Is Ebola the real ‘World War Z?’ (Spoiler alert: It’s not)

[ZombieHorde]

http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2014/10/16/is-ebola-the-real-world-war-z-spoiler-alert-its-not/

By Max Brooks OCTOBER 16, 2014 (woot!)

In 2006, I released a novel about a global zombie plague that drives humanity to the brink of extinction. While the zombies may have been fake, I tried to anchor the human response (political-military-economic-cultural) in reality. I studied the history of pandemics, natural disasters and industrialized warfare. I interviewed doctors, soldiers, journalists and someone who “has never gotten a check from the CIA” in an attempt to illustrate the fragile global systems that shield our species from the abyss. As a result, I’ve been repeatedly asked if the current outbreak of Ebola is the real-life incarnation of my novel. As much as any author would love to crow about how “I predicted this!”, this time, I’m happy to say, my fictional plague could not be more different from the truth.

It could be argued that there are some similarities between the initial Ebola outbreak in West Africa and my fictional virus. Early on, there were missed warnings, such as a U.S. intelligence group’s failure to mine data that was written in French. There was also an obvious lack of interest on the part of the industrialized world. Not only were the headlines already taken up by Islamic State and the war in Ukraine but, let’s be honest, ignoring the plight of Africans is shamefully commonplace in the First World.

A private security officer checks the ID of a passerby at the Village Apartment complex where a second Texas nurse who tested positive for Ebola resides in DallasHowever, roughly one month ago, when the world reached its collective-conscious tipping point, the response deviated sharply from both World War Z’s plot and from responses to AIDS and SARS, which inspired the book. For starters, media coverage of the Ebola virus has been both loud and consistent. Try opening a newspaper, or your laptop, or flipping on either the television or radio without hearing something about Ebola. You can’t. Even President Barack Obama has dubbed the virus a “top national security priority.” Unlike World War Z where the “Great Denial” gave way to the “Great Panic,” real authority figures have tried to temper potential hysteria with sober honesty. While the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Thomas Freiden, promised “a long, hard fight,” he also assured listeners that “we know how to stop it and we’re stopping it in West Africa, community by community.” Likewise, General Daryl Williams, who commands the U.S. military mission to Africa, has declared that mission will continue “for as long as it takes.”

Just the fact that there even is a U.S. military mission to Africa is a crucial difference between fiction and reality. In my book, the main reason that the zombie virus spread out of control was because the industrialized world did not want to be inconvenienced. The United States in particular — war weary, apathetic and eager for a return to happier times — cringed at the prospect of any potential sacrifice. That might describe the U.S reaction to the situation in the Middle East but certainly not to Ebola. Nearly 4,000 American ground troops are being deployed to West Africa with a gargantuan logistics and support train behind them. The American homefront is also being mobilized with enhanced airline passenger screening, as well as new training and equipment for airport employees and medical personnel all across the United States.

~snip~

http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2014/10/16/is-ebola-the-real-world-war-z-spoiler-alert-its-not/

[ieoeja]

1. Actually, ebola is the disease in Steven King's "The Stand".

It wasn't a named disease in "The Stand". Instead it was called a viral hemorrhagic fever. I am pretty certain ebola is a specific strain of virus that causes a viral hemorrhagic fever.

Of course, in "The Stand" it was weaponized. And the whole thing ended up creating a last stand between good and evil.

The original edited version ended up with the bad guy getting nuked then popping back into existence on some isolated island where the natives proceeded to worship him because of the whole popping out of thin air thing. And so the last stand between good and evil turned out not to be a last stand after all. Just a long kick down the road that would have to be fought again another day.

In the unedited version the bad guy was killed for good (which didn't make much sense as it was pretty clear he was supposed to be a paranormal being). But the babies born to the survivors all got the disease and died. So they ended up being the last generation of humanity with the protagonist just saying, "fuck it," and giving up altogether.

I think the editors got it right. But it was an early King novel. Once he had enough power, he was able to get the unabridged version printed.

[Bosonic]

2. The sweet smell of Zombie Virus