genuine interest. He chastened himself, slightly, for being narrow-minded.
“Have you heard of meningitis?”
Preston nodded.
Aaron wasn’t exactly oblivious about his personality. He could feel his annoyingly pedantic nature unfold from the box that barely contained it. “Bacterial Meningitis is one of the leading causes of death and permanent disability among children. The disabilities may include cerebral palsy, blindness, deafness or seizures. In extreme cases, difficulties with limbs may require amputations. In short, it is caused by certain bacteria, the most common being streptococcus, crossing the blood-brain barrier, or meninges, and interacting with the micro vascular endothelial cells.” He paused, “Still with me?” Preston nodded and several other Rangers leaned in to listen. “Large-scale inflammation results, due to the body’s own immune response, thereby reducing blood flow to the brain and brain stem. The brain cells are deprived of oxygen and undergo apoptosis.”
Aaron glanced at Robert Tran and noted the amused look on the man’s face. Tran’s amused look always got under Aaron’s skin. As far as he was concerned, the researcher had no respect for the broader teachings of science. He continued, “Apoptosis is the word for automated cell death, which of course leads to the complications that I just outlined. Meningitis is highly contagious, and is usually spread through the systems that we all have for mucous formation and delivery. In the case of FND-z, or Cain’s Disease, as it has become commonly termed, the frontal lobes of the brain are primarily affected, leaving the more base elements of the organ healthy. We haven’t been able to determine the exact nature of the aggressive response that follows, other than the fact that the more primitive parts of the brain seem to compensate for the loss of higher function; what we might describe as the moral judgment that comes with the development of frontal lobes in Homo Sapiens-Sapiens. These more reptilian instincts are instead pushed into some type of overdrive. Also unknown is the cause for the apparently insatiable desire to kill and eat the flesh of living things. There is of course the evolutionary obvious ideal, that the disease spreads itself through the interaction of bodily fluids. But why then eat the victim? Why not just bite?”
Preston said, “We all gotta eat, Doc.”
This got a chuckle out of the group.
Aidman, Cowboy Johnston spoke up. “So you’re sayin’ some chicken farmer started all this shit?”
Un-amused, Aaron sat back in his seat and nodded at Tran, “Robert, why don’t you finish?”
Tran smiled and said, “We think so.” He raised his voice to be heard better. “It’s our hope, everybody, that if we can isolate the bacteria in its original form, we can, through gene therapy, block the molecule that allows it to pass through the brain blood barrier. We have already achieved this with certain bacteria that cause meningitis. We can then create a vaccine with our new designer mutant gene or perhaps even an antidote for those that come into contact with the infected.”
Preston asked, “So you can cure people?”
"Not likely a cure. More of a stopgap for those that haven’t yet had the bug get into their head. Once FND-z passes the meninges, the brain damage is irreversible, and as we all know, the infection works fast, usually within twenty-four hours, in rare cases within six. However, an antidote delivered early, say within three hours, may stave off the infection and save the victim. A vaccine of course would offer immunity, but would have to be injected before any possible contact with the disease."
Tran observed that everyone was straining to listen now so he continued in an even louder voice, “In regards to the seemingly indiscriminate killing and eating of victims, I suspect that Corporal Preston makes the only logical point. We