Outbreak
Set in: 1990s
Approach to the future
Ratings
Interesting depictions
Other technologies / topics
Summary Table |
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| Event | Likelihood | Time frame |
| Outbreak of deadly, highly contagious disease | high | at any time |
Approach to the future |
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| Scenario exploration | |
Ratings |
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| Futurism: 5 | |
| Entertainment: 8 | |
| Tautly constructed and involving | |
| Plausibility: 8 | |
| The only faltering is the bomb-the-town solution, which seems both extreme and ineffective. | |
Interesting depictions |
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| Disease outbreak: | |
| Diseases kill millions every year, and it is probably just a matter of time before another easily spread killer strain appears. In 1918-1919, a flu epidemic killed some 20 million people in six months, including half a million in the United States. | |
| Improved public health will help in a future outbreak, but there is nothing to stop one from occurring. Indeed, an ever more crowded globe increases the chances of diseases jumping from animal hosts to people, as AIDS is believed to have done. | |
| Outbreak captures some of the terror that might result—though it could be much worse. Society would come to a standstill if the disease were widespread, and going to work, school, or the store could expose you to it. | |
| A final note: diseases can be modified to be more contagious and deadly. The former Soviet Union genetically engineered anthrax, plague, and other diseases. This capability will spread, and could be used in war or terrorism.
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