Level 7

JUNE 20

There is some alarming news from Level 2. A few days ago they broadcast that everyone was suffering from some sort of disease. The symptoms were nausea and vomiting, and severe diarrhoea. The fact the everybody had caught it at the same time seemed suspicious, but the symptoms must have disappeared because the matter was not mentioned again, the broadcasts reverting to their customary abuse of the government.

Today, though, they say the symptoms have come back and are even more distressing. People are emaciated and feverish. And similar reports are coming over the radio from the neutral countries. There too, the sickness appears to be general. In the middle of one broadcast the speaker himself broke off in mid-sentence, and we could hear him vomiting quite clearly. It was awful. Somebody else had to take over.

Radio reports from Level 2 started to come in again while I was writing that. I will try to jot down what the man says.

People are dying. “Like flies” (his very words!). He is shouting: “It’s your bloody radioactivity! You’ve poisoned us too!”

They are going over to a big hall, or something, in one of the shelters. Now I can distinctly hear groaning and vomiting. Nobody is saying anything—too weak, perhaps.

Broadcaster again. “Hundreds of people… lying on floor… no help at all… nobody capable of helping… some are vomiting… diarrhoea… horrible stench.”

He has stopped to cough and blow his nose.

He goes on: “Some seem to be dead already… many unconscious… perhaps dead too, nobody to check… makes no difference… everyone will die sooner or later… matter of hours… some perhaps a day or two… no difference…”

I missed something there, his voice suddenly grew very weak. He has turned away from the microphone to be sick or something. I can hear groans again, louder.

He says: “I can’t go on.”

That’s all.

No, he is trying to say something else. He has to speak very slowly.

“Our shelter is becoming a grave, a collective grave of human misery.” Louder now: “Politicians! Soldiers! From the bottom of our grave we curse you! May you follow in our…” His voice fails him.

“Steps,” I suppose he wanted to say. But there is nothing coming over except groans and the sound of people vomiting.

Now the station has been switched off.