Chapter 24 Chapter 24 "Parasite Paranoia"

Morgellons disease. Margaret looked at the CDC report and couldn't believe her eyes.This disease is not a disease at all, but it is recognized by the medical profession as "parasitic delusions". "Parana," said Margaret, "look carefully." "This is confirmed in most cases," Amos said. "Symptoms range from a biting feeling to a feeling of something moving under the skin. In some cases we found those strange fibrous roots. , and most of the patients showed some psychological disorder: depression, acute ADHD, bipolar disorder, and ... guess what the last three are."

"Paranoid, psychotic, and psychopathic." "You've been doing well these days." Margaret, Amos and Clarence Otto are all waiting in the hospital director's office.A row of plaques hangs on the warm wooden walls of the office, and the room is decorated with potted banyan trees with leafy branches.The director has been persuaded away by Otto's sharp tongue. Otto sincerely apologized for the disturbance, but at the same time did not give the director any chance to say no.Margaret thought Otto was a natural salesman—someone who could make you fall in line but make you think it was all your idea.Margaret and Amos sat on the leather sofa, reading the report spread out on the coffee table.Otto sat behind an ornate wooden desk, seemingly relishing the person's implied power—smiling mischievously like a child playing the big boss.

Murray was on his way, and they were going to be briefing him face to face. "I know I can't get in," Otto said, "but I want to ask—you've got the CDC report, but are you talking about the case that you two have been working on for the past few days? A known disease?" Amos shook his head. "No, it's different. It's Morgellons, and people aren't sure if it's a real disease or a herd delusion. The CDC has a task force for that, but there's no one yet." to draw any conclusions, however, such a task force was formed based on many years of reports. There is not even a clear enough definition of the case. Most of the cases actually turn out to be delusional parasitosis. People feel They're infected with something, some organism that only the patient can see. In fact, the term Morgellons disease has only been around for a few years, but since it was coined, more and more people are reporting This symptom."

"That means it's spreading," Margaret said. "Not necessarily. It could mean the disease is spreading, or it could mean that when some emotionally unstable person hears about it, they think they have it. The symptoms are something they invented with their own brains. out—that’s what’s called paranoia.” Otto spun around in his chair, three times while speaking. "So the more people who claim to have the disease, the more people know about it, the more people hear about it, and the more people think they have it." "It's a vicious cycle of total madness," Amos said.

"Damn Murray!" said Margaret, "he was right to keep it secret. That's what he said he'd be in if the news got out. Besides it's just itching, or a growth in the skin. Just a bug, imagine how people would react if they saw the triangle in the photo." “Or hearing about grandmas chopping up their kids and then playing Scarface with the cops,” Otto said. “Psycho grandmas must surprise every citizen of the United States.” Amos nodded, "I think Murray is indeed measured. Five years ago, there were only a few cases of 'paranoia', but now there are 1,500 cases, covering all 50 states in the United States, including Europe."

"Then why haven't we heard of triangles?" Margaret asked. "We're sure it wasn't some kind of paranoia, we saw the damn thing. Besides, we found high concentration of neurotransmitters, it's all true, Amos." "Because most of the cases are delusional, but not all. The point is the fibrous roots, Margaret. Blue, red, black, and white fibrous roots have been documented, all made of cellulose. Here are three cases, too, from the last four years of analysis of fibrous roots, which you wouldn't guess—they have the same composition as Brubeck's blue fibrous roots. Exactly the same, down to the molecular level."

"Your so-called dead product." Amos smiled and said, "Yeah, dead babies. What we've seen in the last few weeks are cases of triangular eruptions, parasites that have reached the larval stage. Seems like a lot of cases in the past that didn't show up." Triangular growths that reached the larval stage, but all died young." Agent Otto made another sharp turn, looking excited as if trying to test how many turns he could make with each push. "So, the case of fibrous roots has been around for a long time, and it's just now that it's reached the larval stage? Does that mean they're evolving?"

Margaret was about to correct a layman's guess about science, but she paused.Otto's expression was too simplified, but it hit the point. "So now that these fibrous roots are found," Otto said, "why didn't the CDC take action?" "Look at the reports," said Amos. "They don't know if it's real, and all these cases of delusional disorder make it difficult to find out what's really going on. They put together a task force -- some parasites." Epidemiologists, epidemiologists, etc. They didn't gain much, but they did a comparative analysis of these cases."

"But those fibrous roots," Margaret said, "are they doing a comparative analysis of the growth of the fibrous roots?" Amos shrugged. "I don't know. We'll probably have to talk to them." Margaret continued to flip through the documents, "Dr. Frank Chen. He is the person in charge of this project. I need to talk to this person. But I don't know if Murray will allow me to call him." "Marguerite, may I interject?" Otto asked. "certainly." He turned the chair again, gripped the edge of the table with both hands, and said with a smile, "You seem to be at the mercy of others. Have you noticed?"

Her face started to feel hot.Just because she has it, and just because everyone knows she has it, doesn't mean she has to talk about it in public. "That's none of your business," she said. "Because it seems to me that you're a lot stronger than you think you are. We're dealing with some pretty crazy stuff right now, am I right?" She nodded. "So if you feel like there's something we have to do, stop being a timid cat." "What did you say?" Amos slapped the table, "Go on, Brother Otto!" "I say Margaret, stop being a timid cat."

"I heard." "So stop listening to Murray." Margaret was a little tongue-tied, "Are you stupid? He's the deputy director of the CIA, dude! How can I not obey him?" "You know he is the deputy director, so do you know who you are?" "Tell her!" cried Amos, rising to his feet and throwing up his arms. "Tell that good sister who she is!" "Yes, Agent Otto, who am I?" Otto turned around twice, and then said: "You are a top epidemiologist who is researching an unknown new terrifying virus." "Terror!" cried Amos. "You're short-staffed right now, you're not getting the team of specialists that you should have." "What a crime!" cried Amos. "Amos," said Margaret, "don't fucking interrupt!" Amos smiled, picked up a magazine under the coffee table, sat down, and pretended to read. "Margaret, he put you in charge of this. What if you insist on talking to this Dr. Chen? Do you think Murray will let someone else replace you?" She was about to speak, but stopped.No, Murray won't do that.Not because she's the central figure in ending this madness, but because he wants the whole thing to be kept tightly in the dark.Murray...needs...her. "So," said Otto, pushing the chair hard again, and he began to spin around again, saying a word each time, "there is... the right... that is... to use..." Her anger subsided. Agent Clarence Otto was right.