The Melanin Apocalypse Read online

  The Melanin Apocalypse

  Darrell Bain

  A man-made virus is killing all the blacks in the world. The African continent is devolving into complete chaos. Blacks in America begin rioting and killing Whites. Israel and the Arab states go to war again. The oil fields of the Middle East and Africa are up for grabs…

  The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta provides the only possible bulwark against the whole world falling into anarchy. Unfortunately, the CDC comes under attack by mobs of angry, sick and dying blacks while scientists inside search desperately for a cure.

  “Darrell Bain has given us another winner. The science fiction community is lucky to have him. I say read this book.”

  —Travis S. “Doc” Taylor, author of The Tau Ceti Agenda

  Darrell Bain

  THE MELANIN APOCALYPSE

  To all the oppressed people of the world, anywhere and anywhen. It is my sincerest hope that the events portrayed in this novel never happen.

  …Scientists have declared that in ten years they will succeed in creating a radically new type of biological weapon. This weapon would be capable of infecting people according to a genetically predetermined marker such as skin color or eye shape. Infection could have a delayed effect or only begin once a certain type of medicine was taken. A recent closed seminar held by the CIA….

  …the most terrifying new possibility is the hypothetical biological weapon that could infect people according to genetic markers. Not only would it allow for genocide; it would be created specifically for that purpose. A recent report by the British Medical Association stated that “the rapid progress in genetics could become the basis for ethnic cleansing on an unheard of scale in the near future.

  Excerpts from article in Gateway to Russia, March 2004 by Vasili Sychev

  CHAPTER ONE

  On his hospital bed in the city of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, Benjamin Imhonde barely had the energy to raise his arm, but that was enough to see that his skin was becoming lighter. Several weeks ago it had been ebony black. Now it was several shades paler. He wouldn’t have minded so much except that as his skin color faded, he became sicker… and sicker. Benjamin made an effort and turned his head toward the bed next to him where his wife lay sleeping, exhausted from expending what little energy she had left in the simple act of using the bedpan. She had cried out weakly from the pain caused by her movements, but now she was silent.

  Sleeping? No! She looked more like… He didn’t want to think what she looked like. He tried to raise his head but a wave of pain coursing through his body dropped it back to the pillow. A tear leaked from Benjamin’s right eye, then another, and one from his left. He felt them trickling down his face and tried to rein in his emotions. Even crying hurt now. I’m going to die, he thought. I’ve known ever since they moved us to the isolation ward. But no one would tell him what kind of disease he and his wife had!

  Just before the transfer, he overheard talk that the sickness was sweeping through the city of Port Harcourt. Then an orderly told him yesterday—or was it the day before?—that only blacks were becoming ill, and even more ominous, that no one was recovering. That bit of information had been bought from the orderly, but Benjamin didn’t mind; he could afford it. He was even willing to pay for more, but the orderly never returned.

  Benjamin Imhonde tried one more time to move, to stretch his hand out toward the body of his wife. His arm barely twitched. That was his last conscious movement. An hour later the orderlies came to remove the bodies. They were Catholic nuns. They were white. They showed no symptoms of illness.

  * * *

  Doug Craddock took a seat at the conference table in the administrative building of the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia. He nodded to the others present and smiled across the table at Amelia Foster. He had been with the scientist-physician once before on a mission, to the Congo where a pesky, previously unknown virus had popped up, then disappeared just as suddenly. Amelia’s presence meant they must have a puzzle on their hands. She was CDC’s top specialist in infectious diseases; they didn’t send her just anywhere. He also knew Robert Handley, the man in charge of logistics and a good friend. The other person was new to him, a small attractive woman with light brown hair who looked to be in her thirties.

  Amelia saw him looking and realized her oversight. “Doug, I’m sorry. This is June Spencer. She’ll be head nurse on this little jaunt. June, Doug Craddock, in charge of our security detail. It was becoming almost routine for the CDC to send a security contingent along with the scientists and health workers when it was called on to investigate disease hotspots these days. There was even a new building going up next to the CDC complex, to be devoted to security.

  “Hi,” Doug said, smiling at her. The nurse gave a very slight nod in return, without a smile. He diagnosed her problem almost immediately. Another one who thinks the world would be better off without guns—until the bullets start flying in their direction, then we’re the first ones they call for.

  Amelia tapped her fingernails on the table to get everyone’s attention again. “There’s coffee and tea for those who want it. Now that everyone’s here, let’s get started.”

  Doug had been the last one to arrive. He poured coffee for himself while Amelia played with the keyboard at her place. The wall screen swam into focus. It showed a map of a large part of western Africa.

  “Here’s where we’ll be going.” An arrow moved over the map. It stopped at Port Harcourt, Nigeria. “As you can see, we’ll be in Nigeria, near the coast. Port Harcourt is a relatively modern city so facilities should be adequate.

  “And here’s what we’re investigating.” The next image showed the body of a pale black man. His skin had a peculiar hue, as if some of the color had been scrubbed off with a rough cloth. Other than that, there were no signs of illness—yet he was obviously dead.

