Children of a Lesser God

Chapter 85: It Has Begun

Riding down the road for the quick trip back home, Laz had many thoughts going through his head. Some things started to make sense while others still seemed a mystery. He still didn't know anything about Vivi. He did know what happened with the girl Jade in the bathroom. He wasn't sure if Kennedy was actually attracted to him or if it was the side effect of coming into contact with his blood that he was covered in after the fight. He had no idea where his parents are. He didn't even know the name of the crazy hot woman who had bound his life to her.

'Too many questions and too many change. It's hard to wrap my head around everything,' Laz couldn't help thinking to himself. 'But I guess that's kind of what life is.'

As he turned the corner to get onto the main road, he saw a large black SUV in the distance that came closer and passed him. Looking back, he noticed that the SUV turned onto the road he had just turned off from.

'Guess I made it just in time. I don't think they noticed where I came from.' Had Laz been any slower, they would have seen him turn off their road. Since they were the only family living on the road currently, it would make no sense for him to be coming off of it.

By the time Laz finally got home, parked and went inside, it was already around noon. He let Vivi down and out of the bag, only to see her make a run for his bed, jump in, then curl up.

'So let's see, it's already noon on Sunday, guess I should go return the bike.' He made a quick call to Bill but just got a auto response, saying he was out.

'That's weird. Ah well, guess I will hold on to it for now.'

As Laz looked around his apartment, he felt somewhat weird. Although he had been alone in it before, for some reason, he felt especially lonely today. He knew he wouldn't hear from Kennedy for a while and for a few weeks now, she had been his somewhat singular source of interaction. He didn't have to think about it before now since yesterday was a crazy mess and this morning was even worse, but now that he got time to think about it, he felt a bit down.

'Since when did I start enjoying spending time around people?' Laz could help but shake his head as he sat down on the old and faded recliner. He hesitated for a bit before turning it on, although he didn't really care what he watched. He was just looking for some noise to feel less lonely.

As he laid his head back and looked up at the off white ceiling, he just spent a bit reminiscing about the weekend. Before he knew it though, a small ball of fur had jumped into his ap and flopped down on him. Seeing Vivi snuggling up, Laz couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

"That's right. How can I be lonely when I have you eh? Still... I'm surprised you're not hungry. What do you eat anyway? I doubt you would want dog food."

Vivi's head shot up and moved her head till she was eye level with Laz before shaking her head.

"So, no on that huh? Well, then what will you do for food?"

In response to the question, Vivi jumped off Laz and walked to the door. When she got in front of it, she suddenly grew, going from the size of a small pup to about the size of a great dane. Reaching forward, she turned the door knob and open the door before walking outside. She then walked back in, shrunk down and hopped back into Laz's ap.

"Ah. So you're saying you can get your own food right?"

Vivi's only response was to shake her head yes before stretching out and laying down. Laz couldn't help but stroke her silky soft fur as he started flipping the stations.

"And now our top story. It has been several weeks since people all over the US and across the globe have started undergoing drastic genetic changes. Although some have come to light, many have not. But the ones that have appeared have always done so in a catastrophic way, so much so, they are being labeled a danger to normal people. As of yet, science has not yet been able to discover why these changes are taking place. However, some breakthroughs have been made in detecting those that have shown or will show, signs of change. We take you to our live correspondence in the field. Nancy?"

"Thank you Dianne. I'm standing here outside the Global Sciences building where researchers have just announced that they have developed a blood test that can be used to detect when a person's blood has undergone mutation. Although the method isn't yet ready for mass production as they are still waiting on approval from the FDA and the federal government, representatives we have talked to have confirmed that through volunteer testing, they have been able to show a 99% accuracy rating in terms of detecting the mutation. Inside sources within the government have also expressed a need for this kind of screening as a way to help identify potential cases where individuals might be at risk of what some are calling, dangerous mutations."

"Thank you Nancy. Are there any insights on how long such an approval process would take?"

"As of right now Dianne, no time frame has been quoted. But insiders have revealed that the government might push through the approval process past the FDA in an effort to get it out to the public as soon as possible, maybe even before the thanksgiving holiday."

"Thanks again for your report Nancy. Now we would like to take a minute to introduce our guests for the evening. First is the director for the Social Awareness Movement, Dr. Jacobs. And next is Rev. Calliday. Good afternoon gentleman.".

