Talk:The Andromeda Strain

"... They find an extraterrestrial form of life ... "
No, No, and Hell No!!!!Michael Crichton quite clearly does NOT state that it is extraterrestrial. In fact he discusses in great length that it could have been a terrestrial organism that got swept up way into the upper atmosphere, a very different environment, and mutated into something different, so that when it came back down with Scoop, it was LIKE an alien organism. He goes to great lengths to maintain this ambiguity throughout the entire book.

In fact, that is the only way to explain the horrific and extreme event that takes place on the last page, where although it is not explicity stated, it is most clearly implied that the returning manned spacecraft has been deliberately destroyed. The implication is quite clear: whatever "normal" microbes the astronauts took with them to space may have mutated into something uncontrollable, and cannot be allowed back on earth alive. 121.218.39.29 08:52, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

Another fabulous quote.
Can't recall the absolute exact words, and I no longer have the book to check out personally, but there is a line something like "The long-term survival value of (human??) intelligence has never been satisfactorily demonstrated". 121.218.39.29 08:54, 22 August 2012 (UTC)