Battle Across The Omniverse

Chapter 323: Should I Stay or Should I Go



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

It took some time, but I and Dr. Jenner were finally able to successfully synthetize both the RadAway and the Rad-X but to do that we used up all the reasonable amount of ingredients that I could pull out from my Soulbound Territory, which wasn't much to begin with as we were only able to produce only 10 doses of Rad-X and 5 solutions of RadAway.

At the same time, Dr. Jenner memorized both the formula and the necessary procedures needed to produce the two revolutonary medicines, but of course, we still didn't test them as we don't have test subjects avaiable yet as we are waiting for Daryl to find and capture the biomedical researcher's best friend and favorite test subject, the rats. 

Mice and rats have long served as the preferred species for biomedical research animal models due to their anatomical, physiological, and genetic similarity to humans. 

Advantages of rodents include their small size, ease of maintenance, short life cycle, and abundant genetic resources which can be easily used in Comparative Medicine Research.

Comparative medicine is built on the ability to use information from one species to understand the same processes in other species. 

Basic biomedical research involves the characterization of genes/proteins, the study of anatomical and physiological functions, and the characterization of normal and pathological states in a variety of animal species. 

This knowledge is then applied to understanding these same processes in humans, likewise, information gained in the field of human medicine can be mined to advance veterinary medicine because of the commonalities among species that form the basis of comparative medicine.

Laboratory rats and mice provide ideal animal models for biomedical research and comparative medicine studies because they have many similarities to humans in terms of anatomy and physiology. 

Likewise, rats, mice, and humans each have approximately 30,000 genes of which approximately 95% are shared by all three species.

The use of rodents for research purposes has economic advantages. 

One, mice and rats are relatively small and require little space or resources to maintain. 

Two, they have short gestation times but relatively large numbers of offspring, and have fairly rapid development to adulthood and relatively short life spans. 

For example, mice have a gestation period of approximately 19–21 days, can be weaned at three to four weeks of age, and reach sexual maturity by five to six weeks of age, allowing large numbers of mice to be generated for studies fairly quickly.

The use of rodents also provides advantages related to the wealth of genetic information available to scientists. 

The human genome was sequenced in 2001, with those of the mouse and rat following in 2002 and 2004 respectively. 

The availability of the complete nucleotide sequences for all three species has enabled genome-wide comparisons across species which have been critical for the identification and characterization of genes. 

The ability to use sophisticated molecular genetic techniques to manipulate the genes in mice and more recently rats, allows genes to be "knocked out" or expressed at designated times of development or in select tissues in order to better understand their normal function and/or role in disease.

While we were producing the Rad-X and the RadAway, Rick and his group returned from their hunt with a pair of "tamed" walkers, so I also started to take samples and study both the active and latent forms of the Wildfire Virus in order to ensure that the virophage we are going to create will only truly target the Wildfire Virus, its possible variants, and nothing else.

Of course, the advantage of having the Incarnation in my home universe with all my godly powers available made such usually difficult and time consuming job much easier and quicker, so much so, that I already created a perfectily safe virophage that will easily eradicate the Wildfire Virus once and for all. 

But since I can't just snap my fingers and make the complete virophage appear for obvious reasons, I have to take things a bit slower and manually complete the process of creating the virophage that will cure this world-ending pandemic step by step while also guiding and teaching Dr. Jenner so that he can do something on his own in case some other things like that happen and I'm not there to fix it.

While working on the basic structure of the virophage, I also realized that maybe it would be more prudent to leave behind some of my knowledge in the form of books both physical and digital in case Dr. Jenner dies before he can pass on what he learned from me.

After most of the morning had passed, we all gathered in the cafeteria to discuss our next moves while having lunch.

The one to break the silence is Daryl who curtly asks, "So, Docs, how is it going your scientific mumbo jumbo?" which makes Dr. Jenner smile a little as he answers, "I have to admit that it is going a lot better than I had expected. I was able to successfully synthesize on my own both the Rad-X and the RadAway under Dr. Pucci's guidance and I'm pretty sure that I have memorized both the process and the formula. Now we only have to test their effectiveness on some of the test subjects that you have brought us and if they work as Dr. Pucci described and his hypothesis is true then at the very least we won't have to fear the bites anymore." 

Hearing that, Lori can't help herself from exclaiming out loud, "That's fantastic news!" followed by many others until Shane comments, "That's good and all, but it doesn't mean that we now have the leisure of getting careless yet. Those things are still out there and they can still kill us."

