"I remember the official stance is that there are only two places in the world where smallpox virus samples are still stored, right?" Jack asked, looking toward Max.
Max maintained his usual blank expression—a common self-protective behavior in people with social anxiety. Though in his case, it wasn't as severe as Jack's former colleague, Chris.
"Last century, smallpox killed between 300 to 500 million people. Once infected, there's no specific treatment; humans eradicated the virus through vaccines and isolation. Currently, the only officially recognized repositories for smallpox virus are the CDC headquarters in Atlanta and a biological research center in Koltsovo, Siberia."
Although the post-WWII world entered a Cold War bipolar structure, it was ironically thanks to U.S.-Soviet cooperation that smallpox became the first infectious disease ever eradicated by humanity.
Humans are the only host of the smallpox virus. Traces of the disease can be found as far back as 3,000 years ago—pustules were discovered on the mummified body of Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses V.
After WWII, the U.S. and USSR competed fiercely in almost every field, including medicine and public health.
Once the Marshall Plan began, the U.S. essentially took over the World Health Organization (WHO). In protest, the USSR withdrew from active participation in the organization despite being a founding member.
This deadlock lasted from 1948 to 1958, effectively paralyzing WHO from pushing any meaningful global initiatives.
With Nikita Khrushchev taking power and President Johnson plunging the U.S. into the Vietnam War, the Cold War entered its second phase. The USSR, having recovered somewhat from the ravages of WWII, returned to WHO with renewed vigor.
Faced with the persistent threat of smallpox—a modern-day Damocles' sword hanging over mankind—the two superpowers reached a rare consensus: WHO would coordinate, the U.S. would provide funding, and the USSR would manufacture vaccines.
From 1967 to 1977, it took ten years, two billion doses of vaccine, and a rigorously executed global plan, but the world finally eradicated smallpox.
Due to certain political reasons, the People's Republic of China, which only officially joined WHO in 1972, was entirely excluded—or rather, deliberately sidelined—from this global collaboration.
Not that China minded much. As early as 1961, the Chinese had already independently eliminated smallpox within their own borders.
And so, smallpox became the first disease in recorded human history to be completely eradicated. But things got messy afterward.
WHO repeatedly requested that the U.S. and USSR destroy the last remaining virus samples. Both refused.
After endless stalling and negotiations, the two samples remained—serving as a form of mutually assured biological deterrence, just like nuclear weapons.
"The last known person to die from smallpox was Janet Parker," Jack said, closing the laptop in front of him. "She was a British medical photographer who died in 1978 due to a lab leak."
He was reading from a document Alice had just sent him from New York.
"At the time, WHO had granted permission for Henry Bedson of the University of Birmingham to keep and study smallpox viruses until the end of 1978. On August 11th that year, Janet—who lived in an apartment above the lab—developed flu-like symptoms. Five days later, she developed a rash. By the time she went blind, she was finally hospitalized in isolation."
"Once smallpox was confirmed, the British authorities began a thorough investigation. Upon hearing the news, Bedson realized the virus had escaped from his lab. Wracked with guilt, the man who had dedicated his life to researching smallpox took his own life. Five days later, Janet passed away, becoming the last known victim of smallpox."
Jack sighed as he finished, glancing at the group.
In just half an hour, their little "Five-O" meeting had been interrupted by multiple calls. The governor had phoned Danny again, offering them broad authority to investigate—so long as they could find the truth before public panic erupted.
Back in New York, Dana Mozier and David Rossi also called Jack personally. After confirming that his injuries weren't an obstacle, both urged him to do everything possible to help "Five-O" solve the case quickly.
Rossi also relayed a message from some high-ranking military officials—delivered with carefully coded language—guaranteeing that no biological lab on the Hawaiian Islands stored any smallpox virus.
Jack found that claim believable. Smallpox is a relatively stable double-stranded DNA virus. In thousands of years of human history, it had only evolved into two known variants.
Unlike rapidly mutating RNA viruses that render vaccines nearly ineffective, smallpox, while highly lethal with its two-week incubation period, isn't an ideal bioweapon. Vaccination can reliably halt its spread.
The real reason behind all the fuss wasn't the biological threat itself—but the virus's notorious name. Just one leak of this information could embarrass the U.S. government on a global scale.
After all, the official narrative said there were only two smallpox repositories in the world. And if you had to choose between believing it leaked from Siberia and somehow traveled to Hawaii, or that it leaked from Atlanta, public suspicion would almost certainly fall on the latter.
"The CDC lab in Atlanta just completed an internal check of their cryogenic storage. All samples are accounted for—no sign of tampering. So... could Palmer have contracted it while serving in Iraq?" Kono asked.
Max immediately shook his head. "The incubation period for smallpox doesn't last that long. Judging by his symptoms, the infection could not have occurred more than two weeks ago."
"So, our job now is to determine where and when Brian Palmer contracted the virus, and trace his movements over the past two weeks," Danny said, trying to make sense of it all.
Jack noticed Max fidgeting awkwardly—clearly wanting to speak but unsure how to jump in. So Jack gestured for him to go ahead.
"Alright," Max finally said after a pause. "I don't think he was infected through natural means."
"What do you mean?" Everyone except Jack—who was already halfway there—was clearly lost.
"Smallpox spreads primarily through direct contact. It can also spread via contaminated clothing or aerosolized droplets during conversation, but those secondary methods are less efficient. That's all normal transmission. But in this case…"
He turned to Kono and bowed slightly. "May I use the computer?"
Kono, flustered by his formal manner, stepped aside. "Sure, go ahead."
Max pulled up one of the photos he'd taken earlier and displayed it on the big screen. "During my preliminary inspection, I noticed a specific kind of scar."
The image zoomed in on a section of ulcerated skin. "See this scabbed area? It's a little blurry, but I can confirm—it's a puncture wound."
Danny recoiled and covered his forehead, glancing at the photo just long enough. "You're saying… the virus was injected into his body?"
"That sounds like… a good thing?" Cheng Hao looked between Max and Jack, confused by their grim expressions.
"If it's a single point of infection," Jack said with a sigh, carefully choosing his words, "then the CDC only needs to isolate anyone who came into direct contact with him."
He didn't finish the rest: But if someone is deliberately injecting smallpox into people... then this isn't just an outbreak. It's a crime scene.
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