Each Tuesday, rather than a POSSIBLY
IRRITATING ESSAY, I'd like to both challenge you and lend a helping hand. I
generate more speculative and teen story ideas than I can ever use. My family rolls
its collective eyes when I say, "Hang on a second! I just have to write
down this idea..." Here, I'll include the initial inspiration (quote,
website, podcast, etc.) and then a thought or two that came to mind. These will
simply be seeds -- plant, nurture, fertilize, chemically treat, irradiate, test
or stress them as you see fit. I only ask if you let me know if anything comes
of them.
Current
Event: https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/20/health/fda-approves-first-ever-vaccine-ebola-virus/index.html
Mamadou
Zakuani scowled at the health worker. Finally he said, “The people here think
that the vaccine with turn them into zombies.”
The
woman from the UN World Health Organization laughed out loud, but had the grace
to clap her hand over her mouth, muttering, “Sorry. It’s just…”
Harper
Smith, standing beside Mamadou, said, “I think you should go back to the plane.”
“I
don’t think…” she began, anger flashing across her face.
“I
think it is necessary,” said Mamadou. “You will only make the people more
resentful of your invasion by mocking them.”
“I’m
not mocking them!” she exclaimed. Behind her, one of the other health workers
reached out and squeezed her arm. The other woman leaned forward and whispered
into the first one’s ear. She jerked her arm free, spun, and marched back to
the airstrip where the plane waited.
The
second woman held out her hand, “I’m Louise Martin. I think my colleague means
well – though I don’t know her that well. We met a couple weeks ago when we
responded to Congo contacted us for the vaccine.”
Mamadou
nodded, extending his hand. “No trouble. Will you follow us? We’ve et up the
vaccination station in the town hall.”
Louise
stared at him, “There’s no Level 4 facility here?”
Harper
shook her head, “Didn’t anyone tell you? We’re pretty much in the middle of
nowhere. The advantage is that we only have two confirmed Ebola cases in a
village ten kilometers from here.”
“Where’s
the nearest Level 4?”
“Gabon,”
Mamadou said.
“Where’s
that?”
“West
Africa; just below Cameroun.”
Louise
didn’t betray anything on her face, but Harper could tell in her eyes. She
said, “Do you want the vaccination now?”
“Please,”
said Louise. “How effective is it?”
“We
used Ervebo as an investigational vaccine under an expanded access program to
help mitigate this outbreak starting at the end of 2018.” She shrugged. “We’ve
been here a year and neither one of us has come down with any symptoms. We’re
the ‘on-the-ground’ proof of the virus.”
“How
many others?”
Mamadou
glanced at Harper, who opened her mouth to reply. Louise held up her hand, “What
did that mean?”
Harper
caught her lower lip in her teeth, sighed, then said, “Some of the responses to
the new vaccine have been…unusual.”
Louise
stepped back. “‘Unusual’ how?”
Mamadou
said, “There’s some evidence that the vaccine has a profound effect on the
immune system. It doesn’t just give immunity to Ebola. At least not apparently.”
Something
flew over their heads, close to the ground, but high enough not to really affect
any of them. Louise looked up, then at them, “Maybe you should just tell me
what you found.”
Names:
♀ Wisconsin; ♂ Congo
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