Rick nods and agrees with Shane as he says, "Shane is right, moreover, they still haven't tested those things yet, so we can't be sure that they will work." followed by Dale who comments, "Nonetheless, this is still a very good news as it is the very first step forward in dealing with this terrible situation we found ourselves in."

At this point, Dr. Jenner's expression turns serious as he says, "That's absolutely true, but let me all remind you that it is only the first step. We still have to complete many more steps before we can truly leave this disease behind us. More importantly, we have to be careful in not stumbling on some obstacles along the way and fall..." to which I nod and add, "Even more so as the first obstacle is already in front of us and we have to make a decision."

Hearing that, Rick's expression also turns very serious as he comments, "So it's time to decide who will remain here and who will head out, huh?" which makes Lori exclaim, "What do you mean with "who will remain here"? What's going on? Are we going to split the group? Aren't we safe here?"

In response to her questions, Shane simply replies, "Yes, we are going to split the group." followed by Dr. Jenner who explains, "We already talked about this before. Our food supplies are quickly running out... In the first place, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention was never meant to function as a refuge and only held a stockpile of food meant to last for a period of 30 days or so in case of emergencies and it has already lasted more than double that time. It wasn't that much of a problem when I lived here on my own, almost gave up, and was about to run out of electricity. But your presence changed all that and now the stockpile isn't nearly enough for all of us, if we continue like this we will run out of everything in two or three days at most." 

Shortly after letting that information sink in, Dr. Jenner continues, "The work we are doing here is too important and we can't stop, but we can't continue like this. Going into the city to search for food not only is way too dangerous, but it also won't be enough to sustain everyone."

Rick quickly follows after Dr. Jenner and says, "This is why I, Shane, Dr. Janner, Dr. Jayr, Morgan, Dale, and Daryl got together and thought about the best solution for this problem and the best answer we came up with is to split our group into two. One will remain here at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention making sure that the place continues running and the other one will head out toward Mert County, which is just a few miles away from here, to find an abandoned farm to claim for ourselves that can be used not only as a shelter for everyone but where we can also grow our own food, hopefully, enough to feed not only all the people living in the farm but also the ones living here."

At this point, Dr. Jenner adds, "And let us not forget about the principal ingredients for the Rad-X and the RadAway. We used up all the ones that Dr. Pucci had on his person. Luckily, he also has the seeds so we can cultivate them." 

Hearing that, Lori and some other people still look insecure and some are even scared about our decision to split the group and the idea of leaving the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

This awkward silence lasts until Lori once again voices out their thoughts, "That is fine and all... but reaching Mert County, searching for this farm and everything else is going to be very dangerous, isn't it? How can you ask us to once again venture into such danger after everything we have already been through?"

In response, I calmly explain, "Well, let me be clear about something first. No matter where we go, there will always be some form of danger everywhere. It was already so before the end of the world and it is still this way now, nothing truly changed. You all may feel secure staying here underground but all that security you feel may turn into deadly danger in a snap of your fingers. After all, while this place may be safe from the walkers, for sure it isn't safe from other humans that have enough determination, smarts, and will to enter this building and claim it as their own."

In response to that, Amy asks, "What do you mean by that?" to which I reply, "Well, I can already think of a few ways to have access to this building. The easiest one is by feigning myself as a survivor in need of help tricking you into letting me inside and then acting from the inside to take control. However, this method takes too much time and may not work if the people inside are willing to turn their backs on other survivors, so a more direct method would be to simply bring down a wall and rush inside, after all, the building is mostly made of concrete it isn't that hard of a material and a wrecking ball is more than enough to open a hole in the wall. In addition, let's not forget about the few tanks still outside, even if they can't use their cannons, they can still be used to bring down the wall by ramming them into it. Or even..."

But at this point, Shane interrupts me and comments, "Okay, okay. Stop it. They got it. Man, if you continue like that, they won't be able to peacefully sleep anymore." followed by Daryl who whistles and says, "Until this moment I also forgot about the tanks outside... Damn they surely can become a security liability if not taken care of, isn't it?"

 

Rick then calmly steers the discussion back to the most important topic, "Let's stop talking about that and focus on the more important and urgent matters. At this point, I think it is clear to everyone that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention isn't completely safe, and more importantly, if we all remain here we will very likely all starve to death sooner or later. Because different from our previous camp we don't have a reliable source of food available."

