Introduction
395 Words
Introduction
PANDEMICS HAVE A WAY of showing up over and over.
All throughout our history. And there is no good time for them to appear.
And so writers have imagined all the different outcomes and what-if's to explore all the things that could happen, that might happen.
In these works, we see our options, the many possible decisions we can make. No matter if it's in distant history, in a foreign land, across town, or down the street.
These pandemics and plagues are occuring with more frequency, probably due to our population areas being thick and numerous with so many people. One advantage this has is in the higher quality of medical care. And the many universities and medical centers who are constantly at work on how to improve that health quality.
Our concerns with our health are also reflected in our own fiction works.
As bad as the news is about pandemics and plagues, our fiction works have already explored these outcomes and more. But at least they are there for our entertainment only. No one ever takes them seriously.
So that's the point of this small omnibus. A selection of stories to help you through your own healthy days and those where you may need to isolate yourself or even self-quarantine. Days where you have to use social distancing until you know your illness can't be spread to your friends and family and associates.
Entertainment is useful in times like these. Distractions from the noise, fears, and panic attacks some encounter. And maybe a way to prepare yourself for the worse - while hoping those days never come.
You'll find some classics here, and stories by classic authors you may not have read, as well as authors and stories completely new to you, even if old in time.
And even if you are picking this up when the skies are blue and all the world is running fine, and everyone you know is completely healthy - then take some time to enjoy a break in your routine, to explore different worlds and live through their eyes and feelings.
These stories were written about the survivors. Some are gruesome, some just unsettling. While its said that fiction is used to educate as well as entertain - here's hoping your choices in "real life" are less deadly than the one's you read about here...
I wish you good luck with your reading adventures.
Robert C. Worstell, Editor
14 Mar 2020
- Writer
