A Kind of Solution

“It’s strange. We haven’t seen anything like it in hundreds of years. Why would it be coming back now?”

“Just as we develop and change, so do the things of the world. That includes diseases and illnesses, right?”

“Shouldn’t we be immune to just about everything? And if we’re not immune, we have cures for the rest. So why does something suddenly exist that we don’t have a cure for?”

“There are unexplainable things in human nature. There always has been and there always will be. I don’t know why we're so surprised.”

“I’m telling you, someone planned this.”

“Someone created and distributed a new illness or disease?”

“It’s possible, right?”

“It’s possible, but why would someone do that?”

“Malicious intent hasn’t left our nature either, you know.”

“I guess this kind of news is right up your alley, isn’t it?” A new voice, one not playing on the screen in the lobby of the lab, drew my attention away from the newscasters debating the newest predicament.

I shrugged, “More Mr. Dolion’s than mine, but since I did work under him for a while it’s interesting to me too.”

Carter hummed, “I wonder if someone as gifted as Dolion will work on this case. We kind of need someone like that when it’s this big of a deal.” His speech stopped, but his thoughts continued, “If only he hadn’t disappeared into thin air. I know he was trying to help Ergasia, but what’s so wrong with that?”

That was the first I had heard about Dolion’s desire to help so directly. It was too bad he was still missing, but for me it’s a good thing I suppose. “How do you think they’ll fix this?” I asked as the two of us got in the elevator. We were whisked up and on our floor in no time.

“We would need someone who’s studied medicines for a while to look into it I suppose. But that field is actually pretty small considering we haven’t needed it for so long. We had a couple set up closer to the outskirts of the city, like where you used to work, for treating Ergasia that aren’t yet immune to a handful of diseases. But I don’t think there’s anyone there well studied enough for an issue like this.”

Probably more like no one there who is actually doing research. They’re all probably running in circles to appear busy the same way Dolion and I used to be.

“Well, time for us to get to work.”

I kept the news playing on my Lens as I began the tasks assigned to me for the day. Carter had entrusted me with more difficult things as time went by and now, rather than simply organizing, I help in the final checks. It was something I had grown so used to that I could do it easily despite not being able to see well and do while being half distracted by the newscast.

“Do we have any information on how it’s being spread?”

“It’s hard to tell right now. We thought it was like illnesses from the past, spread through direct contact, saliva, or the like. But some of those getting sick had never been in contact with each other even once during their entire lives. We’re tracking it through food sources to see if there’s a common link there.”

“How can we protect ourselves if we don’t know where it comes from?”

“For now, don't do anything new, stick to what you’ve always done. Just in case it is viral, keep a distance from others and practice good hygiene.”

I switched stations to an Ergasia one.

“Only a handful of people in the outskirts have died from this, but I heard that it’s affecting the Arbiters too. We ought to be extra careful. Keep your distance from people, wash your hands, and take your vitamins!” The announcer's tone wasn’t nearly as serious as the Arbiters’ tones. The reaction was expected, Arbiters were scared whereas Ergasia thought of this as simply one more potential issue for human beings. The two differing reactions weren’t all that shocking, rather they were expected.

This new, unknown sickness has only been in the public eye for around a week and it’s already sent the Arbiter’s into a panic. They didn’t know they could get sick anymore, so when a few suddenly did they didn’t know how to react. They don’t know how to handle something new. The Arbiter’s may be advanced, but they have forgotten how to learn.

“You don’t seem too panicked.”

Carter turned to me when he heard my voice and shrugged, “Are you talking about what was on the news earlier? Not my field of research, and if something happens to me then so be it I guess.”

This was the other response: indifference. Even someone as smart and capable as Carter didn’t care enough to try and learn about something new and potentially save lives. We worked in our usual silence, interrupted by directions and sporadic small talk, until the clock hit 5pm and we parted ways.

The moment I crossed the invisible border between the city and the outskirts of the city, I could feel a shift in the air. Inside the city, it was suffocating. When you saw another person, they quickly found a way to avoid crossing your path. The anxiety of the people around me put a weight on my shoulders that only lifted when I got closer to what I called home. Ergasia still roamed the streets and lived life as normal. There was no tension. A smile came to my face.

“Why are you smiling?”

A kid ran up to me, aggressively chewing on a snack, and stared up at me.

“Max?”

