Pandemic and the Purge Plague

Parallels of Covid-19 and the Purge Plague

Parallels of the Covid-19 Pandemic and the Purge Plague

The parallels of the Covid-19 Pandemic and the Purge Plague are eerily similar. Granted, the Purge Plague is a fictional pandemic, conceptualized in my Mona Bendarova novels. When I began writing the first novel in the series, ‘The Taste of Honey’ #TOH in 2011, the Purge Plague #purgeplague was the catalyst that started society on the road to where Mona’s community ended up. The Purge Plague was an unstoppable pandemic that ended up killing everyone and everything. Mother Nature corrected the imbalance we placed upon her.

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Happy New Year 2020

Happy New Year 2020

To all my fans and readers of my books, Happy New Year 2020. I hope it is a good one for you and yours. 

Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? I’d love to know what they are. As for me, I don’t. There’s so much I want to do, I can’t prioritize them into a resolution. more “Happy New Year 2020”

Interview Snippets on Mona’s Stories-4

Interview Snippets on Mona’s Stories

(Part Four)

What follows is the continuation of an interview I conducted with one of my readers. I captured their notes and turned it into this update to my blog. This is Interview Mona’s Stories part 4.


Q: Speaking of the Doctor. Does he have a name?

A: Of course he does. His name is Doctor.

Q: But that is a title or function of what he does. That’s not a name.

A: In Mona’s society, they are the same. He is the Doctor and his name is Doctor.

Q: Interesting. Fair enough. Tell me about the ‘BLOODLINE’. Can you elaborate on that?

Interview Snippets on Mona's Stories-4A: The ‘BLOODLINE’ is still a work in progress. I haven’t yet worked out all of the details related to them. Right now, they are an unknown to Mona and her supporters. They have a personal agenda that seems contrary to the society Mona lives in. They have been working on this agenda for at least three generations and frankly, she’s scared.

Q: So, she has no idea of what their endgame is?

A: No, she doesn’t. And neither do I? The ‘BLOODLINE’ was an invention developed in my second book in the series, ‘Broken Steele’ to explain tainted meat and the widespread the effects it had on a significant portion of the society.

Q: So, are the ‘BLOODLINE’ a villain?

A: Could be. I don’t know at this point. But they are a good source for conflict in Mona’s society. For tens of generations, Mona’s community has lived in peace and harmony, everyone knowing their place and everyone contributing to support the whole. Mona was born to a time when this harmony is about to falter, where stress and conflict are being felt for the first time in centuries.

Q: Are you saying that the ‘BLOODLINE’ could be the good guys?

A: Again, they could be. They don’t have to be the power-hungry, arrogant subculture that most of our books and movies assume. They could be advancing their own agenda in attempt to reverse the need to consume their own to stay alive. It remains to be seen as I work out the next couple of books.

Q: So, there are more books in the future?

A: Yes, I have outlines for at least two more books as well as a possible sixth book.

Q: I look forward to reading them.

A: Thank you. I hope you continue to enjoy them.


Care to Comment?

Feel free to comment and agree or dispute my opinions. I love a challenge. Till next time, have a great day!

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Interview Snippets on Mona’s Stories 2

Interview Snippets on Mona’s Stories

(Part Two)

What follows is the continuation of an interview I conducted with one of my readers. I captured their notes and turned it into this update to my blog. This is Interview Mona’s Stories part 2.


Q: Are you an activist, passionate about stopping the practice of genetically modifying organisms?

Interview Snippets on Mona's Stories-2A: I’m not an activist. In fact, I’m not an activist about anything. I just write stories based upon my passions. If anything, I subscribe to facts science reveals. Take for example, obesity rates in the U.S. My country has been modifying our food sources for nearly a century in order to increase profits. In the 1940’s, obesity was a rarity. Today, it is the norm.

Check the statistics. For example, in the 1950’s,
the widespread use of corn syrup was added to our food supply as a cheaper way to produce food. Compare the graphs of the introduction of corn syrup to the obesity rates in this country. You will find a near perfect duplication of the charts, separated by only a decade. For every change in the production of our food supply, an exact change in the obesity rate occurs a decade later. 70 years later, corn syrup is now a staple in our diets. I try to avoid it but it is virtually impossible.

Q: How does that relate to the premise in your books?

A: To me, human arrogance is the relate. We presume to know better than what Mother Nature and millions of years of natural selection has produced. I believe we are digging a hole that the human race will find difficult to get out of. It may not happen in our lifetime or our children’s lifetime but I believe it is coming. We ourselves are going to cause a massive extinction event. Assuming our species survives, will be radically changed forever.

