A Heartbeat Away - Michael Palmer [32]
Townsend, who had been silent, finally spoke up.
“Excuse me, sir? I … don’t understand that last statement.”
Allaire and Salitas exchanged looks.
“I’ll fill you in more later, Bethany,” the president said. “But suffice it to say, it’s why I need you here with me right now.”
“And why is that?” Townsend asked.
“Thanks to that virus, it is only a matter of time, possibly very little time, before I will no longer be mentally competent to be president.”
CHAPTER 14
DAY 2
3:15 A.M. (EST)
Dr. Bethany Townsend turned and walked away, struggling to regain composure before she could face the president again.
“No more games, Jim,” she said finally. “No more half-truths and dammit, no more outright lies. As your physician and friend I expect full disclosure, right now, or consider this my resignation.”
Allaire encouraged his physician to take a seat and poured her a glass of water.
“I agree. Promise. Bethany, I need you to devise a means by which we evaluate my mental state.”
“By ‘means,’ are you talking about some sort of test? I know from the Kalvesta files what the virus did to the Jacksons’ central nervous systems. But I thought that danger had been taken care of. Are you implying that there are mental status side effects of this incarnation of the virus as well?”
“Not exactly side effects. After the Jacksons’ disaster, before we stopped the Veritas project altogether, the virus had been working perfectly. You know what interferon is, yes?”
“Of course.”
“I remember the name,” Salitas said, “and I know certain anticancer protocols use it, but I don’t remember what role it plays here.”
“Interferon is a protein made naturally in the body,” Townsend said. “It’s produced in response to certain infections, and also to attacks by cancer cells—particularly those cancers caused by viruses.”
“Sort of like an antibody,” the president added.
“Only not nearly as specific and probably not as powerful. Think about cold sores or other herpes infections. The outbreak happens, then goes away, but the virus is usually not completely removed from the body. Instead some of the germs remain in the skin or along nerve roots in a dormant state. Then a stress or other some factor awakens them. There’s an outbreak, and the cycle is repeated again. We believe that interferon is one of the natural chemicals that drives the virus underground, so to speak. It is manufactured in response to an outbreak.”
“Got it,” Salitas said. “So common colds might be good for us if they stimulate interferon production.”
“Exactly,” Townsend replied. “The interferon produced in response to a common cold could be protective against viruses that cause leukemia. That possibility is still being investigated.”
The president took over the explanation.
“Well, it appeared as if the WRX3883 virus was held in check or even destroyed by interferon and antibodies.… Until it wasn’t.”
“Mutation,” Townsend said in more of a statement than a question.
“All of a sudden Dr. Chen and her team just couldn’t keep it in check. It was as if the virus had become immune to interferon. Remember what I told you about their clinical trials—getting cats to willingly swim across a pool, or mother monkeys to stop feeding their young?”
“Yes.”
“Well, just as Chen thought the virus was under control, her animal subjects, mostly monkeys, began to undergo a progressive neurological degeneration—dementia, erratic mood swings, serious aggression, weakness.”
“Jesus,” Townsend muttered, shaking her head. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“There was no reversal once their animals began to come apart. The virus continued to replicate and attack their brains. Death was due to seizures and central nervous system shutdown.”
“So you think we’re all headed for dementia and death.”
“I do.”
“And you want me to come up with a psychological test that will demonstrate when you are mentally no longer able to be president.”
“Yes.”
“And what then?”
“Gary, is Paul Rappaport in a secure location now?” Allaire asked.
Salitas nodded.
“He’s being transported to the