Commandment: Pandemic Unleashed

By Norman L. Weinberg

COMMANDMENT is an allegory on life, all life, in whatever form and wherever it exists on EARTH or in the vast UNIVERSE. Extrapolating from what we know about life on EARTH, all creatures large and small share similarities: the struggle to exist, propagate, find nourishment, and overcome its enemies, even enemies of its own kind. The biblical commandment, ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’ is a warning to us all. If obeyed, peace and prosperity follow; if disobeyed, we risk war, hardship, and annihilation.

The novel came out of Weinberg’s interest in the incredible properties of microorganisms. Numerous scientific publications describing these ‘aliens’ among us capture the imagination and read themselves like science fiction.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Nov 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781480897779

Norman L. Weinberg

Dr. Norman Weinberg is the recipient of many awards including a medal from the Republic of Poland for “Promoting Peace amongst Nations”. He has many scientific publications including books and patents in chemistry and electrochemistry and has lectured widely, including on the Holocaust, Healthy Aging, and What Makes Us Human. He and his wife, Hannah, have two children and four grandchildren. He holds a BA and MA in chemistry from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D. in organic electrochemistry from the University of Ottawa, following which he did a Postdoctoral at the Technion, Haifa, Israel.

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Copyright © 2020 Norman L. Weinberg.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by

any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system

without the written permission of the author except in the case of

brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents,

organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products

of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Archway Publishing

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The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author

and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the

publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Illustrations and Cover Art:

Karalee Hammes

ISBN: 978-1-4808-9776-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-9775-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-9777-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020920116

Archway Publishing rev. date: 11/02/2020

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTIONS

PART ONE: RED-THE PANDEMIC

PART TWO: PLANET ECHO

PART THREE: EARTH

PART FOUR: ISRAEL AND THE USA

PART FIVE: ACROSS THE GALAXY

PART SIX: ANNA AND JEFF

PART SEVEN: ISRAEL-THE NEGEV

PART EIGHT: UNITED NATIONS-THE ARK

ADDENDA: EMERGENCE OF LIFE

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dedication

To Hannah, my loving wife, for a lifetime of

sharing in so many adventures and mitzvot.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am very grateful for the insights, comments, corrections, and suggestions of family and friends, among them professionals in medicine, biological sciences, geology, microbiology, astrophysics as well as other fields.

This novel would not have been possible without the availability of excellent books, technical papers, and lectures on these spectacular creatures. The bibliography lists a number of these publications for the interested reader.

I sincerely thank many individuals for their review and useful comments on the manuscript. They include Dr. Michael Cohen, Karalee Hammes, Rich Kellman, Professor Samuel Savin, Professor Steve Sandler, Karen Shapiro, Robert Spitzer, Dr. Frank Sulzman, my wife, Hannah, and daughter Laurie Weinberg, and Professor Allan Young. I also thank others who wish to remain anonymous.

FOREWORD

In my past professional career, I was a research scientist working in the fields of chemistry, drug discovery, and electrochemistry. I published many technical articles and books on these subjects. This book is my first attempt to write a novel, a science fiction novel at that.

COMMANDMENT is an allegory on life, in whatever form and wherever it exists on EARTH or in the vast UNIVERSE. Extrapolating from what we know about life on EARTH, all creatures small and large share similarities: The struggle to exist, propagate, find nourishment, and overcome its enemies, even enemies of its own kind. The biblical commandment, ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’ is a warning to us all. If obeyed, peace and prosperity follow; if disobeyed, we risk war, hardship, and annihilation.

The novel came out of my interest in the incredible properties of microorganisms. Numerous scientific publications on these ‘aliens’ among us capture the imagination and read themselves like science fiction.

The microorganisms that ‘infect’ us are a miracle of nature, numbering in the trillions, yet our immune system does not destroy the beneficial kinds. They are vital to our existence! We are in a close symbiotic relationship.

Microbes train our immune system. They help protect us against dangerous pathogens, vital for digestion, provide us with necessary hormones and other life-sustaining chemicals, and remarkably communicate with us in many ways affecting how we think. They are involved in our decisions and emotions. In return, we provide them with nutrients, protection, and mobility as far and wide as our horizons take us.

They evolved on EARTH billions of years ago shortly after EARTH cooled sufficiently. They are our ancient ancestors, and we continue our evolution with them.

