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best be described by the following quotation from the Ancient Greek writer Thucydides:
" " . the internal fever was intense - the sufferers could not bear to
have on them even the lightest linen garment: they insisted on being naked, and there was
nothing which they longed for more eagerly than to throw themselves into cold water. . . They
were tormented by unceasing thirst, which was not in the least quenched whether they drank
much or little. They could find no way of resting, and sleeplessness attacked them
throughout. . .'
Lobochevskii looked up for a moment as he finished the quotation, and then continued in the
same monotone as before:
'I, Igor Lobochevskii, was called on by the Central Steering Committee of the Academy of
Sciences of the Soviet Union to investigate this acute outbreak of disease in the city of
Onega, for the reason that I have made a study of ergot, a disease with symptoms similar to
the foregoing. Ergot, sometimes known as St Anthony's Fire, is caused by the fungus
Claviceps purpurea which is occasionally present in baker's flour, the disease resulting from
the eating of bakeries, usually of bread.
'On May seventh, I travelled from Moscow to the city of Onega, where together with the local
doctors I examined a number of those who were suffering from the disease. While at first
sight there were similarities to ergot, there were also discrepancies which caused me to
entertain suspicions that some other disease might be involved. To this end, virological
tests were performed on swabs and other specimens, these being immediately sent back to
Moscow. There, a new form of herpes virus was successfully isolated by comrades at the
Institute of Virology. The new form has been termed "pseudoergot", in analogy to the form of
herpes virus known as "pseudorabies", which causes the disease of "mad itch" in cattle.
'It remains for me to end my testimony on a more cheerful note,' Lobochevskii continued in
the same grey voice as before. 'Unlike ergot, which leaves serious circulatory problems that
can cause eventual gangrene in the legs, nose and ears, the new disease took a benign
course, leaving its victims none the worse in the long run. Technical details are given in the
appendix to my descriptive report.'
As soon as Lobochevskii indicated with a slight wave of his hand that he had finished,
Number One asked:
'In summary, Comrade Lobochevskii, in what respects was this disease unusual?'
'It was unusual in the intensity of its attack, in the peculiarities of its symptoms, and in the
new form of the virus which was its causative agent.'
'The disease was easy to recognise?'
"I
3
'Once it had been described it was unmistakable, sir.'
'Before I ask Comrade Lobochevskii to leave the meeting, are there more questions?'
Number One went on.
There was a brief silence, broken after a few seconds by the new Number Eleven, the
erstwhile Number Twelve, who asked a question so pertinent and so confidently assured as
to be a cause for worry to members ranging upwards as far as Number Seven.
'Was the disease infectious?'
'Not so far as observers could tell,' Lobochevskii answered, and then, at a short nod from
Number One, left the room, feeling that he had negotiated an obstacle with no harm done.
'Now I call on Comrade Krilov from VOK, who will speak in the light of what you have just
heard,' Number One announced, with the same brief nod towards Alex Krilov.
'On May twenty-first,' Alex Krilov began, 'the computer at VOK, which is dedicated to
searching for correlations and connections between world-wide events. . .'
'Of whatever nature?' broke in the self-confident Number Eleven.
'Too confident by half. He's headed for a bust and, with a bit of luck, perhaps even for a shit,'
Number Five thought to himself.
'Of whatever nature,' agreed Alex Krilov. 'In this case the correlated events were two acute
outbreaks of disease, the outbreak in Onega, of which you have just heard, and an
apparently similar outbreak on Marion Island in the South Indian Ocean. Marion Island is a
South African dependency, on which we have an agent - in safe placing, for obvious
reasons.'
'To monitor a possible South African nuclear test,' broke in the demoted Number Twelve in a
loud voice addressed to nobody in particular, ending his peremptory interruption with a gulp
of air which suddenly reminded Alex Krilov of the proverb he had been searching his mind
for ever since he had noticed Number Twelve at an earlier stage of the meeting: 'What has
fallen off the cart is gone.'
'There was no doubt about the similarity of the disease?' Number Two asked.
'The descriptions were sufficiently alike for the computer to notice them,' Krilov continued.
'But when I became interested in the computer's findings I enquired more closely. The result
was that, as far as it is possible to tell, the disease was the same in both places. At that
point it was natural to put out a world-wide search for more reports of the same thing.
Fortunately, the situation was given an alpha-alert status, in view of its singular peculiarity.'
'Why did you consider it so peculiar?' Number One asked.
I
'Because both outbreaks were in more or less isolated places separated by a huge
distance: latitude sixty-four degrees north for Onega and forty-seven degrees south for
Marion Island. Yet both have almost exactly the same geographical longitude. It seemed
odd, the same queer disease.'
'Go on,' grunted Number Two.
'The disease which Comrade Lobochevskii described as being like "mad itch" is very
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