Chapter 4 Chapter Four

The official trial of Mei Yin's case was three months later. The cold winter passed and spring came quietly. The plague that came suddenly and left quietly has become a thing of the past, and even the locals have almost forgotten it.But the world has not forgotten this place, nor the weird "virus smuggling case".This trial has attracted the attention of the whole world, and all major media have dispatched elite troops to interview.The Chinese government intends to encourage foreign journalists to come, and generally speaking, it still vigorously implements Director Zhang's established policy of "transparent reporting" to prevent Western media with ulterior motives from muddying the water.These days, high-end hotels in Nanyang are overcrowded, and high-end taxis are in short supply.The trial was held in a large courtroom with a seating capacity of 1,000. Because there were too many people, the court decided to attend the hearing with a certificate, so the hearing certificate became a commodity in short supply, and it was hard to get a ticket.

The first court hearing was attended by more than 100 people from Xinhua News Agency, China Central Television, ITAR, Kyodo News, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, Reuters, ANSA, EFE, Hong Kong Phoenix, and Taipei Central News Agency. reporter.A representative from the Wuhan Institute of Virology said that the smallpox smuggling and leakage incident had nothing to do with the institute, but after all, Mei Yin was a foreign expert they hired, so it would be hard to justify it if someone didn’t come.The company deliberately handled it in a low-key manner, only sending two low-level staff, and they only listened but did not talk, and only smiled and waved their hands when interviewing the media.Xue Yu from the Wuhan Institute of Virology also came. He came here on leave of absence in his personal capacity. The fate of Teacher Mei made him restless. He must come to listen.Three months have calmed people down enough that no one calls him a "traitor" or "venomous snake" anymore. In the final analysis, Xue Yu's "report" has no self-interest or despicable motives, and people already understand him.But Xue Yu still had some "reasonable mistakes", closed himself, sat silently in the back gallery, and didn't talk to outsiders, even his uncle didn't talk much.His uncle, Professor Zhao Yuzhou, also came. He learned from the Internet that Mei Yin was an anti-scientist who opposed the destruction of the smallpox virus and "science's strong interference with nature", and he couldn't help being filled with righteous indignation.He has always hated these "people who benefit from science and slander science", hoping to see her burnt to death on the stake of justice.Anyway, he had already retired, so he was too busy to worry about, so he rushed here by train.Liu Ma and Chen Ma of the orphanage had to take care of the children, so they had to take turns to attend. Although Mei Yin didn't believe in religion, they treated Mei Yin closer than the sisters in the religion. They had been friends for fourteen years.After Mei Yin was arrested, the orphanage lost its source of income. Later, part of it was settled in civil affairs, and the rest was settled by Tianli Company, so the orphanage was able to maintain itself.They wanted to come and tell Dean Mei to reassure her.

The arrival of five more celebrities surprised both Chinese officials and foreign media.They are: Scott Lee, a materials expert at the University of California (the logo of the cross organization, including the extremely sharp double-edged sword above, was made by him), Yoshira Matsumoto, a Japanese expert at WHO, and "Science of Science" at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. "Authority R.M. Williams, Moscow Institute of Technology cybernetics expert Arkady Brechev, Swedish mathematician Aue Lendl.They did not disturb the Chinese authorities this time, and came to China quietly with tourist passports.But they are all world-class scientists, even if they are low-key, they still attracted the attention of the media.The media guessed that they came this time because the "Cross Organization" intended to make a collective appearance.On the day of the court session, they still came in quietly and sat silently in the back row, wearing a silver cross with the same pattern around their necks.Among them, Yoshiro Matsumoto joined the Cross Organization just a few days ago.There were two empty seats between them, reserved for Mr. Walter Dixon, Maine's adoptive father and their godfather.Mr. Dixon was supposed to come with them, but he had another heart attack on the day before he left, so he had to postpone the date of departure. American female scientist Susan stayed behind to accompany him when he recovered.

Wearing the sign of the cross at the same time as Yoshiyoshi Matsumoto was the Spanish journalist Las Casas, who was also sitting in the public gallery, with the cross shining between his necks.He is a hot-blooded person, and he immediately prostrated himself under her altar after interviewing Mei Yin last time.In his mind, this is a noble woman like the Virgin Mary who sacrificed her whole life for her beliefs.Although he didn't agree with her point of view, he admired her from the bottom of his heart.After he interviewed Mei Yin's adoptive father, he took another step forward, and he was sincerely convinced of the views advocated by Mei Yin's father and daughter.He did two things in the United States, one was to join the Cross Organization, and the other was to fulfill his promise to Maine and invite a Chinese-American lawyer, Mr. Du Chunming (Robert Du, a first-class lawyer) for her. , has dual qualifications as a lawyer in China and the United States, and is proficient in both Chinese and English, so it is more convenient to work in China).Before leaving the United States, Dixon, Attorney Du, Las Casas, and several other members of the Cross Organization held a long meeting together, and carefully determined the purpose and strategy of the defense in court: It is necessary to take the opportunity to publicly promote the views of the Cross Organization to the public, and to protect Maine from conviction intelligently.Lawyer Du has come up with a clever strategy, which is expected to be successful.

The two defendants and their defense lawyers walked into the court one after another and sat in the two defendant seats.Chinese law stipulates that even though the two defendants are in the same case, they must hire different lawyers, so Sun Jingshuan hired another young lawyer, Li Yan.Both Mei Yin and his wife were filial. Grandma Sun died of a cerebral hemorrhage and died two months ago.Before she sat down, Mei Yin exchanged greetings with another husband in the dock.After the couple entered the detention center, although they were close at hand (a partition wall), they hadn't seen each other for three months.There is no group release in the detention center, where each cell has half an open-air cell, and the release is conducted individually, mainly to prevent prisoners from colluding with each other before the trial.The husband's brows were furrowed with sorrow, his face was bleak.His dearest grandmother passed away, which was an extremely heavy blow to him.He is a very filial person, and he has been trapped in a deep sense of guilt—in fact, Mei Yin herself also feels very guilty, for Dr. Ma, Grandma Sun and Mei Xiaoxue.

Maine looked around the court and saw Mama Liu, Xue Yu, five foreigners with a cross on their necks, and Las Casas, smiling and nodding to them.There were two empty seats among the five foreigners, which she knew were reserved for her adoptive father.She tried to persuade her adoptive father not to come through Lawyer Du, but the adoptive father said, how could he not come, as long as his body allows, he will come immediately.She suddenly saw Zhao Yuzhou in the crowd, and was taken aback for a moment, wondering why this old gentleman appeared here.But she quickly understood Zhao Yuzhou's implicitly smug eyes, and knew that he came here to satisfy the righteous desire for revenge—and he must have come here at his own expense. Advertise it to others?She still smiled and nodded at him, but Mr. Zhao looked at him coldly and did not respond.

