PATHO-GENISES By Electro CHAPTER 1 Dr. Laurie Mason, Head of Surgery at Port Atlantis General Hospital had worked long hours in surgery and was exhausted. She was finishing her last surgery at an ungodly hour of 3 in the morning. She needed sleep and excused herself to the staff and headed to see her male friend Dr. Jermain Coulder, before she left for her apartment. He was a married man but his marriage was in trouble. Laurie knew this and at times tried to help him in repairing his marriage problems. But as time passed she became involved with him romantically. She didn't waste time as she said good morning to him since he had the graveyard shift. So Laurie left to get that much needed rest. Laurie finished bathing and went about the bathroom getting ready for bed. Somehow she did not feel right. She passed it over as just being tired from the surgeries she had performed. She tried to recall where she had been the past few days. She must have picked up a bug, the flu maybe? With all the newcomers arriving in Port Atlantis it certainly was possible. In her bag with all the instruments she carried were a syringe and antibiotics. She gave herself a shot of the medicine and went to bed. She slept well into the afternoon hours and awoke at the sound of the phone ringing beside her bed. She reached out for the phone and as she grasped it in her hand it fell to the floor. She had become extremely weak. She slipped out of bed and fell to the floor beside the phone. In a weak voice she whispered for help to whoever was on the other end. Then she lost consciousness. Dr. Jermaine, head of the cardiology dept of General Hospital in Port Atlantis was a striking handsome man at 47 years old. Although a married man he was constantly being sought after by the nurses at the hospital. At six foot two inches he had a muscular build and his clothes fit like they would on a model. He was well known throughout Calypso and was constantly being sought after for his services. No sooner had he said goodbye to Laurie he was paged over the intercom to go to the ER stat. Arriving there he found four nurses and an intern working over a woman. One nurse was putting all the necessary wires and tabs that would reveal the patients heart rhythm, blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen in her blood. Dr. Paul Shockey had a set of paddles in his hands and told everyone to step back as he was about to apply the shock to the patient to try to stabilize her heart rhythm. But Dr. Jermaine stopped him and asked one of the nurses to give him a heart needle and only then did he realize that the patient on the table was his wife. Dr. Jermaine injected the long needle filled with adrenalin and watch the heart monitor. At first the heart line went flat but after a few seconds it showed a perfect rhythm. He watched over her for a while then, satisfied that she was not in trouble anymore he ordered her to the ICU care. As he was returning to his office another call came over the intercom asking him to go to room 666 stat. He ran as fast as he could and got there to see that four nurses were working over another nurse. Damn room number , he thought to himself. It is the devils room and never did like that number. Before he could do anything a nurse had a set of cardiac paddles in her hand and before anyone could stop her she applied the paddles, gave a shock to the patient and turned to watch as the heart line went flat and stayed there. Once Dr. Jermaine got close to the patient he saw her name plate and knew who it was, Grace Beaumont. She and he had been having a love affair. He tried everything he knew to make her heart start beating again but to no avail. Finally he said it was no use. A nurse slowly pulled a sheet over her face. The devils room had just taken another patient he thought. Slowly he turned and started to walk out of the room when over the intercom he heard his name announced once more. He was told to go to the ICU unit stat. Thinking the worse he ran down the six flights of steps instead of waiting for an elevator. When he finally made it to the ICU, there on bed 6 was his wife with a sheet pulled over her head. Dr. Paul Shockey was there to console him but Dr. Jermain just looked blandly at his lifeless wife and gave a sigh. There was that infamous #6 bed staring at him. The number six had claimed still another patient. It would be a long night for Dr. Jermaine. Chapter two Dr. Jermaine could not contain himself. After seeing two people die, who were close to him, he left the ICU and went outside the hospital building for a quiet walk to think things out. What had he done to deserve to lose two women in his life in a short time? Both in beds with the number 6 on them. He really was not a suspicious man but there had to be something wrong that he could not at this moment discern what it all meant. One patient dies after he