Microorganism In Michael Crichton's Andromeda Strain

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Throughout Michael Crichton’s novel, there are examples of how the government and research scientists involved were fearful of the foreignness of even the possibility of an extraterrestrial life form coming and ruining life for the people it effects. It is evident in both their research and experimentation and in their levels of protection for the outside world from the disease or lifeform being brought back to the facility. In Andromeda Strain, the microorganism called “Andromeda Strain” can be viewed as a metaphor for imperialism and signifies the fear of one culture being taken over by another. When Jeremy Stone discovers the structure of the microorganism, he notes how it is structured, but in a nature vastly different from any forms of …show more content…

The imperialists came killing and changing lives of the natives which would have terrified the natives about as much as Jeremy Stone, Leavitt, Hall, and Burton were terrified of the Andromeda Strain so much that they agreed to first of all participate in project Wildfire which was planned enough in advance to prepare the building where the Andromeda Strain would be fully researched. It was a fear that Jeremy Stone had depicted would be a problem. It is discussed on pages 111 and 112 of the novel that this facility had been in the works for one and a half years and had funding of over 20 million dollars in preparation of an event such as the Andromeda strain happening so as to protect the public. Seeing as Stone was an organized scientist, the head of his department at Berkley, it is seen that he wants to be the most methodically cautious of a foreign entity coming in and damaging the public like is the duty of any military personnel to protect the country. This is why Stone was the one who took the initiative to inform the white house of the potential dangers and the fear was shared by the president which is why it only took one day for the white house to approve project Wildfire