Q: And that is what ‘The Taste of Honey’ and the follow-up books speculate.

A: Yes, exactly. I don’t wish it to happen to anyone but I do feel powerless to prevent it. I believe an extinction event is inevitable and we will have caused it. How our extinction manifests itself is the question. All I know is, and I am firm in my belief, we will be causing our own extinction.


Care to Comment?

Feel free to comment and agree or dispute my opinions. I love a challenge. Till next time, have a great day!

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Interview Snippets on Mona’s Stories-1

Interview Snippets on Mona’s Stories

(Part One)

What follows is the continuation of an interview I conducted with one of my readers. I captured their notes and turned it into this update to my blog. This is Interview Mona’s Stories part 1.


Q: Richard, as you talk about the Mona Bendarova books, it seems to me that you are passionate about them. Are you?

A: Yes, I am. I’ve been dreaming up this society for years now. I have picked at it, revised it, poked holes in it, reworked it, revised it and re-examined it for a very long time. I tend to compare Mona’s culture to the world I see around me in my everyday life. Even in my sleep, my dreams compare the two. Frankly, it scares me. This really could happen.

Take, for example, my new book ‘Lucky Bitch’. In this story, Mona, the submissive property of Charles, breaks through the glass ceiling to become the Mistress of her own estate. As Master and Mistress, she is no one’s property. She is her own person, responsible to no one but her house and all it contains. She is eager to do well and break the cycle developed hundreds of years before her time. A cycle developed due the arrogance of her ancestors.

Q: By ancestors, you mean us, people living today?

A: Yes, I do. The society Mona lives in is a direct result of what we are doing to our planet today. People talk about global warming. Some believe it, just as I do. Those that do not are fools.

Interview Snippets on Mona's StoriesI think we should be just as concerned with what our food-producing industry is doing to ever increase profit. They are playing with the genomes of every living organism on the planet. Grafting plants are one thing. Mother Nature will either integrate the graft or it won’t. However, we are splicing genes at the genetic level, extracting one gene sequence and replacing it with another.

They believe they know what they are doing. But really? Do they?

How many mistakes have been made that the public are not aware of? Take for example the news surfacing over the past couple of years. Deadly substances such as Anthrax, plague, and Ebola are accidentally transported from high secure facilities around the world in unsecured and vulnerable containers.

In my mind, it’s not a matter of if something goes wrong but rather when. What will we do when a wildfire genetic maelström is released upon the planet. Will we be powerless to undo its damage?

Q: And?

A: And when it happens, all life on this planet will be affected. My stories of Mona’s culture is simply one possible result of the extinction event that we are building towards all on our own.


Care to Comment?

Feel free to comment and agree or dispute my opinions. I love a challenge. Till next time, have a great day!

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What’s on Tap

What’s on Tap

Yesterday, Saturday, did in fact turn out fantastic. Except for my ongoing, continuous headache, I couldn’t be more pleased. I am trusting that today will be more of the same, regardless of the weather, sun and heat. Whatever it turns out to be, I’m ready for a glorious day. Perhaps I’ll go see a movie?

InterviewOver the past month, I have been posting portions of an interview I gave several months back. Frankly, I was happy to transcribe portions into my blog. It not only helps my readers to more fully understand the basis of the books I write but it’s been helping me get back into sync with these stories. I have many more planned and I need ways to keep them fresh in my mind.

Starting tomorrow, I will be posting a number of smaller snippets from the interview. Generally, they are short answers to individual questions that move from topic to topic. I hope you enjoy them. Look forward to them starting Monday.

As always, I look forward to your comments. Please feel free to write me and let me know what you think. I always enjoy reading them.


Feel free to comment and agree or dispute my opinions. I love a challenge. Till next time, have a great day!

Cultural Changes of The ‘Purge Plague’ (Part 5)

Cultural Changes caused by The Purge Plague

Over the last four segments, I wrote about the roots of the plague and the causal effects on Mona’s community. In this segment, I cover the cultural effects which resulted.

cultural changes due to gene splicing 58592066 - abstract education and science backgrounds for your designIt should be noted that while the plague was halted, it was not eradicated. Over centuries, people made many attempts to revive the extinct species. Huge stores of seeds were set aside on the chance that one day, they could be replanted. Attempts to germinate these seeds failed. A millennium later, survivors made little progress finding an alternate source of high protein food stores.

