the extraterrestrials are here

And who would have thought they'd be so tiny?

And who would have thought they'd be so deadly?

And who would have thought they'd not be humanoid?

After all, "Star Trek" in the 1960's, and "Star Wars" in the 1970's, indoctrinated our popular culture with the idea of diversity throughout the universes, with most intelligent life looking remarkably like the peoples of Earth.

But what about Tribbles?

They were definitely not shaped like humans.

Those "space bunnies" were fluffy and lovable and capable of amazing antics.

Plus, they reproduced even faster than Gremlins and didn't require water or late-night snacking to do so.

(smile)

But I digress: the topic is extraterrestrials.

(Sure, "alien" is shorter, but that word has been corrupted by xenophobes on this planet and is no longer suitable for talking of life beyond Earth.)

And just what has brought this top of mind this morning, before I even get out of bed, and before I even have coffee?

Two things, actually.

The second happened last night.

The physicist and I were to dine at The Noodle Bowl, but that restaurant is no more. Fortunately, it's down the strip from another place we like, and we passed a barbershop along the way. That led to talk of such places and his having recently had a stylist besot with the idea of UFO sightings and such. Then, on the way back to our cars at the other end of the strip, the topic of COVID arose and I found out he'd lost a former girlfriend to death by that dread disease.

Wow.

The first thing was the week before.

Amy was talking about the posts I'd written last year about COVID madness and how much all in her office had enjoyed my graphs and style.

Then we started on the topic of booster shots and the new variation of the virus and I went into full-tilt boogie educator mode, even explaining about the function of the spike protein and likening it to the gangplank of a spaceship.

As I explained to them, a virus is like a marauding extraterrestrial, more akin to Cyborgs than any other type of life, and parts of us are assimilated to fashion new and improved forms of their being.

In other words, the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is building a better gangplank, to gain faster and easier access into our cells, and it is doing so by simply acting, not thinking.

This virus, like all viruses, has two goals: to survive and to propagate.

Failure on our part to build proper defenses against it - i.e., vaccination of all people, wearing of facial protection by all, use of safe distancing by all, vigilant washing of hands by all - allows it to confiscate amino acids with more desirable binding properties from our bodies to modify itself.

Those of us that are infected by the coronavirus, that develop Coronavirus Infectious Disease, and that survive to tell the tale are the very ones that are getting assimilated into the building of a better gangplank.

That's a sobering thought.

Time for coffee.