The Jupiter Plague

“Did it?” Sam asked. “Perhaps it was a social experiment, not a medical one. They certainly knew beforehand how the disease would affect our bodies, so perhaps it was our social grouping or our science they were interested in. How we would combat the disease, what we would do when we found they had caused it. After all, they made no real attempt to hide the fact they had brought it — the log is still here and once the door was opened the Jovian’s presence was obvious. And it had the capsule ready, don’t forget that. Once it understood the threat to cut off all communication it delivered the thing at once…”

There was the sound of running footsteps and they turned to see Eddie Perkins in the doorway.

“I tried to call you on the radiophone but I couldn’t get through,” he said, gasping a bit as he caught his breath.

“What is it?”

“Rand’s… Rand’s disease. The cure. We can duplicate the stuff in the capsule. It’s all over. We have it licked.”

17

A gust of wind hurled a spattering of snowflakes against the outside of the window, where they hung for long seconds until the heat of the room melted them and they ran down the pane. Killer Dominguez, sitting reversed on the chair with his arms leaning on the back, blew a jet of cigarette smoke toward the window.

“Turning into a real crummy day, just look at that. If I didn’t have arthritis already I would catch it today. Sorry to see you go, Doc.”

“I’m not sorry to leave, Killer,” Sam said, digging a handful of white socks out of the dresser drawer and dumping them into the suitcase that lay open on the bed. “This is a great room for an intern to live in, it’s handy to the work and bearable because you don’t see it much. But it’s a little too spartan — reminds me too much of the Army.”

“And also no place for a married man, right, Doc?”

“There’s that too,” Sam smiled. “I can just see myself carrying Nita over this threshold. About the only thing I’m sorry about leaving is the ambulance. I’ll miss your driving, Killer.”

“No, you won’t, Doc. It’ll be easier on your heart once you’re off the meat wagon. They’ll need you in this new Lab 30 program, what with you knowing all about the Jovians and such. I hear that they got the idea from them.”

“In a way.” He closed the dresser and went to the closet. “It was the cure for Rand’s disease that the Jovians gave to us that started the entire thing off; it’s an entirely new concept in medicine. The J-molecule, that’s what they’re calling it, appears to be alive like a virus or a microorganism and capable of reproducing itself easily. That’s how they managed to make enough of it so fast to stop Rand’s disease in a matter of days. You just put it on a petri dish and fission begins.”

“Great — instant medicine! That will put the drugstores out of business — everyone grows their own.”

“It might at that. We’re just beginning to find out what the J-molecule can do and if it turns out to be just one-tenth as effective as it seems to be we should thank the Jovians for bringing us the plague — and the cure — because it is going to make such a basic change in medicine.”

“C’mon, Doc — think of how many were killed…”

“I’m thinking of how many are going to live, because thousands and eventually millions of lives will be saved for every one that died. You see not only does the J-molecule reproduce itself but under certain conditions it can be trained to attack other diseases. Then the new strain is specific only for the disease it has been trained to attack — and it breeds true.”

“Now you’re getting outta my depth, Doc. I bring ‘em in, you patch ’em up, let’s leave it at that. What’s the big hush-hush rumor I hear about another ship to Jupiter? Not enough trouble from the first time?”

“Is there anything you don’t hear, Killer?”

“I got my contacts.”

Sam closed the bag and locked it. “So far we’re only a pressure group that are trying to convince the UN that the Jovians aren’t really inimical, but we’re having heavy going. They’re still too much afraid. But we’ll have to go back there someday and contact them and this time we want it to be a friendly contact. All volunteers, I imagine, and safeguards will have to be worked out to make sure nothing like Rand’s disease reoccurs.”

Nita had opened the door while he was talking but his back was toward her and he hadn’t noticed.

“And I suppose you would like to volunteer?” she asked, brushing drops of melted snow from her coat.

He kissed her first, well and long. Killer nodded approval and ground out his cigarette. “I gotta be moving, duty calls.” He waved good-by as he left.

“Well, you didn’t answer me,” she said.

He held her at arm’s length, suddenly serious.

“You wouldn’t stop me, would you?”

“I hear you, Doc, but I’m not quite with you.”