In the early days, societal controls fell apart as starving people sought ways to find the nutrition they needed. Populations started to diminish once more. On the verge of succumbing to extinction, the survivors banded together to deal with the stresses of trying to live. Through trial and error, often violent, they eventually settled on a systemized process to select candidates for conversion through random selection. Over centuries, everyone accepted that one day, they would help feed the future generations.

Population Disparity

Due to the disparity of numbers between men to women, it became commonplace for sterile women to supply the bulk of those converted for food. Afterall, they represented more than three quarters of the population. Still though, everyone submitted to conversion processing at some point in their lives. There were no exceptions. From birth to conversion, people lived their life based upon this eventual fate. In between, everything they learned, did and produced was focused meeting the needs of society. They became the primary producers, workers and sex toys. In short, each person lived to serve and contribute.

In summary, due to the inability to satisfy basic nutritional needs, they turned to each other. To manage the conversion process, a complex society arose to fairly deal with the new reality. No one was immune from this fate but a culture developed to de-horrify the practice. In time, the stigma of consuming themselves disappeared. It became a simple fact and accepted as a part of life.

 


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Excerpts

Excerpts from an interview I gave some months ago. The question explored dealt with the ‘Purge Plague’, a vehicle I invented to explain how Mona’s culture came to be. This is the final installment in a five-part series published over the past several days. Feel free to comment on the link at the bottom. I welcome your insights and opinions.

The ‘Purge Plague’ (Part 4): Physical Changes

Physical Changes caused by The Purge Plague

Besides high male mortality rates and a shift in a woman’s difficulty in carrying children, there were other changes to human physiology. The last-ditch gene splicing efforts manifested itself in significant physical changes to the human body.

physical changes due to gene splicing 57855271 - evolution, female portrait against abstract science backgroundsWoman tended to have longer legs, shorter torso, wider hips and fuller breasts. Fertile women were constantly pregnant, averaging several dozen multiple birth deliveries. Besides feeding their young, they also became the world’s milk and dairy producer. Expressed milk was turned into yogurt, cheese, and other dairy products.

Emotionally, all women became extremely submissive, exchanging power for security. At the same time, most lost their maternal instincts. They were easily sexually aroused, eager to find opportunities to enjoy frequent sexual relations.

Men tended to grow taller and stronger, especially in the shoulders and legs. They picked up the nurturing gene that women lost. They cared for the women and progeny within in their homes. Like women, men were eager for sexual release. Testicles grew larger, tripling daily semen production. Prostates grew in size and strength, producing larger volumes of seminal fluid and stronger ejaculations. As a result, men were more easily able to attain and maintain an erection, capable of delivering vast quantities of viable semen on a daily basis.

For both men and women, lack of regular sexual orgasms resulted in a diminished quality of life. As a consequence, lack of sex lead to irritability, discomfort, anguish, and physical suffering. For men and women, sexual releases several times a day became the norm. Quite literally, life became painful without regular sexual contact among all members of the community.

 


In my next post

I will summarize the changes to the human race as a result of the ‘Purge Plague’.

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Excerpts from an interview I gave some months ago. The question explored has to do with the ‘Purge Plague’, a vehicle I invented to explain how Mona’s culture came to be. This is the fourth installment in a five-part series that I will publish over the next several days. Feel free to comment on the link at the bottom. I welcome your insights and opinions.

Consequences: The ‘Purge Plague’ (Part 3)

The Purge Plague: Consequences

Solving the human extinction event wasn’t without its consequences. Besides finding an alternate food source, other changes occurred. The new genome made significant changes to human physiology. Sickness had been wiped out. The common cold, cancer, infections, and the various maladies associated in pre-plague days were nonexistent. Within one hundred years, no one ever got sick.

Consequences of gene splicing 58592001 - abstract science and technology backgrounds for your designLife expectancy shortened. Three out of four women were born sterile. The rest became prolific baby factories, capable of delivering multiple babies in each pregnancy. As such, the terms ‘bitches’, ‘litters’, and ‘sows’ came into common everyday language. Cycles shortened from 28 days to 23 days. Gestation periods dropped to under 30 weeks. Over time, those that could bear children were highly sought after. Those that could not bear offspring, eventually contribute their meat.

Over time, sterility became defined as either not being able to conceive or conception was difficult and rarely came to term. For example, despite having been pregnant, since her offspring weren’t viable, Mona is considered sterile. Over time, population censuses implied that women of this class were evolving into a third sex. However, in Mona’s time, this was not yet the case. Women in this class became the workers and playmates to their masters. They were also the primary livestock for the community.

