On October 15, the following message goes out on Ginger:
Lena and I were attacked at the 16th street mall today. We were stung by robotic wasps. Be on the lookout for a woman with brown hair and blue eyes who calls herself Katie. We were greeted by this woman, who left immediately before the attack.
Initial scans show that we have both been infected with a virus, which duplicates itself in response to immune system attack. Essentially, the harder our bodies fight this, the worse it will get. There is currently no data that suggests what this virus's effects will be.
Both of us are at our homes, and I at least will not be leaving any time soon. Until I know if this is contagious (doubtful considering the vector seems to be robot wasps, but I am not taking chances) I would like to keep my exposure to others minimal.
I will of course keep everyone informed of my status through this channel.
-- Grace
(10/17/2013)
It's getting bad fast. Temperature is high, got chills, nosebleeds.
Anyone know a good doctor, preferably one of us perhaps? Or at least one who knows enough not to ask too many questions?
I am trying to figure out the purpose of this attack. It seems like a whole lot to go through to kill someone. Do these people not know how to operate firearms? Or am I just someone's sick experiment? If so, they will want to check their results sometime. Going to set up a secret cam in my apartment. It'll be in the cabinet in the north west corner. If I'm not in contact for a while, I give anyone here permission to raid my place for that camera data.
But obviously if you do, take bio hazard precautions.
-- Grace
Friday, the afternoon 10/18, is the first communication from Lena; she has been radio silent until now.
Tried to purge myself of the disease, it didn't work. Not surprised.
However, was able to lessen symptoms with some tweaks to my Pattern. Six hours after the fact, still holding. Feel better.
I'm not leaving my house until I'm sure I'm not going to infect anyone else, or at least until I'm sure nosebleeds have stopped. Will update tomorrow if symptoms are still lessoned.
Sent via Ginger at 12:20 AM on Friday night/Saturday morning:
DO NOT use magic 2 fight symptoms. Came back stronger than evR. Coughing up + vomiting blood. V. High fever. Poss stomach damage or int. injury.
Don't know how this fx my infection but am hiv+. Concerned bout expelling blood in vicinity of others thus staying home. Taking usual med. Regimen. Open 2 ideas re this virus.
PS: Sorry 4 shorthand. I accid. Broke my laptop.
Shit. Lena. How the hell do we fight this then?
If only I could find that Katie woman... Sid, Sera, did you see her when it happened to you? She said she was a 'woman of science' which I can believe if it was her who set this up.
Symptoms on my end worse. Coughing up blood. Hard to breathe.
Following quickly after Grace's message:
Yknow if I cld figure out how 2 cure adaptable + resilient blood diseases I def. Would have long before now. Not gon B 2 useful N that.
Can try 2 track down K-T tho. Will give it a try.
Oh yeah breathing problems here 2.
Friday, Sera calls up Ginger. You should hear the way Lena's fucked up texts get translated, but still Sera gets the gist. She's used to translating messages from the desperate and drug-addled into something approximating her own language. She can actually handle this.
When she has finally cycled through the new messages, Sera leaves a rambling voice mail. Tells them all that she also tried to heal herself and she supposes that she'll get sicker, then, soon She'll get a room someplace. Someplace with room service? She's rambling, she's sober, it happens sometimes.
The messages slides into something else, though. Sera suggests that if they can ward themselves from scrying, they do so. Someone's watching them; someone or something cold and implacable is watching them drown in blood. She had a vision of a hydra, with a hundred heads, blood dripping from the many eyes mouths. Somehow she dove into the mouth of one of the hydras are everything went red. She was drowning, and some dark shadow in the sky was there, watching her die. Unfeeling, but attentive to every detail of her struggle.
Ohhh I fucking knew it. I guess the hidden camera idea is a bust then. They've got their experimental data already, don't they?
Hey Sid?
Try fire yet?
If this thing is built to hydra specs, we have to kill it with fire. Though that sounds really... dangerous.
Remember Katie? She had burn marks on her arms. Maybe she spilled some while working on it, and had to break out the extreme decontamination protocol...
From Lena:
Maybe its not literal fire. Raise body temp? Could kill the virus, maybe.
Greeks thought fire came from Prometheus. It was stolen from gods. Prom punished, bird const. Eating his liver daily.
She's rambling a bit. A 102 degree fever and severe stomach pains will do that.
Anyway fire was...Divine knowledge. Knowledge, like Eve + apple. Same myth, diff. Religions. Similar myths in other cultures. Dunno if that helps, but dont start dousing self in gasoline yet, plzkthx. Thatd suck.
She hasn't completely lost her sense of humor, it would seem.
Okay. Two things.
1. I am vomiting blood now. Having trouble keeping things down since yesterday. Not so worried about lacking food, more worried about throwing up water while sweating. Again, do any of you know a good doctor? I think we'll need something to keep from getting dehydrated.
2. If they are spying on us, can we not spy back? I remember once Gadfly had me practice finding his eye in the sky. I could see it, but I couldn't trace it. It seems doable though, right?
I lied. Three things.
3. I can't ward. If they're watching, they're looking at me.
I really lied a lot. Four things.
4. Whitney's staying with me. I couldn't keep her from either coming over, or staying. She's taking precautions (mask/gloves) at least. Also, says I need to look out for a woman in a hood. And whatever we have is definitely designed to kill.