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Page 284
'I'd say that's highly unlikely. I don't think it's in anyone's best interest to speculate about such things. We've got enough on our hands without folks jumping to conclusions and panicking about some kind of war breaking out. This is purely an isolated situation. Nobody who isn't in Bixby has anything to worry about.'
Chris said, 'Stan, ask if the storm is moving, and in which direction?'
'Does the storm appear to be moving toward any other populated area?'
'From all we can tell, it's stationary over Bixby. Like I said before, there's no call to alarm anyone. If it does begin moving, we'll let folks know in plenty of time to evacuate or take protective measures.'
'Stan, ask if any rescue efforts are under way.'
Stan nodded. 'Is any effort being made to send authorities into the area to restore order?'
'We're looking into the possibility. Until we've been able to determine the cause of the contamination, however, we're extremely reluctant to take that measure. If we send in armed men, not knowing what they might be up against in terms of the conditions at the root of this thing, we'd be risking the possibility that they'll become infected and turn their weapons on innocent civilians. Right now, I'm afraid, our wisest course of action lies in adopting a wait-and-see posture, preventing people from entering the town, and making sure that nobody who's been infected is allowed to get by us and possibly carry the problem to other areas.'

 
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