“Success for humanity means winning every battle. The stakes are high. Around the world, disease is the one enemy that unites every person of every race and nationality. When a pandemic occurs, we come together in a single, species-wide cause.
“In the history of our battle against pandemics, there have been lulls and wildfires, peaks and valleys. It is the wildfires we know well; they are committed to history. They are the times when we lost the battle. They are the dark years when the human race died en masse. When our population shrank. When we cowered and waited.”
The screen changed to a painting of Europeans with bumps covering their bodies.
“In the third century, the Antonine Plague wiped out a third of Europe’s population. And just when population levels were recovering, the Plague of Justinian in the sixth century killed almost half of all Europeans; up to fifty million people died from what we believe was bubonic plague.
“In the 1340s, the Plague once again remade Europe, forever changing the course of world history. At that time, we believe the world population was around 450 million. The Black Death killed at least 75 million. Some estimates go as high as 200 million. Imagine, in the span of four years between twenty and fifty percent of the world population dying.
“Europe, because of its large cities, population density, and advanced trade routes, has repeatedly been a hotbed for pandemics. But it is not alone.”
The image switched to a picture of Spanish conquistadors meeting indigenous tribes at a shoreline, their wooden ships anchored in a bay behind them.
“Consider the New World when Europeans arrived. We’ve heard so much about the plight of native peoples in the present-day United States, but consider the populations of New Spain, present-day Mexico. In 1520, smallpox killed nearly eight million. Twenty-five years later, a mysterious viral hemorrhagic fever killed fifteen million—roughly eighty percent of their population at the time. Imagine that: a mysterious illness killing eight out of every ten people. In America, that would be over 240 million people. It’s unthinkable, but it happened, right here in North America, less than five hundred years ago. We still haven’t identified the pathogen that decimated Mexico in the sixteenth century, but we do know it returned twenty years later, in 1576, following two years of drought. It killed another two million from the already decimated population. To this day, we still have very few clues about what caused that pandemic. Most importantly, we don’t know if or when it will return.”
The image changed to a black-and-white photo of a field hospital with rows of iron single beds holding patients covered by wool blankets.
“1918. The Spanish Flu. Or, as it’s more recently known, the 1918 Flu Epidemic. Less than one hundred years ago. Estimates are that one in every three people around the world contracted the pathogen. It killed one in five people who fell ill with the disease. As many as fifty million died. We think twenty-five million died in the first six months of the outbreak.
“So. Human history has a repeating theme: we battle pandemics, we lose, we die, it burns itself out, and we rebuild. We always come out the other side stronger. Humanity marches on.
“But today, we are more connected than ever before. Our population is four times larger than it was at the time of the last major global pandemic in 1918. We’re more urbanized. We’re disturbing more animal habitats. Most concerning, we are disturbing habitats where reservoir hosts for extremely deadly diseases reside. Fruit bats, rats, squirrels, fowl, and other hosts for zoonotic diseases are coming into contact with humans with greater frequency.
“If you ask any epidemiologist, they will tell you it’s not a matter of if, but when the next global pandemic begins. That’s why the work you’re doing is so important. You’re on the front lines of the battle against infectious diseases. Your actions may determine when the next pandemic occurs. At the local and state levels, your decisions will determine whether the next outbreak remains contained or goes global. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, I believe that one or more of you, at some point in your career, may determine the fate of millions, and possibly billions, of lives. No pressure.”
The crowd laughed, and Peyton smiled as the video ended.
Desmond considered Peyton’s words as he washed the hair dye down the sink and applied bronzer to his face, neck, and ears, making his complexion turn darker. How did she fit with his situation?
He needed to talk to Peyton again. She might hold a clue he had missed. It was a risk, but he thought it was one worth taking.
He opened the Google Voice app and called her number in Atlanta.
After three rings, her voicemail picked up. He decided to leave a message.
“Hi. It’s Desmond. I called earlier. Sorry if I alarmed you. I’d very much like to speak with you, Peyton. Give me a call.” He left his number, and wondered if she would call.
Once the bronzer dried, Desmond again left the small flat. He needed cash for tomorrow. At an electronics store, he purchased two iPads with his Visa prepaid cards, then sold them at a pawn shop. The money solved his immediate cash problems, and gave him the funds he needed to execute his plan for the meeting.
At a sporting goods store, he acquired five items he would need in case things went wrong. The purchases might raise suspicion, especially since he had paid cash, but he intended to be out of Berlin before it became a problem.
Back at the flat, he collapsed on the Murphy bed. It had been a long day, and the next day might be even longer.