They stood, gazing at the tiny figure in the crib, emaciated and twisted from terrible pain, and sighed. “How many is that?” the man asked.
“Today, this week, or since the beginning?” the woman replied. “I can give you figures for all three.”

“This week, here at St. Michael’s, for a start.” He told her.
“We have newborns to six months, thirty-five; twenty extremely critical, on full life support and prognosis very poor.” She looked at her notes. “Ten critical, but prognosis is better, five serious but they will probably live. All together from newborns and up to age ten, there are one hundred and thirty-five. At last count so far this week, nine hundred and forty-five. We’ll likely get more in before Saturday. There is some indication though that there will be some kind of damage, physical or developmental in those who do live. We don’t have a large enough
sample of recovered patients to be sure. And that is only at St. Michael’s. There are six more hospitals here, and their figures are at least as bad.”

He pounded his fist on the side of the crib and cursed. “How the hell did this happen? Where did this virus or whatever it is come from? It’s already covered almost half the world. When will it end? How can we stop it, cure them?” He was red faced and shaking, angry and frustrated at seeing so many children, the future of the world, ill, in pain, dying, or becoming handicapped. “It isn’t only Toronto that has been hit. It seems to be all over the world. How many more are going to die before we find an answer?”

“I’ve been wondering that, and I took a look at where it started. I think it was that meteor that fell two weeks ago. I followed the path of the spread of the illness, and compared it to the path the meteor took, and they match perfectly. I am certain that this is something that came from outer space. Could it be that that wasn’t a meteor, but something from a ship we haven’t seen? Could Earth be under alien attack?”

“I seriously doubt that, though from the latest news my wife told me, it could be. First, it wasn’t a meteor; it was a comet that broke up like the Schoemaker-Levy comet that hit Jupiter in July of 1994. It broke up into twenty-two fragments that followed a straight line right to impact. So the pieces hit in a line across Jupiter, and that is what they think happened here. Astronomers and meteorologists are tracking the line backwards to find the first impact, and whatever land might have been affected by fallout as the pieces fell lower into the atmosphere.

“They are thinking now that it may have contained a virus that is not known on Earth or was wiped out with the dinosaurs. After all, they do say that life here probably started with impacts of comets and meteors. If they can prove that the virus followed the same path in its spread as the comet pieces did, at least they’ll know that. They’re already out trying to find all the bits and pieces they can to take back and examine. If they can isolate the virus from the comet debris, it will give them more to work on to find a cure.”

“I hadn’t heard that. I’ve been too busy trying to keep babies and toddlers alive, and ease their pain, as well as following the statistics. I do hope they can find something soon, or the earth will end up with no children under ten. Then what if it starts attacking the older ones? They do get it now, but in a fairly mild form.” The nurse sighed again. “It is all too much, too heartbreaking. How can a so-called loving God allow something like this to happen?” She turned away and nodded to the two men in hazmat suits who arrived with a clear box. They lifted the tiny body and placed it in the box, sealed the box and left.

Death Comes – part 2 –
The line of boxy, humanlike figures walked slowly, line abreast, silhouetted by the sunset. In a helicopter hovering above, three doctors watched as the figures moved, and one or another, or two or three at once, stopped, bent, and picked something up with an odd wand and placed it in the box each one carried

“It looks like they are finding a good supply of comet pieces for us to work on,” Dr. Ricardo Urbani said. “It’s surprising how many experienced people they were able to find for this search. Maybe now we will be able to identify the virus, or whatever it is and find a cure. Too many infants and toddlers have died already!” Dr. Jose Mazza and Dr. James Snow agreed and asked the ‘copter pilot to take them back to base.

Back at base, they joined the other epidemiologist Dr. Maria Perriago who was in the lunch room discussing their work with Dr. Anne Baker, Dr. Ernest Jenner and Dr. Henry Winslow, all involved with the research. Oddly enough, every one of them was a direct descendant of a famous epidemiologist or a doctor who had worked on related areas, such as sanitation and hygiene.