The clerk announced the court discipline, the three judges filed in, and the whole court stood up.The presiding judge Luo Chuan announced: "The case of Mei Yin and Sun Jingshuan suspected of spreading infectious disease virus is now in court." Prosecutor Tong Guangwu from the Nanyang People's Procuratorate read out the indictment.The Procuratorate attaches great importance to this case.Two months ago, a leader from Beijing came to Nanyang on purpose, and gathered the three schools of public security, procuratorate and law for an informal discussion.The leader said that he did not want to affect the independence of the judiciary. In fact, he came this time to emphasize this point.In this smallpox incident, although the Chinese government is completely innocent and has implemented very transparent reports, some foreign media insisted that this Chinese-American surnamed Mei is a secret employee of the Chinese government and a researcher of China. Lead scientist in the development of biological warfare agents.This leader said:

"Thieves bite into the bone three points. In view of the extreme secrecy of biological warfare, it is difficult to obtain evidence, so if this matter is not done well, it will muddle up a pool of clear water, and finally make it 'no evidence' but 'there is a reason' Make it like Israel's nuclear weapons. Everyone thinks it has nuclear bombs, but they can't grasp the truth. If we come up with such an unclear result, it will be our failure and the victory of the anti-China forces! The leader said very solemnly, "Here I can tell everyone responsibly that China has indeed not developed biological warfare agents. The smuggling of smallpox virus from Russia by Maine is purely a personal act and has nothing to do with the government. The trial of Maine will definitely Be serious, pursue it to the end, and reveal the real secret to the world!"

This leader who "does not want to affect the independence of the judiciary" actually issued a death order to the procuratorate that "only win but not lose"-the severe punishment of Maine must be implemented to demonstrate China's innocence.There was a lot of pressure in Tong Guangwu's heart.This incident is said to have a clear sequence, and the evidence that "Tianli Company's laboratory secretly preserves the smallpox virus" is solid and beyond doubt; the trouble is that the first half of the case, that is, Maine's crime of smuggling the smallpox virus from Russia, has no solid evidence. evidence of.Maine had publicly admitted at the last press conference, but that was useless, she could completely retract the confession.Besides—Maine's defense lawyer is not easy to deal with. Lawyer Du has represented several major cases with international influence before, and none of them failed.Lawyer Du is especially good at cases related to high technology, because according to his private statement, the law is a rigid chitin shell, and science is expanding every moment, and it is destined to burst a hole in the shell of law. It can be used to get out of the golden cicada's shell, it just depends on whether the lawyer has the ability to find these gaps.

Attorney Du once handled a property case in Australia, which is a typical example of "technology ahead of law".A wealthy couple with no fertility used sperm and eggs donated by the society to mate in test tubes and found a surrogate mother.But before the child was born, the wealthy couple died in a plane crash, and they did not have time to go through the adoption procedures.The child has no blood relationship with the wealthy couple, and the current law does not recognize the right of inheritance of the posthumous child.It was a difficult case, but Robert Du, who had great powers, won it anyway, and won huge assets for the poor son (of course, the actual beneficiary was the poor surrogate mother).As for the remuneration received by lawyers, it is naturally astronomical.

Du Chunming is tall and tall, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, gentle and gentle, always with a gentle smile on his face.But when his eyes hidden behind the spectacle lenses occasionally flash, they will reveal very sharp eyes, which can see through people's internal organs.He looked around the courtroom, and after meeting the prosecutor's gaze, he nodded and smiled in a friendly manner. Tong Guangwu also smiled at him, thinking in his heart: Let's see how you turn the clouds and rain this time. He concluded from reading the indictment: "This court believes that the defendant Mei Yin's behavior violated the provisions of Article 331 of the "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China", and should be investigated for criminal responsibility for the crime of spreading infectious disease viruses and bacteria. Defendant Sun Jingshuan, whose Acts that violate the provisions of Article 397 of the "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China" shall be investigated for criminal responsibility for the crime of dereliction of duty. According to the provisions of Article 136 of the "Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China", special The two defendants filed a public prosecution, please judge according to law." Xue Yu, who was in the auditorium, felt more and more tense.He has read the criminal law in detail these days, and according to the indictment, the charges against Maine are roughly