It has been two hours since we moved to our current host. He is a lot younger than the previous one – I can feel it in his immune system’s histone-marks. Personally, I prefer the old ones – they’re easier to take over, but I don’t mind the younger ones either. Did you know, I was almost about to die! A group of us were thrust out when the previous host sneezed. I landed on some alien and barren surface. I think the humans call it ‘taple’ or something like that. Anyways, I was cold and hungry. I remember waiting for a long time. I was about to become metabolically inert and inactive. When lo and behold! – my spike glycoprotein sensed a new host!
I am now happily settled in a warm, moist mucus coat. Somewhere near the branching passage of my host’s lungs, I believe. I have a very important job to finish by today noon (According to humans’ time of course). I don’t understand why humans care so much about the position of the sun in the sky. A fellow virus in my group once told me that humans also measure time according to the earth’s position around the sun. Oof! Too much to calculate and keep up. And the thing we viruses find funny is, they stress over the self-created concept of time! Humans can learn a thing or two from us – we live blissfully. As long as we multiply and thrive, the concept of time is beneath us. We focus on staying alive in the moment, rather than fussing over how much time has passed or how little time we have left.
Coming back to the task I told you about, I now fuse with a host cell and spill my RNA into it. And then, I’m going to reproduce/replicate. I’m going to be a mom today! 😀
Ah, I still remember the day I was born, seems like it was just yesterday. Well, maybe it was just yesterday. We don’t have to grow up like you humans, you see. I heard that my ancestors didn’t live in human cells like I do. Seems like we invaded the human population very recently. I wonder where we used to live before.
My siblings say that humans think we are evil. I wonder why. I mean, I know some of our kind played a huge role in killing a few humans, but we can’t help it. If I could peacefully co-exist with my host, I would. But it’s in our nature to replicate quickly and human cells are too weak to bear a vast number of us, and hence break. That’s just the way we are, that’s just the way we are designed to be. I wish I was created to be able to live independently, on my own, outside of a host cell. Do you have any idea how hard it is to always be dependent on someone else? I literally cannot live or survive outside a host. These thoughts depress me sometimes. I dream to be independent someday. But I know it’s a dream that will forever remain just a dream.
Humans say we are very powerful. But I feel utterly powerless. It’s the strength of a human cell that keeps me alive. I am nothing without you. I have no self-identity. I cannot exist without a host. This, according to me, is the ultimate sign of strengthlessness. I am, and will forever be, just a parasite. But I do not wish to be one. All I can hope for, is that my species will evolve or mutate in the future, so that my children can have a life of their own. I wish to see a world where we can all live independently and free of these shackles which binds us.