1. SPS Accounts:
    Do you find yourself coming back time after time? Do you appreciate the ongoing hard work to keep this community focused and successful in its mission? Please consider supporting us by upgrading to an SPS Account. Besides the warm and fuzzy feeling that comes from supporting a good cause, you'll also get a significant number of ever-expanding perks and benefits on the site and the forums. Click here to find out more.
    Dismiss Notice
Dismiss Notice
You are currently viewing Boards o' Magick as a guest, but you can register an account here. Registration is fast, easy and free. Once registered you will have access to search the forums, create and respond to threads, PM other members, upload screenshots and access many other features unavailable to guests.

BoM cultivates a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. We have been aiming for quality over quantity with our forums from their inception, and believe that this distinction is truly tangible and valued by our members. We'd love to have you join us today!

(If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you've forgotten your username or password, click here.)

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six

Discussion in 'Booktalk' started by SlickRCBD, May 9, 2021.

  1. SlickRCBD Gems: 29/31
    Latest gem: Glittering Beljuril


    Resourceful Adored Veteran

    Joined:
    May 7, 2005
    Messages:
    3,017
    Media:
    47
    Likes Received:
    173
    Gender:
    Male
    This whole COVID crisis and the rapidly developed vaccine reminds me of a now old novel by the late Tom Clancy called Rainbow Six.
    In it a biotech company called Horizon Corporation is taken over by environmental extremists. They decide that modern civilization is killing the planet, and to wipe out most of the human race with a virus, thinking that people like the Bushmen in Africa would be safe.
    Their plan is to make an airborne version of the virus that had broken out in the previous book Executive Orders, and release it at the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games.
    They create two vaccines for it. One is the real vaccine that would be given to their people and a select few "worthy" individuals.
    The other is the main part of their plan. It only appears to be a vaccine, but in fact it is the virus with a much longer incubation period that will go dormant for over a year (I forgot exactly how long) similar to HIV or other deadly viruses that take years before symptoms show up.
    They know that when a deadly pandemic is sweeping the world, the normal safety checks on vaccines will be greatly scaled back in favor of getting the cure out to the population.

    The previous book Executive Orders did predict quite a few responses to current events, including what are today called "Shelter in Place" orders. However, they had President Jack Ryan being far more proactive than President Trump, but this isn't the politics forum.

    In any case, what caught my interest was today's headline where States are scaling back their orders for vaccines with less than 2/3 of the population vaccinated because of a massive amount of resistance to the vaccine.
    http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20210508/news/305089948/
    It makes me wonder if this novel had anything to do with spreading such mistrust.

    On the other hand, back to talking about the book. The novel made no mention of planning for this type of phenomenon. They were counting on the governments of the world to push out the vaccines to all their citizens, which Horizon would provide for cost.
    It makes me wonder how over 1/3 of the population refusing to be vaccinated would have affected their outcome in the book. Would the vaccine-based virus still spread like the strain released at the Olympics? Of course with 25% of the population it would probably still cause a collapse of civilization, but it would certainly be enough to take out Horizon. Especially if it's 25% of the armed forces.

    Just a few thoughts prompted by reading the Daily Herald today. Lots of things to talk about with how this book and Executive Orders related to the events of the last year and a half.
     
  2. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2000
    Messages:
    23,475
    Media:
    494
    Likes Received:
    538
    Gender:
    Male
    It varies from one country to another. Some are more under the influence of various conspiracy theories than others. But I think that it's safe to say that in 2021+, with various BS spreading at the speed of light over the Internet to the farthest corners of the Earth, it's completely utopian to expect more than 2/3 of the population with access to the vaccines actually getting vaccinated. That is, unless not getting vaccinated impacts their ability to take their absolutely vital vacations across the border, for example, as is the case here.

    The reality of today is that you've got everything from staunch covid deniers to fervent anti-vaxxers to people who are convinced that covid is just like a flu to people convinced that vaccines contain Bill Gates' nanochips that will turn them into 5G beacons to... the list of stupid is endless.

