Read Reset: A Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Fantasy (Contaminant Series Book 1) for Free Online Page B

yada, yada, yada. You get the idea.”
    Michael gave a quick nod.
    “There’s a several other scientists on our team and the department is headed by a guy named Jeff.  We reconvene regularly to share what we’ve learned.  So, that’s how everything pretty much works around here.”
    Peter spoke up, “You’ll be working with me, if you want.  We have crops we tend to.  As soon as we realized the soil was contaminated, we put together something akin to a vegetation grow room.  And, so far, we’ve been pretty successful.  I was part of the agricultural department when the school was still functioning.  We already possessed a bit of vegetation that was sheltered from the effects of Crop-Dust.” 
    He turned to the two women, “Now, what’s this I hear about…” Peter lowered his voice, “nanotechnology?”
    Jenna put her hands on the top of her head as she began a light pace. 
    “I’ll start with this: all we knew at first was that there is something in the dirt, in the plants, that wouldn’t allow… growth.  We turned to electric currents.  It’s been shown to help stimulate plants.  When the plants received electric stimulation, the chemicals within the plant rose as well as the amount of energy.  It jumped by two hundred percent.  Assuming that the extra energy was, in actuality, one hundred percent, that would mean that… it, whatever it is, was only operating at about a third or so of its full capacity.  Other phenomena regarding the experiment included the plant’s ability to regenerate.  The initial state of the plant was sunburned and wilting.  When stimulated, parts of the plant regrew.”
    “Quite the change from a plant that quit growing because it was infected.” Peter threw in.  Nobody could disagree.
    Jenna continued, “It exhibited a bluish tint most likely from the energy escaping the contaminant.  I upped the voltage and was able to cease the activity of the contaminant by destroying it, but at the expense of the plant.”
    Peter was now sitting backwards in the chair with his chest against the back rest, facing Jenna, “It was alive?”
    Jenna stopped pacing long enough to answer, “No.  Not we can tell, but it does seem to carry a bit of code.  We don’t know what it does.  When observed in the plant, however this code remained inactive.”
    Michael stole a glance at Anna who wore a strange look as she looked at Peter.     
    Peter looked back at Michael, and then turned the other way to look at Anna, “Code?”
    Anna spoke in that eerily soft voice, “Like… human immunodeficiency....”
    Michael nearly choked on his words, “Like HIV?!”
    Peter rounded on Michael, his voice assuming command, “Keep your voice down…” Turning back around, he spoke softer too, “Like HIV?!”
    Anna hopped off of the table and turned to face Michael and Peter, “Not HIV.  It operates like HIV.  All you need to know is that it can enter the blood stream.  It reprograms T-cells just like HIV.  Only, we don’t know what it is reproducing.  We haven’t seen this activity, most likely, because the contaminant isn’t fully operational.  Another question is… why isn’t it?  We don’t have answers.  That’s why it’s imperative that this information stays between us.  We don’t need a panic.  What we need is time to figure this thing out.  And, we’ll have answers soon.”
    Michael still had questions, “When you say, ‘enter the blood stream’…”
    Jenna cut him off, “As in, the water supply, contaminated food and soil.  We can only assume that, by now, it’s everywhere and that somebody, somewhere, if not everybody, everywhere… is a carrier.”
    Michael thought of all the times he got dust in his eye, “Is there a way to check?”
    Peter looked at Anna and Jenna for answers
    “Maybe.” Jenna said, “I’ll need blood samples.  Like with the plant, perhaps when charged, these samples should give off a hue or tint or something.  If