ten years in prison, or even life imprisonment or death.It seems that the procuratorate is determined to seek a heavier sentence to show that she has no secret relationship with the Chinese government.As for Sun Jingshuan, he was obviously lenient. In the future, at most, he would be given a sentence with a reprieve. The following is the presiding judge's questioning of the accused.Maine's statement is very simple: "The public prosecutor accused me of illegally transporting the smallpox virus from abroad, and I plead not guilty." There was a slight commotion below.Three months ago, in front of many Chinese and foreign journalists, Maine had personally admitted that she had obtained smallpox samples from the Vicket Research Center in Russia, but now she completely overturned her past confession.The stubble was too steep, and it foreshadowed the turbulent nature of the trial.Let's see the prosecutor and the defendant show their talents. Another defendant, Sun Jingshuan, readily admitted his crime of dereliction of duty.The forensic investigation begins below.The public prosecutor first provided the judge with identification reports provided by the WHO in Geneva, the US CDC and the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.The specific content was not announced because it was too professional, and only the conclusions of the three institutions were read out: "The laboratory sample provided is smallpox virus, including three strains in West Asia, Africa and Europe. It is highly consistent with the virus extracted from smallpox patients in the Nanyang epidemic area of ​​China." The presiding judge questioned whether the defendant had any doubts about the evidence, and Attorney Du smiled slightly: "These three are the most authoritative institutions in the world for virus identification. Of course, we will not doubt it. However, while acknowledging the three identification reports, we will make additional explanations at an appropriate time. Please continue now." The second piece of evidence presented by the public prosecutor is the testimony provided by the police department of the city of Krassono in Novosibirsk, Russia.The testimonies were cautious, only listing some facts without drawing clear conclusions.The testimony stated that Ms. Maine, a Chinese American, entered Russia via Kazakhstan from September 20 to September 25, 1997, and stayed in Krassono for three days. Stepushkin had close contact.The police extracted multiple fingerprints of Mayne in Si's home, found long black hair on the bed and conducted a DNA test (the public prosecutor added that it has been compared with Mayne's DNA, which is highly consistent).Stepushkin committed suicide the day after she left. Although the last two items are not stated clearly, they are self-evidently proving that Maine had a sexual relationship with Si.The onlookers became agitated, and all focused their attention on Mei Yin's husband, especially the Chinese audience. Chinese people reacted more strongly to matters between men and women, not to mention that the husband of the person involved was also on the spot!But Sun Jingshuan and Mei Yin were very calm.Attorney Du said gently: "My client does not deny that she had a Russian lover, in a sense, her first husband. She did meet him in Russia in 1997. Remember, however, that this testimony does not Does not include handover of the virus." Below is the court testimony.The first witness called was Zhang Jun, a trader on the Sino-Russian border. "May I ask your name and occupation." "My name is Zhang Jun, from Harbin, and I am the general manager of Urumqi Ancheng Border Trade Group Company." Staff routinely check witness ID cards. In the past 15 years, Zhang Jun has gained weight and his business is doing very well, but he still does not change his boldness from the Northeast.He stared at Maine on the dock and looked up and down, feeling itchy in his heart.Such a beautiful and friendly woman, how can she be a poisonous snake.She actually lied to herself to carry the virus to China for her, what kind of wolf is she?Want to kill a million people in China?Little Japan's Unit 731 has done such unconscionable things, but that is Japanese fascism, she is of Chinese descent!Really wearing a piece of human skin for nothing, look, she still has the face to greet herself with a smile at this moment!He glanced at Maine and said to the presiding judge: "On September 26, 1997, this Mei Yin asked me to take a small box with me to transit through the Alashankou port in Xinjiang. According to her, it was the cold semen of sweaty horses from Turkmenistan. We all believed it. , thinking that it would be a great thing for the bloody horse to return to China, so I smuggled her and confiscated a penny of her favor fee. If you know that there is smallpox virus in the box, it can kill thousands of people, say I won't help her with anything! Wicked things that smoke!" Attorney Du immediately said: "Objection! You can only prove that you helped her carry a box across the border, but you cannot assert that it contained smallpox virus. You will mislead the court by saying this." The presiding judge accepted his objection: "Witness Zhang Jun, please only tell what you know." The public prosecutor then asked: "Ask the witness to describe the shape of the box." "The box is not big, not much bigger than a fist. The outer shell is made