(Resolution)
"Well, let's go find out."
The mixed group reached the outer office of the conference room to find Alice, Carlos and Stan sitting in some comfortable chairs that they had pulled out of a side room. Jill raised her eyebrow in question.
"Might as well relax for a bit," Stan said, "while the people in there," he jerked his thumb towards the main conference room, "argue and talk and accept reality. Hopefully."
"What's the problem?" prodded Chris.
"Some of them still think that there's a United States of America. They also think that they're in charge of it," said Alice.
"I suppose they are," offered Carlos, "if you assume that this complex is the USA."
"But not the rest of the country," Special Agent Tobias more stated than questioned.
"No," was the flat reply. "As far as most of the survivors feel the US Government bungled the whole infection situation from the beginning and when it got completely out of control ran and hid leaving the average person to fend for themselves."
Others took their turn as more and more people from the shelter began to come in and listen. Jill started off.
"I don't know if you people have any idea just how horrible things were on the outside. Humanity was reduced from billions to several hundred thousand. That last number might sound large but it means ninety nine point nine nine nine nine five percent of the population died, most in horrible fashion. Those not taken by the virus died in any number or ways, mostly painful and frightening."
"We," the former STARS officer indicated Chris, "my partner and now husband saw it at the vey beginning, outside Raccoon City at the Spencer Mansion. We reported what we encountered there but it was brushed aside. Indeed, we were suspended and ridiculed. And Umbrella continued its experiments."
Alice took her turn. "Deep under Raccoon City was a huge experimental laboratory called the Hive where they worked on the T-Virus. It was released and everyone died. But they didn't stay dead. As a security chief for Umbrella I went in with the team sent to find out what happened. Most of them died too. One other and I escaped. But Umbrella still thought it was in control. It reopened the Hive and Raccoon City died. Only a handful of us escaped, including Jill, Carlos who became my husband and the girl who would become Jill and Chris's daughter."
"Umbrella could have avoided the entire situation by leaving the Hive sealed. But no they knew better and when the virus was released rather than being remorseful or even scared they were excited. They had a captive group of thousands to experiment on and the fact that men, women and children died was of no concern to them. They used the debacle to test created bio-weapons. By the way the some of those creatures still exist under the city as the University expedition led by Jill and Chris's daughter Angie discovered."
"University?" asked an older woman who the visitors were later to discover was a research biologist who was also an MD.
"The New University of Alaska," Stan announced proudly. "The first class graduated this year and has immediately begun to make its mark both at home and by exploring this completely changed world of ours." His eyes twinkled. "It's not like any college you might remember. Think of a cross between Harvard, MIT, a high class technical school and Basic Underwater Demolition slash SEAL training. Graduates like these two couples' daughters," he indicated Chris and Jill and Alice and Carlos, "are taught humanities, sciences, physical fitness, unarmed and armed combat, mechanical skills and then deep teaching in their chosen field of study."
Chris smiled. "Obviously I sound like a proud father, which I am, but our Angie is deeply versed in human and infected physiology. She can also speak several languages, is a crack shot, can overhaul a diesel engine and perform field surgery."
Claire interjected. "And well you should be proud of her. But let's finish covering the history of the infection for these people and then get to the current state of affairs."
"Good point," admitted Stan.
Alice picked up the thread of the discussion.
"To keep the infection contained to Raccoon City Umbrella Corporation nuked the city."
"Wait a minute," someone in the crowd objected. "I thought it was a meltdown of the local nuclear reactor."
Surprisingly Tobias answered that one. "No," he said flatly. "It was reported to the news media while the government was still scrambling to deal with what had happened. But the explosion caused by a meltdown is completely different that that of a bomb and it was immediately apparent to those in the military and science. But after all, Umbrella was huge and had its fingers in everything and owned a LOT of honest politicians. Those in charge couldn't believe it at first and then when convinced thought they had time to tread slowly with the immense corporation."
"Owned honest politicians? How can a politician be honest and owned?"
Chris snorted. "Simon Cameron, Lincoln's first Secretary of War and US Senator's famous declaration. An honest politician is one who, when he is bought, will stay bought'."
"Not that everyone in the government was on Umbrella's payroll but so many were and not just in the US government. Even as the infection cropped up in other places and began to spread world-wide they still managed to confuse the whole issue until the world fell apart."
"And fell apart it did. The Government collapsed. People died by the millions. The entire ecology of the planet changed. Lakes and rivers dried up and forests and grasslands became desert. I would imagine it was during the beginning of this period that you all moved here."
"It really was an attempt to keep the government in existence," Tobias stated. "But events moved faster than we could respond. The White House was infected as was the Capitol. Evacuation plans could not be executed as escape routes were flooded with undead as well as panicked mobs trying to get away. Say what you will about," the FBI Agent jerked his thumb towards the closed door, "Chief of Staff Anheuser did manage to save whom he could. And he was not enthralled by Umbrella but he, we, had all reached the point that we would have listened to just about anyone who offered us hope. It had pretty well died out."
