Symbiont | Mira Grant | Talks at Google

TL;DR

Mira Grant reads a short story about an apocalypse scenario and discusses the importance of viruses and diseases in her writing.

Transcript

MIRA GRANT: So hello. I'm Mira Grant. That's Mira Grant's mom in the back, pretending she's not here with all of us weirdos. [LAUGHTER] And I am here today because I was asked to be, which is a great reason to be at the Google campus. So I'm going to be reading to you today from "When Will You Rise," which is a short hardcover I put out a couple ye... Read More

Key Insights

• 😒 Mira Grant uses her knowledge of diseases and parasites to create realistic and terrifying apocalyptic scenarios in her writing.
• 🧑 The concept of R0 (the number of people an infected person can transmit a disease to) is important in understanding the spread of diseases.
• ❓ The Black Death may have been caused by an unidentified hemorrhagic fever, rather than the bubonic plague.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is the story about?

The story is about a group of friends playing a game called the Apocalypse Game and dealing with the absence of one of their friends.

Q: What does the group decide to do in the end?

It is left up to the reader to decide what the group does in the end. The story ends with the doorbell ringing and one of the characters going to answer it.

Q: How does Mira Grant feel about the Black Death being attributed to Yersinia pestis?

Mira Grant feels that there is strong evidence supporting the hemorrhagic fever theory as the cause of the Black Death.

Q: Does Mira Grant have any book recommendations on diseases and parasites?

Mira Grant recommends "The Return of the Black Death," "The Hot Zone," "Parasite Rex," "Ghost Map," and "Virus X."

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Mira Grant reads a short story called "The Box" about an apocalypse scenario and a group of friends playing a game called the Apocalypse Game.

• The story focuses on the absence of one of the friends, Cole, and the tension it creates within the group.

• The friends discuss the implications of the scenario and try to decide whether to contact the government or not.