The initial symptoms of the disease are no different from the flu, as the epidemic spreads in various countries there is a medical run, and even riots in some European countries, do you think this is talking about COVID-19?
These are actually the plot of a science fiction novel from 58 years ago , Resurrection Day.
Its author, Sasuke Komatsu, is the double winner of the Japan Mystery Writers Association Award and the Nebula Award, and Liu Cixin admits that the creation of "Three-Body Problem" was also influenced by him!
The Day of resurrection
Author: Sakyo Komatsu
Translator: Zhao Jianjun
Edition: Yilin Publishing House
July 26, 2022
"Resurrection Day" was written in 1964, and Komatsu Sakyo wrote this novel at a time when Japan's economy was recovering and thriving, and all aspects were gradually on the track of prosperity, and the iconic Tokyo Olympic Games were held that year, but Komatsu Sakyo wrote such a dark and negative energy story.
In this novel, a supervirus is created in a germ warfare laboratory in the British Army, which is taken out and handed over to international spies, but in transit, a plane crashes and the virus spreads, causing a flu worse than the Spanish flu and spreading rapidly from person to person. Due to the inability of medical and other measures at that time to cope with it, there were widespread deaths, and in the end, almost all 3.5 billion people in the world went extinct, and only 10,000 Antarctic scientific expeditions survived on the Antarctic continent.
Resurrection Day film (1980)
Resurrection Day feels very realistic and suffocating to read. When Kadokawa Bunko was republished in 1975, molecular biologist Katsura Watanabe said in his introduction: "This is not just a fictional novel, but a complete possibility of what happened." "Komatsu Sakyo's world, hospitals overloaded, streets piled with corpses, factories and shops closed, food supplies cut off, civilian flights grounded, the country entered a state of emergency, the death toll soon exceeded that of World War II world war dead, and even the leaders of many countries died of the virus, many details are shocking."
Resurrection Day film (1980)
Komatsu Sakyo's creation was inspired by the news he saw in the Times about the plague virus at a research institute in London, and later collected a lot of information about bacterial warfare, virus weapons, etc. from magazines such as Scientific American. With the acumen of science fiction writers, he realized that the development of virus-based microbial weapons by humans would eventually lead to great disasters.
Komatsu Sasuke foresaw the profound changes that the scientific and technological revolution has brought to human life early on, and proposed to be wary of its double-edged sword effect. He himself is a liberal arts student who studied French, but he has a special love for science, and he does not hesitate to write and ink to describe a lot of scientific details, making "Resurrection Day" show a very "hardcore" feature. The novel was written in the 1960s, just over a decade after the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA, but the biological content is not outdated today. There are also descriptions of Antarctic ecology, marine engineering, submarines, neutron weapons, etc., which are also solid and detailed, and even how to drive a gas-powered car.
Different versions of Resurrection Day
Since the 20th century, science and technology have increasingly become the first reality of human society, it is everywhere, immersed in and even dominated human life, but it also shows the great harm when it is abused. Komatsu Sakyo discusses the role of scientists in several places, including the roles of Einstein and Heisenberg. Komatsu Believes that a small number of scientists in the laboratory can create a virus that can exterminate all mankind, and if it is accidentally leaked, or bought or even robbed by criminals, and then sold to ambitious countries or organizations, it may cause catastrophic consequences. How to deal with this new type of crisis in the era of industrialization is a major issue for mankind, if not a primary issue, because we are facing a new "star crisis" for the first time in history.
The theme of Resurrection Day is in line with what Komatsu Sakyo later expressed in works such as The Sinking of Japan. He always pondered our fate in the universe and the relationship between nature and humanity, and had great concerns about human self-destruction. Why does a cause of eliminating demons create even bigger demons? He doubted that man would be the first creature to destroy himself. The most serious challenge here is not the virus and nuclear weapons, but the estrangement, suspicion and struggle of human beings themselves, which are made more dangerous by the fact that human beings have mastered more advanced and sophisticated scientific and technological means.
Based on the creation of relativity and quantum theory in the 20th century and the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA, human beings have created far more material wealth than all periods of history combined, but they have also launched two world wars, triggered the sixth mass extinction of the earth, and possessed the means to self-destruct and destroy the entire earth, including nuclear weapons, nanotechnology, genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, and so on. "Resurrection Day" uses literary and artistic forms to sound the alarm with great foresight and urgency, expressing the conscience of intellectuals. Komatsu Sakyo thus reveals the meaning of writing: without deep thinking about contemporary issues, science fiction becomes shallow; Literature must face the sharp propositions of the times, and cannot be a seemingly delicate but pale and empty word game.
Resurrection Day film (1980)
The scene depicted in this novel is bleak, and it directly tells the reader that we are all just some form of survivors, and we must always treat the current living situation with the attitude of "living to death", be responsible for our own choices, and have the courage to "save ourselves". "Resurrection Day" contains a strong humanitarian spirit and embodies great compassion for human existence. Komatsu Sakyo is not a pessimist, he said that human society is a barbaric, immature civilization, if given time, it will create glory, and the resurrected world should not repeat the mistakes made before the catastrophe.
This article is adapted from: Han Song "We are just some form of survivors - reading Komatsu Sakyo's "Resurrection Day""
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The Day of resurrection
[Sun] Sakyo Komatsu
A god's work about the destruction and rebirth of mankind
A bulldozer in the Japanese science fiction world, he has won the Nebula Award seven times in his lifetime
His masterpiece "The Sinking of Japan" sold 4 million copies
Liu Cixin, author of "The Three-Body Problem", said that he was deeply influenced by Komatsu Zuojing
"Battle Royale" director Shinji Fukasaku shot the classic disaster film of the same name
In the face of the virus, where does mankind go?
The root cause of the crisis is human greed, the desperate struggle of great powers for world hegemony; Not only will viruses cause great disasters, but nuclear weapons will always be the sword of Damocles hanging over humanity's head.
This is by no means just a fictional novel, but something entirely possible. We must be thankful that that has not happened yet. In fact, the danger of it can be felt the most,...
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