**Video archive retrieval: Source:CNN, Date: 5/3/2027, Program: Science Week #1263**
Location: CNN studio in LA (pre-quake)
Participants- Interviewer: Anne Hendricks, Guest: Leon Holtz
Topic: Developments in Genetic Therapy

Anne: "In the past decade genetic therapy has demonstrated its ability to cure humanity's worst diseases... Parkinsons, Leukemia, Alzheimers, and many cancers.. Today we will talk with one of the scientists credited with the discoveries that made these developments possible... Dr. Leon Holtz, a leader in the field of bio-theraputics and named #12 on the Forbes list of the worlds most wealthy people.
Dr. Holtz, it is a pleasure to have you as our guest tonight...

Dr. Holtz: Its just Leo...Leo is fine...

Anne (Polite laugh) Ummm well, 'Leo', you have been called the 21st century Jonas Salk for the part you have played in curing some of the most feared diseases of mankind... (laugh) Do you let that go to your head?

Dr. Holtz: (smiles) No, Anne- Salk had a small group helping him... I had thousands helping me- all I can take credit for was hiring the right people and giving them the freedom to use their genius to do wonderful things, and the importance that luck plays cannot be overemphasized...

Anne: But you sold your first company, Genomax, just when it was starting to become an economic superpower... It is now worth an estimated 900 billion dollars- you sold it for just 50 billion... surely you have regrets Dr. Holtz...?

Dr Holtz: Regrets about being a billionaire? (Chuckle) No- no regrets...I now have the ability to work on what I want... I have no regrets, I am glad to see my creation prosper... I just wish it would take a longer view...

Anne: Well, Dr Holtz, what is the longer view? You have founded your own research organization and so far it has yet to show a dime of profit- in fact our sources say you have poured almost 10 billion into your pet project known as 'Genomic-dreams' over the past four years and as far as we can tell it has yet to come up with one patent - in fact there is no evidence that your new venture is producing anything at all....

Dr. Holtz: Well, I honestly believe the greatest things we could achieve have been missed because because we, and by 'we' I mean the entire industry, have been too concerned with near term profits- I wanted to form an organization of the best and let them work on big projects- That is costly at first, but I know for a fact that it will, no- it IS paying off.

Anne: You have a rather unusual idea of 'paying off', Dr Holtz- no patents, no profit, and absolute secrecy about your projects... Your competitors complain that you hire the best and the brightest in the field and they so far seem to have produced nothing.

Dr. Holtz: Well, it is a question of priorities- as for the 'secrecy', well we are taking many novel approaches in our research- we hope to have fully developed theraputics BEFORE we patent them...Besides, it is my money I am gambling...

Anne: There is a question about what your priorities reall are, you made quite a stir last year when you attacked the current practices of the company you created... I believe you called them "Parasites growing fat on the misery of others"- thats an odd view for a man that pocketed 50 billion dollars, isn't it?

Dr. Holtz: (stony smile) Let's just say my priorities changed. (uncomfortable silence)

Anne: Uhmmm ok, well about the secrecy- recently one of your former employees claimed that one of your divisions was doing research on an "immortality" vaccine-

Dr. Holtz: (Grim, almost menacing, chuckle) That is nonsense, there is never going to be an 'immortality vaccine'... I will not comment on Dr. Andrews' claims except to say he was only involved in plant genomics and developing disease and drought resistant crops- he was hardly in a position to know what was going on in the human theraputics division... We... **Stop video**

The Perfect Plague- Humanity Dodges the Bullet, This Time Science News, September, 2032

Day One: It is January 21st, 2031- A weary traveller disembarks in the Denver International airport, aching from a four hour flight from Beijing, or maybe Calcutta... he appears tired- he has a mild fever and muscle aches- maybe even an itchy rash... He doesnt look sick, but as he walks through the terminal he sheds hundreds of millions of viral particles every minute, a virus never before seen by humanity... or by humanity's immune system. These viral particles are hearty and live days outside of the host- the traveller maybe lingers in the airport for an hour or two. By the end of the day maybe 20,000 people are infected. Nearly every mammalian species is vulnerable to the virus and becomes a carrier.

The identity of the traveller is unknown, what is known is that he, or others in the advanced stages of what is now known as HICVP, travelled to several population centers in Europe and Asia within the next 24 hours. All told, within 24 hours many tens of thousands of people are infected across the globe. The Pandemic has started- humanity has lost the war before it even understands that a shot has been fired.