They are not the simplest of entities we long believed. The methods of their communications with one another and with other life forms, including us, are highly sophisticated. The chemical and biological agents they produce to signal their kind and others is what scientists call ‘Quorum Sensing,’¹ The control they exert on the environment, on us, and other life forms is incredible!

During the planning stage, I began imagining the future of microbial science and the applications genetically engineered microbes might have in the hands of a highly advanced alien civilization. I began writing in 2016, about microorganisms, called RED and a pandemic they cause. I could not have predicted at that time that the coronavirus, known as COVID-19, would become a pandemic, infecting and killing so many.

Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and slew him …

Genesis 4:8

Thou shalt not murder!

Exodus 20: 6th Commandment

I will speak with thee … from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark …

Exodus 25: 10-22

And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if they saved an entire world.

Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5; Yerushalmi Talmud 4:9, Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 37a

The Fermi Paradox: But, where is everybody?

Enrico Fermi

I believe alien life is quite common in the UNIVERSE, although intelligent life is less so. Some say it has yet to appear on planet EARTH.

Stephen Hawking

This … I call Natural Selection or Survival of the Fittest.

Charles Darwin

Life from chemistry and energy: Dissipation-driven adaptive organization …

Jeremy England

For small creatures such as we, the vastness is bearable only through love.

Carl Sagan

They are our partners throughout life …

Justin and Evelyn Sonnenburg

TIMELINES

Creation: Big Bang or ‘Big Bounce’: 13.8 billion years ago

Birth of the Milky Way GALAXY : 13.2 billion years ago

Birth of EARTH’s Solar System: 4.54 billion years ago

Age of the EARTH: 4.54 billion years

Age of EARTH’s Moon: 4.53 billion years

Evolution of Microbial Life on EARTH: 3.85 billion years ago

Evolution of Homo Sapiens: 300 thousand years ago

Extinction of Homo Sapiens, IMMINENT?

Birth of ECHO’s Solar System: 6.0 billion years after the Big Bang

The arrival of RED in our Solar System: 3.95 billion years ago

The appearance of the Echonian Intergalactic Expedition, IMMINENT?

STORY CHARACTERS

Microorganisms Are Everywhere!

Microorganisms are significant characters in this novel. By definition, microbes are invisible, at least to the Naked Human Eye. They are everywhere! You and I exist within a cloud of microorganisms that permeates us!

Microbes include vast kingdoms of bacteria, archaea, protozoa, algae, fungi, viruses, etc. They outnumber us and everything else in the UNIVERSE, and the more we understand them and our humble position in the tree of life, the more we learn how truly amazing they are!

Realistically, you and I could not exist without us having descended from ancestral microorganisms appearing on EARTH billions of years ago.

And, this story would be impossible to write without them!

GLOSSARY

Alter - old

Bris - ritual circumcision

B’tayovon - good appetite!

Challah - special bread, usually for Shabbat and holidays

Chaya - life

Cheder - Jewish religious school

Feldsher - country barber-surgeon

Hashem - G’d

Kaddish - prayer for the dead, praising G’d

Kahal - Jewish community organization

Ketubah - Jewish marriage contract

Kippah - religious head covering

Kosher - obeying the requirements of Jewish law

Mashiach – messiah

Mensch - in Yiddish, someone of noble character

Mevushal Wine -special Kosher wine

Minyan - obligatory 10 men for certain religious services

Nudging - nagging

Peyot - sidelocks, sideburns

Shabbat or Shabbos - 7th day of the week for rest and prayer

Shadchan - Jewish matchmaker

Shalom Aleichem - peace be upon you!

Shema - (Hear, O Israel, the Lord is Our God, the Lord is One)

Shiva – in Judaism, seven days of mourning

Shtetl - village or town

Siesse Kinder - sweet children

Tuchus - butt

Yenta - a woman who gossips or busybody

Yiches - distinguished lineage and pedigree of ancestors

DESCRIPTION OF

ORGANIZATIONS

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), headquarters located in Atlanta, Georgia, its focus is on hundreds of infectious and noninfectious diseases, health threats, and conditions that are causes of death and disability.

The World Health Organization (WHO), headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, is an agency of the United Nations concerned with international public health.

The United Nations, headquartered in New York City, is responsible for maintaining international peace and security, protecting human rights, delivering humanitarian aid, and upholding international law.

