Is there a great Pandemic story on SOL that you would recommend? Not looking for zombies or aliens, but something relatively similar to the current Pandemic.
Is there a great Pandemic story on SOL that you would recommend? Not looking for zombies or aliens, but something relatively similar to the current Pandemic.
try The Great Death — a series by Crumbly Writer
https://storiesonline.net/series/1005/the-great-death"
davenothere
3/31/2020, 10:29:45 PM
Updated: 3/31/2020, 10:30:45 PM
try The Great Death — a series by Crumbly Writer
https://storiesonline.net/series/1005/the-great-death"
Thank you much. I will read it.
Not looking for zombies or aliens, but something relatively similar to the current Pandemic.
gwresearch, Magestic.
Several of the parts of the story dealt with pandemics, starting with a minor one such as this, and then other much, much worse pandemics (much higher infection rate & much higher mortality rate).
He did a very good job of showing what it would be like- only thing i haven't seen here yet that he had in his story are custom images on face masks.
only thing i haven't seen here yet that he had in his story are custom images on face masks.
In Hong Kong street vendors sell custom masks.
The Thai Prime Minister wears masks that match his suits.
So it's coming!
Whereas in my western country nobody is wearing a mask yet. "Sad!"
n Hong Kong street vendors sell custom masks.
The Thai Prime Minister wears masks that match his suits.
Well there you go.
He got that right too.
Whereas in my western country nobody is wearing a mask yet. "Sad!"
Not really.
Unless they are a specific type rated to actually filter such things out (and fitted properly which requires them to be sealed fully all around the face), the masks you see out & about in public aren't of any protection against catching the virus. But if the wearer has the virus, they do help restrict it's spread.
Unless they are a specific type rated to actually filter such things out (and fitted properly which requires them to be sealed fully all around the face), the masks you see out & about in public aren't of any protection against catching the virus. But if the wearer has the virus, they do help restrict it's spread.
But as several viruses, including covid19 are contagious before the person realizes they're sick, if they ever do, the act of wearing a mask even when you don't think you need to can help prevent it from spreading further.
Which is why they US is "considering" an about face on the recommendation about not wearing masks, even if it is only a bandanna in reality.
I haven't read these, but they are on topic.
https://storiesonline.net/series/821/justiceman
https://storiesonline.net/s/55877/super-flu
Radagast
4/1/2020, 4:15:17 AM
Updated: 4/1/2020, 4:17:29 AM
I haven't read these, but they are on topic.
https://storiesonline.net/series/821/justiceman
https://storiesonline.net/s/55877/super-flu
Thank you for your suggestions. I will read them
An alien seeded pandemic is a plot device in:
https://storiesonline.net/s/60078/giants-in-the-sandbox
Mandating wearing a mask is a great way to ensure untrained people contaminate their face while they fumble with it shifting around there face.
The general medical consensus is coming around to masks helping a lot. Even bandanas are better than nothing.
Yes you need to know to wash your hands after touching it to take it off etc. The WHO have advice and posters for this. And almost everyone sees the national announcements when leaders address nations, so a perfect time and place for basic information on how to use them.
Consensus does not equal science. I've been trained heavily in procedures and methods for contamination control. Every bit of it screams bad idea at the prospect of untrained people wearing mask. It gives them a false sense of security that leads them down the primrose path of self destruction.
Focusing on not pawing at their face subconsciously is hard enough for the average person.
Here's an experiment for you. Find a buddy/pal/friend/family member around you and simply observe. Don't tell them what you're doing, just watch and count the number of times per hour they touch their face subconsciously. Every touch you count is a potential contamination event. I believe you're going to find yourself shocked at the results.
After you do that, then consider the potential harm that false sense of security gives them.
You can also have someone watch you for a few hours while you are wearing a mask. Just don't make the mistake of betting on yourself regarding the number of times you paw at the mask and your face.
Consensus does not equal science.
Thank you!
I was an NBC specialist in the military. MOPP 4 sucks.
Yeah we don't need to measure our NBC dicks.
Masks in public are primarily about protecting others from you, not you from others. Apparently, even bandanas are better than nothing in this respect.
