" The carriers of the altered genes must have come into contact with an antigen that triggered the production of a virus, until that moment dormant in their DNA. Even now, now that she had all the pieces, Carmen could still hardly believe it. It was too terrible, too cruel. It made no difference to the children's suffering〰they would have succumbed immediately, passing the virus on to the others before they died. Holly was the one who was going to suffer. She would see it as her fault: the direct consequence of her desire for healthy offspring. All that terrible suffering, all that black putrification and agony, flowing from her loins. "

― , Carriers