Chapter 3: More Victims
Doctor Frazier went directly to Sam the next morning. They discussed it over and over again, Daniel even made a few suggestions as to what it might be, but they still couldn't figure out what it was. By noon, they still hadn't made any progress, so eventually, they just started throwing out random guesses. Sam had been quiet for a while now, thinking, listening to Frazier and Daniel bicker about the possibilities, when suddenly an idea came to her.
"What if –," she began, "what if the virus fed off of what would normally get rid of bacterial illnesses?"
After thinking it over, Doctor Frazier mused, "It would explain why the children seem to be getting worse and why their antibody levels continue to drop."
At that moment, General Hammond walked in and, upon seeing Doctor Frazier, proceeded to say that he had been looking for her. He informed her that a few of her medical collegues had taken sick. Immediately, Frazier asked for their symptoms, and the answer she received was just what she had feared.
"They've been checked out by a few of the others," he said. "They told me that they had a form of pneumonia. I remembered what you had told us about the children, and I thought you'd like to know."
"I still need to figure out what this is," Frazier replied. "Daniel, could you do me a favor and tell them to give the sick blood tests? Tell them to look for antibody levels."
"Sure," said Daniel, and, along with Hammond, he left.
"Before, you said that only those with low antibody levels could get this disease," recalled Sam.
"Yes," said Frazier, "but I'm beginning to second guess my theory. If your right and the virus does feed off of protection against bacteria, then the children could have had normal antibody levels when they got it. What I still don't know is how to get rid of it."
"I think I might have an idea," said Sam softly. "If it's a virus, then try giving them cough or flu medicine. Those are meant to treat viruses, they might help."
"We'll give it a try," said Frazier. "In the meantime, though, I think we should close off the area that these patients are kept in. Only medical personnel should be allowed in."
Sam nodded in agreement, and the doctor left. Sam went to lay down for a while. After that, she would suggest a return trip to the planet they had found the children on to the others. They had to find out how and why the children had become sick. If they could, then maybe they could save them, as well as their own people, from slowly dying.