| Commentary and Philosophy Fiction posted May 29, 2020 |
  |
Another outbreak.
Covid-23
by Thomas Bowling
Story of the Month Contest Winner
COVID-23
Citizen 93174630, leave your room and follow the yellow directional arrows on the floor. Maintain a minimum distance of at least six feet from any wall. Keep you arms at your side and do not touch anything.
The voice was the same pleasant female voice I had heard for the last sixteen months. That's how long I had been in containment. I followed the arrows until I reached a door. There was a brief pause while I was scanned for facial recognition.
The door slid open and I continued following the arrows. I came to another door and was scanned again. The door slid open and I stepped directly into a transport vehicle. There were no windows or driver. As the vehicle sped away, I could hear the faint whir of an electric motor.
My trip lasted five hours. I slept and woke up when a tone sounded letting me know I had reached my destination. The transport's door slid open and I was inside a large white, concrete building. I saw arrows on the floor and followed them to a room similar to the one I had been living in.
Citizen 93174630, welcome to your new home. We will do everything possible to make you comfortable. The same female voice. I guessed it was computer generated. The room was stark white with no windows. There was a comfortable bed. A table and two chairs (one more than my previous accommodations).
An hour passed. Citizen 93174630, follow the blue arrows to the dining room. I sat at a table in the dining room and soon was joined by seven other people. I hadn't seen anyone else since my containment. We introduced ourselves and chatted away like old friends. No one knew anything of the outside.
I sat next to an attractive, young lady named Polly Wells. We found out we had all been sent into containment on the same day. I knew why we were here. It was for protection. I wondered how many other people had been rounded up.
The year was 2027, four years after the outbreak of COVID-23, a new strain of the Coronavirus. In September 2020, a vaccine was created that brought about the end of COVID-19, but this new strain was resistant to the vaccine. The result was devastating. The world was on the verge of collapse. People lined up to be sent into containment. It was our only hope for survival.
We sat at the long table and talked for hours. Freedom felt wonderful. Finally, we were sent back to our rooms. I wondered if we would see each other again. I entered my room and waited for the door to close, but it didn't.
“My door's malfunctioning. It didn't close.”
There is no malfunction. The doors will remain open.
I couldn't believe it. I stepped into the hallway and looked around. I saw Polly standing in front of her room. She smiled broadly. “Do you think it's over?”
“It must be.”
That night, I couldn't sleep. I saw Polly at my entrance. “I can't sleep.”
“Neither can I. Come in.”
We talked all night and fell asleep at the time we usually woke up. Hours later, I shook Polly. “We missed the wakeup call.”
I walked to the speaker. “We overslept. We didn't hear the wakeup call.”
There will be no more wakeup calls. Your time is your own, Charlie.
I turned to Polly. “Did you hear that? It called me by my name.”
Good morning Charlie and Polly. Please follow the green lines.
At the end of a long hallway there was a glass door. The sunlight streaming in was blinding. We walked outside into a large flower garden. Our companions were walking around, smiling like children. “Isn't it great,” Henry shouted. “I haven't seen flowers in over a year.”
I touched them to see if they were real. Polly and I joined Henry. He was ecstatic. “They must have developed a vaccine. I wonder when we can go home. There's no reason to keep us any longer.”
We stayed outside all day. Dinner was served in the garden. Everyone walked around like it was a picnic. Some people stayed outside all night and slept under the stars. Polly and I went back to my room. We had developed a pattern. Both of us had lost everyone we knew and now there was only us.
Two months passed while we waited to be freed. Polly said, “Charlie, why haven't any others joined us?”
“I wonder that myself. There must be millions like us.”
Charlie and Polly, please follow the black arrows. Like obedient children, we did as instructed by our unseen controller. We came to a door marked Administration. As we arrived, the door slid open revealing a middle aged man seated at a white desk. “Come in folks. It's time we met. I'm Doctor Issac Rubinstein. I'm a researcher with the CDC. I know you have lots of questions. Hopefully, I can give you some answers.”
