First, I must state that this may not be what you are looking for in any way. I might also add that my selection of literature is neither artistic nor philosophical. It did, however, move me. I read The Hot Zone by Michael Crichton in 1995, and throughout my post-Hot Zone series of reads, it still remains my favorite. It wasn't the book per se that grabbed me, it was the art of the virus. I quickly became so intrigued in the "virus" that I was positive I would become an epidemiologist. I wanted to get to the root of what makes a virus tick. The way it can adapt to almost anything, it's determination of survival, it's authority over life. I couldn't believe that there was something out there, a living organism, that was capable of the destruction that a virus could achieve. Even as I read through some of those pages in horror, I couldn't help but find beauty in the way a virus maintains it's secrecy. It holds a power over humans, plants and animals, and we will never truly understand or prevent the spread and manipulation of virus". They are an entity in themselves. They can live in places we have never known, and grow stronger with every man-made error we attain. A virus doesn't discriminate, it's not sexist or chauvinist, it doesn't care if you take your vitamins. A virus simply knows how to survive. It has the basic skills that we have long since forgotten. .
The Hot Zone opened my eyes to an immortal world. It showed me that we aren't invincible and that there is a whole living world out there that may someday show it's wrath.
