[Galaxy Of Fear] - 03(25)

“Do not feel bad, young lady,” the Shi’ido said mockingly. “You are dealing with an intellect far greater than yours.”

“Why are you doing this to us?” Tash yelled.

The Shi’ido’s face clouded in anger. “Because you deserve it. And far worse. Thanks to your meddling uncle, you and your brother have ruined two of my experiments so far.”

“Your experiments?” Tash could hardly believe what she was hearing.

The Shi’ido continued. “I could have snuffed you out like an incense candle, but instead I watched and waited, giving you one last chance. And rather than give up your investigation, you headed straight here, to Gobindi.”

“We came here because my brother was sick!” Tash argued. She was getting angry again, and the angrier she got, the hotter she felt. The skin around her bruised arm had started to itch. “We don’t even know who you are! It’s a coincidence.”

“Coincidence?” the Shi’ido roared. “Was it coincidence that you showed up just in time to drive my living planet into a frenzy? Was it coincidence that you exposed Evazan just as he completed his resurrection serum? And was it coincidence that your very next stop was Gobindi, only three weeks after my virus experiments had begun?”

Tash opened her mouth to speak, then shut it. Who was this guy?

Dr. Kavafi spoke up and addressed the Shi’ido. “Whoever you are, you are playing with forces beyond your control. The virus inside this ziggurat was not meant to be disturbed. If it spreads, it could create a plague of galactic proportions!”

The Shi’ido yawned. “Actually, Dr. Kavafi, the virus you are so worried about was quite limited when I found it,” he said through the comm unit. “Oh, it was deadly enough. It took over its host at an alarming rate. But it wasn’t very contagious. You cannot catch it by breathing the same air someone infected has breathed. It cannot live very long outside a hot environment. It dies quickly unless it finds a host.”

The Shi’ido shrugged. “I’ve done some tinkering with the virus’s structure. My new version is far more effective because it can travel through the air. At least, I think it can. We are going to test it. Now.”

In his observation booth the Shi’ido pulled a switch. Several vents in the walls and ceiling opened up, and Tash heard the whir of fans blowing air into the hot chamber.

The Shi’ido spoke again. “You have already seen the results of the virus. It doesn’t kill its host. It invades the body of the victim and wraps it in a cocoon of slime, then continues to feed off it. I’m not sure how long the victims live.”

Tash shook her head. She could not believe how evil this being was. “The people who disappeared. The people who’ve been arrested. You’ve been testing the virus on them! How could you?”

The Shi’ido laughed. “I’m going to do far worse than that. Once I’m sure the virus can infect people through the air, I’m going to test it on a much larger scale.” He opened his arms wide. “I have turned this entire ziggurat into one enormous air vent, with the Infirmary as the cover. Once the Infirmary is gone, I plan to blow billions upon billions of virus particles over the city of Mah Dala.”

“You can’t!” Kavafi yelled.

“Why else do you think I have arranged to trap these people on the planet for so long? There are so many different species here. It is the perfect test to see which species are affected by the virus and which are not.” The Shi’ido paused. “And that is the truly terrifying thing about a virus, don’t you think?” he said. “You cannot see it. You cannot smell it, you cannot taste it. But it is there. It is there in the room with you right now.”

Tash and Kavafi looked around. The room looked no different than it had a moment before. But they knew it was different. It had been filled with a deadly plague.

“Actually you should be honored, Dr. Kavafi,” the Shi’ido said. “I’ve been saving you for this particular phase of my tests. And the Arranda girl, well, she’s been doomed since the moment she arrived on Gobindi.”

The Shi’ido examined some instruments in the control booth. “Excellent. It appears my virus dispersal unit is functioning according to plan. If you two will excuse me, I have to make plans to infect a city.”

He closed his eyes, and his skin began to wrinkle and bubble. The next instant, the Shi’ido had been replaced by the perfect image of Dr. Kavafi. The false doctor reached for a lever. “You will have to pardon the blast shield I’m about to close. I can’t let any of the virus escape just yet, can I?”