consequence photos on Flickr

As a consequence, all the ducks usually living on these lakes made a move to rivers in order to keep an access to (liquid) water, including the Spree River. This shot was taken close to Elsen bridge, inside the Berlin ring. This tufted duck male was having a rest on its own, about ten meters from the river shore, and just close to the limit between ice and water.

Two common merganser (Mergus merganser) males, also usual lakes inhabitants, were swimming and feeding nearby, a relatively unusual sighting inside the city center. A mixed group of sea gulls and common gulls were resting on the ice, a hundred meters from there.

The blue taint of the river is generated by the highest Treptower tower's reflection on the water.

The Forest Walk III by TheMagicLensPhotography.com

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TTartisan 23mm 1.4 @1.4

Please, do not use any photographs in any way or form without permission

The use without permission is PROHIBITED and will lead to consequences.

Consequences by Thomas Hawk

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Consequences by Mary

15 9

Leicaflex SL

50mm Summicron

Agfa Vista 200

Banes Grove, Floral City, FL

The law doesn't mess around when it comes to protecting agricultural crops.

I really like the vintage look of this film and it turned out to be a pleasing choice for old Florida subjects. I say "choice", but it wasn't a conscious decision as I was shooting a borrowed camera loaded with donated film. There has to be some payback for giving up a whole shelf of freezer space to a film stash, right?

Unintended consequences by LongExposures .co.uk

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Bit of a happy mistake after lighting myself up (bottom right) as I walked back to the camera.

_____

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consequences of bark beetle / последствия короеда by Achyuta Narayana das

Consequences by Thomas Hawk

train of consequences by KVS

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set the ball a rollin

i'll be clicking off the miles

on the train of consequences

my boxcar life o' style

my thinking is derailed

i'm tied up to the tracks

the train of consequences

there ain't no turning back

Consequences by Thomas Hawk

Mural, Bank of the Southwest, N. Broadway, Truth or Consequences, New Mexico by Paul McClure

Our Heritage

Aesthetic Consequences by Tim Litvin

4 3

Jungle carpet on a small island in Panama

1:72 Boeing MV-10H “Super Bronco” a.k.a. “Black Pony”; “IP 002 (s/n 18-2002)”, USAF 919th Special Operations Support Squadron, 919th Special Operations Wing; Duke Field (Eglin Air Force Auxiliary Field 3, Florida), 2020 (Whif/kitbashing) by Dizzyfugu

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+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The OV-10 Bronco was initially conceived in the early 1960s through an informal collaboration between W. H. Beckett and Colonel K. P. Rice, U.S. Marine Corps, who met at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California, and who also happened to live near each other. The original concept was for a rugged, simple, close air support aircraft integrated with forward ground operations. At the time, the U.S. Army was still experimenting with armed helicopters, and the U.S. Air Force was not interested in close air support.

The concept aircraft was to operate from expedient forward air bases using roads as runways. Speed was to be from very slow to medium subsonic, with much longer loiter times than a pure jet. Efficient turboprop engines would give better performance than piston engines. Weapons were to be mounted on the centerline to get efficient aiming. The inventors favored strafing weapons such as self-loading recoilless rifles, which could deliver aimed explosive shells with less recoil than cannons, and a lower per-round weight than rockets. The airframe was to be designed to avoid the back blast.

Beckett and Rice developed a basic platform meeting these requirements, then attempted to build a fiberglass prototype in a garage. The effort produced enthusiastic supporters and an informal pamphlet describing the concept. W. H. Beckett, who had retired from the Marine Corps, went to work at North American Aviation to sell the aircraft.
The aircraft's design supported effective operations from forward bases. The OV-10 had a central nacelle containing a crew of two in tandem and space for cargo, and twin booms containing twin turboprop engines. The visually distinctive feature of the aircraft is the combination of the twin booms, with the horizontal stabilizer that connected them at the fin tips. The OV-10 could perform short takeoffs and landings, including on aircraft carriers and large-deck amphibious assault ships without using catapults or arresting wires. Further, the OV-10 was designed to take off and land on unimproved sites. Repairs could be made with ordinary tools. No ground equipment was required to start the engines. And, if necessary, the engines would operate on high-octane automobile fuel with only a slight loss of power.

