The signals came to many areas scattered across the planet. Unerringly as ever, the Legion sprang into action and the swarm executed their deadly task.

[Mora]

"Are you ready?" I asked after a long, calming breath.

Samir, wearing his usual lab white coat, nodded. With that, I opened the sample container and began the warming process. Four open containers containing plants, insects, and animal tissue analogs surrounded it. I hoped that the cryogenically preserved blight samples I took at the south settlement contained active pathogens, or whatever it was, so we could study the effects, all safely from outside a sealed bio-containment cabinet.

We watched intently as the sample temperature slowly increased, and didn't have to wait long to see the effect. A barely perceptible haze appeared as the blight emerged. First, the plants drooped and stems slowly twisted like a sick pantomime. What was once vibrant green faded, and eventually, black streaks appeared and merged, producing the black death I had seen before. It horrified me to observe up close, especially as a botanist. The insects and tissue analogs fared no better, although the process took somewhat longer.

I turned to Samir. "Did you get the air filter sample?"

He nodded. "Yes. Chilling the filter now."

Now, we confirmed that the blight does spread airborne. Using remote manipulators, Samir removed the micro-filter element from the holder and placed it under a micro-imager. While he did that, I reviewed the microscopic images taken during the controlled blight exposure.

I pointed at the video screen. "There. See Samir, it's like we suspected. The blight ruptures the cell wall structures. I've never seen anything like this."

"And here they are."

Samir pointed to the image on his screen. Strange looking microscopic particles laid entangled among the magnified filter fibers — ellipsoidal in shape, smooth except for several hook-like appendages.

He continued, "It resembles a virus, but not like any I have ever seen. These are about two-hundred nanometers in size, bigger than the typical virus. Let me do genetic and molecular analysis."

Normally, a virus got inside a cell by injection or deceit, either by binding to specific receptors on the surface or tricking the host cell to ingest it. If I were to guess, I would say those hooks simply gave it the ability to rip cell walls. But why would this thing tear apart a host cell before it could reproduce itself?

We both jerked back when one of the virus-things jumped out of the image view.

Samir's mouth gaped as he turned to me. "Self-propulsion on this scale? Incredible. That is how they spread much faster than normal air diffusion would allow."

Samir walked off with the filter element safely rechilled and encapsulated for further analysis, but I wanted to do one more test. I moved another potted plant into the enclosure and waited, but nothing happened to it this time. The blight appeared to have turned itself off, just as we observed in the field. Another mystery. A typical virus has a single-minded purpose: to reproduce. It did not simply turn itself off.

My viewer pulled me out of my thoughts as a call came in.

"Gan?"

"Mora." Gone was the normally playful intonation in his voice, which put me on edge. "It's striking again."

*****

Director Sander stopped me in the hallway by putting a hand on my shoulder. I turned and shot him a glare, to which he removed his hand and backed up a step, presumably to be out of range of a lifted knee. A wide-eyed panic replaced his usual signature big smile.

"Mora, we need to put as positive a spin on this as we can. It could ruin everything."

I could hardly believe what I heard. "Really Director? And what positive spin is there?"

He frowned. "Your name will be associated with this. It may end your career."

"I don't think you are worried about my career," I hissed, raising my voice. "Now get out of my way!"

Those seated around the conference room table showed the gloomy expressions that I internalized. Only Captain Greer remained remotely stoic. I sat down between the Governor and Gan while Director Sander cast me a brief stare across the table as he took his seat.

The Governor leaned forward with both arms on the table. "Okay, what do we know?"

Gan stood and said,. "The blight has hit at least six new areas on this side of the planet. It's big — I estimate over six-hundred square kilometers and growing. Didn't hit any occupied areas, fortunately, but it was close. One spot is nearby, so I sent Bob to get a closer look."

"Bob?" a voice asked.

"Umm, my survey drone," Gan replied. "Here is the live view."

With a touch of his viewer, the room view-screen flickered on, showing the now far too familiar sickening view of devastation. Gan piloted Bob near the edge of the advancing blight and zoomed in on a small grove of trees. The leaves wilted, darkened, and fell, while branches twisted, all in real time. Those around the table sat fixated on the footage.

The Governor waved her hand. "Okay. What else do you have, Gan?"

