Sterile+World

It is the year 2666. Vaccines for nearly every life threatening disease and epidemic had been found around 100 years earlier. Every one except HIV/AIDS. Until now.

The AIDS virus is now a reality for almost every single individual in the world. The infection rate slowly rose from about 1% of the global population to a staggering 85% in only a few centuries. With the incredibly advanced medical technology available, there was hope that a cure could finally be developed. Something had to be done. The virus can now be transmitted through saliva, mucous, basically anything that comes off or out of your body. The virus was becoming increasingly threatening with each passing day. After years of research, an ex government worker, and world renowned South African doctor, George Bush decides to step up to the plate and submit his vaccine.

It is now late September. The vaccine is on the market, and hospitals are flooded with AIDS victims seeking the help of Dr. Bush. No one has ever claimed to have a cure for the disease. Supposedly, it attacks and eliminates every type of AIDS, and instantly rebuilds the cells of the immune system attacked by the virus. Not only that, but it also protects you from ever contracting the disease again.

Several months have passed. Every person worldwide is cured from the disease due to the free vaccine. They may be cured of AIDS. But there are bigger problems now. With the advent of 2667, some very strange occurrences began to arise everywhere. Inexplicable deaths, worldwide. The unusual epidemic was first noticed in Asia. It was thought to be a sickness due to something there, but then it was reported in London, Denver, Paris, and New York. They didn't stop. People with perfect health were dropping dead without explanation. Walking out of their front doors and simply dying.

Autopsies found that the "vaccine" released yet another more deadly virus. It works much like AIDS in the sense that it attacks the immune system. The virus doesn't just simply attack it. It eliminates it. Completely. The "replacement" of the immune systems cells was only temporary. They time released the bodies ability to fight infections. Very well. And eventually, it ran out and they shut down.

This major fault sounds like an accident. But it was anything but. The vaccine was distributed to every continent. Except Africa. Africa got a different set of drugs. The ones that actually worked. Dr. George Bush purposely developed a faulty medication to bring the other nations down so Africa could rise to the top once more. It was working. Africa was now the center of the planet. Because of all of the deaths, no one was well enough, or even alive to work. Grow food, perform labor, and just make things run. All continents depend solely on Africa, for everything. Ironically, even clean water. Sanitation workers got the vaccine too.

More and more people were dying from the new infection, and scientists were struggling to find a cure. One researcher eventually had an idea to solve the issue. He developed an antibiotic to take daily to fight off the infection. The decoy immune system cells were temporary so the infection might be too. However that was never proven. Remaining survivors then got to work building sterile environments. Essentially, a bubble world. Oxygen, water, everything one could be exposed to is now put through a very intense sterilization process.

The upside of the cure? Other generations will not be born sick, so we could grow out of this. The downside of the cure? Humans are now forced to live in solitary confinement. Anything that is not a part of your own body could possibly be infections to you, even another person's breath. All thanks to Dr. George Bush.

By: Olivia Bartelheim