of stainless steel. Maine said at the time that it was a refrigerator box with liquid nitrogen inside. When I took it, I felt the box was cold." "Did the defendant actually say it was a cooler box?" "Yes, I'm sure I remember correctly." "Okay, I'm fine." The presiding judge asked, "Do you have any questions about the defendant and the defender?" Attorney Du smiled and said, "No. Like the prosecutor, I believe that it is a cold box. Since the cold box is specially used, it must be used to contain some kind of biological products, such as viruses, germs, cold-prepared semen, or other things." He focused on the last four words. The witness summoned next was an auxiliary staff member of the laboratory of Tianli Company. She was a woman in her 40s or 50s. She looked like a blue-collar worker with a low education level.Facing the courtroom, she seemed embarrassed and didn't dare to raise her head. Sometimes she glanced at the defendant, and then lowered her gaze immediately, as if she felt guilty for testifying today.Obviously, she used to be in awe of Maine, even today she still can't get rid of the old inertia. "Name and occupation." "My name is Hu Cuihua, and I work as a handyman in the boss's laboratory of Tianli Company." She explained, "That laboratory is only used by Mr. Mei and Mr. Sun, and we call it the boss's laboratory in private." "How many handymen are there?" "Five." "What do you do on a day-to-day basis in the lab?" "All we do is physical work, carrying, cleaning, and moving animal cells here from other workshops, usually in barrels, to be added to the bioreactor." "Have you ever seen the finished product of a bioreactor?" "No. Those things were done by Dr. Mei himself, and Mr. Sun did it when Director Mei was away." "Do you know what's in the bioreactor and the liquid nitrogen freezer?" Hu Cuihua looked at Maine timidly, and said reluctantly: "I don't know. It wasn't until smallpox was found in the orphanage that the police came to the laboratory to take samples, and I heard that it was smallpox virus. Others said it was very dangerous. If you get it, you will die." .” There was another commotion in the gallery.Maine put the two ignorant workers in such a dangerous place and kept hiding the truth about the virus from them, it was too cruel.The prosecutor said with satisfaction: "Okay, I'm fine." Lawyer Du cleverly sensed the emotions (dissatisfaction, even disgust) below, but the strange thing is that instead of avoiding it, he intentionally blacked it out.he asks: "Excuse me, has Dr. Maine taken any protective measures for you? Such as protective clothing, sealing masks, and disinfection of entering and leaving the laboratory?" "No, nothing. We are all surprised. Others get sick when they touch it. I stayed in it for five days without even wearing a mask. Why didn't I get sick?" "Dr. Mei, and Mr. Sun who goes occasionally, are you wearing protective clothing?" Hu Cuihua said honestly: "No, they have never worn them either. When people say bad things about Director Mei, I use this to defend her. I said that Director Mei has been in the laboratory longer than us. The workers After get off work, she always stays up late in there alone. Isn't she afraid of infection?" "Okay, I'm fine." The court calls the next witness. "Name and occupation." "My name is Xue Yu, a staff member of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and a doctoral student of the defendant Mei Yin." "Before the outbreak, the defendant told you that there was a mutated whitepox virus in this laboratory that might cause disease, right?" "right." "Before the outbreak, the defendant took you to visit the laboratory?" "Yes. She wanted to persuade me to work here and take over the research, but I didn't immediately agree." "Can you tell the court why you didn't agree?" "This research is not unnecessary, but artificially inducing the virus to produce pathogenicity is quite dangerous. It should undergo a full and public safety demonstration and should not be a private research. Of course, I later learned that Teacher Maine was not Did not tell me the truth. The possibly pathogenic virus she mentioned is not mutated white pox, but smallpox." "Did she open the liquid nitrogen freezer or bioreactor that day?" Xue Yu hesitated for a while and replied: "I stayed in the laboratory for a short time that day, so I don't have a deep impression. It seems that she opened it." "I have no problem." When the presiding judge asked the defendant, lawyer Du said simply, "No problem." The court cross-examination continued for a while, and the context of the case was quite clear.Both parties make court arguments and concluding statements.The prosecutor said: "The defendant kept the most dangerous level 4 virus secretly in an open laboratory, and the leak was caused by poor management, which led to the outbreak. The evidence for these crimes is convincing. As for the criminal facts of the defendant's illegal transportation of smallpox virus from Russia, due to The witness Stepushkin died 15 years ago, so no conclusive testimony can be obtained. But we believe that the testimonies of Russian Krassono police, Zhang Jun, Hu Cuihua and others, including the fact that smallpox virus does exist in the laboratory, have constituted a With a clear and complete chain of evidence, reasonable inferences can be made about the criminal facts of smuggling smallpox