Sedulity 2: Aftershock (Sedulity Saga) (23 page)

“It’s just a sterility virus,” she said. “It won’t
actually hurt anyone, but it will keep them from having children. It will
reverse the astronomical growth rate of the human race. Only those who receive
the antidote will be able to reproduce. Within a few generations the scourge of
humanity will be reduced to numbers that our planet can sustain. All you have
to do is take a grand vacation and release a little bit of the virus at every
stop. Will you do that for me, Ally? For us? To help make your vision of a
better world come true? You’ll be remembered as a hero to the cause!”

What could I say? She had me pegged and I was a
sucker for flattery. I wanted to be remembered for something, even if the vast
majority of people would curse me for cutting off their bloodlines and
posterity. Still, the plan made a certain kind of sense to me. I’m not sure if
I would have agreed to do it, even then, had I known the true nature of the
virus I would release. But I’m getting ahead of myself here. The long and the
short of it is that I agreed to be a martyr for the cause. I would become their
Trojan horse carrying a virulent pandemic on a “make a wish” odyssey to
oblivion.

****

It was the first week of March when I fully
committed to the plan. They told me I would have one more week to spend at the Tabula
Rasa base memorizing the details before leaving on a two week all-expense-paid
trip around the world. All of the reservations and tickets would be pre-paid
and retrievable online, but they wanted me to memorize the details of the
lengthy trip, down to the flight numbers and addresses of hotels I would be
using, as well as popular tourist sites I would visit. I followed their
instructions, but truth be told I spent more time memorizing Linda’s body and
the things we did together. It was hard to imagine my global journey being any
better than the time I spent with Linda in that underground bunker.

Bill and Linda handled most of my
training
during that time. I can see now
that it was as much brainwashing and indoctrination as education, but I doubt
that made much difference. Eventually they succeeded in convincing me to look
forward to my final adventure. “Just think of all the places you’ll see!” Linda
would say. “You’re going to Mexico City, Panama, Rio, and Buenos Aries… And
that’s just the first few days. Then you’re off to Cape Town in South Africa!
And Cairo, Egypt. We even made time for a helicopter flight to the Pyramids.
Then Athens, Rome and Paris with a day in each!
 
You’ll take a train to London for the final
flight to Sydney, Australia, with a short layover at home in Los Angeles. I
wish I could go with you!”

“Me too,” I replied honestly. I guess the meds I
was taking were effecting my thinking, because it took me quite a while to ask
the most important question. “But what do I do after that last flight to Australia?
How do I get back here to see you again before I die?”
 

“Don’t worry about that, honey,” she replied. “It’s
all taken care of.” I should have seen through her lies right then, but I was
still thinking with my smaller head and we were in bed at the time.
 
It wasn’t until my final days at the Tabula
Rasa base that the cat was let out the bag.

My final phase of training involved learning to
operate the instrument I would use to spread the virus around the world. It was
quite ingenious. An oversized bronchial inhaler like they gave to people with
asthma. The one I trained with was inert, of course, but they wanted me to get
familiar with it. The man who introduced it to me was some sort of big shot in
the organization. The others called him Dr. Strangelove, but I knew that wasn’t
his real name. Nevertheless, that’s how I was told to address him. He was sort
of spooky and confined to a wheel chair, so I could see how he got the
nickname.
 
He was also a bit absent
minded, which is how he let the true nature of my mission slip.

When Linda and Bill introduced me to him they
seemed to stress the fact that I was the one who would release the
sterility
virus. I didn’t think anything
of it at the time, assuming Dr. Strangelove would already know that. But in the
course of a private conversation during my last full day at the base, when Bill
and Linda were occupied elsewhere, I asked a question that was still bothering
me.

“Dr. Strangelove?” I said. “What happens after my
final flight to Australia? Should I get rid of the inhaler device?”

“No need,” he replied. “By then it won’t matter at
all. In fact, you should probably use up the rest of the charge in the canister
while you are still on that plane. But within a few hours of your arrival it
won’t matter what happens to it. And it certainly won’t matter to you.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“That is when you and everyone you have infected,
as well as everyone they spread it to since being infected, will all turn at
roughly the same time.”

“Turn?” I asked softly.

“Yes, the virus will complete the process of
mutation and convert the hosts.”

“Convert them into what?”

“Come now, young man!” Dr. Strangelove exclaimed.
“They told me you were a willing volunteer. A martyr for the cause.”

“Yes, sir, I am a volunteer. I have terminal cancer
and I want to help release this virus so that my last acts will promote the
cause of reducing global population to sustainable levels.”

“Indeed it will,” the doctor replied in a calmer
tone of voice. “It’s good that you are doing this willingly and for the right reasons.
Too many of the other carriers are being sent out to do this blind. We had to
hire stupid thugs, even terrorists, to disperse the virus in some parts of the
world. Of course they have no idea what they are really being paid to do. I might
worry about them compromising our organization, if I wasn’t certain the virus
will take care of them before anyone starts asking questions.
 
But it’s much better to have a true believer
such as yourself.”

“Yes, sir,” I replied, trying to keep the shakiness
out of my voice. “But since you are the expert here, can you tell me what to
expect when it comes time for me to
turn
?
What will happen to me when I arrive in Sydney?”

“Best not to dwell on it, young man. Suffice it to
say that one form of existence will end and another will begin, but I can
assure you that both will be dedicated to your goal of depopulation.”

“And the people I infect?”

