Chapter 29 Chapter 29 Mr. Perfect

Margaret, Amos and Clarence Otto all stood up quickly when Murray stepped into the office.Murray shook hands with everyone and sat down in a chair.After everyone was seated, they went straight to the topic. "What did you find out? The sample we gave you this time is quite fresh. I believe that a corpse that has not decomposed will give you something." Margaret spoke first, "The undecomposed state of the body did not last long. All the tissues were decomposed, leaving only a skeleton - the same as the bodies of Judy Washington and Charlotte Wilson. Although we With only one festering remains at hand, we still managed to make the most of all the resources on this specimen. Before Brubeck's body fully decomposed, we gleaned some valuable, albeit rather disturbing, information. First of all, we believe that this growth is not a tissue mutation, but a parasite."

Murray frowned slightly, "A kind of parasite? How did you judge that it was a parasite?" "As in the case with Charlotte Wilson, the growth had completely decomposed. Although nothing was found on the growth, we found some evidence in the surrounding skin tissue that it was a parasite. The growth It even penetrated the host's blood circulation system, absorbing oxygen and even nutrients from the blood." Murray stared at her blankly, motionless like a statue weathered by weather and time. "You're saying these triangles are alive, they don't belong to the victim's body, they exist alone?"

"yes." "Then how do you explain the crazy behavior of the host?" "We found high concentrations of neurotransmitters in the victim's brain," Margaret said. "Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers between nerve cells that send messages from one nerve cell to another to ensure the body The communication with the brain also ensures the normal operation of the brain. The concentrations of dopamine and serotonin are also very high. Excessive dopamine can cause severe schizophrenia, and excessive serotonin can cause psychosis and paranoia. These two Hormones are critical to the brain's stress response, such as responding to emergencies and perceiving threats. They also trigger some physical manifestations such as fear or anxiety. Often, these two hormones, in excess, trigger anxiety and Nervous disorder."

Murray nodded thoughtfully, "So these parasites drive people crazy by making a lot of neurotransmitters?" "Yes," said Amos, "but it's much more than that. The parasite grows neural tissue that mimics human nerves. We've found these around the growths, but we've also found them in the brain. Suspicions were found, especially in the cerebral cortex and limbic system." "What is the limbic system?" Margaret replied: "It's a system composed of the thalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala, which controls people's memory storage and emotional responses. The growths in that area are like some kind of endocrine system that is constantly producing excess." neurotransmitter. Case studies have shown that excess dopamine in the limbic system can trigger acute extreme paranoia in the host. This is similar to what happened in Brubaker, Brian Tanalife, Gary Ryland and Charlotte Wilson's symptoms match. But if the growth's nerves are artificial, then there's another possibility—the parasite wants to invade the brain."

Anger rose in Murray's eyes, "Oh, you're not kidding, are you? I agree with your drug delivery theory, which makes sense, but invade the brain? What kind of bullshit theory are you talking about? You mean it's not just a chemical concentration, But the parasite wants to control the host?" "It's not impossible," she said. "You just tell me that the host is possessed by a demon! Doctor Montoya, I began to suspect that it was a mistake to let you be the person in charge! You think I will believe that parasites can control humans and make them do terrible things ?”

"We're not saying that humans are at the mercy of parasites like robots," Amos said. "There are precedents in nature where parasites affect the behavior of their hosts. For example, a trematode parasitizing a snail. The flukes have to change hosts, from the snails to the fleas. So the larvae of the fluke somehow drive the snails out of the water and onto the ground. And that's tantamount to suicide for the snails. At that point, the flukes leave Snails, attached to fleas. Think of acanthocephalus, which needs to start attaching to cockroaches and then transfer to rats. To trigger this change, acanthocephalus will dilute the cockroach's sense of danger, causing cockroaches to easily die. Under the mouse's paw. Like..."

Murray interrupted Amos with a wave of his hand, "I see, doctor. What an amazing guy, isn't he? But snails and fucking cockroaches are low-level species that can't be compared with high-intelligence humans!" "Behavior is just a chemical reaction, Mr. Longworth," said Amos. "Human behavior is just a more complex reaction, essentially the same. It's described as a 'fucking cockroach' - if it can be controlled, then humans can also be controlled." Murray rubbed the bridge of his nose, and his mind was in a mess, as if a monster was stirring up trouble in his skull. "I'm here for good news, but you're making things worse. Well, someone created a parasite that can control humans. When the hell are you two going to give me something useful?"

"Mr. Longworth, this is an unimaginable high-tech." Margaret said coldly, with a hint of anger in her voice.This person just wants simple explanations, but they can't give them. "We are dealing with a frightening new technology - if this parasite is man-made, it means that some people's technology is far beyond our current level, which is really unimaginable. .In other words, if the parasite is manipulated, we're in big trouble." Murray frowned—apparently Margaret's last explanation displeased him greatly. "What do you mean 'if'?" "I would say that Amos disagrees with me on this point, and I suspect that this pathological behavior is not intentional but a side effect. I presume it's a natural parasite, even if it doesn't occur naturally , that is not a parasite specially designed to drive people crazy."

