Page #64
Q: Well yes, there is something in your tale that seems, to me, believable. I am forced, for the first time, to ask myself "could it really happen?" And viewing your past history of remarkable calls in the field of Virology - I would prefer not to answer that question. It is the knowledge that I would rather avoid that question that frightens me.
MA: I can understand your concern. There is a certain rhythm to life and many times it seems to telegraph the direction that it is moving in.
We are often just passengers on this cosmic train and that knowledge can be a bit unsettling.
Let's have a drink and take a break for a moment.
Q: She must have seen that I was not quite all there. My mind was going over this new revelation. I had no idea that organisms could change so quickly and in concert of all things. It was the piece of the puzzle that never seemed quite right.
From our first conversation I was aware that MA was awaiting a viral outbreak of a scale that would change our species. So what - I know people who believe aliens visit us from time to time. Everyone to their own.
But this outline of events is lacking the huge leap of faith that I always assumed she had made. I suppose it could be possible...
MA: Here is a fresh Crown on the rocks. I will be right back - I am making tea.
Q: I put another log on the fire and tried to gather my reporter persona. My desire to see this conversation played out in detail now appears to have gone a bridge too far. It is safe and warm to view others as odd or eccentric, all the time smugly maintaining a safe distance from the message. But I feel a bit compromised.
Q: MA, are you saying that there are to be multiple simultaneous mutations worldwide?
MA: Yes.
Q: And I assume this large scale outbreak is what overpowers the health care systems?
MA: There will never be a real opportunity for containment. This is not Hollywood. No hero will develop a magical antidote just in time to save the beautiful woman. No, this event is of such a consequence that, by the time the scale is apparent, the issue will be settled.
Because the virus is airborne the first three days of outbreaks will saturate such a large population that all the wheels will rapidly come off even the best health care systems. The first task will be to understand what is happening and it will, all to rapidly, become apparent that it is a very hot bug and that it is pandemic.
But by the time the extent of what has happened is well known - there will be no recourse.
Child, there is no recourse even now. We cannot kill this creature. We have only kept it at bay for these many years and that era of detente is rapidly ending.
Q: But MA, you make it sound so hopeless. How could you believe such a thing?
MA: There are things that I believe and things that I know. This virus and its coming change are something I know. I know in detail and specificity that defies all common understanding - yet my knowledge remains.
And now you know.
Page #65
Q: I stopped talking for a few moments and stared into the fire with my thoughts. It was too much to assimilate on one afternoon, now early evening. But this was my last night in Carson and my last night interviewing the remarkably complex lady who long ago signed on to a web site as "Mother Abigail". I looked up and she was serene and quiet in her big black chair.
If this is all true, are you saying only isolated groups will survive - like in past bottlenecks?
MA: No, unfortunately groups will not be so lucky. All those well prepared groups who believe that when the stuff hits the fan they will survive because of where they live or where they will retreat to - will make one tragic error. They will welcome carriers into their retreats before the scope and speed of the outbreak are well known. It will be their undoing.
This outbreak is of a different scale. The penetration of the virus into human culture and population, the speed of the spread of the airborne variant, and the closeness of human contact in our modern age are all factors that, except for a few isolated pockets, mark the end of the rise of Homo Sapien Sapien.
It is very close to an extinction event.
Q: You say isolated pockets?
MA: Yes, there will be those few who, at first report of the strange deaths, will depart immediately to a place they have chosen and stocked with provisions. This will not be groups but the next step down - families.
This place will have ample water and be so removed from human contact that the virus will burn through our species without finding them in their place of refuge.
It will be these families that must carry on with our hopes and dreams of better days.
This is not an easy concept to understand but in all this trauma and tragedy - there is transformation. A sort of genetic winnowing and even, in the macro sense, a choosing.
For those who are awaiting this event, and child do not be deceived, they are many in many lands. These coming events are not unknown. They have a feeling, a premonition, a precognition of what lies ahead. It is growing in their hearts and they will not hesitate to flee at that crucial moment when flight and isolation are still possible.
Q: Precognition?
MA: Yes. We have spent a very long time discussing how in our species there is a range of abilities in the area of perception. Perception will be the only determinant in this bottleneck.
The time is so close that most of the staging for the refuge will have started long ago. They have chosen their spot, they are stocking the larder and they only wait. For they also know.
It is our time and as difficult as it may be, this is what we will do.
Q: Will you go to the lake?
MA: No, I am a doctor and I will serve in that capacity as best I can. This is my home and I am happy with my life's work and I am at peace with my Lord. In this small town we will do what we can against a foe that carries only darkness and finality.