into the country." He is very satisfied with the progress of the trial. The public prosecution statement is clear and powerful, which has formed a deep impression on the three judges and the audience.He looked at Attorney Du. So far, the defendant's lawyer has been on the defensive, but he has always acted calmly and confidently.The trial has come to a critical moment, what amazing tricks can he use? When it was the defendant's turn to make a concluding statement, there was a slight commotion in the auditorium.An elderly white man was staggering into the courtroom supported by a middle-aged white woman.He has silver hair, a fluttering white beard, a dry face, bright eyes, and a cross on his neck, like a fasting and ascetic prophet depicted in a religious painting.Five foreign spectators with the same cross saw them, and hurriedly left the seat to greet them, and put them in the empty seats in the middle.When Maine in the dock saw her adoptive father coming sick, her eyes were moist.She was worried about the body of her adoptive father, and asked with her eyes from a distance.The old man waved to her and nodded again, signaling her to rest assured. The auditorium was quiet, but in the feeling of the crowd, an invisible change had already appeared in the venue, but everyone could feel it.Dixon's arrival attracted the attention of many journalists and others, forming a vortex of vision around him, an invisible magnetic force field, and a black hole with a powerful mass.This invisible center seems to be able to influence the mentality of others in the dark and change the direction of the trial. The prosecutor watched him warily.Old Dixon came here in a hurry after getting better, but in the eyes of the prosecutor, he deliberately chose to enter the courtroom at the most critical moment, because after he came in, Lawyer Du's demeanor was different. , his eyes were piercing, and he started the defendant's counterattack.Attorney Du said: "My client has no major objections to the context of the incident as stated by the prosecutor, except for one crucial point - the refrigerated container she brought into the country from Russia was not filled with smallpox virus. As for what it is, I will now clarify Explanation." Not smallpox?The audience had already accepted this fact psychologically before, and now they pricked up their ears to listen to him.Lawyer Du said unhurriedly: "In order to explain the facts, I would like to introduce Maine's adoptive father, Mr. Dixon from the United States, and the cross organization he founded. My client has already publicly stated that she was sent to Russia by her adoptive father. I am very sorry It’s strange why the prosecution has been turning a deaf ear to her report? It’s right to punish the executors of the crime, but we can’t let the instigator behind the scenes get away with it, even if that person is not of Chinese nationality. I’m here to help the court do this right now Work, for me, is part of my job." He said with a smile, there was muffled laughter in the auditorium, and the prosecutors and judges felt embarrassed, and they didn't want to cause trouble, so they kept avoiding the crime of this American. But such obvious leniency does not make sense in legal terms. "Now, please allow the court to allow me to take two minutes to introduce some beliefs of the Cross Organization, because these views will have a lot to do with the facts I am about to state." The presiding judge said: "Please only tell what is relevant to the case." "Okay. I'll pay attention. The Cross is a loose group of like-minded scientists, and nine members are here today. They agree on the following points." He read from a piece of paper: "All creatures in the earth's biosphere are legal members of the biosphere and have the right to continue to live. We cannot arbitrarily sentence a species to death based on human likes and dislikes, no matter whether it is a pest, a parasite or a pathogen; human beings are using science to While using this sharp tool to change nature, we should also maintain awe of nature. We should try our best to maintain the original balance of nature, and don't interfere too roughly, because human beings are often obsessed with short-term interests and sell their eldest son cheaply with a bowl of red bean soup Inheritance; scientific visionaries can no longer be silent or just talk, but should take practical actions to stop the rape of nature by human beings. "Specifically regarding the subject of the smallpox virus, they believe that the current decision to wipe out the smallpox virus is questionable. Although it has saved mankind from the ravages of smallpox for thousands of years, this is of course a huge progress; but it has created a very dangerous smallpox vacuum , this vacuum can be easily broken at a very small cost, thus putting mankind under the threat of the sword of Damocles forever, as evidenced by the previous terrorist attacks in the United States. Moreover, smallpox itself is also beneficial, for example, it may have an inhibitory effect on AIDS role. The best way is to properly reduce the toxicity of smallpox and allow it to continue to exist in nature.” He proselytically read out these points, returning to his playful and cursing style: "Let's stop here for the proclamation of the views, and turn to the criminal facts that the judges are concerned about. It