Fiction This Is

In a lab, hidden away from the prowling eyes and probing hands, you could feel an air of excitement. An old virus had been discovered, a lethal one that is. In its heyday, which was almost 100 years ago, it wiped out almost 1/5 of the world population. But the virus mysteriously disappeared after it was done creating havoc. Already there were whispers in the corridors how it could be harnessed as a 'soft' biological warfare. Choose a few spots and release them and modern travel would do the rest. The details were slowly shaping up...

Plans and studies started hatching as soon as word got out that the virus could be manipulated. Health systems could be stretched to the limit, diverting the attention of governments to a national health disaster. And if they control the companies which can provide a cure or even relief, then they'd have plenty of funds to continue with their work. It's a way of bleeding the countries dry and filling up their coffers.

The police and armed forces could be brought to their knees... slowly. Some will recover but many will succumb. It takes years to train a soldier, they reckon. And they could wait. Many planes will not leave the ground for there'll not be enough pilots. Pilots take even longer to train. In the event of an invading army, it'll make things easier as resistance would be less. And this would cost much less than if whole wars were fought conventionally. The same virus after all did turn the tide of one of the great wars to the alliance of Triple Entente.

Or just plain and simple... tinker with its genetic make-up and cut down on its virulence. Just enough to make people really sick. But in the process, kill a couple here and there... those who are weak to begin with anyway. The world's population is burgeoning anyway. What would the loss of such lives be? Modern technology can also be harnessed to spread fear... news mongering can be taken to new heights. FB, MSN, Skype... the internet would do it no sweat for them.

WHO? No prob. They already have their people sitting there. And if one round is not enough, they can still play around with the DNA and keep coming out with more subtypes. The drug companies they own would make a big killing... the governments of the country would never know what hit them! There would be some countries who will try to make their own antidotes, but they control the information.

The prospects were attractive. The excitement of just the thought of prospects was palpable........the mind just working overtime at this point!