“Hi Rick! We have just heard some news. David Levy, of comet Shoemaker-Levy fame, got curious about this comet, what its orbit is. He is part of the Jarmac Comet Survey at Jarmac Observatory at Vail, Arizona. Anyway, he didn’t just stop with where it broke up and hit Earth he followed its track backwards. He just announced that it was a non-periodic comet and the last time it passed by was at least thirty million years ago, maybe longer.” Maria said.

“Ok, now we know that we can look for extinctions around that time and that might help locate the virus. But I’m putting my money on the debris. I’m sure we will find the virus in it, and we can test it out and give it a name. And find an antidote. Little ones are dying as we speak, we must find the answer soon!”
The others nodded and rose from the table. “Back to the hazmat suits everyone,” Jose Mazza said. “The first lot of debris has been delivered. Let us have at it and see what we can see.”

They all trooped back to the isolation lab, donned the uncomfortable, boxy hazmat suits and James Snow tapped in the code to open the lab door. They separated to their various stations, taking samples with them, and set to work. Hours later, Jose Mazza said “I think I may have something.” He tapped keys and a picture appeared on the big screen on the wall at the end of the room. It showed a small wavy shape, less than a molecule in size. “I’ll have to dig it out and test it, but first I’m going to see if I can find more. I don’t want to destroy the only sample.”

“I’ll see if I can find any in my samples, too” Ernest Jenner said. “If we both find samples you can do the tests sooner. You can do that while I look for more.”
“Good going, guys.” Ricardo said. “The rest of us will continue to search for anything. If we come up with your little critter, we’ll pass the samples on. But we have to keep a wide search going in case that isn’t our culprit.”
Silence settled on the lab as they all bent to their electronic microscopes and the samples of comet debris on hand. Before the day was over, many more cases of debris were delivered. Anne Baker sighed. It looked like it was going to be a long week – or month. With the number of searchers, the cases of debris could number in the thousands. And they had to find a cure!

She set her mind back on the microscope screen, looking for the wavy form Jose had found, or anything that could be a virus. Such a thing could have wiped out the dinosaurs, would this one wipe out humanity?

Death Comes – part 3
One end of the laboratory was blocked off with a frame covered in a heavy plastic sheet. From behind it came the almost deafening sound of demolition as that wall was demolished. The team of researchers and support people had grown to the point of overcrowding, but all are busy. Two more electron microscopes had been added, and six more were in storage awaiting the end of the demolition and expansion of the lab.
Four or five people were crowded around each microscope. Some were sorting the debris and preparing slides for the researcher at the microscope, some bringing in more debris and some removing rejected debris. The work went forward quietly as the epidemiologists and biologists concentrated on finding possible viruses.

The original seven were severely overtired, having working for thirty hours straight with little food and no rest. Suddenly, Ernest Jenner straightened and tapped some keys and a picture appeared on the big screen. “Look, I have found something that may be another virus!” The screen showed what looked like a string of beads, about ten molecules in length. There was a weak cheer, and Ricardo immediately directed the two new researchers to start hunting for more. “As soon as a good supply is found, Ernest can start testing. This is a good sign, folks.” He said, smiling.
Maria Perriago dropped a prepared slide and swore. Then, to everyone’s surprise,
she sat down and burst into tears. “I know this is the most important thing that I will ever do,” she sobbed, “but I just can’t do any more!”

Ricardo walked over to her and stroked her head. “Yes, Maria, we are all at the point where we are so tired we could miss a crucial creature.” He looked around. “There are enough people now to keep the search going 24/7, so I think that we, the first group, can take a break. One good meal and at least eight hours of sleep will allow us to come back ready to work again.”

He turned to Dr. Susan Mead, epidemiologist, microbiologist and meteorologist who headed the second team. “Do you think your group can take over now for say twelve hours? After we’ve rested, we can alternate eight hours on eight hours off.”
Dr. Mead looked around at her crew who all agreed. Ricardo nodded and said “ok, that’s great. Come on gang; let’s go get some well-earned rest and nourishment.” Then he leaned down and putting his hands under Maria’s arms lifted her from her chair and with an arm supporting her, led her toward the door. The rest of the team followed.

