What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
This topic is about
Contagion
SOLVED: Adult Fiction
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SOLVED. Planet of Redheads Infects Colonists [s]
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Redheads reminds me of the Darkover series by Marion Zimmer Bradley, but the rest doesn't fit. Did the redheads have psychic powers?
No, that's definitely not it. It wasn't a series, it was just a short story about identity and appearance. No psychic powers involved, just the virus. The female scientist tested the redhead virus on a hamster when the men got terribly sick, and the hamster turned naked and pink and then died.
That's it! Thank you! This is definitely the right story!"She opened the valves that would let in Pat Mead's sister" is the closing line of the story. Got the name wrong, but I did remember this.
I remember reading this myself, many years ago. Very pleased to be reminded of it.
Ha, can't believe I missed it. Remembering the title wrong threw me off.
The plot is as follows:
Human colonists land on a planet with friendly locals. They are all tall, handsome redheaded men who look human. But as soon as one gets in the airlock, he infects all the male colonists with a virus that turns them all into tall, handsome redheaded men. The men, many of whom are people of color, are shocked and saddened to lose their original bodies and individuality, but it turns out they can still recognize each other from their accents and mannerisms. The story ends with a female colonist opening the airlock to a redheaded woman and allowing the women to all be infected, rather than live their lives in fear cloistered in the ship.