Viruses once extremely detrimental to the human race are returning; stored in the tissues of rapidly thawing, once frozen fauna in the permafrost. These zombie pathogens are unwanted archeological finds being dug out by our warming atmosphere and descending upon humankind in waves of plague, anthrax, smallpox, zika, and influenza. Who will make it through the 5 Layers of Virus? Or will this be the downfall of the Earth’s greatest species?

This work explores the apocalyptic possibilities for a thawing permafrost and a horrifying punishment for anthropogenic climate change. It presents actual and imagined viruses stored in ice-- sensitive to exposure to our climate. Cases of “eradicated” viruses such as anthrax ripping through Russia in 2016 are disorienting, the response of an Earth that is less tolerant to humanity’s carelessness. As the piece thaws, it confronts our changing relationship with the environment from patient to hostile. Presented as a dystopian horror that hovers over the line of reality and fiction, the work emphasizes our inability to predict the responses of nature and the urgency of climate change mitigation.

Are we prepared to face all possibilities of the apocalyptic Earth we are creating for ourselves?