Sta.sh
"I've done it!!! I finally found the missing pieces of genetic code, and you wouldn't believe where I found them!! Call me back Markus as soon as you get this message."
Howard had been completely obsessed with this virus ever since that day Markus walked into his office carrying that damned yellow rock. But what was he supposed to do, just tell the head of the Science Department no when he offered him an opportunity to take part in the greatest historical discovery his university ever made? And what did he have to show for all this hard work? Well nothing yet except a wicked case of insomnia, a never-ending stack of papers that were well overdue being graded, and one extremely pissed off wife at home. But all of that was about to change, he just knew it! How could it not? He had just completely revitalized a viral infection that had been extinct since the late Cretaceous period! He could just hear the words now:
'And the Nobel Prize goes to.... Howard Grimes!!
To think that all of this could come out of a six day archeology field trip to Montana. Dr. Rex Menard and his students returned from 'The Big Sky Country' with a treasure trove of bone fragments and of course the prize specimen, a solid amber orb with the perfectly preserved body of an ancient blood-sucking insect.
Howard remembers it like it was yesterday. He was in his office....
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Six Months Ago
The shadow of a man materializes on the window of Howard's office door, but he pays no attention being lost in a sea of midterms. He hears a slight tap on the door , and looks up to see Markus Billingsley enter quietly.
"Well, Mr. Billingsley. What brings you all the way down here to my end of campus?" Says Howard going right back to work.
"Just thought that I'd drop in on Biology Monthly's top Geneticist of 2014.
Ever since Congress lifted the ban on stem cell research there has been significant advances in the worlds of Science and medicine. These advances brought forth a new found respect for scientists like Howard who were watching their carriers soar to the heavens. It even reached the point where the President signed off on allowing 'Genetic Manipulation Licences' for a select few of these researchers, giving them the rights to do whatever is necessary to ensure the United States stayed at the foreground in these new fields. Howard was one of the first men in the country to receive this honor turning him from a mid-level biology professor into the highest paid man at the university.
Now Howard knew something was up by the way Markus was carrying himself. He had a tell-all smirk that showed up every time something big was about to happen.
"What's really going on Markus?"
"Well as you know Dr. Menard has just returned from his dig in Montana."
"What did Doctor-Saurus Rex finally find that skull to go along with the rest of his Tyrannosaurus skeleton?"
"No, actually he found something even more important. Something that concerns you!"
This peaked Howard's interest immediately. What on Earth could Menard have found out there? Markus pulls a specimen jar out of his pocket and hands it to Howard who starts to study it intensely.
"It's an extinct insect from the Genes Anopheles trapped in amber Professor Grimes. And by the looks of him he just finished eating a meal when the event occurred."
This creature looked quite bloated indeed. What on Earth had it been gorging on right before it died?
"Markus, this is interesting and all, but I don't see what this has to do with me."
"Dr. Menard was hoping that you would be willing to extract this creature's last meal and...."
"And what? I seriously think that you and Menard watch too many old movies. Even if I was able to extract any DNA from the 65 million year old blood there's no way that I'd ever consider cloning a dinosaur Marcus. There's a reason why the 'Terrible Lizards' went extinct, and I don't feel like finding that out first hand."
"No, you've got us all wrong Howard. We were just hoping that you could be the first man to completely map the genetic code of a creature from the Mesozoic Era. Think about what that would mean Howard! Federal grants, students pounding down the door at the admissions office, and a place for you in the history books. That's not mentioning what it would do for the world of science! Just think about what we could learn about the evolution of birds!!"
"Markus I've never heard you so excited in all my years working with you. If this means so much to you, then fine. Consider it done."
"Thank you Howard! Thank you so much!! This is going to be a 'game changer' for this university!"
"The way that you make it sound it's going to be a 'game changer' for all of mankind."
"It might just be Howard." Markus leaves the professor to continue his work.
Howard studies the creature frozen in the petrified sap. It's wings are spread out as if it was captured in mid-flight.
"What am I getting myself into?"
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Howard hangs up the phone after leaving Markus a voicemail. He has a feeling that by morning Markus would be pounding his door trying to see Strain-X under the microscope. Holding the petrie dish up to the lights of his lab Howard smiles knowing his months of work were not in vain.
"Are you coming to bed tonight or what?!?!"
"In all his excitement Howard never heard his wife Rebbecca walking down the stairs to his basement lab. The sound of her angry words is surprising enough to cause him to toss the petrie dish into the air. It shatters on the lab's ceiling sending a shower of glass fragments onto his wife's head. He nervously looks over at her and notices that she is furious. Rebbecca is shaking in anger, balling her fists up hard enough to leave imprints from her beautifully manicured nails on the palm of her hands. Peering into her eyes feels like being stabbed by two sharp hazel daggers.
"Sorry honey, you just scared the crap out of me!" Embarrassment is evident on his face. He starts to pick the visible shards of glass out of her long auburn hair. This is an easy task because Rebbecca stands only 5' tall, over a foot shorter than her husband. He also notices a few in the folds of her loose fitting night gown and grabs them up too. She's wearing her nightgown? What time is it anyways?
"Are you okay Becky? The glass didn't cut you did it?"
"No, I think I'm okay." His concern for her safety eases her anger slightly.
"Sorry, I lost track of time again didn't I?"
"It's 2:00 AM Howard."
"Sorry, I don't know how I can just forget about something like sleeping. I..... " He yawns loudly. "I feel like I'm about to pass out right here in the lab."
He sets the shards of glass down on his notes and starts following Rebbecca toward their bedroom. Howard crawls into bed alongside of her, being shut out of a good night's kiss. The mighty grasp of sleep takes him as soon as he lays his head on the pillow.
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Crawling out of the shadow of a dream, Howard awakens to a bright light peeking through the windows. He shoots up out of bed excitedly and runs down stair to his lab. His cellphone is just where he left it, and there's one voicemail message waiting him.
"Good to hear that Howard. Call me back as soon as you get this message and we'll discuss the specifics of what you found." Howard does as she is told, calling Markus immediately.
It seems like the phone doesn't have a chance to ring before Markus answers. "Hello Howard, so tell me all of the details."
"Well you see i searched through all of the known exotic strains and found no real correlation, but I happened to take the chance and test quite a few of our more common infections and came out with one that shares 98.99% of the same chromosomes with Strain-X."
"And? What is it?! The anticipation is killing me Howard!"
"Influenza! Menard found the earliest known ancestor to the flu!"
"You're kidding me?! This has to be the most amazing discovery made in this century!"
"Yes and after we start laboratory tests then.... " Howard looks down at his notes and notices the shattered petrie dish. All of the events of last night come flooding back to him in that brief moment.
"Then what Howard? Howard? Are you still there?"
"Can I call you back Markus?" His voice sounds calm, but right now Howard's mind is racing. He hangs up without waiting for an answer and slowly creeps back up the stairs. When He opens his bedroom door his wife isn't in bed, but he can hear her moving around in the bathroom. His fears subside a bit till he hears her have a coughing fit.
"Becky? Honey, are you okay?" He approaches the bathroom door.
"I think I'm coming down with something." Her voice sounds a bit nasal like she has a sinus infection.
He waits patiently for the door to open, and when it finally does she slowly walks out. Her eyes are bloodshot and puffy, but that's not Howard's biggest concern. Normally he would have to crane his neck down to look into her eyes, but they were now level with his. He looks down at their feet and notices the while he has on slippers, she is completely barefoot!
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