Chapter 24: Pity the Flu

[Calithin Crest]

'Yes, I think that's really all you can do at this point... Is a quarantine. While your pharmaceutical people try to figure this whole thing out, you may want to temporarily re-locate your basic operations... To somewhere less... Contaminated perhaps. The show must go on, after all."

I am thoroughly disgusted by all this sickness. I can't help but wear a perturbed look on my face and in general I feel very disconcerted. I wonder vaguely what the Manalists will do about this whole mess... If anything.

"Well, I guess on the bright side... There IS a population problem... And this may help to alleviate that."

I try to be positive at all times.

[Archer Aylmer]

"Oh my... A member of the Enlightened Brotherhood riddled with the debris of nature... Who would ever have thought. I bet you care about animals, too."

I roll my eyes and finish up my drawings on Armin, adding some finishing touches. I think his appearance has been dramatically improved.

"There. Stunning."

I yawn and slump down into the couch. I have terrible posture, but... Somehow I get the feeling this group of people won't mind too much.

[Linnea Korpela]

'ouch, my head,' Linnea grumbles before she opened her eyes. "Where am I?"
Slowly she gets up and looks around.
"Did I even make it to Cuba?"
SHe remembers that she was going on vacation with a friend, but she couldn't remember who.
"I better have a look around....I need to fine out where I am."

[Bambi Engel]

Ooh, she felt amazing. She'd felt so tired before, but now? Now she felt as if her very blood was pulsing in her veins, energy radiating through every pore. No experience existed in her memory that could possibly be linked to this- besides, perhaps, a bath.

Yes! That was what it was like! Being bathed in relaxing warmth... except, she couldn't be in the bathtub. Bambi's eyelids flickered, her fingers twitching as her brain kick-started. Bolting upright, adrenaline quickly replaced whatever she had been experiencing previously. Her eyes were greeted by a small room silhouetted by... the sparking of a broken television set.

Stumbling back from the set with energy hardly befitting one who'd just woken in a strange place, she panted as her heart pounded. She'd been asleep near that! She could've died if she hadn't woken up. Using the wall for aid, she slowly climbed to her feet.

"Safe (for now), no need to panic." The confused accountant repeated the phrase. She had to figure out where she was. She remembered the Gladiator fights, talking to Peter, and returning early as she begun to feel sick. Her body had felt so drained. Had she stumbled around in blind illness and ended up here?

Spotting the door, Bambi figured there was only one way to find out. Sunlight flooded the room as soon as she opened the door. She took a moment to let her eyes adjust before walking out onto the street. Moving down the street, she kept her eyes out for a teleportation booth. Unsurprisingly, her largest worry was the possibility she missed work.

[Momo Kurokawa]

Momo tries to get in contact with her son Genki, but to no avail. She returns to her office in Tokyo and is met with worried management staff. It seems that the epidemic flu is spreading across her workers at several factories and labs.

Momo takes off her glasses and rubs her eyes. She's been working extra hard since the announcement of the Eyes of God, trying to give support to Genetech and other companies involved. She has also been busy trying to oversee the rebuilding of parts of Japan after the great tsunami.

She doesn't need this, but, there's no time for complaints or stress.

"I will call in some doctors to see what's going on. In the meantime, everyone can have the next few days off." Momo orders. She'll lose a lot of money, but, production will be lower anyway if everyone is sick.

After these orders, she gets on the phone, making calls to the Moderator as well as a couple doctors who are in hiding.

[Horacio Hatfield]

Horacio welcomes the smelly newcomer into his home and takes a seat in the living room with Bonifaz, Archer, Armin, and Attis. He sips tea out of a cracked mug and smiles politely at his guests.
"Ah, well, let's get to business then. I believe we were in the middle of trying to figure out a name for our group. I'm open to any suggestions." Horacio says kindly. He smiles and takes a sip of his tea.
"And perhaps we could discuss what the purpose of the new anarchist group should be...what the focus is anyway. Much of the world is without a government anyway...in the old fashioned sense of a state. There might be some theoretical issues to discuss.."

[Jumala Keitoleinen]

Keitoleinen remains in Rome long enough to watch the Ice Elemental demolish buildings and create panic and chaos. He chuckles to himself and wishes that the Ice Elemental would have been used in the Gladiator fights in Rome. He laughs, and is amused until it is defeated...but not without the efforts of numerous Priests and Manalist soldiers. Even then, those fighting for the Manalists seem like puny, powerless ants.

After Keitoleinen returns to Helsinki, he checks in with Sota, only to learn that many of his staff and workers have fallen ill. Some have even been hospitalized in one of the secret hospitals in Helsinki.

Keitoleinen feels that someone is thwarting him. Perhaps it was Genetech. Maybe they unleashed this disease upon his company. It seems that everyone wants what he has these days. Or, another likely enemy would be Momo...perhaps she is upset over that little Tsunami he sent her way.

