Free Odyssey Rising by Michael T. Best

causes African sleeping sickness, exists almost exclusively in Africa’s sub-Saharan region. It moves between humans by way of the tsetse fly’s bite, entering the host’s bloodstream, often causing confusion, tiredness, insomnia, blindness and eventually death.
    The Yin-Yang Twins are similar but not exactly the closest of kindred microbiological spirits. They share an ability to hide from our bodies most important defenders, what we call our antibodies.
    Our immune system hunts and kills invading parasites like T. brucei using B-lymphocytes, which detect pathogens and produce custom antibodies to attack them. B-cells determine what type of antibodies to fight an invader with based in part on the structure of the proteins on the surface of the invading cells. But since the T. brucei parasite responsible for African sleeping sickness has evolved to hide from antibodies by constantly rearranging its surface proteins. The immune system then has to produce new antibodies to attack the parasitic cells. And by the time these new antibodies are produced, the parasite has again changed its disguise. It’s a back-and-forth battle of one-upsmanship that the immune system never wins.
    But remember: all things have an enemy close by, lying in wait. Biology is a constant battle. That is the answer. There has to be a cure down there, down on GidX7. The recommendation of the Medical Committee is a necessary, though acceptable risk. We must get you away from Odyssey, therefore we’re sending you down to GidX7 and we must do it now. It’s the only chance we have before this thing spreads any further. It is our only hope.
    But my sons, you will not die like some rabbits. I will not let you. Human defenses are stronger than rabbits. There is no guarantee that you’ll get sick. I convinced the Executive Committee to give you the best chance to survive.
    The possibility of life depends upon chemical elements and a source of energy. By their very existence on the bones, the Yin-Yang Twins have proven they can live down on Gidx7. The best place to find a virus that infects the Yin-Yang Twins is to find the place with the original host. That’s GidX7. Down there, you have a chance.
    Once we find the original host, then we can find the cure. While we have no distinct and accurate image of what the original host looks like, we do know where to look for it.
    As you know, if we find a creature that has lived in co-dependency with the Yin-Yang Twins then they would have built up a biological immunity that we can borrow, if biology is even a term that applies to life on GidX7. It’s a shot in the golden dustbowl darkness. But perhaps it’s the only shot we have.
    I hope you understand. Think of those little buggers as a cancer or a vine that has grabbed hold of your blood and your organs. It’s eating you up cell by cell. What we need is something that eats them, but not you.
    This is a weird biological puzzle. It’s time we went and got all the pieces. To stay up here has always been a huge leap of faith. That faith has been placed in the rigorous predictability of mathematics and the resolve and entrepreneurship of our kind. While not everything can be proven with certainty, know that we in the scientific and medical community will not rest until a cure has been produced.
    You wanted the truth. There it is. Even though the situation is a confusing, sudden and deadly one, I have complete faith and confidence in your abilities to stay strong and to survive. While this is the truth, your fate and the fate of Ravi, Sam, Ellie and Harry Wolf is not a fait accompli . Together, we’re going to beat these little buggers. I know it with all of my heart and all of my soul.
     
    God speed,
    Dad
     
    ENTRY COMPLETE.

CHAPTER 10
THE SEPARATION
    Theo woke about an hour after being tranquilized. He was resting on the cool white floor of the Escape Pod. It was attached to Odyssey. A black sweater over his khaki jumpsuit kept him warm. In all of his