Nostradamus or what!!

[ApophisAstros]

Conspiracy theorist feel free to run riot...!!!
Roger

[Carole]

Wow

[MarkS]

Apparently in the original version of the book, the virus was called Gorki-400 because it was designed in a Russian laboratory outside Gorki:
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/dean-koontz-predicted-coronavirus/

Mark

[ApophisAstros]

But there is a very large chemical weapon and disease warfare research centre in wuhan , probably makes Porton Down look like a coffee shop!,i think an animal that had been given the virus had escaped somehow.It can be passed to humans from animals but havent heard of one animal dying of it as if its been desined to kill humans?
Roger

[Rick]

Conspiracy theorist feel free to run riot...!!!

You know what they say about Shakespeare and the infinite numbers of monkeys...

I'd be more surprised if nobody could find a book describing the situation that closely. After all, authors can use their imagination and intelligence to far better effect than an infinite number of monkeys, there's one hell of a lot of SF (where the "F" means "fiction" but the "S" can mean "speculative" just as often as it can mean "science") out there, and quite a lot of it deals with the relatively near future as seen from however many decades back. Now, if the same book also described a whole lot more of the world's present craziness accurately as well, then, maybe, I'd be prepared to consider it a prediction, but as it is I figure there's an author with some damned good ideas who happened, by chance, to come close(-ish) to reality on one of them. 

...and as for conspiracy theories, I notice it's been reported that UK ministers will no longer claim there have been 'no successful examples' of Russian interference with UK elections, so I'm assuming that the bunch of s presently in power know they're there because Putin's helped them to get there. 

If you're after a book about prophecies and the end of the world, may I recommend "Good Omens" by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, if you've not read it already.

[Mac]

Here's one for you to watch.

4 Years ago.

https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_the_next_outbreak_we_re_not_ready

Mac.

[Carole]

That's scary, never realised the Spanish flu killed as many as 33,000,000 in 1918.  I knew it was bad but not that bad.

Carole

[Carole]

Violinists play Titanic music in the empty toilet roll aisle.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-51942217/coronavirus-violinists-play-titanic-hymn-in-front-of-empty-toilet-paper-aisle