He grinned, “So you do remember me? I’m glad!” I was glad too. I somehow managed to recognize his voice. Luckily it hadn’t changed yet.

I ruffled his hair, “Of course I remember you.”

“You still haven’t heard from Grandpa, have you?”

I shook my head, “No, nothing. I’m guessing he still hasn’t come by?”

Max pouted, “It’s been a year, do you think he’ll come back?”

I doubted either one of us would see Dolion again, but for some reason I didn’t want to disappoint this kid just yet, “He might. Don’t give up hope.”

In the time I hadn’t seen this kid, he had grown a good three inches. “Where have you been? I only see glimpses of you every now and then. I thought you’d hang out around more.”

Max’s face twisted, “The air over there’s gotten funny. It’s not as fun as it used to be when Grandpa was here.”

“The air? I was just thinking about how the air here feels different than where I work.” I laughed to myself at how we viewed the Inveilgers differently. Perhaps I had gotten used to the anger, tension, and grief of the Inveilgers that it’s what’s comfortable now. Or maybe it’s simply that compared to the panic inside the city, it was still calmer here.

“What’s it like where you–” Max was cut off by a violent cough. He turned away and wiped his sleeve across his face. He smiled despite the fit he just had when he faced me again, blood now on his sleeve, “Sorry, I’ve been coughing like that a lot lately. Don’t know why though. Like I was saying, what’s it like where you work?”

I continued our conversation as Max seemed to wish, but his cough echoed in my mind. The sickness has reached our area.

“Max, long time no see!” Cain wrapped the boy in a tight hug, “Where have you been?”

“Just studying on my own some so maybe one day I can work like Grandpa or Von!” He giggled at the affection he was receiving.

It was hard to tell with his mask, but Cain’s face seemed to darken for a split second. Maybe it was his whole body that gave me that impression. It was hard to catch and I doubted what I saw and noticed his smile return quickly, “Von, huh? Speaking of Von, Lumen’s looking for you.”

Looking for me? “I’ll head that way.”

“We’ll see you around, Max!” He waved to the kid and trailed behind me. “Any idea why Lumen wants to see you?”

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “You’re the one that told me. You don’t know?”

He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away from me, “He doesn’t tell me anything anymore, only you.”

“He doesn’t tell me as much as you think. We spend a lot of time just sitting together.”

He snorted, “How romantic.”

I decided it would be better for me not to comment any further. I could tell it was a simple fit of jealousy and would rather not deal with it.

“Enjoy your chat.” He commented as soon as we arrived, dismissing himself to go sit at the makeshift bar among his people. His voice was coated in venom. Over the past few months, the two of us had talked less and less. During that time, he somehow seemed to make me out to be an object of envy or, perhaps, an enemy. I guess it didn’t matter too much at this point. It was too insignificant to my plans to waste the energy to confirm my guesses through his thoughts.

“Welcome back, how was work?” Lumen asked the moment I entered our meeting room upstairs. Cain's sarcastic comment came back to mind and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“How romantic, indeed.”

Lumen slightly cocked his head, probably wondering what I meant, but moved on, “I guess work was as normal. But the news is spreading about this new illness or disease of some kind. Have you heard about it?”

“How could I not have? It’s on every new station inside the city.”

He paused and took a moment to examine me, my behavior, my posture, anything that could give away something I was thinking. I knew that’s what he was doing, and I knew that he probably already knew what I was hiding.

“I don’t like it.”

“Like what?” I asked.

“You know what. This plan of yours is not the right way to do this.”

“I think that it’s right. You think it’s wrong. It’s objective.”

“But it affects everyone, Von. You’ll kill everyone this way.”

“And? What would be so about that.”

“Is that really your goal?” His voice remained calm, but he stood to his feet. “Didn’t you want to make the world a better place? As best as we could, that is. I know it seems impossible, but if we can get out information and change minds then one day–”

“One day, one day, one day. I’m tired of waiting for one day. The more I learn, Lumen, the more I hate it. Why do any of them exist? All we do is bad.”

“That’s not true.” Now his voice began to quiver. “Von, don’t say that.”

“If you had this glitch that I had and knew as much as I did, would you still say that? It doesn’t matter how old you actually are or how long you’ve studied and been around people, you can’t hear their innermost thoughts, you don’t know the intentions behind every word. But I do.”

“And every intention is bad?”