The Gaia hypothesis was a theory co-created and promoted by two scientists in the UK and the US in the 1960s and 1970s.
This theory views the Earth as a living, self-regulating, planetary organism composed of humans, other animals, plants, bacteria, fungi, viruses, rocks, minerals, and other substances.
This was a quite subversive theory at the time, and to some extent, it was resisted and even criticized by the mainstream scientific community.
However, today, some of the ideas in the Gaia hypothesis have been accepted by the mainstream scientific community, such as the impact of various life forms, including humans and microorganisms, on the climate.
While the scientific community still debates and discusses this hypothesis, it has rapidly become fertile theoretical ground, spawning countless science fiction works, environmentalist ideologies, and even cults.
The Gaia hypothesis perfectly aligns with Western philosophy, which holds that everything is divine. The name Gaia itself derives from the Greek myth of Mother Earth, the first deity born from chaos (but not yet activated), who is considered the primordial force of nature that created all life.
Since the Earth is a vast living being, it must possess its own will. Therefore, the idea that any human action that damages the natural environment is blasphemous naturally arises.
Therefore, while the scientific community continues to debate the Gaia hypothesis, especially as it faces criticism and ridicule from neo-Darwinists, countless others outside the academic world have already added to it, even distorting and rebranding it for their own benefit.
This is exemplified by the movie "Avatar," the carbon neutrality theory promoted by Western environmentalists, and even more radical environmentalism, which views humans as cancer cells on Mother Earth.
After Jack gave everyone a brief overview, he continued with a constipated expression.
"In short, the good news is that Rachel Horton, as a highly educated doctor, isn't so extreme as to believe that humanity must be completely eliminated from Earth's ecosystem."
"Just get to the bad news," Danny said, somewhat fed up with his suspense.
"The bad news is that she believes the human population has become unbalanced, severely impacting Earth's ecological balance and disrupting Mother Earth's ability to self-regulate.
Rachel Horton believes that the smallpox virus is one of the means by which Earth regulates itself. Humanity's eradication of smallpox has caused a certain imbalance, a wrong action that needs to be corrected."
Jack opened one of the papers and read a passage from the Bible. "The four angels are poised to be released on this particular day, month, year, and time to kill one-third of humanity."
"She believes she is carrying out God's will by causing the great plague described in the Bible," muttered Grandma Heidi, who had reappeared in the conference room at some point.
"Dr. Horton plans to leave tomorrow afternoon, which means she'll execute her plan by tomorrow morning at the latest. Gentlemen, stop her by any means necessary. I trust you won't let me down."
With these words, the elderly woman, whose height and aura were in stark contrast to each other, disappeared through the conference room door as quietly as she had arrived.
After a moment, Danny, as if breathing again, took a deep breath. "Okay, let's figure out how to stop a mad doctor's plan to destroy humanity. Honestly, is your supervisor always this elusive?"
"Are you afraid of Heidi?" Cheng Hao saw through his thoughts.
"Oh no, Ms. Heidi is a respectable elder. I respect her very much. Yes, very much," Danny tried to explain.
"No, you're just afraid. That's the way Jack respects her." Cheng Hao winked at him, and the others understood.
After a brief moment of banter, everyone got back to work. The first thing they did was notify the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) to tighten security checks to prevent a repeat of the previous incident of impersonating someone and boarding early.
Of course, domestic travel and international travel by air are two different things, as customs are involved. While this possibility exists, it's unlikely, at least not as trivial as before.
Preventing the other party from smuggling the virus out of the country is paramount, although based on Jack's profile, this possibility is also unlikely. A remote country like Costa Rica is more like a hiding place than a good place for the virus to spread.
Then there's the matter of investigating all large-scale events that could be attacked tomorrow morning, both open-air and indoor. The larger the event, the greater the potential for attack.
After working almost all night, everyone was exhausted by dawn. More and more information was coming in, but none of it could clearly point to Rachel Horton's whereabouts.
