Reprint: Preventing Another Pandemic

 From the NY Times Opinion newsletter:

The Covid-19 pandemic exploited a narrow gap in humanity’s outbreak prevention barriers. As the world now knows, SARS-CoV-2 spreads through the air via respiratory transmission. Spread can occur even before people develop symptoms. Our modern, mostly indoor lifestyles constructed the optimal environment for a fast-moving respiratory pandemic. Clean water, clean hands, clean food and clean surfaces did not stop the virus from hitching a ride on airplanes or spreading at packed concerts, bars and restaurants.

As in the past, we need to develop technologies that will fundamentally change our environment. In the United States, all modern buildings are built with fire prevention in mind, despite the last city-burning fire occurring over a generation ago. We provide piped water and sewer systems, electricity to boil water and refrigerate food, and window screens to stop pests. The goal today should be to take respiratory pandemics entirely off the table.

This starts with cleaning the air. The most ambitious version of clean indoor air technology would be capable of rapidly suppressing transmission for even the most contagious pathogens, like measles, at a cost affordable enough to install in all the places people gather and cross paths. Accomplishing this will require innovation beyond better ventilation and ways to filter air. ‌This could include light bulbs that also emit germ-killing wavelengths that are still safe for humans. With this type of innovation, society can reduce transmission and maybe even make the common cold a relic. The Biden administration has declared improving ventilation a priority, but simply upgrading out-of-date filtration systems to the current standard probably won’t be enough to prevent pandemics.

Researchers have made ‌progress toward‌‌ other advanced pandemic-fighting capabilities. It is now possible to take any type of sample from a possibly infected person and sequence the genome of every microorganism in that sample ‌‌ — bacteria, viruses, fungi and all. All pathogens have genomic material, and sequencing allows us to read that material. This method, metagenomic sequencing, functions as a universal pathogen detector. It is beginning to be used to monitor patients for known pathogens, as well as bugs we have never seen before.

Vaccines are, of course, a mainstay of prevention, and even these have seen incredible improvements with the advent of mRNA vaccines. Work is ongoing to deliver pandemic vaccines within 100 days. Efforts toward‌‌ making vaccines effective against entire groups of viruses, such as all coronaviruses, are underway. But for modern vaccines to truly prevent rapid respiratory pandemics, they must be deployed widely and quickly and, when possible, in advance.

The U.S. government‌‌ is investing in microneedle vaccine patches and nasal spray vaccines that can be self-administered. These could be quickly mailed to every household, eliminating the need for clinic- and pharmacy-based administration by trained health care workers. Scientists think that skin patches and nasal vaccines may be able to elicit mucosal immunity, something current injectable vaccines don’t do very well. Mucosal immunity prevents viruses that land on our mucus membranes — in the nose, mouth and lungs — from causing an infection entirely.

Short Book Reviews: An Early Novel by a Master of Fantasy

 Signal To Noise, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Solaris)

I spent most of this book, a reprint of an early novel by Silvia Morena-Garcia, loathing the central character. The story bounces back and forth between “the past” (1988) and “the present” (2009), and the adventures of Meche (short for Mercedes, which she loathes) and her two best friends, Sebastián and Diana. The three were misfits in high school, each with their own family dramas and challenges. Mecha’s definitely the leader of the group, and she’s endlessly sarcastic, demanding, and miserly in her friendship. Her alcoholic father is a radio DJ and aspiring music historian, obsessed with vinyl records. Almost by accident, Meche discovers that by wishing hard enough while playing a specific record, she can make things happen. Soon she’s roped her friends into a magical circle, searching for especially potent songs and practicing increasingly dark acts of magic. In the present, she’s returned home for her father’s funeral, reliving the past as she packs up his papers and record collection.

I really wish Meche had been a more sympathetic character or that the turning point in her descent into magical violence had been more clear. I cared more about awkward, earnest Sebastián with his long-time, unspoken crush on Meche, and loyal Diana with her fussy dresses, Easy-Bake oven, and lupus diagnosis. Sebastián and Diana each had a moral compass but not enough courage to stand up to Meche. Even so, the story caught me up and kept me turning pages. This is an early work, and the author has matured greatly. I like her later characters a lot better, particularly those in Mexican Gothic, The Beautiful Ones, and Gods of Jade and Shadow.

[Brag] A Lovely Review of Jewels of Darkover

 Proud editor grin!

From Charles Gipson on Amazon:

I have been a huge fan of Marion Zimmer Bradley's books since I was a teeenager... and have read almost every book she had published. The Darkover series have always been special to me... and I have read them all multiple times.

