Beyond Man and Machines, Chapter 12

Peterson looks through the one way glass at the team he had hand picked himself. Members

from special ops units from around the world. SAS, Spetsnaz, Shayetet 13 and a from his own squad of the US 160th rangers.

They looked the part, and had perfect records for fitness, combat experience and mental aptitude, but was that enough for the important and dangerous task that laid ahead of them?

'OK, lets get this show on the road' Peterson says aloud to no one in particular as he

walks into the briefing room. The soldiers stand up quickly, respecting his rank and all that they have heard of him.

'So you all know why you are here, We are going into occupied America. This is a simple recon mission to understand what is going on. This will be highly dangerous, but we aint gonna just sit back and hope we can all be friends with these hostiles; we need to get a good look at what we are dealing with here!'

'Over the last few months, before the occupation and up until recently, units have been investigating the time line and the source of what we are calling a virus. this is has not been confirmed yet and you will understand why this is as we get further through the briefing.'

'The last reports came through to me a week ago, all units who risked their lives obtaining this information are now thought to be dead.'

'We believe the virus started in sawtooth forest, Idaho. A Red Fox who was electronically tagged in a study was tracked from sawtooth to Kansas City, somehow travelling an incredible 1300 miles. it is believed that it held the same kind of intelligence that is driving the compromised citizens of America. it is theorised that it simply stowed away on trucks and trains that frequent that area, making its way to Kansas City.'

'Once in Kansas City the fox gave birth outside of 34 Meadow lane, the residence of Anthony Philips. A neighbour saw the fox give birth then walk away, the fox was found dead a mile away from exhaustion.'

'It seems that Anthony Philips became infected but died of a heart attack before the infection took him over; he was buried in a cemetery in the farming village of breakwater and somehow infected the whole village, it is not known how. It seems that the villagers abandoned the village and set fire to it, making it look like an accident. They then separated, spreading out across America.'

'It is known that one member of the village travelled to his uncles house in Woodbine, where he infected the town's water supply. The infected residents then blocked all roads entering the the town, stopping anyone from approaching. Whilst some residents held off authorities, the others dug a network of tunnels, the entrance under a newly constructed fire station. it seems those who did not have tools clawed at the earth with their fingernails...'

'When authorities entered the tunnel network three days later, they all disappeared, it is unknown how, but we assume it was in a similar way as the inhabitants of Kansas city. Local authorities handed the matter over to me but by the time we had got on the scene, the tunnels had collapsed in on themselves.'

'Unknown to the authorities, during the seige, a tunnel was dug leading away from the town for about a mile. It is believed that a few members of the town made it out of these tunnels and approached Kansas City. Here they did the same as they did with Woodbine, infecting the water supply.'

'It is believed that by the 25th of December, sixty percent of Kansas City was infected. It was at this point that the infected conducted a well organised attack on the inhabitants of Kansas city, infecting them, possibly through bodily contact.'

'It seems that some people who have certain genes or blood type are immune to the infection, but this has not been confirmed. it is believed that those that cannot be infected are killed.'

'The infection attacks the brain at first, altering it somehow. The very few infected that have been captured die once they realise they cannot escape. Autopsies show the infected brain simply turns to water, during death. Any clue to the nature of the changes to the brain are whipped away by the disintegration of the brain. No trace of any virus or foreign bodies have be found.'

'It seems that once infected, the victim keeps all knowledge they have accumulated in their lives. They keep mannerisms but cannot talk. it seems their personalities are altered somehow, still keeping part of their personalities alive, but no longer them.'

'The spread through Kansas ran parallel with the spread through other states in America, Kansas City being the epicentre of the pandemic and the first city to be taken with a less subtle approach; but one that echoed across America.'