A Pandemic Survivors Omnibus

The Case of the Forever Cure-3

All the planes took off together. Not long after, a fourth identical plane rose up as ours started descending. It wasn't too long before we lost sight of the three planes in the clouds that formed overhead.

Soon our plane touched down with bumps on a little-used airfield long enough to allow a landing for the big plane.

By then we had every one woken out of their trances and sitting on benches at each side of the plane's hold. They had dressed before they left the medical compound, in the street clothes they came in or others from what was available. The babies were shared between the adults, and formula bottles appeared from supplies (warmed by the hands of one of the Lazurai student-nurses to body temperature.)

The ramp was lowered and we were met by a small group of people who ushered us into waiting buses.

We drove to an upscale hotel on the suburbs of 'Cagga, well outside their city borders. The top two full floors had been rented in advance, sealed off from any access. The reason was to "debrief" the patients and tell them their options.

Most of them were going to have very long, healthy lives after this. They could return to their families if they wanted. Otherwise, officials would dutifully break the news of their death as delicately as possible.

Those who wanted to continue their treatment and training were allowed to select one of several small villages in various states for relocation.

The babies were returned to their parents with private schooling awarded up to and including college, all expenses paid. Orphans were accepted by the villages willingly.

Carlos returned to his own family, with the idea and promise of relocating them to one of the villages.

All were briefed that no one would believe their story about the existence of Lazurai. A more suitable explanation was that some very experimental techniques were employed that fortunately had a "miracle cure" result. But were too technical for laymen to understand or try to duplicate. A number was given them to a government phone which would only accept messages.

. . . .

Cathy and I sat in an empty restaurant in the top of that hotel, enjoying a quiet dinner.

"I'd ask how this was all arranged, but I'm sure that I don't need to know."

"Well, I'll tell you something as unbelievable as it is true. First, the government is very happy to cooperate with us. We are their worst enemy and best ally. Second, there is a guy named 'Peter' who knows something called 'advanced mathematics of retrospective analysis' which in short says that you can predict behavior and events if you understand history well enough. And he saw this particular problem coming. That infectious outbreak common to secessionist cities." She speared a small piece of steak and chewed thoughtfully before continuing.

"It was his idea and financing to set up these nursing colleges in the Lazurai villages years before, then provide 'volunteer' teams into various hospital staffs at the appropriate time to stem off the worst contagion. A few of the larger cities in the Midwest already have been solved, although the best we can do for the coastal megalopolises is to convert it into a widespread 'Legionnaire Disease' outbreak. The result is that while it will still be a plague, the entire human race won't be wiped out."

I nearly dropped my fork at her casual explanation of a global epidemic. "You mean there is nothing we can do?"

Cathy shook her head and looked down at her plate.

I reached over and touched her hand with mine. The same hand that had saved countless lives, including mine.

She looked up again, bleary eyed, but smiling. "At least I got you out of this deal. I hear you decided to come to my village so we can continue our conversations."

I had to smile in return. "The deal was no hazmat suits and way more than 30 minutes per day."

She was grinning at that point. "You know, they have a wonderful view of the Illinois plains from here. Would you like to pick up your questions where we left off?"

We rose and walked to the balcony, through their glass doors, and held each other around our waists as we talked. For a very long time.

CodaIN A DISTANT ABANDONED government facility, an elevator creaked to a sub-sub-level and flickering fluorescent lights turned on bank by bank. They exposed a huge empty room with concrete walls. Around the walls at varying intervals were discolored patches in the shapes of humans, as if someone had outlined around them and colored inside.

The elevator opened and a man wearing a three-piece wool-blend suit emerged, along with a woman in skin-tight black leather. They carried nothing in their hands. No weapons of any kind.

Because they knew what they were up against, the challenge ahead of them.

Walking into the center of the room, the man cleared his throat.

"It's time. You can come out now."

One by one, at varying timings, a shape emerged from the walls in front of each human outline.

They each were forms of one of the four elements - dust, fire, air, or water. All were in motion, but none were moving beyond their spot.

The man and woman in the center of the room were silent, thinking, communicating with all present on a level far beyond what any typical human can sense or understand. After a long time, the couple took each other's hand and bowed their heads.

At that, the elemental forms each shimmered, and disappeared.

When the last form had left, the couple turned back to the elevator and entered it, still holding hands as the doors closed. Distant rumblings took their elevator car back up to the surface.

Meanwhile the lights began turning out, one bank at a time. At last the room was dark as it had been for decades before.

The next phase in our planet's evolution had begun.

Book Universes NotesThe universes of these stories can mix and merge. They've become large and complicated through their various series and crossovers. So we've begun the process of adding Book Universes Notes to each of them. This allows you to get the earlier materials that explain the character's backgrounds and abilities.

Also, as short stories, some intrinsic plot/character points can flash by in a single paragraph or sentence. These have been highlighted here.

Please enjoy.

THIS IS ANOTHER ADVENTURE with a strong romance structure.

And is where you learn just how the Lazurai heal, more or less. (See “The Lazurai” and “The Lazurai Returns”) In that first book is a clue about a “Sentient Life Act”, which might help explain this.

The couple meets when this detective (Reg) has to break quarantine to save their technician's life. Then the head nurse (Cathy) saves his life by having him walk the babies all night, one after the other.

This is a different take on the Lazurai phenomenon, where the babies themselves can heal. A subtle point (not made obvious) is that the babies have all been cared for by these Lazurai nurses, and so the babies virulence has been changed into healing.

But our characters are now on the clock, as the policy for any quarantine break is to pump in fatal gas, then cement over the structure. (Will they never learn?)

Some sort of inside resistance organization becomes apparent when their cargo plane with the "bodies" is replaced by another. A later discussion gives an explanation is that the government is actually cooperating with them, as the Lazurai are both "their worst enemy and best ally."

In a late discussion in the story, Cathy reveals they are all fourth-generation Lazurai, she also explains that they avoid detection by looking and acting like everyone else.

A later anthology explains the various generations of Lazurai – The Healers Chronicles