"Good afternoon!"

"Good afternoon."

"Alright, first question is for Dr. Jacobs. Doctor, you have spent the last few weeks trying to get people to spread a message of understanding and tolerance towards these individuals who have changed, saying that although caution is a necessity, we must remember that these people are human beings just like the rest of us. Can you tell me why this is the message you want to convey?"

"Of course Dianne. Humans have always had within themselves a fear of change and a fear of others who they deem to be different from themselves. We only need to look back at our own history to see a past filled with social and racial intolerance. As we move forward, we are seeing more and more people who have been affected with something that is akin to a blood virus and who's bodies are changing because of it. Due to these changes, we may begin to see people who had gotten this blood virus as different from us, even if they are people we have known all of our lives. Because of this, we run the risk of having an us and them mentality. If this becomes the wide spread norm and we don't make an effort to see these sick people as just that, sick people, we may very well isolate and cause friction between the us and them."

"That is a very thought provoking insight doctor. Now let me turn it over to Rev. Calliday. Reverend, you seem to have a very different insight to the doctor on what these changes mean to the normal population. Can you share with us your view on what you think we should do going forward."

"I would love to Dianne. I agree with the good doctor on one point he made. These people are sick. However, I believe we need to be a bit more proactive towards them, especially considering that more and more people seem to be getting sick. So far we have no clue what's causing this. Even them doctors can't say for sure if everyone will be getting sick, or if everyone will be ok. Therefore, we need to do what we have always done when there's been an outbreak like this. We need to isolate the ones who are sick from the ones who are healthy. Now I hear that in your last report those scientists have come up with a way to see who is sick and who is not. That's an excellent start. We need to be having that test made widely available to all hospitals and have the entire population start going through some tests. If we don't even know who is sick and who is not, how'er we ever going to come up with a cure?"

"You make a good point reverend, but what happens when someone tests positive but shows no sign of change? Knowing that they are sick will cause people untold amounts of stress and may interfere with their normal lives. An argument can be made that knowing is better than not knowing, but if they haven't changed at all, does it really matter?"

"Well of course it matters Dianne. Just because they are showing no signs of change doesn't mean that they won't. And if they do, they could pose untold amounts of danger to their families, their neighbors and communities."

"Excuse me reverend."

"Yes doctor?"

"From what you are saying, if someone is found sick, regardless of if the illness is showing or not, you believe it wise to inform those around them of this?"

"Well of course doctor. These people can and have been shown to be a danger to themselves and to others."

"But reverend, doing something like that is akin to what the Nazi's did in World War 2 where they had people were a badge of identity that was used to persecute them. How is doing this any different than that?"

"Well doctor, assuming you are a medical doctor, you must understand that these people are sick, not Jewish. We are not pointing them out for their race or their religious beliefs. Instead, we are warning others that this person is sick and that they could be contagious. A better solution would be if we could isolate all of those that are found to be sick, thus ensuring that the disease can not spread."

"So now you are speaking of concentration camps reverend? And it isn't even known if the disease can be spread from person to person so isn't this all a bit premature?"

"Well doctor, I'm not sure if you know this, but the idea of concentration camps was taken by the Nazi's from us. That's right, we have found it to be an acceptable solution in the past and it would work well here. Now I'm not saying we are going to be trying to kill all these people or have them dress in pj's and sleep in the dirt. Obviously they would get some modern facilities where they can live well and be treated for their illness. As far as this being premature, when would be the right time? When a guy who has the ability to attract and hypnotize people like the pied piper comes along and convinces thousands to join his death cult? Or maybe instead of a death cult, he just decides to make all the women in the world his personal sex slaves, or maybe he's one of those that would want all the men in the world as his sex slaves. If that happens, wouldn't that be too late? It's better to take action sooner than be regretful later."

"Well that's all the time we have for now. Thank you for your insights on this very pressing topic Dr. Jacobs and Rev. Calliday. Please stay tuned after the break as we go to an emergency White House announcement."

As Laz lowered the volume a little, he started to get a very funny feeling in the back of his head. He has been looking at himself this whole time and what's been happening to him. But soon, the entire world will be involved in this. It's not just going to be a part of Laz's life, but of everyone's life. If they do start rounding people up for testing and throw them into camps, Laz couldn't help but shutter at the idea.

'It seems as though everything is just beginning.'