Many people believe in conspiracies involving the U.S. Government. What they do not realize is that people
do not sit in a room and plot to "let's do this" and/or "let's do that". What happens is people have built careers that will be placed in grave jeopardy if conflicting information arises rather than what has been publicly postured, or said "on the record". If HCV originated with this government, and the people that now head the agencies responsible for public safety are found to have violated that "public trust" placed in them, then the government now has a conflict of interest! The same persons that formulated the strategy 20 years ago are now the people responsible to investigate themselves. This is not a conspiracy, just plain ignorance and arrogance. The higher you are, the harder the fall! These people do not want to be hurt. They want to retire with "honor" and be looked up to by posterity (future generations).

Two weeks after being diagnosed Kevin begins to look for any friends from Germany across the country, and
after a 20 year time span. He finds none! At first. All of the phone numbers he had were no longer in service.
Call, after call, after call, he received the same message "this number has been disconnected". He had most
of the addresses that the other soldiers returned home to, most were their parent's home address. Twenty
years later all had moved, or changed their phone numbers. Kevin was not a detective, so how could he find
just one? All he needed was one person to say they were healthy and this story never would of been written.
He started to wonder if maybe he was the last one left - due to staying in shape, and having relatively good
health - or so he thought. A month goes by and still no one is found. He spends time and money calling
stranger's homes asking for names that are not there.

After being "fired" from the Burn Center, (no pun intended) John went back to school to become a social
worker. His Interferon shots had done him little good. He latter learned that his "genotype" had a relationship
with the Interferon. John had genotype 1. He later learned that the genotype is determined by a DNA test,
something he never had until after the therapy. Interferon has the least effect on genotypes 1a and 1b. Since
"Interferon" is the only licensed antiviral therapy, John really had no choice. He was told it was his only hope.
When he started in the Interferon "test- study", Interferon was not licensed yet. John later learned that he was in the half of the study that did not received the real Interferon. When it was licensed, he demanded that he now be allowed to try "anything"! Each night when he came home John looked into the eyes of his children, and saw fear. Fear that their father would leave them soon. His eldest daughter "Christina" (mentioned twenty years earlier in this story) was the only one he could speak to. But she was only 23-24 years old. His wife, Judy, did not want to even acknowledge that he was ill! If John spoke of HCV, Judy would leave the room. It wasn't that she was not supportive, she was, it was just that she still had children to raise. Judy often thought alone, with concern, about HCV and John, but never spoke with him about it. She just could not bring herself to discussing her husbands failing health. Maybe if she ignored it, then the HCV would go away. This of course compounded the problem for him, he had no support from his wife, was fired by his employer, researchers "toyed" with his health and his friends all slowly became "busy" doing other things. John found himself sick and isolated.

Mark HAD been feeling better. He still had the chronic sinus problems, but so do many others. He had a sore
knee, but so do many others. His hands hurt, but he hardly noticed. He had been feeling tired, but had three
children that kept him busy all the time. Especially little eight year old Adam. His employer was requiring him
to put in a lot of "overtime" hours. Mark just thought that all he and Toni needed was a long vacation. Mark had come from a long line of formidable people. His ancestors had arrived in the Northern Michigan wilderness over a hundred years earlier. They trapped beaver and other small game "pelts". Mark was of the same tough American pioneer stock! He enjoyed chopping firewood in ten degree weather- something he had done most of his life. He was not afraid of pain or discomfort. Each night as he lay sleeping his wife would awaken to his moans and groans. Toni would quiz him the following morning but Mark always looked at her with those "are you all right honey" baby blue eyes of his. Inside, Mark was beginning to feel weak and fatigued. His liver constantly panged each evening after dinner and well into the night. Occasionally, Mark would have a beer, but luckily, he did not drink alcohol anymore. A life saving move on his part!

"Doctor! Over here!" your assistant yells across the laboratory. "I think I have something here".

You move quickly across the laboratory floor, almost knocking over one of the graduate students, and you come along side your assistant. As he explains his observations to you and shows the results of his PCR testing, your mind begins to spin like a "Charity wheel" at a county fair. Suddenly it stops on "Winner"! You have a brilliant insight that unfolds in your mind. "Of course", you mumble under your breath. "Excuse me Doctor?"your assistant inquirers. You turn to your assistants and tell them to have everyone meet in the lecture room in 5 minutes, regardless of what they are doing. You are going to need a blackboard to explain this "new" insight.

First you go and make a telephone call to the NIH in Washington, D.C.

