I
At the funeral they all asked how Dr. Brunner had died. I would tell them he had been shot. They would inquire as to who had done it. I would tell them it was some crazed gunman and that he had been caught. They would mention they had heard about that on the news. The truth was that they never had. What I told them was a lie. As far as it concerned me, though, it was the truth. It would soon be the only truth as the reality of Dr. Brunner’s death was masked by a fabrication. The incident had occurred less than one week prior.
Mr. Dr. Brunner was an accredited scientist whom thousands of scholars revered.  He was not an outspoken man nor was he egotistical. All that mattered to the doctor was progression of scientific discovery, his own, in particular. He spent much time delving in his lab running his tests. I had seen him there many times before. Brunner seemed to a part of the lab itself, a living component that served the ends of cracking that vast vault of knowledge. I had seen him on that very day, as well. Neither of us knew, at the time, what he would stumble upon…
Dr. Brunner called me into his lab.
“Charles, my boy, look at this image from this electron microscope. I want you to tell me what you see.” he said, gesturing at a screen. I observed the gray image and noted the presence of several elliptical bodies. I knew immediately what it was. As the doctor’s intern I was tested like this often.
“It appears to be some sort of virus, sir. I’m not familiar with its designation, though.” I answered. Though I had seen many microscopic bodies, I had never observed one such as this.
“Charles, allow me to fill you in on what I have studied about this little devil in the past few weeks.” He said as he turned to his notes. As he rifled through the papers I became increasingly anxious. I had been waiting for some time to discover what had been going on in this little sanctum of his. He had enforced quarantine and would not allow anyone in nor himself out. This was not unusual for Brunner though. It had occurred several times before though he usual posted more information to those who worked with him.
At this time another intern had entered into the room. His name was Wallace though he insisted he be called “Walky.” Walky was an unkempt fellow with little respect for his colleagues and a narcissistic attitude. If you had asked Walky what the most important scientific study at the time was, he would reply that it was one of his studies about parasitic grape fungi. In reality, no one really cared.
“Well look who let himself out of the bubble.” He chuckled. This was hilarious to him. I just shot a glare his way.
“A necessary precaution,” retorted Brunner, “There was a potential danger involved. I have concluded this virus has no ill effects, at least not in this state.” He passed us each a copy of his notes. “Now, the information you are about to be briefed on is not to leave this very room. Do you understand?”
We both did.