My virus is raging still, but I think I’m going to go to work tomorrow, because it’s raging less and I don’t want to have to apply for sick leave. I’ll beg a mask from the lab or something.
When I’m sick, I like thinking about what’s going on in my body. It’s basically crazy shit. I understand the basics, but when you get down to it, immunology is completely bizarre and I can’t believe I’m even still alive given how complex a system my immune system is. How has it functioned mostly okay thus far? As I’m writing this, cells hijacked by this virus are bursting open and releasing replicas of themselves and making me feel like shite. I wish I could look inside my body and figure out exactly what is going on. It makes me feel quite vulnerable that I can’t.
I was just reading the wikipedia article on viruses and found this:
Biologists debate whether or not viruses are living organisms. Some consider them non-living as they do not meet all the criteria used in the common definitions of life. For example, unlike most organisms, viruses do not have cells. However, viruses have genes and evolve by natural selection. Others have described them as organisms at the edge of life.
It’s like a crazy science fiction plot is happening right inside my body. If I ever write sci-fi, I’m totally going to buff up on immunology– the subject deserves some crazy fictional jacked-up glamour.[1] Speaking of which… I wrote this prayer for y’all last night, in case you’re worried about the Large Hadron Collider. May it comfort you in these times of scientific discovery and awesomeness:
[1]I know for certain it’s already gotten some, via Stephenson’s Diamond Age (oohhhh, one of my favorite books ever), and I’m sure other authors have incorporated this subject.
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