your friend?” asked John. “He got better, right?”
Lorem shook his head, his purple eyes filled with sorrow. “I’m sorry to say that he didn’t make it.”
“But you said that you’d seen the future. Isn’t everything going to be OK?”
“I said that I hope one possible future will come to pass, but, as I told you, it depends on the choices that certain people will make.” Lorem continued, “It was thought that Zhaldarian Flu had been wiped out over two hundred years ago after the entire universe had been vaccinated against it. There hasn’t been a single case in all that time. However, it appears that Doctor Graal opened a box containing a rock sample from Zhaldaria in class a few days ago. The sample was infected.”
John’s eyes widened as he remembered Kaal reaching out to touch Doctor Graal’s precious rock sample in their Galactic Geography class. “All this suffering is Doctor Graal’s fault, then?” He couldn’t keep the anger from his voice.
“Do not be so quick to judge, John,” the headmaster replied, holding up one finger. “I know you dislike Doctor Graal, but it was not her fault.”
“If she had checked before she opened the box, Kaal wouldn’t be fighting for his life... sir.”
Lorem sighed. “No one has thought much about Zhaldarian Flu for two centuries. Most planets have stopped vaccinating their children against it. Everyone believed that it had been eradicated completely, and there was no way Doctor Graal could have known. Would you have thought to check a tiny rock sample for an ancient disease?”
John’s shoulders slumped. “There’s no cure, then?” he said eventually, shaking his head. “We just have to wait and see who survives and who dies?”
With a solemn nod, the headmaster said, “We know how to produce an effective vaccine, but once the disease has taken hold there is nothing anyone can do. We will keep the patients as comfortable as possible and treat their symptoms, but there is no known cure.” He paused for a moment, then continued thoughtfully, “Though I have been doing some research. My friend Scholar Aristil, who you met on Kerallin, tells me that just before Zhaldarian Flu disappeared, a group of scientists on Gwaterra Four claimed that they had discovered certain microbes that could cure the disease.”
John felt a surge of hope rising in his chest. “Can we get some?”
For a moment, Lorem’s eyes sparkled with their usual brilliance. But it faded so quickly, John thought he might have imagined it. Wearily, the headmaster replied, “Zhaldarian Flu vanished soon after they made their discovery. Other scientists challenged the Gwaterrans findings and, with no patients to test their theory on, it remains uncertain whether the microbes are an effective cure.”
“It must be worth a try, though,” John said eagerly.
The headmaster nodded slowly. “Perhaps. But the microbes are very rare. They only exist in the core of the Zaleta Nebula. The Gwaterrans thought that when Zhaldaria’s star exploded, destroying the planet, the radiation changed the structure of the flu virus, creating a new strain that adapted to live at the heart of a nebula. According to their theory, these new microbes would cure the disease they originally created. Microbes that can dwell in such a hostile environment are unheard of, but if they do exist it is likely that they would have highly unusual properties.”
“If we know where they are, why hasn’t anyone gone to find some?” John asked with a frown.
“Because it is an extremely dangerous task. The microbes are very delicate and would only be found in the hot gases at the very core of the nebula. No robot has ever successfully made the trip – their circuits have all been scrambled by radioactive interference. The only possible way would be if someone were brave enough to dive to the centre of the nebula and collect the microbes by hand.”
“But someone has to try,” John replied bluntly.
Lorem shook his head, his purple eyes filled with sorrow. “I’m sorry to say that he didn’t make it.”
“But you said that you’d seen the future. Isn’t everything going to be OK?”
“I said that I hope one possible future will come to pass, but, as I told you, it depends on the choices that certain people will make.” Lorem continued, “It was thought that Zhaldarian Flu had been wiped out over two hundred years ago after the entire universe had been vaccinated against it. There hasn’t been a single case in all that time. However, it appears that Doctor Graal opened a box containing a rock sample from Zhaldaria in class a few days ago. The sample was infected.”
John’s eyes widened as he remembered Kaal reaching out to touch Doctor Graal’s precious rock sample in their Galactic Geography class. “All this suffering is Doctor Graal’s fault, then?” He couldn’t keep the anger from his voice.
“Do not be so quick to judge, John,” the headmaster replied, holding up one finger. “I know you dislike Doctor Graal, but it was not her fault.”
“If she had checked before she opened the box, Kaal wouldn’t be fighting for his life... sir.”
Lorem sighed. “No one has thought much about Zhaldarian Flu for two centuries. Most planets have stopped vaccinating their children against it. Everyone believed that it had been eradicated completely, and there was no way Doctor Graal could have known. Would you have thought to check a tiny rock sample for an ancient disease?”
John’s shoulders slumped. “There’s no cure, then?” he said eventually, shaking his head. “We just have to wait and see who survives and who dies?”
With a solemn nod, the headmaster said, “We know how to produce an effective vaccine, but once the disease has taken hold there is nothing anyone can do. We will keep the patients as comfortable as possible and treat their symptoms, but there is no known cure.” He paused for a moment, then continued thoughtfully, “Though I have been doing some research. My friend Scholar Aristil, who you met on Kerallin, tells me that just before Zhaldarian Flu disappeared, a group of scientists on Gwaterra Four claimed that they had discovered certain microbes that could cure the disease.”
John felt a surge of hope rising in his chest. “Can we get some?”
For a moment, Lorem’s eyes sparkled with their usual brilliance. But it faded so quickly, John thought he might have imagined it. Wearily, the headmaster replied, “Zhaldarian Flu vanished soon after they made their discovery. Other scientists challenged the Gwaterrans findings and, with no patients to test their theory on, it remains uncertain whether the microbes are an effective cure.”
“It must be worth a try, though,” John said eagerly.
The headmaster nodded slowly. “Perhaps. But the microbes are very rare. They only exist in the core of the Zaleta Nebula. The Gwaterrans thought that when Zhaldaria’s star exploded, destroying the planet, the radiation changed the structure of the flu virus, creating a new strain that adapted to live at the heart of a nebula. According to their theory, these new microbes would cure the disease they originally created. Microbes that can dwell in such a hostile environment are unheard of, but if they do exist it is likely that they would have highly unusual properties.”
“If we know where they are, why hasn’t anyone gone to find some?” John asked with a frown.
“Because it is an extremely dangerous task. The microbes are very delicate and would only be found in the hot gases at the very core of the nebula. No robot has ever successfully made the trip – their circuits have all been scrambled by radioactive interference. The only possible way would be if someone were brave enough to dive to the centre of the nebula and collect the microbes by hand.”
“But someone has to try,” John replied bluntly.
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