There has been some controversy about "fan-fiction" and other authors that wanted to write stories in the Darkover world... and it was limited just a few authors initially. I have not read most of the anthologies (but I will be correcting that, as if they are anything like Jewels of Darkover... I will love them as much as Bradley's original works)

Jewels of Darkover has a lot of authors who contributed... and they must all be real Darkover fans, as the stories "fit" and expand the written lore of Darkover very well. Some of the stories explore themes that I do not remember from any of the original novels, or that were just hinted at, and make for wonderful reading. Very interesting stuff to say the least.

I will also be researching some of the authors who contributed... and seeing what else they have written, that I want to add to my book collection... this is always a great plus when I read anthologies that are put together nice

Short Book Reviews: A Smart Alien Murder Mystery

 Drunk on All Your Strange New Words, by Eddie Robson (Tordotcom)

 I loved this fresh and wonderful take on human-alien cultural clashes! This alien race, the Logi, are approximately humanoid in appearance and possess valuable technology. They’re fascinated by human culture, especially the arts and printed books. The catch is that they communicate telepathically through specially trained “Thought Language” translators. One such is our heroine, Lydia, from a poor British background. She loves her work, the only thing she’s ever been really good at, not to mention her generous salary and her sensitive, thoughtful boss, the Logi cultural attaché. All this makes it worth feeling drunk from translating between Thought Language and English. It all goes to hell when her boss is murdered and she’s the prime suspect. Both her freedom and her ability to solve the mystery depend on her remaining at the Embassy, and the Logi is charge has never liked her.

Drunk on All Your Strange New Words combines alien contact science fiction, a sympathetic heroine, weird maybe-supernatural stuff, and a highly complex mystery filled with surprises and reversals. I found Lydia, with all her insecurities, bravura, and gullibility, deeply sympathetic. I fell for the same deceptions and cheered her on as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. This is a smart science fictional mystery and a wonderful take on how even truly weird aliens and humans can find understanding and common ground. Best of all, a deeply flawed character prevails at the end.

In Troubled Times: Bystander Intervention Training

In January 2018, I attended a seminar entitled Stand! Speak! Act! A Community Bystander Intervention Training. The subheading suggested I would learn how to nonviolently support someone who was being harassed. The event was presented by the local chapter of CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations), the Muslim Solidarity Group, and the local rapid response team. The idea of becoming a nonviolent ally in directly ameliorating the harm from harassment greatly appealed to me. I found the seminar enlightening, although not always in ways I expected.

To begin with, although two of the event’s three sponsors were specifically Muslim solidarity groups, the techniques and strategies apply whenever a person is being targeted. Although hate crimes against Muslims have increased drastically (first after 9/11 and then ongoing since Trump's election), racism (anti-black, anti-Hispanic, anti-Asian) still accounts for the majority of incidents, and anti-LGBTQ violence continues. Most of my friends and relatives who have been harassed have been targeted because of race, sexual orientation, or gender identification, but by far the greatest number have been because of race. The principles of intervention remain the same, and if in the future some other group becomes a target for extremism and violence, allies will step forward.

The workshop drew its guidance and inspiration from the principles set out by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

• Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people
• Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding
• Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice, not people
• Nonviolence holds that suffering can educate and transform
• Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate
• Nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of justice.

It’s tempting to lash out when you or someone you observe is a target of violence, whether physical or verbal. We’ve all seen enough superhero movies to want to jump in, swirling our capes, and single-handedly take on the offender. Outrage at what we perceive to be hateful and wrong fuels our adrenaline. It’s hard to remain calm, to think clearly, and to act from principle instead of reactive emotion. That’s why practice is so important. Harassment can escalate very quickly, and unless we have some experience in how we are vulnerable to engagement, we can become swept up in the confrontation.

Bystander intervention isn’t about confronting the person spewing hatred, it’s about supporting the person being targeted.

Short Book Reviews: A Cold-War Era First Contact Story

 Three Miles Down, by Harry Turtledove (Tor)

 At the height of the Cold War and on the brink of the 1974 Watergate scandal, the US discovers a sunken Soviet submarine…and something they didn’t expect. Something they want to keep even more secret. Under the guise of harvesting undersea manganese nodules, they recruit a team of experts, including marine biology grad student and aspiring science fiction author, Jerry Stieglitz. After being sworn to secrecy, Jerry learns the secret-inside-the-secret: the Soviet sub is sitting on top of an alien spaceship. They want Jerry not only to bolster their disguise when Soviet warships come to check them out but to use his writerly imagination in interacting with the ship and its inhabitants, both dead and in suspended animation. His insight (derived from the scene at the doors of Moria, “speak friend and enter”) opens the door to the ship, for example. Of course, all does not go swimmingly. These are the days of anticommunist paranoia, an increasingly embattled POTUS, and paranoid intelligence agencies. The stakes for Jerry are not just being kicked off a lucrative and historic mission, but survival itself.