    Countries like Serbia with far lower vaccination numbers are already having to resort to paying people to get vaccinated and use other similar "free lunch" tactics. Once you hit a plateau with the number of those willing to get vaccinated simply due to common sense, there isn't much left that you can do short of bribery. Luckily, a good chunk of people still respond well to that and overall it's still much less costly for the state to pay, say, $100 to everyone who gets vaccinated that otherwise would not have. Dealing with the consequences of infections is far, far more costly per capita than small payoffs like that.
     
    Last edited: May 10, 2021
  3. SlickRCBD Gems: 29/31
    Latest gem: Glittering Beljuril


    Resourceful Adored Veteran

    Joined:
    May 7, 2005
    Messages:
    3,017
    Media:
    47
    Likes Received:
    173
    Gender:
    Male
    Honestly, I've been having a few nightmares about Rainbow 6's scenario being real, and it's odd, since I haven't read the book in at least 20 years. Yet I still got vaccinated.
    I do have the hardcover in the basement however. Do you think rereading it would help or hurt?
     
  4. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2000
    Messages:
    23,475
    Media:
    494
    Likes Received:
    538
    Gender:
    Male
    Probably hurt if you're been having nightmares about it. But the situation now isn't really all that comparable -- there are a dozen or more different vaccines, developed using different kinds of technology by different companies, so even if you have any doubts or suspicions about a certain vaccine, you can always opt to use another. Unfortunately, here we still don't have the option of free selection, but AFAIK in the US you have free pick of different vaccines.
     
  5. SlickRCBD Gems: 29/31
    Latest gem: Glittering Beljuril


    Resourceful Adored Veteran

    Joined:
    May 7, 2005
    Messages:
    3,017
    Media:
    47
    Likes Received:
    173
    Gender:
    Male
    That is semi-true depending on your area. Research the providers and pick only the ones that have the vaccine you want.
    When I did it competition for slots was fierce, to the point that people were traveling 100 miles from home for the vaccine so you took what you could get without being picky. I got lucky in that I got a local slot, but my mother had to go from Arlington Heights to Danville. I'd never heard of Danville, IL, but it's some small town 3 hours drive from here in the middle of the State over 150 miles away (Arlington Heights is a NW suburb of Chicago, in northern Illinois. )

    I understand that slots are available just about anywhere now and the issue is getting the remaining 40% of people vaccinated, but people are being reluctant. So you look to see if Walgreens, the hospital, CVS, or whatnot has the vaccine you want.

    Some areas or States might not have all vaccines available. Some you might have to travel far like my mom did if you don't want what is available locally.
     
  6. dmc

    dmc Speak softly and carry a big briefcase Staff Member Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!)

    Joined:
    Dec 13, 2001
    Messages:
    8,731
    Media:
    88
    Likes Received:
    379
    Gender:
    Male
    That's be a tough commute from east of Italy . . .

    I think Tal is stuck with whatever his country and locality have available.
     
  7. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2000
    Messages:
    23,475
    Media:
    494
    Likes Received:
    538
    Gender:
    Male
    Oh, we've 4 or 5 different vaccines available here, it's just that the powers that be decided which age groups get what without giving you the option to pick. So they're pushing the cheapest AZ on anyone under 60 and if you don't want that, your position in queue gets reset and you start from scratch again. I've decided that I'd rather wait until I get to choose Pfizer's vaccine than get AZ. Heck, I'd be happy to pay for it, but even that's not an option.
     
  8. SlickRCBD Gems: 29/31
    Latest gem: Glittering Beljuril


    Resourceful Adored Veteran

    Joined:
    May 7, 2005
    Messages:
    3,017
    Media:
    47
    Likes Received:
    173
    Gender:
    Male
    I think we (Illinois) are hogging all the Pfizer. When i was looking most places had Pfizer and it's what I got, but I only saw one other (and I forgot what the other one was) when I was checking different places.
    I know it is the State that partially controls distribution of the vaccine, so different States may be doing things differently. I can only speak for Illinois.
    The U.S. is complicated like that, with the Federal Government and the States.
     
Sorcerer's Place is a project run entirely by fans and for fans. Maintaining Sorcerer's Place and a stable environment for all our hosted sites requires a substantial amount of our time and funds on a regular basis, so please consider supporting us to keep the site up & running smoothly. Thank you!

Sorcerers.net is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.