Virus-72 Hours to Live (4 page)

"Have you checked with anyone at State to
see if they have people in the area?"

"Yes, we've asked but they're getting
confusing information, they're following it up and they'll pass
anything they find to us. They put it on our radar because they're
concerned that it might have military implications in the
area."

"Have Intel check all of the normal trap
lines and see if they can get a reading. Regardless of what we know
by tomorrow let's give the president what we have."

"Yes, Sir."

"Mark do you have anything to add?"

"No Admiral, while we continue our fact
finding in the Middle East, we'll check with the local health
ministries and see if they have anything."

"Thanks, Mark."

"If that is all, then thank you."

At the end of the meeting, something about
the virus bothered the Admiral. It popped up suddenly and no one
had heard of it before. There hadn't been any rumors in the area of
a warlord or terrorist groups having any bio capabilities. Having
it pop up in separate areas at the same time was scary; it was very
unusual. The Admiral stood and looked out of the window. He
stretched the full 6'2" frame of his body, hoping he was being
concerned with nothing and the virus would fall off the briefing
agenda in a couple of days.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Eddy Purser, who was the president's chief
of staff, was giving the president his daily update on
congressional progress. Eddy was somewhat of an opposite of the
president. Instead of being a communicator, Eddy was a doer. Eddy
had a short and broad physique, with tight curly black hair. He
moved fast and always left a trail behind him. He was a great chief
of staff. He had been part of the president's team since his single
term as governor. Eddy had never married; he was always dedicated
to his job and getting things done.

"Mr. President House Bill 80407 is still
having problems; I suggest you call a couple of the Representatives
who want that farm legislation to pass. If you can give a little on
the Farm Bill, I suspect we can swing them to our side. If it's ok,
I'll set up some calls and put them on your schedule,"

"Yes, Eddy set something up, but don't offer
up anything for the farm bill, until after I work on them. I don't
want to give up anything I don't have to. After I talk to them,
we'll solidify our position on the farm package and tailor it to
the key votes we want to sway."

"Yes, sir."

Just about then, the President heard some
faint knocking on his private entrance door and he and his chief of
staff smiled knowing who was trying to get in.

"Sir, I think you have another important
meeting, I'll show myself out and set-up those calls."

"Thanks, Eddy," the president said as he
turned and moved to his private door leading to his study. He
hesitated for a moment then pulled the door open and his
five-year-old daughter, Beth fell into his arms giggling.

"Hey, funny face, were you listening to my
door again?"

"Daddy, you know I don't listen to your
door," she said with a grin.

The president scooped her up into his arms
as her mother Abby walked into the room. The president's son Dave,
being a typical teenager, slipped in after his mother. He didn't
want to be eager about anything. Being the president's son was a
pain, going to Europe was not worthy of his enthusiasm. Therefore,
he tried to maintain his detached attitude.

Abby was a little taller than the president,
which drove the press office crazy. They hated to have pictures of
the two of them together, so they always tried to have their tall
teenage son between them. She was a warm person, like Arnold and
once you talked with her you felt like she was your favorite aunt
or mother.

Beth was a tiny five-year-old. She had tight
brown curls on her head; just like her Mother. Her personality was
a beautiful blend of both parents. Her smile was infectious and her
giggle would draw a full laugh out of the hardest politicians.

"Honey, I'm glad we can say good-bye before
we head off for Europe," Abby said as she took Beth from his arms
and they moved to the two couches in front of the fireplace.

"So am I, I'm going to miss you guys. I'm
stuck here doing all of the boring stuff and you're getting another
grand tour of all of the fun places in Europe. You know I'll be
miserable until you get back."

"Fun places?" his son asked. "We'll be stuck
going on tours with the big shots and eating with all of the weird
people and their kids. I don't want to go, I want to stay here and
go to Donny's party this weekend."

"Sorry champ, but your mother needs you to
help with Beth and, please be nice to all of those weird kids you
mention." Dave kept his arms crossed and stood beside the
fireplace.

"Daddy, I don't want him taking care of me,
I'm a big girl," said Beth as she glared at her brother.

"Honey, we know you're our big girl and we
know that you can take care of yourself," Abby reassured her
daughter with a hug.

"I'm going to miss you the most," Arnold
whispered in his wife's ear.

"You better be good...and needy when I get
back," she whispered.

A louder knock on the other door got their
attention. "Come in, Judy," the president said knowing it was his
secretary knocking.

The door swung open and Judy said in her
gentle but forceful voice," I'm sorry sir, but the press are
waiting for the first lady's departure. Her motorcade is all set to
go to Andrews."

"Thanks, Judy; tell everyone she's on her
way."

"Yes, sir."

"I love you, fly safe."

Arnold and Abby smiled at each other. They
looked closely in each other's eyes, knowing that they would miss
each other and the days would be long.

"I love you too; don't do anything to
congress you'll regret."

"Don't worry, if I do; I'll try to leave no
evidence."

They smiled and hugged and the president
gave his daughter a big hug and kiss. When he put her on the
ground, he feigned a quick tickle, which caused Beth to laugh while
trying to get away. As Dave walked by, the president grabbed him
and gave him a hug, even though he didn't attempt a hug back.

Abby and Arnold had been married just over
28 years. They met while in college and the attraction was
immediate and long lasting. They were married within six months and
finished college, both of them working and helping each other.
After college, they wanted children, but the demands of careers
took them in different directions. Arnold started up a small
computer software company, Abby focused on corporate law, and both
careers grew rapidly. After the company was successful and Arnold
had won his first term in the Senate, they realized they weren't
getting any younger. If they wanted children, 'the clock' was
ticking. Abby gave birth to Dave the next year. Five years later,
Beth was born.

