I work in a WMD-related field. People ask me if I’m afraid of a nuclear explosion. I tell them no. that doesn’t concern me at all. What keeps me awake at night is knowing that somewhere out there is a virus waiting to mutate and take out millions of people. The only Stephen King novel I like is The Stand. The beginning of the book is about how it would go down. A living nightmare.
Farm kid.
Almost 30 years ago, we had something hit our farm. Killed 40% of the hogs in days, most of the baby pigs were still born, and the ones that survived did not gain well.
We had people from all over the world trying to figure it out. Determined it came from a wounded goose that was in the sow yard.
Vet at the University of Nebraska said “You know, that is how these things jump species to people. Bird, to pig,to close handles of pigs”.
I was reading the Stand AT THE SAME TIME. Didn’t sleep for days.
Eventually a vaccine was developed. But not before Dad went bankrupt.