“This meeting is hereby called to order. Let the records show that the the 187th Annual Meeting of the Google Unions commenced at 2027-10-01 09:00.005.” said the talking head on the scree.
The Chairperson droned on some more while Tim mumbled on some Cracker Jacks. “This is going to be good, Seth, once that parrot stops squalking. Have some!”
Seth mentally reviewed The 10 Commandments of Cold Season and stopped at #8: Thou Shalt Not Touch. No napkins. He shrugged and took the proferred box anyway. Stale. Nothing stayed fresh in San Francisco.
The virtual Townhall was full. Apparently the entire membership heard about the rimored “X-Factor” announcement, and wanted to hear it live. Most of them probably had their finger poised over the Sell button, like Seth. Tim was prepared to Buy. Big. He waited.
Five monotonous minutes later, the Chairperson finally got to the point. “First Contact is confirmed.” Bandwidth spiked, so the viewscreen dropped to greyscale. “An exchange of APIs is imminent.”
Tim smiled, and hit the button.

 It was cold season in San Francisco. The committees were meeting at the Town Hall in the room the Unions normally use. There had been more complaints, questions and threats as of lately. They needed to set some things straight and immediately. It seems no one knew where to turn these days. It was not about wages or hours and it wasn’t about politics this time. What it came down to was plain childhood fears.
 Mulligan stepped up to the podium and tapped on the microphone. The feedback he received assured him that it was turned on.
“Attention. I must have your attention, now,” he said into the mic. The crowd quieted down almost instantly.
 ”Thank you. Now it is imperative that you listen and hear me or it could very well mean your life.”
 There were audible gasps throughout the room.
 ”You have all been asked here tonight because it seems you may be the only ones left before this epidemic is over. If you haven’t done so yet please put your masks on and make sure you have napkins in your pocket,” he added.
 ”It has been confirmed that we are dealing with The Plague,” stated Mulligan.
 ”The plague? What plague? The Black Plague, Bubonic Plague?” asked a man in the second row.
 ”Yes” replied Mulligan.
 ”Yes to what?”
 ”Which one?”
 ”Who?”
 ”Enough of this. The worst one ever – the Cooties.”
 ”Huh, the cuties?”
 ”The Cooties, Cooties! Google it for Christ’s sake” answered Mulligan.
 The crowd quieted down and Mulligan started to speak again but before he could start he was racked with a coughing outburst. The men standing next to him automatically stepped back and sprayed themselves, all over from head to toe, with their fingers. There was a loud crack and a flash. Mulligan lay in a heap on the floor at the base of the podium. Three men dressed in military issue uniforms quickly lifted the dead man’s body to remove it. Everyone held their breath until the deceased was removed from the room. The soldiers took it out back and threw it on top of the heap designated for burning.
 ”Not to parrot Mulligan, Mulligan, Mulligan, Polly wants a cracker brawwwbrack, but you all must listen,” said the red haired man who replaced the dead man. He was no longer considered to have a persona other than the dead man or the deceased.
 ”You need to keep your masks on, go home and eliminate, waste, wipe out, murderize,  and destroy anyone you see who even looks as if they may be afflicted with this cursed plague.”
 ”But what about The Ten Commandments?” asked a voice from the crowd.
 ”We’ll have to take it back, erase it, and do a start over. As of now you need to kill, pulverize, and massacre any afflicted.”
 The crowd started to disassemble when someone from the crowd asked “What is the x-factor that determines immunity?”
 ”Crackerjacks” was the reply.
 ”Come again?”
 ”There is no glue or free zone. We are not playing Red Light Green Light or Mother May I. This is not Statue Maker or Red Rover. The only thing that will stop this is a Captain Midnight Decoder ring.”
 ”How do we know if someone has been afflicted?”
 ”With your X-Ray Vision goggles, of course.”