What we didn't know — until many years had passed — was that the viruses were taking over. We had thought they died, and some did, but they also irreparably changed us. Each time a person recovered, the virus left a change — a small subtle change. Which was the whole point. Viruses didn't want to just make us sick — they wanted to change us. And slowly, one illness at a time, they did. Small, miniscule changes that couldn't be seen for generations; not until a couple hundred years had passed. Doctors studying historical records assumed a lack of education or sophistication. But we were being changed by the viruses one cell at a time.
Back then no one would even remotely entertain the notion that viruses had intelligence or sentience. We all thought they were single-celled spores floating like seeds to catalyze disease in our tissues. Which they did. But they also changed us slowly over thousands of years to make us what we are today — their slaves — nothing more than a feeding ground to keep them alive.
It was a delicate balance. They had to keep us healthy so they could live. They needed nourishment, too. And like any species they had to reproduce. It was a very delicate task, keeping us alive while eating us.
They erred, of course. Millions of people and animals died in assorted plagues before they figured out how to keep us alive long enough for them to feed without destroying us. Some species of virus gave their lives and were wiped out entirely in the interest of furnishing knowledge and advancing the species.
We know all this now, but it's too late to do anything. We aren't strong enough to eradicate them and no group of humans, so far, has been willing to give their lives in the cause of science and specie preservation. We figure eventually the viruses will go too far and overrun the earth in greediness and audacity. We will have no defense. Visitors from outer space will find nothing here but a few plants or maybe even just a floating clod of dirt.
I'm not sure why I'm writing this. Who will read it, for starters? And of those who do — who will believe it? Aren't these just the rantings of a crazed, sick woman? But you doubt me at your peril. If you were to read my handwritten copy you would have already come close enough to be infected. Your only option then would be suicide to protect your family, friends and entire species. Then you must hope that they burn your body without coming in contact with it. Otherwise, your sacrifice will have been in vain.
You've been warned. I've done my best. There really is no hope so don't read on thinking that I will mention an outside chance of destroying the viruses or maybe point to some obscure scientist working on a cure. It's not going to happen.
I'm transcribing this as a post from my handwritten copy that, hopefully, can be transmitted in some way the viruses can't follow or track. I hope that, upon reading this, some planet somewhere will succeed in evading them. It would be nice if those others could eradicate the viruses but I have no hope of that now. Nothing, save lack of a suitable environment and sustenance can kill them. Destroying them just makes them stronger. They evolve viciously fast. I think if you even think about destroying them they know it and make the necessary metabolic changes. It's just our bad luck to have evolved on a planet hospitable enough to support both us and them.
Knowing that I could not prevent the future, I have travelled here into the past. I know I carry a virulent strain of virus in me but I have taken precautions. I managed to break into this web log — really laughable security compared to what we have now (or will have, would be more accurate). But then maybe paranoia is a side effect of virus control. It certainly keeps us from unifying against them. In any case, I've broken in here into the past when it is still possible to transmit messages the virus can't piggy back on.
I've not much time left and I suppose I have put you all in jeopardy by even coming here. Who knows? Perhaps the viruses have foreseen this and prepared for it — maybe even engineered it. But don't let that stop you. Unite now! Combine your knowledge and fight them. There may still a chance at discovering a weakness, a way to annihilate them completely. I've isolated myself on a remote island so that my impact on the past is minimal and my chances of passing the virus to you are small. But I can't not warn you. Good luck and may you all survive.
—Elaine Greywalker
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