Crisis in the Red Zone: The Story of the Deadliest Ebola Outbreak in History, and of the Outbreaks to Come

by Richard Preston

What would it be like if a Level 4 virus event occurred and the Ancient Rule arrived in the supercity of New York? It wouldn’t take much to produce the Ancient Rule in New York City.

Nobody in their right mind would enter a New York City hospital during a time of the Ancient Rule. Transportation frozen. Food supplies dwindling or absent. Schools closed. People avoiding supermarkets for fear of contagion. Prophets and visioners predicting the future and offering cures. People leaving the city, bringing the virus with them. Airports infective, flights canceled.

Pardis Sabeti spends her life studying how viruses evolve and change. For years, she has been telling her Harvard and Broad Institute colleagues that they should keep a month’s supply of preserved food and basic medical supplies in their apartments or homes.

The human species carries certain advantages in this fight and has things going for it that viruses do not. These include self-awareness, the ability to work in teams, and the willingness to sacrifice, traits that have served us well during our expansion into our environment. If viruses can change, we can change, too.