Free Reaping The Harvest (Harvest Trilogy, Book 3) by Michael R. Hicks

more complex organisms. If humans were infected by a mutated virus from a harvester,” she went on, “it’s not inconceivable that the virus could have transferred some genetic material to the human host. That’s the basic theory behind gene therapy, and is what the harvesters used to weaponize the New Horizons seed that caused the disaster we’re facing. It’s also what we plan to do, if we can find all the pieces to the puzzle and put them together in time.”
    “So Morgellon’s could just be accidental, the result of a mutated virus passed from the Group A harvesters to humans?” He nodded toward the monitors. “I’m having a hard time buying that.”  
    “Well, maybe you’ll buy this,” Naomi said. “It may not have any direct bearing on what we’re doing here, but this tidbit was very interesting.” She pulled up another web page. “While we can’t be sure they’re related, Morgellons was named after a disease originally reported in 1674 by Sir Thomas Browne in England. He documented a disease that afflicted French children that was dubbed le morgellon , whose key symptom was strange hair or fibers growing from their skin.” She scrolled down the page. “In 1682 the German physician Dr. Michael Ettmüller made these drawings with the aid of a microscope. Look familiar?”
    Morgan stared at the images drawn by the long-dead German doctor. While Ettmüller’s hand-drawn renderings weren’t identical to the photographs Naomi had shown him, they shared enough similarities to make his skin crawl.
    “So what does this mean?” Morgan said.
    “It means that we have a possible — a possible — data point on how long the harvesters have been with us,” Naomi told him. “Nearly four hundred years. And probably longer.”
    “Good God.”  
    Just then the phone on Naomi’s desk rang. She picked it up and listened. Morgan could tell even from where he was standing that it was Renee’s voice, and she was excited about something. Looking up at Morgan with disbelieving eyes, Naomi said, “I’m going to put you on speaker so Howard can hear.” She pushed a button and put the handset back in the cradle. “Okay, put him through.”
    “Go ahead,” Renee’s voice said from the speaker.
    “Dr. Perrault, this is Captain Kiran Chidambaram.” The voice was that of a young but authoritative man with a South Asian accent, but Morgan also sensed a slight quaver of fear.
    “Kiran?” Naomi said with open-mouthed disbelief. “We thought you were dead when your plane went down! Is Vijay with you?”
    “My cousin is dead. He…he did not survive the crash.”
    “I’m so sorry,” Naomi told him, closing her eyes. “He was a good man. He’ll be truly missed.”
    “Yes…yes, he will be.” He paused. “Doctor, I need to see you as quickly as possible. It is very important.”
    “We’ll do the best we can, but it may take a while to get to you.”  
    She looked at Morgan, but he only offered a noncommittal shrug. Vijay Chidambaram would have been a welcome addition to the team and a valuable resource. His cousin Kiran certainly had value as an Indian military officer, but he wasn’t an asset that Carl was likely to go out of his way to collect. “Kiran, this is Howard Morgan, the technical director for the lab where Naomi works. Air traffic is restricted worldwide, and some countries aren’t allowing any overflights at all. But we’ll do what we can. Where are you?”
    “I am…” There was a longer pause. “I am in a place called Damlacik, in eastern Turkey near the Iranian border. Dr. Perrault, I must see you soon. This cannot wait.”
    “What’s so urgent?” Naomi asked. “Did Vijay discover something?”
    “No…it’s the harvesters who captured me,” he said, his voice trembling now. “They say they want to join forces with you.”

CLOAK AND DAGGER
    Jack’s stay in Norway after the Russian nuclear strike had been brief. Six hours after the Russian nuclear strike, General Nesvold