The Demon Plagues (33 page)

Daniel and Elise Markis and Sophia Ilona
walked forward to meet the rolling stairs that a crew hastily
wheeled up to the door, as if they were simply boarding an
airplane. Once at the top, Markis led the way into the craft.

A collective gasp came from the crowd; this
was not according to the script. They expected the alien to come
out, but Daniel – and Ilona – had a different plan.

The three stopped just inside the door and
let their eyes adjust to the soft lighting, which glowed white with
a greenish tinge, just as the picture had been showing for the last
few weeks. A softly pulsing light on the wall bobbed like a
will-o-the-wisp, beckoning them deeper into the machine. Soon they
stepped into a round room, empty of gadgetry or ornamentation,
except for a round dais in its center – and a large teacup full of
Meme.

The alien extended its pseudopod one more
time in imitation of a hand, and Markis, steeling himself, reached
forward to grasp the proffered limb. It felt like soft rubber, but
was firmer than he had expected. Its familiar one eye hovered on a
stalk above the mass of its body.

“Nice to meet you, Daniel Markis.” Its
synthesized voice was also familiar, and came from the cuplike
machine in which it rested.

“And I you.” He let go, suppressing the urge
to wipe his hand. The pseudopod hadn’t actually been damp, but his
mind insisted it should have been.

Raphael then extended its ‘hand’ to the young
woman next to Markis. “Nice to meet you, Sophia Ilona. I look
forward to our Blending.”

Ilona shook its hand, her expression full of
wonder. After she let go, she murmured, “I just touched an alien,
Wow.”

“And who is this person? I am sorry, you all
look alike to me.”

Elise stepped forward. “I am Elise Markis,
chief of our biological research effort.”

“And wife of Daniel Markis. I know you now,
though we have not spoken. You were curious.”

“Intensely.” She took a deep breath. “I
wanted to record the Blending process, if you did not mind.” She
took out a camcorder.

“Of course. Shall we begin?”

“Already?” gasped Ilona.

Markis looked at the young woman. “You can
still back out.”

“No. No, I’m ready. Up here?” She pointed to
the dais.

“Yes, just lie down. You need do nothing
more. The process may be slightly unsettling, but there will be no
pain.”

Ilona climbed up on the round platform,
finding it yielded slightly, like rubber. Raphael’s teacup hummed
and maneuvered next to her. Raphael extended itself out of the cup,
slowly flowing up onto the platform. For a moment they lay side by
side, then the jellylike alien moved to contact her bare arm.

The woman gasped, but did not pull away,
staring at the ceiling, her mouth slightly open. Slowly Raphael
oozed along her skin, disappearing under her clothing, eventually
covering her whole body up to the neck. Its eye stalk was last to
go, reabsorbed into its body near the place the Blending had
started.

“This is amazing,” Elise murmured, circling
the dais with her camcorder. “I wish I’d thought to have her remove
her clothes.”

“I’m sure you still can. I’ll step outside
and reassure the crowd.” Daniel retraced his steps, emerging into
the sunlight to wave to the stands. He spoke to one of the security
guards, and soon he had a radio microphone in his hand.

“Ladies and gentlemen, everything is all
right. Raphael and Miss Ilona are Blending even as we speak. When
this is done, I have no doubt you will see something unique in
recorded history: an extraterrestrial, but no longer alien being,
to walk among us. I hope you will welcome this new person with
kindness and understanding, and not fear or revulsion. I have no
idea what this Blending will look like; but remember, beauty is
only skin deep.” That got a nervous laugh from the restive
crowd.

“Daniel!” He heard Elise’s voice from inside,
so he waved to the crowd and ducked back through the door. He
hurried down the corridor to a startling sight.

Elise continued recording, of course, but now
her camcorder was focused on a new person Daniel had never seen
before. She was undoubtedly human, undoubtedly female, and bore a
faint facial resemblance to the Ilona he had known, as well as
having similar, but longer, hair.

