STRATAGEM Chapter 37
THIRTY-SEVEN
Washington Chronicle
New Global Pandemic Strikes Major Cities – Governments impose lockdowns
Geraldine Ferrar | 1 hour ago
Mere months after the end of the Covid-19 global pandemic, the WHO in conjunction with the United States’ CDC and other government and health agencies across the globe has declared a state of emergency in response to the discovery of a new global pandemic.
People all over the world are all too familiar with the mandates of quarantines, social distancing, masks, shuttering of businesses and gatherings, but what troubles health officials about this new pathogen is the lack of knowledge and experience they have with it.
According to Leo Botha, Director-General of the World Health Organization, “We are looking at a syndrome that seems to have no recognizable indicators for its cause.”
Designated as SEAS (Spontaneous Episodic Amnesia Syndrome), large numbers of affected people in local areas such as New York City, Washington DC, Beijing, etc., have found themselves away from their last remembered location anywhere from two to seventy-five unaccounted-for minutes later, some with injuries they cannot remember incurring.
While this has led to panic and isolated incidents of public confusion and violence in New York and DC, citizens of China, Japan, and South Korea quickly snapped pandemic protocols into place, isolating not only those affected but those to whom they had been exposed.
As of this report, there has been no definitive answer as to the origin, cause, and means of transmission of SEAS.
“I urge everyone to remain calm,” President Alan Mercer said in an emergency press conference held at the White House earlier this morning. “At this time we are not recommending the use of masks or PPE as the transmission of SEAS is most likely not airborne, but we will begin with the suspending of indoor gatherings of groups of ten or fewer people. I understand that no one wants to return to these measures, but if we act early, we can beat this new bug. We defeated Covid-19 and I have no doubt we will once again prevail with SEAS.”
However, skeptics from the opposition party including Speaker of the House Karen Salinas (D) have criticized the President’s “presumptuous and dangerous air of overconfidence.” When asked about her comment, Salinas said, “President Mercer, along with every relevant agency in the world has no idea what we are dealing with. While it is important to prevent panic, no president should offer misleading information that could cause us to underestimate the potential losses. We need a plan, not a pep talk.”
As of 9:00 EST, the President issued a mandate for quarantine, though many state authorities have refused to comply with what Texas Governor Melissa Harford called “typical Executive Branch overreach.”
Check back with the Washington Chronicle for ongoing updates.
NEXT CHAPTER
PREVIOUS CHAPTER
Joshua Graham is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, winner of the International Book Award and Forward National Literature Award. His thrillers include DARKROOM, LATENT IMAGE and BEYOND JUSTICE, and TERMINUS. Graham's works have been characterized as thought-provoking page-turners.
Legal Notice: All information on this website and blog are from Mr. Graham's personal experience and insight and should not be viewed in any way, directly or inferred, as qualified professional advice.
All creative writing on this website or Mr. Graham's books: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. (novels, short stories)