is precisely because the Cross Organization has the above views, or it is also a belief. One of the Russian members, an excellent virologist, Stein Bushkin took advantage of his work to artificially induce smallpox virus at the Wickett Center and cultivate attenuated smallpox. Later, Maine was appointed by his adoptive father to take over his work and carry out further attenuated cultivation. Yes, My client later accidentally caused the leakage of attenuated smallpox, but have you ever thought about why the epidemic caused by it is so mild? Why is the laboratory staff not infected after long-term contact? There is only one reason, my client was smuggled into the country and The thing for long-term preservation and research is not the smallpox virus, but—" he announced word by word, "the live attenuated smallpox vaccine!" The venue suddenly became very quiet.People are struggling to digest his new claim.The public prosecutor and Guang Wuxiang had a sap, thinking that this lawsuit might lose, and the goal of "severely punishing Mei Yin" would not be achieved.Looking at the events before and after, the work that Maine has secretly carried out for more than ten years should indeed be attenuated cultivation.This time, what she unintentionally leaked was most likely not the virulent smallpox, but the live attenuated vaccine.Tong Guangwu is not a medical expert, and he doesn't know whether the two can be distinguished in terms of cell structure. I'm afraid there is no clear dividing line.But the name is different, and the punishment for Maine is very different.Unwilling to admit defeat, he retorted: "The defendant's lawyer seems to have forgotten the identification reports provided by the three authoritative organizations? The defendant has no doubts about the above conclusions." Lawyer Du said calmly: "I still have no doubts - the live attenuated smallpox vaccine still belongs to the smallpox virus in a broad sense, not white pox or chickenpox. There are subtle differences in the cell structure between the live vaccine and the original virus. But the main difference is pathogenicity. When you provide samples for identification, you ask to distinguish whether it is smallpox or white pox. The three institutions have given the correct conclusion. But if you ask to distinguish whether it is smallpox or attenuated smallpox, they must do it Additional identification. I would like to inform the court that we have applied for a second identification, and the results may be available in two days." He explained, "The virus and the live vaccine it becomes after attenuation are distinguishable in DNA structure , can be sequenced after amplification by PCR, that is, polymerase chain reaction. At the level of proteins that produce toxicity, antibody experiments can be used to distinguish them, usually western blot experiments. In addition, enzyme activity tests on proteins, or the production of Do X-ray diffraction experiments after forming crystals, it’s fine.” Seeing that the public prosecutor hadn't woken up from the sap, he said in a leisurely manner, "I might as well try to explain the common sense of live vaccines. As early as 1885, Pasteur used the method of long-term drying to treat rabies. In addition, the BCG widely used in the world today is an attenuated live vaccine for tuberculosis, and the polio sugar pills taken by children are also live vaccines. There are three types in total. Subtype. In the past, live vaccines were not used in the treatment of smallpox, which was due to a coincidence in nature—the structure of vaccinia virus and smallpox is similar, which neither causes disease in humans nor can stimulate immunity to smallpox, so live vaccines for smallpox The research on it was basically ignored. But Stebushkin and Maine took a different approach in this regard and succeeded in researching a live smallpox vaccine. There are also three subtypes, including the West Asian type, African type and European type of smallpox." The public prosecutor sneered, "But the live vaccine you mentioned caused a thousand people to be infected with smallpox, one person died, and several people were disfigured." Lawyer Du said calmly: "Actually, far more than 1,000 people have been infected. My client estimates that there are more than 100,000 people, but most of them have mild symptoms and are not included in the statistics—but they have quietly obtained smallpox immunity. Power. Do you think that there are no victims of vaccinia? I can give you a statistical data. During the period of vaccination in the United States, 75,000 people died of vaccination every year in the United States, and there were about one in hundreds of thousands of vaccinators. Serious complications such as gangrene, allergic purpura, and post-acne encephalitis will occur. There is no way, God has such ulterior motives. If a vaccine can stimulate immunity, it must be quite toxic. This is an inextricable knot .My client’s research on this live attenuated smallpox vaccine has not been finalized, and the virulence is still slightly stronger, causing one death and several cases of disfigurement. My client feels deeply guilty about this. But I also want to give another Data: Even according to official statistics, this leak provided lifelong immunity to at least a thousand people. The mortality rate of smallpox was as high as 80%. Although the epidemic in the