A VIRTUAL DISEASE

 

A highly contagious disease is sweeping the world; a planet-wide epidemic, or 'plandemic' for short. Opportunistic, as are all viruses, it has adapted itself to the prevailing virtual environment. It is a virtual disease. You can't touch it, smell it, or see it. An invisible enemy, it is everywhere, and as we have had to come to terms with germs, so we are told we must learn to live with Covidianism. It has become a fact of life. Once it has established itself in the mind of the victim (for that is where it thrives) there is no vaccine yet developed that works against it. But early-stage treatments abound on the alternative media, while prophylaxis is simple and effective: avoid the afflicted! 

How do you know if you have this dread disease? The short answer is, you don't. The chief symptom is a belief, amounting to an unassailable conviction, that despite all evidence to the contrary your behavior is normal. That this is not the case is blatantly apparent to the healthy, since sufferers - one could call them adherents - are readily identifiable by their adoption of conspicuous behavior and attire. This includes hiding their faces behind assorted pieces of cloth secured to their ears, eschewing all close physical contact with their fellow humans in preference for digital substitutes, locking themselves and each other away in complete isolation for days and weeks, and (much as previously with religions) refusing to associate with anyone not exhibiting the same symptoms as theirs.  

But their most conspicuous distinguishing mark – jocularly referred to as 'the mark of the Beast' - is their ritualistic submission to a virtual tattoo, by which they can be linked to the internet of other bodies like theirs.  This Brotherhood of the Jabbed promises them a 'hive mind' of unanimity and togetherness, their every action monitored and assigned a Virtue Score assuring them continued membership of the Covidian Club until such time as either their digital signature fades, requiring renewal, or they surrender blissfully to its long-term lethal effects, like the elderly in the movie Soylent Green.   

Will we ever see an end to this scourge? There are encouraging signs that we will. No virus can survive if it is too deadly, and indications are that the key behavior Covidianism demands - repeated jabs - ultimately eliminates its host. Also, the unpleasantly exclusionary and dictatorial attitude it imprints on the minds of its sufferers is already creating increasing  pushback, which translates into diminishing new cases.  By the end of 2023 all signs suggest Covidianism will have self-destructed, albeit leaving behind a world forever changed, if not chastened.