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“Viruses are the only rivals for control of our planet. We have to be on the ball to keep up with them. "
Joshua Lederberg, American molecular biologist and geneticist
Preface: In 1976 there was an Ebola infection in an English laboratory.
The laboratory worker was infected by an accidental needle stick.
The Soviet Union had an extensive program of biological weapons production.
So they successfully changed the Marburg virus, a variant of Ebola.
The leading scientist accidentally infected himself with the virus and died.
In Soviet laboratories, pathogens were also developed which were found to be immune to antibiotics.
Normal smallpox viruses are about 30% fatal. The Soviet scientists have experimentally proven that a smallpox pathogen can also be produced,
which is almost 100% deadly.
In the scorching sun, Yeong-su struggled through the damp, humid jungle of the Congo in Central Africa. His off-road vehicle with his guide and two of his North Korean colleagues got stuck in a muddy hollow, muddy from the rain of the previous day. The men are on a secret mission in the Congo on behalf of the North Korean Ministry of Defense. They were accompanied by a European. Your destination is the province of Mongala in the north of the Congo. The escort car stopped behind them. “Please get out,” the driver said to them. The four men got out a little annoyed. The ground was muddy. When they got out, their boots sank into the mud up to their ankles. They took a few steps to the edge of the path. Yeong-su lit a cigarette. Three of the locals got out of the support vehicle and tried to push the rover from behind while the driver accelerated. The tires spun. Mud splashed upwards. Finally, with a hiss, the wheels freed themselves. The rover pulled out of the mud pit and then stopped a few yards. "How far is it? ", one of the North Koreans asked the European. "Not far anymore. Another half an hour, if it goes well on the road, then over the river Ebola and we are in one of the villages ". Yeong-su throws his half-finished cigarette on the floor and kicks it out. "Okay, let's go on," he said to the others. The locals got on and the four men got back into the rovers. They drove on along the narrow, muddy jungle path. "The road is getting better up there," said the driver, "We should be there soon". "When was the last case here?" Yeong-su asked the European. |
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“That was 1976. Also here in Mongala Province. At that time some of them were probably infected with a new type of virus through monkeys. The virus then spread in a Belgian hospital town when the nuns treated dozen different people with just 5 syringes. They all got sick. Relatives who were visiting were also infected. So that it eventually spread to 55 villages. "replied the European. “Yes, 88% mortality rate among the infected. 280 people died ", added one of the companions. "Yes, exactly," replied the European. "We should be there in a moment". "Is this one of the villages that was infested before?" Asked Yeong-su. “No, they are about 20 minutes further up the river. The current outbreak two weeks ago took place at a logging camp. The patients were brought here because there is an infirmary in this village. It is operated by the UN. A WHO medical team has also been here for a week. Here I have ID for them. They identify them as a Japanese medical team ". The European hands them the ID cards. "Ah there is the bridge and the village". |
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They drove their off-road vehicles over a small, half-ailing wooden bridge to the other side of the bank. The first huts were already visible. Partly made of wood, with thatched roofs, as well as colorful accommodations made of corrugated iron. Some of the residents came out of their huts. They stop at the roadside and look at the vehicles. "There it is". The European pointed to a somewhat larger wooden hut with corrugated iron. A red cross was emblazoned on one side. They stopped in front of the infirmary right next to a white WHO SUV. They got out and opened the trunk. "Here, take it," said the European, handing out protective suits. They put on their protective suits. "Follow me," he said to Yeong-su. The other two carried a special cooler and a doctor's case after them. The European opened the door. It's pretty dark inside. Only through a few small dirty windows and cracks in the wall, light penetrated in. A good dozen patients lay feverish on old shabby couches with old worn mattresses, some of the patients had IV tubes on their arms. Two other people, also in protective suits, were in the hut. One of them came to meet them and stretched out his hand in greeting. He introduced himself, "Hello, I'm Dr. Betori. Who are you? ”He asked, puzzled. |
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"We are from WHO, this is Dr. Hasekura, "replied the European, while he shook hands with Betori. Dr. Betori, who had not expected another team, replied in surprise:" You weren't registered at all? But that's good, will probably have been lost or forgotten. We have it Probably to do with some form of hemorrhagic fever, Ebola. You know there is actually nothing we can do for the patients? Yesterday 2 patients died. We give them the latest antiviral drug, but as you probably know, this one kills them It doesn't remove pathogens, it just slows down the production of new viruses. It helps a bit, but unfortunately we're running out of supplies ". "We brought more antivirals with us," said the European. "We should also take blood for another laboratory test," he lied. “It's good, but only through the cannulas, please. Bleeding is almost impossible to stop with hemorrhagic fever, "said Dr. Betori "Alright. What about the spread of the virus? Could this be stopped? "Asked the European. “We were very lucky. No more new patients will be brought to us. And it seems that no more have been infected. We also keep patients strictly separated from relatives. Most of the infected came from a logging camp ". "Yes, truly, great luck," repeats the European. He gave the two North Koreans a sign with his hand that they can start. They nodded briefly and went to work drawing blood from the patients. They then packed the blood vials in a larger jar with a screw cap. This, in turn, they stowed in the special cooler bag and disappeared as quickly as they came. |
