The Z Contingency

Prologue (Version 2)

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm working on possible replacements for the existing Prologue. Please vote for the version you think is better, and provide any comments you may have. I decided to try out this second in response to some comments that the dialogue only approach seemed hard to follow.

"What the hell is this?" A quaking male voice demanded. It was angry, but not especially loud. Like the words had been screamed through tightly-clenched teeth. As it was, the outburst barely broke the silence of the nearly-empty hallway.

"What are you talking about, and why are you shouting at me?" a female voice demanded, seething with barely-suppressed anger.

"This article that just came out, 'Zombie Apocalypse: CDC Denies Existence Of Zombies Despite Cannibal Incidents.'" The tone of the man's voice changed from anger to despair mid-sentence, abruptly ending the tightly-controlled yelling match. After a long pause, the man continued in a much calmer and quieter tone. "We have to prepare the public for the eventuality."

"And what eventuality is that, exactly?" The woman's voice was calmer now as well, but there was an undertone of impatience.

"Zombification." After a long silence, the man continued after it became clear that woman was not going to respond. "The public needs to prepare for zombies. My model predicts that Ebola or Marburg could mutate so the infected don't die, but only go to a near death state, where the brain and nervous system function just enough to sustain motor control."

"I don't see how this gets us to zombies."

"Consider how any pathogen that kills its host reduces the chance it can spread and further propagate its genetic material. A virus that mutates in the way my model predicts would have a greater chance of spreading those genes."

"I'm listening..."

"With a mutated virus controlling motor functions, people would be calking around like... well, like zombies. Spreading the virus.... We have to warn the public."

"We did warn them. We got the CDC to launch the public awareness campaign on preparing for the zombie apocalypse. All the material is staying on the site. That won't be taken down."

"But that article says we're denying it all," the man complained. "What about that statement, 'CDC does not know of a virus or condition that would reanimate the dead?'"

"They had to deny the existence of a zombie apocalypse, what with all these bizarre attacks, and people eating people. The public was getting panicky."

"But now they won't take this seriously. They'll stop preparing."

"Stop being silly." There was an edge to the woman's voice. "Look, do we know of any virus that would reanimate the dead?"

"Well, no... but my model...."

"That's your model," the woman interrupted. "Does any virus exist today that would reanimate the dead?"

"Not yet...."