miss it.”

Jeff headed out from the control room, glancing at Dr. Chen as he left. The man was so busy talking with a colleague that he didn’t notice Jeff leaving. He and the two agents made their way across a short walkway to the next building. Several of the Project Chronos workers walked by them, whispering and casting nervous glances in their direction.

They quickly found the cafeteria. It was a modern facility, with chairs and tables neatly laid out like a fancy college dining hall. It was after eleven at night, but there were still a couple people eating and talking among themselves. With all the trauma of the last several hours, Jeff didn’t see how anyone could sleep. As he surveyed the room, he saw an attractive young woman sitting by herself in the corner, staring at her portable. He quickly ordered a burger from the cafeteria line and then turned to the agents.

“Maybe you two could sit over there. I’m going to ask our young friend here a few questions and don’t want to intimidate her too much.” The agents found a table close by.

He eased his chair up beside the young woman. She was so deeply absorbed in her device, she didn’t even look up.

“Can I join you?” he asked casually. Jeff knew his physical gifts and had learned how to charm even before politics had drawn him. He was never shy about talking to women and considering the circumstances, he figured anyone would want to talk.

The woman barely glanced up and just said, “Sure.”

Jeff bit into his burger and said, “Not as good as Mickey D’s but still pretty tasty. Can I get you anything?”

“No thank you.” The woman looked up from her portable and gave Jeff a closer look. “I’ve lost my appetite over the last couple of hours.”

“I know what you mean. It’s horrible what’s going on. We’re lucky to be alive down here. I’m Jeff Madison, by the way. I’m new here, helping Dr. Chen personally.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. He knew from his short time in politics that the best deceptions were laced with a kernel of truth.

“Holly, Holly Scarborough,” the woman said. “What does Chen say about all of this; does he know what’s happening? We knew about an event today, but no one had any idea it was going to be this . . . this . . . encompassing.” She again looked at her portable. “This horrific.”

“I know,” Jeff said, playing along. “Chen is telling everyone to stay focused on their work, that completing the project is top priority. As for what’s causing this, I just found out that it’s a killer virus that’s spreading across the planet.”

“What? My God.” Holly was clearly shocked. “If the launch goes as planned, we can fix this. I hope.” Her voice trailed off.

“What do you mean you
hope
?”

“Well, part of my work deals with paradox theory, and we simply don’t know exactly what will happen to us when we launch. It’s all so complex and hasn’t been tested enough. I wish we had more time to run trials, but that’s obviously not possible now.”

“I’m not sure I understand,” Jeff said. “My expertise is in another area. Perhaps you could explain a little more.” He knew any scientist type wouldn’t hesitate to explain everything about his or her work, even to a total stranger, if that stranger showed the slightest interest.

Holly started pouring out details. Much of what she was saying was over his head, but Jeff was able to get a few of the salient tidbits he needed.

“I’m not as up on my theoretical particle physics as I should be,” Jeff said truthfully, as he’d never even taken a basic physics course in college. “So maybe you should start at the beginning.” Physics hadn’t been a requirement for law school and as a general policy, he tried to avoid anything math related.

“What’s your specialty?” Holly asked.

“I’m more a builder of things,” he said matter-of-factly. “But your work sounds interesting. Please tell me more.” Under normal circumstances he would’ve complimented her, praised her work even more, since he’d found compliments and an interest in someone opened both minds and mouths, especially in women. “I wouldn’t mind having something else to talk about, think about, for a few minutes.

Holly blushed. She was attractive—mid
-twenties—thin and athletic with long blond hair pulled back tightly. She had high cheekbones, full lips, and bright green eyes.

“I’m just a graduate assistant working under Dr. Conner, so not many people around here take my ideas seriously. Dr. Chen does seem to understand the importance of my work, however. My field is largely theoretical whereas much of the staff here focuses on practical-based disciplines, especially engineering. When I was interning at CERN and everyone was analyzing the so-called God particle, my theories on quantum mechanical black holes were largely overlooked. That was until we starting seeing anomalies in the data, strange readings that matched my theories but no one else’s at the time. You see, it was my idea that these mini black holes were actually small gateways to other dimensions. I wrote a paper on it that was largely dismissed, although many said that the equations did make sense. Then it was probably two days or so after my article was published that Dr. Chen called. He asked if I would like a chance to prove my theories, even if it meant leaving CERN.”

She sipped from a cup on the table, then played with her napkin. “CERN’s Large Hadron Collider was still the largest particle collider in the world and at the time there were no plans to build another. There was nowhere else on the planet that could create the mini black holes that I needed to test my hypotheses. I told Patrick this, but he was persistent. He wanted me to come out to the New Mexican desert and see a project they were working on that would change my perspective, change everything, he said.

“I’d heard of him before, everyone had. A Nobel Prize winner in physics at the age of thirty-four and chair of the Theoretical Physics Department at Harvard, he was world renowned. The problem was, no one had heard from him in about ten years. He just up and quit his post at Harvard and said he was going to work on a government project that would take up all his time. No one knew what that project was, and Patrick was very aloof about the whole thing. It was quite a shock to the intellectual community. So when I got a call from him out of the blue to work with him on this secret project, I was out the door and in Carlsbad a week later. That was two years ago, when the first tests started.”

Holly paused to take another sip of coffee, and Jeff said, “The testing of your theories, the mini black holes?”