The Altian Plague by DM Arnold (best book club books for discussion .TXT) 📖

the Altians deplored the violence, wished Wygann a speedy recovery and maintained that the assailant, if indeed Altian, was acting on his own.”

“Isn't something missing?” Nyk asked.

“Like what?”

“An investigation, for example, by the Altians as to why this individual was on Lexal in the first place. They know his identity. How difficult would it be to perform an ID code trace and learn when he went offworld and who paid his fare?”

“No, nothing's been said about that. You're right, Nyk -- this DOES point to official Altian involvement. Keep me posted on developments on your end.”

“I will. By the way, Illya -- any word on Senta?”

Kronta paused. “No -- not yet. I'm sorry, Nyk.”

“Has anyone claimed responsibility? Made ransom demands?”

“No. Nothing to date.”

Nyk nodded. “You're doing your best. Thanks, Illya.” The vidisplay went blank.

“More need-to-know?” Andra asked.

“Yes, as I'm sure any news on Senta is. Wygann stirred up more than he anticipated with this ore-worker ploy.”

“It makes me worry more for Senta. If Altian officials indeed are in on this -- they would have access to truth drug.”

“I agree. But -- they'd have to get her to Altia, first. With Internal Affairs watching the transit points and both shuttleports, I doubt they could do that. At first, I thought Mykko's insistence on a conspiracy between The Seven and the Altian regime was nothing more than Lexalese paranoia. Now, I'm not so sure.”

“They taught us something about paranoia and conspiracies at the academy,” she replied.

“What was that?”

“They taught us that, just because you're paranoid -- it doesn't mean they're NOT out to get you.”

15 -- The Grand Assembly

Nyk sat behind stage with Andra and some Altian security officers, conferring with Kronta on a handheld vidisplay. “It's going like clockwork. The crowd has been gathering all morning. It looks like a million people out there.”

“How does this work?” Kronta asked.

“Wygann gives a speech. Citizens with special tickets have been admitted to the front of the arena and they get a chance to petition. They ask for favors, for relief from some injury, to have disputes adjudicated -- that sort of thing. Potential petitioners transmit their needs to the palace beforehand and these are reviewed by Wygann's staff. About a hundred requests are granted. This whole scenario is playing out all across Lexal on a smaller scale, with provincial governors and town magistrates presiding.”

“How is Wygann recovering from his wound?”

“Very well,” Nyk replied, stifling a smile. “His security forces believe the Altians are moving into position for the attack.”

“How does he know that?”

“He knows the names of all of them. Once I told him Altian ore-workers are the likely perpetrators, he put an ID trace on every Altian ore-worker on Lexal.”

“He can do that?”

“Of course. It's done in Floran.”

“Here it requires a magistrate's approval with probable cause.”

“Here, all it requires is Wygann's wish.”

“The Lexalese put up with it? With that sort of intrusion?”

“Not only put up -- they seem to welcome it.”

“In that case -- why doesn't he just round them all up?”

“That was the source of quite a debate in the palace. In the end it was an issue of plausible deniability. Wygann doesn't want the Altians to be able to deny any of this. Remember -- he can't make ore-workers talk.”

“Their actions will speak louder than words.”

“Precisely. Wygann's taking the podium.”

“Keep the circuit up, Nyk.”

“I'll prop this so the camera picks up one of the vidisplays... how's that?”

“Blurry but it'll do.”

Wygann stepped to the podium with Janna at his side. He wore his right arm in a sling. “People of Lexal ... I greet you.” The crowd cheered.

Nyk folded his arms and stood beside Andra. She bit her knuckle. “I'm worried, Nyk. Suppose the vaccine doesn't work?”

“We know it works. You know it works.”

“Suppose it doesn't work here? Suppose there's more than one virus? Maybe they released it on Earth to distract us from the REAL plague. I think this is an awful way. I know Mykko is a risk- taker. I can't accept he'd risk so many innocent people.”

“You've been in all the discussions. Those concerns were voiced. Kronta agrees with Wygann -- that they would attack with an untested virus is as unlikely as us inoculating with an untested vaccine.”

“I know. But to stand here and watch it happen...”

“There's no guarantee any of this will go according to script. It's in the hands of Destiny, now.” He climbed onto the dais. “I'm going poke my head through the curtain and get a better look.”

He approached the security chief behind the curtain. “Ah, Nykkyo,” the chief said. “We've moved security forces close to the subjects.”

“How many are there?”

“About twenty.”

Wygann began his speech. A murmur swept across the crowd, followed by screams and popping noises. Nyk peered through the curtain and saw individuals shouting and throwing spheres into the air. They burst, forming clouds that settled onto the assembled throng.

“May I have your attention,” Wygann spoke into the microphone and his voice reverberated through the sound system. “Please remain calm.”

Lexalese security forces began to converge on the perpetrators. A young man approached a security guard, who climbed to the stage and whispered in Wygann's ear. “We want those men taken alive,” Wygann ordered. “Attention everyone. Remain calm.”

Janna stepped to the podium. “This is your princess,” she announced. “Everyone is to return to their homes and await further instructions. Remain calm and return to your homes. The situation is under control. The Grand Assembly is cancelled.”

The crowd quieted and began dispersing. Several men lay on the ground and security forces restrained others. A corps of body guards surrounded Wygann and Janna on the stage.

“Such a docile crowd,” Nyk said to Andra. “They're his flock and Mykko's their shepherd.”

“Shepherd?”

“An Earth term. They know he'll care for them.”

“Bring those men to security forces,” Wygann announced. “We want as many as possible taken alive.”

Nyk picked up the vidisplay. “Well -- did you see?”