The Weizmann Institute of Science, located in Rehovot, Israel, was founded in 1934 as the Daniel Sieff Institute and renamed in 1948 after Dr. Chaim Weizmann, the first President of the State of Israel. Today the Institute is one of the world’s leading multidisciplinary research centers focusing on the natural and exact sciences.

The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, founded in 1912, is located in Haifa and is the oldest university in Israel. The Technion is recognized internationally as preeminent in many fields, including aerospace engineering, medicine, architecture, energy, nanotechnology, and superconductivity.

Zegota, the WWII underground Polish resistance organization, aiding Jews.

The Israel Space Agency (ISA), coordinates all Israeli space research programs and is a member of the NASA Center for Moon Research.

The World Pandemic Research Organization (WPRO), Co-Directors, Professor Anna Cohen Youngman, and Professor Menachem Cohen. The initial mission of the WPRO was collecting, coordinating, and reporting past and present academic and government research studies on Pandemics. The arrival of the RED Pandemic added a further mission to the WPRO: lobbying world leaders and governments to obey the COMMANDMENT.

PART ONE

RED-THE

PANDEMIC

Characters

Ewa Weiss Glick, Holocaust survivor, and heroine

Aaron Glick, MD, Holocaust survivor, husband of Ewa and hero

Miriam Goldman, the childhood friend of Ewa, Holocaust survivor, a heroine

Daughters of Ewa and Aaron

Rose and Chaya

Rabbi Chaim Cohen, husband of Rose; children, Anna and Menachem

Professor Anna Cohen Youngman, Head of Genetic Engineering and Microbiology Section, Princeton University; dual appointment at the Weizmann Institute of Science; Co-Director, WPRO

Dr. Jeff Youngman, husband of Anna: MD, infectious diseases; affiliated with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Children of Anna and Jeff

Evelyn

Aaron

Professor Menachem Cohen, brother of Anna: MD, Professor and Chair Microbiology Department, Stanford University, Co-Director, WPRO

Sarah, Wife

Mendel, Son

June Hudson, Anna’s secretary

Carl, June’s son

Winston, Havanese puppy

Samuel Rabinowitz, XOFN News Reporter

CHAPTER 1

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PANDEMIC

T HE NEWS ANCHOR in the XOFN studio announces, "We have breaking news! News that’s always fair and reliable! XOFN News is on top of the most important story of the day, the updated news of the pandemic you have been waiting to hear!

In the meantime, as we try to connect to Sam Rabinowitz and our team at the UN, the political parties continue to blame each other for poor planning and inaction. And there is more news and advice on steps each of us should be taking to protect ourselves and those around us from this terrible disease.

A helicopter flies overhead, its rotor blades whirring noisily. People watching their screens see a panoramic view of New York City. The aircraft, emblazoned with the XOFN News logo, circles and swoops down over the United Nations building, its camera focusing on the array of colorful international flags flapping in gusts of wind near the front entrance. The helicopter hovers for several moments, then suddenly changes direction and leaves. The noise slowly diminishes.

The voice of a familiar TV reporter says, "Thanks for joining us at XOFN News. I’m Samuel Rabinowitz of XOFN News, reporting to you from within the United Nations! Many of you have been watching, as I have, with great concern about the growing worldwide pandemic affecting our children.

"XOFN News brings you up to date on all the related stories and much more. You’ll hear what’s been happening at the United Nations during the last six hours and about the crowds demonstrating behind police barriers. We’ll report about the rioting occurring in cities around the world. For all of us here in New York City, we need to acknowledge the coordinated efforts of the NYPD and the mayor for keeping the crowds outside the UN under control!

"Please stay with us! After an upcoming interview here at the UN, we will return to XOFN World News to the rioting, the crowds outside, and the responses from government officials. The President of the United States will address the nation from the Oval Office in about one hour from now. But first, we will report breaking news about the pandemic, recently labeled the ‘Red pandemic,’ that has shaken the world!

"Here’s the situation. The Security Council, together with the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control, has just concluded its first meeting with an international panel of experts. This panel included medical doctors, scientists, and high-level government officials on both sides of the political aisle. Discussions focused on the identification and scope of the disease, its symptoms, treatment options, and critical recommendations the public needs to know.

"I’m sure what’s on everyone’s mind right now is how to control the disease threatening so many lives in practically every country on this planet. To get some answers, we reached out to members of the panel for their comments about what just happened behind closed doors.

"There’s plenty of political commentaries we could report, each blaming the other side for not doing enough. XOFN News believes that’s not what most of you want to hear right now.

