Battle Across The Omniverse

Jayr POV - Earth, Georgia, Center for Disease Control and Prevention - 2010

The next morning I walked into the cafeteria and saw that no one else was there yet as it is very early in the morning and more importantly everyone was way too tired and drunk to wake up at this hour.

Seeing that I'm alone, I calmly walk toward the kitchen to prepare some form of breakfast for everyone with the few basic ingredients available while thinking about what happened yesterday, 'My talk with Dr. Jenner got interrupted by a drunk Rick but luckily I was still able to take a look at Dr. Jenner's mental state and from what I have seen it was a lot better than the "canonical" one. It seems that the idea of a possible cure and the solution to the energy problem lit up the flickering flame of hope in his heart just enough to keep him going. This is quite good as I don't have to worry about his suicidal impulses screwing up my plans.'

While I'm starting to cook some powdered eggs, I continue to go over the events of yesterday's evening, 'After the brief talk between Dr. Jenner and Rick, I accompanied the drunk Rick back to his room before I headed back to the isolated area and met up with Cratergann. Obviously, my trusted partner successfully completed both my requests, safely disarming the H.I.T.s, and modifying Vi's directives so that it doesn't cause any problems in the eventuality that the building runs out of energy but it is unable to decontaminate it as it was programmed to do. Anyway, after Cratergann reported its success, I brought it back into my Soulbound Territory where it can rest and recharge the energy it has used by absorbing and converting the Spiral Cosmo in it. Then I went back to my room to "rest" which actually meant focusing on my Incarnation as I resumed enjoying spending some quality time with Tio and Alvida for a couple of days spent in a Time Bubble.'

Thinking about last night, I can't help but smirk and mutter, "Of course, I had to focus a little on cutting the feeling feedback of my Main Body, after all, I didn't want to dirty the room with other "accidental discharges"... It would be very bothersome to clean."

As I continue to prepare the breakfast, other people slowly start to walk into the cafeteria, the first ones to arrive are Dale, Jim, Andrea, Amy, and T-Dog who quickly greet me before they also start to help prepare for the breakfast.

Dale, Jim, and Andrea prepare the table, while T-Dog and Amy help me cook the powdered eggs, and prepare the fruit juice and the coffee.

Shortly after a very hungover Glenn also stumbles in the cafeteria before he takes a seat regretting yesterday's decision of drinking too much before Lori, Carl, Morgan, and Duane also walk in.

At this point, T-Dog and Amy start to serve the ready powdered eggs and glasses of fruit juices to the people present as more and more survivors stumble into the cafeteria among them there is also Dr. Jenner who notices the hungover state of some people and quickly goes to grab a bottle full of aspirin.

Before long, Rick also shuffles into the cafeteria and it is obvious that he is also feeling the effects of yesterday's alcohol intoxication as he yawns and greets, "Haaa... Morning..."

Seeing his father's state, Carl can't help but ask with a grin on his face, "Are you hungover? Mom said you'd be." 

In response, Rick smiles at his son and admits, "Mom is right." which makes Lori also smile as she says, "Mom has that annoying habit." 

At the same time, T-Dog walks over with a pan full of eggs and proudly dishes the powdered eggs for everyone while saying, "Eggs. Powdered, but... but I and Jayr do 'em good."

When T-Dog gives a groaning Glenn his portion, he smirks and comments, "I bet you can't tell. Protein helps the hangover." in the meantime, Lori hands Rick some aspirin which makes him ask, "Where'd all this come from?" to which Lori calmly replies, "Jenner." Rick then gives the bottle to his wife and asks, "Could you help me, please?" 

Lori takes the bottle from his husband who thanks her and comments, "He thought we could use it." before she looks at the suffering Glenn, and adds with a smirk on his face, "Some of us, at least." 

In response to that, Glenn simply let out another groan before he comments, "Urg... Don't ever ever ever let me drink again." which makes Jim chuckle and comment, "Heh... Trust me, no matter how many times we say words like that... in the end, we will always end up experiencing the hungover again."

