Andromeda Strain Essay

Critical Review of the Andromeda Strain

Imagine walking into a town that normally populates 48 vivacious residents, and discovering 46 non-moving non-living bodies. There are no guns, no bombs, and no visible pre-manufactured weapons of any sort. A few minutes later death strikes, observations can no longer be made, and a black curtain falls.

This is what happened to two Army recovery personnel in the town of Piedmont, Arizona (population 48). They set off to retrieve SCOOP VII, a military satellite sent to bring back alien microorganisms. The satellite did its’ job, it brought back a microorganism; something its six predecessors were not able to do. The microorganism SCOOP VII brought back was lethal, killing almost

The five-floored facility was built entirely underground, with each floor more sterile than the one above. Here the four scientists work with the microorganism, now code named “Andromeda strain.” They try to discover how the agent kills, what it is composed of, where it came from, and why those two civilians survived. The scientists conclude their work on the fifth floor, when disaster strikes. A seal is broken which sets off an automatic nuclear explosion, designed to destroy any microscopic threat to society. The scientists have only a few minutes to disable the bomb, and finally attempt to answer all those

Could this happen? Is our country prepared? What if the Russians had discovered this microbe during the Cold War? One possible answer is yes. This is happening right now in Africa with the Ebola virus. Our country is not prepared, we have neither a vaccine nor a cure. Fortunately, the Russians did not use biological weapons during the Cold War, but the threat is not over. Iraq has been accused of producing biological weapons, and terrorists recently used Anthrax, a deadly microbe, in a Japanese subway. The threat is out there, and quite frankly, Michael Crichton produced paranoia in one reader. The second group of questions are a little more abstract. What if a higher life form sent this microorganism in order to communicate their existence? What does this mean for civilization as it is known today? These are just a few examples of the ability of this novel to generate reader