Ten days later family physicians in major population centers are swamped with calls from patients complaining of cold-like symptoms, for the most part it is assumed to be an unusually virulent cold- the only thing odd noticed is that some of the patients have a common list of complaints- swollen lymph nodes and a patchy rash. The International Pathogen Detection Network (IPDN) notices the pattern in the reports from across the globe and on day 12 issues an 'Unknown Epidemic' alert- It is FAR too late- those infected 12 days ago have each infected hundreds, or thousands more. It is estimated that the number of infected by day 12 was anywhere between 5- 30 million.

Scientists from the CDC and WHO work around the clock to understand the threat. It is clear that this virus is more contagious than any pathogen known to man... yet by day 17 it is clear it is not lethal, the only deaths that have occurred were people severely immuno-suppressed from other factors- %99.99 of the infected suffer no more than mild cold symptoms and a mild rash. Only one in 15,000 dies from the virus.

After a year more than %90 of humanity is infected, everyone infected appears to be a carrier of the disease. In another departure from convention, the virus seems to be equally virulent among all mammalian species. Health experts hail HICVP as a wake up call, a (relatively) harmless warning of things to come- if HICVP had the lethality of Ebola, human population would have been reduced to less than one billion in under a year. There would not be enough survivors left to bury the dead. As it was, even though essentially every single human on Earth was infected, only a few hundred thousand, mostly immuno-impaired, die from complications of the infection.
We dodged the bullet this time, but what about the next? Researchers and the public are demanding more funding for early detection of such pandemics, in this article we will look at the feasability of such a global project and the ways in which it may be implemented....
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In conclusion, this was a warning- how we learn from it is up to us.

**Search result: HICVP + GENOME + MODIFICATION**
"HICVP and its Effect on the Human Genome, Possible Carcinogenic Effects" Genomics, Vol. 22, Pg. 239 (2033)
Preliminary studies of HICVP indicate that it significantly modifies the human genome, infecting all cell types including, and especially, the reproductive germ cells. We present evidence that HICVP may have unknown longterm effects, and that infected cells have numerous changes to their DNA ...

Headline, NYT, Oct-7 2032 Genomic-Dreams offers ALS, cure for free
Cornell retracts claim of anti-aging serum, NYT January, 2033 Scientists retract claim of 'fountain of youth'
...Apparently many other labs, researching widely disparate subjects, have found abnormal life expectancy in their mice, Cornell retracts its claim that their genetic therapy for ovarian cancer also leads to a slowing of aging, some other common factor must be responsible. Possibly the new methods employed by Chimeron Labs for producing transgenic mice have unforseen consequences...

Headline, NYT, Feb-2, 2033 Genomic-Dreams offers broad spectrum cancer vaccine to all, free of charge in unheard of humanitarian move

**Video archive retrieval: Source:CBS, Date: 2/21/33, Program: Nightly News**
Good evening,
This Monday brought disturbing claims from some of the worlds health organizations that the HICVP pandemic may not have been a natural occurance. In a joint press conference researchers from MIT, CDC, Harvard, and several bio-tech companies laid out the evidence that the HICVP pandemic was most likely created in a lab for reasons unknown. Scientists presented evidence that HICVP is not related in any way to any naturally occuring virus known to man, and also pointed out that it bears resemblance to some of the theraputic viruses used in past experimental therapies.

(Cut to recording of press conference)

Dr. Bernard (CDC): "...one of the first things that attracted our attention was the protein shell of the virus, it is unlike any found in nature- in fact it most closely resembles the early 'stealth shells' created in the early days of viral genetic therapy."

Reporter: "Sorry, doctor- what do you mean by 'stealth shells'?"

Dr. Bernard (CDC): "In the early days of viral therapy naturally occurring viruses were genetically modified so that they would replace the patients damaged DNA with the correct, healthy version... however, in some of the more aggressive therapies that involved modification of cells in widespread areas of the body, it was found that the human immune system was too efficient for its own good- it would quickly mount an immune response and destroy the theraputic viruses. In 2012 researchers developed a way around this problem by producing viral protein shells that lacked the markers that allowed the immune system to identify it as an intruder... HICVP's shell has many similarities to those early 'stealth' viruses...

Reporter: "Are you implying that HICVP may be a mutated version of the early theraputic viruses?"

Dr. Bernard (CDC): "No! Not at all. None of these engineered 'stealth' viruses included the genetic material needed to produce their protein capsules- the viruses were incapable of reproduction- there is no way any mutation could occur. HICVP was engineered with the genetic material coding for its 'stealth' shell.

Reporter: For what purpose was this done? Was it a failed act of biological warfare?