Hearing that Glenn groans again and says, "Urg... God, please no..." while Jacqui gently massages his back and comforts him, "Come on, Glenn. It will pass soon."

Soon Shane enters the room and heads straight for the coffee while greeting, "Hey." to which Rick replies, "Hey." before asking, "Feel as bad as I do?"

Shane fills his cup and replies, "Not much better... Yesterday we had quite the shocking revelation..." to which T-Dog agrees, "That's right... The Wildfire Virus and the fact that everyone is already infected..."

This makes the air in the cafeteria grow more tense, but Rick remembering the words that Dr. Jenner told him yesterday quickly repeats, "Come on... it's not so bad. Now we know what we are facing a little better and there is still hope to fight it." 

At this point, Dr. Jenner returns to the kitchen and quickly greets the new arrival before he adds, "Morning. That's right. But before we can do that we still have to take care of a few more pressing issues." 

Hearing that, Dale looks at Dr. Jenner and says, "Doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing in the morning..." but before he can continue, Jenner smiles wryly and says, "But you will anyway." to which Andrea, who agrees with Dale, nods and comments, "We didn't come here for the eggs." 

Dr. Jenner nods and says, "Well, let's just finish breakfast. After that, Dr. Pucci and I will explain everything to you all. Trust me, you will need it as today will be quite a busy day for all of us."

After the quick breakfast, Dr. Jenner leads the group back to the control center where he orders, "Vi. Give me playback of TS-19." which makes the virtual intelligence of the C.D.C. quickly follow his order and state in its monotone female-like voice, "Playback of TS-19." 

Shortly after, with a beeping sound the bring screen turns on showing the brain scans of "Test Subject 19" which is actually, Dr. Edwin Jenner's wife and Head Scientist of this structure, Dr. Candance Jenner. 

Dr. Jenner looks at the brain scan on the big screen with a longing gaze as he likely remembers his loved wife before he comments, "Few people ever got a chance to see this. Very few." 

Curious, Carl can't help himself from asking, "Is that a brain?" which makes Dr. Jenner proudly reply, "An extraordinary one." before he turns more somber and adds, "Not that it matters in the end." 

After that, Dr. Jenner gives Vi another command, "Take us in for E.I.V. ." followed by Vi's mechanical voice that states, "Enhanced internal view." 

In response to that, the scene on the screen changes as it zooms in allowing us to see exactly what is actually happening in the test subject's brain at that precise moment as all the synapses light up like a Christmas tree which already gives me a small idea of the mental state of the test subject, and I have to admit that I'm very impressed as even if she was really afraid of dying and suffering from the effects of the bite, she still kept herself calm enough to allow her brain to still making use of each single second to further analyze and study what it was happening to her to give her husband as much information as possible. 

Of course, the only reason I'm able to discern all this only from looking at the electrical impulses moving through all the synapses is thanks to all the knowledge I gathered both at the Sanctuary in my experience as a Saint and from the Asklepios Imerológio (Diary of Asclepius), after all, with Evil Saga that was able to brainwash someone with a "simple" lightspeed punch to the head, I had to study the brain and the effects Cosmo had on it very thoroughly. 

While I'm admiring the brain activity and resilience of the late Dr. Candance Jenner, a curious Shane asks, "What are those lights?" which makes Dr. Edwin Jenner in a somewhat philosophical manner answer, "It's a person's life... experiences, memories. It's everything. Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light... is you... the thing that makes you unique. And human." 

At this point, a somewhat confused Daryl can't help himself from asking, "You don't make sense ever?" which makes Dr. Edwin Jenner answer in a more clear-cut manner, "Those are synapses, electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages. They determine everything a person says does or thinks from the moment of birth to the moment of death." 

Hearing that, Rick moves closer to the big screen before he asks, "Death? That's what this is, a vigil?" which makes Dr. Edwin Jenner nod and admit, "Yes. Or rather the playback of the vigil." 

