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Post by Evangeline on May 21, 2009 20:22:52 GMT -5
"Maybe not normal for non-shuttle kids." Zoe shrugged. "We haven't had enough time to establish a baseline for this new variant."
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Post by elizar on May 21, 2009 20:39:44 GMT -5
"But there are some previous examples of something like this." Christine said. "The Dodge Aries, though that's on the opposite end of the spectrum. Have tempers that easily outrival the 'Birds."
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Post by Evangeline on May 21, 2009 21:14:17 GMT -5
"Bad as 'Birds, huh? But at least a certain S. Weathers had a good reason for tearing into those guys before his racing career started." Zoe smirked. She had memories of the majestic sky-blue 'Bird from childhood, and they were good ones. When she first started using a car form, he was the one who had taught her how to drive, schooling her on the back roads around Ash Mountain during one of the Weathers family's visits in the summer of her tenth year. "But I do recall a particular Aries that HATED being tailgated and would rim-kick anyone who got close. They should've tied a red ribbon on his butt like they do with a horse."
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Post by elizar on May 21, 2009 21:52:49 GMT -5
Christine laughed. "I think the main problem is that they don't consider themselves the problem, it is the other idiots at the roads that's being a pain!" She said.
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Post by Evangeline on May 22, 2009 19:25:12 GMT -5
"It's always the other guy who's at fault." Zoe rolled her eyes. "Everyone wants to deny or pass the buck. There's 90% of the problem right there."
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Post by elizar on May 22, 2009 19:40:48 GMT -5
"I wonder if that's the case." Christine said. "About the flu outbreak. That's someone is in denial that they're the one passing it around."
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Post by Evangeline on May 22, 2009 20:25:03 GMT -5
"You could have a point there." Zoe nodded. "We just have to find "Patient Zero".
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Post by elizar on May 22, 2009 20:28:42 GMT -5
"Going to be hard." Christine said. "If they're as I said they are, that means he, or she, will try to rub the suspicion off themselves, and perhaps even blame others."
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Post by Evangeline on May 22, 2009 22:18:15 GMT -5
"I can only see one way out of this." Zoe sighed. "Test EVERYBODY. I bet they're having that thought right now."
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Post by elizar on May 22, 2009 22:54:12 GMT -5
Christine nodded. "It would be good to identify the first to be infected, though it shouldn't be used as a sure way to figure out if you have the flu or not. Results take time, and what can happen in that time is that you can get infected."
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Post by Evangeline on May 23, 2009 13:08:48 GMT -5
"Yeah." Zoe sighed wearily. "It's been one cockup after another here."
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Post by elizar on May 23, 2009 16:32:20 GMT -5
"But at least this way, you identify patent zero." Christine again remarked. "It's not all bad."
Helen sighed and hit send on the message she had written up. Four hour notice until a press conference. It was the time required of her when it came to news that could actually be of interest for any news stations, local or global. The PR department got the whole works to decide if to go public with it or just keep it inside business.
SARS, H4N1, and many others that barely qualify as pandemic. She thought to herself. And I get stuck with reporting a flu season. She smiled, relieved that it wasn't all bad.
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Post by Evangeline on May 23, 2009 18:04:28 GMT -5
"You have a point." Zoe shrugged and smiled. "The earlier we get it, the better."
Lionel was up to his elbows in paperwork again, but the additional sanitary measures prompted by the discovery of flu were slowing things down a bit. He looked out the second-storey window at the birds perched on the branch outside. They were one thing, besides the reptiles and amphibians and many insects, that were the same whether in CV or HV.
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Post by elizar on May 23, 2009 18:55:38 GMT -5
Helen looked over the crowd that had gathered. Cameras from both the NASA base and various news stations interested were trained on her. This press conference did have a small time window, but already the news stations covering it had told the viewers back home that it was about a disease spreading around at the NASA base, infecting just humans.
Considering all that took only few seconds.
"Welcome. My name is Helen Heathrow, the Human Medical Director for NASA's facilities.
"Few days ago, at a human-run ranch near us, an outbreak of flu was spotted. It was quickly managed but yesterday another case was spotted at the Kennedy Space Center facilities, where we're here now.
"This strain of flu is the most common one. It does claims lives yearly during the spring, but those deaths are mostly on elderly people with compromised immune systems. Most humans will experience coughs, fevers, headaches, general discomfort and fatigue. Humans have fought this disease for a long time, so our immune system is strong enough in most individuals to combat it.
"But at the base, there are a number of humans born and raised in this world. They were not exposed as much to illnesses as humans from their own world. That has caused compromised immune system. Thus the alert level for disease control has risen. All flights with humans aboard from the KSC have been delayed. Other mode of transportation do exist, but are not utilized.
"As for those native to this world, none of you have to worry about contracting or spreading the disease. There have been no recorded instances of humanverse based diseases jumping over to carverse natives and via versa, and I doubt it will begin now.
"Tomorrow, we'll begin testing all the humans for the Influenza. We've spoken to several hospitals to help us with the analysis of the blood samples that will be drawn, so we can have results as soon as possible. The testing is mandatory for those who work at the Kennedy Space Center, and those not there are greatly encouraged to get tested, in order to help those who haven't been born or raised back home.
"Any questions?"
Jonathan was in a more closed off commons room watching the conference. "She's not a great public speaker, but she's too known to be handling this over to someone who knows how to administer a crowd."
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Post by Evangeline on May 23, 2009 19:47:34 GMT -5
Picard texted Jonathan: She handled this quite well, considering. Oh, and Zoe and family are back, keeping us company. Serafina went over to visit Christine.
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