Chapter 24: Pity the Flu

[Ariel Tal Shachar]

"Very well, get to mass producing this vaccine. I suppose then that we lucked out that this was an outbreak of an influenza that has already been studied." Ariel replies to Frederick after he dispenses the vaccine. Ariel inhales some vaccine himself and grabs a vile of the flu medication for Annette Rosenthal. "Bambi, since you work for Annette, perhaps you would be so kind as to drop off the Influ-vir to Annette. Perhaps it will aid in her recovery." He suggests.

"As for your thoughts about the economy, it is true Calithin. This is not an insufferable set back, but, it will reduce travel and production as a whole in many sectors of the economy. Perhaps then...the best thing you can do is try to find ways to profit off of the disaster. Obviously, Artz Lehrer Pharmceuticals and Genetech could stand to prosper from this. There must be ways for other companies to make the most of this situation." The Moderator suggests, but he can't think of any off the top of his head.

He makes a call to Genetech ordering increased harvesting of Red Leaf to be distributed to the temples and given to the Blessed. This gives him a short pause to consider how the businesses can make the most of the situation.

"If nothing else, following this flu, perhaps you should expand more aggressively. Maybe the realm of Allwhere could be expanded beyond Florida and Cuba. Perhaps more money could be invested in exploring new mining sites for Manala crystals." Ariel suggests.

"Following the flu, to make up for lost time due to sickness, perhaps workers can do 12 -16 hr shifts." He adds.

[Dinari Dollar]

"Cool. I was already planning on expanding my company into Georgia. I was even going to ask the help of Countess Cola in my plan." Dinari says happily. "I think development in Cuba has gone really well too. Hopefully this flu thing isn't that bad." Dinari says before sitting down on one of the chairs in the corner. The office is pretty crowded now and smells foul on account of Master Scrag. He isn't sure why they have to appease him, but, the Manalists are pretty powerful unto themselves. So....they have to do what they have to do.

"But what about the terrorism thing? Do you guys still think that it was terrorists?" Dinari asks.

[Armin Lehrer]

Armin wakes up under the counter and feels even sicker than he did the day previous. It has been over a week, but the flu is relentless. He struggles to get up, but the sound of Salome's cleaning prevents him from sleeping. Finally, he gets up and walks over to Salome.

"The place looks great....let me help you.." Armin suggests. He takes the broom and despite his chest congestion, he starts helping her sweep up the store.

[Jumala Keitoleinen]

Keitoleinen struggles to think of how his company could gain or at least come out even during these difficult times. His company makes machines and weapons, which is something based on contracts and the needs of other companies. "I suppose I could use this as an opportunity to get rid of some old inventory. Companies may need automated labor to replace sick workers." Keitoleinen considers. "But after this, it is really up to the ..state of the world to determine if there is demand for Sota's projects. We would need more wars or conflicts...and currently, things are fairly peaceful. That...and unlike many of you, we compete with Genetech and Intelligent Design in some areas..."

[Salome Weil]

"Armin don't over work yourself. You look terrible. Here..." I grab the broom from him and walk him over to the old manager's office, which still has a desk and a chair. "Just sit down and rest for a while..."

I put my head on his forehead. It doesn't feel warm right now. "Hmm....maybe you should just ask Attis for some Red Leaf. I took some and it seemed to help me a lot. I feel much better today."

[Armin Lehrer]

"Nah, I'm okay. I'm just a drug free kind of guy. Maybe if I just rest I'll feel better." Armin replies to Salome. He is half tempted to give in and try some Red Leaf, but, he has abstained from drugs all of his life. If he made and exception, he wouldn't be the same person. He is proud of the fact that he has never done drugs. Anyway, Red Leaf is the drug of the Manalists. He thinks there is something wrong with taking it in that it could support that religion.
He does however sit down in the musty, but comfortable seat in the room.

[Salome Weil]

"Suit yourself. But, there is nothing wrong with taking a drug. It is only the Manalists who lead people to believe that. You don't believe that taking a perscription drug is wrong, right? Well, there is no difference." I try to reason with him.

"But I respect how you feel. I am not into drugs myself. However, it is certainly better than suffering through an illness!"

[Heikki Toivonen]

Heikki gets a message from Bonifaz to tell Frederick that he is on vacation. Heikki isn't sure what to do because he already told Frederick that Bonifaz is sick. Heikki changes back into his regular clothes, but isn't sure what to do. He is afraid that Frederick will come over later as he searches for Bonifaz.

There is little that Heikki can do, so after pacing around, he makes himself a cheese sandwich and lays down on the couch in the living room. Since he is still sick, he soon falls asleep.

[Kasper Schultz]

Kasper naturally wakes up early, so, he was actually up before Salome started cleaning. Since he got up early, he decided to find some food for them. He found a river nearby and cut up his jacket to make a net. He was able to net some fish and build a fire outside. He cooked several to share.