The president walked beside his wife, Beth
ran ahead and they knew Dave was dragging behind them. They walked
out of the office to the lawn and stood where their social
secretary positioned them. Pictures of the first lady's European
trip were a painful necessity. The session was brief except for the
effort getting Beth to stand still and forcing Dave not to look
like he was in pain. President Arnold gave his family another quick
farewell. He watched Abby, and the kids escorted to the limo and
they left for Andrews AFB. The limousine was driven by one of the
few mobile units serving the White House. Security didn't like the
fully automated cars because they always wanted a computer under
their control driving the limousines. The auto-cars were controlled
by programming from the car manufacturer, but the mobile units were
controlled by software security had control over. Besides, security
could put a hat on the mobile unit and it looked like there was
another agent driving the car. It didn't fool many people, but
impressions in Washington were important.

Mobile automated units had become pervasive
throughout society; they were very useful in jobs, which were
monotonous, or in hazardous environments. Many homes had a
selection of units performing household chores, gardening, etc. The
more sophisticated units drove the vehicles. The use of automatic
cars was useful but not very functional on all roads. The
technology for the auto cars, to operate, worked best on the main
roads and freeways. The GPS maps had to be accurate and the sensors
on the roads maintained before the mobile units could drive on any
surface.

In some homes, the mobile units monitored
and even taught the children. This was acceptable at all levels of
society, but their use in government had remained low key. No one
thought hordes of automatic robots working around the government
gave the right impression. Some of the press kidded that if there
were too many mobile units around Congress the voters would think
they could do the job better. Most government officials had them in
their homes for the tasks stated above. They were used in places
out of sight from the public. Driving the official cars was an
exception, over-time they were shown to be more efficient and
safer. Therefore, for the sake of the safety of the leadership the
mobile units drove their cars.

Some of the mobile units were human like,
walked and performed their tasks like a human. Specific jobs
required mobile units specially designed. Automated units that
mowed the grass didn't need to look like a human; they were built
like a lawnmower. Mobile units which didn't resemble humans were
common everywhere and even around the capital, they were seen in
significant numbers performing the day-to-day jobs. As long as they
didn't look like people then the impression didn't offend
anyone.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Commander Joan Herl rolled over in her bed
and checked her clock. It was 7:03AM consortium time. It was easier
to keep the space station Oasis on the same time as the Space
Consortium launch facility in Florida than to use UTC or Uniform
Time Clock. After all, it was easier to be on the same clock as
your support staff. She rolled to the side of her bed and
whispered, "View Screen Open." The room gradually filled with
bright light as the screen opened to her view of the Earth. She
rolled onto her back and looked through her window at what appeared
to be the southern Indian Ocean. It was always nice to open your
eyes and enjoy the Earth rotating below you. Instead of the morning
sunrise, the brightness of the sunlight reflecting off the Earth
had the same effect.

That day was just another day on the space
station Oasis. Get up, check on the night's comm traffic, check out
the manufacturing and chemical process labs, and check-in with
Space Consortium and see what crisis they had for her. She just had
to find a way to live through another boring day in space. Ya
right, she had the best job in the world or in space and she knew
it.

She heard a moan, looked to her side and saw
her husband Tom roll over and put his hand over his eyes to shield
his eyes from the sunlight. "I wish you'd warn me before you do
that."

"Sorry, but who can think of a better way to
wake up."

"I can," he said as he pulled her on top of
him and lifted her T-shirt over her head.

Commander Herl was the Oasis commander and
her husband Tom was the Senior Staff Engineer as well as the Chief
Pilot. They had been on the space station for a little over 6
months, so they were about half way through the one-year
assignment. It was their second time on the station and it was
their first in command positions. It was their station, and they
intended to enjoy their assignments while they lasted.

Joan Herl was at a high point in her career
and those people who worked with her and were impressed by her
looks soon realized her skills and knowledge were far more
impressive. Her two Ph.D.'s in space propulsion and electronics
immediately set her aside as more than just an expert. She kept her
dark brown hair in a ponytail, which worked best in space, and her
5'8" frame had some impressive shapes to it.

Tom was only one inch taller than Joan was.
He was a healthy astronaut; he never walked away from time in the
gym or playing on any sports team. He didn't have any Ph.D.'s, but
he did have over 8,000 hours of atmospheric flight and 12 missions
in space with hundreds of hours piloting spacecraft.

Tom and Joan had been married for 15 years.
Although they never had children, their careers and dedication to
each other was their passion. Each had made compromises in their
career assignments so they could be together, but to their credit,
they were so good at what they did, any compromise didn't hurt
them.

Their space quarters were small by Earth
standards, but for space, they were nice. They had a bedroom,
bathroom, small kitchenette and a sitting or meeting room. Living
quarters, that size was for the commander of the station, which was
Joan's assignment. Having her husband with her was the added
benefit. Being the senior staff engineer, he would have had nice
quarters but not as nice as hers.

The periphery of the rotating space station
had crew member rooms. The deck angle changed a little from one
room to the other and over time, crewmembers became accustomed to
the slight differences. The windows looked to the outside of the
station. Many mornings they woke up to amazing views of the
Earth.

After Tom and Joan had finished their
morning exercise, they passed through the bathroom and dressing
area into their kitchen. It wasn't a gourmet kitchen by any
standards, but it covered the basics. The commander's briefing room
was just beyond the kitchen and could hold 12-15 people depending
on how chummy they were willing to get.

A quick cup of coffee and some cereal and
they were ready for their day. Tom was heading off to check on his
tugs and the other pilot while Joan headed off to the control room
to see what was going on.