The Laptev Virus

Angela paused and everyone remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

“And if the shareholders pull out, Riesigoil will fail.”

Oscar looked down at the floor and Rhonda fidgeted in her chair.

“So you’re saying that if Riesigoil fails, there won’t be any more grant money either,” said Rhonda.

Angela nodded.

“It’s a lose-lose situation,” said Sarah in a soft voice. All of the joy she had derived from the advances that her team was making was now seeping out of her, as if someone had poked her balloon with a dull needle.

“Yes, unfortunately,” said Angela, smiling wryly and tracing the border of Rhonda’s desk with her finger, slowly dragging it back and forth. Then she looked at Sarah and said, “I wasn’t exaggerating when I said that I was impressed by the work your lab is doing, but what I need to know is: do you have any idea how long it will take you all to come up with some answers that will allow for drilling to begin again?”

All eyes were focused on Sarah who shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position for her leg which had begun throbbing right after she left the lab. She took a deep breath to stall for another moment and gather her thoughts. She had not expected to be confronted so directly, and in front of Rhonda and Oscar, no less.

“Well,” she said, “we are definitely making progress at a far faster rate than I had dared to hope, but, I’m sorry. We still don’t have any way of dealing with the virus once it has been contracted, and I think that’s the biggest stumbling block now. As you heard, we know for sure that it’s transmitted through the air, which makes it the most difficult type of virus to protect yourself from.

“Theoretically if the crews always wore Military Issue gas masks with filters for airborne virus protection, which also cover the eyes because they could also be a portal of entry, that would protect the workers, but we don’t know if, since it’s such a large virus, it could settle on dust particles and thus be carried on outside gear and become airborne when that gear was removed. If the virus is as persistent as the measles virus, which lingers in the air for quite a while, it would mean that enhanced protective devices would have to be worn for much longer and by more of the personnel. I really can’t say for sure until we complete more studies. It’s a tricky situation.”

Angela frowned. “I was afraid you might say something like that.”

Sarah met her eyes and saw the anxiety in them. She hated to give bad news, but she felt that she needed to be as honest as she could in her assessment. “Also, as you just heard in the meeting, we’ve found out that the ocean’s increased acidity plays a role in activating the virus. The pH of the ocean is not something we can easily change. And with the Arctic ice melting so quickly now, it would be nearly impossible to ensure that no ocean water came into contact with the virus.”

Angela nodded, obviously not thrilled with what she was hearing, but she seemed to understand. She pursed her lips and several sets of concentric wrinkles formed on each side of them, as if her dissatisfaction was rippling away from her frown across the previously pristine surface of her cheeks.

“How soon do you think your team could have this information? Or at least a few more of these answers,” Angela asked.

Sarah looked at Rhonda who met her eyes briefly, then looked away. She realized with a little surprise that Rhonda did not want to confront Oscar or Angela. With her years of experience at the CDC she was in a much more credible position than Sarah to explain why there were no more answers yet and that research was a wild, unpredictable venture which often left investigators with little progress for years. Why was she leaving Sarah to do the dirty work?

Then, with sudden clarity, Sarah understood. Rhonda was afraid to lose her job. She studied her face again and saw the lines, well hidden by her carefully coiffed hair which was dyed to a perfect chestnut brown color. Her dark complexion also helped to hide her age. Thinking back to when she had read Rhonda’s extensive résumé, Sarah realized that her boss was probably in her late 50s or early 60s, though she looked younger. If she lost this job, she might not easily get another.

So it was up to her to be the bad guy. Her leg suddenly throbbed again, but she swallowed and faced Angela.

“I’m really sorry, Angela, but for now, I don’t know what else I can tell you. I don’t have any way of predicting when we will know enough to be able to ensure that the conditions for drilling and exploration are safe. My strong recommendation would be not to allow anyone to return to that site until we know more.”