Susan Mead turned to her group “Our turn now, everyone. Let’s see if we can find some more little creatures.” As the others reached the door, there was another shout. They paused and looked back. Tony Ricardo was tapping keys and a new image appeared on the big screen. This looked like a centipede, with many tiny tendrils along the sides. It was about four molecules long. Everyone cheered and the group around Tony set to work looking for more of the same.

As they neared the door, Ricardo thought ‘this is going faster now. I hope we will soon find the culprit so we can prepare an antidote. Too many little ones are dying.’ He sighed, but as he was leading Maria out, Susan Mead shouted “Ricardo! She found something, she has found three samples, the slide she dropped has a fourth! We will start testing it right away”.

Ricardo and his team gave a weary cheer, paused and looked back. On the screen was what looked like an eight-pointed star; on each ‘arm’ were many tiny tendrils. The whole thing was about seven molecules across. “Did you hear that, Maria? Your find will be recorded, and they will test it. When you are rested, you will have something to work on.” Maria murmured yes, and they left. Once in the outer room, she allowed Anne to help her out of the hazmat suit, and wearily followed her. “I’ll eat later. What I need now is sleep,” she whispered. Anne nodded and helped her to the dorm.

Death Comes – part 4
“I know I’m behind on the news, but was this a known comet?” Mai Lee Sun asked.
“No, it wasn’t. According to David Levy of the Jarmac Observatory in West Virginia, it was a non- periodic and came through the solar system some 35 Million years ago, about the time meteor impacts created the Chesapeake Bay crater in the U.S., and the Popigai crater in Russia. The latest news from them is that they think it had a collision or very near miss that changed its orbit just enough to hit Earth. The event also weakened the core so when it got close to the sun, it broke up. That’s why the debris was scattered over such a wide area.”

“Oh, like the Schoemaker-Levy Comet 9 some years back! Thank you, I was wondering, if its orbit was known, why there was no warning.” Mai lee went back to preparing slides, and the lab was silent.

Both teams were exhausted; they had been working in twelve-hour shifts for weeks, and not always stopping when their shift was up. Everyone was feeling a sense of desperation, so many children had died, and most of those who had recovered were severely handicapped. The count now was 60 million – 20 to 40 million more than the deaths from the flu pandemic of 1918-1919.

Jose Mazza, Tony Ricardo, Heinz Weinberg and new comer Pierre Beauvais were testing all of the possible viruses found, including one shaped like a triangle,10 molecules high by 4 molecules wide at the base that had been found by Ruth Williams.
“Well!” Jose said, “The bead form Ernie found didn’t get a reaction from the test animals, so I thought I’d combine it with others to see what happened. It killed, or at least deactivated all of them. It may be useful in making an antidote, though. But I think we should try combinations, since we have found that each is relatively harmless alone, but two may be what we are looking for.”

They all agreed and started making combinations of two or three together. The work went on, mixing samples, making a serum and injecting it into selected test animals. Time went by, and still more children died. In fact, it was getting worse, as it was now affecting children from ten to fifteen. And so many of those who had recovered were seriously handicapped, mentally, physically or both, that the future of the human race looked even more drastic.

Several weeks later Robert Bodden returned from the animal section, where two days before, he had injected a rat, a Rhesus monkey and a piglet with a combination of the wavy form and the star. When put together, the wavy form had wound itself around the arms of the star, making what looked like a wheel with eight spokes. He was almost too excited to speak as he rushed through the door.

“It worked!” he exclaimed. “The star and wavy form combination worked! All three animals have developed the illness!”

There was a loud and enthusiastic cheer from everyone in the lab. Roberto Urbani jumped up and rushed over to Robert and slapped him on the back. “Good man! Now we have the virus, we all have to get to work creating an antidote. After it’s made, we have to try it out on the effected animals. As soon as we have one that works every time, we need to become a production facility, and set up facilities in every country that has been affected by the virus and start producing. At last there is a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Jose Mazza said “I’ve been working with the string of beads, and it had either killed or deactivated all of them. It may be a place to start for the antidote.” This news was happily greeted by all, and they stared preparing slides of the new-found virus to try different combinations of chemicals and other bacteria, especially those that are naturally found in the human system.