"Well we're here to offer hope. A lot of us didn't have it for a long time. Claire led a convoy of survivors out west, a convoy that had to keep on the move because for reasons we still don t understand the infected were somehow drawn to the living."
"It was hard," the former convoy leader confessed. "We had little food and after a while no hope. We started with over a hundred people. Then it was eighty, then sixty and finally forty, mostly children. We were almost wiped out completely in Las Vegas courtesy of an Umbrella ambush that wanted to both capture Alice there and test out their latest 'improvements' with the undead they were experimenting on. Not to find a cure mind you but to create soldier zombies to be used as an army."
"Against whom?"
"A logical question. Our guess is to be used on anyone resisting Umbrella's control was the given reason but we also suspect they were being readied for an internal struggle to wrest control from Chairman Wesker for someone else. Any rate, fortunately the attack failed and we ended up taking over the Umbrella base in Nevada and using it as a springboard to get to Alaska, which we had learned was infection free."
"Not that Alaska escaped everything mind you," put in Stan. "A modern technological civilization depends on so many interconnected things. It was a scramble to find alternatives for all the things we used to get from the other states or Canada. We were fortunate that the effects the virus had on the world's ecology were muted in Alaska and indeed softened our climate and increased our growing season."
"We did have incursions of the infected we had to beat back. Even worse in some ways were the bands of marauders and groups of people who simply had gone insane from the situation. The National Guard, Air and Army, had its hands full. But we made it."
"There were pockets of survivors," Jill said. "Some in the strangest places." She went on to tell of her attempt to reach the sanctuary of some of the Georgia barrier islands as well as the unique experience of travelling on the riverboat of survivors that sailed up and down the Mississippi."
Eventually the group moved to the dining hall as more and more inhabitants of the bunker crowded in to the room. After a while a slight commotion at the back of the room announced the arrival of a rather sheepish looking "President" and his supporters. Everyone listened while the arrivals told of the struggle to survive and the wonder of discovering that they weren't alone in the world. The floating communities off the West Coast, the survivors' colony of LA, the carrier battle group that had stayed at sea for years and now called a reclaimed Guam home.
"More and more islands have been discovered to hold survivor groups. As they provided refuge and solitude for monks centuries ago several islands off the coast of Ireland are safe zones now. The latest news from Guam is that they have found out that refugees from Australia have occupied and cleaned Tasmania. Two more reclaimed cargo ships have joined the Arcadia in circling the world, going from one colony to the other, establishing trade and communication. We, all of us, are retaking our world and we would invite you to join us. We welcome all human survivors of goodwill. Even some former Umbrella personnel have joined us once they discovered that life existed beyond their buried bunkers and out from under the thumb of their corporate leaders who still haven't grasped what they have done to our world."
There was silence around the room. Finally, the research biologist stood. "Where could we go? And who would be in charge?"
Most of the groups in North America, heck around the world are happy to accept new survivors. Generally not in large numbers and most places have established a trial basis for new members. In Alaska the towns are fairly independent. The cities were largely emptied after the infection simply because food wasn't available in large enough quantities and people moved out to the country to farm. The state government is rather minimal; it exists the keep records, provide border defense, encourage trade and of course run the University. But we welcome people, as we ourselves were welcomed, cautiously but happily."
"Or," Chris put in, "you, or a large portion of you, could stay together. A lot of the group from the Texas missile base is doing that. One of our University expeditions is helping them settle on a new home and the Arcadia will be by in a week or so with ground breaking supplies. You don't even have to leave here necessarily, keep this place as a refuge and expand outside and become self sufficient. In fact the expedition led by our daughter is reasonably close and could help. But it's your decision."
"Whose decision?"
"All of yours," Alice said firmly. "Especially if you consider yourselves the remainder of the United States. Remember the first words of the Constitution."
"Also," Carlos added to his wife's words, "It's still a very dangerous world out there. Going unarmed is simply asking for a sudden, painful death. The infected are still out there and even more than that the various creatures created by Umbrella as bio-weapons are incredibly dangerous. Fortunately the latter seem to be concentrated in places like Raccoon City and other areas where Umbrella had major experimental laboratories but even now we don't know where all of those are."
"Anyway, it's as it should be. It's all up to you. Meanwhile one University expedition will be here before long and another will be working its way up from the south. As soon as we have said hello to the first one the six of us will be on our way home. We have urgent business there but Stan and the new arrivals will be able to answer any and all questions."
"What is so important in Alaska?"
"Three households full of children who have gone without their parents long enough. THEY are the future so we're off to make sure it's a good one for them and hopefully everyone else."
(The End)
(*Sigh*. My apologies for the time it has taken to wrap this story up. Two chapters in months and months. I'm sorry I ran out of steam but couldn't leave it without some final wrap-up. These have been my very favorite characters ever since I first started writing "Tripod" and I think I might see them again someday. But for now, whew, I m done. Thank you for your patience.)