Monsters Read Free Page B

sick, the elderly and the weak, mankind finally realized gigantism was more than a novelty, a new world order had formed. Man was no longer the apex predator.
    Investigations were made into the possible causes for gigantism and a biological agent was identified in the fallout from the comet. Although the structure was simple, being a rudimentary combination of amino acids forming a non-bacterial pathogen, it acted like a virus. It wasn't a virus in the technical sense of the word, as its helical structure was far too small, but the word virus was all the newspapers needed to hear. Comet Holt had brought an extraterrestrial plague upon Earth.
    The New York Times broke the story with one word plastered across its cover in letters eight inches high, VIRUS. The Washington Post called it THE FINAL HORSEMAN OF THE APOCALYPSE. There wasn't enough time to study the celestial biological agent, let alone to develop a strategy for containing or reversing its effects. What research could be done focused on the genetic differences between quadrupeds and quadrumana, as mankind and primates were largely unaffected by the pathogen. Investigations were made into the evolutionary genetics of the long-extinct megafauna and their relationship to an oxygen-rich environment, but the effort was too little, too late.
    Hard decisions had to be made, and those that still held to the authority of the Old World knew their days were numbered. The survival of the human race depended not just on the priorities being set, but the speed with which decisions could be implemented. Governments became ruthless. Martial law was implemented in the camps. Punishment was swift and severe. Looting was a capital offense. That discretion was given to field commanders to determine guilt and innocence became a worse problem. The army found itself as judge, jury and executioner.
    Somehow, the newspapers still printed. Even when it seemed doubtful anyone would read them, the major papers felt a sense of obligation to voice the concerns of a populace reeling in shock. In some cases, only flyers were printed, just a couple of folded pages, but someone somewhere understood the importance of the news, someone kept the presses running.
    The United Nations called the institution of martial law a tactical response, but that was a clever way of avoiding the truth. Martial law was merciless. What began as disaster response morphed into preparations for the radical restructuring of Western society. Rather than seeking to save all, Western governments adopted the tactics of those in the East. They chose to save only some, but their choices were based on money, power and influence, qualities that were transient and rapidly moving out of vogue. For all the fear and alarm that was raised in those final days, few saw the end coming. There was still a sense that somehow civilization would escape the downward spiral into animalistic violence, but it didn't.
    Science was one of many casualties as the civilized world collapsed. Cynics had long attacked science with irrational, emotionally-charged arguments that sought to preserve the status quo. They had attacked the theory of evolution. They had attacked the research on climate change. They spread fear and misinformation about vaccines. There had even been doubts cast upon the great accomplishments of the era, like the moon landing. It was as though the existence of the great pyramids was being called into question. And so, when the fall of man came, the Luddites rejoiced. For them, man's demise was a vindication of their ideals, a moment full of spite and bitter rejoicing.
    The economies of scale that had for so many years given civilized man access to technologies he could never build for himself finally failed. The innovations that gave hundreds of millions of people access to foods they didn't have to harvest, access to clothes they didn't have to weave, access to houses they didn't have to build, these all fell into chaos. The supply