Only three of the panelists were willing to talk to XOFN News at this time.

The video feed shifts to an office inside the UN, where there are four seated figures, including Samuel Rabinowitz.

Rabinowitz continues, "First, let me introduce our guests: Professor Anna Youngman, chairman…correction, chairwoman—of the Microbiology Department at Princeton University and codirector of the World Pandemic Research Organization; Anna’s brother, Professor Menachem Cohen, a medical doctor on the faculty of Stanford University serving as codirector of the World Pandemic Research Organization; and Anna’s husband, Dr. Jeff Youngman, also a medical doctor and an authority on infectious diseases representing the CDC.

"These are very impressive guests with impressive credentials and with incredible experience in their respective fields! Thank you for agreeing to take time out of your busy schedules to answer some questions and concerns!

"First, I would like to ask you what is happening to stop the spread of the pandemic and cure those afflicted, and second, XOFN News would like to know what happened during the closed-door panel discussion at the United Nations.

Turning to Jeff Youngman, Rabinowitz says, "Dr. Youngman, if you would, please start by describing to listeners the extent of the pandemic, the symptoms of the disease, what’s happening to cure it, and your medical advice.

"Please call me Jeff. Thank you, Sam, for arranging this interview. This interview allows us to dispel misinformation and lots of speculation in the media and the public, and to get out the facts as we know them to date!

"There is no doubt the disease is spreading very rapidly. We have information that it originated in a desolate region somewhere in northern Africa, but this is still unconfirmed. Suggestions in the media that the disease originated in China are untrue. Yes, historical evidence exists that several pandemics originated in China, like the Asian flu and coronavirus, but not the Red pandemic.

I received reports from the CDC just days after the discovery of the Red pandemic. Hard evidence is demonstrating the pandemic is moving unusually fast. We speculate it’s possibly wind-borne. In only a few weeks, the disease has reached across Africa, across the Mediterranean, and into many European cities. Parts of Asia have reported thousands of cases.

Jeff pauses to read a note in his hand, then continues. Sam, I can confirm the pandemic has already reached North and South America, and the number of cases has been growing exponentially. Worldwide estimates to date report a total of more than six million firstborn boys infected. And, unhappily, we see no letup or signs of containment.

Rabinowitz exclaims, What you’re saying is alarming! People everywhere are desperate for information! What else can you tell us, Jeff? Do you have anything to give us hope that there’s an answer coming, and soon?

Menachem interjects. Jeff, let me take this. Yes, Sam, there is more. There are surprises I need to mention. The disease, which resembles a bacterial infection, seems to be highly specific in picking its targets. The pandemic affects only children, and then only firstborn children, and specifically, male children. As far as our medical associates can tell, mostly kids in their teens are affected. Other family members, female children, parents, grandparents, pets, all appear to be immune—again, at least so far as we can tell.

Rabinowitz interrupts. There is much speculation going on, especially in the media, that the disease has all the characteristics of having originated in some sophisticated microbiological lab in northern Africa. They say the germs got free accidentally, or they were purposefully released. What’s your take on all of this?

Jeff exclaims angrily, Look, speculation like that is highly unlikely and very dangerous! There are no sophisticated labs in the world we can identify that could generate such a complex, unique organism, let alone labs and highly trained scientists specializing in microbial infections or microbiology anywhere in or near northern Africa!

Rabinowitz replies, I understand. We all heard the alternative that it could have originated from some far-off location, and then the disease was tested in Africa. But let’s turn to the medical implications. Menachem, please describe the symptoms experienced by the infected kids.

The youngsters become listless, sleepy, and unresponsive, and they refuse nourishment! Dehydration is an immediate concern, yet that brings up another surprise: the infected children don’t seem to want or need water or food. Their vital signs otherwise remain in the normal range. I mean, the usual testing of blood pressure, pulse rate, breathing, and temperature, taken over hours and days.

Jeff adds, As soon as news of the pandemic broke, the WHO and CDC both recommended schools, playgrounds, and other children’s places of activity close immediately. For now, governments are ordering infected kids to be quarantined, isolated from other children. If the disease turns out to be airborne, isolation won’t be much help. Face masks won’t be of much help, but washing hands and keeping hands away from the face could help. Teaching kids the basics of hygiene is always good. If its airborne, bottom line, we can’t live our lives in hazmat suits!

Jeff, what about a vaccine?

