A different twist on the contangion scenario
 

It is 2025. Man has successfully sent human beings to Mars, and brought them back safely. They also brought back microbial life which is fatal to most Earth life -- some of the astronauts are already carrying the microbes, though they have not exhibited any symptoms yet. The biological detectors are not set up properly to register the Martian microbes. And it gets out into the world. Within a year, the earth is a wasteland of dead human, plant, and animal life, with only a few pockets of resistant humans, plants, and animals remaining.

Yes, I know that it's a scientifically sketchy idea. But it's just an idea.

I like it actually...but I wouldnt make it SO devastating. Perhaps keeping it around the same fatality level as other scenarios, just enough to make the soceity collapse.

Here's a neat variation,
The disease is DNA altering retrovirus left by a dying race scattered throughout the galaxy. It was meant to recreate the race out of the genetic material of another race, but unfortunately, humanity wasn't a perfect match for the long dormant retrovirus. (The designers of the virus were methane breathers, for starters).

The disease spread as per Paul's original post, but the effects were varied. Some died outright, some in agony, some had minor annoying effects like odd skin pigmentation, odd bone or muscle growth. Some had their brains altered and in rare cases, turned into hyper intelligent beings, or more likely, regressed to Neanderthal levels of intelligence. Some descended into homicidal or suicidal madness, and some, some weren't recognizable as human any more.

No method of quarantine, no method of antisepsis worked. The retrovirus moved moved quickly via every method of infection known, within six weeks, some 65% of the global population was infected in some form or fashion and the varied effects lead to complete societal breakdown as people reacted out of abject fear of what new horror would come next.

Within six months, the world was quiet, except for the lucky few who were immune, and the infected souls who hadn't died either from the disease, or panicked people who killed the infected the first time they became symptomatic.

Or the virus could kill allot of the people off, turn some into flesh eatin, blood drinkin ghouls (aka Zombies), and a few would bbe naturally imune..... woot another zombie apoc.;)

Here's a thought I've always had. If you are immune to the zombie causing disease, how would you know it? If you got bit by a zombie knowing that is what turns you into one, wouldn't you want to eat a bullet before you died in agony and became dangetous to your friends and family?

Unless you were bitten by the "I won't change! Not me!" bug. Denial is a strong emotion.

Reminds me of some zombie movie I saw where they took the guy's temperature, blood pressure, and pulse. Room temperature, nada, and nada. And there was that telltale pallor. He still denied he was a zombie.

Exactly. As well, I think that if it became widely known (or even rumored) that some people were naturally immune to the disease most people would hold on to the hope that they were one of the ones with immunity.

I thought of something more sinister...the virus turns you into one of the dancing babies from Ally McBeal...

Just for that if it happens to you. May you be cursed with full diapers.:p

And not in a good way!

I am having another bout of diverticulitis right now; how cruel of you to say that!;)

The beginning?
 

Our nightmare is beginning? Just a thought.....

Mike

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100811...lindiapakistan

Aren't there always superbugs coming out of Asia?

Blame the plastic surgeons!

"PARIS (AFP) – Plastic surgery patients have carried a new class of superbugs resistant to almost all antibiotics from South Asia to Britain and they could spread worldwide, researchers reported Wednesday."

btw, anyone watching this reality tv show?

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/colony/

I mentioned it last year, when it was a post apocalyptic reality show. This season they are focusing on a mutant virus outbreak.

I did once, but it just didn't interest me.

EDIT: Let me elaborate on that a bit. I think this series would have been better done as a "mockumentary" approach, like Countdown to Looking Glass, but with even more accent on realism.