The Last Blade Of Grass (34 page)

“And who are you at this ranch?” a man asks.

“I am the caretaker. I took care of the animals and did the gardening before everything went to hell and pretty much still do it now. We call it the ranch, but as you know from the description, it is a former horse stable that Mr. Keeper bought and converted into a survival training center.”

“And Eddie had nothing to do with this?” Dave asks in a sarcastic tone.

“We aren’t the bad guys, Dave,” I reply. “We are just trying to survive and keep as many people alive as possible at the same time. You all know that a bad attitude can be as deadly as a bullet sometimes, and we just don’t need a dick like you causing us grief. I trust the judgment of everyone at the ranch, and when it comes to the six people Arthur put on the list, you just aren’t trustworthy enough to risk our lives for.”

One of the women from the list starts crying and walks off. Then the whole group breaks up and goes in different directions.

Mike comes up to me as everyone is walking away, and says, “You need to put guards on those people on the list.”

“You think so?”

“Yes. You just sentenced them to death, and they know it. The woman that was crying won’t be an issue, but the other five looked pretty pissed. Those people are like the jocks at my old school. They enjoy being assholes, but they hate being called out on it. You just embarrassed them, and they are going to try to get back at us if they can.”

I like how he says
us
. Mike is identifying himself as part of our group. “You’re right Mike. They really don’t have anything to lose by hurting us now. I would like you to get Hannah and some of the other kids your age to follow them closely, but there’s a larger issue that you need to understand. Those people won’t be coming to the farm because we think they are already potential threats. I don’t let potential threats live so they can come back and harm us later. Do you understand?”

“You plan on killing them before we leave?”

“Yes.”

“What about anyone that chooses to stay on their own?”

“Those people we will leave supplies for and let them go their own way. I don’t want to be a dictator that kills everyone that doesn’t follow me. I just want to eliminate any obvious potential threats.”

“And you want me and Hannah to follow these five and…”

“No, no, I don’t want you to kill them. I want you to make sure they don’t hurt anyone else. Don’t let them sabotage the trucks, set any fires, open doors to let the infected in, that type of thing. I will kill them when the time comes.”

“And you’re trusting me with this information? Why?”

“You said five of those people were going to try and get back at us. You said ‘
us
,’ including yourself in our group. I know our group isn’t perfect, and my planning on killing those people is extreme, but I think you understand what the stakes for safety and survival are these days. You have to know going forward what I am capable of and what type of man I am if you choose to stay with us. You should also know that I do not consider you a threat to our safety, so if you choose to go, there will be no firing squad or even ill feelings on my end.”

He looks at me for a moment, contemplating what I’ve said, and says, “I’ll find Hannah and start watching those people.” Then he walks off.

“Mike has a solid head on his shoulders,” I say to Simone. “I’m amazed at how he’s reacting to all of this, especially me.”

Simone whispers in my ear, “He told Hannah that he had wanted to kill his father when his mom got kicked out of the tree. He wanted to but couldn’t bring himself to do it. If you hadn’t killed his father, I think Mike would have after his mother died.”

“That’s a little disturbing, but I guess I understand it.”

*

“The trucks are loaded and ready to go,” Donald calls from the door to the back room.

I turn to Arthur, and ask, “How many people are staying here when we leave?”

“None,” he replies. “Last night when I was speaking with them, there were several that were considering going their own way. I think that talk you gave about their odds changed everyone’s mind, though.”

“I’m glad this whole ordeal is over. I can’t wait to get back home. So how many extra people do we have?”

Arthur is about to tell me when someone yells for me from the front of the store and someone else yells, “All shooters to the store entrance.”

We all run up to the front and look out the doors between the shelf barricades we had set up. At the end of the parking lot I see two large pickups and three Hummer H1s, along with about twenty well-armed men. I recognize two of the men standing front and center and realize we won’t be going home any time soon. It looks like this ordeal isn’t actually over, it is just beginning.

Addendum

The Road to Hell

The Proposal

“Toxoplasmosis. The parasitic disease that is associated with cats, but is common in undercooked meat of pork, lamb, and venison. That is the area I propose to study,” said Erde Fleischer, the German biopharmaceutical researcher, hoping to get grants for study from the Umfeld Corporation CFO and board.

The Umfeld Corporation is the most generous contributor to the research university Erde was recently hired at. His work in biopharmacy so far has all been aimed at reducing anxiety and fear related ailments from the world through medicinal creations. His current pursuit, and what could be considered his crowning achievement in helping to improve the lives of people in this world, is to find a way to remove aggression. He has expanded his work into the realm of bacterial, parasitic, and viral genomic engineering.

He continues addressing the board assembled before him. “It is my belief that through the study and testing of the effects of the Toxoplasmosis parasitic disease, and discovering and controlling the parts of its genome which exhibit the apparent calming effect it has on rodentia in respect to
Felis silvestris catus
or the common cat, we should be able to reprogram the parasites genome which will enable the treatment of extreme and disabling aggression in humans. This will enable us to potentially turn large portions of the incarcerated prison population to rehabilitated, fully functioning and trustworthy members of society. That is my proposal gentlemen.” And Erde returns to his seat.