On the International level; Little did people realize that a man that sits on the Board of Directors for the
"International Foundation" was placed there at the request of the U.S. Government. His expertise was "offered up" by the government, but his past was not revealed. In Professional Journals, he writes about the initial Yellow Fever contamination in 1942 within the Army. His name appears on all government studies for HCV over the last 10 years. Now he is on the "inside" and can direct, or misdirect the effects of the global community. He is one phone call away from any strategy planned or monies budgeted. He is the "inside man" performing covert observations. (See folks, no conspiracy!)

Fearing he may be, possibly, the last alive from his unit, Kevin begins to accelerate his searches with
desperation looking for Army buddies. He calls the last number he had for Mark and Toni, and receives the
usual "this number has been disconnected". Kevin tries to remember any information that may help in his
search. Upon looking at his small phone book from Germany, he sees a tiny telephone number in the bottom
right corner of the page. Back in 1982 Kevin tried to reach Mark and Toni, just to say "hi". He learned, then,
that they had just returned to the Air Force. In 1982 Kevin could still remember Toni's maiden name, and when the original phone number, he had for them, did not work he called information. The operator gave him two similar names in the small village. Reasoning that one may be a brother or uncle, Kevin in 1982, called both numbers. The second one was a brother - it was this phone number that Kevin saw in the bottom right hand corner. He called the number again 16 years later and spoke with a family member of Toni's. She said that Mark and Toni had come back to the area after the Air Force and were living just "35 minutes away with three children". "BINGO!" Kevin thought. When Kevin called it was 12:30 am. He never thought twice. For some reason after over 20 years, suddenly there was no time for "tomorrow". Mark's second eldest daughter Erica (age 17) answered the phone. "Is Mark there" Kevin asked. The time from the question until the response was an eternity for him - "just a moment" she said. "Hello? " It was Mark!

As you enter the lecture room, your three assistants, and a total now of 45 other researchers in various stages of their career, are in the audience. "Thank you for coming", as if they had any choice. "Ladies and Gentleman, we have a problem", you begin. You turn to the blackboard and begin to sketch a genetic sequence from the top of your sharp mind, when completed you pivot quickly on the balls of your feet and face the audience. "As you all know, we have been doing classified work on the Adenovirus". A hand rises from the back, "NO QUESTIONS!", you rapidly quip. "We have been concentrating on the ORF" (open read frame). The open read frame is the first part of the virus to be encoded, or "read" during replication. You turn to the diagram behind you on the board and circle a telemere, or end piece. You then circle another area just "upstream" from that point. Think of the virus as a line of existing bricks, that run along a rope. As you walk along and place another one, on top of each brick on the rope, you would move downstream to finish the entire rope of bricks. The bricks you are placing would be referred to as "encoding" in genetics. During viral replication, you would attach the line of bricks you put on to a single rope, and then pull them all off. You would have now have two lines of bricks on a rope...

...sort of like: -- --D---D---D----D----D----D----D--- and: ----D----D----D----D---- D----D----D---

The first "D" in line is an end piece, a telemere. "This region here we know is called the E-3 region" you
continue with, as you point to the second circle upstream from the telemere. "We have found that this region, encodes a section of the virus that acts like a reproducing machine". Just then you are interrupted by a call from the NIH.

Kevin begins to plead with long distance operators and finally finds one who will listen to his strange story.
He has found Mark, but thinks if he can find another buddy then, according to his theory, all three should have HCV today. The operator reassures Kevin that she has been doing this for 30 years, and within five minutes gives him John's unlisted phone number in San Antonio. All had the "old HBV" in Germany, Kevin learns. But would all three have HCV now? John is not home when Kevin calls, the first time, but is later that evening. After cordial exchanges, Kevin jumps in and declares "John your sick!"

"I know!" he replies stunned. "But how do you know?" he asks hesitantly.

"Do you feel you have to?" the NIH Director asks over the telephone. "I feel I have no choice", you respond
firmly.

"You're not going to give me any of that patriotic crap are you?" the Director scolds.

"No, I am saying that we will be better if it is known", you reply.

"May I remind you who funded all your research most of your career?", the Director threatens.

"If we get on top of this, we can be viewed as heroes, rather than villains!" you warn.

"That is not the direction we agreed to go with this!" he states emphatically.

With a rising tone you respond angrily "No one asked me for my input on this".

"Get in step, or lose a foot!" you are told.

You see your career flash before your eyes. You do not even blink before you are back to reality.