Men weren’t immune to change

The single most significant physiological change occurred in men. Mortality rates for men skyrocketed, resulting in near 100% mortality by age 1. Of those that did survive past age 1, matured slowly, enfeebled and frail. With 30% dying each subsequent year, not until nearing the age of 20, did surviving males began to thrive, grow and mature. By 25, they were virtually assured of a long and prolific life, one among 10,000 women.

Within a century, a man’s primary role was to impregnate as many women as possible. Women became the producers of all other necessities of life. In short, women had all the power in their society but due to their submissive nature, exchanged it to satisfy their own needs.

 


In my next post, I will explore further physical and psychological changes as a result of the “fix” to the ‘Purge Plague’.

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Excerpts from an interview I gave some months ago. The question explored has to do with the ‘Purge Plague’, a vehicle I invented to explain how Mona’s culture came to be. This is the third installment in a five-part series that I will publish over the next several days. Feel free to comment on the link at the bottom. I welcome your insights and opinions.

The ‘Purge Plague’ (Part 2) : Extinction?

Extinction – The Purge Plague initiates an unstoppable event

Resolving the runaway genome infection among human populations was not without its perils. The plague had already caused the extinction of almost all life on the planet. While it was too late to save the other species, scientists at the time saved what they could. GMOs initiate a near extinction event 57855271 - evolution, female portrait against abstract science backgroundsIt became a race to find an answer before the total extinction of human race.

Desperate to find a solution, scientists took chances and spliced genes they might not have otherwise done. With human population under a million and declining rapidly, they tried one more daring and dangerous splice. Unsure of what would happen, they tested it directly on human subjects and crossed their fingers.

gene splicing at the genetic level 27282224 - dna molecule, structural fragment of z-form, 3d illustration

Success?

Surprisingly, they found success. Test subjects recovered and began to recover. Buoyed with success, they deployed the new genome on a massive scale. Within a generation, they had turned the tide.

Unfortunately, it was too late for other species on the planet. Every high protein plant had already died out. Every animal, fish, and insect perished. Wiped out forever, were dolphins and whales, halibut and flounder, trout and bass, crab and lobster, and fish of all kinds. Extinct were dogs and cats, horses and mules, cattle and sheep, insects including beetles, bees, and mosquitos (no loss there). Gone too were soybean, legumes and beans, broccoli, lentils, and asparagus. The list went on and on.

Except for humans, nothing survived. Everything high in consumible protein became extinct. What survived could barely be considered a viable food source. Attempts to repopulate species from seed stock failed.

Humans were effectively … alone … rulers of a decimated planet.

Plus, they were hungry. Without significant sources of food high in protein, humans had little choice. They could either wither or turn to the only source available to them … themselves.

 


In my next post

I will explore the changes to human physiology that occurred as a result of the “fix” to the Purge Plague.

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Excerpts from an interview I gave some months ago. The question explored has to do with the ‘Purge Plague’, a vehicle I invented to explain how Mona’s culture came to be and how it survived a near-extinction event. This is the second installment in a five-part series that I will publish over the next several days. Feel free to comment on the link at the bottom. I welcome your insights and opinions.

The ‘Purge Plague’ (Part 1), What brought it about?

The Purge Plague, can you elaborate on that?

purge plague gene splicing GMO genome 57855280 - mankind and evolution, female portrait against abstract science backgroundsThe Purge Plague is a speculation that I came up with to justify the culture of Mona’s world. However, it is a speculation that I firmly believe is possible, if not likely, to occur. Most of all, it is The Purge Plague that causes the near extinction of the human race.

Let’s compare the post plague era with today’s world as we know it today. For centuries, we’ve been cross-breeding plants and animals to create new subspecies. Most fail and the subspecies dies out. Some, however, become a new species and reproduce, creating copies of themselves.

Over the last sixty years, scientists and corporations are doing more than that. They are slicing genes at the genetic level. Sometimes, they do it to see if they can. More often than not, there is a specific goal they are trying to attain.

gene splicing 27282224 - dna molecule, structural fragment of z-form, 3d illustrationBe it crops or animal stock, gene splicing is happening today. Farmers, big and small, are trying to develop hardier crops, resistant to insect and disease. Another goal is to produce more usable product per acre, regardless of the species. More product for less cost means higher profits.

