Containment measures, p.25
Containment Measures, page 25
part #2 of The Immortium Series
A red button was pressed, indicating to the Madam Supreme, that someone wished to chime in. China’s recently elected President, Moki Toshimonotoki was next to speak. The young woman was wearing a grey business suit, with a skirt to match. She had her long black hair, combed neatly over her ears and shoulders. She seemed meek, but her voice told a different story, her voice had authority when she spoke into the microphone. “Thank you for receiving me Madam Supreme. These Immortium outbreaks are becoming more and more prevalent. While I realize that the humans infected are not the primary cause of both infection or disturbances, these animals however are becoming quite an issue in regards to spreading their infections. As many of you are aware, recent intel indicated the terrorist group, The Neo Separatist movement, acquired some infected animals. Two wolves, of which, the origin of capture is unclear, and... Not one, but three of these vampire bats from as far as we can tell were procured from the Canadian border. While these creatures did help thin the separatist unit held up in Shanghai, after the slaughter of the terrorist group, these creatures escaped to the outskirts of Shanghai. We have received disturbing reports of not only new vampire infections, but our own bat population becoming somehow, inducted into this infectious brood. As for the wolves, roaming packs of dogs have acquired the infection in the same manner, increasing both Werewolf infections, and Vampire.”
Peru’s Prime Minister Obret Meho pressed the button next. The man was sitting there in his white robes, looking around the governing body as his young eyes tried to lock with anyone that might hear him out. “China isn’t the only country experiencing vampire bat activity. Our own country is besieged by these flying vermin. The City of Lima has had over four hundred residents endure exposure to this ASV5 strain. We need to address efforts in destroying these creatures.”
Japan’s president, Roko Eketo pressed his button next. The man was an older gentleman wearing a suit and tie. He was balding, but distinguished. His English was on par. “Tokyo is also under attack by these creatures. We are seeing all manner of these things that spawn the Immortium in all parts of Japan, Tokyo in particular. We are seeing things coming out of the water, the air, and on land. This outbreak is getting out of hand. We cannot expect to keep funding these quarantine facilities. We need to take the fight to eradicating the beasts!”
Lillian took the initiative to press the button before anyone else could chime in. The Madam Supreme acknowledged her. “The Society of Night, you may speak.”
Lillian nodded. “Thank you Madam Supreme.” She leaned forward, speaking as clearly as possible. “I do concur with the President of Japan, Mr. Eketo. We do need to establish eradication units to help vanquish these creatures before more Immortium are created. Now I realize that The Society of Night have been offering to turn humans, willingly, but unwilful turnings are against The Society of Night’s directives. We must find ways to dispatch these creatures without harming Immortium and Aeonian life as we do value all life, mortal and immortal. My concern is the use of weapons that this body may approve for dispatching the animals infected. Aerial assault with silverized powder, would be ideal, however, it would also be lethal to any Immortium in the vicinity. It is very likely that there will be victims resurging in the vicinity of these infected beasts. This is my concern, the wellbeing of Immortium and Aeonian welfare.”
.Moki Toshimonotoki Pressed the button after Lillian’s pause. “Miss Rutherford, we share your value of life where human conversion victims are at play, but we do need to consider aggressive tactics. The Neo Separatist movement for example, they tried to turn their own people in an effort to make super soldiers of their very own. As long as these creatures are alive, the potential for our enemies gaining access to their own Alphas is a growing concern. These creatures must be killed. Further containment measures must be put into play, even if they are… Extreme.”
Lillian pressed the button again. She looked over at the raven-haired Asian beauty sitting down from her. “The only way to find the packs and nests of these creatures, is by using a person infected recently that has a psychic connection with their attacker. Which means possibly putting Immortium in danger.” She looked at Moki. “What would you suggest that would make it safer for us to go in without endangering the Immortium assisting or possible resurgers in the area?”
Miss Toshimonotoki smirked. “Aerial tracking, have them onboard a ship, when they sense it, bomb the area with silverized gas. Then we send in a team to mop up what the gas didn’t kill.”
Lillian sneered at her. “Sure, that’s one way, but what about the Immortium on the ground. There will be victims near the bombing zones that are likely in the resurge phases,”
Miss Toshimonotoki shrugged. “As much as I regret it, they are casualties of war at this point Miss Rutherford. We are fighting an infection that is nearing the brink of being uncontainable, and worse, terrorist groups are starting to help spread these creatures.” She looked at her tablet. “This report says that even France has encountered these bats and wolves raging in their streets. This Aeon Strain is on the verge of being uncontainable.”
The President of France, Mr. Ormi LaRoon was sitting near the Madam Supreme. He adjusted himself as he sat up straight in his grey suit. He was a thin man, older with a long nose, and dark hair, parted down the center. He looked at his own tablet, and then pressed the button to add his own take on the situation. “The bats are becoming, easier to contain. It is our wolf issue that persists. As many of you know, France was hit with seven of the comet’s debris. It is our canine infections running amuck.” He looked at the Chinese President. “We must consider all options. But I do concur, we must bomb the sites and send in troops to finish off the infected animals.”