I quickly follow after Rick as I say, "This is why we have to momentarily split our group into two. One smaller group will remain here with Dr. Jenner to help him run this place and make sure that everything works as intended as the work done here can't be stopped. Meanwhile, the other slightly bigger group will head with me searching for a farm to claim as our own and use it to grow enough food to feed both groups maybe we can even help and gather other survivors creating a thriving community around it."

Shortly after I said that, Carol raises her hand and asks, "Wait a moment... You are also heading out? Shouldn't you remain here with Dr. Jenner to help him create the cure?"

Before I can actually answer her, Dr. Jenner does it faster as he quickly replies, "Yours is a very valid question and at first I had the same doubt as you when he first said that he wanted to go out with the other group, but then he was able to convince me of the advantages of such approach."

Then Dr. Jenner calmly starts to explain, "First, as stated before, the current state of the world is very dangerous, and that danger doesn't only come from the Wildfire Virus and the walkers, but also from other Humans, who may be even more dangerous especially if they don't have any good intentions in our regards and that may very well doom us all if they destroy all our works here or Dr. Pucci and I get killed. So to avoid that we simply won't put all our eggs in one single basket this way at the very least if something happens to one of us for one reason or another the other will still be able to continue to work on the cure despite the setback." 

Shane follows after Dr. Jenner as he adds, "The reason why Dr. Jayr is the one that will go with the group leaving the Center for Disease Control and Prevention is also very simple. First of all, he has already showed to everyone that he knows how to survive outside better than most of the people living here and he knows how to defend himself..."

At this point, Duane comments out loud, "No shit, I saw him fight 50 walkers on his own and it was like he was taking a walk in the park!" but then Morgan quickly chides him, "Language!" which makes Duane meekly say, "Sorry..." 

Shortly after that, Rick resumes the explanation from where Shane was interrupted, "Anyway, like Shane was saying, not only is Dr. Jayr capable of defending himself, but he is also the only one who knows how to grow the ingredients needed to create the medicine needed to survive the Wildfire Virus infection. In addition let's not forget that different from Dr. Jenner, who is a virologist who focused more on research than proper medical care, in more simple words, a scientist, Dr. Jayr is an actual medical doctor with hands-on experience in treating patients. His presence is fundamental for the well-being of the group going outside."

Then Dr. Jenner adds, "Moreover, it isn't like Dr. Pucci won't be able to help me with the creation of the cure even if he is out there with the other group, as we can keep in contact through the radios that the government supplied to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention which will allow us to communicate from all over the state."

 

At this point, a tense silence falls in the cafeteria that lasts a few seconds until Andrea calmly asks, "Okay, we more or less understand the reason behind that decision, but now the important question is who is going outside to search for that farm we can use as a base with Dr. Jayr and who is going to remain here with Dr. Jenner?"

Hearing that question, Dr. Jenner answers without any hesitation on his part, "To be honest, at first I wanted to be the only one remaining here so that the stockpile of food remaining could last as long as possible, but then I realized that such isolated condition wasn't much healthy for my mental state. After all, when you first arrived I'm not ashamed to admit that I was nearly suicidal, so the presence of other people is necessary not only to avoid that but also to make sure that everything here runs as it should. Considering all that, Dr. Pucci and I come to the conclusion that the maximum number of people that can stay here with me is 10. In addition, it is better that those people are actually healthy adults who don't need the extra care or consideration."

In response to that, Daryl calmly comments, "So no kids or grannies... Seems fair as they are mostly other mouths to feed that do not do their part in helping in our survival." but Andrea quickly rebuts, "That's not true! Dale and Sofya helped us many times before!"

Before the discussion can go off-topic, Dr. Jenner raises his voice and says, "Stop it! That's not the time to discuss such things, the main reason behind choosing healthy adults is that the living conditions will become much harsher the longer one lives in such an enclosed space. Sure it can be done as the human race is very adaptable but it isn't recommended, especially for those in advanced age. And to be honest what Daryl said also has some truth... kids won't be able to contribute much in fact, they are more likely to be a liability and distraction something that can be fatal, after all, I have to remind you that in this place are also stored many deadly and weaponized pathogens not any less dangerous than the one that brought the world in this state... This is the very last place a kid should be."

Shortly after saying that, Dr. Jenner declares, "Anyway, for sure one of the people who I for sure want to stay here with me is Jim. He is one of the few people in this group that knows how to take care of the solar panels and the solar batteries as he was there when we built and installed them."

