The Sun reported today that Britan is preparing mass graves for the upcoming H1N1 outbreak, which is expected to gain severity as back-to-school season arrives, followed by the regular northern hemisphere flu season.
Has anyone read The Stand? Unfortunately I have not -- I've only recently become a huge Stephen King fan -- but I have seen the movie several times and therefore know the basic premise: a super-flu sweeps through the population and kills all but a handful of people who are mysteriously immune to the disease. The government covers it up as best they can at first, but as the bodies pile up the attempt to hide the facts becomes futile. Still, massive government crack downs lead to the slaying of journalists, the detainment of the immune for medical study, and other terrible, apocalyptic revelations, before finally all that will die have died.
Then, the survivors are divided into two groups: the good-natured folks, who have dreams of an old black woman singing hymns on her porch, and the not-so-good folks, who dream of a scary man with no face. As dreams become more intense, the two groups seek out the apparitions from their dreams and find that they are real people.
Pictured above is Randall Flagg, who Stephen King fans know is a recurring character throughout his novels. He's the "Walkin' Dude," the man with no face, the devil. He wants to use this opportunity of death and destruction to take over the world, and will stop at nothing to do it. Only the other group, who flock to the good Mother Abigail, stand in his way.
I'm not really going anywhere in particular with this... just kind of reminiscing and stoking the flames of fear. Muahahaha.
