38. Virus
Kobe's laboratory.
Jefferson, Commissioner of the Southern Bureau, and his aide Andrea sat on a sofa, watching Kobe with expressions of unease as he beamed like an excited child. Bringing both eyes close to the lens, he gently moved the glass dish on the microscope stage. Once the image came into view, he adjusted the diaphragm and focused it. Then he lifted his head, switched on the large screen mounted on the wall to the right, and projected the image from the microscope.
"What you are looking at now is the pathogen in question—a virus. Since I have not yet given it a proper name, let us call it Virus X for convenience."
The virus on the screen appeared as a large white circle in black and white, with tiny protrusions lining its circumference. The little spikes seemed to quiver ever so slightly.
"These white protrusions are called spike proteins. To put it simply, you may think of them as the virus's hands. These proteins bind to other cells and allow the DNA inside to spread, and within the immune system, these proteins—the virus's hands—are extremely important."
Kobe pulled a key from his pocket and held it up for the two of them to see.
"Each virus has spikes shaped differently, much like the teeth on this key. So even if white blood cells arrive, if they cannot decipher the key's pattern, they cannot perform their function properly. That is why, when a new virus spreads, the immune system is helpless against it at first. It has no information about the code."
Kobe picked up the alcohol lamp beside him, set the dish above it, and lit the flame. The soft fire rising from the wick quietly heated the bottom of the dish. Jefferson and Andrea merely stared, unable to tell what he was doing. After some time had passed, Kobe placed the dish back on the microscope stage. The same black-and-white circular object appeared on the screen again.
"For a virus to spread, it must enter the human body through a route of infection. Most viruses we know are vulnerable to temperature. If it becomes extremely cold or extremely hot, they naturally die out. But Virus X is unusual. Because of this hard protein shell surrounding it, it does not die easily even in very high temperatures. Look. It is hardly different from before, is it?"
Jefferson nodded.
"And one more thing. Another important factor for infection is survival time. As you know, a virus cannot survive on its own. In order to reproduce, it must continuously search for new hosts. That means it must remain alive along its route of transmission. Viruses known so far survive, at most, three days. Beyond that, they die off naturally. But…"
Kobe disappeared for a moment, then returned carrying another dish identical to the first and swapped it with the one on the stage. On the screen appeared yet another unchanged circular form.
"This sample was collected when the first mass outbreak of Madmen occurred in the North. It must have been about three months ago. And yet, as you can see, it is still alive. A human being could not last even a month without nutrients, and yet this thing endures. In short, its survivability is extraordinary."
Now beginning to understand where Kobe was going with this, Jefferson swallowed dryly.
"And now I will show you the highlight…"
Kobe hesitated, glancing at the two of them. Their expressions were not encouraging.
"Shall I save it for next time?"
"Get on with it."
Jefferson answered curtly, clearly irritated by Kobe's mockery. Kobe pushed aside the desk in front of him, then wheeled over another table bearing a square object draped in black cloth. When he pulled the cloth away, a white rat came into view inside a glass enclosure. What was strange was that the rat had been fixed in place. As Jefferson studied it, Andrea suddenly let out a scream and stumbled backward.
"Let me say this beforehand—I love animals. I have ten little ones at home waiting for me."
The rat was alive, but its scalp had been peeled back, exposing a pale white brain that twitched faintly. Jefferson grimaced. Kobe dragged over a line fitted with an extremely fine injection needle attached to a cable and inserted it into the rat's brain. Then he took out a small syringe, drew liquid from the dish, and injected it into the rat's hindquarters. A satellite camera began filming the rat's surface in close-up.
When Kobe pressed a button on the remote, another image appeared on the screen, showing the rat's internal blood vessels. At his command—"Track"—the display split in two. On the left appeared the virus they had seen earlier, now enlarged to the size of a coin, drifting through the rat's bloodstream. The right side seemed to show the rat's entire body, with a blinking red dot marking its hindquarters.
"Look closely. This large circular sphere is a white blood cell. You can see the virus gliding right past them, can't you? That means the white blood cells are not merely failing to mount an immune response—they are not even sensing the virus's existence."
The virus slipped between the white blood cells and moved gradually toward the upper half of the rat's body.
"There is one part I did not finish explaining earlier. Viruses can be shy as well. You remember the key shape, don't you? A virus can only reproduce once it finds a cell whose shape suits it. So where do you suppose this virus is heading now?"
The virus continued moving through the bloodstream. At first it traveled toward the waist, then paused for a moment around the heart. Then it moved again, climbed into the neck, and soon reached the brain.
"It seems this virus intends to reproduce in the brain. Shall we take a look at a more vivid scene?"
Kobe pressed the remote again, and a different image appeared. A large round sphere filled the screen, and unlike before, something could be seen writhing inside it.
"This is what we call deep magneto-optical imaging. I added a bit of color so the DNA would be visible to the naked eye. Once the virus finds its destination, it will begin the infection."
