Ah, the dangers of talking plague with, well, me.: seanan

Ah, the dangers of talking plague with, well, me.

Questions I'm sure

jennifer_brozek probably wasn't expecting to answer today:

"Is your drug resistant bubonic plague actually yersinia pestis, or a mimicking virological agent?"

Because that's a totally reasonable thing for me to ask, right? I mean, bubonic plague is wiping out Texas, I want to know what its rate of spread is, how it's transmitted, whether the speed of spread is retarded by some animal infector (as in the original bubonic plague, where your spread is limited to the presence, health, and density of rat fleas available to spread the bacteria). You may all applaud Jennifer, because she had a quick and reasonable response, and did not threaten to smack me with the nearest available cat if I didn't stop being a geek.

(Jennifer is editing an anthology called Grant's Pass, set roughly fourteen months after a series of biologically engineered pathogens wiped out the bulk of the human race. Clearly, Jennifer loves me. Amusingly, Jennifer didn't know me when she came up with the idea for the anthology. So clearly, great minds think alike. Sadly for Jennifer, this means I have a totally valid reason to ask her questions about terrible diseases. I do so love it when people volunteer to be my cat toys.)

I've actually finished two lovely books on historical diseases in the last week -- The Speckled Monster (all about smallpox) and The American Plague (all about the yellow fever). Here's a handy tip: pandemics are scary. Here's another handy tip: try not to get stuck in the middle of one. I learned many things that I didn't know before, like 'smallpox dictated English succession several times' and 'yellow fever wiped out much of Memphis.' Also, the CDC views a single case of yellow fever as an epidemic. Pretty spiffy!

As I am flying to Seattle on Friday, no more plague books for me right now; I really don't feel the need to attract the attention of Homeland Security or the TSA just because I couldn't do without my daily dose of death. Also, after the premiere episode of Fringe -- which I loved blazingly -- I'd probably get myself lynched by my fellow passengers.

Yay, plague!

sdelmonte

September 16 2008, 20:45:33 UTC 8 years ago

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Why am I not surprised you loved Fringe? Can't say that Batya and I did, but it had nothing to do with Melting Passenger Syndrome. (Neither of us liked the lead very much, though we love the Bishops. Mad scientists are just that much cooler than FBI agents.)

seanan_mcguire

September 17 2008, 14:19:50 UTC 8 years ago

Melting passengers, mad scientists, Australian actresses pretending to be American -- what's not to love? Seriously, the show may wind up losing me, but since it's really a horror/procedural, I don't think that's all that likely.

tikiera

September 16 2008, 21:20:35 UTC 8 years ago

Okay, am I correct in that if it was a water based toxin, that touching the man with transparent skin was a bad idea?

I have been dying to ask someone that might know that question.

September 17 2008, 14:20:51 UTC 8 years ago

Absolutely, assuming it wasn't skin-soluble and washed off him. I'm assuming that it was a water-based contact toxin; it got on him, and all the residue was rinsed away during the prep work at the hospital.

Thankfully, skin crystallization doesn't seem to work quite like poison ivy.

Deleted comment

September 17 2008, 14:21:24 UTC 8 years ago

Cholera is a fascinating bacteria, and you should really read Ghost Maps if you want to see how it was partially responsible for the birth of modern epidemiology.

gorgeousgary

September 16 2008, 23:48:48 UTC 8 years ago

And speaking of Fringe, did Mr. Abrams experience some bad international travel karma? Two consecutive series, two trashed airplanes...some airline out there must have done him wrong!

September 17 2008, 14:21:40 UTC 8 years ago

At least he doesn't have Whedon's girlfriend issues!

jennifer_brozek

September 17 2008, 02:01:15 UTC 8 years ago

Fringe has gone on the "to watch" list while True Blood has dropped off it.

As for the question, turn about was fair play. I did wake you up one morning to ask you which disease causes blood to burst through the skin. You are my "go to" gal when it comes to icky things now. Fairs fair. Besides, you're writing for me. (Dance, monkey, dance!)

Speaking of Seattle ... will there be any visit time in that four day span?

September 17 2008, 14:22:56 UTC 8 years ago

True Blood seems to be paralleling the book it's based on very closely, which makes me inclined to give it at least six episodes. It may flow better viewed in a solid chunk.

I don't think so, this time -- I'm pretty booked, and there is muchly, muchly rehearsal to be done. (I seriously doubt you want to come have breakfast with me at the airport, and that would be the window.)