~Diary entries by Cori O’Virus, edited by Colleen O’Brien
When I left off last week, I was about to listen to my host’s radio. I am conversant with the language – all coronavirus know the language of whatever part of the world they’ve blown into. If we’re around individuals for any time, we begin to read their minds. In my peculiar position, soon I will have my host reading mine, for I think that she and I are on the same path in life. We can help one another. And our species.
It’s a thought I’ve had since I picked this spot for observation. A plan develops.
In the meantime, I’m learning the politics here where I wound up, politics being the governance of a country and the debate between differing factions about how to govern.
The earth knows many types of governing, none of them working too well from what I’ve gathered so far…although I’m not one to talk, being from a Virus family: we just float from place to place, no governing going on at all, no plan for tomorrow except to infect. It seems a lazy way to exist; not to mention meanspirited.
However, we are quite handsome, if I do say so myself. We have great coloring –reds, blues, silver, sparkles, swirls, a kind of modern-art effect to most of us. But we create nothing. We only destroy. At least humans build handsome things, create paintings and books, music to break hearts, buildings, astonishing bridges. Often what they create is as lovely and breathtaking as what their Mother Nature fashions and nurtures all over their globe.
I begin to wonder if a species – human or virus – can escape its habit of being.
~~~~
Because she leaves the radio on while she’s sleeping, my host’s proclivities inform me of her culture. At some point I could return to my own species and tell them what humans are doing to get rid of us. But we’ve got quite a bit of time yet; these humans are slow. I’m beginning to suspect they are so because of their politics. I haven’t quite got a handle on that yet – they try to destroy one another with their differing opinions. One faction wants to get to know us to get rid of us; the opposition doesn’t seem to care how many humans die because of us, as long as the economy continues at a healthy pace.
I know that humans are quick to kill things. They kill everything in sight and spout the hypocrisy that we are the pandemic. Their weapons against us — disinfectant, antiseptics, sterilizing – have wiped out some of our coronavirus cousins — SARS -CoV and MERS-CoV. They’re having a bit of trouble with our particular coronavirus: CO (corona) VI (virus) D (disease) = COVID 19 (for 2019)
No vaccine against us yet.
This dictionary I have up here on my untidy waystation atop the fridge – my host has a dictionary on nearly every surface in the house; it’s weird. Can’t wait to learn why. Anyway, I discovered the “-cide” words in the big book. They alone tell the tale of what’s important to this group: – suicide, killing oneself; homicide, killing another human; matricide, one’s mother; fratricide, one’s sibling; herbicide, plants; pesticide, bugs and vermin.
That they have a particular word-ending to attach to anything living that can be killed – wow. Is it a built-in, this killer mentality? Makes us viruses look benign. It’s never dawned on us to kill each other or every bug in the Amazon basin, however much our goal might be to kill the human race.
Maybe our role here has a purpose. I am hoping not the one I just mentioned.
But really, these people, they even kill dirt, if you can believe it.
I hear from the radio news that humans across the world have yet to fashion a vaccine to deter us viruses. It’ll be another of those “cides.” Covicide? Virucide? When I think it’s possible they’re about to inoculate one another against us, I’ll let you know, family. Maybe that will be the time our species retires to more creative endeavors. I can’t imagine what, but we could use our hosts for pals? Rather than living off them till they die just for our survival? I seem to be surviving okay on grease, dust and bean bubbles; maybe we don’t have to kill. Death has less and less appeal.
The situation gets deeper and deeper – if we don’t’ kill them off and they don’t kill us off, it will be a stalemate. How would that make for a better world? It would be more of the same. Or if we both kill each other off, would that mean a better world? The dirt itself would jump for joy.
Maybe the idea could be that we viruses live for a purpose that does not involve killing – a teaching species. We could be the philosophically humanitarian virus! How ironic, humanitarian! As well as virus-itarian. I am ahead of my time. A parasite paradox.
Be back next week.