Now, do they protect you from others? Not so well, apparently, from what I've read. But better than nothing. But claiming that it's easy to transfer to hands when taking them off is overlooking the obvious fact that, if you had no mask, then the germs wouldn't be on the outside of the mask, but instead on your face already.
And saying that medical consensus isn't science is just putting your head in the sand. How is it different from climate change deniers.
I think it's telling that countries that suffered SARS previously are all mask-wearing eager-testing countries. Probably the west will approach the next pandemic in a more Asian way?
Common sense and training, no measuring required. Turning it into a dick measuring/testosterone argument does nothing for your argument except make it look weak.
High risk areas where you should wear them along with gloves;
1. Any medical facility.
2. Any compressed or congested area of people.
3. Any self contained transport with shared ventilation. Planes, cruise ships, etc.
4. Emergency services personnel. Fire, police, etc.
Beyond those areas/people, gloves are sufficient.
And saying that medical consensus isn't science is just putting your head in the sand. How is it different from climate change deniers.
Yet another PC bracket, nice twist btw lol. One thing I've never been accused of is being PC. Water/Duck, you get the picture.
If the world always went with the concensus, witches would weigh more than wood, the earth would be flat, and we'd never gotten out of the dark ages. It was the consensus of those in power at one time that Natives were nothing but savages, that blacks and women were not equal (both btw, had bogus consensus science reports that susposedly backed them up), so on and so forth. Given the history of "consensus" science and consensus attitudes in general, you'll just have to get over my being skeptical. Especially when it's due to excessive training and actual science.
Concensus will never equal science.
Concensus will never equal science.
Medical research obeys Sturgeon's Law. Fortunately consensus no longer believes smoking is good because it helps people lose weight, or that antacids are the best way to treat stomach ulcers ;)
AJ
Medical research obeys Sturgeon's Law. Fortunately consensus no longer believes smoking is good because it helps people lose weight, or that antacids are the best way to treat stomach ulcers ;)
Forgot about the "concensus science" stating smoking was good for you. Another excellent example.
Common sense and training, no measuring required.
This ignores the truism that sense is never common....
Getting By from Shakes Peer2B is a post-apoc story after a man-made virus decimates the world. Part of his Phoenicia universe
https://storiesonline.net/universe/354/phoenicia
https://storiesonline.net/a/Shakes_Peer2B
Not on SOL but you can find great stories in most daily newspaper or on any news service around the world at the moment as there is a world wide virus sweeping the planet its covid-19
Now the thread has started to drift, I'll add my two penn'orth.
Agents and publishers are crying out for authors NOT to send them epidemic stories because they're snowed under with them at the moment.
AJ
Agents and publishers are crying out for authors NOT to send them epidemic stories because they're snowed under with them at the moment.
There will be thousands of them and probably tens of thousands more coming as people take in the pandemic buzzwords. If it wasn't such a serious topic, the number of youtube gurus popping out of the woodwork would be humorous.
I think it's more a case of wannabe writers, who want to be writers but don't know what to write about, taking their inspiration from the news.
When global warming became a hot topic, there was a similar glut of stories on that theme.
AJ
I think it's more a case of wannabe writers, who want to be writers but don't know what to write about, taking their inspiration from the news.
When global warming became a hot topic, there was a similar glut of stories on that theme.
I could almost guarantee a majority of those pandemic stories will include both. Plenty of talking heads already who will go out of their way to blame virus outbreaks on global warming, rather than human encroachment on wildlife which typically has nothing to do with climate change.
Plenty of talking heads already who will go out of their way to blame virus outbreaks on global warming, rather than human encroachment on wildlife which typically has nothing to do with climate change.
I wonder whether colder countries are more resistant to coronavirus because of their common cold experiences. Italy and Spain are both warmer countries.
AJ
Is there a great Pandemic story on SOL that you would recommend? Not looking for zombies or aliens, but something relatively similar to the current Pandemic.
Hmm, may I recommend a dead tree series (Black Tide Rising) by John Ringo?
An airborne plague, it's first stage flu-like then changing to a rabies-like decease destroying permanently the higher functions of the human brain, creating aggressive 'zombies'. Despite all PC appeals the 'Z' word is used for the victims.
