Part 3
1983 December 31
It has been the 6th winter since I worked at this Arklay facility.
During the last two years, we had made no real progress with our research and time passed by. But this had come to an end. We had recieved word that Alexia had died. The reason was the virus that Alexia herself created, the (T-Veronica virus). It seemed like the 12 year old Alexia was too young for such dangerous research.
I had heard rumours that Alexia had injected the T-veronica virus in herself but this I could not believe. She probably couldn't handle her father's death one year ago and made a simple error in her research.
Later, the research at the Antarctica facility was continued by Alexia's twin brother, but no one had expected anything from him. In the end, the Ashford family couldn't bring any results and would crumble down.
Like I had stated earlier, the Ashford family was a legend and will stay as a legend only.
With Alexia's death, Birkin had changed back to what he was before. Now there was no one who could surpass him, and all the researchers had to acknowledge him. But it was still a taboo to talk about Alexia infront of him. Even when I tried to get a sample of the T-veronica virus, he had strongly objected.
I had to put aside finding out about the research that Alexia had done for now. I had come to realize Birkin had not changed at all, when everything around him had changed.
But I had a much bigger problem on my hands.
Our facility was located in a very dense forest. I went out walking into the woods many times but because this facility was in the near center of the forest, we would never encounter any other humans. The only way to get here was by a helicopter. It was a needed precaution dealing with a bio-weapon. Since if by chance, the virus is leaked out, it would prevent the chances of spreading. But a bio-weapon isn't so simple. The virus can also affect non-human beings as well.
A virus isn't always limited to affecting only one kind of organism. For example, the Influenza virus not only affects humans, but birds, pigs, horses and even seals. In each of these species, not all who come in contact with the virus are affected. Seagulls and chickens are, but all other birds are not. Also, the same virus may have different effects on different species.
The problem lies in how the T-virus can affect many different life forms.
During the time when Birkin made himself useless, I had done my own research on the T-virus. I had discovered that the T-virus can affect most life forms out there. Not only mammals but plants, bugs, and fish can also be affected.
Everytime I walked in the woods, I always thought to myself, why did Spencer choose this place?
There are many different forms of life in these woods. What would happen if the virus were to leak out? If only an insect were infected, it is small in size and probably would not go through a big mutation. But insects could spread the virus at an incredible rate. If this were to happen, how far would the T-virus spread?
If it were a plant that was infected, the plant itself could not move and would seem safe. But what about the seeds the plants give out?
It would be very dangerous for such a case to happen. Now that I think about it, it was a smart move for the Ashfords to locate their facility in Antarctica. But here it almost seems like someone wants the virus to spread. But that could not be possible. What is Spencer trying to make us do?
This issue was far too great and I could not discuss this with any other researcher. The only one who I could talk to was Birkin, but he probably wouldn't be interested.
I need more information. I had started to realize my limits as a simple researcher. To find out what Spencer was truly thinking, I needed to get to a position where I could obtain more information.
For that I would throw away all my current positions. But I cannot do this quickly. I could not let Spencer notice my plans for if so, everything would be over.
I had continued to do research with Birkin so that no one would detect my intentions. During that time, that 'woman test subject' was forgotten. A "failure" that just lived on. Until that day, 5 years later.......
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