Artwork by Mike Perkins for The Stand: Captain Trips.
As I write this, the World Health Organization is conducting an emergency meeting. The topic?: Today's press release of their statement that the A/H1N1 "Swine Flu" has reached the full-blown pandemic level, stage 6.
What does that mean for you and me? Not much. So far, A/H1N1 is no more virulent than the common flu, though it does pose greater health dangers for those who are obese, have asthma, are a Native Inuit, and the list goes on.
Though I'm no health expert, I suspect that the list of those who are most at risk is similar to the list of those who are most affected by diabetes (of course, this is just my theory.) Another theory is that arsenic levels in drinking water may lower immune systems of otherwise healthy individuals, also putting them on the danger list for serious infection.
Regardless, for the majority of the world's population, the best advice with regard to this current pandemic is: wash your hands often with soap and water, avoid touching your eyes and mouth, cover your coughs and sneezes (with your elbow,) avoid crowds and stay home if you're sick.
Warnings finished, it is now time to scare the pants off of you -- with a book.
There are times when one needs to look past the personal views of an author in order to relish a truly great work. This is one of those times. The author is Stephen King and the novel is The Stand. It is to a pandemic flu what Jaws
All religious and supernatural elements aside, King's novel paints a hauntingly realistic view of the life a few survivors are left to in a world decimated by a virulent flu pandemic. If you're not afraid of the flu now, you will be when you finish The Stand. It remains one of my favorite pool-side / vacation reads. - c
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The Stand is divided into three parts, or books. The first is titled "Captain Trips" and takes place over nineteen days, with the escape and spread of a human-made biological weapon, a superflu (influenza) virus known formally as "Project Blue" and colloquially as "Captain Trips." The epidemic leads to the death of most of the human population in North America (and the world: it is hinted that General Starkey’s men had released the virus in eastern Europe, China, and the Soviet Union; and Peru and Senegal are mentioned in discussion of post-epidemic deaths due to natural causes).
99.4% of people are susceptible to Captain Trips, and the disease has a mortality rate of 100%. King outlines the total breakdown and destruction of society through widespread violence, the failure of martial law to contain the outbreak, and eventually the death of virtually the entire population. The human toll is also dealt with, as the few survivors must care for their families and friends, dealing with confusion and grief as their loved ones ultimately succumb to the flu, which has inexplicably spared them.
The expanded edition of the novel opens with a prologue titled "The Circle Opens" that offers greater detail into the circumstances surrounding the development of the virus and the security breach that allowed its escape from the secret laboratory compound where it was created. -- Wikipedia
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The Stand: Captain Trips
"Captain Trips", a viral biological weapon that obliterates a significant portion of the world's human population. Artwork by Mike Perkins.
Issue 1: On a secret army base in the Californian desert, something has gone horribly, terribly wrong. Something that will send Charlie Campion and his wife and daughter fleeing in the middle of the night. Unfortunately for the Campion family - and the rest of America - they are unaware that all three of them are carrying a deadly cargo: A virus that will spread from person to person like wildfire, triggering a massive wave of disease and death, prefacing humanity's last stand!
Issue 2: The story continues in this issue as the unseen killer, the super-flu Captain Trips, spreads a tide of disease and death across the entire country. Meanwhile, in Atlanta, in the Center for Disease Control, the US government has taken a keen interest in Stuart Redman, who seems to be the only person immune to the Captain Trips infection. They are determined to find out why - with or without Stu's cooperation. And what do the recurring nightmares Stu's been having - about a dark man with red eyes standing in a cornfield - mean? Plus: Frannie Goldsmith and her father! Larry Underwood in New York! And Nick Andros takes a wrong turn in Shoyo, Arkansas!
Issue 3: As the superflu known as "Captain Trips" continues to spread across America, the lives of poor souls such as Larry Underwood and Frannie Goldsmith can't help but be affected by it. And as the media begins to catch wind of rumors about chemical warfare and bubonic plague, the actions of the American government begin to devolve, local and global legal systems start to deteriorate, and two wild and crazy outlaws - Lloyd Henreid and Poke Freeman - decide to take advantage of the situation, wreaking a path of destruction through the American southwest.
Issue 4: For Larry Underwood, Nick Andros, and Frannie Goldsmith, the deadly superflu has immediate - and devastating - consequences, striking down people near and dear to their hearts. Meanwhile, outlaw Lloyd Henreid gets some grim news from his attorney and General Starkey is relieved of his duties - in the most definitive way possible. And somewhere far away, but getting closer, the Walkin' Dude is making his presence known...
Issue 5: The violently contagious superflu Captain Trips has now encompassed the entire country in its deadly embrace and there’s no turning back. America is rapidly becoming a country of the sick, the dead, the damned. Against that ever-darkening backdrop, Randall Flagg, the Walking Dude, the Dark Man, at long last saunters onto the scene. Abandon hope all ye who enter here...
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Whichever edition you wind up with, I'm sure you will enjoy. Have a safe and flu-free summer. ;) - c
UPDATE: Swine flu pandemic declared by World Health Organization
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