There the similarity ended. This woman was
tall, over six feet, and perfectly proportioned – and naked. Her
skin color was a kind of golden bronze, a perfect blend of racial
types; her features full, gorgeous, and completely human. Her eyes
were filled with insouciant intelligence.

“Hello, Daniel John Markis. It is a pleasure
beyond words to meet you in this form.”

Keeping his eyes on hers, he stepped forward
to clasp hands. “Likewise. Do you feel up to meeting your adoring
public?”

“I would like that very much. I know you are
concerned with my nudity. Will this serve?” She reached toward a
wall, opening a heretofore unseen compartment, drawing forth a
swath of sparkling white material. She fastened it around herself
like a toga, then performed a little twirl. “I always wanted to be
tall.”

Daniel laughed. “That’s the Ilona I
know.”

“Call us Raphaela. I’m still in here, Daniel,
but so is Raphael. I’m still me, but I’m him – it – whatever – too.
It’s wonderful! I know so much that I’ve always wanted to know –
but I also have a million more questions than I had before. I know
now that more knowledge just brings more questions.”

“I’m glad you’re happy. Let’s go wave at the
world.”

They did that thing, standing at the top of
the steps with the shining spaceship behind them, and the crowd
roared to its feet. The applause and cheers went on and on, taking
many minutes to die out.

-40-

They peered at the high-resolution screen,
the two women with their team behind them.

Elise spoke first, tired but eager. “I think
we have it. Now for testing on people. Normals, that is.”

The being – the woman - now calling herself
Raphaela agreed. “Everything looks as if it will function within
parameters. Properly formulated as a vaccine it protects almost one
hundred percent. It should cure about eighty percent of recipients
on the first dose.”

“Good enough for now. We’ll keep working on
it, but I want this batch cultured as fast as possible, then
tested. If it’s as good as we hope, we’ll distribute it to everyone
– complete production information and samples.”

“Elise, you are exhausted. Let your staff
handle this.” Raphaela looked warmly down upon the smaller
woman.

“You look tired too. How about we both get
some shuteye?”

Just a hundred yards away the nano team were
slapping themselves on the back as they watched the multiple
displays, showing replication charts, statistical analyses,
electron micrographs and, most important of all, the patient.

Inside the isolation room Larry sat up on the
hospital bed and shook himself. He reached for a glass of water,
drinking it down then addressing the video teleconferencing
equipment on the wall. “Hey, guys. I’m feeling fine, now. There was
a little fever and nausea, but it’s all passed. Someone want to
come in and draw blood?”

A technician folded himself into the
tube-suit, and arrangement that allowed those outside to interact
with those inside without a cumbersome decontamination procedure.
He drew three opaque vials from Larry’s hep-lock, putting them in
the wall-shuttle drawer for retrieval outside.

One long hour later the results came back –
everything normal. The nanites worked, defending an exposed Eden
against the Demon Plague without major side effects. Tiny Fortress
had come through.

Larry sat alone, thinking.
So why don’t I
trust it? Too good to be true?

-41-

Chairman Markis addressed the open Council
meeting, now a de-facto worldwide forum, building on the success of
the first one. Everyone was willing to tolerate Markis as arbiter
of procedures and protocol – or, unknowingly, his virtual
interactive clone. If any of the more tech-savvy nations knew, they
did not say anything.

“As you all know by now, the Free Communities
biolab here in South Africa has achieved a breakthrough, with
Raphaela’s help. Without her, this might not have been possible.”
Technically true, through a stretch. Elise’s team would have
come up with a cure, though the Blend did help. Still, best to play
up her assistance.

“The files available worldwide, combined with
the samples we have distributed, will allow anyone with basic
biotechnology, any well-equipped university for example, to
manufacture the vaccine. The reason I am talking to all of you now
is to discuss the resistance we are seeing to the vaccine, and to
address any concerns you may have.”

Markis touched the icon for the Russians.
Might as well get the worst over first, and say most of what
must be said up front.

The new, somewhat more reasonable Prime
Minister spoke in a heavy accent, reading off a paper. “The Russian
Federation appreciates the distribution of biological research, but
will make its own judgment about the quality of any vaccine. We
shall test and prove all materials before using them on any of our
own citizens. Citizen safety is our highest priority.”

