Re: My thoughts on WotW (spoilers)

"Ken from Chicago" <kwicker1b_nospam@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:tZSdncp0IKVrdlrfRVn-sQ@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> "trike" <dougtricarico@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:1120397642.303467.308060@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > >And the resolution that Wells created is just utterly implausible, too.
> >>If these aliens are so advanced, how could they not know about the
> >>possibility of infection from earth germs? Do they not have microbes on
> >>their world? We're incredibly primitive compared to them, but as soon
> >>as we started sending astronauts into space, we made sure to quarantine
> >>them upon their returns, just in case they brought something bad with
> >>them. We would never consider letting our people walk around on an
> >>alien planet unprotected, even if it had what seemed to be a breathable
> >>atmosphere.
> >
> > It's implausible _now_ because Wells brought it up. NASA has a
> > Planetary Protection Officer (coolest job title ever) precisely
> > _because_ of science fiction writers thinking these scenarios up.
> >
> > Wells, unlike Verne, wasn't as interested in the technogadgets of his
> > stories as he was the metaphor. Cross out Martians and write in
> > British Empire and you unlock the key to his story. When Wells wrote
> > WotW (late 1890s), germ theory was just starting to gain real traction.
> > For the time, War of the Worlds is pretty cutting edge, but the
> > mechanism is a sidelight -- the highlight is the notion of Imperialism,
> > and the "death by infection" thing can be seen as any number of
> > unintended consequences of rampant Imperialism.
> >
> > Doug
>
> It could have been NEW microbes that took down the aliens now.



Or the last Martian bacteria may heve been extinct for a few millennia, and
the Martians themselves may have had a planetwide government for long enough
that they lack practical experience of warfare, biological or other


--


Mike Stone - Peterborough, England

Seeking the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and
everything is not a task for cowards.

It is essential to show some forty-twode


.

Relevant Pages

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