A transcript recorded by a bug in the throne room of the Caliph.

knock on the door

Guard: Who is it?

General Sadat: General Sadat, Conqueror of Korea, sir. I am with Minister of the People.

whispers from guard and caliph

Caliph: Let him in.

doors opening

Caliph: What do you have for me? I would really like that President Victor's head right now.

General Sadat: Sensitive information, sir.

Caliph: Servants, to your dwellings. Guards, stand post outside.

footsteps doors closing

Caliph: What is it, General Sadat?

General Sadat: It has come to my attention that the Paternians have deployed biological weapons of great terror.

Caliph: Anthrax? Smallpox? They sent me a memo that they would be using them.

General Sadat: Worse. They call it Operation Voodoo. They have unleashed a virus, perhaps related to rabies or a parasite, which turns the victim into a mindless monster that seeks nothing but meat, filled with nothing but hunger and rage.

Caliph: A classic zombie virus. I did not think the Paternians to be smart enough to do make something like this without killing themselves. Where exactly are we encountering these creatures?

General Sadat: Everywhere, sir. I have a list of our cities that have been affected.

rustling of papers, presumably the list

Caliph: silence Karachi? Dubai? New Dehli? These are far from the reach of the infidel Paternians!

General Sadat: It is believed their intelligence agency and special forces may have played a part in its dispersal.

Caliph: What is your suggestion as to how we deal with this?

General Sadat: I do not know, your majesty. Any tactic we use will cost plenty of our soldiers, which would leave us vulnerable to the Paternian Army, or would result in massive, wanton destruction of our own people and cities.

Caliph: I see. I think the latter option is most necessary. These critters are nothing but an obstacle to the destruction of the Paternian Republic and their heathen ways.

General Sadat: I do not believe that is a proper course of action, but I shall follow your order regardless.

Caliph: What did you have in mind for the infected?

General Sadat: Quarantine and destroy all the cities. Everyone inside is assumed infected. Kill everyone. Burn the corpses. All patients in all hospitals are to be killed.

Caliph: That does sound a bit brutal.

General Sadat: It is our only hope at stopping the spread, your highness.

Caliph: And how do yo plan to tell the people?

General Sadat: Doctor Rasheed, explain it.

Dr. Rasheed: Your highness, we must tell the Paternians that their virus didn't work at all. That very few were infected, and the progress was halted because of our superior medicine.

Caliph: And for my people?

Dr. Rasheed: Blame the Paternians. After all, they actually did do this.

Caliph: I like this plan. General Sadat and Dr. Rasheed, you are dismissed.

Dr. Rasheed and General Sadat: Thank you, your highness.

end tape