had given her Adrenalin and the other after a cardiac shock. He had just gone a short distance when Dr. Paul Shockey caught up to him. "Listen Jermaine, I want you to know that I am truly sorry about your wife. If there is anything I can do, just ask." Thinking for a few seconds, Dr. Jermaine said, "Listen Paul, I may be a little psychotic about all this but I wonder if you can do me a favor. Did you know that a nurse by the name of Grace Beaumont just expired under much the same circumstances as my wife? Both were treated for a heart condition. I gave my wife a shot of Adrenalin and Grace was not given one. Grace died after another nurse stimulated her with the cardiac paddles. I would like to have both my wife and Grace Beaumont taken to autopsy and find out what really occurred." "I see no reason for the autopsy Jermaine. But if you think it would help you and give you peace of mind, sure I’ll go back and tell them to have it done." "Thanks Paul. I appreciate your concern. I just have a bad feeling about this." As Dr. Coulter turned around to head back to the hospital, the shrill sound of the warning siren sounded throughout the area... The siren sounded not only in Port Atlantis but also in every city on Calypso. Both Doctors knew this and knew its implications. Both ran back to the hospital and into the ER. What they faced was unexpected but it was the reason the sirens were sounded. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Terry Mason Esq., Assistant District Attorney for Port Atlantis called his sister Laurie to remind her of the birthday party for their parents that evening. He had learned from the hospital staff that she had worked late hours and went home to rest. What he heard over the phone were gasping pleas for help. It didn’t take him long to call the emergency ward of the hospital and tell them about his sister. An ambulance was dispatched and arrived in short time at Lauries’ apartment. No response was given to their repeated knocks on her door, so they forced themselves in and found her by her bed still unconscious. Quick checks were made for her life signs. Oxygen was given at two liters and a call was made to the hospital to speak to a Doctor about her condition. They were told to transport her as quickly as possible and to evaluate her condition constantly until they arrived at the emergency ward. Once there all checks were made for anything unusual. Blood samples were taken and rushed to pathology. All reports returned negative except for one small thing. It had almost gone unnoticed. In one of the blood samples that checked her Hemoglobin count there was a cell that could not be explained. It didn’t seem to be multiplying but pathology wanted to do a more in-depth test to make sure if it was a mutant cell or just something simple. For some unknown reason Laurie could not be revived. Their concern was not unfounded. They had heard the sirens earlier in the day and were still waiting to hear word as to what they were expected to do. They would not have to wait long. For the second time that day the sirens were sounded. This time they would not stop their constant whoop-whoop. Chapter 3 When Drs Jermaine and Shockey arrived at the ER they found to their surprise an influx of patients within the room. Every bed was taken and there were not enough nurses and interns to handle the patients that had arrived. The Triage nurse approached Dr. Shockey and gave him a rundown on the condition of most of the patients. Every one had symptoms of a heart attack. Dr. Jermaines’ first impulse was to head for the # 6 bed. When he got there he found a young man in white seemingly unconscious. He had a name plate pinned to his coat which read "George Tracey. He asked the triage nurse who he was. "Is this man an employee of our hospital?”, "No he isn’t but I understand he is assigned to an outpost outside of Port Atlantis", the Nurse replied. "Has anyone taken any blood samples from this man or anyone else that has arrived?” "Not that I know of but if you want it done I will call for Pathology to come down right away" "Don’t have anyone give these people any medication nor any type of resuscitation procedures. I want that blood sample and I want it quick", Dr. Jermaine said. “And do it to everyone who has just arrived during the alarm. And find out who George Tracy is. Is he a doctor or an intern or just a nurse or a medic? I have to know that right away". Dr. Jermaine went to the man’s bedside and listened to his heart with his stethoscope. But there were no sounds of any kind. "Damn!”, he yelled “this man is dead!" Dr. Shockey yelled from another bed and said the same thing. Both Dr’s went from bed to bed checking on everyone. What they learned was astounding. Most of the patients were in white clothes and all had name plates on them. Most were women with the exception of two men and one was George