Earlier this week we had an equinox. There was an equal amount of daylight and nighttime darkness. It was a day of moderation, a day of Balance Just don't teeter off the edge while responding to this prompt!

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Zoltar staggered. His head was pounding and his vision was blurring. The meeting with his generals had been particularly annoying, but he couldn't quite remember precisely what it was that had annoyed him. It was probably, he mused irritably, just a general sense of generals being generally annoying. He waited impatiently for the room to empty of all but himself and Mala, then pushed himself upward out of the throne. The room swam and Spectra's penultimate ruler tottered on legs that ached with fatigue. "Zoltar?" Mala's voice seemed to come from some distance away. "Zoltar, what's wrong?" Zoltar's knees buckled and he was saved from hitting the floor by his sister's small yet capable hands catching him. She took his weight without complaint and helped him find his balance. "I have a headache," Zoltar complained. "You'd best sit down." Mala eased her brother back into the great throne of Spectra. She glanced around to be sure that there was nobody else in the room, then eased the imposing purple mask from Zoltar's face. Zoltar's face was pale, built narrow with a long jaw and high cheekbones. His vivid green eyes were unfocussed and his forehead was hot and clammy to Mala's touch. "You have a fever," Mala said. "Can you walk to your quarters if I help you?" "I think so." Zoltar took a shuddering breath and sneezed into gloved hands that came away slimy with mucus. "By the Spirit, that's disgusting! I'm sorry, Mala." "Take the gloves off, then let's try to get you back on your feet." Some twenty minutes later, the Lord High Physician was washing his hands. "Antarean Flu, I'm afraid," he said, wrinkling his nose. "I'll prescribe some antivirals, but Antarean Flu is notoriously resistant to everything we throw at it. Did you have the vaccine, my lord Zoltar?" "Not this year," Zoltar confessed. "We lost our main supplier when G-Force shut down the Urgosian space pirates and the shipment meant for us got diverted to the emergency we had on Sigma Major. I had the vaccination last year, should I not still be immune?" "One might think so, sire," the Physician said, "but it would seem not. Most likely the virus has mutated. You must rest, take plenty of fluids and keep your fever down." "If there is nothing else for it," Zoltar sighed. "Mala, I am afraid you will have to shoulder the burden for a while." Mala paused in the act of blowing her nose on a tissue. "Of course, Zolta-- ah - ah - ah-CHOO!" Mala gasped for air and sank into the nearest chair, clutching at the tissue in her hand. "Oh, no. Just how contagious is this flu?" "Very, I'm afraid," said the Lord High Physician. Three days later, the Great Spirit of Spectra was fretting alone in its Presence Chamber. The only person to visit had been a junior deputy from the office of the Lord High Physician, who had regretfully informed the Great Light of Wisdom that 80% of the population of the Palace had come down with Antarean Flu. The Luminous One hissed in annoyance as it lost yet another game of computer Solitaire. ======================================================= It's true, I'm afraid, that last year's flu shot does not make you immune to this year's virus. The flu season in the southern hemisphere looms nigh. In Australia, a quadrivalent vaccine (offering an immunity boost against four of the latest common influenza strains) is available from your doctor and some pharmacies. The vaccine is free for those over 65 or who have chronic conditions such as asthma as well as for certain groups of children and those of Aboriginal or Torres Island descent. Ask your GP. Here endeth the Public Service Announcement. In my head, the Lord High Physician is played by the late, great Nigel Hawthorne and he speaks like Sir Humphrey Appleby.