This Is the Way the World Ends: an Oral History of the Zombie War

by Keith Taylor

northeast of Siberia. They recovered samples from thirty meters beneath the surface that had remained untouched, frozen in time, for tens of thousands of years, and in those samples they found something unusual: an ancient virus previously unknown to science. Pithovirus sibericum was a virus larger and more genetically complex than any known in the modern day, containing more than 500 genes and large enough to be visible under a standard microscope, and the team, led by Jean-Michel Claverie and Chantal Abergel, returned the sample to their laboratory eager to investigate further. There they made a startling discovery.

activity could lead to the accelerated melting of the permafrost and the reemergence of ancient viruses that had remained trapped for millennia; viruses against which we have no natural defenses, and for which there exist no vaccines. “At the moment these regions are deserted and the deep permafrost layers are left alone,” said Claverie. “However, mining and drilling means digging through these ancient layers for the first time in millions of years. If viable particles are still there, this is a recipe for disaster.” In 2018, they were proved right.