Markis took the floor. “Thank you, Mister
Prime Minister. The second alien attack will arrive sometime within
the next two weeks – in exactly nine days if Raphaela is correct.
Our calculations show that you will need most of that time to
produce enough vaccine to cure or protect your citizens. Can you
assure us that you can do this?”

The Prime Minister looked to the side, then
spoke in Russian. The voice of a translator came slightly delayed.
“Russian’s citizens are its own responsibility. We will not
distribute an untested drug. This is an internal matter, and we
will not be bullied by any external entity.”

Dear God, there go fifty million Russians.
No point in arguing with him, he’ll just get more stubborn.
Markis replied, “Thank you, Mister Prime Minister. I would like to
remind everyone that the Free Communities will provide no-cost
inoculations at any hospital or clinic to any person regardless of
nationality or status. We are doing everything we can to get stocks
of the vaccine out to target populations. We have very few
non-Edens of our own, so the key is to get it out to you, the rest
of the world, where it can do the most good. Thank you to all the
Neutral States, who are working closely with the Free Communities
Health Cooperative.”

Markis pressed the icon for the USA,
expecting what came next. President McKenna said, “The United
States of America thanks the Free Communities for their generous
assistance and will implement vaccination programs immediately. We
expect to have ninety percent of our citizens vaccinated within the
next nine days. We also have achieved a breakthrough of our own, a
vaccine that protects Eden Plague carriers against Demon Plague
Number One. We have begun distributing this vaccine among our own
citizens, but it is limited and difficult to produce.”

To Markis, McKenna looked relaxed, not at all
the fearful man he had observed at their meeting. He wondered
whether he had misjudged the situation. He tapped the key that
seamlessly loaded his virtual clone while turning off the sound and
video feeds and said, “Rick, is there any chance this McKenna is
also a virtual clone? Is there any way for you or your technicians
to tell?”

“We’ll check on it, sir, but it will take
several hours of recording analysis, so I can’t tell you now.”

Markis nodded, turning his clone back off and
listening again.

McKenna went on, “We have also supplied
samples of this vaccine to the Free Communities and the Neutral
States for their use, and we sincerely hope they can produce enough
for
all
their citizens in time.”

Nicely stabbed, sir. Sow some discord, get
the citizenry wondering how the FC and Neutral States leadership
will distribute a limited amount of Eden nanotech vaccine. I hate
politics.

Six hours later Markis paced in his office.
“So it was a virtual clone of McKenna? How would they have
responded if someone asked questions?”

Rick answered, “It could have been an overlay
program – changing the virtual appearance of a real speaker into
McKenna’s clone.”

Markis responded, “And even though it’s easy
enough to detect in retrospect, we can’t antagonize the Americans
by blowing their cover, not when they have the nanobots. But it
means that McKenna is out of the loop. He might not even really be
in power – he could be just a figurehead.”

Cassandra spoke up from her chair. “But it’s
an advantage that they don’t know we know.”

Markis massaged his temples theatrically.
“Makes my head ache, what we know they know we know. Who do you
think’s the real power?”

“General Tyler?” Cassandra suggested.

“Maybe. Didn’t seem the type, though. Get
working on it, Cassie. See if you can get through to our people
inside. If there is someone pulling political strings in Pueblo, it
will be connected to Tiny Fortress somehow.”

-42-

Skull stared at Commander Forman from across
the table. “How’s that mystery meat, ma’am?”

“No better and no worse than Navy chow. What
can I do for you, Warrant Officer Denham?” She took a bite of the
putative object of his inquiry.

“Call me Skull if you like, ma’am. Wondering
how you feel about the program.”

Forman stared at his shaved head above those
deep, dark orbits. “I heard them call you that. It fits your look.
But I’ve been debriefed by the psychiatrists twice already this
week, and I’m getting a bit tired of it. I’m beginning to think
that’s the only reason they wanted me here, to see how an Eden
would react to the concept of nanobots and all they can do.”