"More concerns than what?" he asked, frowning.
"We've been forced to reassess our role in Colonization." Strughold's tone was even; he might have been discussing a minor unpleasantness on the trading floor. "Some new facts of biology have presented them-selves."
"The virus has mutated," another voice broke in, more urgently.
The Well-Manicured Man looked taken aback. "On its own?"
"We don't know." The Cigarette-Smoking Man withdrew his lighter. "So far, there's only the isolated case in Dallas."
"Its effect on the host has changed," said Strughold. "The virus no longer just invades the brain as a controlling organism. It's devel-oped a way to modify the host body."
The Well-Manicured Man's mouth grew taut. "Into what?"
"A new extraterrestrial biological entity."
A moment while the men took this in. The Well-Manicured Man stared at Strughold in disbelief. "My god…"
Strughold nodded. "The geometry of mass infection presents certain conceptual reevalua-tions for us.
About our place in their Colonization…"
"This isn't about Colonization!" the Well-
Manicured Man exploded. "It's spontaneous repopulation! All our work…"
His voice trailed off, and he turned to gaze at the men around him. "If it's true, then they've been using us all along. We've been laboring under a lie!"
"It could be an isolated case," one of the others offered.
"How can we knowV
Strughold's voice rang out calmly as others joined in. "We're going to tell them what we've found.
What we've learned. By turning over a body infected with the gestating organism."
"In hope of what' ! Learning that it's true?" The Well-Manicured Man stared furiously at Strughold.
"That we are nothing more than digestives for the creation of a new race of alien life forms!"
"Let me remind you who is the new race. And who is the old," Strughold responded coolly. "What would be gained by withholding anything from them? By pretending ignorance? If this signals that Colonization has already begun, then our knowledge may forestall it."
"And if it doesn't?" retorted the Well-Manicured Man. "By cooperating now we're but beggars to our own demise! Our ignorance lay in cooperating with the Colonists at all."
Strughold shrugged. "Cooperation is our only chance of saving ourselves."
Beside him the Cigarette-Smoking Man nodded. "They still need us to carry out their preparations."
"We'll continue to use them as they do us," said Strughold. "If only to play for more time. To continue work on our vaccine."
"Our vaccine may have no effect!" cried the Well-Manicured Man.
"Well, without a cure for the virus, we're nothing more than digestives anyway."
All eyes turned to see how the Well-Manicured Man would react to this. He was well respected by the members of the Syndicate. If his was now the lone voice crying in the wilderness, they would still hear him out.
"My lateness might as well have been absence," he said in barely restrained fury. "A course has already been taken."
Strughold gestured at the TV and the Cigarette-Smoking Man pointed a remote at the monitor. The tape froze. The Well-Manicured
Man glanced at the screen to see a hospital cor-ridor, where Mulder and Scully were talking with a young naval guard. "There are complica' tions."
"Do they know?"
"Mulder was in Dallas when we were trying to destroy the evidence," said the Cigarette-Smoking Man. "He's gone back again now. Someone has tipped him off."