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Page 283
people, and they indicate that anyone who gets wet from the rainor whatever it might betakes on violent behavior. Many of them reported witnessing assaults, and they saw quite a few dead bodies before they got out of the area.'
'Do you have any idea what might be causing such violence?'
'The dope,' Tom said. 'The guy already told him . . .'
'It's like I said, Stan, we can't explain it.'
The TV showed Chris in the studio as she said, 'Ask him if it's something like acid rain.'
The camera stayed with her, showing Stan in the background as he touched a button in his ear, nodded and said to the commander. 'Could this have anything to do with acid rain?'
'This is black rain, Stan. I don't know from acid rain. Isn't that something to do with Canada?'
From Chris again, 'Are there chemical plants in the area?'
'Could this be caused by a problem at a local chemical plant?'
'We're looking into that, Stan. We're also looking into the possibility that some kind of biological agent has infiltrated the area.'
'By "biological agent," you're referring to a bacteria or virus that may have gotten into the rain?'
'Something like that, yes.'
'Is there a possibility that Bixby has been subjected to any kind of biological or chemical warfare weapon?'

 
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