Keitoleinen frowns and isn't sure how to handle the situation. He could send a natural disaster their way, but, he's trying to be....low key.

A staff person suggests that maybe he call the Moderator. He follows that advice, leaving an angry message...

[Annette Rosenthal]

Annette thanks Annika and heads to her office at Global Bank. She has a slight fever and is feeling washed out. Even the Creditors, who are less attuned to such things, can tell that she looks pale and tired. Annette has so much work to do that she can't rest now. She wasted a whole week in Rome and now it is time to return to business as usual. Her desk is full of reports to review and messages.

After two hours of filing through the paperwork, Annette falls asleep at her desk. She starts snoring...an awful, loud, congested snore. It blows the papers nearest to her face up and down as she breathes heavily.

[Hilja Kukkanen/Sasha Pisarev]

Although I've been sick for the past few days, I struggle to get up and go to work at the orphanage in Helsinki...one of a couple jobs that I am involved in. When I arrive, I find that everyone is sick. The children are sleeping in their rooms and the staff are slumped over the furnishings with exhausted expressions on their faces. I take a seat on the old brown couch and wonder what's going on.

Maybe it's flu season. I guess bugs just move around....especially in a place like this. I rest my head on the arm of the couch and dose off myself..

[Ariel Tal Shachar]

The Moderator has been recieving numerous calls all day about the flu impacting different companies. It seems it for the moment is confined to Genetech, Allmart, Sota, Intelligent Design, and a few small ones. It makes sense that the companies with close ties would have spread the illness to each other through meetings and what not, but, it is still very concerning. The illness has caused a slow down of production in all of the largest companies....which at the worst could lead to shortages in some areas if prolonged. He also notes that it will stall the completion of the Eyes of God.

It's been a stressful week. He sends a memo to The Speaker that she should contact the companies and inform them to quarantine at once. However, she doesn't answer. He is soon informed that she has been kidnapped.

He could pull his hair out, but, as always he remains calm. He dispatches the Invisible Hand to try to find her.

The Moderator also contacts Genetech, since they are probably the best able to determine the nature of the epidemic and perhaps find a vaccine.

[Dinari Dollar]

Dinari calls for some of the experts in his pharmacy department of Allmart and also calls the Moderator. After a short conversation with the Moderator's secretary, Dinari learns that various other companies are also having problems with an unknown flu. Dinari isn't sure what to make of the situation, but it seems dire.

"Yeah, I guess a lot of people are sick right now at different companies. Maybe you should check to see if anyone from your company is sick. I heard that Sota and Intelligent Design have a bunch of sick workers." Dinari states to Calithin. He knits his eye brows as he tries to understand the situation.

"But, maybe it isn't a big deal. I mean...it seems like some kind of cold or flu. That's all..."

[Attis Svoboda]

Attis ignores the snide remark and pays attention to Horacio. "The best action is to do nothing at all. By acting it only makes things worse. Things resolve themselves. Everyone is too obsessed with action. It's a very Western thing." Attis states with his eyes closed. He appears to be napping, and is quite relaxed looking.

Secretly he is bothered by the nihilist who insulted him as cliche. How dare he? But, Attis reasons that he has been misunderstood all of his life and it is part of ...being different and superior to others.

[Kith Keitoleinen]

Kith arrives in Cuba with Linnea, who seems a little out of it. Even he feels a little confused...as though he's been in a vacuum or a cave. He shakes his head and adjusts to the new climate. He immediately feels hot in his black trench coat. He takes it off and wipes his head. He also takes a moment to check his phone messages...and sees that Li Violette was taken hostage. However, he isn't sure if there is much that he can do right now to help her.

He stares at the message for a long time and looks visibly upset. He tries to hide this.

"Well, here we are. I haven't had a vacation in some time. My luck, I'll get called off to do something..." He says ominously. "But, maybe I can enjoy some time here..."

[Amelia 20]

Amelia finally makes it to Horacio's home and takes a seat in the living room with the others. Since the encounter with Chaos, she has been less erratic and more quiet. Keeping with this new norm, she quietly watches as the anarchists and others discuss their plans to organize or not organize. A part of her senses that she doesn't belong there, but, she stays anyway, since she would no longer fit in with the Creditors and if she returned, she would be deactivated and disposed of. She maintains some sense of self preservation.

[Max Alexander]

((OCC: Anyone wants to join in with me, let me know!))

Max stormed into his office and tossed a manilla folder filled with papers onto his desk. He sat down into his seat quickly and turned to his computer, checking his email.

His life had been hectic lately and he had no idea what to do. WOrk issues were piling up, and personal issues were getting right up there. With this 'flu' spreading, his news station had to cover it all. And that was getting hard when employees were calling in sick. He had just about had enough of it all.