Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site watmath.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!whuxlm!whuxl!houxm!mhuxt!mhuxr!ulysses!burl!clyde!watmath!jagardner From: jagardner@watmath.UUCP (Jim Gardner) Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers Subject: Re: Andromeda Strain question Message-ID: <16173@watmath.UUCP> Date: Wed, 14-Aug-85 11:37:10 EDT Article-I.D.: watmath.16173 Posted: Wed Aug 14 11:37:10 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 21-Aug-85 05:47:22 EDT References: <207@proper.UUCP> Reply-To: jagardner@watmath.UUCP (Jim Gardner) Distribution: net Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario Lines: 22 In article <207@proper.UUCP> judith@proper.UUCP (judith) writes: >I haven't seen _The_Andromeda_Strain_ in a few years, but I began to wonder >about this recently. As the scientists who are to investigate the bug are >taken deeper and deeper into the lab complex, they are progressively cleaned, >shaven, disinfected, weaned from real food, etc. etc. etc., so they will be >REALLY clean when they get to the lowest level. > >What for? > >They never interact with anything important except through waldos and other >interfaces built to eliminate contact, so what's the difference? The part of the installation outside the isolation chamber has neato detectors that shoot off alarms if they find any micro-organisms in the air. This is a reasonable precaution, considering that the micro-organisms may be nasty. To avoid false alarms, all benign micro-organisms were removed from all personnel going to that level. (Since any alarm started the countdown on a nuke, they were justifiably concerned about avoiding false ones.) Jim Gardner, University of Waterloo