With their final report in hand, the doctors quickly notified the local government of the situation.  The immediate response was the same as it always is; do nothing and hope the problem will naturally go away.  At this point in time, there was only positive evidence of one isolated case.  All other accounts were simply rumors passed on without validation.  Due to the fact that only a small number of witnesses were present during the investigation, the threat of the truth being revealed was minimal.  Their stories would blend in with the many other legends streaming through the night.  As for the original book, it was entrusted to a psychologist at a prominent university, safely locked away.

Pity, that the past never has the wisdom of hindsight.  If they knew then what we know now, they surely would have advised action over inaction.  Who knows how many lives might have been saved.

Reports became more frequent through the next year.  Soon, the truth would be unmistakable to the general public.  Temptation and curiosity could lead to an epidemic.

As soon as the small branch of government dealing with the matter agreed that the problem needed to be fully addressed, two separate viewpoints emerged on how to handle the situation.  The smallest group fought to fund a research facility in order to uncover the depths of what they were dealing with, hopefully leading them to a prevention and a cure.  The major consensus, however, was to center all immediate attention on containment and control.  Research could wait.  Those directly involved formed a small task force with two clear objectives.

     1.)  Collect known patients and move them to a single location.

     2.)  Destroy all evidence.