“As you can see,” Bacon went on, “these men are well on their way to giving us back the control of the Janus strain that will give us all the leverage we need for complete and total victory. I have been and remain supremely confident in our efforts and I know you share my sentiments. We do not have the antibiotic treatment as of yet, but rest assured the pieces are in place for us.”

“What is the current status of Seventy-one?” Eighty asked.

“A few hours ago, Seventy-one arrived here at Red Cliff, bearing tissue cultures growing the three types of bacteriophage that will be used to reestablish our control over the Janus strain. The viruses have just been delivered to Kazimi and Miller, and as you see, they are working together to get the phages ready for an all-out assault on Janus. It could be as little as a day or two before we have a viable new antibacterial.”

“But until we do, how many deaths will Janus cause?” asked Ninety-seven, a mechanical engineer and mathematical wizard from MIT. Even with the verbal distortion, her concern was apparent.

Nine, as usual, had the data ready.

“We project less than a six-month lag from the time we have a perfected therapy to the date when the entitlement laws are revoked. Given the mutation and rapidity of bacterial spread, we estimate five thousand casualities during that time. But I would caution you all that might be a conservative figure.”

“Five thousand?” Ninety-seven repeated. “That seems quite high. Is there anything we could do to lower that figure?”

Bacon responded vehemently.

“We should do nothing and we will do nothing until these entitlement programs are revoked.” He snapped the tip of his cane down against the stone floor like exclamation points. “Lancaster Hill expressed it best,” he said. “‘Liberty cannot exist without sacrifice, nor can sacrifice exist without suffering. Blood may be shed, but should the suffering of the part in the end save the whole, it is a pain we are obligated to endure.’”

Silence followed. Most, like Bacon, could recite the words from Hill’s hallmark treatise by heart. But hearing them from a man of Bacon’s stature was powerful and compelling. They served as a call to action, and a reaffirmation of the oath each Neighbor once took.

“I understand your discomfort, Ninety-seven, really I do,” Bacon said. “The situation is regrettable, but by no means should it deter our efforts. I never expected this action program to go without a glitch. AP-Janus is a massive undertaking that is going to change the landscape of this country and fulfill the dreams of our founders.”