The Scourge

[FONT=&quot]Basic premises, inspired by reading The Stand and the thread Airborne HIV.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]It is with morbid curiosity that I attempt my first TL. Note that my biological knowledge is based on a grade 12 biology course and I would love input on the plausibility of the scenario.

No HIV can't kill the world, but it can create a massive divide.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Taken from the number of AIDs and HIV infected people in the world the chances are great that it would start in sub-Saharan Africa, simply math.

http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/04/images/AIDS_Map_Adults1.gif

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
Introduction
[FONT=&quot] Little would be known of patient zero, perhaps he/she was already infected with a strain that happened to mutate, perhaps he/she was hit by a bit of UV just at the wrong area, or perhaps he/she was a chain-smoking-alcoholic-drug-abusing-coal-and-uranium-mining-toxic-derelict-scavenging-hazardous-material-disposing-tanning-salon-frequenting-inbred-primate-loving-person-with-a-sexual-attraction-for-mutation.

For all purposes we will refer to patient zero as a he.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Origin[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

Regardless of the origins the origin was almost certainly sub-Saharan Africa. In which country who knows?

Patient zero continued his life as always, paying no attention to the misquote bite a minute ago. Life was hard in Sub-Saharan Africa, but it was hard for everyone and one can only be happy for the small things. Patient zero considered moving to the city, maybe he could find a job and help support his family. But jobs are hard to come by, and if no jobs were available he would have wasted months and what precious little he had left for nothing.

No, he decided he couldn't do that to his family. Perhaps he could weave broom sticks, a job usually reserved for women, when he goes to sleep. The idea wasn't the most attractive one, but it was safe and this safety appealed to the man who knew little of his next meal.

[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Somewhere in Africa.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
14 Months later
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]It was the most minuscule of all things biological, just a simple section of DNA 8 blocks long, but within this section contained the concentration trigger that will cause the production of signals to the others within the body. The concentration has finally reached the threshold, and the virus started to manipulate the host cell, producing signal proteins. The process was slow at first, just a few hundred proteins was all the cell could muster before it exhausted all resources and had to wait. Most of the proteins became trapped in the local cell structures, some were mistaken as debris but a macrophage and digested, in the end only a few dozen managed to make it to a blood vessel, and even then it took 40 minutes before the first protein found an infected cell. The infected cell, upon receiving the message made a copy for itself and started making signal proteins, and soon these cells were joined by many more who received the protein sending a crescendo of messages into the body. The message was clear and simple, time to change.[/FONT]
 
Last edited:
[FONT=&quot]Somewhere in Africa.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
10 Week later[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Patient zero was feeling horrible, he had a fever of 102 and he felt very weak, but the true pain was mental. It was one week ago that he had finally secured a job as a guard for the mines, not the best job but better than anything he ever had. He was planning to use his first payday to buy his family some meat for dinner, a delicacy they have not had ever since the drought started 6 years ago. His friends told him to start later as he had a slight cold but he went anyways. He was so eager to surprise his family, but all he managed to do was to land in the local clinic.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Oh well, no point regretting it now .He thought to himself, there’s always tomorrow.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]And with that patient zero drifted off to sleep, unaware of the changes inside him, unaware that with every breath that he expelled sent thousands of spores into the air.[/FONT]
 
Last edited:
[FONT=&quot]Somewhere in Africa. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]
13 Months later[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Field director Morgan Kurt was shocked and puzzled. The test results came back, it contained a list off all the field results from the region. Everything on the list was about average; the regions where they had clinics were slowly decreasing in infections and mortalities, while the areas without help increased slightly in infections and mortalities, averaging out to a status quo. However one region caught his eye, it just couldn’t be right, 85% percent of the tests came back positive. That’s a 74% increase from two years ago, there must be some mistake. Perhaps the tests were defective, perhaps the lab guys screwed up, or perhaps the samples were taken from a hotspot. Everyone seemed to agree and told him that it was some mistake, the same thing he is trying to convince himself of now. However there was a nagging voice in the back of his mind that kept saying that this one was different. Eventually after a restless night he relented and signed papers authorizing more tests across a wider area, just to be sure.[/FONT]
 
[FONT=&quot]Somewhere in Sao Tome.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]WHO regional headquarters.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]6 Months later

Volunteer Assistant: Excuse me director, do you have a moment?