Tracy. They ran to the other man in white and soon learned that he too had expired. Out of the twenty or so patients who had arrived during the alarm, all had expired within a short time with the exception of two women. They were not dressed in white clothes, the first one to die was George Tracy in bed # 6 The last one to die was in bed # 16. The two women who were not identified yet and were dressed in street clothes were taken out of the ER and placed in ICU. They were being given IV’s that contained Saline solution and another that contained an antibiotic called "Coroplantacellix" It was a new drug that had just been introduced and it was the only outlet that the hospital had at the moment that they thought might help. Since it was developed on Island 22 by the special team of doctors dealing in unknown diseases, it had to be tried. Word had been sent to them about the rash of deaths occurring around Port Atlantis. Headquarters there sent a batch of the medicine to other cities and warned them about the recent outbreak of some unknown disease that was deadly. What was of more concern to all was the fact that an awful lot of those deaths occurred to people working in hospitals or associated with them. So the second alarm was sent to warn of this deadly situation and to react upon it with all the reserve that the hospitals had in all the various cities. At the rate of deaths that had occurred, there would most certainly be a shortage of personnel. If needed headquarters would send their specialists around calypso to get samples from the infected people to learn something about what was happening. Both Dr. Jermaine and Dr. Shockey worked hard and long into the night hours and were extremely exhausted. The first to notice that anything was wrong was Dr. Shockey. As he looked at Dr. Jermaine and saw that he was sort of wobbly on his feet and then without saying a word Dr. Jermaine slumped over and fell to the floor unconscious. It indeed had been a long night for him and had taken its toll. Was Dr. Shockey next? As he looked at Dr. Jermaine lying on the floor, a commotion was heard outside the hospital. Dr. Shockey yelled at a nurse to see what was happening. As she stepped to the door it burst open and inside came two Robots who seemed to know exactly what they wanted. They headed straight to the morgue and once inside they picked up Dr. Jermaines wife’s body and headed back outside and into a waiting spacecraft. It lifted off and was gone without a sound at a great rate of speed. Dr. Shockey stood in awe at the sight of the robots and the spacecraft as it went out of sight. What next he murmured to himself. That thought would haunt him for sometime. As he headed back to attend to Dr. Jermaine he yelled at a nurse to see who was taken from the morgue. With all the problems he faced, it didn’t occur to him to see who the robots were carrying. All the patients were tagged as they were put into the morgue so it was no wonder that the nurse could not possibly know who it was that the robots had taken. When she returned to tell Dr. Shockey that she had no idea who it was, he left Jermaine and went into the morgue to see for himself. As he was examining the names written on cards tied to the toes of the deceased, he could not find Marie Jermaine’s name. So it was Jermaines wife they took, but why? As he was pondering this, he heard the sounds of frightened people yelling and running about. Quickly Dr. Shockey ran back out of the morgue and sprinted down the hall leading to the ER. As he turned the last corner he saw the same sight he had seen before. Two Robots were carrying Dr. Jermaine out the door and into a space ship. "What in God’s name is going on here", he yelled. Quickly he ran to the doors only to see the space ship disappear from sight. First Marie Jermaine is taken and she was pronounced dead. And now her husband was taken. Was it a coincidence or was this something that these Aliens knew in advance. Dr. Shockey wanted answers but the one person who could have given him a clue had expired and her name was Grace Beaumont. chapter 4? Port Atlantis! The thriving hub of Calypso. It is an entry port for all new visitors. Just as any port of entry in any other place, visitors are assembled in a building where they are fingerprinted tagged with their names printed on a card pinned to their shirt or coat, and then herded toward a controller who asks questions about their intentions and then given a quick physical to make sure they are at the very least in good health and not carrying any viruses. Calypso accepts people from all over the world and of course there are language barriers. It is a veritable city of babble and cultures and dress. All are friendly and most make friends with people of their own language or same area of birth. The controller has his hands full when he greets a person who does not speak his