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“Spit it out, Nancy,” Blackmon said. “I heard your good news, now give me the rest.”

Whittaker cleared her throat. “Madam President, while the distribution is going well, there is a growing problem. On multiple websites and in social media, people are broadcasting a message to not take the inoculant.”

Blackmon’s face wrinkled in doubtful confusion. “Is this a religious reaction? I know the Muslim community isn’t thrilled we’re using breweries, but my people are in direct contact with Islamic leaders and we’re overcoming that.”

Whittaker shook her head. She cleared her throat again, giving Murray a moment to wonder who could be so bug-s.h.i.+t crazy they wouldn’t take the inoculant.

“The objections are anch.o.r.ed by the antivaccine crowd and the alternative medicine movement,” she said. “Almost without exception, both groups are using every communication vehicle they have — websites, blogs, email lists, social media — to tell people that this is, quote, a Big Pharma trick. I have some sites to show you.”

Whittaker called up websites on the Situation Room’s main monitor. Murray saw page after page with headlines that painted the inoculation effort in terms of government abuse, a capitalist power grab, grand Illuminati conspiracy, even mind control. Who could be so bug-s.h.i.+t crazy? These people, that’s who.

Blackmon stared blankly.

“People are actually listening to this? These are just fringe movements. How many people are we talking about?”

Whittaker shrugged. “It’s impossible to say at this time.”

Blackmon threw up her hands. “But this doesn’t make any sense! We broadcast video of those brave sailors, the coc.o.o.ning, that horror show of the triangles. We showed that!”

“The most common reaction is that the videos are fake,” Whittaker said. “Hollywood special effects, CGI … they say all the data is fabricated.”

Blackmon shook her head. Wide-eyed and open-mouthed, she had never looked less presidential.

“But that isn’t even sane,” she said. “What possible motivation could we have for tricking three hundred and thirty million people into drinking the inoculant?”

“To create dependence,” Whittaker said. “That’s the most common claim. Other theories involve nanotech that will let the government target people who oppose official policy, or that the inoculant will let the shadow governments control politicians and the military, or just to make everyone dumber and more docile. All of these are variations on ideas that have been around for years and applied to everything from agriculture to chemtrails to broadcast television. Our urgent message that everyone has to take the inoculant plays right into the conspiracy theorists’ existing structures.”

Blackmon sat quietly for a moment as she thought it over.