One of the board members, August Trauerfall, an unassuming man that holds considerable weight with this particular board because of his connections to Germany’s and several other nations’ military complexes, asks Erde the only questions for the board. “Dr. Fleischer? What I am going to ask you I have read in your proposal booklet in front of us, but I would like to hear from you concisely these few things. First, what is your projected time frame for converting your studies from mice into higher mammals? And second, what is a more precise monetary outlay you feel would be what you need to get this study on its way and to completion?”

Good
, Erde thinks. I am happy to hear a question of how much money would be needed. From my experience in requesting funds for research, if no mention is made on the outlay of costs, there isn’t a realistic consideration being given to a proposal. Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about this Mr. Trauerfall and do not believe he has much influence with the board. At least I have never heard him referred to by the other Scientists or researchers during their grant request hearings.

              “Thank you for your question, Mr. Trauerfall. If the project is able to move forward, we are looking at a two or three year time frame to reach the study of larger mammals, such as apes. The first year we are looking at an outlay of twenty-five thousand Euros or twenty-five thousand Marks, depending on whether the Euro is still in circulation when project approval occurs. This small first year outlay is due primarily to student compiling of previous studies. There is a plethora of information and studies on various rodentia and the effects of
Toxoplasma gondii
parasites. We need to use the first year to continue our compilation of all the research into how the disease affects the rodentia. Running through a small portion of these studies is what led me to my proposal.”

“The second year would be an outlay of seventy-five thousand Marks to do behavioral specific testing on our own rodentia, to fine tune the information compiled by previous studies.” Mr. Trauerfall is looking at me intently, but I can see none of the other board members seem particularly interested in what I am saying. Why isn’t Mr. Bauer, the CFO, or Mr. Faust, the Director of the board, paying attention? They are getting restless.

“The third year will either be led by some refining testing of rodentia, costing from twenty-five thousand to fifty thousand Marks. Or it will be led directly by larger mammal studies which, due to longevity issues of the mammals involved, would run approximately two hundred fifty thousand to three hundred fifty thousand Marks.”

That got everyone’s attention. I could actually see several of them recoil from the amount being proposed, I need to close this. “However, the potential cost benefit if we are successful in reforming the violent and preventing incarceration recidivism could reach hundreds of millions of Marks in Germany alone per year.” That got them back. I can see the smiles and head nods. Good.

“Thank you, Dr. Fleischer,” says Mr. Faust. “We will contact you shortly to let you know what the board’s decision is.”

“Thank you, gentlemen, and good day.”

Once the boardroom door closes behind Dr. Fleischer, there is a general murmur among the members, with several of them chuckling at the idealism of the proposal Fleischer had presented. “How are we to tell our members that we are spending company money to study rats and mice in the hope that we can let criminals walk the streets among them?” General laughter ensues.

It is Mr. Trauerfall that quickly silences the crowd by stating simply, “I approve funds for this study.” The shocked looks turn from Trauerfall, to Mr. Faust and Mr. Bauer, both of whom were also enjoying a good laugh and simply shrugged their shoulders at the questioning looks of the others.

“Gentlemen,” addresses Mr. Trauerfall. “Consider the potential military or even non-military purposes for a parasitic infection or medicine derived from it that can calm aggressive individuals. Aside from inoculations or treatments for the aggressive individuals Dr. Fleischer wishes to help, perhaps a version of this could be developed that could be used to calm rioters. Or used to drop into a war zone to render an opposing military’s troops inert by making them unwilling to fight. This may or may not be a public or generally commercially viable research study, but it is a study with extreme potential to provide our company with a large financial benefit.”

“Best of all, if the research looks to be heading nowhere with the rodentia, it will definitely not progress to the larger mammal stage, which is where the significant outlays of capital are required.”

The Research

After one and a half years of reviewing other studies and completing his own multiple studies on the effects of toxoplasmosis on mice, rats, and rabbits, Dr. Fleischer is happy to have conclusive and corroborated evidence that the disease changes the chemical fear response in the rodentia studied to make them respond to cat signs and odors in a positive way. He is reporting his findings directly to the original board member, Mr. Trauerfell, who approved the funding for his studies.

“Mr. Trauerfell, not only did I reinforce the original findings, but with some slight modification to the parasites genetic makeup, we were already able to change the lack of aversion in the rodentia to an actively seeking out of
Felis silvestris catus
by said rodentia. As I mentioned in my earlier reports, it isn’t exactly the loss of aggression that seems to be the basis for the rodent behavior but actually a loss of fear. In certain cases, we have observed the rodents lose all aggression but in most circumstances the rodents, regardless of species, fought to remain alive when the cats pounced on them and or began to eat them. They would fight until they were technically dead. But in some instances we noted no survival instincts remaining, no attempt to fight off the attack, and no returned aggression.

