The Dying of the Light (Book 1): End by Jason Kristopher Page B
Authors: Jason Kristopher
Tags: Horror
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is as good as mine. We’ve been working on it for nearly 25 years, and have only recently figured out the specifics of what it does. We still don’t know where it comes from. We may never know where it originated, but in the end, it really makes no difference. It’s here now, and isn’t going anywhere.
“The process goes like this: A victim is bitten and the prions enter the bloodstream. From there the prion attaches itself to a certain molecule in the bloodstream, eventually making its way to the pre-frontal cortex where it replicates itself in extraordinary numbers, using just about every bit of bio-mass it can find there. This leads to a very painful death, of a sort. The prion changes the chemistry of the brain to such a large degree that regular body functions — breathing, for example — cease completely. The victim then expires, re-animating approximately eight to twelve hours after death. The reanimation occurs due to the new electrical signals being sent by the brain after death.”
“But if the brain’s dead, doctor…”
“We don’t know. It’s as simple as that. Using a captured specimen, we’ve documented electrical signals coming from the brain to the rest of the body, which explains how they can walk and move around, even that moan that they have. Whether this is a result of the mass of proteins in the pre-frontal lobe simply sparking random electrical current, or something more sophisticated, there’s no way of telling, yet. At least, if there’s a pattern indicating a more advanced cause, we haven’t found it.”
“So do they eat?”
“Yes and no. They have no need for sustenance, being dead. We have theorized at this point that the reason they attack humans is simply to spread the prions to another victim. There’s a flaw in the code somewhere though, because they don’t stop biting, which is why they ‘eat’ normal uninfected organisms.”
“But that would indicate… holy shit,” I said, sitting back in my chair. “Holy shit.”
“Exactly, Mr. Blake.”
“Clue in the rest of us, will ya, doc?” asked someone in the crowd.
“What Mr. Blake is referring to is that if the prions — collectively or individually — are forcing the victims to seek out new hosts, it indicates a level of sophistication that is very, very rare and has only been found in a few parasites and viruses. There’s a fungus in South America that does something similar with ants, but those are ants . This, though…” She shuddered. “It means that the damn things are very, very dangerous, colonel.”
“Holy shit,” someone else said.
“Exactly.”
I saw the mood in the room growing dark, and realized that this battle might be over before it was begun if these folks thought they had nothing to hope for.
“That’s why shooting them in the head always works. And why their blood is so infectious,” I said. “So, we keep our distance with our rifles, and break out the flame-throwers for cleanup. These bastards won’t know what hit them. I’m assuming fire will destroy these prions as well as anything else?”
“Yes, of course. Obviously, it’s best to destroy corpses in a sealed environment, just in case, but a flamethrower should work just as well. It’s not just the blood though,” Adamsdóttir said. “It’s any bodily fluid.”
“Okay, so no kissing them. I think we can handle that, doc,” I said.
There was a general round of somewhat nervous laughter, and Maxwell stood up. “Thanks again, Doctor. I’ll make sure that we get these yahoos over to you for medical processing before the end of the day.” He turned back to us as Mary took her seat once more.
“That’s it, folks. You know what we’re facing, and you know the basics of how to kill it. Now, take your materials, get some chow, then study. Training starts tomorrow at 0600 hours.” He straightened to attention. “Dismissed!”
It was
“The process goes like this: A victim is bitten and the prions enter the bloodstream. From there the prion attaches itself to a certain molecule in the bloodstream, eventually making its way to the pre-frontal cortex where it replicates itself in extraordinary numbers, using just about every bit of bio-mass it can find there. This leads to a very painful death, of a sort. The prion changes the chemistry of the brain to such a large degree that regular body functions — breathing, for example — cease completely. The victim then expires, re-animating approximately eight to twelve hours after death. The reanimation occurs due to the new electrical signals being sent by the brain after death.”
“But if the brain’s dead, doctor…”
“We don’t know. It’s as simple as that. Using a captured specimen, we’ve documented electrical signals coming from the brain to the rest of the body, which explains how they can walk and move around, even that moan that they have. Whether this is a result of the mass of proteins in the pre-frontal lobe simply sparking random electrical current, or something more sophisticated, there’s no way of telling, yet. At least, if there’s a pattern indicating a more advanced cause, we haven’t found it.”
“So do they eat?”
“Yes and no. They have no need for sustenance, being dead. We have theorized at this point that the reason they attack humans is simply to spread the prions to another victim. There’s a flaw in the code somewhere though, because they don’t stop biting, which is why they ‘eat’ normal uninfected organisms.”
“But that would indicate… holy shit,” I said, sitting back in my chair. “Holy shit.”
“Exactly, Mr. Blake.”
“Clue in the rest of us, will ya, doc?” asked someone in the crowd.
“What Mr. Blake is referring to is that if the prions — collectively or individually — are forcing the victims to seek out new hosts, it indicates a level of sophistication that is very, very rare and has only been found in a few parasites and viruses. There’s a fungus in South America that does something similar with ants, but those are ants . This, though…” She shuddered. “It means that the damn things are very, very dangerous, colonel.”
“Holy shit,” someone else said.
“Exactly.”
I saw the mood in the room growing dark, and realized that this battle might be over before it was begun if these folks thought they had nothing to hope for.
“That’s why shooting them in the head always works. And why their blood is so infectious,” I said. “So, we keep our distance with our rifles, and break out the flame-throwers for cleanup. These bastards won’t know what hit them. I’m assuming fire will destroy these prions as well as anything else?”
“Yes, of course. Obviously, it’s best to destroy corpses in a sealed environment, just in case, but a flamethrower should work just as well. It’s not just the blood though,” Adamsdóttir said. “It’s any bodily fluid.”
“Okay, so no kissing them. I think we can handle that, doc,” I said.
There was a general round of somewhat nervous laughter, and Maxwell stood up. “Thanks again, Doctor. I’ll make sure that we get these yahoos over to you for medical processing before the end of the day.” He turned back to us as Mary took her seat once more.
“That’s it, folks. You know what we’re facing, and you know the basics of how to kill it. Now, take your materials, get some chow, then study. Training starts tomorrow at 0600 hours.” He straightened to attention. “Dismissed!”
It was
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