The aircraft had responsive handling and could fly for up to 5½ hours with external fuel tanks. The cockpit had extremely good visibility for both pilot and co-pilot, provided by a wrap-around "greenhouse" that was wider than the fuselage. North American Rockwell custom ejection seats were standard, with many successful ejections during service. With the second seat removed, the OV-10 could carry 3,200 pounds (1,500 kg) of cargo, five paratroopers, or two litter patients and an attendant. Empty weight was 6,969 pounds (3,161 kg). Normal operating fueled weight with two crew was 9,908 pounds (4,494 kg). Maximum takeoff weight was 14,446 pounds (6,553 kg).
The bottom of the fuselage bore sponsons or "stub wings" that improved flight performance by decreasing aerodynamic drag underneath the fuselage. Normally, four 7.62 mm (.308 in) M60C machine guns were carried on the sponsons, accessed through large forward-opening hatches. The sponsons also had four racks to carry bombs, pods, or fuel. The wings outboard of the engines contained two additional hardpoints, one per side. Racked armament in the Vietnam War was usually seven-shot 2.75 in (70 mm) rocket pods with white phosphorus marker rounds or high-explosive rockets, or 5" (127 mm) four-shot Zuni rocket pods. Bombs, ADSIDS air-delivered/para-dropped unattended seismic sensors, Mk-6 battlefield illumination flares, and other stores were also carried.
Operational experience showed some weaknesses in the OV-10's design. It was significantly underpowered, which contributed to crashes in Vietnam in sloping terrain because the pilots could not climb fast enough. While specifications stated that the aircraft could reach 26,000 feet (7,900 m), in Vietnam the aircraft could reach only 18,000 feet (5,500 m). Also, no OV-10 pilot survived ditching the aircraft.

The OV-10 served in the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Navy, as well as in the service of a number of other countries. In U.S. military service, the Bronco was operated until the early Nineties, and obsoleted USAF OV-10s were passed on to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms for anti-drug operations. A number of OV-10As furthermore ended up in the hands of the California Department of Forestry (CDF) and were used for spotting fires and directing fire bombers onto hot spots.

This was not the end of the OV-10 in American military service, though: In 2012, the type gained new attention because of its unique qualities. A $20 million budget was allocated to activate an experimental USAF unit of two airworthy OV-10Gs, acquired from NASA and the State Department. These machines were retrofitted with military equipment and were, starting in May 2015, deployed overseas to support Operation “Inherent Resolve”, flying more than 120 combat sorties over 82 days over Iraq and Syria. Their concrete missions remained unclear, and it is speculated they provided close air support for Special Forces missions, esp. in confined urban environments where the Broncos’ loitering time and high agility at low speed and altitude made them highly effective and less vulnerable than helicopters.
Furthermore, these Broncos reputedly performed strikes with the experimental AGR-20A “Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System (APKWS)”, a Hydra 70-millimeter rocket with a laser-seeking head as guidance - developed for precision strikes against small urban targets with little collateral damage. The experiment ended satisfactorily, but the machines were retired again, and the small unit was dissolved.

However, the machines had shown their worth in asymmetric warfare, and the U.S. Air Force decided to invest in reactivating the OV-10 on a regular basis, despite the overhead cost of operating an additional aircraft type in relatively small numbers – but development and production of a similar new type would have caused much higher costs, with an uncertain time until an operational aircraft would be ready for service. Re-activating a proven design and updating an existing airframe appeared more efficient.
The result became the MV-10H, suitably christened “Super Bronco” but also known as “Black Pony”, after the program's internal name. This aircraft was derived from the official OV-10X proposal by Boeing from 2009 for the USAF's Light Attack/Armed Reconnaissance requirement. Initially, Boeing proposed to re-start OV-10 manufacture, but this was deemed uneconomical, due to the expected small production number of new serial aircraft, so the “Black Pony” program became a modernization project. In consequence, all airframes for the "new" MV-10Hs were recovered OV-10s of various types from the "boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona.

While the revamped aircraft would maintain much of its 1960s-vintage rugged external design, modernizations included a completely new, armored central fuselage with a highly modified cockpit section, ejection seats and a computerized glass cockpit. The “Black Pony” OV-10 had full dual controls, so that either crewmen could steer the aircraft while the other operated sensors and/or weapons. This feature would also improve survivability in case of incapacitation of a crew member as the result from a hit.
The cockpit armor protected the crew and many vital systems from 23mm shells and shrapnel (e. g. from MANPADS). The crew still sat in tandem under a common, generously glazed canopy with flat, bulletproof panels for reduced sun reflections, with the pilot in the front seat and an observer/WSO behind. The Bronco’s original cargo capacity and the rear door were retained, even though the extra armor and defensive measures like chaff/flare dispensers as well as an additional fuel cell in the central fuselage limited the capacity. However, it was still possible to carry and deploy personnel, e. g. small special ops teams of up to four when the aircraft flew in clean configuration.
Additional updates for the MV-10H included structural reinforcements for a higher AUW and higher g load maneuvers, similar to OV-10D+ standards. The landing gear was also reinforced, and the aircraft kept its ability to operate from short, improvised airstrips. A fixed refueling probe was added to improve range and loiter time.