“I believe this will allow us to move forward in two possible directions for the remaining half of the year with further studies warranted on the rodentia. First, to pursue the pathways and genomic markers responsible for the lack of aggression. To be one hundred percent certain that the changes made to the parasite’s genome are responsible for that lack of aggression. Second, to pursue the changes controlling the loss of fear response. This could also be beneficial in development of possible medications to reduce anxiety for the population, which was one of my areas of specialty before this specific undertaking.

“Of course, taking our research into two different areas would necessarily increase the cost associated with the work we are doing. So I leave it to you, Mr. Trauerfell, to decide which course you and the board members feel is more vital to pursue, or if you believe both courses might both be beneficial.”

Mr. Trauerfell is a happy man today. He has been following Dr. Fleischer’s research very closely and has been told that the defense ministry is particularly interested in the project, as it has multiple facets that could, “Benefit the general defense of this nation and humanity in general,” as it was put. There is a large grant of funds going through the Umfeld Corporation to directly benefit Dr. Fleischer’s research, but not just on the two branches he believes to be beneficial.

“Dr. Fleischer, I am pleased to tell you that we are approving not just the fear and aggression portion of your research as two viable programs, but a third as well.”

This had not occurred to Erde to even ask for it. He knew there were many parts of his research into this one simple disease that had the potential to be a financial gain to the company in the pursuit of new medicines and treatments. But companies are usually more cautious to pursue one course at a time, to ensure not too much capital is lost on any one venture. Caution with capital outlays is especially prevalent in these days with the economy slowing again. Almost too excitedly, Erde asks, “Which other direction did you want me to study?”

“The loss of a pain response, Dr. Fleischer. Your reports indicated that with the rodentia there was a lack of pain response while they were being consumed by the cats, as well as in the live dissections. Not just with the cases that had a loss of aggression. But it seemed in your report to suggest that the rodents were able to fight and remain alive long after they had lost several limbs. Also in certain cases it was reported that a lack of blood loss and no vocal response occurred when the limbs were lost. I’m sure you can imagine how beneficial any medical treatment would be if it prevented blood loss, or pain, or even the response to pain. Take for example simple surgery. If something we could develop were able to replace modern anesthetics. Something simpler, more effective with potentially fewer side effects. It could re-revolutionize modern medicine.”

And
, August thinks,
beyond our companies benefit in the medical market, if we could combine a lack of fear, lack of pain response, lack of blood loss into a package for the military, we could potentially never lose another life in war and all become billionaires in the process
.

“Because your research is looking so promising, you will be taking over building C and the rest of this building as well for your research, Dr. Fleischer.”

To this Erde is truly surprised. He knows the various forms of flu research being done in the next building over have been quite successful for the company as well. But he doesn’t interrupt Mr. Trauerfell.

“Dr. Schwartz and his research assistants are being absorbed under you. His research was not progressing with as positive a potential outcome as yours, so we felt to prevent a disruption in continuity, it would be best if we could absorb him into your work rather than move you to a larger facility. He will actually be receiving an increase in his benefits package to assist with the disappointment we are sure he will feel at the loss of his own research. Please let us know if there is any animosity or difficulty in working with Dr. Schwartz, as we want your research to proceed without any molestation or interruption. Do you have any questions for me or for the rest of the board?”

“No sir. And thank you.”

Preliminary Results and Direction Change

Four months later, the projects are ready to move onto larger mammal testing. Dr. Fleischer is addressing the full board of the Umfeld Corp. plus one new member once again to explain his findings. The board is all smiles this day but none as self-assured as Mr. Trauerfell.

“As you can see by the graphs I have just shown you and in the reports provided. We have been able to modify or re-write the genetic markers of this particular parasite to control the rodentia in ways even I thought would not be possible in such a short time. It was my colleague, Dr. Schwartz, who recommended we focus our efforts on removing the genetic markers that seem to interfere with the parasite’s natural disposition to control behavioral aspects of its hosts. Once we did this the research unfolded at the tremendous pace you see before you. Of course I must add that had this board not provided such an unprecedented amount of support for our research, we might not have arrived at this point for several more years. So thank you for your current and ongoing support in this project.”

The board’s director, Mr. Faust, is the first gentleman with questions today. Mr. Trauerfell is well versed in the research and knows every facet of possibility with where it is headed, but only let on to a few of the more tantalizingly profitable ones to the rest of the board.

“I understand you were able to have the mice in separate tests—display no fear to the cats, express no measurable pain when being dissected, and remove aggression, essentially the fight response from these mice? Is that right?”

“Yes, Mr. Faust, we were. As well as those effects we also observed a lack of blood loss due to extreme vasoconstrictions. And we were also able to mix the results in various combinations with each other. We have several cases in which our veterinary surgeon performed almost total dissections after the fear, pain, and blood loss mechanisms were altered by the parasite, and he was able to re-attach the limbs and organs after the dissection to have the rabbits continue to live.