(The Terrestrial Virus)
It was a most elegant example of the species. Robust and healthy, the likelihood of survival and prosperity were merely a factor of its continued existence. The beginning had been violent and growth had been slow. Many years had to pass before the intrinsic beauty began to appear, but accelerated rapidly as maturity began to evolve it into a most exquisite jewel.
Nestled in just the perfect place, many beneficial properties imbued themselves into the makeup of this consummate Eden. Invaluable to the health, these members wove themselves into a massively interconnected network of cooperation and interdependency the likes of which could only be envied. Their function was essential to the continued advancement for they provided something, in their own way, to the well-being and enduring sustenance that was provided them. They would come into being and pass on leaving their mark without disrupting the fabric that encompassed their domain.
It would seem that perfection was defined. Coexistence and harmony were the picture that was painted on the canvas, value beyond comprehension or definition. But, something wasn't right, in fact a terrible malignancy was insidiously planting itself in the very core of the spirit that had made everything complete.
The onset was hardly noticeable, the changes imperceptible in the beginning. The very diversity that had defined the dimensions and scope of this proud experiment in presence had encouraged an element that did not share the same refinement and beliefs. The motivation was neither as esoteric nor ethereal. Intelligence was the defining factor and it was not a complimentary trait.
Development was rapid. In the grand view it would seem to have taken only moments to spread. The effects, however, were devastating, incomprehensible. The edges began to fray. The system began to deteriorate. Where change had been ordained and planned, agreed upon and executed with order and acquiescence there now was ravage without reason. Death and destruction without purpose was now the law of the land. It began in the same froth as the rest but it was driven by dark demons. All others killed to survive and regenerate their kind. To live and leave the rest alone. This new constituent wanted all that and more.
Without benefit of natural defenses it cloned it's own. It found value in these skills and lost consciousness of the value of the environment. It worshipped itself and mocked all other beliefs. The waste generated was caustic and debilitating. Exponentially growing in direct proportion to the expansion of the wilding beast.
Death for the benefit of life no longer satisfied nor supplicated it. It defied all attempts to eradicate it. It mutated to new forms each time a threat confronted it but it still remained the same menace and this compromised the existence of everything else.
The beneficial components that comprised the whole were disappearing. The life- blood was being eaten away and the toll was showing itself in a disastrous way. The sphere of life that defined the ecology and incorporated all else was vanishing and the beauty that made it all possible was quickly vanishing.
But space was limited and the need to expand too great. It needs to extend its reach to new hosts before it wasted everything. It could not live here much longer. The systems were being strained to the limit and would soon collapse without the support they enjoyed in the past. Sustenance no longer existed for all and they began to die. As they disappeared the host began to die. Maybe this was the answer. As the host dies so do the parasites that infect it. They either leave and find a new victim or they die with the host.
Fortunately the system is strong and enduring. The disease will leave its mark but hopefully the whole will survive to replenish itself and go on. Damage will be extensive but not irreversible. Death is not the only alternative to be considered. It is a possibility that this Virus, to give it a name, will burn itself out, eat Itself out of existence, destroy everything it needs to exists and leave the rest. And when it is gone new elements will come into being that will help to repair the damage. Make everything new again and exist in harmony and cooperation once again.
I hope so.
