A Prologue To The End

"Look...look. Lemme explain why I doubt it. How do you know if climate change is even real? I mean, c'mon! It'll cost billions to do what you're proposing. I don't think..."

"Morons.", Dr. Johns says as he turns off the newscast. He sighs forcefully and focuses on the main monitor in front of him, chewing on his pen. Dr. Johns leans back into his chair as the light from the monitor bathes him and the dark room in a faint blue glow. The blue glow slowly, and then quickly taken over by red.

"Damn.", Dr. Johns slams his chewed pen on the desk. He clicks on a few icons and the monitor becomes blue again. He slinks back into his chair as the blue light becomes totally red even faster. A light slowly fills the room, causing Dr. Johns to swivel his chair.

"Is everything ok, Dr. Johns?"

"I've run the simulations hundreds of times, and the results are the same. The contagion spreads to the entire human population. No matter what I try, it always ends the same. I just can't crack it." Dr. Johns takes off his glasses and tosses them onto the desk. leans forwards, perches his elbows on the edge and places his face into his hands.

"You're exhausted. You've been in this room for 36 hours. Maybe it's time for a break."

"Do you have the results, Lt. Feigel?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry. Everyone presents as infected."

"Excuse me. Everyone?"

"Yes. The contagion is present in the blood in everyone from the tour boat and everyone here. Turns out, your theory was correct. The contagion was detected in Yellowknife, so it's spreading. Maybe spreading for months undetected. Frankly, were it not for Dr. Abraham's appendix bursting shortly after returning from the ice shelf, we more than likely wouldn't have known. I wonder how long the contagion has been sealed in the ice."

"Ok. We'll have to consider ending quarantine on the ship if everyone is presenting. In the meantime, I have to focus on this."

Dr. Johns restarts the simulation, then swivels his chair to face Lt. Feigel. "Any word from Washington on funding? Or addressing the climate crisis?"

"No. The president maintains that climate change isn't really a priority. The Pentagon is upset, but their hands are tied."

Lt. Feigel moves forward, leans forward and narrow her eyes at the third monitor on the desk. "That can't be right."

"I'm afraid it is. That's the molecular structure of the contagion."

"It looks like a quartz-based lifeform. That can't be possible, can it?"

"It seems it is. Analysis confirms that it's structure is crystalline, but still biological. I think that it's extraterrestrial in nature."

Dr. Johns swivels to face his desk, leans over and opens the drawer, pulling out a slightly crumpled and barely empty pack of cigarettes. He pulls one out, lights it, leans back into his chair and takes a long drag. the amber glow adds a new light source to the room.

"There's no smoking in the interior of a Navy ship." Lt. Feigel snaps at him as she reaches over, grabs the cigarette, drops it to the floor, and stomps it out.

Dr. Johns scoffs. "What's the point? The world is on fire. Animals are facing a mass extinction. There's food wars brewing in the EU. Florida is disappearing. Everyone will be infected with this contagion in a matter of days. The 'president' is a moron and D.C. is fat with the bribes of the fossil fuel industry. This is a prologue to the end. I see this getting exponentially worse."

"So there's nothing the top virologist in the world can do?"

"The contagion has a crystalline structure unlike anything I've ever seen. Experimental treatments are not even close to solving something like this. We are on the frontlines of something new. Something terrifying."