The Wuhan Mission

The four scientists worked through the final steps of creating the vaccine that would be mass produced in the millions for citizens all over China. The trace elements of heavy metals including copper and aluminum and a substance called “thimerosal” which contained ethyl mercury, were part of the recipe, and the three guests assured Dr. Wu that they had in fact already been tested on human subjects and were shown to be a strong catalyst in the desired reaction with the prescribed wavelength spectrum that the new 5G network could broadcast if so desired.

Yesterday afternoon Wu had tested the newly engineered vaccine against all of his virus strains. He didn’t explain the properties of any of the viruses to his new colleagues. It was best if no-one else knew that one of the strains could mutate quickly. If it became known that the virus he had marked “SARS-COV-X” could possibly mutate to live longer on surfaces, kill younger patients, or even travel through the air, it might fall into the wrong hands. It was a powerful weapon, and could very likely be impossible to reign in once it was released.

The vaccine was effective enough. It would help all but the sick and elderly, and people who had heart or lung conditions. For them, the virus would still be able to kill them. The figures would be set out in the scientists’ report on “Vaccine 5G 2.0”, with no mention of the mutating virus.

They agreed that the vaccine should not be colored, as it was less alarming to patients when they were being injected.

Dr. Wu went to one of the cupboards on the wall and returned with a bottle of rice wine and four shot glasses. The men made a small but awkward fuss about it as Wu filled the glasses and pushed one in each direction. The scientists each took one and they all said quietly and grimly: “Gan Bei” and drank.

It appeared that they were drinking to the success of the project, but the truth of the matter was that they were each drinking to his own survival of this dangerous situation they had found themselves in. Scrutiny from the Chinese Communist Party was never good.

Chapter 24 Great Leap Forward

The Chairman entered the ballroom where a long table was surrounded by men seated along each side. The old concrete hotel was listed as five star, but its bleak lobby and hallways gave away the fact that this communist monstrosity encapsulated the spirit of the cultural revolution in which Chairman Mao took measures to upheave any capitalist tendencies. Many of China’s historical sites were destroyed, as they were at the root of “old ways of thinking.” Museums and homes were ransacked, and anything representing bourgeois ideas was burned. There had been massacres everywhere. Children were not spared. People from ethnic minorities were beaten to death. It was a bloody time in China in the sixties and seventies.

Chairman Xi Jinping walked towards the table as the twenty men in suits rose from their seats. They all sat as he took his seat at the head of the table.

“Today, we take a great leap forward.”

Xi Jinxing paused as the echo of his voice faded.

“Long has the West kept China in poverty with its economic policies, trade agreements and its oppressive military machine.”

“Too long!” the Chairman boomed.

“China will soon be dictating new terms to the United States of America and other Western countries.

It will soon be China who decides how much tax will be paid or collected. It will be China who decides which islands belong to China!”

The men around the table looked intently at the Chairman. None of them had a clue what he was going to say.

“China will be unified. We will be one nation marching triumphantly in the same direction. There will be no more protests. No demonstrations. There will be no more slow working in the factories and the people’s war against the West will be won without us lifting a gun barrel. There will be no need for missiles, ships or submarines to be deployed. There will not be a single soldier killed in action. China will be the most powerful country that there has ever been. Our Government will soon have riches to shower upon our Country’s infrastructure. We will have the most comfortable and efficient transport in the world. Everybody will be able to afford to eat. Our citizens will love China more than they love their own mothers.”

The Chairman waited for the low murmur to die away.

“There will be a new Chinese virus that will ravage Wuhan.

It will not touch our manufacturing cities such as Beijing, Shanghai or Nanjing. We will allow Wuhan to serve as a warning and also as reassurance to the rest of the citizens of China. We will wait while many die in Wuhan before we step in with vaccinations. The people of Wuhan will suffer for the good of China. The people must see the extent of the danger before we step in to save these brave citizens who will suffer for the good of their comrades.