“We also have to make plans to help those handicapped children and their families,” Patrick O’Day said. “Many of them have a low income, and the expense of caring for a handicapped child is high. I know, my brother is handicapped, and it made getting along on Dad’s income almost impossible. I put myself through school and sent money home to help.”
They all agreed, and went back to work, now looking for the antidote., and thinking about where and how to set up the facilities for both the antidote and help for the affected families.

Death Comes – part 5
Ricardo Urbani pounded his fist on the table and shouted “Two years! We’ve been searching for two years and still no viable antidote! Millions of children dead, more dying, and now it’s attacking the older ones, even up to seventeen! It’s hopeless!” He slumped in his chair and, elbows on table, dropped his head into his hands and sobbed.

Jose Mazza reached over and put a hand on his arm. It had been especially hard on Ricardo, as all of the youngest generation in his large, extended family had succumbed to the virus. “Don’t give up, Ricardo, we will find it. None of us will stop until we do. There is no one here who doesn’t know exactly how you are feeling; we’ve all lost those most precious to us.”

Ricardo didn’t move or reply, just sat head in hands and stared at the table. The others exchanged glances, wondering what to do when Susan Mead’s voice came over the P.A. system. “Come to the lab right away – I think I have found the right combination!”

There was a moment of stunned silence, and then they were all up and running, including Ricardo, life and hope one again showing in his face. He had been so sure the combination of the star and way forms would be the answer. They had seemed to be working, but only partly; they’d eased the symptoms, but didn’t cure. What had Susan found? He wondered.

Back in the lab in their hazmat suits, they crowded around Susan’s work station. “Hi” she said. “Look at the screen and watch what happens.” She tapped some keys and all eyes turned to the big wall screen. Small wavy form/star wheels rolled along, until the triangle/centipede form overtook it. The wheel was engulfed by the triangle, and soon it began to shrivel. In moments, the wheels were dead.

There was a moment of awed silence, and then loud cheers mixed with sobs of relief. Roberto seemed to take on a new life. “Susan, you’ve done it!” he hugged her and turned to the others. “Everyone – start growing the forms and putting them together. We want a big supply so we can start producing the vaccine here and send supplies to as many countries as we can, so they can produce the vaccine too. The sooner we can start inoculating children, the sooner we’ll have this virus licked.”

The news and combination were sent immediately to other labs world wide, so they could work on making the vaccine. Within weeks people were going out with secured cases of the antidote and the virus forms, scattering to a dozen different countries. Months passed as production started and grew. The first children inoculated were cured, with no or only mild disabilities. Ricardo sighed; it was too late for his family, but he was happy. They had won the battle with this alien
invasion. Even children who had recovered but were handicapped had shown improvement when inoculated.

Two Months Later
“Ladies and Gentlemen, fellow citizens of Earth, I am pleased to bring you Sir Nigel Trent-Godwin, Secretary General of the United Nations, with an urgent and joyous message. Mr. Secretary.”

“My fellow Humans, I am overjoyed to announce that the virus that has been killing and damaging our children, our future, has been conquered. The antidote is now in production in hundreds of locations around the globe, and our little ones are recovering. Even the most seriously disabled have benefited.

“We owe a great debt of gratitude to those who gave up years of their lives to find the virus that was attacking our most vulnerable, and creating the antidote. Most of them are still working at the various facilities producing the antidote; many of them lost loved ones too, yet they persevered. I declare September the 25th a worldwide holiday to be called ‘World Freedom Day.’ God bless all those who sacrificed so much, their names will go down in history as heroes. Happy World Freedom Day!”
The cheers and rejoicing echoed around the world. It could almost be heard on the space station, where the astronauts were celebrating, too.