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France Villa Leopoldo. Privately owned by the billionaire Nathaniel Lefort. The castle of the former Belgian king; with a private park and beach right on the Côte d'Azur, he had just bought a few months ago. So he didn't feel completely at home yet. After his father left him a billion dollar electronics company, he had become a billionaire. Until a few years ago, the company still had problems, but since the new product, a smartphone, found huge sales, profits have been bubbling up and Nathaniel has gone from rich on the Forbes list to super rich. Nine billion euros in profit last year alone. That left a whopping five billion euros net for him. He was still mourning his father, which is why he left the family estate and decided to settle here in France. Since his father's death had taken him so much, he found support in faith. So he read a few pages of the Bible every evening, something he had never done before. Nathaniel was sitting outside in the garden enjoying the sun. He read the news on his laptop. The mood in the population was once again hysterical since a new type of camel virus, a coronavirus, caused more and more deaths. Half a dozen people have already died in the Middle East. It was not so much the number of deaths, but rather that this was 30% of the suspected infected. A very high mortality rate. Nathaniel thought he saw a harbinger of the apocalypse in this, but those around him dismissed this with a smile when he talked to them about it. He knew that the Apocalypse was not inherently negative. Translated it means revelation - revelation of divine knowledge. Actually something positive. But since John's dream, which is interpreted as the revelation, it has been negatively affected. He read the chapter of the Book of Revelation over and over again and wondered what it meant. Nuclear war? Comet impact? He was more convinced of a virus. Pandora occurred to him. Her box of plagues from Greek mythology, similar to the four riders of the Apocalypse, with the 7 plagues of the end times, the end of history and the coming of the kingdom of God. Nathaniel was concerned that he found the population insufficiently prepared for a virus. Something so small, tiny, helpless. These thoughts had plagued him for weeks and he was determined to do something about it. Perhaps, he thought, he was part of God's plan for making such a huge fortune because of it. He wondered how could he help? |
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And how could he protect himself and his family too? How could he protect himself against something as small and insidious as a virus? The place had to be remote, far from all the crowds that spread a virus. Secluded, ideally out of reach for others. An island came to mind. Preferably uninhabited. It was just fitting that Greece, shaken by the financial crisis, was selling islands. It has to be. He thought and found out about Greek islands on the Internet. However, the initial enthusiasm quickly subsided. Expensive, tiny and mountainous, rightly uninhabited. He was disappointed. Almost all of the islands were small, downright tiny, too tiny for his plan. Then he found one. He readed the offer, the price quite steep, 100 million dollars, but a huge 44 km² and also uninhabited and flat. It was also wooded and had a beautiful sandy beach and palm trees. The description sounded idyllic. San Jose in Panama. With thousands of wild boars and deer. Might be perfect for his plan, he thought. The only bigger island, the biggest of all offers. Perfect, he thought and was already dividing the island in his mind for his plans. He was a bit surprised, however, because this island was many times larger than others and was relatively super cheap. And then he found out why, the presumed reason about nothing was in the description. San Jose used to be used by US soldiers for weapon tests. Chemical mines, bombs, and even VX and sarin nerve gas. Just that incredibly dangerous VX gas too, he thought. All highly toxic substances. But are they still detectable? Was it still dangerous for humans? After all, there is also a small hotel on the island and the many wild animals are still alive. But somehow that didn't suit him anymore. Perhaps there were still duds or a few highly toxic areas. When looking at the map a lot to him the neighboring island. Somewhat larger, just as flatly forested, even a freshwater spring and a river were on it. How about that? He thought. It was the Isla del Rey, from the Archipiélago de las Perlas - translated, the pearl island. At around 240 km2, it is the largest in the island chain. 22 km long - 14 km wide, but unfortunately inhabited and probably not for sale. 2600 people live on it. Not so much for this size, he thought. She would be perfect. He must have it. |
Nathaniel informed his assistant and boarded his mega-yacht Artemis, 89 m long and expensive 200 million euros, which was lying on the coast. There he met the engineer Jackson, who was awaiting a decision. A few weeks ago he had received an order for a major project. It should overshadow everything that has existed before and even make Anastasia look tiny. Jackson was supposed to revise and adjust the plans of a ship for Nathaniel and prepare a cost estimate. “2.5 billion euros. Shall we commission it? "asked Jackson “Does it also contain the extras I want? " "Yes, everything is complete then," Jackson replied. Nathaniel nodded and gave his consent: “Commission it. How long it will take?" "2 year minimum," Jackson replied.
Fall 5 years later. North Korea border town with China Sinuiju. Kim Il-sung Military Research Laboratory. A modern virological weapons laboratory is located in the middle of a military camp. Scientists here have been working feverishly for years on a vaccine for their latest breakthrough. It is a cross between the Ebola virus and the resistant camel virus, a coronavirus. So far, all attempts have been in vain. They were unsuccessful in finding a suitable vaccine to breed their virus with. The laboratory is very modern with modern western equipment. One of the scientists takes a test tube out of a nitrogen-cooled container. It is located behind a pane of glass with rubber gloves worked into it. He is wearing a protective suit under negative pressure. He shakily moves the test tube. Cool nitrogen smoke rises. He puts the test tube on a holder. He carefully tries to suck up some of the liquid with a syringe. When he has some liquid in the syringe, he takes a small carrier paper in one hand and tries to squirt some liquid onto it with the syringe. He slips and sticks his finger with the needle through his rubber gloves. Just a slight prick, almost imperceptible, but he winces in shock. A colleague nearby turns to him and looks at him questioningly: “Is everything okay? " |
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