Chapter 24: Pity the Flu

[Li Violette]

"Off we go then." I say to Cephrien with a slight smile. We walk up the stairs to the Moderator's office. As we approach, I can see the dark figures of many people in the windows. I can hear them talking. I wait outside with Cephrien for a moment to catch what they are saying. Talking about a flu and vaccines and terrorism. Alright then, it seems I have missed a lot. I fix my hair a little and slowly open the door.

I peek inside before entering the room.

"Excuse my absence in such a critical moment. I was a little tied up. It was hard for me to return because all of the teleporation booths I encountered had been shut down. Thankfully my assistant there was able to aid me in my return."

I bow my head slightly and enter the room. What a full room it is! Calithin Crest, Dinari Dollar, the Master, the Moderator, that woman who works for Annette, Max Alexander, Keitoleinen....myself and now Cephrien.

[Bonifaz Artz-Lehrer]

"Fine. I'll tell you. I doubt you would turn me in to the Manalists anyway. So..." Bonifaz says. He leans back on his heels and puts his arms behind his back.

"Null, the group that I am involved with, stole a flu virus sample from my father's laboratory in Munich, Germany. We stole the virus called H5N4, or a slightly modified version of that basic strain. It is also called the Cat Flu since in an outbreak years ago it was transmitted from cats to people. In any event, we stole the virus and infected one of our members in an effort to stall the Eyes of God project. We felt that an epidemic would slow production of the Eyes and give us more time until its completion." Bonifaz explains.

"So, right about now....there are many people sick and the Manalists and their corporate sponsors are probably trying to figure out what to do about it. In short, they are weakened and less organized than usual."

He looks out the broken window of the Grocery store to collect his final thoughts.

"Now is the time to act. If you are going to do something ...do it now. Things are going to get a lot harder from now on if you don't."

[Ariel Tal Shachar]

"Hello Miss Speaker, good to see that you have returned and safely. To bring you up to speed on world events, there is a flu called H5N4 or Cat Flu spreading across the world. We are meeting right now to discuss what should be done. Thankfully, this flu has been studied by Artz Lehrer Pharmaceuticals, which has both a vaccine and anti viral drugs. The Master has also agreed to make Red Leaf available to the Blessed since he believes that it might also be effective against the disease. Unfortunately, we have had to shut down transportation and many work places across the world to prevent the spread of the disease. We also believe that it might be related to terrorism, as it likely began during Holy Week." Ariel explains. He hopes he isn't missing any major details. As for the person with her, he pays him little attention and assumes it is just one of her staff people.
"Thank you for assisting in the return of Li Violette. I sent the Invisible Hand to find her, but, many are sick right now so...obviously, they weren't as effective as normal." He says to Cephrien.

[Armin Lehrer]

"You did WHAT?!!!" Armin asks his half brother with complete shock and disgust. "You...could kill innocent people...you are doing more to hurt workers than to help them." Armin says quickly. He gets into a fit of coughing after.

He gets on the floor and holds his chest as he coughs. The coughs are hard and dry and turn his face red.

"I'm sorry but...terrorism is so wrong. People won't rally around that. It will make them miserable and do more harm than good."

[Li Violette]

"I tried to get information about the elf that took me hostage, but, he didn't say much at all. I have no idea what his intententions were. It is possible that the two things could be related. This elf did have something against the Manalists." I suggest. It is possible that the elf also unleashed this flu in Holy Week. I am not sure. He did try to kidnap me and also tried to ruin the events with the Ice Elemental.

I shrug lightly. At least it seems that people have been busy trying to stop the spread of the flu.

"Would you like me to give a speech about the flu?"

[Ariel Tal Shachar]

"You should give a speach at some point, but perhaps we need more facts and control over the situation. What do you think?" He asks the others. He turns to the business leaders in the room and is aware that this was a major failure on everyone's part.

"In the future, what could be done to prevent such disasterous things. It has been a long time since there has been any major act of terrorism. Perhaps we have grown lazy."

He puts his head down and thinks about the Master and what he must think of all this. The Manalists are against prescription drugs along with illegal drugs, so, he must feel very uncomfortable with the German company giving out so many drugs. However, the dispersement of Red Leaf should be enough to appease the Master.

[Bonifaz Artz-Lehrer]

Bonifaz is annoyed with his brother. When he is on the floor coughing he kicks Armin, but, not very hard. He isn't that malicious, just very annoys.

"Grow up. The Manalists and their supporters have been weakened. Yeah, people will suffer and die. But it's not like we gave everyone Ebola or Hanta Virus. The Manalists give people diseases like Annette Rosenthal Disorder and HGTV, so we're only playing their own game. There aren't any rules or morals in this game..." Bonifaz says in defense of their actions.

