Hot Zone/Coming Plague

[Robert Morrell Jr.]

On Mon, 24 Jul 1995, Tommy Beach wrote:
> : Fans of the Preston and Garrett books should take a look at a truly
> : brilliant piece in the New Republic that debunks some of the more
> : outlandish claims in these books, for example Preston's idea that the
> : Ebola virus is planet Earth's way of cleansing itself of unwanted human
> : beings.  See:
> 	I know, I couldn't believe that when I read it.  He also called
> 	a virus a parasite which is a misnomer since a parasite is a
> 	plant, animal or bug and a virus is just a bundle of RNA or DNA.

I did not take Preston's remark quite so literally, but metaphorically. 
Clearly when you are stretching the planets resources and systems, 
negative feedback from those systems (like the tortured whine of an 
overstrained engine) can be thought of as commication or response. It 
appears to me that only philosophy majors would worry that you were 
implying consciousness in the communicator.


*                     Bob Morrell                       *
*              bmorrell at isnet.is.wfu.edu                *
* The operation was a success, as the autopsy will show *