Plot-The Andromeda Strain essays

Plot-The Andromeda Strain essays Five biophysicists start a program called Project Wildfire, which gives proper sterilization to any possible contaminated space probe. Two years later, Project Scoop sends 17 satellites to the outer layer of the atmosphere to collect any possible organisms for study. One satellite unexpectedly falls into Piedmont, Arizona and when it is retrieved, bodies are scattered everywhere and the only two survivors are an old man and a baby. Four scientists are called upon to investigate and the satellite along with the two survivors, are taken to a top-secret impenetrable fortress-like laboratory. After going through 5 levels of sterilization, the scientists made it down to the 5th floor where they could study the organism that wiped out a whole town and why the two survivors survived. The survivors and the satellite were studied in separate sealed off, plastic rooms. While studying the organism that did this, they found out that it killed by causing your blood to clot rapidly to the point where it is clotted solid. Whats even more amazing is that it did this in a matter of seconds. Now the scientists had to find out what the two survivors had that made them immune to the organism. While talking to the old man, they found out that he drank Sterno and that gave him acidosis, which means his body was more acidic than it should be. The baby took the other extreme; it was alkalotic from crying constantly and raising its breathing rate, which means its body was more basic than normal. This was the answer; the organism could only attack those with a neutral ph. While one of the scientists was experimenting, one of the seals broke and the organism was let loose. Soon, they realized that the virus had mutated into a non-fatal form and now it eats rubber instead of clotting blood. But that wasnt the end, now that it was loose in the laboratory, the alarms sounded and all the doors were sealed off. If thats not b...