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Tuesday - September 21

Leaving me alone, I wonder why I'm here and who is behind all of this. Feeling better, I decide to sit up on my own. As I grab the side of the bed, I pull myself up and manage to sit on the edge. I feel dizzy, so I close my eyes and wait until it passes. Then, I open my eyes and begin to feel the floor with my toes. When I feel secure to stand on both feet, I release my grip from the bed and stand there wobbling, but I feel like I'm able to control my movements. I take a step towards the door. My legs feel shaky, but I manage to reach the door and turn the handle. Damn it! It's locked! I turn around to see if there's another way to leave, but only see enclosed walls around me.

I go to the computer to see if I can log on. When I'm about to check, I hear someone unlocking the door. I turn around and to my surprise enters President Mansoor.

"Hello, Dr. Bennett. I hope you're feeling better. Please, sit down so we can speak," she says with a smile, as she extends her arm out just in case I need help.

"Thank you, Madame President. I can manage on my own," as I sit on the bed.

The president grabs a chair to sit. But before she does, she hands me a folder.

"What's this?" I inquire.

"Dr. Bennett, everything you need to know about Operation Scrooge is in that folder. I..."

"Operation Scrooge?" I interrupt.

"Please, Dr. Bennett. I know there are many things you don't understand yet; but rest a sure you will. And I guarantee, once you do understand, you'll know why all the things that have happened had to happen. Do you understand, Dr. Bennett? Our world is dying. People can no longer feed themselves, or provide for themselves, or for their families. The Earth's resources are nearly depleted. If action were not taken, our existence would have eventually seized. With what resources that are left, humankind's existence would have been extremely hard until new resources became available. But because of the shortage of resources, it was imperative that the population becomes less significant. There was no choice. It had to be done."

"So, you and everyone else with authority made the decision to play God and decided to shrink the population from what – a virus?"

"Not a virus, Dr. Bennett. The project, which was started by Dr. Raymond Dorsey and your Uncle Gerald, was a project to cure natural-born diseases. Dr. Dorsey was a genius. He discovered a cure to eliminate virtually every known disease that humanity has endured for hundreds, if not thousands of years. But during the experimental dosage on himself, Dr. Dorsey also discovered how to slow down the aging process. This is where he went astray with another colleague.

"Another colleague? Who?" I ask.

"That remains to be unseen at this time. But now, there has been a turn of events."

"No shit."

"I understand how you feel. The so-called virus, as you have seen, has somehow accelerated the aging process, instead of retarding it. But that's not the worse, Dr. Bennett." The president gets up from her chair and goes to the computer. She types something, and then asks me to come over to see. As steady as I can, I get off the bed and go to the computer.

"Look at the bottom graph, Dr. Bennett."

"I begin to read the spreadsheet and study the graph. What?!" I exclaim.

"Dr. Bennett..."

"You mean we only have two days left before everyone dies! What in the hell have you people done? Are you all crazy!

Who in the hell made you God?"

"Dr. Bennett, please listen to me. We have a cure, but before it can be one hundred percent effective, I need you to get into Gerald's computer and pull up a file that is needed back at the CDC."