On a Sunday evening in Oregon, as the Hammond family sits down to a quiet dinner at home, fourteen-year-old Johnny isn't feeling well. He suffers from mild seizures, known as -Maskill's Seizures, - caused by a mutated chromosome. The doctors say it isn't serious; if he keeps up his treatment, he should be able to live a completely normal life. Instead, at that Sunday dinner, Johnny has a seizure that kills him.
So begins a widespread outbreak that threatens the lives of everyone in the Hammond family and beyond. At first, local doctors can't believe it's happening in their community. Maybe Johnny's death was just a tragic accident--a solitary event. As additional cases of so-called -Maskill's Seizures- cause sudden death in the community, however, it's hard for anyone to write it up to chance.
Bruce Lowell of Biotrogen knows more than he's letting on. He knows about the 19Q chromosome that is causing widespread panic and death, but who can he tell without implicating his own guilt?
As additional cases of so-called -Maskill's Seizures- deaths spread throughout the world, a team of scientists and doctors try to find the cause.
In the still of the night, a woman is murdered. The pursuing investigation unravels a plot of murder, conspiracy and death. The FBI attempts to solve the murder, but finds themselves discovering evidence that assists the team of scientists and doctors working to solve the -Maskill's Seizures- deaths.
As the number of deaths climb, and the team digs deeper into the chromosome, they discover something more frightening than they ever imagined. The team must pull together to solve the mystery of chromosome 19Q and possibly save the lives of every man, woman and child on earth.... but can they solve the mystery in time?
-19Q is a science fiction thriller that is both plausible and possible.-
-Jerry Thomas, Ph.D.