[A tall pale man in a lab coat stops what he is doing and turns to face the new volunteer]

Director: I can spare a minute, what's the problem?

Volunteer Assistant: its Morgan sir, he's requesting more tests kits and medical aid to his sector.

Director: sigh...Again? It is the same request?

Volunteer Assistant: Ugh yes sir, the number of confirmed HIV persons is now 1200 and the number of possible suspects has increased to approximately 40% of the entire population, with some regions showing in excess of 80%. He is currently low on anti-retrovirals, and he is also requesting immunizations for Tuberculosis (disease that is quite common to HIV infected), and additional foodstuff. He is convinced that he has an epidemic on his hands.

Director: It's nothing special; we get rashes of infections every month, it’s regular news, and our region's HIV rate is 30%, 10% extra isn't much. It's horrible but we can't save everyone, we have to focus .Send him 20000 units of anti-retrovirals, 6 months of birth control, the complementary educational staff, we need to solve this at the source and he won't need the rest. Tell him that Tuberculosis immunization stocks are low and they won't do much good for the infected. Oh! And double check that the seed-stock shipment is on time.

Volunteer Assistant: Yes sir.

[/FONT]
 
Last edited:
Interesting, sir. I'm a sucker for pandemic timelines for some sick reason. Keep going with this.

Two minor quibbles:

1. Since when is 98 a fever?
2. Aaargh...pet peeve #174 IRREGARDLESS...is not a word. If it were, it would be a double negative or something like that. Sorry...it induces an almost allergic reaction...don't mind me.

Other than that...lets see you kill off the world!
 
Interesting, sir. I'm a sucker for pandemic timelines for some sick reason. Keep going with this.

Two minor quibbles:

1. Since when is 98 a fever?
2. Aaargh...pet peeve #174 IRREGARDLESS...is not a word. If it were, it would be a double negative or something like that. Sorry...it induces an almost allergic reaction...don't mind me.

Other than that...lets see you kill off the world!

Thank you for pointing those out. I will do what I can.

BTW, what would be a good word for the non-existent irregardless then?
 
[FONT=&quot]Somewhere in Africa. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]
4 Months later[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]It’s not right, how was this possible?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Regional director Morgan Kurt had tested HIV positive.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]This wasn’t how it was supposed to turn out, he was supposed to have come to Africa, do some humanitarian work, see the world and return an experienced traveler, and now this. After getting over the initial shock, Morgan realized that it was probably some poor joke or prank.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]He’s been had! They’re probably waiting for him to panic right now.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]That’s right he told himself, he never did field work, his office was the cleanest place in a hundred miles, and veered away the local brothels that some of his staff frequents. There was no way for him to contract HIV. Oh someone is getting their next assignment in a swamp. He thought to himself.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]But just to be sure he decided to call the lab. Maybe they’re in on the joke he thought to himself. After several phone calls it was confirmed, the test was correct.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]It’s not right, how was this possible?[/FONT]
 
