The 11th Plague by L. T. Peters

Author:L. T. Peters [Peters, L. T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 1973-01-12T00:00:00+00:00

Although Max Schwartz had great respect for his own laboratory technique and equal disdain for the dangers of working with virulent organisms, he had raised no objections to the precautions engineered for this particular microbe.

A cursory examination revealed plain paper wrappings, cardboard cartons, and open flasks.

“Well, Alex, at least we know how it’s being done.” Dr. Schwartz frowned and rubbed his chin. “Each carton contained a flask with the culture reconstituted in liquid broth. The flasks were sealed with a special type of polystyrene which obviously dissolved in the time it took the packages to reach their destinations. That whitish material around the mouths of the flasks is all that is left of the seals. When the seals were gone, the cultures spilled. Once free, the number of organisms in the air and on any contaminated object increased to the level necessary for spread, making every piece of mail and every person entering and leaving those forty post offices a vector. Fiendishly clever!”

Samples of material were immediately sent to special units being set up by Army Intelligence and the FBI in another part of the building. These would be carefully examined for clues that might lead to the origin of the fatal pieces of mail.

Max Schwartz, Alex Kahn and Sam Ross went to work immediately with the help of six bacteriologists imported from Fort Meade and the Walter Reed Army Institute for Research. Although each had had some experience with glove boxes, they all found themselves clumsy because of the loss of the delicate sense of touch in their fingertips; but the gloves meant safety.

They made smears of everything. Fixed smears, where the organism was killed by the fixative, were examined with a variety of dyes to help define the size and shape of the bacteria and the presence or absence of characteristic intracellular structures; any or all of these factors might help them identify the microbe. They examined living organisms with special dyes which colored the cells without killing them. Many types of media were inoculated, especially specific inhibitory media which contained substances to prevent the growth of certain groups of bacteria and enhance the growth of others. Tests for biochemical, nutritional, metabolic and serologic characteristics were instituted. A variety of experimental animals were inoculated from the flasks themselves, as well as from the material which had been prepared by Max Schwartz.

“Goddam it, Alex, what do you want to use monkeys for?” the professor barked. “They’re hard to handle, expensive, and sensitive as hell. If you look at them sideways, their temperature goes up to 106°. We need an animal that’s small and can be used with ease in these damned glove boxes.”

“Simply because the monkey is the experimental animal closest to man, Dr. Schwartz. Why waste a lot of time and effort doing studies in the guinea pig, for example, only to find its disease isn’t related to the disease in man? We don’t have to use monkeys, but we should use a similar primate.”

“Listen, Doc, people were

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