I spoke first. “Where are all the others?”
“Let me begin by explaining what happened. As you know, COVID-19 was a terrible time. A vaccine was developed, but four years later a new strain began spreading. This strain was even worse than the first. So far, there is no vaccine for it. Frankly, I don't believe there will be.”
“So, it's just going to have to run its course. How long will it be before it dies out?”
“It's already dying out, but it's too late. The damage can't be reversed. You asked about the others. There are no others. The eight people here are all we could find that are immune to the virus.”
Polly was near tears. “That's impossible. There aren't enough of us.”
“Possible or not, you're the only ones.”
“How could this happen?”
Doctor Rubinstein ran his fingers through his grey streaked hair. “That brings us to the difficult part. It's confession time. For many years, conspiracy theorists have spread their gospel that the world is controlled by a small group of powerful people.”
I nodded my head. “The Illuminati. I'm aware of the stories.”
“They aren't stories. It's true.”
“Are you saying the Illuminati actually exists?”
“That's what they used to call themselves, but they were about to be exposed. So on April 7, 1948, they created The World Health Organization. It had the blessing of the United Nations and continued operating out of Geneva, Switzerland. The same people, the same agenda with a new name. A new name brought a new image. The Illuminati sounds ominous, but who could be against world heath? It's what we all hope for. No one imagined that the organization would cause the destruction of humanity.”
“How can they be responsible?”
Doctor Rubinstein shook his head. “COVID-19 didn't just happen. It didn't escape from a lab in Wuhan, China. It was intentionally released.”
“What? Why?”
“The doomsday clock had passed midnight. The world was living on borrowed time. A difficult decision had to be made. Let the world run its course and wait for nuclear Armageddon, or take control of things. This is where the WHO stepped in. The decision was made to release the virus. They knew it would result in millions of deaths, but they hoped it would bring the world back from the brink of war. Reset the doomsday clock if you will. The vaccine was developed before the virus was released. It was held back until what the WHO thought was the right time.”
“Why didn't it work?”
“It did for awhile. People followed the guidelines. The death rate was controlled, but then the protests started. The experiment was stopped too soon. People were told to return to work, businesses reopened, and the masks came off. It was all too soon. Sure the guidelines were arbitrary, what good is six feet distancing when a sneeze travels over thirty feet? But they proved people can be controlled. People are like sheep. Lead the way and they will follow. Have you ever wondered why some children received the polio vaccine and some were given a placebo? Why not give all of them the vaccine. They didn't need to track the effectiveness. They knew it worked. That should have been enough. Why not protect everyone? The parents knew about the placebos, but they trusted the authorities and did as they were told. They sacrificed the health of their children because a faceless bureaucrat told them to. Sheep.”
“Why was COVID-23 necessary?”
“Like I said, the experiment was stopped too soon. If it had been allowed to continue for another year, COVID-23 would not have been needed. When it was decided to release it, it was released too soon. They should have waited ten years. When the public was informed of COVID-23, they were exhausted. They refused to play the game. Safety guidelines were ignored. The virus spread faster than anyone anticipated. By the time a vaccine was announced, the virus had mutated. It couldn't be stopped. That's how we got here.”
“So this is it. The end of the world.”
“Maybe not.”
“What can be done.”
“The two of you hold the fate of humanity. According to the Bible, the world began with two people. Maybe it will again. You could be the new Adam and Eve.”
“That's a huge responsibility.”
“Do you think you're up to it?”
“I don't know. I guess we don't have a choice.”
I took Polly's hand. “Hello, Eve, my name's Adam.”
Doctor Rubinstein smiled. “Tomorrow you'll leave for Georgia.”
“Why Georgia?”
“We can't risk sending you to an area prone to earthquakes, hurricanes, or tornados. In Georgia there are no extremes of weather and no geographic dangers.”