"Now, are you people going to sit here and be shocked and cry, or make the most of the situation."

[Salome Weil]

"I don't feel comfortable with the fact that you started an epidemic either. I agree that it hurts people more than helps them. However, I am sure you don't agree with our tactics either. What's done is done." I say, trying to be a voice of moderation here.

I glance over at Armin and feel bad for him. I walk over and put my hand on his back. "Maybe you should just rest. I'll let you know if anything is decided later..." I say to him.

"And...what do we do? If we only have a short time, we need to act quickly. It takes time to organize things. We can't do anything like a strike or protest, I think it would take too much time and effort. Anyway, the people aren't ready for stikes and are too afraid to protest..."

"Does anyone have any ideas?"

[Tristan Tuzanic]

Tristan had a few too many drinks and a little too much pizza at Trendy Pizza, but, a good local band was playing so it was worth his time. After a night of fun and socializing, he leaves to start walking to his home within the main temple of Helsinki. He walks slowly and bumps into things as he goes. He walks into light poles and garbages. At one point he even falls down onto the sidewalk, hurting both of his knees.

"Dammit..." He mutters to himself. He rubs his sore knees and stumbles as he gets up.
"That's gonna leave a bruise.."

[Horacio Hatfield]

"Since we are in Florida, maybe we could do something to Allwhere. Maybe we could organize a strike. Maybe if we made enough fliers we could tell people not to go into work, even after they are well. Afterall, many people might be at home if they are sick and it will be easier to distribute the fliers in neighborhoods than at work places." Horacio suggests. It's all that he can think of. He is also against the use of terrorism to make change, but, as Salome said, what's done is done.

"Some anarchists would agree with your actions. Unfortunately, both of us are not that kind. But, maybe in the future we can reach out to other kinds of anarchists and your actions would be received more warmly." Horacio says, trying to be kind to the nihilists.

"Even if we disagree, it is nice to have some nihilists and socialists at this meeting." Horacio adds, accidentally leaving out the Enlightened Brotherhood.

[Hilja Kukkanen/Sasha Pisarev]

As I am walking home from work, I notice a man stumbling in the street. He stumbles and falls on his knees and looks to be in pain. I think he looks familiar, but I don't remember him. Then again, I don't have the best memory. I rush over to him and help him up.

"Are you okay mister? Are you hurt?" I ask him. I can smell alcohol on him. I guess he must have been drinking. I don't care for drinking myself, but for some reason I feel bad for this person.

[Tristan Tuzanic]

"I'm never okay, and never will be." Tristan replies. He appreciates that someone is giving him attention. Most times, he would be ignored. He stands up taller and starts walking with the stranger.
He stumbles again, but this time on purpose. He pretends to fall of the sidewalk and hurt his ankle.
"I must look like such a fool. How embarassing. I've got to get rid of some of these bad habits."

[Hilja Kukkanen/Sasha Pisarev]

He seems like a very unhappy and negative person. "Oh well, everyone has habits that they have to work on." I say, trying to encourage him. "I don't drink...or smoke....or anything like that...but, I could excercise more and eat healthier. Everyone can improve in some ways." I say cheerfully. I wonder who he is or where he is going. But I feel very shy so I don'tbother to ask. I am always shy around new people anyway.

[Tristan Tuzanic]

"Heh, well, no one has problems like mine. I think, I've got the worst life out of everyone I know." Tristan says sadly, but somehow proudly at the same time. His mouth looks sad when he talks, but his eyes show something different. He pulls out a pack of cigarettes and lights one, smoking as he stumbles and walks. Without an invitation, he starts talking again.
"I've done a lot of bad things. But, no one's ever really cared about me. I've got some friends, but they don't know me. No one knows me. Life is hell and you're all alone." He says while smoking, but, he stumbles again and uses Hilja for balance. Unfortunately he uses the hand with the cigarette to grab Hilja and he leaves a small burn on her arm. However, he doesn't notice.

[Hilja Kukkanen/Sasha Pisarev]

"Ouch!" I shout when he accidentlaly burns my arm. It doesn't hurt that much but it is still a little surprising. I pull my arm away and look at the small red burn. I glance at the stranger and am curious about what kinds of bad things he has done. I am not even sure I want to know. But, I am a little curious.

"If you are lonely, I can be your friend. I don't have that many friends anyway. So, I can always use more. I'm Hilja." I say with a nod. I give a little smile, but he doesn't smile back.

"The world is bad for a lot of people. Everyone I know works very hard. Everyone I know has dreams that will never come true. It's the nature of this world to suffer."