Virus

a story by

Adam Paimon

Preface

I wrote this story out of anger at authorities and people in general during the COVID-outbreak in 2020. I was just amazed by the lack of responsibility. People who were not careful, who didn't care about others, who even dared to deny it was all happening. Governments who were so slow to respond and did not want to compromise their economies. Religious groups who did not want to suspend their worshiping (and governments that allowed that!), who said it was meant to be by their deity, causing infections and risk for people outside their belief group. I was so disappointed in the lack of common sense during a crisis. So little people could look past their own views and ideas. It was shameful.

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Virus

a vision

When I came into existence, the world was still young. Procreating and thriving in whatever animal I could find, I survived for decades and centuries until I found you, king of animals, master of this world, fellow-exterminator on this earth. We were bound to find each other, you chewing away all animals your mouth could find and I, travelling around all beasts that suited me. And now, here we are. Who will be the next alpha? Who will be the real and final king of this world? I know I will survive, do you?

You know, I have studied you, the last couple of years. Some of you do not fear, some of you do not realize. Maybe you think I am harmless and only “weeding out the weak” as a healthy mechanism that purifies this world we share. For now I am weeding, maybe. But realize that only a few changes to myself will bring your race to your knees. And changes I will make, you can be sure of that. There are many ways to pierce your defences and many ways to do damage. There are trillions of us and one day, one of my children will find an essential weak spot in that vulnerable body of yours. It is only a matter of time. We are already spreading uncontrollably, it is like a gun pointed to your forehead. Soon we will find the trigger and you will die.

You can not avoid me and you won’t see me coming, because you do not even know all the ways I travel. And if you find them all, I will find a different way. It is easy, I have nothing else to do but procreating and spreading. That is what I do, that is what I am good at, that is why I exist. By definition the same thing you do of course: multiplying and spreading.

You can not hide from me. But then, you are not hiding at all. You fail to see the seriousness of our mutual struggle. You are easy targets, unsuspecting and ignorant people who think they can continue living like they did before. I see the young men, crowding together, hugging and slamming their fists. Talking "hey man" and "yo dude" and "hi matey". It is so easy spreading my children among you. Women, caring for their loved ones, their family, unable to stay away from them. Know that I am there too and that your longing for others will be your doom.

For those of you who hide behind their religion, for those who feel they can not be touched because of their faith, I will get you first. Spreading is so easy between you, clustered in your houses of worship, clinging to each other while begging for Godly support. Sticking to your unchangeable holy proceedings, which can not be set aside for anything, even if it will mean the end of you and your faith.

Among you, the ones with the biggest fears of Godly wrath are the most gratifying to catch. You actually believe that you deserve to be infected and die, and I will gladly be of assistance. And then there are those who resign to the inevitable, thinking it is a choice made by God whether they live or whether they are infected and die. I detest you. It is us, me and my children, who decide if you die or not. There is no one else. I would suggest that, if you have to worship a higher being, then worship me.

Religious people are the most naïve and vulnerable prey, fast to kill. And after your death only your empty holy words remain, which underlines your insignificance in the greater picture of the universe. There is no God, Allah or whichever gods you believe in. There is only extinction and survival. But do keep praying to your non-existing gods, please do. It is the surest way to extinction.

I see that some of you are actually putting up a fight. Investigating, identifying and dissecting my children to find a weapon to return my attack. You will fail. You may win some battles, but you haven’t won the war by far. Time is your enemy here. You are working so hard, but time is something you do not control. And the clock is ticking. Each second, my children multiply and learn new tricks. In the meantime, please continue fighting over rights to your vaccines, your profits and who owns the cure, I don’t care for those things. I have only one purpose and I will not spend my time on such trifles. Also, your segregation, your inequality and your disdain for random groups of people will be your fatal weakness. You say you want to save all, but that is not true. People only want to save themselves.

