Tunnels 03, Freefall

you."
    "Make yourself comfortable first. We've got a lot to talk about," Drake said, lowering himself to the floor where he sat cross-legged. Will did likewise, then delved inside his jacket pocket and brought out the leather pouch containing the two phials. He unwrapped the Hessian from around them.
    "Those aren't what I think they are, are they?" Drake said in amazement as he saw the phials.
    "Certainly are. This one," Will said, grinning as he held up the phial with the black stopper, "is the virus."
    Drake took it from him with the greatest care. "Dominion," he said softly, lifting the phial so it caught the dim light filtering through the small window. "So the other one must be the vaccine?" he asked.
    Will nodded as he also passed the white-stoppered phial over to Drake, who gently placed it on the floor beside him.
    Dr. Burrows cleared his throat loudly, making Will start. "So, Drake, I take it you believe that this whole dastardly plot routine is for real, then? You actually think the Styx are intending to wipe us all out with a lethal virus?"
    "No, not all of us," Drake replied. "They just want to depopulate the surface, and then move in on what's left."
    "I've never heard such a load of claptrap," Dr. Burrows countered from the shadows. "Tell me you don't really believe that."
    "While you were underground, you missed the whole Ultra Bug episode. It was the Styx limbering up for something far nastier and far more serious. For this, for Dominion. And it's a damned clever plan. By using a biological reagent, they can exterminate Topsoilers but leave the infrastructure intact. You see, all the buildings, roads, railways -- everything they need -- will be there for the taking. And when they do march in, there won't be enough of us to put up any resistance."
    "But why are they doing this now?" Will asked. "They've been underground for centuries, haven't they?"
    "I've got two theories about that. Either their numbers have grown so much that it's time for them to move on to greener pastures..." Drake answered.
    "Or?" Will prompted him.
    "Or because -- and this is the more likely explanation -- with all the developments going on in Highfield, the Colony is losing air channels by the dozen as the old buildings are torn down. And at the same time as that's happening, it's upping the ante that someone will tumble to what's down there -- the Discovery, as the Colonists call it."
    "Yes, the Discovery," Will mumbled, remembering the first time he'd heard about it from Grandma Macaulay.
    "But spreading a deadly virus, like terrorists?" Dr. Burrows said, shaking his head. "Have they got the capability for that?"
    "Sure. It's nothing new -- the Styx have pulled the same stunt a couple of time down the years," Drake said. "You're aware of all the major epidemics -- the outbreaks of Asian and Spanish flu, and the Great Plague of 1665 -- they're all the work of the White Necks."
    "I like a man with a good imagination," Dr. Burrows laughed cynically. "But this is too much."
    "In a way, the Styx themselves are not that different from a virus." Drake was thoughtful as he continued to dangle the glinting phial in front of him. "Know much about viruses, Doc? Do you know their MO?"
    "Can't say I do," Dr. Burrows said sneeringly.
    "Well, they're tiny organisms, so small that you need special filters to trap them. They're like nothing else on Earth. In fact, they resemble miniature space rockets, and they can even be crystallized -- it's debatable whether they're alive, in the sense of the word you or I understand it. And it's a devil of a job to identify a new one when it does pop up."
    So how, exactly, are they like the Styx?" Dr. Burrows interjected.
    Drake continued as if he hadn't heard him. "They attack a host cell by anchoring themselves to its membrane. Then they shoot their genetic machinery inside and hijack the cell. They use its internal machinery to reproduce themselves like billyho, until there are so many of them the cell bursts. Then millions of identical viruses flood out, in search of new hosts to infect." The Dominion phial swung gently as Drake touched it with his little finger. "The rats sink the ship."
    "But you're talking about organisms that kill people," Dr. Burrows said, outrage in his voice. "You sound as though you actually admire them."
    "I admire their simple, uncluttered intent to survive. Their objective isn't to kill -- in fact if the host loses its life, that's not good for business. The smart viruses