Escape Pod Flash: Patent Infringement
Patent Infringement
By Nancy Kress
Kegelman-Ballston Corporation is proud to announce the first public release of its new drug, Halitex, which cures Ulbarton’s Flu completely after one ten-pill course of treatment. Ulbarton’s Flu, as the public knows all too well, now afflicts upwards of thirty million Americans, with the number growing daily as the highly contagious flu spreads. Halitex “flu-proofs” the body by inserting genes tailored to confer immunity to this persistent and debilitating scourge, whose symptoms include coughing, muscle aches, and fatigue. Because the virus remains in the body even after symptoms disappear, Ulbarton’s Flu can recur in a given patient at any time. Halitex renders each recurrence ineffectual.
Rated PG after intensive clinical testing.
About the Author
Nancy Kress
Nancy Kress was born in Buffalo, New York. She went to college at State University of New York at Plattsburgh, earning a degree in elementary education, which she put to use for the next four years teaching the fourth grade.
It was while Nancy was pregnant with her son that she started writing fiction. She had never planned on becoming a writer, but staying at home full-time with infants left her time to experiment. In 1990 she went full-time as an SF writer. The first thing she wrote in this new status was the novella version of “Beggars in Spain.”
Although she began by writing fantasy, Nancy currently writes science fiction, often about genetic engineering. She teaches regularly at summer conferences such as Clarion West and Taos Toolbox. For sixteen years, she was the “Fiction” columnist for WRITER’S DIGEST magazine, and has written three books about writing.
About the Narrator
Steve Anderson
Steve Anderson has been acting on stage for more years than he cares to admit, and has worked for 10 seasons at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire–most memorably, selling pickles. These days, his main acting job consists of performing one-man shows and storytelling programs with his touring series, Great Tales Live.
He’s fascinated by Civil War history, and has led almost a thousand walking tours in Gettysburg. He performs as a living history interpreter along the Civil War Trails. He lives in central Pennsylvania with his beloved wife Rhonda and a varying number of cats.
