The Plague

"The Plague" by Teddy Keller is a science fiction story from the early 1960s that follows the sudden outbreak of a strange disease that only impacts people living in the United States. The story is centered inside a hectic Pentagon office, where a group is struggling to figure out the cause of the sickness, while also cutting through government red tape. Sergeant Major Andrew McCloud and Corporal Bettijean Baker are unexpectedly put in charge of this important national crisis. As the epidemic creates fear, they find the sickness is connected to something small, yet important: licking stamps. While people in smaller workplaces and artistic jobs get sick, people in government and big corporations usually don't. The tension builds as the group discovers the cause of the health crisis; they work as fast as they can to inform the public so that they can resolve the mysterious disaster.