  “What is it?” June asked.

  “Good question. We don’t know; that’s why we’re being sent. The disease starts with a tingling felt over the whole body and progresses over a period of weeks to extreme myalgia, neuralgia, intractable pain and death. The good news is that it doesn’t appear to be contagious through airborne droplets, as diseases like the flu are. The bad news is that it’s spreading anyway and the medical people don’t know why.”

  Doug rubbed his chin where a five o’clock shadow was forming. He had a beard that showed more gray than did his wavy, dark brown hair, though his hair was beginning to be shot with white threads, too. To him, the new disease already sounded ominous, but then these days any unexplained phenomenon that caused death worried him. Damned terrorists.

  Amelia continued. “We’ve already received specimens from some of the afflicted. So far, we haven’t turned up what’s causing the illness, though we’re beginning to suspect a peculiar little enterovirus that resembles the poliovirus species.”

  “Polio? I thought we had wiped it out,” Doug said.

  “I didn’t say it was the polio virus; just that it resembles it in certain ways. We’ll have to wait and see what the virologists say. In the meantime, our job is to go there and assist in finding and identifying the vector.”

  “Any clues yet?” June Spencer asked. She and her team would be the ones having the most direct contact with patients. She played with a pendant at her neck, an odd arrangement of diamonds and gold, rolling it between thumb and fingers.

  Amelia hesitated, as if reluctant to speak. “Well… possibly. For some reason, it’s only people of color that have become ill. That’s rather peculiar considering what a cosmopolitan city Port Harcourt is.”

  The other three people in the room couldn’t help it. Their eyes turned toward Bob Handley, whose skin was a rich brown color, bordering
on black.

  He ignored the stares. “Maybe it only strikes those carrying the genes for Sickle Cell,” Handley shrugged. “Or maybe it’s an all black neighborhood where the vector popped up.”

  “It doesn’t matter right now,” Amelia said. She brushed a tress of her blond hair away from her forehead.

  Doug smiled inwardly, remembering a dream he had of running his fingers through that same tumble of blond hair. Amelia was a few years older than he and had an appealing, rather than pretty face. He had thought idly about asking her out now that he was getting over Doris’ death, but doubted he would.

  There was no real spark there. They were fast friends, though she was nominally his superior.

  “How many of us should I plan on supplies for?” Bob asked, holding his stylus ready. His PDA was on the table in front of him.

  Amelia thought. “Four infectious disease specialists, two doctors, June’s gang and I think all of Doug’s squad.”

  Doug sat up straighter. Amelia must be worried to want the whole squad. These teams usually took less than a half dozen security specialists. “You want my whole squad? Is there something I don’t know?”

  “Doug, I’m not sure of anything at this point. Call it a hunch, but I’ve got a feeling about this one. It’s new, the symptoms are unlike anything we’ve seen before and despite Bob’s disclaimer, I don’t like that thing about it affecting only blacks. No, let me take that back. Right before I came from the office, I saw where a couple of Indians from Calcutta had come down with it, so it probably isn’t confined to people of African descent, just those who happen to have dark skin.”

  “How dark were they?” Bob twiddled with his PDA, obviously somewhat uncomfortable with the subject matter.

  “I have no idea. Anyway, that’s about it, so far as facts that we’re sure of.”

  “How many so far?” June asked.

  Doug liked the way her voice sounded. It had a pleasant, melodic tone to it. She was pretty, too. Too bad she didn’t seem to take to him.

  “It’s gone from a dozen or so a week ago to over three hundred hospitalized now and many more beginning to show symptoms. The clinics have long lines in front of them. A few dozen deaths so far, but according to my sources, none of the sick are showing any signs of recovery; on the contrary, they’re getting worse. We’ll be wanting to take level one precautions until we know more.” Amelia had decided not to bring up what the virology laboratory director had told her; that there was a possibility the virus could have been tinkered with. She wanted to wait until they knew for certain, one way or another. No sense in letting unfounded rumors get started.

  The other three groaned at the mention of level one precautions. In the tropics, the protective suits were burdensome and hot and very uncomfortable, especially when worn for long periods.

  “We’ll be leaving as quickly as we can, so get your people briefed and check with Bob for anything extra in the way of supplies you think you might need. Plan on the day after tomorrow at the latest. I know this is kind of rushed, but that’s what we’re here for. Any questions?” She scanned the three faces. No one responded. “All right, same time tomorrow morning we’ll meet again and see where we are.”

  Doug rose from his seat. He gave Amelia a mock half-salute and strode quickly away, his mind already in overdrive, mentally running down his checklist of the things he would need to do to get his squad ready.

  There weren’t many items on the list. Most of the squad were retired military, all professionals, all trained by him personally to be ready to go at an instant’s notice. Two days? Hell, they could be ready in two hours if they had to. Something else was on his mind, too; Bob Handley. Before they parted, Handley stopped him with a touch.

  “Doug—for some reason this scares me, the thought that only blacks are falling ill. If I buy the farm, will you see to the family?”

  “Of course, but don’t worry; just make sure you wear your biosuit and you’ll be okay.”

