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"As the rate of technological development speeds up, the gap between science fiction and what we’re living now is getting narrower all the time."
- Richard Morgan
 |
| Designed Bacteria | ||
| Very early reference to the idea of bacteria designed to wipe out a particular species, and no others. |
In this novel of a far-future Earth, an unlikely invader has come to challenge the remnants of humanity. A single spore has seeded and grown; its progeny capture one man - and learn from him. And release him to infect others.
Zar is able to gasp out this warning.
| "...Keep power flowing in the purification generators if you can! ...those plants! Their approach to problems is different from our own. No metals. No machines as we know them. But in hidden compartments in their tissues it was easy for them to create the bacteria of death! They invented those bacteria, and grew them, breaking them away from their own substance. Some way, when I was captive, I was infected. The thorns on the tendrils that held me! I was the carrier! |
| From Seeds of Dusk,
by Raymond Z. Gallun. Published by Astounding Stories in 1937 Additional resources -
|
This engineered plague is not only virulent, but insidious in its effects:
During its incipient stages the poisons of it seem actually to stimulate mental and physical activity, giving a treacherous impression of robust health.
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| Worms Eat Plastic Now |
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'Our ancestors... thought to make the very sand beneath their feet intelligent...'
'A mimetic poly-alloy... 'What the hell does that mean?''
'Now I will tell you how Octavia, the spider-web city, is made.'
'Fortunately, the old orbital forts were superbly equipped for this task.'