This disease is moving so fast an effective vaccine will be of little help to those already infected. I know of many academic and government labs in the US and internationally working desperately on a vaccine. Still, it may take a year to eighteen months of exhaustive testing before a promising vaccine is released.

Rabinowitz, Have there been any deaths reported?

No, not directly, answered Jeff.

Rabinowitz: What do you mean, ‘not directly’?

"In reply to your question, yes, there have been deaths reported. Deaths are occurring indirectly. Deaths from accidents caused by falling and tripping, sleepwalking, riding bicycles, driving cars, vandalism of homes and businesses, and the like. Unfortunately, vicious beatings and murders also are reported. It seems beatings and murders are happening by scared, hysterical individuals blaming anyone with even a cough or sneeze. And now mobs are getting involved, blaming sickened kids for infecting their own!"

Menachem, what do you suggest can be done to help?

"Sam, you—the media—have a huge responsibility. Tone down your rhetoric, especially speculative reporting. Report only the facts, not the mob-think. You can confirm for your audience that no child has died directly. You can advise parents to keep their children at home, nurse their sick kids as best they can, make them drink water through the day, force-feed them if necessary. Let them sleep it off, if that’s what it takes, and stay tuned for important updates and public health and government announcements."

Sam turned to Anna. Professor Youngman, as a microbiologist, can you add anything to what Jeff and Menachem have stated about the disease?

Yes! Thanks, Sam. I hope your news report gets out widely and quickly. Here’s what I know. And it’s what I’ve stated to everyone who’ll listen, including the Security Council and the pandemic panel experts. There is an answer to stop the disease from spreading.

Sam surprised, exclaims, If there’s an answer, why haven’t we heard about it? Why hasn’t the answer been reported? Why isn’t it being used to cure these kids?

Anna replies, "Look, I’m going to tell you things that you probably, and many people I have spoken to, find unbelievable! Please listen carefully and keep an open mind! First, understand what happened at the United Nations. When I talked to the Security Council and the Pandemic Panel of experts, several highly respected individuals, people I know, shouted at me. You could hear insults not worth repeating to your listeners! And, shouting of ‘Rubbish!’ ‘Where’s the proof!’ ‘Shameful!’, and ‘She’s fanning hysteria with absolutely no credible proof!’

Only two people were there speaking up in my support … my dear husband, Jeff and my dear brother Menachem. They tried to counter the insults a few times. The moderator was also of no help, allowing Jeff and Menachem to make their statements, and then partway as they spoke, telling them angrily to sit down and shut up! I was so disappointed by otherwise rational scientists and medical doctors on the panel.

Anna squeezes Jeff’s hand affectionately, kisses Jeff’s cheek, and smiles warmly at Menachem. Menachem puts an arm around his sister’s shoulder, whispering to her how sorry he was that she had to listen to so many abusive comments!

Anna continues, "Sam, I’ll tell you briefly what I said to all of them behind closed doors. This bacterial infection is not anything described in textbooks or anything I’ve seen or heard of before. The same goes for checking with my colleagues. We are all desperate to know what it is and how to treat it. Bottom line there is NO known medical remedy so far!

"Antibiotics don’t touch it. Powerful chemicals don’t destroy the organism! We tried to kill it in our lab with ozone and with bleach. Nothing happened! Then we tried aqua regia, a potent oxidizing mixture of concentrated nitric acid and sulfuric acid that will kill anything, but nothing happened again! We used very high heat. We even placed colonies of it under intense radiation for hours at a time! It survived everything we did to kill it, only to find it intact and still thriving. We usually call such organisms extremophiles. This organism is the closest living thing we have ever seen to immortal.

"This organism needs a new classification! When we tried to interrupt its replication, we found it was self-healing. And, this red-colored organism, when it DECIDES to multiply, feeds on just about anything. Even more surprisingly, it appears to have built-in intelligence!

"I told them back there that this thing is NOT of this world. There’s nothing like it on this EARTH! It’s an extremophile that is indestructible and immortal. And together with other scientists in my lab and, in Menachem’s lab, we concluded the organism is likely ALIEN. That’s when I received more insults, shouted at me by panel members!

"And this is the part when UN officials and the panel of so-called experts started accusing me of creating even more panic. Along with Jeff and my brother Menachem, both internationally recognized physicians, we’ve come to several significant conclusions.

"Don’t ask me how or why, but the red organism appears designed, yes designed, not meant to infect or kill just any human. It’s highly specific which of us humans it chooses.

