Forbidden Donut

Yes there is the possibility that it is a black-op. However it is also possible that it is just Ma Nature doing her thing. I kind of hope for the CIA operation thing. There is treatment for it but I worry that it will spread to innocent people. Not that the Govt. would worry about a few civilian casualties.

I'm not too suspicious of this being a black op, really. We all know that The Base's Trainees live in squalor on meager rations with no plumbing in the most out of the way, middle of nowhere regions. It should come as no big surprise that sooner or later they are under assault by disease. It's just pretty epic that it's THE plague. Not just A plauge, but THE plague.

Also, their out of the way-ness should keep it confined to them and their own regardless of the source.

Honestly, my biggest fear would be that they got a hold of the plague with the intent to use it as a weapon, and couldn't control it. Either way, they have access to the plague. It's not horribly dangerous to most healthy people in civilized countries, provided they get health care and they figure out what it is, but it can be deadly to older people or anyone already sick. The difficulty they would have would be transmitting it, but the actual deaths caused wouldn't be nearly as destructive as the potential fear.

That would be the most foolish use of resources the organization could choose. And they aren't known for being inefficient. Slow, yes. But inefficient they are not. To get the plague you need to have rats, rat fleas, poor hygeine, poor diet, no access to a doctor for a period of 4 weeks and more rats. So they have the plague. Whatever. Bring it on. Next they can try the deadly "chicken pox", or the ever virulent "flu"... And that's assuming they have access to the technology required to culture and store the disease, which is unlikely... since they just got the Bubonic Plague. Also it's in Africa.

Then they need a global delivery system. But I think they're more worried about having the damned plague themselves then giving it to you and me.

The plague is easily cured by simple antibiotics, too, so even if they did manage to introduce it to our society, it wouldn't really last long. Things like TB and even the flu are probably far more deadly here.

I'll rephrase what I meant.

I'm not worried about the plague being used as a biological weapon by a terrorist group. I'm worried that they are willing to attempt to use something as unstable and uncontrollable as a biological agent as a weapon. Whether or not that's actually what was happening, the fact that they may be willing to take that step is a scary one. Can they do it? Probably not, at least not with some serious help or lots of improvisation. On the other hand, if all they did was take 50 people and infect themselves with ebola, they could fly all over the world doing what they could to spread it. Biological agents have the potential to be on an entirely different level then nuclear or chemical weapons due to their unpredictability.

edit:


translation:
"Statistically insignificant threats are scary. Though I acknowledge their unlikelyhood."

You can be afraid of this if you want. I prefer to laugh at the bad guys' unfortunate predicament.

I definitely get what he means, and I agree with him.

The disease isn't really a dramatic threat to us, but it is disturbing that we're considering its use. All moral, ethical, or responsible issues aside, the volatility of the disease in and of itself is a scary thought. Imagine an infected individual leaving the area and not coming to the US but instead going to Egypt or something along those lines. It isn't entirely unreasonable to assume an infected person could travel to a point where the infection could easily spread to a good quantity of innocent people.

It is however, entirely unreasonable to jump to the conclusion that they are working on biological engineering because they are contracting the plague.

But I'm just being contrarian now. I'm more afraid of being hit by a car, and I cross the street a grand total of 2 or 3 times a week. The concept of being frightened from this story strikes me as something like hearing about lead being in Chinese toys and assuming that they are trying to make our next generation of children retarded. It just doesn't follow for me.

If it does for you, whatever, I'm not gonna stop you.

Yes, I laugh. I wonder if my plague vaccine shot from the army has become ineffective? Booster time?

Now they need a little famine. Maybe some "rain of frogs". A nice swarm of locusts. Even a really nasty case of jock itch.

smite smite smite

The bubonic plague is pandemic in parts of the American Southwest currently. Specifically the reservations. So... God verses the indians? I'm sure John Wayne is pleased.