“Yes sir. The first batch for testing is nearly ready. We’ll start testing in twenty-four hours,” Sutton answered and the President gave a very relieved sigh before dropping back into his chair. “All the preliminary information looks good and it’s a viable vaccine.”
“You and that team are owed a debt that can never be repaid,” the President told him.
“Mr. President, you have to understand, this vaccine works like any other. It will take those given the shots up to fourteen days to develop antibodies. If they get the virus before then, they will still get hit with the full lethality,” Sutton explained.
Holding his hands up, “I understand,” the President said. “Dr. Sutton, we are getting reports from outside of unprecedented violence. Is there any way the virus could be the cause?”
“Not by altering the brain, if that’s what you mean,” Sutton answered. “But sir, you have to understand, people have watched masses die; including family. That is enough to push many past the breaking point. If you have the time, I have a report from a psychiatrist and two psychologists that have done follow-up work after an outbreak. They show a clear correlation between deaths from the outbreak and the increase in violence afterwards.”
“I’ve read that one,” Paterson said and Sutton looked over at the subdivided screen and saw Paterson’s tiny image in the upper right corner. “We had them do another study after Katrina and Sandy to draw up strategies in other disasters.”
“Paterson, send both to me,” the President said and then looked at the camera. “Dr. Sutton, the reason I mention it is because our troops have been attacked in the field. We’ve had to pull out of all major cities. Across the globe, it’s much worse.”
Sarah cleared her throat, interrupting, “Yes, Mr. President. I’ve just compiled a report that third world countries will have a one in fifty survival rate. Even though they have the knowledge to live off the land, they have become dependent on foreign aid. The secondary diseases from unclean drinking water will hit them hard over the next year.”
“I see you are taking your position by the horns, so to speak. Sarah, I’m very pleased,” the President smiled. “Are the new numbers Dr. Sutton gave us holding up?”
“Yes sir. In North America by next year, there will only be four to six million people. From our current projections, in two years the population will continue to fall for another year by half. Before the epidemic, there were almost eighty people for every square mile of the US. In two years, it will be less than one. By then, people will learn to sustain themselves. In two years, the global population will be under half a billion, but we don’t think it will fall much lower. As the current predictions are, the way of life we once knew won’t be attained for over a century.”
“Sarah, we had over a hundred troops attacked and wiped out near Boston. What I need to know is, will this change with the vaccine?” the President asked.
Looking at the screen in shock, Sarah slowly looked down and shuffled the stack of papers she was holding. “Mr. President, they’ve watched their world destroyed in front of their eyes. The numbers we have right now suggest only one in five of survivors is an adult over the age of eighteen. We just passed the peak death rate here in the states with a projected twenty million dying an hour. That number will continue to fall drastically, since there won’t be anyone left to infect,” Sarah summarized from the papers.
“Sarah,” the President snapped. “Will the vaccine stop the violence we are facing?”
Looking back up at the screen, “No, sir,” Sarah answered. “Just the opposite. Once they know we have it, reports suggest others will attack to make sure they get a dose.”
“Thank you,” the President smiled. “What are your projections of those not infected right now?”
“Less than twenty million,” Sarah answered.
“Paterson, that sound near your numbers?” the President asked.
“Yes, Mr. President, but there won’t be anyone on the North American continent that hasn’t been exposed by winter. Current projections have over sixty million mobile-infected in the US. I’ve ordered what troops we have to pull back to isolated areas. As of right now, only this facility, along with Groom Lake are running. We lost our bunker in Virginia to a group of civilians trying to get inside,” Paterson read and then looked up at the camera. “We have confirmed Diego Garcia has been lost, along with two of our carriers. The sub fleet has remained intact, but our forces as of now are under twenty percent. And will drop to ten percent before the flu runs its course.”
“Dr. Sutton, how long to put this vaccine into large scale production?” the President asked.
Sutton glanced at Sarah and then back to the screen. “Mr. President, we would have to seize a manufacturing plant to do that. We are setting up here in the labs to do what we can. If this vaccine works, we will be able to produce a hundred a day. But that’s only if we can keep getting eggs from those chickens that the troops are protecting topside,” Sutton explained. “We lose those chickens, and we are done.”
“Mr. President,” Paterson interrupted. “I’ve sent you a report outlining this. After key cabinet personal are vaccinated, we’ll need those troops topside vaccinated and then let it filter down.”
“Agreed,” the President said. “What’s the news inside?”
“Not good,” Paterson sighed. “We are still testing but so far, almost a thousand have tested positive. If the numbers continue to hold, over two thousand inside the main bunker will be positive. We are trying to come up with a way to feed the rest, who are isolated in their rooms until we can
