The Doctor´s death

“You told me the Pathogen was harmless!”

“I swear it was! I don’t know what changed?”

“What changed is that you got pissed and executed the other two Councilors! Are you going to kill me too?”

“Of course not! But… executed? Are they-“

“No. They are in intensive care, but I don’t think they’ll make it.” Randle took a deep breath. “Look, I’ll smooth things over with the other two councilors, but for the time being your project is on ice, you hear me?”

As the Councilor walked away, Hiroto collapsed on his sofa. For the better part of an hour, he just stared at nothing. Did he just try to kill two people? Was the Pathogen as dangerous as the now-moribund Councilors made it out to be?

Aida walked into the room with a pained expression. “I’m afraid I have more bad news…” The woman turned on the TV. A reporter with a face mask was addressing the camera, ambulances roaring behind her.

“…explosive outbreak of a of the Jovian Flu since just this morning. This new strain is deadlier than the last with fatalities already-“ Aida turned off the news, noticing that her dear Hiroto was turning paler than a sheet of paper.

“The Jovian Flu? But it what supposed to be eradicated.”

“It’s not the flu. Remember how we thought the Pathogen was dormant? Well, it seems like it woke up.”

---

Randle didn’t even wait for the sliding door to the lab to finish opening. He squeezed inside the lab, stomping as hard as he could to get heard. “The situation outside is getting out of control, so you better have a-Jesus Christ.”

The Councilor paused as he stared at his two top scientists. Hiroto was back to having white hair, but not a lot of it. His head was balding and his face was full of wrinkles. Aida was faring worse, as there was scarcely any meat on her bones, and she was bound to a wheelchair.

“You look worse than the Councilors in intensive therapy. Like the stress aged two decades in two weeks.”

“It’s not stress.”

“Not ONLY stress,” Aida corrected.

“But the Pathogen is attacking us too. We found a way to fend it with an antibiotic formula that we change daily, but as you can see, it’s a losing battle.”

“Aren’t antibiotics supposed to only work with bacteria? I thought the Pathogen was more like a virus.”

“Yes, well, I won’t look a horse gift in the mouth. I don’t care why the Pathogen doesn’t like antibiotics. ”

Randle sat, putting his feet on the conference table. “Now that your lives are on the line, maybe you’ll be quicker to find a cure. As I was saying, it’s chaos outside. People are looking up to the Council for answers, so you better have some.”

“Answers? Yes, we do have those. A cure? I’m afraid that will have to wait a bit…”

“All right, I’ll take what I can get. Hit me.”

“The Pathogen is "waking up" inside random people and refusing any commands to return to its dormant state. As you’ve seen, it is quite angry, literally tearing at its host body with little regard for its survival.”

"Angry? It’s a microbe, it can’t get angry."

“It can and it is, err, in a way," Aida rolled in front of Randle to continue the explanation. "The Pathogen is smarter than we thought. We fear now that it is sapient, albeit not in the way we humans are. All the strains in the different cells communicate with each other with a yet not-understood mechanism that-

“A hive mind, I get it. And I take it this hive-mind is on a war footing with humanity.”

“Not exactly a hive-mind, but, yes. At best we can tell, it seems to think we are trying to enslave it.”

“Not without reason," Aida said, shooting Hiroto a glare. "Apparently, ordering it to kill its host was so ...taboo for its species that it made it collectively snap.”

Randle put his feet down and sat properly. “I assume diplomacy is not an option.”

“No, as I said, “hive-mind” is an approximation. There isn’t an entity we can communicate with.”

"It’s like trying to chat with a nest of angry wasps."

Randle clasped his hands over the table, looking at both the husks of his former top scientists. “So, back to square one, finding a cure. However, I’m worried that you two will… expire before accomplishing it.”

“That’s… also our-“ Hiroto turned towards Aida, but she gave him her cold shoulder.”… my concern. I have a solution, however. Cloning machines have come a long way, we can use them to create fully grown adults now.”

“You want copies of yourself? That won’t work without-“ Randle tapped his head.

“Studying the Pathogen led me to develop new brain-scanning technology that I believe can take a “photo” of the brain. If we then adjust the clone’s neurons to match it, we can transfer the old mind into the new clone. I modified a clone vat to perform this task, but the technology remains untested.”

“And it will continue to be,” Aida sneered.

“Another alternative is to use that same technology but keep the mind in a digital space, turning it into an AI.”

“No,” Aida shook her head. “I refuse to undergo either. “If we die, we die. It’s only fair we take responsibility.”

“Taking responsibility would be to do everything in our power to cure the Pathogen once and for all, even if we have to extend our lives to unnatural means.”

“No, you-“

“Well, if you work fast, it won’t come to that.” Randle got up. “So, get to work! Humanity is counting on you.”

--

“Hiroto… please… don’t… just go to sleep with me…”

Hiroto was kneeling beside the bed-ridden Aida. A monitor beeping beside them with each of her weak heartbeats. The scientist squeezed his lover’s hand, tears falling down his now bony cheeks.

“Y-you know I can’t, Aida. I have to make this right.”

“We… did make it right. The Pathogen is…”

“Not with them! With you! It’s my fault your life has been cut short. I know I can make it right-“

“It’s our fault, Hiroto. And while I do have some regrets… none of them are spending my last days with you… so, please…. Let them be the last…”

“I know I can cure it. Just give me a chance and I can give you a second l-“

Aida mustered the last of her strength to lift her neck, her piercing blue eyes the last remnant of her once jovial self. “Promised me you didn’t…”

“I…”

“Hiroto, promise me you didn’t…”

“Hey, people!” Randle waltzed into the room. “I couldn’t help but notice today that the “Jovian Flu” has vanished overnight. I don’t suppose that has something to do with that fancy new antenna I spotted at the top of your building.”

“Randle… not… now.”

“Go away, Randle. Give us a minute.”

“The faster you tell what’s going, the faster I’m out of your hair for good.”

Hiroto took a deep breath. “The Pathogen returned to its dormant state. We found a way to send a signal, to do “diplomacy” as you call it. We made it understand that humanity wasn’t its enemy.”

“Hmm, but I guess it’s a bit too late for you two, huh?”

“Not late… the Pathogen still wants ... to kill us…”

“We were the ones that enslaved it in the first place, Aida and I, so it still considers us their enemy.”

“How convenient…” Randle flashed a wicked smile. “So this whole thing ends with your deaths. The loose ends tie themselves.”

“What do you ack!” A shot rang out in the building. The hear-beat monitor flat-lined as a bullet pierced Aida’s body. Randle blew the smoke away from his revolver and aimed at the Professor.

“W-why?” A startled Hiroto asked, still holding the hand of her recently departed beloved.

“To keep this whole thing under wraps, of course. Can’t have this little Pathogen ruin the reputation of the Security Council. Now that you admitted that this all ends with your death, well, shame about the terrorist attack on New Dawn enterprises, huh?”

“What-Ack!” Another shot rang out, hitting Hiroto’s shoulder. The man fell to the ground, reaching up to his assailant. “But… you could have waited for the Pathogen to finish the job.”

“Yeah… no. That would still take a while. This is more convenient and less dangerous for me, you understand. It’s been a pleasure, doc.”