Monday, October 20, 2003

Keep your zombies, but give us your women.

We rented 28 Days Later the other night. Creepy.

About halfway through, the movie takes a turn. Survivors have actually begun to consider their future, or lack thereof. A couple handfuls of adrenaline-driven, slightly crazed soldiers, and two women. Do the math. It's The First Century After Beatrice again, although in this case at least mankind isn't quite as directly responsible.

And every few weeks I hear another report about the shortage of females in India. Prenatal sex testing has been made illegal.

The movie's virus was "rage," to allow for the zombie effect, but one can substitute SARS (high contagion factor) or other bioterrorist substances and see the implications.

I'm reminded also of the time-released disease unleashed in Oryx and Crake, and the difficulty of building a post-apocalyptic future.

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