The Virus
Posted: Thu May 26, 2005 11:05 am
The Virus
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The Centre for Disease Control looked more like a tumor
on the landscape than the architectural and scientific marvel it
really was. The vast complex had spread unchecked over the years to
the point where it threatened to devour its neighbors.
Inside, white-robed scientific types squinted into
microscopes, sat hunched over rectangles of stained glass the size of
a Tahitian postage stamp and squirted colored liquids into test tubes.
They were searching for a mysterious virus which had
appeared just weeks before and was responsible for an outbreak of
tiny, running sores that had broken out on the lips of everybody who
had eaten at Norway Knute's Diner on the evening of June 5th. At
first, it was thought to be a form of food poisoning, but closer
examination revealed that an unidentified virus was responsible for
those sore lips.
For his part, Knute was extremely upset that his well-
respected establishment would be associated with this type of thing.
It was not the kind of advertising he had in mind.
After some preliminary investigation, it was determined
that the virus appeared to be a mutated form of the dreaded
Disgusticus Lipposaurus B virus which had been responsible for wiping
out an entire Japanese village in 1983. They were working around the
clock to try to check the spread of this highly contagious mutant.
Six weeks after the initial outbreak, one of the
researchers just happened to notice that the mutations of the HLB, or
'Diner' Virus as they called it, were slowing down and a definite
pattern was emerging. From there, it became a relatively easy task to
predict what form the virus would take next and therefore, to halt
its progress. In short, they found a cure. The HLB Virus would be no
more.
In recognition of her discovery, the young researcher was
presented with a number of awards and prizes, was written up in all
the better scientific journals and spent the better part of a year on
the talk show circuit describing her role in the extinction of the
Diner Sores.
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The Centre for Disease Control looked more like a tumor
on the landscape than the architectural and scientific marvel it
really was. The vast complex had spread unchecked over the years to
the point where it threatened to devour its neighbors.
Inside, white-robed scientific types squinted into
microscopes, sat hunched over rectangles of stained glass the size of
a Tahitian postage stamp and squirted colored liquids into test tubes.
They were searching for a mysterious virus which had
appeared just weeks before and was responsible for an outbreak of
tiny, running sores that had broken out on the lips of everybody who
had eaten at Norway Knute's Diner on the evening of June 5th. At
first, it was thought to be a form of food poisoning, but closer
examination revealed that an unidentified virus was responsible for
those sore lips.
For his part, Knute was extremely upset that his well-
respected establishment would be associated with this type of thing.
It was not the kind of advertising he had in mind.
After some preliminary investigation, it was determined
that the virus appeared to be a mutated form of the dreaded
Disgusticus Lipposaurus B virus which had been responsible for wiping
out an entire Japanese village in 1983. They were working around the
clock to try to check the spread of this highly contagious mutant.
Six weeks after the initial outbreak, one of the
researchers just happened to notice that the mutations of the HLB, or
'Diner' Virus as they called it, were slowing down and a definite
pattern was emerging. From there, it became a relatively easy task to
predict what form the virus would take next and therefore, to halt
its progress. In short, they found a cure. The HLB Virus would be no
more.
In recognition of her discovery, the young researcher was
presented with a number of awards and prizes, was written up in all
the better scientific journals and spent the better part of a year on
the talk show circuit describing her role in the extinction of the
Diner Sores.