Manorfire

Let's say, sometime in the near future, a genetic marker in all insects suddenly becomes activated, causing them to simultaneously attack us. Forget "The Birds", this would make the ultimate Hitchcock movie.

If the single goal of each mini beast on earth was to kill all humans, would we withstand the attack? (I would be safe in my zombie bunker, but that's another thread). I'm talking bugs coming out of the ground, crawling out of every hole and flying into your cranial orifices. I say we're toast, especially when the insect armies eventually combine forces with the mitochondria...it's inevitable.

We have swats, germ warfare, and Raid - you'd think we'd be able to control the swarms. But, how many of us live by a field, or a forest, or a park? How many of us live in climates that allow for mosquitos and other desease vectors? I've read that dung beetles are like homing pigeons: once they get that familiar aroma, they will follow it into the depths...

Imagine if the little mites living in the shafts of your eyelashes refused to eat your dead skin and sebum, but climbed up yer nostrils and feasted on your brain!

Clearly, this scenario requires a certain amount of magical thinking and the sudden ability to conspire bestowed upon insects, but who knows? Maybe a mind controlling, hostile alien race, will use our own insects against us!

Welcome to my latest conspiracy theory. What do you think?

The_Jazz

Wow, I'm actually stunned at how inane your little exercise is. There's absolutely no point to it.

__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

Manorfire

It's my least inane concept I wanted to share.

I'm not a serious person (not this close to Xmas).

You won't want to hear my thoughts on Zombies then?

pan6467

I think it's damned creative, not exactly possible but it gave me chills opening my mind and thinking about it.

Thanks for sharing Man, I appreciate a person who challenges my imagination.

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I just love people who use the excuse "I use/do this because I LOVE the feeling/joy/happiness it brings me" and expect you to be ok with that as you watch them destroy their life blindly following. My response is, "I like to put forks in an eletrical socket, just LOVE that feeling, can't ever get enough of it, so will you let me put this copper fork in that electric socket?"

Brewmaniac

Go back in the basement and close the door behind you! LOL!

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"That's a joke... I say, that's a joke, son"

Manorfire

A green light to an open mind...or a red cloth to a nervous bull (I'm full of bull). Either way, I appreciate your comment! Never walk on the cracks in the pavement. That's my best advice.

But, that's exactly what they're waiting for - they haven't eaten all day. Are you nuts?

Mister Coaster

Interesting thought. Considering insects outnumber humans... like a million to 1, I think you're right, we'd be toast.

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If you have any poo... fling it NOW!

pan6467

By the way Man welcome to TFP.

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I just love people who use the excuse "I use/do this because I LOVE the feeling/joy/happiness it brings me" and expect you to be ok with that as you watch them destroy their life blindly following. My response is, "I like to put forks in an eletrical socket, just LOVE that feeling, can't ever get enough of it, so will you let me put this copper fork in that electric socket?"

Hanxter

actually not so inane...

either the twilight zone or outer limits... an episode where this guy had severe headaches...
an earwig had crawled into his ear...
because of it's front feelers couldn't turn around...
it laid it's eggs and kept on going thru his brain to the opposite ear...

Brewmaniac

I can't seem to get the thought of insects out of my head, so it does show you have a great imagination and can put it on paper. Thanks for sharing.

Yes, welcome to the tfp!

Hanxter, I remember that episode made me itch for hours!

__________________
"That's a joke... I say, that's a joke, son"

Manorfire

It believe it was Rod Serling's Night Gallery, a sort of sequel to The Twilight Zone. The segment 'The Caterpillar' was probably the scariest story they ever did. I think it was set in Malaya and starred Laurence Harvey as Macy. He'd hired a hitman to kill somebody in a bizarre, hideous way, 'cept the hitman put the earwig into the wrong ear - Macy's.

The resulting irritation leads people to tear their own faces off, killing themselves in the process. The only way of avoiding this death is to strap themselves down until the agony is over. It's after the earwig tunnels its way out the other side, that the doctor gives Macy the bad news - the earwig was pregnant and laid eggs in his brain.

Average_Joe

We would be toast for sure. The only method of escape I could possibly think of is perhaps to live in a perpetually cold environment like Antarctica. Getting there might be interesting though.

Martian

I too think the question is a fun one, if not particularly taxing. Even if we restrict ourselves solely to insects and leave out other arthropods like arachnids and myriapods, current estimates place the insect population (including known and unknown species) at as many as 10 million species and quite literally trillions or even tens of trillions of individuals. Even the most harmless of species could theoretically be dangerous in sufficient numbers. Imagine being crushed or choked to death by a massive swarm of, for example, houseflies... there may be worse ways to go but I don't have any particular desire to imagine one.

And of course if we include spiders, scorpions, centipedes ands such, the instance of venomous and/or poisonous (and therefore potentially dangerous) species goes up.

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I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

jerseyboy

Now I cant sleep, the idea is truly horrific, especially to someone so afraid of insects like myself.

flat5

Just sit down and write the screen play.

magictoy

Been into the eggnog pretty heavily there?

Seriously, it's a concept that has occurred to me, but not one I want to delve into very much. We'd be history.