"Good morning everyone!" Kasper announces, even though many people are still sleeping. "I made fish for everyone!" He says proudly.

He wanders to the back of the grocery store and sees Armin talking to Salome. "It's no use talking to him. He'd rather die than use Red Leaf." Kasper states, rolling his eyes.

"Wake up, wake up, everyone wake up!!" Kasper shouts at the sleepers.

[Master Scrag]

"If terrorists are behind this, then, the Manalists would like the privilege of punishing them." The Master announces to Ariel and the others in the room. He folds his arms across his chest. His garments, which look like they are made of rotten vegetation, shift. This causes his foul smell to waft across the room once more.

"If your company is the only one with this flu, then how did it spread into society?" The Master asks Rommel. He squints his wrinkled face to focus on the unpopular Germany business owner.

[Bonifaz Artz-Lehrer]

Bonifaz feels very annoyed by being awoken by the noise of cleaning and the loud, unpleasant voice of Kasper Schultz. He gets up and brushes the dust off of his clothes. Since everyone is waking up, he decides they had better discuss business again.

"Okay, so you came up with a name...or three names...whatever. So, maybe you should start thinking about tactics. You DO plan on doing more than just talking right?" Bonifaz asks the anarchists and others. He takes a fish from Kasper and starts eating it. Fish isn't his favorite food, but he isn't going to complain.

[Ariel Tal Shachar]

"There was an outbreak of a similar flu 30 years ago. It was at one time a flu that only cats would suffer. However, 30 years ago, there was a small outbreak of a cat to human flu. The flu at our labs originated from the outbreak 30 years ago. We used it to test various anti viral medications. It is possible that it was a natural outbreak starting with a cat, like the one 30 years ago. Or, it could have originated from our labs." Frederick admits. He doesn't want to believe the latter. "Obviously it isn't in my interest to spread an unpredictable disease which has caused illness even within my company. Our labs are very secure. No one has access except employees. Therefore, I believe it originated on its own...in cats." Frederick explains. "Perhaps if there was an international organization to monitor diseases, it would be easier to track these things. But, you don't even know where the first cases were. If I were in your shoes, I would try to make a timeline of reported illnesses. Knowing who got sick first would help you understand if it was a natural outbreak or something more sinister."

Rommel folds his arms and waits for everyone's reaction. He knows it must seem rather suspicious, but he knows that he is innocent that and no one in his company would unleash this disease. Even so, it goes to show a weakness amongst the Manalists and the Economic Council if they can't control or understand the situation.

Ariel recognizes that Rommel seems very suspicious, but, he also has a hard time believing that Frederick would unleash the disease to make a profit. "I will work on gathering the information to create a timeline."

Ariel turns to Dinari, Calithin, Max, and Bambi. "One what day or what time did you come to learn that your workers were infected? Do you recall any details as to who or where was the first to become ill?

[††Venice "Cephrien" Ashgrove††]

(( To Li Violette ))

Ceph had decided to stay in his disguised appearance for awhile longer.. things were still heated from the events at the arena. Manalist soldiers were still searching for any sign of him. He had left his other clothes back at his place and had gotten a new pair of Sub Machine guns along the way-- since his old pair had been taken when he was captured. He is there to witness the attack of the Ice Creature upon the celebration parade. He had gone in amongst the chaos to try and find his leader, Li Violette.. but unfortunately, she had already disappeared. Without any traces to find her, he had given up and hoped that she had gotten out safely.

Unfortunately, soon after the event, Cephrien had learned that Violette had been kidnapped. A twinge of concern left-hooked his conscience.. but at least he knew that she was alive. Despite her appearance, Li was no delicate little flower-- Ceph knew that.. So he was sure that she had found a way to escape by now. But as her servant, he was oblidged to find her to insure her safety.
As he stood upon one of Rome's building rooftops, he used his cell-phone to dial her number and call her.

He quietly awaited for her answering.

[Horacio Hatfield]

Horacio takes a fish and cuts it up to share it, since he isn't sure that there is enough fish for everyone. He takes a seat on the floor and eats his fish. He is a messy eater and with his appearance, he looks something like a monster.
"I think the anarchists should contribute to the socialist newspaper, Rebel Action, so that the voice of anarchists can be heard. I also think we need to have "Rebel Schools" or free schools where people can learn how to read or about history. We need to educate people so they can better understand the world and what they can do about it. Education is a major barrier." Horacio states in response to Bonifaz's question.

[Salome Weil]

"That's a very good idea Horacio. I'm all for that. Maybe we could have some community gardens. People often don't have enough food, so having a garden could be a way to bring people together in a productive non threating way. Then, while gardening, we could have meetings and teach the people important things. It would be a good guise for our activites." I suggest as well.

"It might be nice to someday have a commune of some sort. Where we can all work and live together. I bet we could even have a commune right here....it isn't developed and it is far enough away from Allwhere to be safe."