"Okay, it's almost 9 o'clock, and time is running out. I think we must have missed something," Danny waved, pushing his laptop further away from him and rubbing his sore eyes.
"Are you talking about our sleep?" Cheng Hao yawned, covering his face. Unexpectedly, this triggered a chain reaction, with everyone in the conference room yawning.
Jack brewed who-knows-how-many pots of coffee and gazed out the window at the bright sunshine, feeling a little impatient. "Why don't everyone share their thoughts? Maybe we'll find something unexpected."
Danny, wiping tears from a yawn, spoke first.
"It's still Christmas, with concerts, fashion shows, and mall sales—crowds of people are everywhere. But don't you find it strange? There will be even more large-scale events on New Year's Day.
Why doesn't Rachel Horton just hide and wait until a big one hits, like New Year's Eve? Los Angeles will be packed with tourists from all over the country, even the world, and there will be targets everywhere."
Danny's words made everyone ponder. Karen gathered his thoughts. "Are you saying that Dr. Horton might have already chosen a target? A carefully selected, large-scale event with a set date?"
"Perhaps she planned to leave the virus at the international airport before leaving the country, where it's teeming with travelers," Hannah frowned in disagreement.
"No, no, no, it shouldn't be that simple. The airport is not a good choice. When faced with the threat of a terrorist attack, it is the first place to be alerted."
Danny retorted. Just as he was about to say something else, Jack had an idea, "You said she might have planned all this a long time ago, right?"
He pulled up a record from the computer, "This is a credit card record of Rachel Horton from more than two months ago. She spent a large sum of money at an office supply store.
When I saw this record yesterday, I felt a little strange. I called the store to inquire and found out that she bought at least 300 Parker pens and notebooks, as well as some school supplies. Do you think it might be related to the attack she was planning?"
"You mean her target might be children?" Danny suddenly felt a little creepy.
Cheng Hao shook his head, dismissing the idea. "But I remember the smallpox virus quickly loses its activity in the air, making it a poor means of transmission."
"But spraying the virus on clothing is different," Karen quickly clicked on the next link. "Here's another order for 300 custom T-shirts."
"That fits her message, just like the Spanish giving clothes and blankets worn by smallpox victims to the Indians," Hannah said, a sudden realization dawning on her.
Danny then clutched his head in frustration, "But she probably donated these to the school long ago."
"Wait a minute," Jack said, opening the order attachment and displaying the details. "These T-shirts have the logo."
"'Future Global Leaders'?" he muttered, reading the small print above, opening the browser search box directly.
"High school graduates from 36 countries will gather for a series of lectures and training sessions aimed at promoting cultural exchange, strengthening understanding, tolerance, and fostering friendship?"
Danny was stunned. "Giving infected T-shirts to children from various countries, only to have them return home and infect their families—this woman is absolutely despicable!"
"This event must be canceled immediately."
Hannah was about to pick up her phone when Karen grabbed her wrist. "It's too late! The event started 20 minutes ago."
—
The "Future Global Leaders" event was located in a corner of Hancock Park, next to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and within the Wilshire Police Department's jurisdiction.
When they arrived, the venue was already packed. Several booths with awnings were distributing various souvenirs and brochures, and at least three or four hundred teenagers of all colors were gathered around.
John, who had just arrived, hurried to meet Jack and the others. "There are only two police cars here, and the others are still on their way. Do we need to activate the bombing plan immediately?"
Jack sighed. "It's too late. The CDC will be here shortly. We'll seal off the entrances and exits and prevent anyone from leaving."
John was a little embarrassed. "The organizers have been notified to temporarily close the venue. Most of the children are outside in the open square."
"Then seal off the surrounding roads and prohibit all vehicles from entering or leaving. Have the guys wear masks and gloves."
As Jack and John exchanged these words, Danny, who was beside him, had already spotted their target. It wasn't Rachel Horton, but two teenage boys holding bags filled with T-shirts.
"Put that down!" Danny shouted, startling the two boys to their death.