Here is the blurb about the first book Under a Graveyard Sky:
Zombies are real. And we made them. Are you prepared for the zombie apocalypse? The Smith family is, with the help of a few marines.
When an airborne "zombie" plague is released, bringing civilization to a grinding halt, the Smith family, Steven, Stacey, Sophia and Faith, take to the Atlantic to avoid the chaos. The plan is to find a safe haven from the anarchy of infected humanity. What they discover, instead, is a sea composed of the tears of survivors and a passion for bringing hope.
For is up to the Smiths and a small band of Marines to somehow create the refuge that survivors seek in a world of darkness and terror. Now with every continent a holocaust and every ship an abattoir, life is lived beneath a graveyard sky.
BTW you can read the first 5 chapters online at baen.com.
It was first published in 2013.
HM.
Hmm, may I recommend a dead tree series (Black Tide Rising) by John Ringo?
Yes, you may.
Or any OTHER book and series by John Ringo. I may have all of them sitting on my bookshelves.
"Tales from the Pain Slut Academy" a new serial just starting on SOL is based on the occurence of a pandemic. "This is a lesson we all learned quite clearly in the aftermath of the 2023 Covid-22 pandemic." The ratio of males to females became 1 to 50. Society changed in a BDSM direction.
Tales from the Pain Slut Academy
by E.P. Bloompicker
Would the story of the 2 nursing home patients that regain their minds from dementia, end up building a ranch for an epidemic.
Can't remember the name.
Would the story of the 2 nursing home patients that regain their minds from dementia, end up building a ranch for an epidemic.
Can't remember the name.
Ever and Always by Banadin?
Ever and Always by Banadin?
I looked on Bookapathy and didn't find it. The author may have changed to Ed Nelson or Ed & Carol Nelson, there was one of the newer Richard Jackson stories there, sort of, although when I searched there was no story under that name.
I think that is the right title and story. Banadin decided to pull almost all his stories off SOL. He used Bookapathy for a while but may have found he gets more money from Amazon if he doesn't use any other markets.
I think that is the right title and story. Banadin decided to pull almost all his stories off SOL. He used Bookapathy for a while but may have found he gets more money from Amazon if he doesn't use any other markets.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that if one is selling a book on Amazon it can't be offered anywhere else at the same time.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that if one is selling a book on Amazon it can't be offered anywhere else at the same time.
This is not strictly true. Amazon offers several different setups with different royalty rates for the authors. The rules are different for each. At the most basic level, yes, the story can be available elsewhere, but it can't be available elsewhere for less than the price on Amazon.
selling a book on Amazon it can't be offered anywhere else at the same time.
At one time that was true for all books sold on Amazon, but it changed. However, it now comes down to a few aspects which are best summarized as:
1. There is a 35% of sales royalty rate and a 70% of sales royalty rate with different terms.
2. If the book is available anywhere else in any form the Amazon list price is reduced to that price before they start calculating royalties, and it will drop below the 70% royalty rate requirements to be only 35% royalty due to the other rules.
3. There are minimum and maximum list prices for different sales areas with higher minimums and lower maximums for the 70% royalty rate of US$2.99 to US$9.99 against the 35% royalty rate of US$0.99 to US$200.00.
4. If you choose the KDP Select program your book must not be available in an electronic format anywhere else and it enables you to have the 70% royalty option.
Information from the Amazon pages of:
kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200634500
kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200798990#eligibility
There are a few other restrictions, but those are the main ones.
In short, sell the book in electronic form elsewhere you can only get a 35% royalty for sales via Amazon.
Actually you make more money on Bookapy. That is where I start my Richard Jackson posting. However it is a limited market so when sales slow down I post it on Amazon in KDP select so then I have to pull it from Bookapy.
I know I'm shouting in the desert but as long as authors keep selling on Amazon their almost monopoly will keep you from earning more on your books. Let's face it, a 35% royalty is ridiculous, even 70% is too low. You did all the work so you should reap the benefits.
Let's face it, a 35% royalty is ridiculous
It's better than the vast majority of authors would get from a traditional dead tree publisher. If they could get published at all.