Gen Moore’s eyes glanced over the rim of his glasses as Lt. Col Jessup and Sgt Maj Finley entered the briefing room.

“Colonel, this is Michael Carter from the World Health Organization.” Gen Moore’s finger pointed to one of the two men dressed in civvies looking over the maps and papers scattered across the table. “Carter, bring the Colonel up to speed on the situation.”

“Simply put, gentlemen, we have a global epidemic on our hands. Its name is H3N2.”

“H3N2? The swine flu?” Finley asks.

“This Influenze strain is from goats, and it’s no longer a simple Influenza A virus. The Afghan people use goat manure as a cooking fuel. Women were the first reported cases, which is pretty obvious for two reasons: One, women do all the cooking in Afghan society; two, the female’s respiratory system is highly susceptible to the virus’ proteins. The proteins adhered to their lungs, gaining a foothold, and as it incubated, it also mutated. So, no, this is not the swine flu; frankly, gentlemen, mankind may not survive.”