The Human Citadel

Rex Worth lifted the 500lb barbell over his head and then proceeded to twirl it and juggle it back and forth from hand to hand.

“That’s amazing”, laughed his friend and NASA’s chief physician, Dr George Cary, “Just try not to drop it, will you or you’ll make a hell of a hole in the gymnasium floor”.

Rex put the barbell down gently with both hands onto the floor.

“What do you make of it, Doctor”, said Rex, “Can you believe how strong I’ve become and how muscular?”.

Rex flexed his arms and his biceps started to bulge.

“There’s only one explanation I can think of”, said George, “That virus that you became infected with on your return trip from Mars has made you stronger, not weaker”.

“But how can a disease make you stronger, George”, asked Rex, surprised, “Don’t diseases usually make people sick?”.

“Not this one”, said the Doctor, “It’s not like anything known to human medicine. It looks like a regular virus under a microscope but it doesn’t act like one. Rather than attacking its host and weakening their immune system, it seems to increase their strength and their fitness; their speed, agility, even their eyesight and hearing. It’s almost like, now I know this sounds silly, but it’s almost like when people move into a house and start renovating or when people build a fortress, strengthening its defences”.

“So it isn’t harmful?”, asked Rex.

“It’s too soon to tell”, said George, “You really need to stay in the infirmary until we’ve had enough time to study its effects properly, take more tests and I can’t tell you how long that’s going to take”.

“Well”, said Rex, shrugging, “When I signed up to join the space programme I did it so I could make a contribution to the world and I’m just as happy doing that here on the ground as up there”.

But then Rex’s face changed, a look of worry creeping over it.

“What is it?”, asked George, “Are you feeling any negative symptoms? Any pains? Nausea?”.

“No”, said Rex, “It’s more like I’m getting a warning”.

Suddenly, Rex lunged forward, thrusting his arms out and pushing Dr Cary to the ground while, at that same moment, a gun shot rang out; then, looking up Rex saw a man who had entered the gym carrying a handgun, smiling almost manically.

“Why are you doing this?”, asked Rex, startled and frightened but angry.

“We are the enemy nation, Mr Worth”, said the Man, “The old enemy of the species that has infected and colonised you has infected me. Two microscopic super organisms that have been engaged in a war for centuries, laying in wait in frozen waters of mars for hosts that they could use as their war chariots and their fortresses”.

Rex looked the man up and down; he didn’t look healthy, in fact he looked sick; weak, pale, emaciated and withered and then, taking a white handkerchief out of his shirt pocket, the man coughed up blood into it.

“My infection made me healthier. Why didn’t yours?”, asked Rex.

“The two species have very different strategies regarding how they use their hosts. They multiply slowly; they defend and look after their host, like a civilisation; they’re farmers, we’re raiders we spread quickly; attack; destroy; pillage and plunder”, said the man.

But then Rex got the same strange intuition which he had before that the man was about to shoot, only this time, the gun didn’t go off because, before the man could squeeze the trigger, Rex had already leapt upon him, knocked the gun from his hand and pinned him firmly to the floor.

“You can kill one of our hosts but you can’t kill us all”, said the man, “We multiply quickly; spread; evolve and become more resistant; grow stronger”.

But then, suddenly, Rex felt a strange,ugly impulse to kill the man that he had pinned to the ground; then that impulse became a voice.

“Kill him, Citadel”, said the voice, “Before the race that infects him have a chance to spread. They will only kill many more of your kind if he lives”.

Then he realized that it was Them speaking to him, the voices of the disease speaking as one being,

“But I don’t have to kill him; they can cure him with antibiotics; the doctors can cure him”, he thought.

“Very well, Citadel”, said the voice, “We try to live in harmony with our host and we will respect what makes you happier”.

“What the hell’s going on?”, asked George, “What just happened?”.

“I think your fort builders or whatever they are, have look outs; sentinels who stand watch upon the battlements for signs of approaching danger; any threat to the host”, said Rex, “They warned me what was going to happen”.

“They’re certainly considerate”, said George,

“Yes, in fact I think I understand them better now”, said Rex, “I think they’re like environmentalists only I’m their environment”.

“And what about that?”, he said, pointing to the man Rex had pinned down but who was still frantically struggling to escape.

“He’s been drilled by the oil companies”, said Rex.

“Then what do we do?”, asked George.

“There is a chance, if we can help the benign, green virus to spread it can guard against the malignant one”, said Rex, “Otherwise, I don’t think they’ll stop until the whole world is bleeding out of its mouth, until the whole world is infected”.