He turned off the view-screen. "I've found a rough correlation of blight outbreaks with fusion reactor operations on the Ark Hope, especially with helium-three generation operation." Gan turned toward Eric, who sat across from him. "Is there any chance of excessive radiation emissions? Gamma rays or high energy neutrons, maybe?"

Eric shook his head. "No. The reactors are heavily shielded, and the exhaust is directed away from the planet. We monitor for that and would see if it happened. About all you really get are neutrinos, but they don't interact with anything."

I spoke up. "The blight damage is inconsistent with any kind of ionizing radiation, anyway." I paused, taking a breath. "We found a pathogen."

All eyes turned to me. Standing, I transferred an image to the view-screen. "This is it. We isolated it from the active samples I took near the south settlement."

Everyone gazed at the strange microorganisms on the screen.

The Governor asked, "A virus?"

"Perhaps, but not like any we have seen. I am sure it is not of Earth origin. Also, it is inconsistent with any of the original microbial life survey of this world, and it appears to kill by rending living cell walls. Also, it has some kind of self-propulsion, which likely is why it spreads so fast for a microorganism. Another strange thing, it suddenly appears, does its killing, and then just as suddenly disappears. We don't understand why yet."

"I have some answers," Samir said from the doorway.

He walked in and stood by the view-screen as I sat, eager to hear his conclusions. "As for the self-propulsion, it is due to a kind of rapid contraction, like an air jet. There are analogs in biology, but none on this small a scale.

"But it is not a virus, by our definition. A virus reproduces by hijacking a specific host cell reproductive apparatus to make copies of itself. This thing, which I have labeled Paradise Blight, does not, rather it carries multiple copies of some form of genetics, and I theorize it uses nutrients from the cells it kills to clone itself. If so, that is why the blight stops so abruptly, it simply runs out of copies."

I continued the thought. "But that also implies that something else starts it."

"That would follow, yes. But we do not know what that is yet," Samir continued. "There is more. These things transmit and receive a narrow frequency band of microwaves."

Gan's eyes grew wide. "Could they be networking?"

"Perhaps."

The Governor asked, "Is there a cure or vaccine?"

Samir shook his head. "No. None that we can envision."

"Any hope this Paradise Blight will stop?"

Gan cast his eyes down. "By all indications, the events are accelerating."

The Governor leaned back in her chair and clamped her eyes shut. "Then we need to make plans for a planet-wide evacuation."

Director Sander jumped to his feet and banged on the table with a fist. "You cannot be serious Liz! That would end the entire project — everything we worked for."

The Governor glared back at the Director. "If the Paradise Blight continues, there is no project. My concerns are for the wellbeing of the people, not your legacy. Now sit down Tom!"

As the Director slunk down into his chair, the Governor addressed Captain Greer. "What would it take to get everyone up on the Ark Hope?"

The Captain replied, "The logistics would be complicated. To move that many people would take a long time. And the ship will not hold everyone unless we put people back in stasis, otherwise we do not have enough supplies, like water and food."

The Governor stood up with her hands on the table edge. "Captain, begin your planning for a full evacuation. Tom, you and your people assist from this end. I pray we will not need it. Mora, Samir, and Gan, keep at this. We need a solution. Use any and all resources you need. We won't be able to keep this from the public, so I will issue a statement."

The Governor turned toward Eric. "Eric, I noticed space pong has become very popular — even some of the Freedom Alliance people are getting involved. As a secondary priority, please keep it going. The people will need it to blow off some anxiety."

Liz glanced around the room. "Is there anything else?"

After a breath, I spoke up. "There is something else, Liz, and I hesitate to bring it up. Something that Brinne's daughter said after I rescued her at the southern settlement — she called the blight a bio-weapon. It has characteristics of being so. We should consider this possibility."

Director Sander jumped up again, agitated as he leaned forward. "That is ridiculous. It was never a weapon..."

The Director gulped, face paling as all eyes turned to him. My jaw dropped — what did he just imply?

I glared and said in a firm voice, "Director, is there something you have not told us?"

The Director sat, putting head in hands.

The Governor's eyes burned livid, but her voice remained measured. "Tom, we need everything."

The Director lifted his head, but with eyes averted downward. His voice cracked. "They... They were dormant, not a danger. It might have ended the entire project. You see? The project was too important for humanity and my family..."

Anger boiled up from my core. "And what do you think now, Director? Do you see? Now I know why the initial terraform conditions were so ideal. The Paradise Blight wiped out all life on this planet before us, and it may do it again!"