8 - Protocols

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hi

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philip a mcleyman here

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to the next episode and the next cup of

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[Music]

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[Music]

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human

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extinction level

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yes

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in other news

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from the studios of kwtr it's the six

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o'clock newshour with charlie henson and

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denise clark

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good evening i'm charlie hinson and i'm

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denise clark

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tragedy today of epic proportions

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a gas explosion at a commuter airport

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kills upwards of 40 people

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information is still coming in but the

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destruction seems to be total

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both in the loss of life and property

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for more on this we go to our reporter

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in the field sally richards

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sally what can you tell us about what

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happened out there

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well denise i'm here at the parker

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county commuter airport and the scene

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speaks for itself

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total devastation

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we are about a mile from the actual site

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of the explosion but as you can see the

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airport is still burning

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even at this distance we can feel some

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of the heat from the fires

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precious little is known at this time

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except that a gas line exploded setting

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off a chain reaction that caused total

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destruction of the property and claimed

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the lives of about 40 people the

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destruction was not limited to just the

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parker county airport the gas line ran

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from the airport underground to a

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trailer park nearby

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we are told the name of that park is

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delacroix's delight trailer park we have

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learned that a mrs marguerite delacroix

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owned the property and rented out the

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mobile homes

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that park also was destroyed

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authorities and fire and medical

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personnel have been on site for several

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hours and still have not been able to

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get the blaze under any kind of real

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control

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during an earlier press conference i had

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the opportunity to ask fire chief benny

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lowen if he thought there would be any

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survivors from such an explosion

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he told me that this is the worst

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conflagration he has seen in his 20

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years of firefighting and that it would

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be a miracle if anybody could survive

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something like this

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once again a gas explosion has occurred

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at the parker county commuter airport

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and at delacroix's delight trailer park

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with what now appears to be total loss

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of life and property

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for kwtr this is sally richards

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reporting charlie denise back to you

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just tragic sally charlie here

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are authorities saying anything about

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identifying the bodies of those who died

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and when relatives might be notified

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well charlie from what we are hearing

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that is going to be a monumental and

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difficult task

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the explosion was so disruptive and the

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flame so hot it literally cremated the

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victims

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medical personnel are not even confident

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that dental records will aid them in

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identification there is just nothing

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left

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with the airport obliterated authorities

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are hoping the passenger manifests were

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stored off-site so that they can try to

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get a handle on just who might have

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perished here

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the trailer park likewise provides its

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own difficulties at this point it could

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be quite some time

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okay well thanks for following that

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story for us sally we'll check back in

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with you later

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in other news we go from the tragic to

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the downright bizarre it seems there

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were several assaults today at a local

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strip joint known as the beaver dam

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it started when one of the employees

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jenny harper became highly aggressive

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and begin attacking her boss when

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bartholomew's smalls

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the attack came in the form of bites and

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some of them quite severe witnesses said

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mr smalls was in his office in the back

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when they heard him screaming when

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several employees went in to see what

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was the matter miss harper started

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attacking them as well

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she seemed to calm down shortly

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thereafter but fled the scene before the

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police arrived

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authorities are asking for your help

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tonight in locating miss harper

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newer test to subjects

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colonel stephen bennett sat in his

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darkened office

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a small desk lamp was on

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its light casting him in deep shadow he

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stared straight ahead and waited for the

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phone call he knew was coming

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a moment later it did

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the phone's ring was jarring in the

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preternatural silence of the room

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colonel bennett did not jump at the

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sound

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he took the luxury of waiting for a

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second ring then leaned forward and

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picked up the receiver

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he did not say hello and the voice on

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the other end did not introduce

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themselves

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they knew each other and knew why they

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were speaking

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you saw the news

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yes

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colonel bennett said his voice flat and

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emotionless

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there are protocols in place that will

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mitigate the event

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colonel bennett sat back and ran his

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fingers through his hair

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he offered no response and the voice on

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the other end did not ask for one

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it's important now that we think about

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what comes after

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if we want the tree to grow tomorrow we

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must plant the seed today

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am i understood colonel

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colonel bennett stared straight ahead

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beyond the feeble reaches of his desk

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lamp into the recesses of his darkened

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workspace

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i understand

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he said

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when the protocols fail the official

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record should accomplish two things

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target a scapegoat and allege successful

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early trials

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the tree won't grow if those who remain

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think the seed was poisoned

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colonel bennett blinked he grit his

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teeth

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i understand

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he said

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dr krenor must be given everything he

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needs to render an effective termination

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perhaps the loss will not reach

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extinction level

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is he prepared

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colonel bennett side

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i will speak to him but yes he is

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prepared

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we will require updates on the work

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we have our projections but we'll be

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monitoring the protocols in real time

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explain to dr krenner that he has

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anything he needs but time

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sooner is better than later make sure he

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understands that colonel

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colonel bennett did not respond he sat

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and waited for the voice to finish

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you have a daughter isn't that right

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colonel

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there was a long pause

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the blood rushed from colonel bennett's

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face and he swallowed

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yes

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was all he said

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there was a longer pause on the other

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end of the line

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the ark is authorized

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colonel bennett blinked again

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he let out a long breath he hadn't

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realized he was holding

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i understand

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he

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said we'll speak again tomorrow

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there was no farewell salutation on

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either end

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only a click in the handset

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colonel bennett hung up the phone and

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reached to his left for another

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he hit a single button

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a single ring later dr krenner picked up

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colonel bennett did not waste his words

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begin human trials

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start with those from the trailer park

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but understand doctor your work now is

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termination of the agent

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human extinction level loss is an

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outlying parameter so be diligent with

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what you have am i making myself clear

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dr krenner

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satisfied with the doctor's answer

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colonel bennett pushed a button and hung

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up

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without hesitation he pushed another

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button this one for an outside line

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he dialed the number from memory

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four rings later the line picked up and

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a female voice answered

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hello

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steven bennett took another deep breath

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nicole

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it's your father