language. With that in mind Headquarters has a man stationed behind the controller who is versed in most languages and interprets the new visitor’s language to the controller. Those who have a language that is not known are put aside and eventually taken to another building where there is someone there who speaks the newcomers tongue. But as always happens there will sometimes be confusion when the controller begins his interrogation of a new visitor and he or she can sometimes be disruptive causing confusion and sometimes leading to a few punches thrown So it was that "Alkiba", dressed in a galabia approached the controller and began speaking in is native Arabic tongue. Neither the controller nor the interpreter could understand this mans language. The room in which all the new arrivals were assembled was also a sort of variety shop. One could purchase trinkets of all kinds and get started in this new world. By hand signal, the controller tried to make Alkiba understand that he did not know his language and was trying to usher him to the other building. But Alkiba would have none of this. He began to speak in a rush of words that only confused the controller and made him a bit angry. The room was filled with new visitors and they were in aisles that contained cases of items for sale that were made of glass. The counter tops also were made of glass as was the counter in front of Alkiba facing the controller. Suddenly without warning, Alkiba sprung across the counter top and reached for the controller’s throat. He had both his strong hands around the controller’s neck and squeezed tightly chocking the breath out of the controller. A guard who was standing at the door turned to see what the fuss was all about. Then he leaped over two counters landed behind Alkiba and with his mob control club swung it at Alkiba. His first swing missed its target and smashed into the counter top shattering the glass making splinters fly over the room. His next swing caught Alkiba squarely on his head and as he toppled backward releasing his grip on the controller, the guard gave him a knee in his back and at the same time flipped him over his shoulder making Alkiba’s head hit the glass counter top behind the guard. Alkibas head was almost severed with the force of his body striking the glass. Behind that counter was another Arabic dressed in a pure white galabia, with a turban on his head that fitted like a crown over a veiled robe that draped his body. From under his robe, he produced a scimitar and swung it at the guard and decapitated him. Blood splattered all over from the guard and Alkiba. Most of the people rushed toward the front door to escape the mayhem occurring there. The controller was trying to get his breath back and yell for everyone to remain where they were and stop the stampede toward the door. But he couldn’t get a word out. So he pulled an EE-35 from his holster and began shooting. He didn’t aim at anyone. He just wanted to stop the confusion. But he only added to it. By the time he had finished emptying his revolver there was no one left standing in the room Finally it was all over and a sort of eerie quiet descended upon the room. That was broken by the sounds of sirens approaching the building. Ambulances pulled up near the doors entrance and medical personnel rushed inside to take care of the wounded. There were not many wounded left. Most were killed by either being trampled by the stampede or by the controller’s wild shooting. And of course the two Arabic men were also among the dead. Because of the strange dressing on the Arabic men they were taken to the hospital and sent to the pathology lab. The rest of the dead were all put in body bags and shipped to the morgue. The injured were bandaged and also sent to the ER at Port Atlantis General hospital. There were not many left alive. In fact there were only six. That number would once more come to haunt Dr. Shockey. Blood samples were taken from everyone, both the dead and the injured. The two Arabic men also had their blood sampled and the pathology lab had another surprise awaiting them. Once taken, they sent the blood to the lab for analysis. When they were through a call was put through to Dr. Shockey. "Want to hear something strange Dr Shockey"? The voice said over the phone. "Nothing I hear tonight will sound strange but what happened?" "You know that one cell we found on one of the patients we had tested earlier that we could not explain? Well it has reared its ugly head again. One of the patients from the melee that occurred at the visitors bureau has the same cell and this man is Arabic" Silence was all that was heard in the Pathology lab. "Dr. Shockey, are you still there"? "Yes I’m here and at this moment I am working on an injured person I’ll call you back when I have spare time". The person he was working on was in stall # 6. to be continued...