Shocked by this news, Amy also asks, "This person died?" followed by Morgan who also asks, "Who?" 

Dr. Jenner stands in silence for a few moments before he says, "Test Subject 19. Someone who was bitten and infected... And volunteered to have us record the process. Her loss was very devastating for me and maybe even for the rest of Humanity as a whole..." 

In response to that, Shane tilts his head in his direction as he asks, "Her...?" which makes everyone focus more on the matter but Dr. Edwin Jenner simply continues to stare at the recording lost in his memories.

Seeing that, I answer in his place, "Considering Dr. Jenner's state, I think that Test Subject 19 is actually Dr. Candace Jenner... His wife..." before I look at Dr. Jenner and add, "Even if I didn't know her very well, she seemed the kind of person who wouldn't hesitate to donate her failing body to be studied in the hopes of developing a cure..."

Dr. Jenner sighs deeply and admits, "You are absolutely right... this is Candace's brain scan..." before he takes a deep breath to steady himself and commands, "Vi, scan forward to the first event." 

In response Vi's mechanical voice once again comes from the loudspeaker as it states, "Scanning to the first event." followed by a beeping sound before the images on the big screen quickly move forward until it shows the synapses of the brain that starts hemorrhaging making Glenn ask, "What is that?" 

Dr. Jenner points at the expanding black lines that represent the hemorrhaging synapses and explains, "It invades the brain like meningitis. The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs. Then death. Everything you ever were or ever will be... Gone." 

Shortly after he said that, the black lines start to cover the whole brain and soon everything goes black, due to the death of the test subject, Dr. Jenner's wife.

The group is saddened by seeing this, especially knowing just how difficult seeing all this should be for Dr. Jenner considering that the person who died in this case is his wife and he was very likely present when it happened so as a form of respect for his loss we all unanimously decide to stay in silence giving Dr. Jenner some time to mourn over his loss.

After a few seconds, Dr. Jenner snaps out and commands, "Scan to the second event." which makes Vi's mechanical voice state in response, "Scanning to the second event." 

As the recording starts to fast-forwards, Dr. Jenner explains, "The resurrection times vary wildly. We had reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours. In the case of this patient, it was two hours, one minute... Seven seconds."

Right after he said that the recording arrived at the point that Dr. Jenner named "Second Event", the start of Test Subject 19's reanimation.

We all focus on the big screen as the synapses of the brain slowly light back up in a dull red light that is almost like the embers of a fire. 

Seeing that scene, Lori can't help herself from asking, "It restarts the brain?" but Dr. Jenner shakes his head and explains, "No, just the brain stem. Basically, it gets them up and moving."

Hearing that, Jim cautiously asks, "But they're not alive?" which makes Dr. Jenner argue back, "You tell me." 

Dale focuses more on the recording before he states, "It's nothing like before. Most of that brain is dark." 

Dr. Jenner nods and says, "Dark, lifeless, dead. The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part... That doesn't come back. The "you" part. Just a shell driven by mindless instinct." 

Hearing that Duane exclaims, "That's it, Dad! It's just like Jayr told us before, isn't it?" which makes Morgan nod and say, "That's right, son..."

Suddenly, a bullet flies through the test subject's skull in the video making Carol gasp, "God. What was that?" but before anyone else can answer, Shane says, "He shot his patient in the head." before he asks, "Didn't you?" 

Dr. Jenner doesn't respond directly but limits himself to only slowly nodding his head before he commands, "Vi, power down the main screen and the workstations." that is quickly followed by Vi's mechanical voice that states, "Powering down the main screen and workstations." 

Suddenly, a frustrated Shane states, "You have no idea what it is, do you?" 

