The Beginning of the End Read Online Free PDF

bragged.
    Dr. Marcil motioned for
the men to enter through the steel door. Bob followed Sophie as he
was led through a maze of secured doors. Each door opened with a
different type of inner security system ranging from retina scanning
identification, to a simple key card with a numeric key pad. Bob was
impressed with the security features of the lab, “Doctor, you’ve
certainly done your homework on your security protocol, but why such
an elaborate system to protect a cure?”
    Dr. Marcil’s ears
perked up, “Ah, good question indeed Colonel. In our line of work,
we always need to be thinking of alternate possibilities.” He
tapped his index finger against his temple and pointed to the
ceiling, “MARIA, will you help us with the Colonel’s question?”
    “Of course Dr.
MarciI, it’s quite easy.” Bob peered up at the ceiling looking
for the voice again. “He who has all the power is king!” Bob
lifted an eyebrow to Dr. Marcil, giving him a, did I just miss
something look? The invisible speaker came on again, “Colonel
Aiken, please allow me to elaborate. What would you do if one of your
loved ones contracted a terrible disease and only one group of
individuals controlled the serum?”
    Without hesitation, Bob
said, “I suppose, I’d do just about anything to get my hands on
it.”
    “What if that same
group of individuals wanted to save it for themselves, fearing the
possibility of an outbreak among their own ranks, making them
unwilling to give to the needy for self-preservation?” Bob took a
deep breath and exhaled, “I don’t know what I’d do. I guess
whatever I had to.”
    Dr. Marcil looked at a
computer monitor sitting on a nearby desk, as though MARIA was a
material presence in the room, he asked, “Is that all you have to
say about it MARIA?”
    “No, Dr. Marcil. If I
may be allowed to expound on the subject further?” Dr. Marcil shot
Bob a smile, “By all means MARIA, let’s hear what you have to say
on the matter!”
    There was a short pause
as if MARIA was giving the illusion of thinking.
    “Colonel Aiken, there
is the possibility that the motive of some individuals is not to help
people, but to hurt them.” Bob looked at the ceiling as he spoke,
as if MARIA’s presence was now above him, “I don’t understand
how a cure could do anything but help people.”
    Again, after a short
pause, MARIA summed up her theory, “Colonel Aiken, what if it was
the intent of certain individuals to hurt an entire nation, like your
United States? They might be inclined to infect the population with a
disease, after having gained control of the disease’s serum, and
withhold the cure from nations other than their own. Although, in
this case, it would seem you may have already accidentally infected
yourselves, or have you?”
    Bob’s mouth fell
open. Had this been an accident, or was it some sort of terrorist
act? War was for soldiers, but terrorists didn’t care who they
killed. Bob supposed there wasn’t much difference between killing a
child and cutting off a man’s head on world television. In the end,
it was all about the body count!
    “Well MARIA, you
certainly brought up an interesting point!”
    Bob broke his stare
from the ceiling and moved to Dr. Marcil, “Please tell me that’s
not the case, Doctor!”
    Dr. Marcil tapped a
four-digit code into a key pad, and pulled open a large steel freezer
door, “Everything you need is in here.”
    The freezer door
opened, revealing a cooler as big as a football field. Both sides
lined with hundreds of brown cardboard boxes, each one was the size
of a dorm room refrigerator. Every box was stamped with large red
letters spelling out ZMAPP.
    Bob took a step into
the freezer and felt the fan blow the cool air over his face, “My
god Doctor. This is incredible!”
    Sophie stepped into the
cooler next to Bob, “Doctor Marcil and I have been preparing for
this day for the last ten years. This is half of our serum. The other
half is off site in a