Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire

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T-Minus 28 days to DEADLINE.

Reston, Virginia. May 15th, 2014.

The misters above the feeding cages went off again promptly at three, filling the air inside the hot room with an aerosolized mixture of water and six different strains of rhinovirus. The rhesus monkeys and guinea pigs who had entered the cages five minutes earlier, when the food was poured, ignored the thin mist drifting over them. Their attention was focused entirely on the food. Dr. Alexander Kellis watched them eat, making notes on his iPad with quick swipes of his index finger. He didn't look down.

"How's it looking?"

"This is their seventh exposure. So far, none of them have shown any symptoms. Appetites are good, eyes are clear; no runny noses, no coughing. There was some sneezing, but it appears that Subject 11c has allergies."

The man standing next to America's premiere expert in genetically engineered rhino- and coronaviruses raised an eyebrow. "Allergies?"

"Yes." Dr. Kellis indicated one of the rhesus monkeys. She was sitting on her haunches, shoving grapes into her mouth with single-minded dedication to the task of eating as many of them as possible before one of the other monkeys took them away. "She's allergic to guinea pigs, poor thing."

His companion laughed. "Yes, poor thing," he agreed, before leaning in and kissing Dr. Kellis on the cheek. "As you may recall, you gave me permission yesterday to demand that you leave the lab for lunch. I have a note. Signed and everything."

"John, I really—"

"You also gave me permission to make you sleep on the couch for the rest of the month if you turned me down for anything short of one of the animals getting sick, and you know what that does to your back." John Kellis stepped back, folding his arms and looking levelly at his husband. "Now which is it going to be? Marital bliss and a lovely lunch, or nights and nights with that broken spring digging into your side, wishing you'd been willing to listen to me?"

Alexander sighed. "You don't play fair."

"You haven't left this lab during the day for almost a month," John countered. "How is wanting you to be healthy not playing fair? As funny as it would be if you got sick while you were trying to save mankind from the tyranny of the flu, it would make you crazy, and you know it."

"You're right."

"You're damn right I am. Now put down that computer and get your coat. The world can stay unsaved for a few more hours, while we get something nutritious that didn't come out of a vending machine into you."

This time, Alexander smiled. John smiled back. It was reflex, and relief, and love, all tangled up together. It was impossible for him to look at that smile and not remember why he'd fallen in love in the first place, and why he'd been willing to spend the last ten years of his life with this wonderful, magical, infuriating man.

"We're going to be famous for what we're doing here, you know," Alexander said. "People are going to remember the name 'Kellis' forever."

"Won't that be a nice thing to remember you by after you've died of starvation?" John took his arm firmly. "Come along, genius. I'd like to have you to myself for a little while before you go down in history as the savior of mankind."

Behind them, in the hot room, the misters went off again, and the monkeys shrieked.

***

Dr. Alexander Kellis held a private press conference yesterday to announce the latest developments in his oft-maligned "fight against the common cold." Dr. Kellis holds multiple degrees in virology and molecular biology...

When will you Rise?
Tags: deadline, mira grant, pandemic time
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Eeeeeee!

You are the best Seanan ever. <3
Definitely. She give the bestest presents!

lysystratae

6 years ago

Are you moving Reston to West Virginia for your ficton? Because here in this reality it's in Virginia, just west of DC.
There's one in West Virginia, too. Also in the province of Manitoba.

wcg

6 years ago

lysystratae

6 years ago

wcg

6 years ago

So ready!
Wish I'd still be in the States by then. Ah well... a bookstore is proving demm'd elusive, though.
"Come along, genius. I'd like to have you to myself for a little while before you go down in history as the savior of mankind."

If this were any more ironic it would actually be iron.
I must admit to being puzzled by the ` tag on this post. Typo? :)

Also, the not-seeing-what-comes-after fills me with curiosity and dread. Is that when people snuck* in to release it?

*sneaked? Google spell check is telling me snuck is not a word.
Randomly, I <3 that Dr. Kellis has a husband. :3 'Tis awesome.

And I have this whole "Dun dun DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!" soundtrack in my head after reading that. Nice! :D
Did you catch where one of the female senators at the convention had a wife in Feed? That part made me double-take, then go back to make sure I was reading my pronouns correctly.

ladyamber

6 years ago

Knowing what this foreshadows it dumps the creepy all over my feet...

Thanks for doing this.
eeew- I stepped in creepy!
Wheeeee! I love this backstory...
Fun!!!!!!
(Eeee Reston!)

I'm loving these snippets so much! I can't wait until Deadline comes out; I just hope our main bookstore actually stocks it in stores this time.
*cries a little at people who are just trying to make the world a better place*

(...do you actually have twenty-eight more of these??? O_O )
OH ALEXANDER IT'S GOING TO BE FOR ALLLLL THE VERY WRONG REASONS. BUT YES.

They're so adorable. Pity they're probably going to die.
asjkfgsgfdsg these snippets are making me so excited for deadline that it's not even funny.

I am intriuged. This genre isn't normally my thing, buf I might need to spend a lot of time on Wikipedia.

I describe FEED as 'The zombie book for people who don't like zombie books' - because while there are zombies they aren't the point. It's a story about people trying to do what is right in a really messed-up world.

The best SF takes a situation and extrapolates it while telling us something about ourselves - and that is what FEED does. That's why I'm all bouncy that it was nominated for a Hugo!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled gleeful shivering.
This book cannot come soon enough! *bounce* *bounce*
I haven't been reading any of these snippets because I don't "do" spoilers, but I just want you to know I'm flailing over here!!!
To be clear: these aren't snippets, and none of them are from the actual book. These are all snapshots from the time period prior to or directly during the first few months of the Rising. So the only "spoilers" are things that happened 20+ years before Feed.

rhoda_rants

6 years ago

lysystratae

6 years ago

seanan_mcguire

6 years ago

Still got those shivers down my spine. Is it possible that these will ever be collected and published in some form, as additions to future versions of the book, maybe?
Look, a bunny.
My happy surprise of the morning was discovering that Feed is on sale at Amazon for just under the remaining amount I had on my Kindle book gift card allowance. Now I might actually finish reading it before Deadline drops... YAY! :-)
So very excited, and delighted at these pre-Rising tidbits. I love bonus materials!

Thank you for giving us little itsy glimpses into the world right before it all went to hell.

Thank you for writing FEED. And DEADLINE. And BLACKOUT.

Thank you thank you thank you.
"People are going to remember the name 'Kellis' forever."

Mmm, zombie-flavoured dramatic irony. It is delicious!

Also, Dr. Kellis having a husband is a very cool thing.
Personally, I find it hysterical.
I am /so/ waiting for the book, and these snippets are making me more so. Knowing what will happen just makes them more exciting...

Thank you!
Now I must wait for UPS to deliver. It's like a present to myself. And, yes, a copy goes to the Olympic Training Center. Two of the triathletes sent me a thank you card, so I feel appreciated. And, mostly, they are all cash poor, but ever so rich in experience as they travel the world.
Love that Kellis has a hubby. Love even more that it *doesn't matter*. Just a little detail that makes him more real, like his favorite color or something, not a "look at the gay and the gay stuff he does!" plot point. Thanks.:)
Shiny! I go away from LJ for a bit and come back to discover story bits! Thank you for sharing these with us! (I almost called them story snacks - perhaps I shouldn't comment while eating.)
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