Unity

37. Evil B7

CHAPTER 37: EVIL B7

On Bali Island, we saw much of the same extreme poverty and desperation as we had in Labuan Bajo, and in every other stop around the world.

Supplies came more often to Bali but it had a bigger population than the Komodo Islands so people still suffered, still went without.

Bali was a major tourist destination, built up over years as a beach and mountain getaway for every class of tourist from backpackers to wealthy visitors. The primary industry was tourism, but there were systems to help support the population – rice fields, farms, even a canning factory for fish.

We left the beaches in the south and crossed the center island. We passed rice fields, volcanoes, lakes.

We stopped first in Lovina on Bali's northern shore. On the black sand beach, in contrast to the white sands of Kuta, we made our first distribution that day. The morning sun wasn't too hot yet, but I still felt light headed.

Lovina was on the fringe of the tourist circuit. Many people there worked hard labor. Most families had a relative who worked in Kuta to the south or Ubud in the island's major valley.

Fishermen and laborers lined up to receive the equivalent of $100 in rupiahs. There were no throngs of children here. In fact, there were no children at all.

The local leaders organized the line before our arrival – and I suspect threatened no help if children showed up.

There was no trouble in Lovina. People were stunned that Unity had come to their little community. And here again, people tried to give us gifts in return – mostly tourism trinkets they hadn't been able to sell since the start of the pandemic. One woman offered me tea leaves.

Next we went back down the same winding two-lane road to Ubud, which was made famous by book and movie two decades earlier.

We spent the night on the outskirts of Ubud. Our private accommodations were luxurious. Spectacular views with a full moon over the rice fields, mountains in the distance, comfortable king-sized beds with fresh linens, stone bathtubs, good WiFi.

We checked the news for the first time that day and saw Greece was on the verge of collapse in every sense – riots, a currency collapse, shortages, overwhelmed hospitals, death all over.

"You sure you want to read the news?" Brian asked.

"Yea. Just the latest news because of this B7 bullshit."

The B7 variant was blamed for more people collapsing in comas. It created a desperate situation unlike any other humanity had experienced. Masses of people passed into comas. Like the man whose head hit my boot.

Some doctors guessed on staggering numbers: at least 50 million people in comas worldwide. Experts called it the Great Collapse. It meant people had fallen to B7, but it seemed everything was collapsing – or about to.

How the evil variant made it around the world so fast was inexplicable. How did that man collapse in a coma at my feet, when there had been no visitors to his island? How had B7 reached him in such a remote area on lock down?

There were no answers.

All of Europe was closed to all travel – air and train and roads and seaways. Everything – even supply deliveries – were suspended indefinitely. No grocery runs at all.

In America, the military was ready for air drops into neighborhoods of food packs.

The new panic was all from a chilling major discovery: the B7 variant of The Virus could live in the air for up to two days without a host. Two days!