United States has the most perfect medical methods in the world, it also has 143 dead and tens of thousands disfigured. You can count how many potential deaths my client averted." The prosecutor was a little overwhelmed.It seems that the defendant has indeed attenuated the smallpox virus. Whether these attenuated viruses are smallpox or a live vaccine is just a matter of semantics. There is no strict boundary, and it may be difficult to make a strict definition.But as long as there is such a gap, that dude surnamed Du is enough to muddy the water, let the defendant get rid of the main crime, and at most there will be a little dereliction of duty.As for whether smallpox had been attenuated when it was smuggled into Russia, only God knows.According to rational analysis, the bacteria in the refrigerator should be smallpox in its original state.But Stepushkin has been dead for 15 years, and there is no evidence of his death. A thousand pairs of eyes in the courtroom were watching the prosecutor, and he had no time to think carefully in his haste, and said: "Defendant's lawyer argues that what the defendant smuggled in from Russia was not smallpox, but a live attenuated vaccine. Please provide conclusive evidence." Lawyer Du smiled knowingly, feeling that he had already won the victory—the public prosecutor had already acquiesced that the vaccine in the laboratory was a live vaccine, and now he shifted the blame to "smallpox at the time of transit".Lawyer Du smiled easily: "Ah, I don't know. Whether it's smallpox in that freezer, a live vaccine, or the sperm from the Russian lover—maybe my client wants to artificially inseminate him—I'm not sure at all. Since the public prosecutor accused my client of the criminal act of 'illegal transportation of infectious disease pathogens', please ask the public prosecutor to provide evidence." The public prosecutor blushed, knowing that he had made a big mistake in his panic—the burden of proof really should belong to the prosecution.But this proof is difficult.The evidence on smallpox smuggling is inherently weak, and the chain of evidence was formed by working backwards from "there was smallpox in the laboratory".Now, once the evidence in the laboratory collapses, the chain of evidence also breaks.He discussed nervously with his assistant, unable to answer for a while. Jin Mingcheng in the auditorium couldn't help shaking his head secretly when he heard this.He has been following the trial of the Maine case, but as the deputy mayor, he doesn't want to be too ostentatious, so he came in quietly after the trial started and sat in the back row.At this moment, he was secretly annoyed, why did the procuratorate send such an unchangeable guy to the battle.The higher authorities want to "severely punish Mei Yin", firstly to annoy her for being too reckless, because her private actions almost put the country into it; secondly, they want to use this to show China's innocence to the world, not necessarily to make things difficult for Mei Yin herself.Now, if the fact of "stealing smallpox from Russia" can be fundamentally denied, the public prosecutor can just rub the rope with his legs, achieve the original goal, and let Maine go. Why not do it.毕竟梅茵从私德上讲是个难得的好人，不，是圣人。不管她的观点是否有偏激怪诞之处，但她有宗教般的虔诚，为了信念而搭上了自己的一生，这种人在今天的世上已经极少见了。 公诉人还没有想出说辞来反辩，金明诚替他们尴尬，便转过脸，打量着听众席上的人。最惹眼的当然是一溜坐着的七个外国人，尤其是中间那个老人，面貌枯稿，嵴背挺直，银发银须，像一个宗教先知。七个人一直默不作声，之间也不交谈，但仅仅他们的存在就是一种无形的威势。金明诚与梅茵交往多年，非常清楚梅茵对义父的敬重，甚至是敬仰，这让老狄克森在他心里有一种神秘感。他从没见过老人的照片，今天这个人才从神秘中走出来了。 被告席上的梅茵其实没怎么注意法庭辩论，一直远远地注视着义父。义父笔挺地坐在后排，有如雕像，让她回想起34年前。那年她15岁，义父53岁。义父领自己到非洲旅游，正好赶上扎伊尔的埃博拉疫情。处理完疫情的一天，义父就这样笔挺地坐在非洲的荒野上，整整思考了一夜。这一夜相当于释迦在菩提树下的49天，释迦就是在这49天中夜睹明星，开悟成佛，从那之后，义父就创建了十字组织，而梅茵是早期成员之一。这些年，她燃尽了自己的青春、精力、金钱甚至爱情，一直在悄悄推行着义父的信仰——杜律师刚才的宣讲其实尚未接触到这种信仰的核心——她对此从不后悔。 金明诚也注意到那对父女之间无声的交流。交流持续了很长时间，忽然梅茵的神情有些变化，悄声同律师说了两句，律师迅速向下边瞥了一眼，匆匆写了个纸条交给审判长。审判长也匆匆向台下瞥一眼，唤来一名法警，附耳低言几句。法警匆匆走到旁听席的后排，对七个外国人中坐在外边的那位说了两句。那个外国人非常震惊地跳起来，向坐在中间的狄克森俯身过去，喊他，用手推他，狄克森一动也不动。六个人都慌了，用英语说： “快，救护车！” 陪老人来的苏珊摸了摸老人的手，试试鼻息，又翻开眼皮看看他的瞳孔，摇摇头说： “没用了。” 金明诚的英语不行，听不懂他们的交谈，但这种场合其实用不着语言。狄克森先生已经过世了，坐化了。从他身体的僵硬看，他去世肯定已经有相当的时间，但他一直保持着笔直的坐姿，所以连近在身边的同伴都没有觉察。远处的梅茵是如何觉察的？她同义父之间有心灵感应吗？ 梅茵看到那边的忙乱，知道自己的担心已经应验了。她想过来，询问地看看审判长。审判长犹豫片刻，侧身同两个审判员商量一下，站起来宣布： “因法庭中出现意外情况，今天的审理中止，现在休庭。” 他向被告点点头：“你可以去了。”梅茵和律师匆匆走下被告席，向旁听席走去。这时，大部分旁听者才知道发生了什么事，法庭内乱了，法警们努力维持秩序，敦促和引导旁听者包括记者们尽快离去。被赶走的人们不时扭过身，踮着脚往这边看，有记者把像机高高举过头顶，对着这边抢拍。 现在大厅里只剩下十几个人，除了六个外国人外，还有梅茵夫妇及律师、两人身后紧紧跟随的两名法警、金市长、拉斯卡萨斯和薛愈。老狄克森仍端坐在那儿，表情安详，眼睛也没完全闭上，似乎是半眯着眼在看世界。身体还没完全僵硬，但手足已经冰凉了。梅茵伤感地看着义父的遗容，眼眶红红的，但努力忍着，没有让泪水流下来。孙景栓走近，把妻子搂在怀里。身后的法警想干涉，犹豫一下，最后没有动。 救护车和殡仪车同时到了，两拨人都拉着担架车跑过来。他们看到这个架势，不知道该如何办，询问地看着病人（死者）的家属。梅茵叹息一声，说： “送火葬场吧。”回身对六名外国人说，“有劳你们操办他的后事，骨灰随便洒在什么地方都行，我父亲心中没有国籍、地域的概念。小金，也有劳你了。” 金明诚简短地说：“交给我好了。等葬礼时你们两位也参加，看守所那边我去交涉。” "thanks." 她看了看薛愈，但没有说话。薛愈知道她是想催问寻找小雪的事，自那天小雪突然失踪，至今已经三个月。他尽力找了，还让警方发了通告，但没有一点线索。他知道这是梅老师最挂心的事，内疚地说： “梅老师，寻找小雪的事我仍在尽力办，无论如何我要找到她，你放心吧。” "thanks." 老狄克森被平放到担架上，小心地送进殡仪车，后车门咣地关上，把他同人世永远隔开。白色的殡仪车开走了。梅茵同其它人告别，上了警车。 看守所对梅茵夫妇很优待，两人都住着单人囚室。不过，虽说是单人间，但屋中设备同集体囚房是一样的，屋里只有一张大通铺，能睡十七八个人，用角钢焊成，木板嵌死在上面（防止犯人用来做武器）。屋里除了大床就只有一人宽的通道，集体囚室中，犯人们如果不睡觉，就整整齐齐蹲在这个通道里。天花板很高，吊着一只昏暗的灯泡，像一个眼神混浊的独眼老人，晚上一直默默地盯着你。住室外面连着半间露天房，是对犯人放风用的，上方焊着结实的钢筋网，墙角处有个水池、水龙头和便盆，是犯人洗脸和小便的地方。其它则一无所有，没有桌子、椅子、台灯等任何东西。 这儿条件虽然简陋，梅茵倒不在乎。她从小就习惯了吃苦，即使跟义父到美国后也是如此，义父作为流行病专家，经常去世界上最贫穷的地方，在那些地方，能有这样一张大通铺已经是奢侈了。义父想培养女儿也当病毒学家，所以一直用艰苦磨砺她。 看守所对她的优待还有一条：住室和放风室之间的二道门不锁闭，可以随意出入。这天晚上她辗转反侧睡不着觉，就披上衣服来到露天室，盘腿坐在冰凉的水泥地上，仰望着钢筋网之外的星空。