In response, Dr. Jenner shakes his head and sighs before he admits, "It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal, or even man-made." while hearing that, I can't help but roll my eyes while thinking, 'Not really, it is pretty clear that the Wildfire Virus is a supercharged man-made viral infection... but it is likely that Dr. Jenner still wasn't able to truly study it. Well, they all should be very glad that this isn't a fungal infection... After all, The Last of Us showed just how creepy and dangerous are the mushroom zombies, after all, different from the other kinds of zombies, they get stronger and more dangerous the more time passes.' 

While I'm thinking that, a downcast Jacqui suggests, "Or the wrath of God?" to which Dr. Jenner doesn't entirely disagree as he says, "There is that."
 
At this point, a hopeful Amy states, "Somebody must know something. Somebody somewhere." followed by Carol who nods in agreement as she asks, "There are others, right? Other facilities?"

Dr. Jenner slowly looks at the faces of all the people in the control room as they all focus on him and says, "There may be some... People like me and Dr. Pucci." 

At this point, Rick can't help himself from asking, "But you don't know? How can you not know?" to which Dr. Jenner replies, "Everything went down. Communications, directives... all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month." 

This makes everyone finally realize the severity of the actual worldwide situation to the point that Andrea sorrowfully asks, "So it's not just here. There's nothing left anywhere? Nothing? That's what you're really saying, right?" followed by Jacqui who softly exclaims, "Jesus." 

Even Daryl seems shocked by this revelation as he comments, "Man, I'm gonna get shit-faced drunk again."

But then Dr. Jenner breaks the depressed atmosphere by explaining, "The reason why I have been telling all this to you guys is to let you understand the fact that this place is very likely one of the last few chances that humanity has to actually overcome this world-ending contagious disease." 

At this point, Dr. Jenner's expression turns especially grave as he continues, "But to do that we actually need everyone's help... as the C.D.C.'s situation is also quite precarious at the moment..."

Hearing that, Dale steps forward and asks, "Those that have anything to do with that clock over there... I couldn't help but notice that... It's counting down. What happens at zero?" 

In response to that question, Dr. Jenner sighs and says, "The basement generators... they run out of fuel." 

Rick then asks Dr. Jenner to further elaborate, "And then?" but instead of answering himself, Dr. Jenner commands, "Vi, what happens when the power runs out?" which makes the virtual intelligence explain in its usual monotone voice, "When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur." 

Hearing that, Glenn can't help but comment, "Decontamination... I don't like the sound of that..." followed by Daryl who asks, "What does that mean?" 

At this point, I cut to the chase and say, "Come on, guys! You know what this place is! The C.D.C. protected the public from very nasty stuff! Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out! Ever! In the event of a catastrophic power failure... in a terrorist attack, for example... H.I.T.s are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out." 

Confused Rick asks, "H.I.T.s?" which makes Dr. Jenner calmly command, "Vi, define." 

In response, Vi doesn't hesitate to further explain, "H.I.T.s... high-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives consists of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen between 5,000° and 6,000° and is used when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired." 

I also give them a quick and clear summary for those who do not clearly understand such textbook-like answer, "It basically sets the air on fire." 

Of course, everyone is shocked by that but before they can actually panic I quickly reassure them, "But don't worry about that, I have already disarmed them yesterday night so even if the generators run out of fuel we will still be safe." 

Hearing that, most of the people let out a sigh full of relief as the most immediate threat to their lives is gone, but then Rick asks, "Wait! There is still the problem with the generators running out of fuel."

In response to Rick's words, Shane looks at the digital clock on the far wall and exclaims, "God! It says we only have 1 hour left!" followed by Morgan who asks, "How are we going to fix this?"

Suddenly the situation gets more chaotic as they start to discuss what to do to prevent the generators from shutting down.

"We have to refill the generators!"

"With what?"

"Usually the most common backup power units mostly use diesel or gasoline to produce energy..."

"What!? Where can we find that a this point!?"

"Do we have to cannibalize our cars outside... but for how long can that last?"

"Damn it! Why does the world run on fossil fuels? I mean, how stupid is that!?"