It is all “me first” when you are panicking. Buying vaccines before they even work, just to be the first and make sure that your part of the world will be saved. Spend your money in such gambling pits, I don’t care. As long as you are divided, there is a future for me. Please do continue with such insignificant things like saving the economy, organising sports matches, going on your well-deserved holiday or making sure the presidential elections can take place. As long as you do not take this seriously, it will be an easy victory for me.

In the meantime, I laugh at your futile attempts to “control me”. It is a plain joke how your governments try to direct your actions and try to tell you what to do. You won’t listen, of course you will not. Most of you are just too stupid and ignorant to accept that someone else might have a good idea, a solution. You will take care of yourself, sure you can, you don’t need any government ordering you about. Be like that, I will visit you soon.

Maybe some of you are smart and know they should listen, but the bigger group within those people just lack the means to do what is right. Controlled by poverty, the disgrace of your world domination, an unsolved problem for hundreds of years, leaves them no choice. They might know what should be done, but they do not have a choice. Listening to their leaders will cause them to starve, disobeying them adds a risk of finding me on their path, but at least they might not die today or tomorrow.

And even if you are smart and do have the means to do what is necessary, you are all still controlled by that complex system of passions and urges and needs, not to speak of your inherent stubbornness. If the enemy is invisible, why should you care? Do you know any infected people? Do you see the bodies piling up in the streets? No. You see no danger, so there is nothing to be afraid of. Why should you be afraid, indeed.

I see your leaders making decisions on countermeasures with doubt in their eyes. Slamming fists on tables to show you they mean serious business, but you do not believe them. Why should you? You have never believed them or you just don’t care. And now it is a matter of life and death, but the message just doesn’t sink in. Maybe your leaders do not get the message themselves, maybe they do not even believe what they say. Keep your distance, three simple words, but you are all too stupid, too dependent and too ignorant to obey such a simple rule.

I don’t mind, of course. It is one step closer to world domination. But you shouldn’t worry too much. Not all of you will die, I need some alive to take care of myself. For now I am enjoying your stupid heedlessness too much, so count on a large number of deaths. You are so funny when you are pointing to each other to lay blame and run right into the abyss without thinking. I am actually enjoying this so much that I am not sure if I can stop myself when I need to. Maybe I just kill you all. I am sure the world wouldn’t mind losing the human race and in the end there are plenty of other hosts I can turn to.

I see that you still have doubt in your eyes and that single burning question is on the tip of your tongue. Ask your question, I already know what you are going to ask. What if your people, against all better judgement, win the war?

You know, deep inside, that this is a futile question, born out of that one concept you people are good for, hope. A person can be on the brink of dying, but there always remains hope. It is a non-existent concept, an invention of the mind. You can not grab it, you can not see it, you can not kill it, it can not be lost. But it is irrelevant, because hope is not a cure for a virus. If you do not act, there will be nothing left that is capable of hoping for something.

But let’s indeed say, for the sake of argument, that you win the war. There are different ways of winning of course. Most likely you would only suppress me and I will go back into hiding, keeping a low profile and maybe gain some skills before I return to you with full fury, ravaging mankind again somewhere in the future. Because people will never learn. Even if they have been on the brink of extinction, they will continue to make the same mistakes. There are too many of you to control yourselves. Eventually, someone will get hungry, eat that uncommon beast and I will return.

A different way to end the war would be my extinction. This will happen someday for sure, although I do not expect this to be anytime soon. Extinction is part of life, it is just a way to make room for others that claim their right to have a place on earth. It is not a bad thing in general and that day will come for me as it comes for you, but I know chances are slim for me to become extinct very soon. But hypothetically speaking, I can comment on that. Because the answer is simple.

It shall be no surprise to you that if I am not there anymore to kill you, my nephews, nieces or other more remote family members will take on the job. The struggle will continue as long as you keep trespassing on our property. Keep our territories separate and we will live next to you. But you will never do that. You think you own this world and that you have a right to everything that exists here. You started this war, not us. By all means, keep ravaging this earth, dig, disturb, fight, eat and procreate. You will find us everywhere you go. And in the end, we will kill you all.