Turtledove is a terrific writer, combining sfnal First Contact elements, humor, the unfolding domestic political drama, and human interactions, whether it’s Jerry’s friendships with the others on his alien-spaceship team or his difficulties with his fiancée when he goes missing for months. All this is highly enjoyable, fast reading, but what I found most delightful were the many homage-to-science-fiction touches, like a love letter to fans. There’s even a guest appearance by a well-known hard science fiction author (I won’t divulge who!) that had me laughing out loud at how brilliant the portrayal was. (I’d met the guest-appearance author and yet, that’s exactly what they’d say!)

In Troubled Times: An Inner Guide to Political Action

 I started a blog series, “In Troubled Times” after the 2016 presidential election. Folks I trust said that things were going to get a lot worse before they got better. That’s true now, too. You can read the first installment, "Becoming Allies," here and "This, Too, Shall Pass," here.

I first posted this November 28, 2016. I'm putting it up again as a reminder of how important it is to take care of our mental well-being in troubled times.

Like many others, I did not sleep well on election night or the following nights. Shock and dismay had hijacked my mind. I felt as if I had been catapulted into a very dark Twilight Zone episode. My thoughts went hither and yon, partly batted about by a political racquet, partly going from shiny/horror to next shiny/horror.

In my recovery from PTSD, I have learned to be protective of my sleep and my inner balance. I quickly detected warning signs and realized that I had to put my own mental and physical health first. Without that foundation, I wasn’t going to be able to make any sense or take effective action. So I set about using my “tool box” to reduce my anxiety. Besides sleep management and calming techniques, I reached out to my family and close friends. I tried as best I could to keep the focus on myself and my feelings, not politics. I took notice of which conversations made me feel better and which did not.

I felt better about myself when there was something I could do for the person close to me. Perhaps this was because I felt less powerless, but I believe it was because I felt more connected. Research suggests human beings are hard-wired to feel pleasure from helping others. Whether or not this is true, feeling valued and needed is a good thing.

So the first “movement” of my journey was to take care of myself and then to reach out to those around me.

Once I was feeling a bit more settled, I started to look around for other actions I might take. This required a great deal of filtering of news and social media. News sources inundated me with blow after terrible blow as events (and nominations or appointments) unfolded. I realized I could spend 100 hours a day on the various calls to action, and that not all of them were appropriate for me. Some would put me right back in the zone of risking my mental health.

How then are we to know how to proceed and what actions will not damage us?

We listen for that sense of rightness, no matter how frightening the prospect. I learned a great deal about this process from hanging out with Quakers. They talk about “discernment” and “leadings of the Spirit.” It’s one of the things that makes Quaker action different from other activism. One is led to take action by the promptings of the inner light, which means that arguments for or against make little difference. This made Quaker abolitionists (for example) tenacious in their cause.

What am I led to do? How will I know when I am inspired or simply driven?

I’m still listening, and while I do that, I pay attention to small things that I feel able to do. They may not qualify as “Spirit-led,” but they seem possible. Then I notice how I feel. As an example, I wrote a letter of support to the nearest mosque; I felt lighter and more hopeful after I had mailed it. On the other hand, I felt low and discouraged after speaking with certain people I had otherwise reason to trust. I’m not likely to try that again.

I do not know how or even if this process of trial and reflection, slowly feeling my way, will lead to action on a state or national level. I’m definitely not going to fly across the country to attend a march in Washington D.C. or New York City. Because I’ve felt energized by writing letters, I am more likely to do that again. I’m considering volunteering in person at Planned Parenthood (where I volunteered when I was in grad school, before Roe v. Wade) or the ACLU, but do not yet see a clear path.

Meanwhile, I continue to practice reaching out and find that the circle keeps getting bigger. By listening compassionately and seeking out safe places to share my own fears, I join a community of light. By sharing suggestions of actions, I become aware of those I might be willing to take or inspire others to take actions I am not comfortable with. Who knows? Maybe knowing someone who is brave enough (or skilled enough) to do something will show me the way. Or perhaps the way will open in community once I see I do not have to act alone.