“I certainly did,” Kronta replied. “Now, lets hope that vaccine does its work.”

Nyk sat in the Chancellor's quarters. A palace medic injected a vial of immune system booster into a vein in his arm. “We'll repeat this four times a day for the next two days,” the doctor said.

The medic approached Andra. “Save it for someone who needs it,” Nyk said as he buttoned his cuff. “She's completely immune.”

Janna approached Andra. “I understand you volunteered to test the vaccine.”

“Yes, she did,” Nyk replied. “The virus made her plenty sick, too.”

“It was before we understood the importance of the booster,” Andra added.

“I've transmitted instructions to all Lexalese that anyone exhibiting symptoms should report immediately to the clinic. We should have ample supplies of booster.”

“Kronta tells me shipments of booster are ready should we need them,” Nyk said. “I wonder if those poor sods knew they were on a suicide mission.”

“They did,” Janna replied. “many died from self-administered nerve poisons. We have about a dozen under guard in our clinic. Most have begun to have symptoms. We're compiling a list of names -- of both the living and the dead.”

“May I see the list?”

“We're still receiving reports from around the colony.” She handed Nyk a vidisplay. “Here's the list so far.”

Nyk scrolled through it. His eyes stopped on the name Manrei Lom. “Lom!” he exclaimed. “I want to see this man.”

Janna passed her hand over a proximity pad. Venn entered. “Have security take Nykkyo to see this prisoner. He's in the detention area.”

Venn snapped a bow and escorted Nyk to a block of cells behind the palace security office. He spoke to a guard and gestured to Nyk.

The guard escorted him to a cell containing a young man. He was sitting on a bench, coughing.

“Lom,” Nyk said. “Why?”

“Death to Lexal scum. I'm a dead man. Dead men don't talk. You're all dead, too. We'll keep killing colonies until our demands are met.”

“I think not, Lom. The only ones susceptible to your plague are you and your cronies.”

“I don't believe you.”

“Do you see any of the medical staff with symptoms? Lom -- the entire population is immune. Your weapon is no good.” Lom leaned over, seized by violent coughing. “That's right. All Lexalese have been vaccinated.”

Lom regained his breath. “So typical for Wygann,” he gasped, “to protect his own at the cost of others. What of offworlders? Is he letting them die, too?”

“I've heard no reports of offworlders contracting the virus -- except for those directly exposed at the Grand Assembly. Lexal is giving the vaccine to anyone who wants it.”

“Except for us,” Lom wheezed. “Leave me. I have nothing else to say to you.”

“Lom... Make this worth something. Tell us who's responsible.”

“I said leave me!”

The guard sealed the cell and walked with Nyk to the security office. “Is it true?” Nyk asked, “the ore-workers are being denied the vaccine?”

“Yes,” the guard replied. “Orders from the chancellor himself. He feels it's a bit of justice. Besides -- our doctors doubt the vaccine would help except to prolong their suffering.”

The guard turned Nyk over to Venn, who returned him to the chancellor's quarters. “If anyone needs me, I'll be in my office. I must make some calls.” Venn snapped a bow.

“What's the status up there?” Kronta asked Nyk. “The news is full of conflicting reports.”

“Wygann has ordered Lexal quarantined, with no shuttle flights taking off or landing except for his own perimeter patrol. His fleet has been mobilized and is flying around the clock to prevent unauthorized transits.”

“How long is this quarantine to last?”

“It will be lifted after three standard days have elapsed without new cases surfacing. It caused a near riot at the shuttleport. Once the nature of the attack sunk in, offworlders from around the colony flocked to the capital only to find the shuttleport shuttered. Wygann has vaccinated them and from what I hear there have been no serious cases.”

“He was fortunate. Widespread fatalities among offworlders could've inflamed tensions in the HL.”

“It was more than luck, Illya. The Grand Assembly is an event for Lexalese citizens. There were few offworlders in attendance.”

“Except for the ore-workers.”

“Exactly. I think, upon reflection, his handling of the offworld visitors was exemplary.”

“What of the Lexalese at the event?”

“It appears the severity of the symptoms is related to exposure. Out of a million or so at the arena we think a few thousand received direct exposure. Of those, about half have reported symptoms. Most cleared up after the first dose of booster. We've only seen a couple hundred here in the capital sick enough to require hospitalization. The rest have been given booster and told to report for a second dose in the morning. What's the reaction on your end?”

“We've begun shipping vaccine to the other colonies. Altians are being rounded up and deported, both here on the homeworld and on the other colonies. I'll say this. If one of Wygann's intentions was to send a message, it's been heard loud and clear inside the HL.”

“I doubt The Seven can mobilize against another target before we have the entire hegemony vaccinated,” Nyk replied.

“Probably not, given the increased security measures. They seemed to have focused their resources on Lexal. How many of the Altians have talked?”

“None. Here in the capital we have about six left alive -- and none of them are expected to last the night. Most of the attackers killed themselves after detonating their grenades. The rest succumbed to the virus and took their secrets with them.”

Venn approached Nyk. “Your visitor is here.”

“I must go, Illya -- I'll speak with you later.” He turned to Janna's assistant. “Bring her in.” Venn opened a door and gestured. A Lexalese security guard escorted a young woman in. “Thank you, corporal.” The guard snapped a bow, turned and left. “Dyppa -- Thanks for coming.”

“Nothing would keep me away.”

“How was your trip?”

“I was met on the comm station by a Lexalese deep-space courier. I understand all Altians are being returned and confined to our homeworld. I suppose that means I'm headed there after this -- to be accounted for.”

“Present company excluded,” Nyk replied. “I've ordered you cleared for transit anywhere in the hegemony. I would hope you'd prefer to return