Consequences

The Purge Plague speculates what would happen to life should a gene splice replicate on a massive scale with undesirable results. As a result, the resultant genome is so hardy, so resistant to eradication, that it spreads across the planet, modifying the DNA of every living plant, animal, and insect. The genome rapidly invades every organism on the planet, humans included.

Consequently, species fail to reproduce or are without critical biological systems to process nutrients from the foods they ingest. Specifically, consumable proteins that are nutritional in nature and necessary for life. Without being able to ingest consumable proteins; plants, animals, and people wither and die. Even today, vegans ingest proteins in the form of legumes, beans, nuts, and similar plant sources.

Think what would happen if all of these species died out suddenly, all at once. Mass extinction.

 


In my next post

I will explore the extraordinary lengths taken to halt the plague.

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Excerpts from an interview I gave some months ago. The question explored has to do with the ‘Purge Plague’, a vehicle I invented to explain how Mona’s culture came to be. It is a five-part series that I will publish over the next several days. Feel free to comment on the link at the bottom. I welcome your insights and opinions.

Tell me about Mona’s culture (Part 2)

What follows are excerpts from an interview I gave some months ago. I’ve condensed it to a five-part series, which I intend to published over the next week. I hope it will provide insight into the world I created with the ‘Mona Bendarova Adventures’. Feel free to comment on the link at the bottom. I welcome your insights and opinions.


Following the ‘Purge Plague’ and over hundreds of years, societal rules changed to accommodate the new reality. War, religion, and social injustices fell by the wayside. Gone also was the concept of money, love, marriage, and monogamy. In Mona’s contemporary time, they simply have no comprehension of these concepts. Survival of the species became paramount.

Earth of two mindsThe last-ditch effort to save the human race through gene manipulation caused other consequences and society continued to adapt. People perished by the billions. Genetic changes within females caused them to become extremely submissive to males while males suffered extremely high mortality rates. Within two generations, population disparities between men and women became extremely unbalanced. Within a century, only one male in 10,000 survived to adulthood, leaving about 66 men for every million women.

To compensate, a system arose to regulate and deal with progeny and food supply. Live births surviving to maturity are graded and categorized for the quality of their meat. Meat that one day will feed their community. To ensure fairness, an elaborate system developed to secure equitable conversion processing among everyone. Out of necessity, progeny remained unnamed until maturity and bound to a house.

With the dissimilar distribution of men to women, society accommodated the shift by distributing a single male and master per estate.

The Master became ‘the dominant and the deciding authority’ in all things related to their house. The rest of the residents of a house were generally women. While women could rise to become the Master of a house, admittedly, this was a rare event. Otherwise, women submitted to the needs of their house and Master.

In my next post, I’ll expand upon the consequences of past decisions.

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Tell me about Mona’s culture (part 1)

What follows are excerpts from an interview I gave some months ago. I’ve condensed it to a five-part series, which I intend to published over the next week. I hope it will provide insight into the world I created with the ‘Mona Bendarova Adventures’. Feel free to comment on the link at the bottom. I welcome your insights and opinions.


Mona’s Culture? What an interesting question.

Estate HouseMona lives in a feudal world set thousands of years in our future. She lives in a world without a central power or government. Instead, her community consists of loosely linked estates, commonly called houses, each named after the owner of their estate. Residents who live on the estate refer to the owner as ‘Master’. Loosely tying the estates together, is Club Lothario. The club acts as a central meeting-house, civic center, and relaxed governing body. The club acts to ensure each house meets their quota to the community.

Their culture evolved to deal with a near extinction event more than a millennium in the past. Cultural roots go back to a time when gene manipulation of the food-producing animals and plants was common place. Eventually, larger profits were sought, mistakes were made and aggressive genome manipulation ran out of control. Unsurprisingly, the plague nearly wiped out all life on Earth.

The ‘Purge Plague’, as it was later called, caused in the extinction of every insect, animal and most of the edible plant life, leaving the planet devoid of any and all sources of consumable protein. As the plague ran on over decades, the world was quickly stripped of life. Humans were about to follow suit.

Through extraordinary and expensive measures, scientists at the time were able to halt the extinction of the human species. In one massive, last-ditch effort of gene manipulation, the human race was saved.

Despite halting the extinction, the stigma of genetic manipulation survived. Over time, the idea of gene splicing was abhorrent to the population. It didn’t take long before all gene manipulation was banned all around the world.

As with all actions, there are consequences. The most significant consequence was, in order for humans to survive, they learned to consume the only source of protein available … themselves.

In my next post, I’ll expand upon how their culture evolved.

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