Doctor Rubinstein stood and hugged Charlie and Polly. God be with with you. Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.”
Citizen 93174630, leave your room and follow the yellow directional arrows on the floor. Maintain a minimum distance of at least six feet from any wall. Keep you arms at your side and do not touch anything.
The voice was the same pleasant female voice I had heard for the last sixteen months. That's how long I had been in containment. I followed the arrows until I reached a door. There was a brief pause while I was scanned for facial recognition.
The door slid open and I continued following the arrows. I came to another door and was scanned again. The door slid open and I stepped directly into a transport vehicle. There were no windows or driver. As the vehicle sped away, I could hear the faint whir of an electric motor.
My trip lasted five hours. I slept and woke up when a tone sounded letting me know I had reached my destination. The transport's door slid open and I was inside a large white, concrete building. I saw arrows on the floor and followed them to a room similar to the one I had been living in.
Citizen 93174630, welcome to your new home. We will do everything possible to make you comfortable. The same female voice. I guessed it was computer generated. The room was stark white with no windows. There was a comfortable bed. A table and two chairs (one more than my previous accommodations).
An hour passed. Citizen 93174630, follow the blue arrows to the dining room. I sat at a table in the dining room and soon was joined by seven other people. I hadn't seen anyone else since my containment. We introduced ourselves and chatted away like old friends. No one knew anything of the outside.
I sat next to an attractive, young lady named Polly Wells. We found out we had all been sent into containment on the same day. I knew why we were here. It was for protection. I wondered how many other people had been rounded up.
The year was 2027, four years after the outbreak of COVID-23, a new strain of the Coronavirus. In September 2020, a vaccine was created that brought about the end of COVID-19, but this new strain was resistant to the vaccine. The result was devastating. The world was on the verge of collapse. People lined up to be sent into containment. It was our only hope for survival.
We sat at the long table and talked for hours. Freedom felt wonderful. Finally, we were sent back to our rooms. I wondered if we would see each other again. I entered my room and waited for the door to close, but it didn't.
“My door's malfunctioning. It didn't close.”
There is no malfunction. The doors will remain open.
I couldn't believe it. I stepped into the hallway and looked around. I saw Polly standing in front of her room. She smiled broadly. “Do you think it's over?”
“It must be.”
That night, I couldn't sleep. I saw Polly at my entrance. “I can't sleep.”
“Neither can I. Come in.”
We talked all night and fell asleep at the time we usually woke up. Hours later, I shook Polly. “We missed the wakeup call.”
I walked to the speaker. “We overslept. We didn't hear the wakeup call.”
There will be no more wakeup calls. Your time is your own, Charlie.
I turned to Polly. “Did you hear that? It called me by my name.”
Good morning Charlie and Polly. Please follow the green lines.
At the end of a long hallway there was a glass door. The sunlight streaming in was blinding. We walked outside into a large flower garden. Our companions were walking around, smiling like children. “Isn't it great,” Henry shouted. “I haven't seen flowers in over a year.”
I touched them to see if they were real. Polly and I joined Henry. He was ecstatic. “They must have developed a vaccine. I wonder when we can go home. There's no reason to keep us any longer.”
We stayed outside all day. Dinner was served in the garden. Everyone walked around like it was a picnic. Some people stayed outside all night and slept under the stars. Polly and I went back to my room. We had developed a pattern. Both of us had lost everyone we knew and now there was only us.
Two months passed while we waited to be freed. Polly said, “Charlie, why haven't any others joined us?”
“I wonder that myself. There must be millions like us.”
Charlie and Polly, please follow the black arrows. Like obedient children, we did as instructed by our unseen controller. We came to a door marked Administration. As we arrived, the door slid open revealing a middle aged man seated at a white desk. “Come in folks. It's time we met. I'm Doctor Issac Rubinstein. I'm a researcher with the CDC. I know you have lots of questions. Hopefully, I can give you some answers.”
