The Riverbend neighborhood of Harbor City's community center was packed to the rafters. The air, thick with the wet promise of rain, vibrated with a kind of electricity—the buzz of interested attention. On a temporary stage made of diverted pallets, Professor Reuben Stone, previously an overlooked scholar, spoke to a sea of faces illuminated by the warm glow of a portable projector.
"The map doesn't lie," Reuben said, his voice firm but with a carrying tone to the rear of the room. A holographic projection, a courteous flourish of the Outbreak System he had just entered, glowed before him to one side. It indicated a close-up map of Harbor City, the Riverbend community radiating a soft, healthy green. "Three weeks ago, this community was a probable hot zone for a dengue outbreak.". The Sys