Intelligence sensors and smart weapon capabilities included a FLIR sensor and a laser range finder/target designator, both mounted in a small turret on the aircraft’s nose. The MV-10H was also outfitted with a data link and the ability to carry an integrated targeting pod such as the Northrop Grumman LITENING or the Lockheed Martin Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP). Also included was the Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver (ROVER) to provide live sensor data and video recordings to personnel on the ground.

To improve overall performance and to better cope with the higher empty weight of the modified aircraft as well as with operations under hot-and-high conditions, the engines were beefed up. The new General Electric CT7-9D turboprop engines improved the Bronco's performance considerably: top speed increased by 100 mph (160 km/h), the climb rate was tripled (a weak point of early OV-10s despite the type’s good STOL capability) and both take-off as well as landing run were almost halved. The new engines called for longer nacelles, and their circular diameter markedly differed from the former Garrett T76-G-420/421 turboprop engines. To better exploit the additional power and reduce the aircraft’s audio signature, reversible contraprops, each with eight fiberglass blades, were fitted. These allowed a reduced number of revolutions per minute, resulting in less noise from the blades and their tips, while the engine responsiveness was greatly improved. The CT7-9Ds’ exhausts were fitted with muzzlers/air mixers to further reduce the aircraft's noise and heat signature.
Another novel and striking feature was the addition of so-called “tip sails” to the wings: each wingtip was elongated with a small, cigar-shaped fairing, each carrying three staggered, small “feather blade” winglets. Reputedly, this installation contributed ~10% to the higher climb rate and improved lift/drag ratio by ~6%, improving range and loiter time, too.
Drawing from the Iraq experience as well as from the USMC’s NOGS test program with a converted OV-10D as a night/all-weather gunship/reconnaissance platform, the MV-10H received a heavier gun armament: the original four light machine guns that were only good for strafing unarmored targets were deleted and their space in the sponsons replaced by avionics. Instead, the aircraft was outfitted with a lightweight M197 three-barrel 20mm gatling gun in a chin turret. This could be fixed in a forward position at high speed or when carrying forward-firing ordnance under the stub wings, or it could be deployed to cover a wide field of fire under the aircraft when it was flying slower, being either slaved to the FLIR or to a helmet sighting auto targeting system.
The original seven hardpoints were retained (1x ventral, 2x under each sponson, and another pair under the outer wings), but the total ordnance load was slightly increased and an additional pair of launch rails for AIM-9 Sidewinders or other light AAMs under the wing tips were added – not only as a defensive measure, but also with an anti-helicopter role in mind; four more Sidewinders could be carried on twin launchers under the outer wings against aerial targets. Other guided weapons cleared for the MV-10H were the light laser-guided AGR-20A and AGM-119 Hellfire missiles, the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System upgrade to the light Hydra 70 rockets, the new Laser Guided Zuni Rocket which had been cleared for service in 2010, TV-/IR-/laser-guided AGM-65 Maverick AGMs and AGM-122 Sidearm anti-radar missiles, plus a wide range of gun and missile pods, iron and cluster bombs, as well as ECM and flare/chaff pods, which were not only carried defensively, but also in order to disrupt enemy ground communication.

In this configuration, a contract for the conversion of twelve mothballed American Broncos to the new MV-10H standard was signed with Boeing in 2016, and the first MV-10H was handed over to the USAF in early 2018, with further deliveries lasting into early 2020. All machines were allocated to the newly founded 919th Special Operations Support Squadron at Duke Field (Florida). This unit was part of the 919th Special Operations Wing, an Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force. It was assigned to the Tenth Air Force of Air Force Reserve Command and an associate unit of the 1st Special Operations Wing, Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). If mobilized the wing was gained by AFSOC (Air Force Special Operations Command) to support Special Tactics, the U.S. Air Force's special operations ground force. Similar in ability and employment to Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC), U.S. Army Special Forces and U.S. Navy SEALs, Air Force Special Tactics personnel were typically the first to enter combat and often found themselves deep behind enemy lines in demanding, austere conditions, usually with little or no support.

The MV-10Hs are expected to provide support for these ground units in the form of all-weather reconnaissance and observation, close air support and also forward air control duties for supporting ground units. Precision ground strikes and protection from enemy helicopters and low-flying aircraft were other, secondary missions for the modernized Broncos, which are expected to serve well into the 2040s. Exports or conversions of foreign OV-10s to the Black Pony standard are not planned, though.