Hearing that, Jim looks around for a few seconds before he says, "Sure, I have no problem with staying here with you, I want to help as much as possible even more so if it means that what happened to me won't happen to anyone else." 

In response, Dr. Jenner nods at him before he looks at everyone else and says, "After Jim, I have no other preference as I don't know you all as well as him, but Shane, Rick, and Dale also gave their input." 

At this point, Rick steps forward and says, "Of course, before we say the name of those we have decided could be the best choice for this situation, let me remind you that no one here is forcing you to stay here if you don't want to... if you want to leave with the rest of the group or even go on your own, you are free to do so." 

Shane follows after Rick as he adds in a more stern tone, "Let me remind you all that the world out there isn't a safe place. We have already seen first hand how hard and dangerous it is and for sure we have a better chance if we continue to work together. I mean until now all the choices we have made were the correct ones as they kept us alive and even gave us a chance to create a definitive cure for what has caused all this."

Hearing that, everyone hums in agreement before Rick starts to call out, "First of all, I think that the group that will stay at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention will need someone anyone can refer to, a leader if you will, someone who will remain calm and look at the best of every situation, regardless of its flaws. After all, Dr. Jenner will mostly focus on synthesizing the medicine for the bite and creating a cure. Because of that, we all thought that the best person for the position of leader would be Jacqui who many times showed to be shown to be very resourceful, smart, and helpful to the group."

In response to that, Jacqui seems surprised for a few seconds before she nods and says, "If you guys needs me here then I'll gladly stay... Moreover, it isn't like this is going to be a goodbye. Mert County is just a few miles away from here and we can always keep in contact through the radio."

Shortly after that, Shane calls out the other people who will also stay here, "The rest of the people we thought would fit the best in this situation are: Daniel, who isn't that reliable in a fight but he is also quite good with his hands and could help Jim doing maintenance. Robert, who already went through a few supply runs before, and thus knows how to act in case the situation calls for it. The same can be said for his wife Lauren as those two are very reliable and more importantly are husband and wife so if one stays so does the other. Rakesh, who honestly is quite a good driver and his skill may be needed in case you guys are forced to flee for one reason or another. Paul has some minimal experience in dealing with many electrical and digital devices given his previous job and that may be useful down the line. Nina, who is actually an expert markswoman with both guns and rifles and that may very well be the difference between life and death. And lastly, Kim, who... I'm sorry, but I'll be direct, Kim you simply aren't ready to face what is out there as you simply panic way too easily." 

One after the other, all the people called by Shane nod and agree to stay here with Dr. Jenner, sure, some are more happy about it than others, for example Kim is glad that she doesn't have to face the walkers while Paul seems to be off put about the fact that he is going to be away from Amy, but overall, they are still fine with how we choose those who will stay.

Shortly after that, Rick steps forward and says, "At this point, it is pretty clear that the group that will go out with Dr. Jayr is going to be made up of me and my family composed of my wife Lori, and my son Carl, Shane, Morgan and his son Duane, Andrea and her sister Amy, Dale, T-Dog, Glenn, Daryl, Carol and her daughter Sophia, Morales and his family composed by his wife Miranda, his older daughter Eliza, and youngest son Louis, Ruben and his wife Almast with their daughter Ana, and at last Sofya and her grandson Stepan. Overall, a total of 24 people. Is there any problem with this?" 

No one responds to Rick's question, not even Lori who still seems a little against the idea of leaving the "safe" Center for Disease Control and Prevention for the unknown and dangerous Mert County. 

After a few moments of silence, Rick exclaims, "Good!" before he quickly declares, "Then let's all start preparing everything we are going to need for our journey I want us all ready to depart for tomorrow early in the morning!" 

In response to that, everyone start to move around, gathering the supplies, weapons, objects, and other useful things they have found while exploring and scavangening in these couple of days we have spent in this placewhile also checkjing on the state of our vehicles for the rest of the day.

When the time to leave finally comes, we say our goodbyes to Dr. Jenner and the people who will stay here and jump on our vehicles waiting outside driving them away from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention toward Mert County where we will hopefully find an abandoned farm in a good state to claim for ourselves and if we are lucky the farm may also be close to Hershel's Farm so that I can play the matchmaker between Glenn and Maggie as I'll feel very bad if my favorite couple doesn't get together because of my actions. 


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