30,000 Year Old Virus to Be Resurrected Played Out in The X-Files?

By Heather Callaghan

Judging by online reactions, scientific news expressing the intentions of researchers to trudge up a 30,000-year-old “franken-virus” was met with unsurprising fear and concern.

Amanda Froelich’s report perfectly summarizes the news:

A ‘monster’ virus which has lain dormant in the frozen wastelands of northeastern Russia is about to be resurrected by researchers curious of its potential effects.

Scientists anticipate “reanimating” a 30,000-year-old virus to learn more about it and discover if it is harmful to animals or humans. Mollivirus sibericum, which translates to soft Siberian virus, has been dubbed “Franken virus” by many who are in opposition of the quest to bring it back to life. 

In contrast to other viruses, the soft Siberian bug is a monster. Not only does it have 523 genetic proteins and measures 0.6 microns, it can also be seen using light microscopy.

As BBC News reports, the Mollivirus sibericum virus is the fourth prehistoric virus to have been discovered since 2003, and experts warn climate change and thawing ice could resurrect similar – and perhaps even more dangerous – pathogens.

“…is the fourth prehistoric virus to have been discovered since 2003…” Coincidentally, the plot to this discovery was played out almost to a tee in a popular TV show, ten full years before the first prehistoric virus discovery.

People who were fully engaged with The X-Files TV series in the 1990s no doubt ate up every weekly episode to see what would happen next. The addictive nature of the show was also fueled by the frustrating and slow-building romantic tension of the series’ main protagonists Mulder and Scully of a classified FBI unit. They were played out by David Duchovney and Gillian Anderson respectively. Maybe die-hard fans can recount every story line, but chances are that newbies watching it on Netflix streaming can better see the startling, prophetic nature of the program.

Episode 7, season 1 of The X-Files called “Ice” aired on November 5, 1993. As much as I don’t like to reference Wikipedia, it does provide a great, succinct description with deeper details here:

When an Arctic research team mysteriously kill each other and themselves only days after drilling deeper into the ice than ever before, Mulder and Scully accompany a team of doctors and scientists to investigate. They discover an organism which infects living creatures and amplifies the host’s feeling of anger and paranoia, and the new team starts to deteriorate as they wonder who among them are killers. Guest starring Xander Berkeley and Felicity Huffman.

The intense emotions and tension keep the viewer glued but the central points of the show involve exposure to a deadly mass outbreak, quarantines, authority and making decisions on who should stay or who should leave the frozen tundra. The make-shift “treatment” forced on some of the characters can either kill the victim or save them but not without some stomach-churning brutality. Here are some peeks at “Ice.”

Commercial trailer for the episode that aired in the early 1990s:

30-second episode breakdown that explains the inspiration for the show came from the movie The Thing, with similar concepts:

X-Files creator Chris Carter talks about pushing the limits of good taste and creep-factor and how great is would be “if we could keep it in.” He probably doesn’t have that worry on today’s television. He explains that he wanted to expand the subjects beyond UFOs.

Fascination with The X-Files never really ebbed – in fact, the main protagonists Mulder and Scully will reunite on TVs everywhere this coming January in a new continuation of the original series. Maybe you have been frustrated by trying to share information with friends only to be dismissed because of conspiracy fiction entertainment like The X-Files. Then again, maybe it can serve up some helpful analogies.

Predictive programming is a term rightly credited to researcher Alan Watt of Cutting Through the Matrix.

He is quoted by those in the psychology field attempting to debunk the concept of predictive programming as saying:

Predictive programming is a subtle form of psychological conditioning provided by the media to acquaint the public with planned societal changes to be implemented by our leaders. If and when these changes are put through, the public will already be familiarized with them and will accept them as natural progressions, thus lessening possible public resistance and commotion.

Watt expounds on the concept of predictive programming with his research on government culture creation departments that play a role in shaping story lines, research into the futurism clubs whose members projected chosen story lines to shape the future and more. One common example of predictive programming actually comes from a short-lived X-Files spin-off series called The Lone Gunman. The pilot episode that aired in March 2001 featured previous X-Files characters unraveling a secret government plot to fly an airliner into the Twin Towers. The protagonists board the plane to try and thwart the hijacking.

Science is not done for you – it’s done to you.

Scientific write-ups serve to influence the public to “get used to” pre-planned changes (like extreme measures taken during deadly outbreaks) just as much as television. As much as I love and appreciate scientific and medical research – especially the more empowering discoveries – reading dozens of studies every day produces a striking theme among the reports – that humans are the real problem; if only they were gone, Earth would be a really great place. But great for whom? Once again, I have to implore people to recognize this contradiction – how can the same entities that are often paid to promote depopulation strategies be truly striving to support a long happy life for you?

Science reports can catch the intellectuals who eschew television and want to stimulate their minds – but they are only getting little crumbs here and there. Furthermore, hipster “skeptics” are getting recruited to keep science sexy while unfortunately repeating slogans from industry-funded research. And the ghost of Edward Bernays is smiling.

Both the write ups and TV shows like The X-Files stir up a sense of unease at the thought of an “oops!” moment by a bumbling guy in a lab coat who accidentally releases the next extinction event that was safely in a glass tube moments before. (A similar concept is found in Stephen King’s The Stand, coming soon as a remade and updated full feature film and series. It is also found in real-life scenarios involving Smallpox and Anthrax vials overlooked at CDC centers.) In both cases, people can consciously tell themselves everything will be all right – this is fiction or the experts and authorities will handle it – but deep down the same feeling is aroused: I’m helpless; I hope something will come along to save me.

Heather Callaghan is a natural health blogger and food freedom activist. You can see her work at NaturalBlaze.com and ActivistPost.com. Like at Facebook.

Recent posts by Heather Callaghan