Invasion

Out of curiosity Nancy reached for the object. But then she thought better of it and withdrew her hand. "Thank you," she said, "but I think I should just leave."

"Take it," Joy urged. "It will change your life."

"I like my life as it is," Nancy said. Then she turned and walked out of Joy's office. As she descended in the elevator she marveled over the conversation she'd just had. It wasn't anything like she'd expected. And now she had to worry about what she was going to tell Candee. Jonathan, of course, was a different story. She'd tell him to stay the hell away from the Taylor residence.

The door to Dr. Miller's office opened and both Pitt and Cassy got to their feet. A balding yet relatively youthful man walked into the room ahead of Dr. Miller. He was dressed in a nondescript, wrinkled gray suit. Rimless glasses were perched on the end of a broad nose.

"This is Dr. Clyde Horn," Sheila said to Cassy and Pitt. "He's an epidemiological investigative officer from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. He works specifically for the influenza branch."

Clyde was introduced to Pitt and Cassy in turn.

"You two are the youngest-looking residents I think I've ever seen," Clyde commented.

"I'm not a resident," Pitt said. "In fact I'm only starting medical school in the fall."

"And I'm a student teacher," Cassy said.

"Oh, I see," Clyde said, but he was obviously confused.

''Pitt and Cassy are here to put the problem in a personal perspective," Sheila said as she motioned for Clyde to take a seat.

They all sat down.

Sheila then made a presentation of the influenza cases that they had been seeing in the emergency room. She had some charts and graphs which she showed to Clyde. The most impressive was the one that showed the rapid increase in the number of cases over the previous three days. The second most impressive dealt with the number of deaths of people with the same symptoms associated with various chronic disease like diabetes, cancer, kidney problems, rheumatoid arthritis, and liver ailments.

"Have you been able to determine the strain?" Clyde asked. "When you spoke with me on the phone, that had yet to be done."

"It still isn't done," Sheila said. "In fact we still haven't isolated the virus."

"That's curious," Clyde said.

"The only thing we have consistently seen is marked elevation of lymphokines in the blood," Sheila said. She handed Clyde another chart.

"Oh my, these are high liters," Clyde said. "And you said the symptoms are all typical flu."

"Yes," Sheila said. "Just more intense than usual, and generally localizing in the upper respiratory tract. We've seen no pneumonia."

"It certainly has stimulated the immune systems," Clyde said as he continued to study the lymphokine chart.

"The course of the illness is quite short," Sheila said. "In contrast to normal influenza, it reaches a peak in only hours, like five or six. Within twelve hours the patients are apparently well."

"Even better than they were before the illness," Pitt said.

Clyde wrinkled his forehead. "Better?" he questioned.

Sheila nodded. "It is true," she said. "Once recovered the patients exhibit a kind of euphoria with increased energy levels. The disturbing aspect is that many also behave as if they have had a personality change. And that is why Pitt and Cassy are here. They have a mutual friend who they insist is acting like a different person subsequent to his recovery. His case may be particularly important because he might have been the first person to get this particular illness."

"Have there been any neurological workups done?" Clyde asked.

"Indeed," Sheila said. "On a number of patients. But everything was normal including cerebrospinal fluid."

"What about the friend, whatever his name," Clyde said.

"His name is Beau," Cassy said.

"He has not be examined neurologically," Sheila said. "That was planned, but for the moment he's unavailable."

"In what ways is Beau's personality different?" Clyde asked.

"In just about every way," Cassy said. "Prior to his flu he'd never missed a class. After recovery he hasn't gone to any. And he's been waking up at night and going outside to meet strange people. When I asked him what he'd been talking to these people about, he said the environment."

"Is he oriented to time, place, and person?" Clyde asked.

"Most definitely," Pitt said. "His mind seems particularly sharp. He also seems to be significantly stronger."

"Physically?" Clyde asked.

Pitt nodded.

"Personality change after a bout of flu is uncommon," Clyde said while absently scratching the top of his bald pate. "This flu is unique in other ways as well. I've never heard of such a short course. Strange! Do you know if the other hospitals in the area have been seeing the same problem?"

"We don't know," Sheila said. "But finding that out is much easier for the CDC to do."