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| The Outbreak |
At some time during (apparently) the last quarter of 1968 or the first quarter of 1969, Michael Gatlin began to perform unusual experiments in the Institute's laboratory. It later came to be known that he was in possession of stolen blood plasma and other genetic material taken from a classified research subject which was contained on the third level of the Institute's vault. How Gatlin obtained entry to this area is unknown.
Gatlin developed a hypothesis and later, we must suppose, a theory about the material with which he absconded. If a serum could be developed from the material and injected into a recently deceased person, that person might return to life. Forthwith, he conceived his formula and set out to create it. This is where Marvin Weston comes into the picture.
Marvin Weston was a junior partner and mortician at the Dobbs City Funeral Parlor. He was a young man, about the same age as Gatlin, and seems to have been quite taken with Weston's theory. Most importantly, he worked alone and at night, so he would have access to any "clients" that might arrive after normal business hours.
We can only assume that Gatlin guessed, correctly, that the material he stole possessed certain remarkable properties. We will never know for certain, for his notes are missing and the film, while telling, does not have sound. All the information we have comes from the Institute personnel that performed the cleanup operation.
If Gatlin was aloof, and not particularly gregarious, he certainly was not a loner. He developed feelings for another student, Amy Lynn Watson. Unfortunately, his feelings were unrequited. The relationship he desired did not come to fruition.
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