Sitges, Spain

9:35 AM

The streets of this LGBTQ Mecca were filled with morning-after positive party vibes. Early in the morning, waiters brought mimosas and bloody Mary’s instead of hard liquor to well-tanned tourists. The Starbucks terrace was mostly empty aside from caffeine junkies. Making abstraction of the news or the game, here was paradise.

But something was undeniably off in the focus of the Multiverse. It was impossible to point to anything, but like a mild pot buzz, most there and getting worse by the day. was off. Today was a beautiful sunny fall day. Takeda sat at a small table alone coffee in hand. He wasn’t front and center in the street’s edge, instead he sat, back to the wall at the worse table. To his right was the shaky table sporting the condiments for the coffee. Because this was Europe, in addition to sugar was a little glass cinnamon shaker.

Takeda, the regenerated virologist was playing with his phone waiting patiently for someone. At some point, he grabbed the shaker. Under the table, away from sight, he carefully unscrewed the cap and dropped a little tablet. Replacing the cap, he placed the shaker on his table. His plan was set and he could relax.

Takeda began surf naked images on the gay dating App. In this young body, he was quite popular but everyone was still sound asleep. He looked around, in his mind he took pride his Virus was released and most everyone was now infected.

Finally he saw the young tall man from a distance. The young blond Latino man made his way to his table with purpose.

“Takeda?” he asked politely.

“You are even cuter in person,” said the crossed-dresser pointing at the chair ahead of him. As the journalist sat, he removed his leather jacket and his bag. Takeda smiled. The man pulled a new pad of paper and a pen from the bag. “Love it,” added Takeda looking at the technology from the previous century.

“Why are we here?” asked the man nervous. “You said this was very important, a big story.”

“The biggest on earth Marco. These stories do not come that often, so you will have to bear with me here.”

“Why me, I am just an intern at the paper?”

“You still call it paper, funny. Why you?” Takeda flipped the phone and on it was a picture of the journalist in his underwear. Takeda smiled and drank.

The man got up, “I came for a story, not for a hook up.”

Takeda pointed down at the chair making a sign to sit, he did. “Sweet one, anything as exciting as what you are about to see will send a healthy cocktail of hormones and endorphins into that cute blond head of yours. In turn, if I play this well, you will get horny. Just thinking ahead. I always plan ahead.”

The journalist grabbed the pen. “Who are you, age and name.”

“What year is this?”

“2072.”

“Well, I was born in 1955, do the math. My name is Takeda, I was once a very famous scientist. Just got this new snazzy body, now that my boss if off the planet, I feel liberated to show-off a bit.” The journalist did not even write the number down. He felt like this was a joke.

Takeda did not like to be dismissed. The virologist stiffened up and the playful youth was gone. “This,” he pointed at one of the screens playing endless reruns of Electoral, “is the start. The world is changing but in an invisible way. We both know it, but I have leveraged it.” Takeda flipped his phone and this time it read Hopkins Variance at 234%. “The young girl on Mars is only part of what is going on. The fabric of the world, as the blond machine said is changing. I saw the change, acted, and will now save this entire world.” The intern liked where this was going.

A client was walking in the distance. Takeda pointed discretely at him to the journalist. “Look at him, don’t talk. This man is called Luis. He comes here clockwork each morning and orders the same thing, a tall latte. Look at his skin color.” The man’s skin was unusually red but it did not seem to bother the man.

He walked to the counter and ordered his drink. “With the help of Marilyn Monroe, I invented a week ago a new virus, it saves lives in a wonderful ways. It is designed as a mutation generator, it can infect and change the DNA of anyone, it can do so much more. But the virus is built to use this energy floating around which favors the human race. It’s complicated, I can give you more later but for now just watch.”

The journalist wasn’t a cop, he was there for a story and he was writing without passing judgment. “My Virus uses the Hopkins variance, it is built to help the host, to change it to survive a known attack. This man there is a host, I made sure of that.”

“I am not sure I understand.”

“I am a virologist. I am the infamous father of the META virus. I recently created a new improved bug. My virus gives the it a power to keep Luis alive if he comes under a very unique type of attack.” The man ordered a drink.

The man received his hot coffee and walked over to the table next to the pair. He was looking for the cinnamon. Takeda smiled and handed him the shaker. The man smiled, used it and went to sit in a corner.

He waited until the man took a sip in the distance to continue the discussion with the journalist. He grabbed the shaker carefully. “I am no chemist, but it’s rather easy to design VX the nerve agent. Luis over there just drank one of the most dangerous and fast acting poison in the world. How it works is complicated, not for you and your readers. Just know it’s a neurotransmitter inhibitor.” The journalist turned in time to see the man begin to feel uneasy. His face turned even more red. Takeda reached over, “give my magic virus a second or two.”

The man stumbled and knocked off the table his coffee. Takeda simply added, “you wanted a story, don’t disturb, he will be fine.” The man fell on the floor on four legs, he was obviously chocking and dying and people around began to panic. “There really are hundreds of ways the body can adapt to neutralize the VX. It can move proteins, change systems, frankly the list is too long to describe. I really don’t know what solution it will find but since I know lazy cells and looking at his new skin color, I have my money on something.” The man’s skin color began to redden even more. His eyes, his hair, every portion of his body was changing, mutating.

Takeda smiled from ear to ear. “Yes.” People in the streets began to yell and cry for help. Takeda spoke in a low voice, “Fantastic. Each neuron changed to adapt the AChE. It’s too complex for you, but let’s say the way the message between his muscles and his nerves has just changed. Every cell, billions, trillions changed to protect him.”

With the help of several patrons, the man got up. He now felt fine except for his strange new look. People brought mirrors as the ambulance made its way.

“What just happened?”

“It is very complex, really difficult. Let’s just say I invented a virus, I named it the God Virus which adapts and changes the body to survive attacks. I tried to kill this poor man and my virus saved him. Everyone is now protected.”

“I have this virus?”

“We all do. It’s not bullet proof, pardon the pun. It takes time to react. The outcome must be determined early. I decided to kill Luis over there yesterday. So his body had 24 hours to prepare itself for the mutation.”

“I am not sure I understand.”

He handed him an earpiece and flipped his phone his way. “Miss Monroe, can you explain to this cutie what just happened in a way he can comprehend?”

The journalist slid the earpiece but quickly realized it was pointless. Every screen in the street changed to an image of the digital creature. Every phone, even the screens inside the ambulance making its way.

“Takeda darling, you want them to know?”

“Why not? The story you are telling does seem to need some positive twist.”

“I guess you are correct. I have a set of videos ready, but you want this intern to get the scoop right?”

“That would help me get some action later,” The man sent a dark look his way.

“Let’s see what I can do.”

The video started playing, it showed footage of the frog test, the underground lab design and then went into a biological description, cell deep of how the virus changed the man. On screen, Marilyn was interviewed by Marco and Takeda.

Normally this would have been a big deal. It wasn’t as the game began and every camera turned to the Sorbonne presentation.