Hall looks at Anson, then at the isolation suits in the exam room.
“Have you worked in them?” asks Hall.
“Not for real,” says Anson, “But I’ve been drilling in them for three months.”
“Thank God for an expert,” replies Hall. “This sorta thing’s new to me.”
“New to all of us” says Anson. “Until now, Wildfire’s been like a game. We’ve even had simulation biowar games here, with live subjects – – volunteers.”
Anson pauses. “I mean I’m scared,” she says. “Never believed this could really happen.”
“Well, it has happened,” says Hall. He turns back to the computer console. “I’ll need some lab tests.”
Anson sits Hall down in front of the console, and types commands into MEDCOM.
On the screen:
MEDCOM PROGRAM
LAB / ANALYS
BLOOD
COUNTS RBC
RETIC
PLATES
WBC
DIFF
HEMATOCRIT
HEMOGLOBIN
PROTEIN
ALB
GLOB
FIBRIN
ESR
PROTIME
PTT
“Use this to check off what you want,” says Karen Anson, holding a light pen. “Just touch the pen to the screen.”
Hall starts checking off blood tests on the screen.