  Handley’s earnest black face held a graver expression than Doug had ever seen; ordinarily, he was cheerful almost to a fault. And he was such a good friend that they could honestly discuss race relationships and cultural attitudes with none of the intellectual posturing so common when the subject usually came up.

  Doug remembered very plainly when he first became aware of racial differences. He was five years old and not yet in the first grade when he stumbled while racing along the sidewalk near his home. He fell and skinned his knees. The old black man who did yard work for the neighborhood helped him up while Doug tried to hold back the tears . Big boys don’t cry! He remembered his Dad’s admonishment but sometimes it was hard to keep the tears inside.

  “You okay, little man?” The white haired old man asked, while brushing him off.

  Doug nodded, unable to speak. His chin was quivering.

  “You a big boy,” the old man said, his smile showing a gold tooth.

  Doug nodded again, feeling better. It really didn’t hurt that much.

  From out of the blue came another question that he didn’t understand at first. “What you rather be, a black man or a white man?”

  For the first time, Doug really looked at the old dark skinned gardener. His shoes were split and taped.

  A much used leather belt held up equally worn and patched jeans. His shirt was stained and wet with the pungent odor of dried sweat and his cap was a shapeless mass. But what Doug noticed most was his color and the way his face held a reservoir of old sadness that was never absent. He didn’t laugh and sing and wear nice clothes like the black men he saw on television. He was very dark, almost black, and Doug remembered now that a lot of other people were dark, too, like the woman who came to clean house every week or two. He thought of his playmates and how they were all white. He thought of his parents and their friends. None of them worked outside all day in the yards or mopped floors. He hung his head, ashamed, somehow, but his child’s mind had no idea why. Yet he knew the answer to the black man’s question. From hundreds of overheard jokes and conversations a cultural bias had already soaked into his little mind. He didn’t really want to say anything but his parents had taught him to always answer when an adult spoke to him.

  “White, I guess,” he muttered, looking up at the old man.

  “Me, too,” the black gardener replied in a soft voice. He seemed to be looking at something far beyond them, something out of sight. “You go home now, get them knees doctored.”

  Doug thought he had never seen anyone look as sad as the old man, even when he smiled. “Yes, sir,” he said as he nodded his head and turned back toward home. In a moment he was running again, but not from excitement or playfulness. He was running to escape an unknown menace, something he didn’t understand but knew was threatening.

  He never forgot that episode, and even as a child, he began observing how blacks and whites treated each other and by the time he turned thirteen, he knew that blacks were considered an inferior race. He didn’t know why, but he didn’t agree with the prevailing attitude of his white friends and his parents. He didn’t speak out openly very often, being shy and reclusive. He was considered a bookworm by many of his peers. It wasn’t until he was grown and in the army that he began voicing his opinions at times and places he thought were appropriate, but it seemed as if he had always known it was an unfair situation for black people and even as a child always tried to treat blacks as politely and with as much consideration as any one else.

  Bob Handley was the only person other than Doris he had ever told that story to. Remembering it, he patted Handley’s shoulder, but was unsure of what else he could or should say.

  Handley finally smiled at him. “You’re a good man, Doug. I hope you come out of this okay, too.”

  “We will,” Doug assured him again. But now he began to worry.

  * * *

  June lingered after Bob Handley and Doug Craddock had hurried away. This would be her first mission after returning from her extended leave of absence.r />
  Amelia smiled warmly at her. “I’m really glad to have you back, June. I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to talk to you before now. How are you doing?”

  “I’m okay, Amelia. It just took a while for me to get over it. I guess no woman really expects to become a widow when she’s barely in her thirties and…”

  Amelia nodded sympathetically. “Yes, but—June, I saw the way you reacted to Doug. Please don’t take it out on him just because he was a soldier. He’s a good man and I’m glad he’s going to be with us.”

  “I’m sorry. I know I was rude, but when he walked into the room, just the way he acted… so… so…”

  “Soldierly?”

  June granted Amelia a small chuckle. “I guess so. And I guess I’m still a little resentful that it wasn’t the professionals who took so many of the casualties; it was the National Guard troops.” She fingered her pendant, a nervous habit she wasn’t even aware of. It was made from her wedding and engagement rings, cut down and set on a small flat oval made of yellow gold. “Anyway, is there anything special I need to know? Anything that’s changed since I’ve been gone? I didn’t want to ask while the others were here.”

  Amelia shook her head. “The only thing that’s changed is that the world has become an even more dangerous place since you took your leave. I guess you know that, though.”

  June smiled and Amelia thought how engaging and cheerful a simple smile made her look. She was glad that June had decided to return. Moping wouldn’t bring her husband back and Amelia was a firm believer in work. Perhaps staying busy would help dispel the last remnants of sorrow she still carried inside her.

  “Oh yes, I have kept up with the news,” June said. “The terrorists are getting worse all the time, aren’t they?”

  “Yes, they are. That’s not our problem, though. We just want to identify this new bug and find a cure or a vaccine, if that’s possible. At the very least, we need to find the vector.”