Quarantine
by Pan
1:
“What do you mean, a virus? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I’m sorry ma’am, but that’s what the reports are saying. We have some of our best scientists out there, and the results are conclusive—it’s a virus.”
“So let me get this straight,” the commissioner said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “You’re telling me that the colony has been hit by a mysterious virus, never before seen on any planet, but only men. We don’t know what it does yet, but it affects everyone differently…”
“Well, no…”
“Oh really? Pray, tell me what I said wrong.”
“Well, ma’am, it doesn’t only hit men. It just seems to have no effect on women—or men under 15, in fact.”
“Uh huh.”
“Also, it doesn’t affect everyone differently—so far all the effects have fallen into three broad categories…”
“Sure.”
“And, uh…”
“What?”
“We do know what it does.”
“Oh?”
As the commissioner read over the files, she got more and more agitated.
“Damn it woman,” she eventually stormed. “Don’t you see how ridiculous this sounds? It’s…it’s like something out of science fiction!”
“I suppose,” her underling responded nervously. “But I mean, uh…”
“What?”
“Well, they are on an alien planet. Ma’am.”
There was a long pause, eventually broken by the commissioner’s sigh.
“Go ahead then.”
“What, ma’am?”
“What you’ve been suggesting since day one, Jenkins:
“Begin the quarantine.”