Editing 2287: Pathogen Resistance

{{comic
| number    = 2287
| date      = March 30, 2020
| title     = Pathogen Resistance
| image     = pathogen_resistance.png
| titletext = We're not not trapped in here with the coronavirus. The coronavirus is trapped in here with us.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a WORRIED BACTERIOPHAGE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is the 13th comic in a row in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] about the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} - {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}. 

Rather than expressing humanity's fears and pessimism about the pandemic, this strip anthropomorphizes some of the pathogens which afflict humanity (a {{w|bacteriophage}}, a {{w|coccus}}-shaped bacterium, and a {{w|protozoan}} (a caricature of a {{w|ciliate}}))  and presents ''their'' fears and pessimism about possibly going extinct.  This serves as a roundabout way of expressing hope and wonder at the ingenuity and tenacity of humans in the face of diseases past (with water sanitation, mosquito netting, and condoms) and present (with the power of social distancing and {{w|Gloria Gaynor}}'s hit song ''{{w|I Will Survive}}''). Gaynor recorded [https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/12/entertainment/coronavirus-gloria-gaynor-i-will-survive-trnd/index.html a video of herself washing her hands] for 20 seconds to the background of her hit song.

The comic humorously considers pasta as an essential part of human's fight against coronavirus. Pasta is an example of a dried food that can last a long time, if the orders to stay indoors continue, however, not every culture consumes or likes pasta.

The title text reverts to the point of view of humans and references a famous line from the graphic novel ''{{w|Watchmen}}'', where [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rorschach_(character) Rorschach], whilst in prison and surrounded by enemies who want to kill him proclaims: "I'm not locked up in here with YOU. You're locked up in here with ME."

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[A small colony of coccus bacteria, a bacteriophage, and a protozoan are floating together.]
:Bacteriophage: I'm worried about humans developing resistance to us.
:Bacteriophage: Using pasta.
[Cutaway to macrophages and antibodies chasing three protozoans.  One protozoan is already covered in antibodies.]
:Bacteriophage (narrating): The human immune system is a nightmare.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): It's the worst.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): It's the scariest thing in the universe.
:Macrophage: ''Who wants a HUUGGG''
:Antibody-covered protozoan: ''Nooo!''
[Close-up on bacteriophage]
:Bacteriophage: We can only survive by staying ahead of it.  Keep jumping from person to person, keep mutating and evolving.
:Bacteriophage: But now humans are adapting too fast.
[Water pipes. A mosquito net with a bed under it. An unopened condom package.]
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We spread through their water. They built pipes.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We used mosquitoes. They put out nets and poison everywhere.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We spread through sex, and suddenly they all had these plastic things.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): This time, we really thought we had them.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): One of us got good at transmission through everyday contact.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): It was great. We were tearing through lungs, spreading like wildfire.
:Voice offscreen: Hooray!
:Voice 2 offscreen: I ''hate'' lungs.

:Bacteriophage: Then, all of a sudden, humans everywhere just...''stopped''. They stopped working, stopped seeing friends.

:Voice offscreen: What are they ''doing''?
:Voice 2 offscreen: Nothing!
:Voice 2 offscreen: They're just sitting there in their houses washing their hands.

[A single human in a empty room, surrounded by fallen droplets. Among the droplets is a coronavirus.]
:Bacteriophage (narrating): Suddenly humans became dead ends. We tried to jump from one to the next, but there's no one to jump to.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): We can't escape.
:Coronavirus: Help!

:Bacteriophage (narrating): We're trapped in there with those ghastly immune systems.

:Bacteriophage (narrating): Even if we win a fight, there's nowhere to go.
:Bacteriophage (narrating): By staying inside, humans have become resistant.

:Coccus bacteria: How could they evolve that fast? Humans take decades to reproduce!
:Bacteriophage: It's not evolution. It's something with their brains.
:Large bacterium: I ''wondered'' what those were for!

:Bacteriophage: Humans started looking at their phones, talking, writing words, and making signs. A human named "Gloria Gaynor" filmed herself singing at her bathroom sink.
:Bacteriophage: And then they bought lots of pasta.
:Bacteriophage: Then, around the world, they all went home and started washing their hands.

:Bacteriophage: They saw what we were doing and changed their behavior to stop us.
:Large bacterium: Brains are the ''worst''.

:Coccus bacteria: It's not over, right? They can't sustain this. They must be bored and tired.
:Coccus bacteria: Will they give up?
:Bacteriophage: I don't know. They seem determined to protect each other.

:Bacteriophage: And
:Bacteriophage: They have a ''lot'' of pasta.

==Trivia==
At the time of writing, the title text contains a typo in the form of a double negative "We are not not trapped..."

{{comic discussion}}


[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] <!-- Gloria Gaynor -->