Project Apollo

Chapter 7

The White House

Washington, DC – 10 PM

President Hooper entered the dimly lit Situation Room. The attendees stood at a respectful attention until the President sat down. Hooper's long eyes moved from seat to seat. Before him at the conference table was Marty Jacobs, his Chief of Staff, Janet Powers, his National Security Advisor and his Vice President, Tom Johnson.

Johnson was a product of multiple preparatory schools – a Yankee who grew up in politics. His Massachusetts origins and his family's wealth drew similar comparisons to the Kennedys. Hooper knew a more liberal and Northern presence on the ticket no doubt helped him win the White House, but he and his Vice President seldom agreed on much.

Johnson's broad shoulders squared up the table like a linebacker. His rusted facial features narrowed down at the file before him and his thinning gray hairline swooped back, trying its best to cover his scalp. Dressed in a prim navy blue suit, his American flag pin shined off its lapel. As he adjusted himself, he realized his pin had rotated upside-down. After affixing it to the upright position, he placed his hands on the table where his fingertips met each other.

Another unusual presence in the room was Michelle Fernandez, the director of the NIH. Her dark hair only fell to her jaw line, tightly framing her stern expression – her lips pouty and eyes roving, always on the defensive. She fidgeted in her leather seat, trying to supplant the feelings of guilt. The NIH had the largest security breach in its history under her watch and she could feel the officials in the room aiming for her.

"I hear that we have a bug on our hands..." The President's eyes scanned down the file before him. His attempts to make sense of the file were futile. He dropped the folder next to the water pitcher hopelessly. "I'm not going to pretend like I understand biology so why doesn't someone educate me." All eyes in the room found the NIH director, and so Fernandez began.

"Bacteria are microscopic, but just how small are they? You could fit tens of billions of bacteria in that pitcher there. They are everywhere and we need many of them to perform the basic functions of our life. Digestion, for instance, needs Lactobacillus, which helps ferment indigestible carbohydrates and aids in the breakdown of sugars. Not all bacteria are helpful of course, studies have about 40% of all human disease are caused by microorganism and further studies have shown that three percent of all bacteria could potentially induce a severe depopulation event," she expounded. A grave silence filled the air in the Oval Office.

"Could it react differently to each person who is exposed?" Jacobs asked.

"Yes, there is a certain level of host-pathogen interplay that determines its microbial virulence. But there should be common threads in all of the infected that will gain us insight to the core characteristics of the bacteria."

"So where do we stand with this bacteria?" Hooper asked.

"All we know about the pathogen in question is that it had killed an entire village in the Congo. First the World Health Organization took notice and assigned an investigative team. It was flown in by our transport aircraft and arrived yesterday morning and has since been taken," Fernandez explained.

"Let's back up... We don't know how this virus spreads?" Vice President Johnson asked.

"Actually Mr. Vice President, it is not a virus. It is a bacteria..." Fernandez countered.

"Can you explain for us the difference?" the President asked.

"Most viruses are incurable, you treat the effects and prevent its spread. Whether it's HIV or the common cold there is no cure. Because of this the host's immune system must be strong enough to outlast the viral attack. Pathogenic bacteria are much different. Bacterial infections are curable, however it needs the correct antibody to cure it. It can spread by a variety of means among them human to human contact and human to inanimate contact."