[FONT=&quot]Somewhere Close to the Zaire River.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
12 hours later[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]All good times must end eventually thought Patient zero.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The mine where he worked at closed 2 weeks ago, apparently the owner had something called a “credit crunch?”. He didn’t know what it meant but he did know that he was unemployed again.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]All good times must end eventually.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I have been through worse he said to himself. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]For there had been that tense 3 weeks when he just received his new job at the mine where it seemed surely that he would’ve been fired, yet when he was finally able to explain his situation the boss actually gave him his pay anyways. His boss said that he was in for the long haul that he wanted to help the community, and perhaps help build a better world. Later that night, after bring home the first bit of meat in what seemed like forever his family and girlfriend celebrated his health and fortune. While lying in bed full and happy for the first time in years he decided that the boss’ words were genuine. And with each and every day his trust in his boss grew, and soon it felt as if he was a second father. Perhaps that was why when the paydays were so called delayed that he kept on working for 6 weeks. Eventually it was the worry got to him that prompted him to walk 15 miles to call the boss, just to make sure he’s alright. It turns out he knew less about his new fatherly figure than he knew. It turns out that he did not know his true name, that he did not know the mine was dumping toxic tailing, and that he did not know that he had abandoned the mine and left the country 2 months ago.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]All good times must end eventually.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]He was now boarding a trawler heading down the Zaire River, perhaps he could find a job in one of the boom towns. He hated to be away from his loved ones, especially with the recent addition of his new wife and child to the family. But right after his new wife moved in something came down on the village and most people just were as healthy as they used to be. He was the healthiest man in the family and it was a man’s job to support his family.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]All good times must end eventually.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Patient Zero sighed; it seems as if he would have to settle for a monthly letter.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]For the next twelve days for uneventful for Patient Zero except for two notable exceptions, the first was a child who fell overboard while playing on the railings, he was eventually rescued and confined stay within the room by his parents. The second was a meeting with a well-dressed westerner, he had recognized from seeing his boss’ meetings what important and rich people wore and was quick to seize the opportunity to introduce him. He found out that his name was Mel Martinez and was apparently someone important. Their conversations were mostly one sided, as Mel liked to talk and he was a good listener (plus he didn’t a single idea of what subjects were familiar to a village boy and an important westerner). Nonetheless, despite the cultural barrier Patient Zero was fascinated by the description of a land of plenty and Mel found Patient Zero’s world perspective refreshing the two men talked and laughed through dinner and into the night. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]On Patient Zero’s first day in Kinshasa he was rejected for 50 jobs all over the city. He was one of many in the migration from the country to the cities in this part of the world.

On the same day Mel Martinez just barely made a republican barbecue in Florida.
[/FONT]
 
Last edited:
[FONT=&quot]Classified Location[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Classified Time[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]L: What are exactly are we looking at here?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Z: It appears to be a deviant strain of HIV-1M, the most common type of HIV infections. It gradually weakens the immune system just as all other types of AIDS but the similarities end there. The infection has three main vectors of transmission; the first is direct bodily fluid contact, the second is moisture droplets (from sneezing and coughing), and the third is dormant airborne spores. We have identified four sub-groups within the patients. [/FONT]


  • [FONT=&quot]The first sub-group we named the builders, they propagate throughout the body and are responsible for the immune deficiencies and protein signals. The builders have an abnormal amount of redundant DNA suggesting an extremely hostile origin. The double DNA spectrum is almost identical to HIV-1M sub-group J and K, one found exclusively in South America and the other exclusively in Congo. It appears to be a case of convergent evolution.[/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot]The second sub group we named spawners. They tend to concentrate near the lungs and are responsible for the creation of spores. The RNA spectrum are more consistent with certain fungus and plant viruses than human viruses, we have no idea how this is possible, upon entry into a host they will produce builders and die off in a generation. They are not capable of self-reproduction.[/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot]The third sub-group is the spores they are light enough to stay airborne, and with a double membrane resistant to extreme temperatures and dehydration, current tests are still in progress but it appears to have a half-life of approximately 6 months. They are capable of infecting any mucus membrane they come across, once infected.[/FONT]
  • [FONT=&quot]And ugh... the fourth group. It concentrates along the nervous system, liver and brain .It’s DNA spectrum does not match anything we have in our databases. It appears to be interacting with the non-coding DNA sequences that account for 98% of all DNA; we have no idea what it’s doing. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]L: Shit… Airborne you say. What’s the cure?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Z: We don’t have one.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]L: Why don’t you have one!? What are being paid for? [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Z: Sir, we’ve only recently been directed to this project and we can only do so much with our present lab and staff. We need more time and money.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]L: Maybe what we need is some competent researchers.[/FONT]
 
Last edited:
Top