Just as Kobe had said, the virus continued winding through the brain's blood flow until it finally stopped near the hippocampus. The white protein spikes began latching onto the brain cell as if tossing a ball back and forth. Then, after a moment, some orange substance burst out from inside the virus, pierced the cell membrane, and began to melt away together with the spikes.
Soon, the black thing writhing inside the virus seemed to recognize something. It convulsed violently, then slowly shifted its body and forced itself through the opening into the brain cell.
Inside the brain cell were objects of many different shapes. Then the moving black thing suddenly twitched—and exploded.
Black fragments scattered in every direction. They clung to the surfaces of the objects inside the brain cell, wrapped around them, and seeped inward like poison.
In an instant, the brain cell whose DNA had been overtaken by the black virus began to convulse and writhe. It looked like a young deer seized by the neck in a lion's jaws, struggling in agony. At length its movement died down, as though its strength had been drained away. It lost its elasticity, hardened into something brittle and dried, and fell away from the surrounding cluster of brain cells.
After more time passed, the brain cell seemed to split into several pieces. A little later, the divided forms became distinct, and each fragment began to resemble a tiny virus. At that moment Kobe pressed a button and zoomed the screen out. The entire display was filled with coin-sized black objects spreading like poison throughout the cluster of brain cells. Jefferson and Andrea turned pale, apparently shocked by the sight of the enormous swarms of virus covering the screen.
"It appears the infection has progressed to a certain degree. It has been about ten minutes since injection. And this is a visualization of the electrical signals transmitted by the synapses…"
When Kobe pressed another button, a completely different screen appeared—one nearly black. White streaks of light glimmered sporadically across it, and the image was strangely beautiful, as though a small universe existed inside the rat's body.
"The brain sends electrical signals to each nerve cell. In an infected host, these electrical signals occur far more frequently than they would under normal conditions."
Just as Kobe said, the intervals between the flashes of light from each streak grew shorter and shorter. The rat's heart rate, displayed at the top left of the screen, began to climb.
"This virus, having taken hold of the brain, stimulates the nervous system and forces it to consume energy continuously. Various hormones begin to pour out abnormally. The accelerated internal processes cause nutritional deficiency and induce extreme hunger. Soon the host begins to crave other nutrients."
When Kobe gave the satellite the command, "Release," all the devices restraining the rat were undone. Then he placed another white rat into the glass box. The infected rat slowly approached the new one and began sniffing all over its body.
Then, in an instant, it changed.
With its large front teeth, it lunged and began biting the new rat. Jefferson and Andrea cried out in alarm, and Kobe swiftly covered the glass box with the black cloth.
"Thank you for your patience. That concludes the demonstration."
When Kobe told the satellite, "Gas," white anesthetic vapor hissed from the tube connected to the glass box. A moment later the rat's shrieks ceased, and the room fell silent again. Jefferson, clearly shaken, brushed back the bangs that had fallen over his face. Andrea had fainted in her seat.
"Would you like some tea?"
"That won't be necessary!"
Jefferson answered sharply. He looked badly rattled. He had seen Madmen rampaging. He had seen gruesome scenes with blood pouring from cracked skulls. But this was the first time he had watched such a transformation unfold from A to Z with such relentless tension. Kobe's experiment had been immersive in a way that was hard to deny. Kobe scratched his head innocently, as though wondering whether he had done something wrong. Once Jefferson had regained some composure, he spoke.
"So. Is there a solution?"
"We are currently trying to decipher the code of the spike protein."
"When do you think you'll have it?"
"Well… that's uncertain. And even then, this would only amount to a vaccine experiment."
"What do you mean by that?"
"It would be a preventive measure applicable only to people who have not yet been infected. As you saw earlier, once the virus enters an existing cell, it destroys the DNA. There is no way to restore those original cells. In other words, those who are already infected cannot be brought back."
Jefferson frowned again. He had more or less expected as much, but he had clearly been hoping that an expert might offer some innovative countermeasure.
"Oh, and there is one more thing. This is CCTV footage received from one of our agents. I believe it may help identify the cause of this outbreak…"
Kobe hesitated, studying Jefferson's face to decide whether or not to play it.
"Show me."
Jefferson watched the footage in silence. As it neared its end, his eyes sharpened, and he turned to Kobe.
"Where is this?"
"The western water purification plant in District 8. I checked the access logs, and there was no record of any vehicle entering during that time. It almost seems as though whoever did it already knew exactly what they were doing."
Jefferson said nothing for a moment, lost in thought. Kobe continued.
"The armed group concealed themselves deliberately, so we don't have much to go on. Another option would be to locate one of the plant employees who was on duty that day, but by a strange coincidence, no one came to work that day. The only clue we really have is that fellow there. But his whereabouts are unknown."
"Who is handling this?"
"Anderson."
Jefferson nodded as though he had expected that answer.
"The moment the agent makes contact, I want real-time reports. That man may provide an important clue to this case."
Jefferson rose from his seat and left Kobe's laboratory. Watching his back as he went, Kobe scratched his head awkwardly.