A Politically Useful Tool
“Although it may take several decades for the process of transformation to unfold, in time, the art of warfare… will be vastly different than it is today… the distinction between military and commercial space systems-combatants and noncombatants- will become blurred… advanced forms of biological warfare that can “target” specific genotypes may transform biological warfare from the realm of terror to a politically useful tool.”
-Rebuilding America’s Defenses: Strategy, Forces, and Resources for a New Century. A Report of the Project for the New American Century. (September 2000)
There is no doubt that there are advances made in the sciences all the time, everyday. Many of these advances are bought and paid for by the government and then slowly leak to the civilian sector. While others are kept under lock and key for fear that if they fall into the wrong hand that they could wreak untold havoc. Diseases and viruses that made the bubonic plague look like the common cold. But, what if these plagues have already fallen into the wrong hands, the hands of the keepers.
Current bioresearch is looking into the future in a search for everything from the cure to cancer to advancing a person’s very body through gene-splicing. Though, it may be called fear mongering it takes little imagination to consider that a virus developed to help man may in fact turn on him. Though, considered, by some a dirty word, evolution occurs all the time. Plants and animals either adapt to their environment or die. A retrovirus designed for one purpose may replicate incorrectly and create a whole new virus, or an amino acid that is tasked to create one protein and in turn affect another in unforeseen ways. A gene inserted or activated to create one thing may have dire consequences in another area.
While these scenarios are bleak what is more so is the idea that the government may take this technology and use it against the very people they are charged with protecting. “To save the country we have to destroy it!”
It is as real a possibility as any that the very plague that destroys mankind may be unleashed by the people we elect to rule this country may kill us all. It is not as far from reality as one may think, just ask your parents about the days when a nuclear dawn was very real possibility.
Comments (20)
McLuvin on 21 Sep 2009 at 6:01 pm #
If you look at the current power players in Washington this scenario is even scarier.
They look at the civilian population as a way to advance thier own fortunes.
We are all pawns to the leaders that lie to us daily and cover up corrution that would have gotten them all hung for treason a century ago.
It is a real threat that these same self important assholes would kill us all “for our own good”.
Andy on 21 Sep 2009 at 7:00 pm #
It’s not hard to imagine some Dr. Frankenstein cooking up some idea to extend human life, cheat death, or build a better soldier in a government building somewhere and the unintended consequence being the beginning of the end for us all. Consider a biological weapon designed to decimate the enemy being used as a form of “crowd control” here at home…
sean on 21 Sep 2009 at 8:02 pm #
because average citizens are always diposable,it’s the culture we accept in north america.
which is why people must always be aware of the situations they face and question thier government’s intentions on any decision regardless of what it may-be,the only way to prevent something like this from coming to pass is by being informed and empowered through your right to learn the truth for yourself.which may perhaps be the best attribute of a democratic government.
Ronin666 on 22 Sep 2009 at 7:43 am #
I’ve covered this theme in 2 short zombie stories now.Why? Because I believe that sooner or later the Gov will decide there are just too may of us consuming what their class could have and decide to be rid of us.
3ID on 22 Sep 2009 at 8:07 am #
i could belive some thing like this could happen thats why i am not a big fan of governments they try to rule your lives down to what you eat and were to sleep yet poeple are stupied enough to fall for there sceams and let it taker over with thundering applause
Adam on 22 Sep 2009 at 3:44 pm #
hmm, well, though I can accept the retrovirus, I’m not sure about the gene splicing. As I understand it, genes code for one specific thing, so inserting a new gene doesn’t change any of the others that are already there, and I don’t think amino acids are dangerous.
But I may be wrong.
And just a random nugget of information, I do recall reading an article about an unproven but hypothetically sound method of prolonging life by a considerable amount.
It was all about free radicals and how they’re theorised to affect the body. But without going into all the sciencey stuff, you basically just have to drink “heavy water”. Which, luckily, has no possible “destroy all life on earth” side effects.
Caleb Hader on 22 Sep 2009 at 4:23 pm #
Thus is the generation I am born to… and I am scared. If there is a generation that will kill the world, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was mine. We vote in a madman, because “he’s black” (not that being black is bad mind, it’s just your ethnic background is not enough reason for you to rule a country, and I have yet to hear from an obama voter anything besides the previous statement as to why they chose him), we don’t keep up with politics as much as we should, we don’t know anything about those who represent us, so ya, I’m fairly confident that america will look very different in the years to come, and when my generation looks around for the first time and asks “what, why is this happening? I thought everything was okay? what is going on?” I’m gonna be the one to look over, bedraggled and tired and say to them all, “We could have stopped this, but you were blind to what was happening for so long, and you refused to hear what we were telling you, shouting at you that this would happened, that you woke up only after all this went to where it is. And now… we can’t do anything.” (snap) (snap) (snap)
Caleb Hader on 22 Sep 2009 at 4:27 pm #
Um, basically what I meant was that my gen. is dumb and will pretty much accept anything obama does (including wiping us all out, as long as he sugar coats it as “for your country”), cause’ they don’t “have to care right now”. But thanks for letting me do mah’ thang.