The Director of the World Health Organization sat there listening to what the others had to say. She huffed as she looked at her computer screen and pressed her button to speak. For an old woman, her voice carried well. “The animal attacks, those infected by being bitten. The counts of Immortium carriers as of today… Is thus. 250,221 ASV3 Carriers, 399,904 ASV4 carriers,700,189 ASV5 carriers, 199, 228 ASV6 carriers, 277,998 ASV7 carriers. And 400, 112 carriers falling into various other categories.” She looked over at Lillian. “These infections are continuing to rise daily. But, the total counts are what concerns me most.” She looked round at her peers. I am speaking of course in regard to these willful infections. Those that sign up to become… Immortium.”
Ernestine Borgnine sneered “Miss Rutherford, with all due respect, we are attempting to contain an infection, but your organization, is continuing to infect others. While it is willingly, and you’re keeping records, I must protest as this is still an infectious containment issue.” She looked at her computer screen in front of her, the old woman called out. “As of today, there are over 23 million known Immortium carriers worldwide and your organization encompasses the majority of this populace and is responsible for the bloom in this. According to these statistics, it has been confirmed that the following numbers of carriers registered to your society of night are far surpassing that of those of those bitten by these animals....” The woman spoke loudly. “2,900,001 Aeronian’s registered, those of course are the human exposures... But your willful turnings… Right now, there are 2, 202,111 Aquatic Immortium registered. 4, 500, 705 Immortium canines registered. 8, 200, 120 Immortium Vampires registered. 3, 108, 199 Immortium felines registered. And..1, 087, 010 Immortium reptilian’s registered. And that doesn't even count the other’s category.” She looked up. “The majority of these infections are willful, I will grant you that, but at what point will your organization plan on slowing the spread of your willful turnings?”
Ernestine looked at Lillian. The old woman’s eyes could have shot lasers at the vampire queen, she was so intent on this issue.
Before Lillian could answer, Ernestine scoffed. “When this infection broke out, all those infected by these animals was only nearing the 2 million mark. Your institution is propagating more infected members than what these creatures are making….”
Ernestine looked at her tablet. “Now you claimed, that before the comet, that there were roughly, possibly over 100,000 Aeonian and Immortium carriers worldwide…”
Ernestine looked at her. “Now we have millions…”
“Containment measures are failing. We must express a halt to these infections!” The leader of W.H.O. cried out.
Lillian quickly rebutted. “Miss Borgnine, how many lives have been saved by Immortium and Aeonian blood donations?” She eyed the woman from the row she was sitting in as Lillian looked at her own tablet’s projections. “Over 8 million human lives have received blood products derived from the very blood we Immortium have donated.” Lillian looked around. These donations have helped treat everything from spinal cord injuries, to limb replacements?” She huffed. “And oh yes, not to mention curing Melitus-32.” She returned to the blood issue. “Speaking of cures that you’ve achieved from our blood, how in the world, do you expect our people to keep up with donating a pint or two a month to 8 million or more humans if we stayed at just 100,000 in our populace?” She looked at her report. “Better yet, let’s just use vampires as an example, how many stroke victims, or heart attack victims are currently being treated with the enzyme in our saliva to dissolve their blood clots and clogged arteries?” Lillian pulled up the data. “Over two million according to yesterday’s medical spending reports.” Lillian continued. “Our donations have already reduced the World Health Organization’s health care costs by an estimated seven billion. Which you claimed… those savings were going to go to job creation. Now, we could pull our donations if you like, and all those new jobs you’ve been advertising... Well, you do the math on that one.”
She watched the old woman smirk.
Lillian huffed. “We sought out permission from this body, in exchange for our aid, to repopulate our kind.” She looked around the room. “And lets just face a blatant fact, some people just don’t want to die…” She waited until the eye rolling stopped. “Other Immortium factions wouldn’t have given a damn about asking for permission, they would have just performed it, and then attempted to attack and control the human race once they had the numbers. By beating them to the punch so to speak, we have established an organization capable of assisting humankind from everything from combat support, to health care.”
She looked at Ernestine sitting there looking at her. “Tell me, Miss Borgnine, do you want to die?” She waited for the woman to say something, she didn't. “Do you? Do you want to die?” She looked around the room. “Does anyone want to die?” No one spoke. “Then don’t blame people for cheating death.”