记得那次在非洲，义父“悟道”的那天，他也是这样，盘膝坐在帐篷外面，透过稀疏的金合欢树的叶子，久久仰望非洲深邃的天穹。他曾笑着说：坐在非洲的天空下，感觉离上帝更近。 当然他说的上帝不是耶和华，而是大自然。的确，处在灯火辉煌、车水马龙的美国，和处在天地洪荒的非洲，心灵上的感受大不一样。前者让你感受到科技的威力，觉得科技已经充斥天地间，把大自然变成百依百顺的妾奴；后者让你想到，人类不过是地球舞台上登台才数百万年的晚到者，甚至只是一个匆匆的过客，人类在地球上扮演主角的时间能否像其它低等物种（比如繁盛上亿年的恐龙）那样长久，还很难说呢。 真的很难说，如果人类仍像现在这样狂妄强横、不知敬畏自然的话。 去非洲那年她15岁，对义父的好些话并没有很深的感悟。感悟随年龄而加深，也许直到义父在她面前坐化这一刻，她的感悟才到了火中涅磐的地步。依今天法庭辩论的情况，她很可能脱罪。但她现在的想法有变化——不，她不想拖延下去了，她要借此机会把义父的主张和盘托出，把它合法化，变成社会意识的主流。至于那是否会加重自己的刑期，真的不是她关心的事。 似乎听到隔墙囚室里有脚步声，那是丈夫的囚室，莫非今晚他也失眠了？三个月来两人虽然隔墙而居，却如远隔银汉，半点儿消息也不能互通。她走到墙边，想叩击墙壁引起丈夫的注意，但看看屋角的监视镜头，微微一笑，打消了这个鲁莽的主意。看守所对她已经很优待了，她不能滥用这种优待。景栓爱她极深，但两人的婚姻能否维持下去也是疑问。要推行义父（教父）的主张，首先得把心淬硬，因为你必然得面对那“不可豁免的痛苦和死亡”，包括马医生的不幸、小雪的毁容、甚至包括孙奶奶和义父的死。但孙景栓心太软，尤其是奶奶的死几乎把他压垮了，近来他一直陷于深重的负罪感中。她不忍丈夫这样受煎熬。 那就劝他走吧，离开自己，卸下这副担子。 门上的监视孔被打开，是晚上的例行查房。女看守发现她独坐在露天室里，知道她才失去亲人，肯定很悲伤，就柔声劝道： “这么晚了，还是休息吧。请节哀顺变。” 她平静地说：“谢谢，我这就回去睡。” 她回到那张大通铺上，仍睡不着，思绪转到小雪身上。小雪这会儿在哪儿？梅茵自己也是在孤儿院长大的，十岁时义父才把她接走，接到美国，在一个孤儿面前展开了一个全新的世界。所以她非常理解小雪对家庭、父母的渴望心情。现在她的愿望突然破灭，容貌又被毁，这些打击太大了，梅茵很担心她能否抗过去。 但愿薛愈很快找到她，但愿吧。 梅茵十岁那年，义父在中国终于办妥繁琐的手续，把孤儿梅茵带到了美国，在她面前展开了一个全新的五彩斑斓的世界。十五岁那年，义父带她到非洲旅游，在她面前又展开了另一个新世界，蛮荒、美丽、入骨的贫穷、惨烈的疫情、强悍的生命洪流这一切最终汇成她在人生观上的升华。 1979年暑假，义父带她到非洲塞伦盖蒂国家公园去看野生动物，没想到先碰上一场疫情。两人乘飞机到肯尼亚内罗毕的威尔逊机场，一走出通道口，就有一个四十岁的官员迎过来： “你是亚特兰大CDC的狄克森博士吗？我是美国驻肯尼亚大使馆的史密斯。” 义父笑着说：“对，我是狄克森。我来这儿是一次私人性质的旅游，可没奢望受到大使馆的欢迎。” 史密斯苦笑道：“恐怕你的旅游要延期了。CDC有一封电报，委托我务必尽快转给你。” 电报上说苏丹南部的延比奥地区又发现了疫情，非常致命，那个地区已经“毁灭”了。美国CDC 和日内瓦的WHO马上会派人去，但知道狄克森博士此刻正好已经在非洲，请他先去那儿取得病毒样本。所需设备没有问题，两年前非洲第一次爆发埃博拉，狄克森也参加了医疗组，那次任务完成后设备没有带走，像针、注射器、玻片、抽样瓶、手摇离心机等，都存在附近一所比利时教会中，甚至在教会的冰箱中（那是一台以煤油作能源的冰箱，非洲的电力供应太不可靠）还存有一些埃博拉痊愈者的康复血浆。那时医疗组估计可能还会用上的，他们不幸而言中了。狄克森手中没有去苏丹的签证，问题也不大。在非洲，疫区常常横跨几个国家，因为病毒的越境是不需要护照的。医疗组常常需要临时转赴另外的国家，签证往往来不及办，他们早就有了对付这种情况的办法，有时拿一张WHO的疫菌注射黄卡就能通过海关。狄克森看完电报稍稍沉吟一会儿，对于流行病学家来说，这个工作责无旁贷，他只是在想如何安置女儿。史密斯说： “你女儿可以留到大使馆，我负责照顾她。她是不是来看野生动物？我可以找人带她去，不会耽误她的行程。” 梅茵立即说：“爸爸，我跟你一块儿去疫区。” 狄克森还没有说话，史密斯大吃一惊：“到疫区去？黑头发的小姑娘，你大概不知道那是什么地方，那儿是地狱，连航空公司都很难往那儿发航班，因为没有驾驶员愿意去。” 梅茵没回答，看着义父。她来到美国五年，差不多已经变成了一个美国少女，不过有些中国印记是去不掉的。比如，美国的小孩可以直唿父母的名字，这点她就学不来。再比如，她忘不了中国的生身父母，虽然父母死时她才两岁多。生身父母是死于鼠疫，所以她立志要做一个像义父那样有名的流行病学家。狄克森知道她的志向，沉吟一会儿说： “好的，你随我去吧。”他对吃惊的史密斯说，“我女儿的志愿是当流行病学家，这对她是一次难得的实践机会，正好我也需要一个助手。安全问题你尽管放心，其实在专家眼里，所谓的四级病毒虽然可怕，并非不可预防。” 史密斯大大地摇头，努力劝了一会儿，劝不动，只好认可。史密斯为他们办妥了机票，他们待在候机室里等下一班飞往喀土穆的航班。史密斯问狄克森，这次可能是什么疫情，是拉沙热、绿猴病、黄热病、克里米亚刚果热，还是76年新发现的埃博拉？ 狄克森摇摇头：“这正是我要去干的事。不过听你刚才介绍的病情，似乎更像埃博拉。” 梅茵知道，史密斯说的几种病都是非常致命的，尤其是埃博拉，依靠空气和接触传染，在1976年扎伊尔的疫情中，死亡率高达90%。至今尚未研究出疫苗，没有任何治疗办法。史密斯困惑地问： “狄克森先生，你是专家，能否告诉我，病魔为什么特别钟爱非洲这块地方？凡是欧亚有的疫病，这儿基本都有，像麻风、天花、结核、狂犬病等。更有不少新病毒是这儿独有的，像拉沙热、、克里米亚刚果热、埃博拉、昏睡病等，都是一些特别凶残的病毒。新大陆的情况恰恰相反。发现美洲和澳洲时，土人传给移民者的病只有梅毒，是一种相对温和的病；而移民者带去的天花和流感，却对土人绝对致命，” 他举的例子都很正确，甚至少说了一条：更为凶残的艾滋病。艾滋病是1981年在美国发现的，已经确认它源于非洲。实际上，1976年在扎伊尔扬比库埃博拉疫区，医疗组保存了病愈者的600份血液样本，其中就有艾滋病毒，是在十年后复检时才检查出来的，狄克森差一点为此送命，不过此刻狄克森尚不知情。他的问题让狄克森思索了一会儿，说： “我不知道。我猜测，可能因为这儿是'旧大陆'吧。这儿是人类的发祥地，很可能也是病原体的发祥地。长期的进化使病原体变得多样化。” “这就不对了！我知道医学界有一种说法：病原体与人类的关系总体上是趋于温和化的。一方面人类会慢慢产生特异免疫力，另一方面从病原体本身来说，如果毒力过于烈性，让寄主与它们同归于尽，也没什么好处，所以在进化中，温和病原体更容易占优势。从欧亚美澳各洲天花和流感的历史变迁来看，这种说法没错。但为什么这个理论在非洲就行不通？你看，在非洲这个人类发源地，病毒反而更烈性。” 狄克森沉默了很久，老实承认：“我不知道。在这个问题上，专家知道的不比门外汉多。我考虑一下，看能不能给你个说得过去的答案。” 去喀土穆的乘客要进场了，史密斯最后劝了一次，说去疫区太危险，最好让梅茵留在大使馆里。梅茵只是笑着摇头，狄克森也说：“谢谢你的关心，不过还是让她去吧。”史密斯叹息一声，拍拍梅茵的肩膀： “好吧，祝你一种顺风，勇敢的小姑娘。我真佩服你的勇气。” 他们到了喀土穆，需要转乘飞机到恩扎拉。果然如史密斯所说，没有去那里的航班。狄克森在这方面已经有丰富的经验，找到美国驻苏丹大使馆，通过他们联系到一架警用飞机，专程把他们送过去。去坐飞机时，狄克森悄悄对梅茵说： “不要在驾驶员面前提疫区的事。” 梅茵看看义父，轻声问：“他们不知道是飞往疫区吗？” “听他们的口气，大概还不知道，至少不知道疫情那么厉害。如果他们知道，可能就——”他耸耸肩，没有说下去。 梅茵觉得这件事做得似乎不够地道——欺骗不知情的驾驶员前往疫区。但义父说话时表情很平静，他觉得为了挽救疫区的千万濒死者，即使不得不说几句谎话，上帝也会原谅的。着陆时已经是黄昏。恩扎拉机场只是一段凹凸不平的柏油路，机场大厅则是马口铁皮作屋顶的简陋棚子。驾驶员同机场人员交谈几句，马上知道了疫情的惨烈，脸色变得阴沉。但这架飞机没有自动导航，只能靠肉眼飞行，所以驾驶员们必须在这儿停留一夜，这让他们格外胆战心惊。狄克森倒是暗自庆幸，这样他就可以连夜提取血液样本，粗检之后在第二天让返程飞机把样品送到美国喀土穆大使馆，再转送到CDC作鉴定。在1979年，对埃博拉等病毒还没有更灵敏的检测手段，只能用间接免疫荧光检测验明特定的抗体，从培养的组织或细胞中分辨出某种病毒来需要时间和专业的设备。早完成一天，就可能挽救几百条人命。 驾驶员在当地的政府招待所住下，父女俩连夜赶往延比奥的医院。虽然梅茵在贫穷的中国长到十岁，但这儿入骨的贫穷仍让她瞠目。医院是一排泥土墙的茅屋，小煤油灯闪烁不定的灯光照耀着二十多个濒死的病人，都躺在泥土地面的草席上，身体僵硬，喉咙里唿噜唿噜地响着。这儿只有一个叫埃迪的医生，别的医护全部弃职逃命了。有些病人有家属陪着，更多是独自躺在草席上等死。狄克森已经看惯了疫情的惨烈，这次也感到震惊，非洲土人非常看重血缘关系，病人都能受到很好的照料，常常有一大群亲戚来医院照料病人，病人死亡后要按风俗清洗死者内脏和身体，全族人都为病人守灵，嚎啕大哭，用灰烬涂在脸上，一般要持续十几天。这种风俗常常造成疫病的大传播，过去，医疗组为了阻止亲戚们来医院，可没少费唇舌。像现在这样撂下病人孤零零地等死的情况是绝对没有的。看来，凶暴的疫病已经冲溃了非洲传统社会的基石。 埃迪是个好心场的医生，黑色卷发，爱喝棕榈酒，生性乐观，不拘小节，能说几句简单的英语。虽然这儿的局势几乎无望，他仍然劲头十足地在各个病房里巡行着。狄克森从他这儿找到了疫情的起因——疫情是几个吃黑猩猩肉的土人引发的，但正是这所医院才造成了疫情的大传播。这儿医疗条件很差，医护们不具备起码的知识，一个针头要用好多次。直到他们来后，埃迪仍在这样干。狄克森感慨地想，现代技术如果落在愚昧的人手里，反倒是疫病最得力的帮凶。就像十九世纪的欧洲，妇产医院成了产褥热的发源地。一位奥地利医生塞麦尔维斯发现并指出了这一点，结果反而遭到医疗界的群起攻击，丢掉工作，在激愤中精神失常。狄克森没时间埋怨埃迪，毕竟他是唯一自愿留在这个地狱里的医生。狄克森只是郑重告诫：以后千万不能这样干了！即使没有多余的针头，用过的针头在重新使用前也必须用煮沸法消毒。 他为梅茵穿上了白色塑料膜制成的防护服，戴上防毒面具。狄克森本人没穿，这种防护服太笨重，又不透风，在非洲的盛夏热得难以忍受，工作起来十分不便。虽然埃博拉十分可怕，但依多年经验看，只要戴好口罩，通过空气传染的几率很小，关键是防止针头刺伤等意外。不过为保险起见，他还是让女儿穿着防护服工作。 狄克森跪在地上检查病人，梅茵端着煤油灯为他照明，两眼圆圆地看着义父是如何工作。依病情看，很可能是埃博拉，是这种病在人类中的第二次爆发。狄克森一边检查，一边对梅茵讲如何临床诊断埃博拉。轻微出血是埃博拉的典型早期症状，但在黑皮肤的非洲人身上，又是在昏暗的煤油灯光下，想要找出皮肤出血形成的微小瘀斑非常困难。狄克森扒开病人的眼皮寻找眼白出血。或让病人张开嘴，在上腭寻找疹子，观察喉头是否肿胀发红。检查完二十一个病人后，他确认至少有七人患的是埃博拉，其余的为疑似。他让埃迪告诉病人家属，把这七个人集中到一个房间里隔离，然后对他们抽取血液。这些工作得赶快进行，因为抽血后还得把血清同红血球分离。这儿没有电，只能用手摇离心机，至少要摇上一个半小时才能把这些血液样品分离完。 埃迪已经连续值了五天班，初步检查完病人后，狄克森强迫他回家休息。现在要对病人抽取血样，狄克森操作，梅茵帮忙按着病人的胳膊，因为很多病人陷于昏迷，无法配合医生。先对七个确诊病人抽血，抽完已经是深夜两点。狄克森父女经历了二十多个小时的旅程，紧接着又是医院的操劳，乏得睁不开眼。狄克森让女儿先去休息，梅茵使劲摇摇头，赶走乏意，在面具后瓮声瓮气地说： “不，我帮你把血抽完，我不困。” 狄克森心疼地看看女儿，抽血时也确实需要一个助手，就点点头说：“好吧，抽完这几个样本你就去睡。” 现在要抽几个疑似病人的血。其中一个是老妇，皮肤松弛，瘦骨嶙峋。非洲人不大好判断年龄，她可能是60岁，也可能是75岁。她发着高烧，嘴里说着胡话。在她身上没有发现出血症状，但她是从确认有埃博拉的地区来的，狄克森高度怀疑她也是埃博拉患者。梅茵按着她的胳膊，狄克森把针头插进她的静脉，开始回抽。两人都没想到，她在这时突然翻身，力气大得异常。梅茵可能太疲乏了，没按住，针头滑了出来，剌穿了狄克森左手的手套。 狄克森立即脱下手套，在姆指甲根部发现一滴鲜血，肯定是他的血。这么说，带有埃博拉病毒的针头可能已经将病毒带到他体内。 <