My pulse picked up immediately. “Who died?” My words sounded like a shout in the empty laboratory.

“My monkeys.”

Arun tapped on his Palm and the far glass wall screen lit up with a recorded image. It was muted, showing Arun in his yellow biohazard suit, with his head completely covered. He was facing a wall of six clear cages, with a monkey in each one. The monkeys all lay inert on their cage floors. They had brown fur, the fuzz around their faces reminding me of baby animals. I thought they were dead until two of them were seized with uncontrollable shudders, their mouths forming black circles in a silent scream, large brown eyes staring up unseeing into the lurid light. My arms goosepimpled, and I smothered a shiver. I was glad there was no sound.

“These monkeys were genetically engineered to have as similar a respiratory system to us as possible. I had given them avian flu and injected them with my latest antidote a day after they began showing flu symptoms,” Arun said. “H5N1 is a particularly virulent strain with a sixty percent fatality rate. But none of the monkeys survived. The nanobots went rogue, and my antidote killed them all.”

“You’re creating an antidote for the flu?” I asked in amazement. I knew Arun was smart; he came from a family of eminent research scientists, but this was groundbreaking.

“Not just for the flu,” Arun replied, rubbing the spot between his black eyebrows. “I’m creating nanobots to specifically target viral replication. It stops it in its tracks, then the body’s immune system takes over and wipes out any lingering viruses.”

“That’s incredible.”

“Only if I can get it to work.” Arun pounded on the lab table twice with his fists. “I thought I had it this time. And look what happened.”

The wall screen showed the monkeys twitching in their cages, a few jumping as if they were getting electrocuted, before blood seeped from their mouths and noses, darkly saturating the fuzz around their tiny faces. Then their small bodies finally stilled.

“Two of them even bled from their eyes,” Arun said, sounding hoarse.

I swallowed, feeling sick. “Gods, I’m so sorry.”

“Before my mom died, I had told her I’d do this. That I wasn’t an ecologist and I couldn’t be an activist or spokesperson like she was for our environment, but I’d try and curb the illnesses at least. If I could get this to work, meis could live longer, have healthier lives—”

“You can’t give up.” I bumped my fist against his, which was curled tight in frustration.

“Never.” Arun gave a shake of his head, the familiar fire returning into his dark brown eyes. “I’ve just got to refine the nanobots to inhibit viral transcription. I’m so close.”