is causing the infection.”
“And then you clone those genes to produce synthetic antibodies.”
“Exactly. We’ll use them to simulate a natural immune response.”
“How long will that take?” Henry asked.
“A few weeks at least to find the best antibodies to block the virus, and several more to create a cell line, and then a month to begin large-scale production. It’s not a real vaccine, obviously, but it might offer some passive immunity. Of course, it will be available only to rather small numbers of people. But if we don’t do something to slow the progress of the disease, we don’t stand a chance.”
Henry tapped his lips, sinking deep into his thoughts, searching for something no one else had come up with. “There was this study,” he finally said. “Something about transfusions in 1918.”
“Do you remember the authors? The journal?” Marco asked.
“All I remember is that there were doctors a hundred years ago in the same position we’re in now. They tried something that I think may have worked.”
“I’ll find it,” said Marco.
Majid came into the tent and waited patiently until Henry was finished. “May we talk?” he asked. “Something new has happened.”
The prince dropped heavily to the rug without his usual grace. He was clearly worn down by the last several days. Neither of them had slept more than a few hours during that time.
“This is not about the influenza, it’s about what the crown prince and his councilors were talking about when we met,” Majid said. “Just now I learned that one of our cousins was assassinated. Amira. She was vacationing in Sicily. Very beautiful, young, a free spirit, at least for Saudi Arabia. One of your magazines, Vogue, took some photos of her that were much discussed. Many people condemned her. Iran in particular spoke of her as a libertine and an example of the decadence of our family. So perhaps some offended Muslim decided to murder her. But our intelligence tells us that there was a team of killers from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards who followed her and trapped her at the private beach where she was swimming. They held her underwater until she drowned.”
“You think this is retaliation for the young man who was killed trying to escape the quarantine?”
“It seems likely. In any case, the crown prince and his councilors are seeking war with Iran. They are demanding an increased U.S. naval presence in the Gulf.”
Colonel al-Shehri suddenly interrupted their talk. Henry noticed a nervous tick in his right eye. His hands were trembling. The man was close to the edge. “What is it, Hasan?” Majid said, dropping all formalities.
“We fear there will be a breakout,” he said. “We have drone surveillance of four large groups forming at different spots. They do not belong to one delegation or another. It appears that some agitators are taking control of the mosque itself. The police inside are no help, they may even be with the insurgents.”
Majid absorbed the news with a deep, reflective sigh. “We should not call them insurgents,” he said. “They are prisoners, held without charge, and probably condemned to die. Tell me, Hasan, what would you do if you were in their place?”
“Majesty, I always remain loyal, but I believe my uncle is among them. He is a good man, my father’s brother, many years in the National Guard, and now his own troops surround the city. This is not unusual. Many of our men have friends and relatives inside.”
Majid nodded. “Hasan, I have not told you this, but my sister is also there, making her first pilgrimage, and now I have issued this order that may result in her death. Her children call me repeatedly. What can I tell them? This is personal for all of us. As a brother, I am outraged! But as the minister of health, I am their jailer. I cannot consult my conscience, because there is no clear answer for me.”
While they were talking, they heard the screech as someone from the mosque inexpertly turned on a microphone that broadcast through the minarets. It was not prayer time. “Fellow Muslims!” a young man’s reedy voice cried. “Must we die like animals in a cage? We are millions. They cannot kill us all. But if we stay, everyone will die!”
Majid and the colonel walked out to the promontory to watch. Henry trailed respectfully behind. So much depends on what happens now, he thought. Everyone trapped inside the city longed for life, but many of them carried death inside them. Even if