Dr. Huetz(Euro-Gen Labs): We do not know, HICVP must have taken many years to develop- the creators went to great lengths to create something more virulent than anything seen in nature, the virus was designed to survive long durations outside the human body, and was tailored to spread via airborne transmission. A single infected person sheds enough of the virus to infect every single human being on Earth. The virus also seems to have been designed with safe guards in place to limit the severity of the symptoms.
In analyzing the function of the virus we have determined that it alters the genes that code for endocrine function, cell division, and metabolism- oddly enough it also alters some of the 'junk' DNA to produce new proteins and silences some sections of the DNA whose function is not completely understood. In short, if this virus is engineered for a specific purpose it is advanced beyond the known cutting edge of genetic technology...
(Silence as the signifigance sinks in)

Reporter: "Ahhh, Dr. Huetz- are you saying that... that this plague is 'engineered' but at the same time is beyond human ability to create?"

Dr. Huetz(Euro-Gen Labs): (looking uncomfortable) "N-n-no, I think what we are saying is..." (looking to the rest of the panel for help) " is that the plague was created and none of us on this panel understand exactly how..."

Reporter: "But WHAT did it DO to us...?!" (Panic showing in his voice)

Dr. Bernard (CDC): "Ahem, There is no need for panic- rest assured that the top experts in the world are working around the clock to answer that question..."

Reporter: "WHO DID THIS?!!"

Dr. Bernard (CDC): "THAT is something you can be certain we will find out. We will let you all know once we know more. I am sorry- no more questions for now..."
(Cacophony of shouted anxious questions as panel hurridly leaves the room)

"Genomic Dreams complex outside Alberquerque raided" 2/23/33
In an action that co-ordinated local and federal law enforcement agencies and also involved the New Mexico national guard, The sprawling Genomic Dreams complex was seized and searched for evidence that Genomic Dreams was involved with the HICVP pandemic of 2032.
(Images of large teams of Bio-suited figures entering gleaming white buildings)
....

(UPI) Dr. Leon Holtz arrested on charges of murder and terrorist activities- 2/24/33
Dr. Leon Holtz, Nobel Laureate, was peacefully led away from his mansion in handcuffs by FBI agents. Holtz, a multi-billionaire, and hailed as the formost humanitarian of the 21st century did not respond to reporter's shouted questions- instead he smiled serenely as he was led into an FBI van...

Excerpts from the testimony of Dr. Holtz in the first congressional inquiry into the HICVP pandemic- 6/14/33
(Holtz sits at table with his attorney, flanked by guards and in shackles- wearing the amused smile that has become familiar to the world)
...
Senator Albrecht, (Virginia): "Doctor Holtz, can I assume you have hear the evidence presented over the past two days proving that your company was responsible for the HICVP pandemic?"

Dr. Holtz: "Yes... you are free to assume that I have" (That infuriating smile again)

Senator Albrecht, (Virginia): "Then do you still deny your involvement in this plague?"

Dr. Holtz: "I have never denied it, senator... I have simply refused to comment on the issue."

Senator Albrecht, (Virginia): (Exasperated) "NO MORE GAMES! DOCTOR HOLTZ- WERE YOU, OR WERE YOU NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CREATION OF HICVP?!!"

Dr. Holtz: (Smiling calmly) "Yes senator, I was solely responsible for the pandemic"
(Attorney is wide eyed, whispering in Holtz's ear frantically- Holtz smiles at him and says quietly "Its ok, You have done your job.... Its over- I do not require your services any more". The attorney appears stunned.)
(A murmer of shock grows to a roar- someone in the gallery yells out "YOU ARROGANT BASTARD!!"... after a few minutes order is restored...)

Senator Albrecht, (Virginia): (face red with anger) "So... you finally confess, you confess to this act?!"

Dr. Holtz: "Yes, I had help in doing this but no one knew the whole picture but me- as I understand it you don't even know what it is I am confessing to, do you senator?"

Senator Albrecht, (Virginia): (flustered, for a moment) "I KNOW that you created a plague that infected essentially EVERY SINGLE HUMAN BEING ON EARTH!!! It cost us 100'S of billions in lost productivity, it caused panic, it killed approximately a quarter of a million people world wide!!! THAT is what I know!"

Dr. Holtz: (smile is now gone, pain shows in his face for the first time) "It is telling, senator, that you mention the deaths last- for me those deaths are the only thing I regret- I had hoped that adverse reactions would have been far far fewer. For those deaths, I should be held accountable.... for those deaths I am deeply sorry. All I can say is that I felt... I feel... the benifit greatly outweighs the harm..."

