Just before sunrise, in City 72, a Yakkidimux reported sick. It felt dizzy, its eyesight was out of focus. It couldn’t walk properly and had to be helped into the sickbay. It was very frightened. It had good reason to be. Within a few minutes, it died. Cause unknown. Immediately, this was reported to Isjidakawi. Within a few more minutes, reports started coming in from the other cities. By the time Isjidakawi reported to Tyrid and Lijfomid, the deaths were being reported every few minutes, in all the cities, plus a rising count of People getting ill with this new symptom.
“Deaths are being reported all over the cities. So far about a hundred are sick. The first few Yakkidimux are being flown up to the lab to see what has caused this. It started this morning and spread rapidly. Some others are dying too.”
“What races?” Asked Lijfomid.
“Most of them. None of us yet. Many Yakkidimux. Several Relogs. No known cause. It is acting like a neurotoxin. I haven’t identified any common factors yet.”
Tyrid went back to his bridge. He could tolerate only fluids now and was listless and tired. Exhausted by the end of his shift, he couldn’t sleep due to the pain in his stomachs.
Isjidakawi was starting to feel very ill. His stomachs were bleeding. He was just into the last stages of the illness. He had had a talk with their captured Okme. They had said for most of the Keulfyd they had treated on the way here, most had not had a Full Treatment so this ancient virus may not have been programmed in. They didn’t know. That was the programmer’s job. They had an incomplete Team.
Isjidakawi seethed. It had been Lijfomid’s decision to include only the Healing Machine Operators and Maintenance workers and leave the Doctors, Researchers and Programmers behind to save on facilities and costs. But that was what they usually did. And the Okme and their Machines were the most valuable loot in the galaxy. And the most illegal loot. It was actually illegal to enslave Okme Healers. Which was meant to protect the Okme. But it meant the Okme would have to be killed to conceal this crime. So it didn’t exactly protect them. Stupid law, he thought.
As Isjidakawi explained to Lijfomid and Tyrid, the next morning, “Much of the night I spent persuading, bribing and finally threatening the only two Keulfyd on this flagship, who have been through a Full Treatment of the Healing Machines prior to this journey. A very expensive Full Treatment. I needed them to donate blood for us. Because both their treatments were full and done well over a year ago, this ancient virus would have been in the complete programme and the full course of the treatment has been completed. It takes six months for the body to complete the process the Healing Machines started. Their treatment, evolving slowly over the months following Treatment would have rendered these two at least partially immune. Once the two had been in contact with the virus, which it appeared all of us have been, their immune systems should have kicked into high gear. They should by now have a good crop of anti-bodies in their blood.”
“But you said this virus has been altered. Will their antibodies be any good? Will it work?”
“It should help. Anything should be better than nothing.”
“What about all the ones that have been treated on this journey?”
“The Okme say their Treatments may not contain this ancient virus and probably wont. They told me for a Full Treatment, a Programmer will determine what is added to the Treatment according to what the patient has requested and has paid for. They say each Treatment is separately programmed in.”
“And we did not bring any Programmers.”
“Correct. We expected to encounter just ordinary problems that affect our race. We told them just to bring standard Treatments, one for male and one for female.”
Lijfomid thought carefully. He and Isjidakawi had sold off the Treatments to their crew. It formed part of their personal profit for this trip. They sold the Treatments, performed by the reluctant enslaved Okme, for a tenth of what it would normally cost. And the crew had paid up. Very enthusiastically. But neither he nor Isjidakawi had ever had a Full Treatment themselves. It was something Lijfomid had been saving up for as a part of his retirement; to have his entire family treated at one go. But he had had many brief treatments, was in good health, and had not been in a hurry. Now, he thought it looked like he should have prioritised his health over his wealth. He had not felt the need. His mistake. His big mistake. But he had wanted to do his whole family together so as to be less disruptive to his family.
A Full Treatment was socially difficult on relationships for obvious reasons. Bit of an adjustment problem for his wife and his family if he became younger than his youngest son. One had to factor these things in. Many a Keulfyd working in this industry had himself or herself treated without treating their spouse. Big problem. Very disruptive for the whole family and the cause of broken marriages and strained relationships within families. Lijfomid was very fond of his wife and his family and he wanted them all to stay together. He had no wish to start another relationship. A huge waste of time and energy. He had even less wish to lose the family he had. He trusted them. He had trained them all. They were loyal to the family. They were all smart and competent. And he loved them.
His wife, Janulan, had asked him where all these goods came from to the retail outlets she managed, along with their children. These goods with no receipts, no paper trail. She was an expert at laundering these goods and selling them on from their warehouses. He had told her best she didn’t know. He doubted she knew the whole truth but she knew it wasn’t legal. When he went off on his buying trips, he normally bought legal goods back. Ninety percent of it was legal. But the other ten percent was the real profit. The ten percent which constituted his take from little jaunts like these. She probably thought he was buying stolen goods. That he acquired them himself, was what he did not want her to know. Should he ever be caught, she would be innocent and could hopefully carry on business and care for their family. He had kept telling himself to quit while he was well ahead. He had not listened to himself. He realised he had been greedy. What was it about the super rich that they were never satisfied no matter how much they had? His wealth was obscene. His whole family couldn’t spend it in a hundred years. Why had he not quit, at least quit the illegal stuff? His family only knew about the wealth he had on his own planet and two others. They did not know about the wealth on another four planets.