Stovington Plague Control Center

The Stovington Plague Control Center, a government installation in Stovington, Vermont, was established as a secondary facility for studying communicable diseases, subordinate to the larger Atlanta Plague Center. After the Atlanta center's integrity was breached by the superflu, operations were switched to Stovington, but the facility ultimately became a tomb rather than a sanctuary. It is the place where Stuart Redman is imprisoned and tested, and later the destination that Harold Lauder and Frances Goldsmith mark on their barn sign in Ogunquit, only to find it deserted upon arrival. The center embodies the collapse of institutional authority and the failure of the old world's scientific and governmental structures to contain the pandemic.

Location and Purpose

The Stovington Plague Control Center was a government installation dedicated to the study of communicable diseases, located in Stovington, Vermont. It was not as large as the Atlanta Plague Center but was closer to the northeastern United States. Harold Lauder, researching possible destinations for survivors, identified it as a potential haven, reasoning that if any order remained in the country, personnel at such centers might still be operational and looking for immune individuals. The facility was designed with airlock doors, special viewing windows, and a layout resembling a hospital, with rooms for patient isolation and testing.

Stuart Redman's Imprisonment and Escape

Stuart Redman was transferred to the Stovington facility after the Atlanta center was compromised. He was held in a room on the third floor, which he described as more like a jail cell than a hospital room. The room had a barred window overlooking the town and the Green Mountains. During his confinement, Stu was subjected to tests, but the schedule became slipshod, and he suspected results were being discarded. The presence of armed soldiers in white suits, carrying guns in plastic Baggies, indicated that the facility had become a high-security detention center. Stu eventually escaped by overpowering a guard named Elder, who had been sent to kill him. He fled through the facility's corridors, past dead bodies and abandoned equipment, and finally exited through a door marked EXIT, emerging into the night.

The Failed Destination

Harold Lauder and Frances Goldsmith, traveling from Ogunquit, Maine, set Stovington as their destination, painting a detailed sign on a barn roof with route directions. When they arrived, they found the facility deserted and silent. The smell of decay confirmed that everyone inside had died. Stu Redman, who had already escaped, warned them that the place was a death house. The group explored the building, finding bodies in the hallways and rooms, and in one room, evidence of a struggle—a broken chair and a dead man who had not died of the flu. Glen Bateman identified this room as the one where Stu had fought for his life. The discovery confirmed that the institutional response to the plague had failed completely.

Narrative and Thematic Significance

The Stovington Plague Control Center serves as a symbol of the old world's inability to cope with the catastrophe. It represents the failure of government, science, and authority to protect or save the population. The facility's emptiness and the bodies within it underscore the totality of the collapse. For the survivors, it marks the end of hope for rescue by established institutions and forces them to rely on themselves and the emerging community in Boulder. The center's abandonment also highlights the theme of the dark man's influence, as the chaos and death within mirror the larger struggle between good and evil that defines the post-plague world.