"Again, I won’t disclose yet how we know all this. The organism appears genetically engineered by an advanced alien civilization. No scientist or lab on EARTH has the knowledge and capability to create such a sophisticated microorganism. But that’s not all. And this will be the hardest part for you and others to understand.

"This organism’s DNA is embedded with a message … a message of healing, a message of worldwide peace, and a COMMANDMENT that we MUST OBEY, and must OBEY very soon, or our civilization is doomed! The COMMANDMENT’s a simple message is DO NOT Kill! But there is more. I’ll explain later."

Rabinowitz, an incredulous look on his face, interrupts, Anna, forgive me if I take the negative position like the other nonbelievers at the UN. As a reporter, so far, I’m also a nonbeliever! At the same time, I will be reporting much of what you and your husband stated. With an open mind, not like those who mocked you. But, look, if anyone is to believe you both, you need real objective evidence. Get back to me with real evidence, and then I can continue to report to our audience what you purport as the truth.

Rabinowitz’s cell phone rings, Anna, I’ve just received an urgent message from my boss. I’ve got another story to follow. Another panel participant has come forward. He’s willing to tell us in detail what went on at the UN. Please excuse me!

Anna responds angrily, ignoring Rabinowitz’s finger on the kill switch of his microphone and ignoring Rabinowitz motioning the TV camera operator to shut down, "Sam, you’re going to regret not telling the most intriguing part of the story! Menachem examined hundreds of children, mainly young boys, both infected and not infected boys. He carefully studied each of their medical records and discovered many firstborn boys were immune! Examining the boys further, he found that only firstborn boys are infected, but only THOSE firstborn boys with deformities!

Menachem interrupts, Miraculously, on closer examination, deformities in some of these infected firstborn boys are beginning to disappear! My wife, Sarah, and I have eight beautiful children. Our firstborn son, Mendel, was born with a cleft palate. Mendel is infected. Like the others, he’s lethargic. Also, he’s unwilling to take nourishment. Sam, Mendel’s cleft palate, is beginning to show every sign of healing!

Rabinowitz trying to break away to go to his next assignment, interrupts Anna, That’s all very interesting, and what you are claiming is certainly amazing if proven true! Still hard to believe, especially the alien part. Again, you’ll need hard evidence to convince me and to convince our audience.

Anna replies, "Yes, Sam, difficult to believe until you see and hear the evidence for yourself. You’re a respected reporter. Please, ask pediatricians about the kids under their care. Then show and report what you learn. They have the evidence that thousands of previously deaf children are beginning to hear sounds for the first time, paraplegic kids who are leaving wheelchairs behind, learning to walk again, and children with lost fingers and limbs experiencing remarkable regrowth.

The evidence is out there, Sam. There’s lots more evidence if you’re willing to examine the facts. Please, Sam, I beg you, visit clinics and hospitals, and let your viewers see for themselves. And please, please, tell them what I told you about governments heeding the COMMANDMENT!

Rabinowitz replies to Anna, I promise I will follow up. But Anna, I need much more for our viewers. Let me give you my cell phone number …

Anna looks up at Jeff. They nod their heads in silent agreement, worried looks registering on their faces, then they stand, Jeff, with a reassuring arm across Anna’s shoulder.

Anna interrupts Rabinowitz and, in a raised voice, shouts, Later, Sam! Let’s talk more! I promise I will have the definitive evidence you need! Then Anna, somewhat sourly, adds, Sam, you call yourself a fair reporter. We’ll get back to you, but only after you do an investigation of the facts. Check out the facts with pediatricians, clinics, and hospitals!

Sam repeats, Okay, okay, I promise … I promise!

Right now, Sam, you need to excuse us. Our children, Evelyn and Aaron, have been waiting for us for hours, and they’re scared. Some of their closest friends are infected! But I promise you, Sam, in the next few days, if you do your follow-up, you could be on top of the biggest story of your career!

Rabinowitz hands his card to Anna, clicks off his microphone, and signals the crew to follow him. Rabinowitz, partway down the long hallway to his next interview, suddenly had a worried look on his face. He abruptly stopped in his tracks and pulls out his cell phone.

His wife answers, Sam, what’s up? Why are you calling me? I can tell by your voice something is worrying you!

"Honey, NO, everything’s okay … just a hectic day, just checking in with my gorgeous wife! How are you doing, and how are the boys?"

"Sam,