Andy on 22 Sep 2009 at 7:09 pm #
Did anybody ever read “Shadowfires” by Dean Koontz? There’s this brilliant scientist who uses some sort of gene therapy to slow the aging process (he has a government contract, of course). He dies, comes back as a zombie, then…transforms…into worse. Cheesy fiction, but what can I say, sometimes that’s what you need on a rainy Sunday.
Obama? I think he wants to turn the country into Soviet Russia, not the Land of the Dead. Not sure which is worse. The guy’s a boob, but in four years, he’ll be an irrelevant footnote in history books, just like Carter.
Angryvikingman on 23 Sep 2009 at 12:55 pm #
Well, I’m gonna find some way to get off the grid. The only thing I’ll be paying for is internet access.
Andy on 23 Sep 2009 at 7:38 pm #
Angryvikingman-
I looked into that, too…the cost of having a well dug was about $9000, and the wind turbine generator was around $30,000…both unnecessary if you’re going totally Rambo, but what figures did you come up with? Total independence would be awesome, and if you think about it, one day may be absolutely imperative.
Angryvikingman on 23 Sep 2009 at 11:20 pm #
$9000 for a well? where do you live?
It’s like $1500-$3000 here depending on how deep they have to drill, and how many times. You can put solar cells on your house, BUILD your own wind turbine from plans on the net, and use hydro electric power. If you dont mind doing some of the work yourself, which I don’t then you’re cutting your costs at every corner.
Ronin666 on 24 Sep 2009 at 12:17 am #
The government here will actually give you money to install solar panels and will then buy your excess power from you. A friend just spent $14,000aus on solar power, the government sent him a check for $8,000. His power bill after 3 months was $0. I’m interested to see what it is when summer comes and he has the AC running. He also has solar hot water and water tanks to catch rainfall.The government also subsidies water tanks in an effort to ease the demand on our dams. All new homes here must have solar hot water and ceiling insulation as part of the building code. I just had my roof insulated for free by the government subsidy. :)
G-UMan on 24 Sep 2009 at 11:03 am #
total independence is a nesesity that will soon have to be met but…… we can not totally depend on our selves for everything (unless you have the right training) so i figure we are gonna have to get all the zombie nuts and band together into one whole mudering homicidal independant government disrupting happy familly if you dont have the right skills find someone to band with that does and so on and so forth so imma need a medic a man at arms a point man a supply man a second scavenger (me being the first) two defense nuts and a survival expert
beans on 24 Sep 2009 at 1:38 pm #
Hey G-UMan you forgot some kind or repair or handyman to fix all the stuff you cant
G-UMan on 25 Sep 2009 at 2:05 pm #
that falls under the scavenger requirment yeah i prolly could use someone with more experence than me though since i have a basic knowledge of car but i am pretty handy so yeah haha o and one more thing i need a sharp shooter too
mitch e on 28 Sep 2009 at 1:02 pm #
im not sure, if there is a virus i don’t think it will make people zombies persay just act like zombies (just fry the brain and make people aggressive(eating people through jealousy or somethin).
not sure if this has posted
mitch e on 28 Sep 2009 at 1:18 pm #
ow and i don’t think its skills ima lookin for its group dynamics for me it would be some one who was about as prepared as me with the same goals i wouldn’t bring any of my friends that’s for sure
Stone on 22 Oct 2009 at 5:15 pm #
Heh. I’d love it if everyone turned into zombies. Life would be much simpler. Not that I want everyone to die, I just mean existance would be simpler if your only daily worry besides finding food is to not get eaten.
Only thing I’d really miss is the internet.
I think if something did happen, it wouldn’t make people undead, just crazy. Have any of you read CELL by stephen king? thats a ‘zombie’ uprising i could see happening.
Senor Krinkle on 21 Nov 2009 at 1:05 am #
I agree with Stone, if like, if we could just drive down to the wall and post up and just blast away at some maggot-farmers, life would be great, the wall that divides us from them would have to be highly guarded, since some nut-job would be all like “ALLAH AK BAR!” and give muslims everywhere a bad name again and blow the wall open and then its like “OH F*UCK! WHO THE F*CK LET THEM IN?!?!?!”, but it would just be really really sick if zombies came, i mean… sure, people would die, but it woulda sorta be worth it in that sick sort of way