Senator Albrecht, (Virginia): (sensing weakness, presses the attack ruthlessly) "YOU KILLED those people- what benifit could possibly convince the families of the dead that their pain was an acceptable price to pay?!"

Dr. Holtz: "I cannot speak for them senator, I cannot even ask them for forgiveness- all I can say is that I feel what I did was the lesser of two evils..."

Senator Albrecht, (Virginia): "WHAT is more evil than GENOCIDE?!" (clearly playing to the cameras)

Dr. Holtz: "Senator, I advise you to look up the term 'genocide' before you use it as an accusation- the people that died all suffered from serious immune deficiciency- I thought I had designed the Methuselah virus to leave them unharmed, but sadly, I was mistaken"

Senator Albrecht, (Virginia): "Methuselah, is THAT what you called it?? I ask you again- WHY did you do this!"

Dr. Holtz: "I will answer any questions you or your colleagues have senator, no matter how incriminating the answers are, if you answer a few of mine first- is that fair senator?"

Senator Albrecht, (Virginia): (Taken aback, he confers with advisors and other senators in whispers... he finally turns back to the microphone and glares at Dr. Holtz) "OK, WHAT are your questions?"

Dr. Holtz: (Quietly) "Senator, your mother died eleven years ago didn't she?"

Senator Albrecht, (Virginia): (glaring) "Yes... you know she did, you son of..."

Dr. Holtz: "Senator, I am not trying to hurt you, I am trying to help you understand the motive for my 'crime'- What did your mother die of?"

Senator Albrecht, (Virginia): "You know DAMN well she died from Alzheimers"

Dr. Holtz: "Yes, yes I do know, In fact you spearheaded the effort to fund research into a cure for Alzheimers- a cure that my first company, Genomax, developed with the help of the funding you made possible."

Senator Albrecht, (Virginia): "Is there a point to this...?"

Dr. Holtz: "Please bear with me, senator- I am almost done. Do you know how much Genomax charges for the Alzheimers vaccine? No? The cost of preventing one of the cruelest of all diseases is about 120,000 dollars... the cost to stop its progression once its started is about 310,000 dollars. Minimum wage is currently 42,000 dollars a year. People are still dying from alzheimers because they cant afford the treatment. The active ingredient required to treat the disease, theraputic viruses, would easily fit on the tip of a pin. Senator, how many years did your mother require care to feed her, to bathe her, to help her use the bathroom?"

Senator Albrecht, (Virginia): (stunned, answers hoarsely) "About nine years..."

Dr. Holtz: "I am sorry senator, I really am- there was no prevention, or cure then... now there is... yet every year HUNDREDS OFTHOUSANDS in our world die the cruelest of deaths after years of suffering because they couldn't afford to spend a few years of their income to prevent it- you have seen how evil this one disease is- tell me sir, does this seem fair? Does it seem Christian"

Senator Albrecht, (Virginia): (shaken) "Of... of course not..." (he pulls himself together) "WHAT does this have to do with your crime, Doctor Holtz?!"

Dr. Holtz: "I am getting to that senator- I created Genomic Dreams to beat my 'competitors' to the cures for humanity's worst diseases... and to offer those cures for free, I have patented cures for many of those diseases, always giving away the cures for free- in doing so I, and my company, are now nearly bankrupt- but tens of millions of lives have been saved and tens of millions more have been improved. Now senator, I also had a core goup of my best people work on a disease that every human will suffer from if they beat all the other diseases- it is %100 fatal... we discovered the cure... we discovered the cure for aging.
(gasps from the gallery)
I knew, senator, I KNEW that such a discovery would be exploited for profit... how long would a vaccine for aging take to be approved? How long before others discovered it and used it for extreme profit? I would NEVER be allowed to give this away legally... I am not clairvoyant, but I could see the future of my discovery- it would be offered only to those with the money and power- it would lead to a class system- the 'immortals' and the enslaved... Senator, how much would you be willing to pay to never age another day? To live for centuries? Would you really be willing to allow that gift to be granted to the whole human race? No! you wouldn't, in fact I am sure that if you thought about it that you would agree that such a gift would result in a terrible upheaval, but the greater evil would be if this 'gift' were only available to those of immense power and money. The only way to avoid this evil was to give 'the gift' to everyone everyone at the same time. So yes, I created 'HICVP' and I personally spread it- I am sorry for the harm it has caused, and the harm it will cause- but I chose the lesser of two evils, I did the only thing I could do..."

Senator Albrecht, (Virginia): "But... what if we don't want your 'gift', doctor Holtz... what are we to do?" (almost pleading)

Dr. Holtz: "Well,..." (Smiling again) "Start planning for the future, sir..."