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Object lesson: You can dodge all the other bullets,
but that doesn't keep you from shooting yourself.
In 1950, John Wyndham introduced a new word into
our vocabulary with his novel The Day of the Triffids.
That word was "spatula".... Sorry, I mean "Triffid." These were
genetically engineered plants created by the Soviet Union.
Exactly what possessed them to create Triffids is a good question, as
these were carnivorous plants with a deadly stinger that they could
lash out a good twenty feet to bring down their prey. Oh, yes,
and they were also somewhat intelligent and could uproot themselves
and walk about. Anyway, these gardener's nightmares didn't stay
behind the Iron Curtain long because they spread to the rest of the
world when a smuggler's plane was shot down and Triffid seeds were
scattered to the four winds. They were not, however, put to the
weed whacker because it turned out that Triffids are the source of all
sorts of valuable oil products, so instead of going to the compost
heap the Triffids were cultivated on farms like any other homicidal
crop. |
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So far so weird, but Triffids weren't much of a
hazard, since even if you did come across one growing wild in the
hedgerow they weren't very fast and you could see them coming a mile
off.
If you could see that is.
Unfortunately for the human race, a shower of
glowing "meteors" came along and blinded most of the world's
population. At first, this was just a tiny problem of a few
sighted people trying to survive amidst the blind starving masses, but
the Triffids broke from their farms like the dinner gong had been
sounded and before you could say "wheat germ" humanity, was no
longer the dominant species.
Excuse me while I move the house plants outside. |