Cheng Hao quickly stepped forward and flashed the police badge at his waist. Although it read "HPD," no one cared at the moment. "Officers, where did you get these T-shirts?"
"Right over there," the two boys said. They were clearly not American, but at least they understood English. One of them, the tall, thin one, quickly dropped the paper bag of T-shirts and stationery and pointed to a stall not far away.
A middle-aged white woman, smiling broadly, was handing out bags of T-shirts and stationery to students. Who else could it be but Rachel Horton?
"Stay here, John! Call for backup immediately." Jack was about to use his headset to call for help, but it was too late. The commotion had already attracted the attention of the surrounding crowd.
Rachel Horton looked over, her face suddenly pale, and she turned and ran.
"Karen, Hannah! Under the blue awning in the southeast corner, she's trying to escape." Before Cheng Hao could finish his words, the middle-aged woman, sensing something was wrong, had already merged into the crowd.
"Federal agents!" Jack shouted a warning, but the panicked crowd blocked his path.
"Damn it!" He transformed into Liu Xiang, leaping over the long tables beneath the parasols.
"Beige knit jacket, black pants," Jack shouted, describing the man's clothing as he ran.
"We saw her!" Maddy Dix and Kensi Bly from the other group replied. "There are too many people, we can't shoot! Watch out, she's trying to get in a car and run."
Rachel Horton had already gotten into a silver SUV on the side of the road and started the car.
Two little girls stood in the front of the car, their heads bowed, talking, completely unaware of what was happening. Fortunately, Karen and Hannah arrived in time and grabbed them away, but they missed the perfect opportunity to shoot.
"Fuck!" Jack cursed angrily, seeing he was out of reach. Then, a Dodge Charger in LAPD livery swooped in from the other side and slammed into the SUV driven by Rachel Horton.
The powerful PIT strike, uncharacteristic of California police, sent the SUV spinning 180 degrees. The left front wheel instantly freed, and it sauntered into the nearby greenbelt.
Jack rushed forward, exerting his incredible strength to pull open the already warped car door, dragging the terrified Rachel Horton from the vehicle and removing the handcuffs from behind her waist.
"FBI, Rachel Horton, you're under arrest."
The others finally arrived. Karen and Hannah opened the SUV's trunk, and breathed a sigh of relief when they saw a small silver suitcase inside.
"We found the vials! They're all empty!" Hannah donned gloves and opened the suitcase. Inside were nine small glass vials identical to the ones she'd taken from Komescu in Hawaii.
John shrugged off the airbag and dismounted the Dodge Charger, which had only a deformed bumper. Shaking his groggy head, he looked at the pale Rachel Horton with a look of disbelief.
"Why? How could you have the heart to kill those children?"
Rachel Horton looked like an ordinary, middle-aged white woman, yet there was even a hint of compassion between her brows.
She looked at the crowd with this compassionate gaze, "You don't understand? The world is dying, and we are the root of the problem. I just want to give the Earth a chance to fight back."
"By slaughtering billions of your own people?" John hadn't heard of the Gaia hypothesis that Jack had explained earlier, but he had encountered similar extreme environmentalists.
"It took tens of thousands of years for the world's human population to reach a billion, but now it's only taken ten years to go from 7 billion to 8 billion. It's just simple math."
Even in handcuffs, Rachel Horton continued to push her point.
"Tsunamis, earthquakes, cosmic radiation, and of course, nuclear war and genocide—nature and humanity itself have countless ways to destroy us. The very existence of humanity is a miracle.
While people like you are desperate and try to prove your theories by destroying others, there are still some who look up to the sky, seeing the vast sea of stars as their future."
Jack looked at the mentally ill woman with disdain and chuckled at her.
"Also, I don't know if you're intentionally ignoring the speed of human technological advancement, or if this isn't so intuitive and can be measured with simple math.
But if you believe you can't solve a problem, you can choose to die quietly and not stand in the way of others."
(End of chapter)