I spoke first. “Where are all the others?”
“Let me begin by explaining what happened. As you know, COVID-19 was a terrible time. A vaccine was developed, but four years later a new strain began spreading. This strain was even worse than the first. So far, there is no vaccine for it. Frankly, I don't believe there will be.”
“So, it's just going to have to run its course. How long will it be before it dies out?”
“It's already dying out, but it's too late. The damage can't be reversed. You asked about the others. There are no others. The eight people here are all we could find that are immune to the virus.”
Polly was near tears. “That's impossible. There aren't enough of us.”
“Possible or not, you're the only ones.”
“How could this happen?”
Doctor Rubinstein ran his fingers through his grey streaked hair. “That brings us to the difficult part. It's confession time. For many years, conspiracy theorists have spread their gospel that the world is controlled by a small group of powerful people.”
I nodded my head. “The Illuminati. I'm aware of the stories.”
“They aren't stories. It's true.”
“Are you saying the Illuminati actually exists?”
“That's what they used to call themselves, but they were about to be exposed. So on April 7, 1948, they created The World Health Organization. It had the blessing of the United Nations and continued operating out of Geneva, Switzerland. The same people, the same agenda with a new name. A new name brought a new image. The Illuminati sounds ominous, but who could be against world heath? It's what we all hope for. No one imagined that the organization would cause the destruction of humanity.”
“How can they be responsible?”
Doctor Rubinstein shook his head. “COVID-19 didn't just happen. It didn't escape from a lab in Wuhan, China. It was intentionally released.”
“What? Why?”
“The doomsday clock had passed midnight. The world was living on borrowed time. A difficult decision had to be made. Let the world run its course and wait for nuclear Armageddon, or take control of things. This is where the WHO stepped in. The decision was made to release the virus. They knew it would result in millions of deaths, but they hoped it would bring the world back from the brink of war. Reset the doomsday clock if you will. The vaccine was developed before the virus was released. It was held back until what the WHO thought was the right time.”
“Why didn't it work?”
“It did for awhile. People followed the guidelines. The death rate was controlled, but then the protests started. The experiment was stopped too soon. People were told to return to work, businesses reopened, and the masks came off. It was all too soon. Sure the guidelines were arbitrary, what good is six feet distancing when a sneeze travels over thirty feet? But they proved people can be controlled. People are like sheep. Lead the way and they will follow. Have you ever wondered why some children received the polio vaccine and some were given a placebo? Why not give all of them the vaccine. They didn't need to track the effectiveness. They knew it worked. That should have been enough. Why not protect everyone? The parents knew about the placebos, but they trusted the authorities and did as they were told. They sacrificed the health of their children because a faceless bureaucrat told them to. Sheep.”
“Why was COVID-23 necessary?”
“Like I said, the experiment was stopped too soon. If it had been allowed to continue for another year, COVID-23 would not have been needed. When it was decided to release it, it was released too soon. They should have waited ten years. When the public was informed of COVID-23, they were exhausted. They refused to play the game. Safety guidelines were ignored. The virus spread faster than anyone anticipated. By the time a vaccine was announced, the virus had mutated. It couldn't be stopped. That's how we got here.”
“So this is it. The end of the world.”
“Maybe not.”
“What can be done.”
“The two of you hold the fate of humanity. According to the Bible, the world began with two people. Maybe it will again. You could be the new Adam and Eve.”
“That's a huge responsibility.”
“Do you think you're up to it?”
“I don't know. I guess we don't have a choice.”
I took Polly's hand. “Hello, Eve, my name's Adam.”
Doctor Rubinstein smiled. “Tomorrow you'll leave for Georgia.”
“Why Georgia?”
“We can't risk sending you to an area prone to earthquakes, hurricanes, or tornados. In Georgia there are no extremes of weather and no geographic dangers.”
Doctor Rubinstein stood and hugged Charlie and Polly. God be with with you. Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.”
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