The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2021

Audra sat at her desk and yawned, drained to weakness. She put her head down and closed her eyes.

Then she watched wearily through half-opened eyes as Colin (all suited, booted, gloved, and masked) quietly exited the quarantine section, silently took up the doses and nebulizer that she had so carefully arranged, and vanished once more behind the plastic barrier. Anger, hope, relief, and fear swirled sluggishly, but a heavy blanket of exhaustion smothered all as Audra closed her eyes and witnessed nothing more.

Over the past year, Dr. Pereira had granted Audra many concessions and gone above and beyond in showing her compassion, but the kind of carelessness that led to two vials of engineered virus going missing could lead only to grave consequences.

“I am going to ask you one thing,” Dr. Pereira had said, her eyes filled with hurt and disappointment. “Leaving out those two vials—​was that oversight or intention?”

Audra was able to meet Dr. Pereira’s steady gaze, but completely unable to form the words to reply.

“Oversight . . . that’s one level of disciplinary action. But intention? And making your brother an accessory instead of taking the full responsibility on yourself?”

At those last words, Audra dropped her gaze, stricken.

“Thank you for all your hard work on this project, Dr. Lee,” Dr. Pereira said distantly. “I would like to suggest that you take a leave of absence.”

The day that the trials were declared a success was the day that Audra’s license was revoked. The day that Maisie and Colin were confirmed free of the gray pox bacteria, and allowed to leave quarantine, was the day that a replacement doctor was hired and the diagnostic lab was moved back to the main building adjacent to Ms. Roberts and pharmaceuticals. There was much to grieve, and much to celebrate, and Audra’s mind and body oscillated uncertainly between the two states.

The quarantine center was transformed to fit a new purpose. Instead of screening those about to enter the sanctuary of Pelican Island, it now processed the outward journeys of volunteers infected with the engineered virus, sending them out into a sick world to breathe the contagion of cure into the atmosphere. It was a noble venture, and an exciting opportunity for those who had for too long felt powerless to change their world.

“How long will it take . . . ?”

“As long as it has to. Every community clinic has the capacity to create the viral cure, and one person per household is all that’s needed, but it will still take time to spread through all the affected populations.”

“How long?” The repeated query was more forceful, less hopeful. Colin’s tone was charged with the anger and weariness of a survivor who had no power to make the world anew . . . at least not yet.

“My best estimate? About five years for the primary infection to complete its spread. Several generations before the population returns to preplague levels. But beyond two years, we’re guessing. We’re all guessing. And yet . . . we found a cure. We won. We’re gambling on a sure thing. It’s only a matter of time.”

“The more carriers you have out there, the faster the cure will spread, right?”

“Yes, but—”

“Then that’s the adventure I choose. We were lucky to have Pelican Island as a refuge for so long. Time to spread that luck.”

“Some people won’t be kind, if they suspect you. Some people won’t understand. Remember Dagmar.”

“I’ll be careful, then. For Maisie’s sake, if nothing else.”

“Stay in touch. Please, Colin, for my sake.”

Their words were effortful, uneasy; a shadow tainted their farewell. Dr. Pereira had been right. Colin understood both the gift and the burden of the choice Audra had forced on him, and that knowledge was a strain on their bond. And yet, hadn’t she paid the price for her actions and his? Didn’t he owe her something for that sacrifice?

Audra bit her lip and turned away. Better this parting now than years of increasing bitterness on both sides. She tried to cheer herself with the memory of Maisie’s warm kiss on her cheek, Maisie’s excitement about the wide world after months of confinement, Maisie’s utter delight in bragging about her father who saved her and her aunt who helped save the world.

When Audra returned to her too-quiet house, she was thrown for a moment to see a vaguely familiar off-road vehicle sitting athwart two parking spaces with doors open. The faint whiff of manure told her what the absence of mud could not—​the Guerrilla Network Unit had returned. The lanky lead tech gave her a cheery wave from the driver’s seat. Audra felt a pang. Were they going to strip her roof of its lovely new equipment, returning her to the days of typed text and crackling audio? But then, as she walked closer, someone stiffly emerged from the back seat of the rickety car, a far older man than the pair of techs she had met. He was fastidiously dressed, but flushed red and sweating helplessly in the tropical heat, combining an authoritative air with an odd vulnerability.