“Exactly the same thing will happen to them at
almost the same time as it does to you. This virus is a brilliant construct.
Once activated it mutates at a steady rate, even inside the canister you will
use to release it. So everyone you come into contact with after you leave here
will unwittingly join you in your mission by spreading the virus to every
person they come into contact with. Then, after the transition from passive to
active phases, you will all continue that mission together. In a very real way
you will be leading a legion in furtherance of a good cause. Does that make you
feel better?”

It did no such thing, but I wasn’t stupid enough to
say so. Instead, knowing my voice would betray me, I simply nodded dutifully
and turned away. I spent the rest of that day and most of the night conflicted
with feelings of horror, disbelief, and delusions of power. Yes, power. I had
already felt it when I thought that I would be ending the population explosion
through sterility and attrition. To think that I could actually do it
immediately, myself, was a heady concept. It sounded as if a lot of pain and
suffering would be involved for a lot of people, but I faced the same thing
alone if I tried to live out my final month of life with terminal cancer. The
idea of bringing a meaningful percentage of humanity with me had more than a
little appeal to it. I was also angry. No, I was mad. Mad at God. Mad at the
world. Mad at myself for not being strong enough to fight off the cancer. And
mad at Linda for lying to me. I probably could have taken it out on myself by
committing suicide right then and there, knowing no other way to avoid the fate
I had agreed to. But I was not strong enough to do that. For my weakness and
sins countless others will pay dearly.

I probably should have killed Linda on that last
night at the Tabula Rasa base, not that it would have changed much of anything,
but I couldn’t bring myself to even discuss what I had discovered. I settled
instead for rough and even sadistic sex. She seemed to enjoy it. I know I did.
We were spent and exhausted when we fell asleep together. She whispered that
she would miss me. I pretended to already be asleep.

I left the Tabula Rasa’s secret base the same way I
had arrived, on a helicopter with a blindfold hood over my head. I can’t tell
you much about where it was, aside from being less than an hour by helicopter
from Seattle, and I smelled the ocean. Other than that I only saw the inside of
the building, which was quite large. If anyone out there survives to read this,
I hope you hunt down those bastards and kill them all. I really had no idea
what I was getting into until I read the notebook I stole from Dr.
Strangelove’s office. Oh, did I fail to mention that? No matter. It didn’t come
into play until days later, but perhaps I should go back and tell you about how
I acquired it.

****

It was pocket size black notebook that had fallen
under a desk where I was told to sit while the others prepared the infernal
inhalers for my mission. It turns out the virus needed to be activated before I
could release it. The mad doctor and his assistants were busy activating
several of them while I was waiting. I even overheard where some of them were
going. “These three go by overnight FedEx to your carriers back east. Those two
are for Japan. We already sent the ones for China, Kenya, Nigeria, and
Indonesia this morning. I’ll activate the ones for Central and Eastern Europe
next, but I’ll hold them for the carrier to arrive.” Or something like that.
Anyway, while I listened to all of that I saw a little black notebook on the
floor. I bent down to tie my shoe and slipped the book into my sock. It was a
crazy thing to do, but so was the rest of the mess I had become involved with.
I just didn’t know how crazy until it was too late.

So I flew away from the secret base with a hood
over my head, a little book in my sock, and two deadly inhalers in my carry-on
bag. The helicopter also carried packages with other inhalers destined to be
shipped across the country and around the world. I almost felt like James Bond,
except I knew that he would be trying to kill me if this were one of his
movies. I was the bad guy and I knew it. What I had learned about the virus did
alter my perspective, but they had done a good job of convincing me that the
cause was just. So, instead of putting up a fight and trying to kill the pilot
and bring down the chopper, I sat there meekly and plotted my own revenge on
the human race. Yes, I was a sick fuck, or hadn’t you figured that out yet? I
could blame the cancer, or the oxycodone, or the brainwashing, or the girl,
take your pick, but the truth is that I knew I was going to die and didn’t mind
taking as many of you with me as I could.

The rest of my story is more of a travel diary than
a confession, but some things still need to be explained. I was dropped off on
the roof of the same hotel and I asked Linda to accompany me to the airport to
say goodbye. I could see her hesitate and hardened my heart to act there and
then, but after a moment she agreed. I was glad, but not for the reason you
might think. There was a limo waiting for me, just like before, and I asked the
driver to close the privacy divider when Linda and I got into the back. Nothing
unusual about that, right? I just wanted to cop a final feel. Well, not
exactly. I brought my carryon with me, having been instructed to never let it
out of my sight. During the short trip to the airport I did kiss Linda,
passionately. But as I was doing that I withdrew an inhaler from the bag and
sprayed a dose into her face. It went into my face too, of course, but I had
nothing left to live for.

Linda’s reaction was priceless and unforgettable.
It was as if her whole life flashed before her eyes, followed by the
comprehension that it was soon to end. She pulled away from me and started to
scream, but I put my hand over her mouth and said, “Shush…. It’s all part of
the plan, right? You don’t want to bring children into the world any more than
I do. So now you can join me on my journey.” I removed my hand slowly and saw
that she was shaking in terror, her eyes wide in fright.

“You have no idea what you’ve done,” she blurted.

“But you told me this virus was harmless, except
for making people sterile or infertile. You even said there was an antidote.
You didn’t lie to me about that, did you?” I’m sure that some bitterness leaked
through my words because her eyes narrowed and her breath quickened. I saw none
of the love or compassion she had shown me over the past few weeks, just anger
and fear. “So why not join me on my vacation?” I pressed.