At this point, I clap my hands to gather their attention on me, and shortly after I say, "Don't worry, I have already thought about that. I know how to fix this, but I can't do it alone. As Dr. Jenner said a few moments ago, we need everyone's help to overcome this situation." 

Hearing that, Rick looks at Shane, Daryl, Morgan, and Dale who all nod at him showing their support before he steps forward and asks, "We are ready. What do we have to do?" 

This makes me smile as I notice that everyone is ready to do his or her part before I get serious and say, "The most pressing matter is prolonging the use of the generators as much as possible. Luckily there are still 10 or so jerrycans of fuel on the cargo bed of the cargo truck for a total of around 200 liters of gasoline, basically a full barrel and a little bit more, which should be enough to buy us a couple more days of energy if we continue to be careful with it..."

Hearing that, Dr. Jenner nods and says, "Indeed if we keep consumption to the bare minimum then a barrel can surely last us a couple more days. But that is in no way enough to fix this situation... it isn't a viable solution."

In response, I shake my head and calmly explain, "That isn't my real solution, it is just a temporary patch to give us more time to actually fix this problem at its roots." 

After saying that, I don't waste any more time and reveal, "Just like Amy said a few moments ago, it is ridiculous that the world still runs of fossil fuel, this is why I'm going to fix this by converting this structure so that it runs off solar energy."

Hearing that, Dr. Jenner can't stop himself from asking, "Solar energy? Are you sure that this is going to work?" followed by Daryl who asks, "Aside from that. Do you even know how to do that, Doc?"

With a confident smile on my face, I give them a thumbs up and declare, "Of course! As I said to Dr. Jenner yesterday, I'm not only the most handsome and intelligent doctor on this planet, but I'm also something of a scientist too!"

In response to that, I hear Carl whisper to his mother, "Mom... did Mr. Pucci just say the same thing that the bad guy from that Spider-Man movie did?" which makes Lori nod and reply, "It appears he did, Carl..."

But then I focus back on the discussion and continue to explain, "I can easily build solar panels and solar batteries that are at least 10 times more efficient than the most advanced ones available on the market. I just need the manpower to install everything in this building and after that, we are good to go."

At this point, Morgan steps forward and states, "Well, if the Doc says he can do it, then I trust him. Until now he never said anything that he couldn't back up." followed by Rick who adds, "Indeed... I also trust him..." and also Shane who simply says, "Me too..."

After that, I quickly started to give instructions, "Well, first of all, we have to carry the jerrycans of gasoline into the building. Rick, Shane, Daryl, Glenn, and T-Dog you guys form a group with the other able-bodied people and head outside the building to bring the jerrycans from the cargo truck inside. Of course, you also have to be careful to not attract the attention of the walkers outside, this is why it is better if you refrain from using your firearm as much as possible, use them only if absolutely necessary."

Seeing them nod, I look at Dr. Jenner and say, "Can you go with them? Not only because you can open and close the door for them but also because after they have brought inside the jerrycans you can bring them directly to the underground generators to refuel them."

In response, Dr. Jenner nods and says, "No problem..." before I focus back on the group and say, "Meanwhile, Morgan, Dale, Jim, and all the other survivors with some hands-on experience with machines, engines, and so on will come with me and help me dismantle useless objects and reuse them to build the solar panels and solar engines..." 

At this point, I suddenly remember one detail and so I ask out loud, "Vi, do you have the blueprint of the whole structure, possibly one with an electrical system?" but quickly Vi's monotone voice states, "Access denied. The individual is not authorized to have such information."

Shortly after that, Dr. Jenner quickly commands, "Vi, grant full access to Dr. Jayr Pucci. Authorization Code: EJ3469HHH3333C." which makes Vi state, "Full access granted to Dr. Jayr. Regarding your previous query, the database does contain the blueprint of the building."

Hearing that, I smile and say, "Good, this will make it much easier to connect the solar panels and solar batteries to the building's electric system." before I look at the other people and say, "Now, let's move. We can't waste any more time!"