Filaments

Prologue

I had an idea, one word, either Threads or Filaments that carry a threat. Threatening Threads seemed too alliterative and the word always makes me think of the very frightening eponymous 1984 Nuclear Fallout film.

It was also inspired by the way the Gympie Gympie attacks humans (and I assume animals) that I learned about in the Poisoned Garden in Alnwick:

As I write this I have the album Henry Cow "Concerts" playing. The music is disturbingly excellent, and yesterday I listened to "Camera" by Dagmar Kraus (Henry Cow vocalist) which is effectively an opera that could have been written by Charles Dickens.

The music I have shared is "Beautiful as the Moon; Terrible as an Army with Banners" from "In Praise Of Learning". The sock album cover idea is derived from their first album title "Legend" or, if you think about it, "Leg End"

Filament:

a slender threadlike object or fibre, especially one found in animal or plant structures.

"each myosin filament is usually surrounded by 12 actin filaments"

Filaments

People were dying screaming, there were bodies in the streets.

Animals were going mad turning vicious and attacking people and other animals. Placid pets turned vicious and feral, foaming at the mouth, although they were not rabid. Every living being became fair game although for both humans and animals, the mind had gone.

Dead bodies were examined, but no real reason for the deaths could be ascertained, panic and hysteria took hold and could not be controlled.

Scientists, the police, clinicians and the military were looking for clues 24/7 but bodies gave up nothing, and treatment was impossible except my extreme sedation. X-rays and scans were taken but everything came back as normal, there was nothing wrong.

It was christened the Chameleon Virus because whatever it was, it could hide from every attempt to deal with it, but the results of what it was doing were there in plain sight.

This was Bubonic Plague or Spanish 'flu' numbers and there was nothing to be done.

Then a young policeman was observing another disturbance and zoomed in and then saw them. Gossamer filaments or threads in the atmosphere, and entering humans, dogs and cats. Then within ten minutes, it started. The attacks, the rage, the screams.

This was what was causing the deaths, but what the hell were they? They were everywhere but didn't seem to attack every living creature, but enough to cause widespread panic.

The information was circulated, but no one could find the source of the filaments. They didn't know whether they were sentient, where there was a plan, or whether a foreign or alien power had dropped this poison on the country.

Communications were exchanged and it soon became clear that this was a worldwide disaster, and no one could provide an answer.

The theory was that they entered the body and caused unbearable pain by hallucinogenic methods. There was no sign of them when they entered the body, and corpses were observed but none left the bodies, they just disappeared.

Extreme religions said it was their god's punishment for some minor misdemeanour or other, but that always happened.

While people could go out and be unaffected by the virus, they were not safe from the ones who got attacked by it.

People stayed at home, but that was not safe.

Some thought high-rise buildings would keep them safe, but they didn't.

There was talk of living in Hazmat suits, but at some point, you would have to change and then you became susceptible to attack.

There was no escape.

Even the ones trying to control it were becoming fewer and fewer, and things were getting worse and worse.

Life on earth was dying, well animal and human life, and probably marine life.

Only plants and trees seemed to be unaffected, and soon they would be in a world where the only noise would be the wind.......