Lillian eyed the Madam Supreme then the world health organization’s commanding officer. “All of this was agreed upon. We are screening those that apply for criminal activity as requested to assure that no rogue Immortium could be produced. We are also turning away people, based on the mental profiling questionnaire we have developed with the World Health Organization's assistance. Why, the majority of those that have applied and were accepted thus far, have been for health reasons that human science simply hasn’t been able to cure yet. These people that have chosen, to become immortal, have come into our embassies, and applied under everything we have agreed upon just as we informed you we would.” She could hear voices muttering all around her with those numbers setting in. She had to add something. “I will add, that our people have been dying alongside human soldiers as of late as well. These deaths have been alongside human life, in conjoined efforts in preventing non-willful infections by these monstrous creatures created by the Aeon Strain. Not to mention the terrorist regimes that we have helping you subplot... If you want our aid, these are our terms.” Lillian looked around the room, she thought this was a chance to scratch the surface of an issue and went for it. “Now my organization is also helping fund some of these extermination efforts. We would of course be more willing to help pay more, if we were deemed human, that way, you know, we could start paying taxes.” She was cut off.
A man sitting six rows back yelled out. “You Immortium are not human…”
The director of W.H.O took into account the woman’s words and conceded for now. She spoke up. “I will concede to your willful turnings for now, but we must eradicate the creatures responsible for spreading the Aeon Strain pathogens to unwilling victims.”
Lillian acknowledged her. “I agree. We must contain the Aeon Strain at all reasonable costs.” She looked at Ernestine. “I tell you what, we can increase our dues so to speak, perhaps it will curb additional humans wanting turned just to be immortal. Also, we are still waiting on new Alpha’s to pass our own guidelines for being combat capable and to assure control is maintained. So, I can offer you this. Until we have more Alpha’s ready to take on new omegas, I can assure this body, only humans that medical science cannot help at this time, will be at the front of the list for willful turnings.”
Lillian cocked an eyebrow. “I will also add a new rule which will benefit our military and law enforcement efforts. All new recruits will have to agree to join our Sentinel reserve program that is allied with the Global Alliance Military, and Interpol.” She looked around the room. “Is this acceptable?”
Ernestine nodded. “I can accept that.”
General Rhymes also nodded. “I can accept that as well.”
Amanda Galsburg had been quite for a while, listening in. She finally broke her silence and pressed the red button to her left. Her voice sounded as if the woman smoked at one point. “These animals deserve to live, not to be eradicated. It is not their fault that they have become some new species, evolved by this galactic event. If I may remind everyone in this chamber, about the Species Preservation act of 2093, no species may be eradicated for the purposes of extinction by human means.”
Rhymes crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. He looked over at Lillian, then at Amanda Galsburg. He leaned forward and pressed his own button, to await his turn to speak. When he was acknowledged he barked at her. “Miss Galsburg, even our vampire lady here is expressing that these creatures need to be destroyed. These animals do not qualify…”
Amanda was persistent. “Grand General, these animals are a new breed of life, evolved on our very soil. They have evolved on this p-l-a-n-e-t! They do indeed qualify!”
Lillian pressed the button. She looked at the woman in the green robes sternly. “Miss Galsburg. I have lived for thousands of years. I have seen these things before, the original ones from the comets first passing. I have seen just how deadly these monsters can become. They are learning to infect other animals. This activity didn’t happen before, if it had the world would have been overrun by Immortium thousands of years ago. They are learning, and if we don’t act soon, they will start to manifest abilities that will make it quite a bit harder to deal with.” She looked at the Asian President nodding as she agreed with the vampire. “Yes, they need to be destroyed, but we need to make sure that all efforts to save Immortium life is considered.”
Amanda scoffed. “Miss Rutherford, I realize you may have been around a few centuries or so, but this is the modern world. We can't just go around and arbitrarily press these magnificent subspecies into extinction.” Amanda looked around the room. “My branch of the world Government GNEAT, has already classified these animals as legal subspecies of their respecting genus.”
Amanda scoffed again, having a piousness to her as she looked at Lillian. “Even you, Miss Rutherford, are simply a genus of vampire bat, a subspecies if you will. Why, if we fail to protect one subspecies, then what is to stop this body from protecting you Immortium?”
Lillian sneered at her.
Amanda pressed the button, she smiled. “I am a reasonable woman. I realize that the infectious nature that these animals present must be contained. So, my proposal is this. Since these creatures have the potential to live forever, I would propose that we collect two of each species, male and female if possible, and place them in a preserve, a sanctuary. We already have a sanctuary in place for two species that mankind created almost three decades ago from genetic editing, the Insectosapiens, and the Raptorius Phasianidae.” She looked around the room, increasing her tone. “I will point out, that to this day, GNEAT has managed to contain both of these deadly organisms on the Island of Baffin” She looked around the room again. “After world war three, Baffin Island, has housed many species under GNEAT’s watchful eye. We already have the biodomes in place, we simply include silver plating to help contain them, and neural dampening nodes to quell any of these supposed abilities that Miss Rutherford is afraid of them developing.”
