One evening as Jack was still searching for a host for his website there was a knock at the door.
It was Phylicia and she had been crying. “Hi Phylicia, come in, what's the matter?”
“I’ve been suspended from the lab. Professor Camble said I had been using my time in an unauthorized manner; I guess he means the time I've devoted to your project.”
“I’m so sorry Phylicia. I can’t believe this is happening to you. Just because you were trying to help me.”
“It’s those non-disclosure agreements we signed, they are written in such a way that we are nothing but slaves to the university, we haven’t rights to anything.”
“This is my fault, Phylicia. I shouldn’t have allowed you to get involved. I’ve been foolish to think that the university is something other than a business. That they were interested in furthering knowledge in whatsoever way possible. All they are interested in is money and notoriety.”
“I wouldn't be surprised if Camble hadn't encouraged the university to shut down your site.”
“You might be right Phylicia but it's out of our hands now. With this viral outbreak and the general state of the world we can't be concerned with the machinations of the university anymore. We have to do the things necessary to take care of ourselves and help others.”
He continued, “And right now I think the only thing we can do is have that dinner I promised you long ago. I think we could both use a quiet evening. How about it, I'll cook us some food?”
“Sure, Jack that would be nice.”
As they sat down to eat Jack offered up a prayer before they began, something he hadn't done since he was a young man.
Jack had taken Phylicia home late that night, as they had talked well into the evening. It was Saturday morning and he was still in bed when his Annie announced a call from a Dr. Roberta Hughes. Dr. Hughes introduced herself as a researcher in the Infectious Diseases Pathology Branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she had been one of those using Jack’s software. After telling Jack how great a help his software, especially D-Cages, had been to her research, she began to impress upon him the need to get his site back up and soon when Jack interrupted and asked, “Excuse me Dr. Hughes, but why do you think it is so urgent?”
“Mr. Jackson we at the CDC believe we have a real problem. The plague virus of a few years ago seems to be back and it appears to be more contagious than before. I don’t have to tell you what that could mean.”
“No,” said Jack coldly. “You don’t, I know what that could mean.”
“Yes, and I believe that only the combination of services your site provided will help us with the virus detection and delivery mechanism modeling my lab needs to do in time to save lives. We have a vaccine already in development but of course, that only protects those not yet infected.”
“Well, the biggest problem I face right now in re-establishing the site is that I don't have a host server and cloud ANI. And I don't have the money to lease them.”
“I think the CDC can help you with that Mr. Jackson.”
“You mean you will provide support free of charge?”
“Yes, we can provide you with the necessary space in our cloud and ANI access if you will commit to getting it set up and online. Mr. Jackson, I guarantee the CDC will be willing to take care of everything else.”
“Alright Dr. Hughes, I'll do what I can to get it set up as soon as possible.”
“Thank you Mr. Jackson and good luck. I will have someone contact you with the server information.”
Jack called Phylicia. “Guess what,” he said when Phylicia answered.
“What is it, Jack?”
“I've just finished talking to Dr. Roberta Hughes with the CDC. They want me to get the website set up again. And you'll never believe it. They are offering to provide the servers and any other support I need.”
“Jack that's great. But I wonder why?”
“Well, there is a serious reason for their offer. They think the global viral epidemic of a few years ago is back and some of the researchers involved in its investigation were using the site previously and believe it would be an asset to have it up and running again.”
“That's wonderful. I mean your work could really make a difference in people's lives, just as you wanted.”
“You're right Phylicia, I hadn't thought about it but that is what it is really about, making a difference. But you got one thing wrong.”
“What is it Jack?”
“It's our work now, not just mine.”
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