The Andromeda Strain

The Andromeda Strain is a science-fiction novel published in 1969 by Michael Crichton about a team of scientists who investigate a deadly disease of extraterrestrial origin which causes rapid, fatal clotting of the blood.

Synopsis

After a US government satellite crashes near the village of Piedmont in Arizona (New Mexico in the movie), the disease kills all but two of the town's inhabitants. An elite scientific team takes the satellite into a secret underground laboratory in Nevada, known as the Wildfire Complex, in order to study it. The vector mutates into a form that degrades rubber gaskets, however. This engages an automatic mechanism designed to set off a nuclear weapon beneath the complex, eradicating all traces of the disease before it can reach the surface. Unfortunately, it turns out that the alien disease would thrive on such an enormous energy source and mutate into untold numbers of forms. In the conclusion, one scientist races to shut down the bomb before it can detonate.

Related Topics:
US - Government - Satellite - Village - Arizona - New Mexico - Laboratory - Nevada - Study - Vector - Mutates - Rubber - Gasket - Automatic - Mechanism - Nuclear weapon - Surface - Alien - Energy - Bomb - Detonate

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