Murray shook his head, staring at the plaque on the wall. "A weapon, Dr. Montoya, and a very powerful weapon," Murray said. "Isn't it obvious? Don't make it too complicated. You do the technical work, and I'll do the strategic analysis." .Now, how to deal with this kind of creature? Let's make a move!" Actually, Margaret had a lot of suggestions, a lot of suggestions to get Murray's ass fucked up, but she held back. "We have a couple of things to do. First, we need to increase our staffing, we need some psychiatrists to come on board."

"why?" "The hosts all display profound behavioral disturbances. If we want to fully understand this organism, we need a living host as a study subject. And we need help, especially neurobiologists and neuropharmacologists. And a psychologist can help us control the victim of madness. In the long run, we must find ways to combat the effects of this parasite on the host, such as using a drug that can reduce the concentration of neurotransmitters to relieve the patient. symptoms of madness." "I don't think it's a good idea, Margaret." "This is not an idea, but a fact. We need these helpers, and we need them now! The situation may get out of control in the next second. Although you have to keep the news tightly sealed, you can't just watch the plague break out."

Murray tapped the table with his finger, "Okay, I'll start looking for suitable candidates. I don't think I need to reiterate the confidentiality of the whole incident, so I can't get you a team in a day or two. You are now Is there any useful information on it?" "Some colored fibrous roots grew out of the growths on Brubaker. This symptom is consistent with a condition called Morgellons disease. At present, we believe that the fibrous roots are dead parasites, but although it Dead, some parts of the body are still functioning normally. The component of the fibrous root is cellulose, a common plant component, but it is absolutely impossible to produce in the human body." "But the fibrous root has nothing to do with the triangular growth, right?" "There is a connection," Amos replied. "The growth is made of exactly the same composition as the fibrous root—cellulose. It's not just a coincidence." "What if you grow fibrous roots," Murray said, "and then you grow triangular growths? Then you're going to have a schizophrenia?" Margaret leaned forward. "No, it's not what you said. It's possible for people to have fibrous roots, but not full-fledged parasites." "So until the last few days, we've never seen this triangular growth? There's no record at the CDC either?" "Not as far as we know," Margaret said, "but just because we haven't seen it doesn't mean there haven't been, or haven't been, recent cases. It's possible that these growths have been around for a long time, and we just haven't found them. " "Then the fibrous root has been recorded as a case in the early years, but the triangular growth is new." Murray said, "It seems that the people who made this weapon are getting more and more sophisticated." Margaret went on to say: "The CDC may have some relevant data on Morgellons disease, including the incubation period of the disease and a comparative analysis of people who claim to have the disease. We have to work with Frank Talk to Dr. Chen." Murray leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling. "We can't involve the CDC, Margaret. That's why I transferred you from there." "But we've got to talk to this guy," Margaret said, "and they probably have a database on the disease. If we're lucky, they might be tracking symptoms, date of infection and some other data, too," said Might help us find other victims." "I disagree." "You've got to agree, Murray!" she yelled at the deputy director of CIA with some sort of courage, but it felt so good. "I've done exactly what you asked, but this time I have to talk to this man." She guessed that a violent quarrel was about to take place, a battle of wills.But Murray sighed and said, "Well, you go talk to him. But, I repeat clearly, you can't tell him about triangles. Agree?" "agree." "Go and see if they have any useful information there. I'll grant you executive order immunity. Otto, call the director of the CDC. Dr. Chen will cooperate with Dr. Montoya, and he doesn't have to know why." "Yes, sir," said Otto.He raised the corner of his mouth slightly at Margaret.The smile was hard to detect, but Margaret caught the smile on his lips easily. "Okay, Montoya, you got what you wanted," Murray said, "but if you don't get any, we'll have to think about something else, and right away. Hope you get something." "Excess neurotransmitters can lead to biochemical disturbances," Margaret said. "Based on our current observations, the host suffers from delusional schizophrenia and may experience intense hallucinations. According to the relevant records, the host's paranoia The onset is extremely fast, and I feel that someone is framing me, and I feel that I am deeply involved in a conspiracy. But I believe that freezing three feet does not happen overnight, and this symptom should have a process of gradual accumulation, and the level of delusions will gradually increase. These The host may want to seek help early in the disease, but according to our study of five known cases, the patients are quite suspicious and very resistant to the hospital or doctors. We must help these patients." "How to help?" Murray asked. "We can place advertisements in newspapers. Ambiguous ones that might attract paranoiacs, but are not eye-catching. Like a business named after 'Triangle' or something like that, so that the host can spot it at a glance and Something that you can immediately relate to your symptoms. People with delusional disorders weave a complex and beautiful fantasy world for themselves. If we just cater to their fantasy world, we will definitely attract their attention." Murray nodded. "Advertising in the newspapers is unlikely. We'll have to make up some false information so that something goes wrong and gets the media's attention. But I'll try anyway. Do you have any other ideas?" " "What about the Internet?" Otto said. "You can create a web page and register a domain name so that it can be found by the major search engines. The Internet is anonymous, so if a host goes online to find something about a neoplasm, they can find it through This web page reached out to you." Murray nodded hurriedly, "Yes, yes, I understand. Let's do it right now—we'll come up with different ways to attract the host. Do you find anything else?" "That's all," said Margaret. "The rate at which the triangular growth decomposes is so alarming that we haven't been able to get a good look at it until now. We either need a living host, or a Samples that haven't been dead for more than an hour—I repeat, Murray, we need a live host. That's the only way we'll ever get to know the neoplasm."