General characteristics:

Crew: 2

Length: 42 ft 2½ in (12,88 m) incl. pitot

Wingspan: 45 ft 10½ in(14 m) incl. tip sails

Height: 15 ft 2 in (4.62 m)

Wing area: 290.95 sq ft (27.03 m²)

Airfoil: NACA 64A315

Empty weight: 9,090 lb (4,127 kg)

Gross weight: 13,068 lb (5,931 kg)

Max. takeoff weight: 17,318 lb (7,862 kg)

Powerplant:

2× General Electric CT7-9D turboprop engines, 1,305 kW (1,750 hp) each,

driving 8-bladed Hamilton Standard 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) diameter constant-speed,

fully feathering, reversible contra-rotating propellers with metal hub and composite blades

Performance:

Maximum speed: 390 mph (340 kn, 625 km/h)

Combat range: 198 nmi (228 mi, 367 km)

Ferry range: 1,200 nmi (1,400 mi, 2,200 km) with auxiliary fuel

Maximum loiter time: 5.5 h with auxiliary fuel

Service ceiling: 32.750 ft (10,000 m)

13,500 ft (4.210 m) on one engine

Rate of climb: 17.400 ft/min (48 m/s) at sea level

Take-off run: 480 ft (150 m)

740 ft (227 m) to 50 ft (15 m)

1,870 ft (570 m) to 50 ft (15 m) at MTOW

Landing run: 490 ft (150 m)

785 ft (240 m) at MTOW

1,015 ft (310 m) from 50 ft (15 m)

Armament:

1x M197 3-barreled 20 mm Gatling cannon in a chin turret with 750 rounds ammo capacity

7x hardpoints for a total load of 5.000 lb (2,270 kg)

2x wingtip launch rails for AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs

The kit and its assembly:

This fictional Bronco update/conversion was simply spawned by the idea: could it be possible to replace the original cockpit section with one from an AH-1 Cobra, for a kind of gunship version?

The basis is the Academy OV-10D kit, mated with the cockpit section from a Fujimi AH-1S TOW Cobra (Revell re-boxing, though), chosen because of its “boxy” cockpit section with flat glass panels – I think that it conveys the idea of an armored cockpit section best. Combining these parts was not easy, though, even though the plan sound simple. Initially, the Bronco’s twin booms, wings and stabilizer were built separately, because this made PSR on these sections easier than trying the same on a completed airframe. One of the initial challenges: the different engines. I wanted something uprated, and a different look, and I had a pair of (excellent!) 1:144 resin engines from the Russian company Kompakt Zip for a Tu-95 bomber at hand, which come together with movable(!) eight-blade contraprops that were an almost perfect size match for the original three-blade props. Biggest problem: the Tu-95 nacelles have a perfectly circular diameter, while the OV-10’s booms are square and rectangular. Combining these parts and shapes was already a messy PST affair, but it worked out quite well – even though the result rather reminds of some Chinese upgrade measure (anyone know the Tu-4 copies with turboprops? This here looks similar!). But while not pretty, I think that the beafier look works well and adds to the idea of a “revived” aircraft. And you can hardly beat the menacing look of contraprops on anything...

The exotic, so-called “tip sails” on the wings, mounted on short booms, are a detail borrowed from the Shijiazhuang Y-5B-100, an updated Chinese variant/copy of the Antonov An-2 biplane transporter. The booms are simple pieces of sprue from the Bronco kit, the winglets were cut from 0.5mm styrene sheet.

For the cockpit donor, the AH-1’s front section was roughly built, including the engine section (which is a separate module, so that the basic kit can be sold with different engine sections), and then the helicopter hull was cut and trimmed down to match the original Bronco pod and to fit under the wing. This became more complicated than expected, because a) the AH-1 cockpit and the nose are considerably shorter than the OV-10s, b) the AH-1 fuselage is markedly taller than the Bronco’s and c) the engine section, which would end up in the area of the wing, features major recesses, making the surface very uneven – calling for massive PSR to even this out. PSR was also necessary to hide the openings for the Fujimi AH-1’s stub wings. Other issues: the front landing gear (and its well) had to be added, as well as the OV-10 wing stubs. Furthermore, the new cockpit pod’s rear section needed an aerodynamical end/fairing, but I found a leftover Academy OV-10 section from a build/kitbashing many moons ago. Perfect match!

All these challenges could be tackled, even though the AH-1 cockpit looks surprisingly stout and massive on the Bronco’s airframe - the result looks stockier than expected, but it works well for the "Gunship" theme. Lots of PSR went into the new central fuselage section, though, even before it was mated with the OV-10 wing and the rest of the model.

Once cockpit and wing were finally mated, the seams had to disappear under even more PSR and a spinal extension of the canopy had to be sculpted across the upper wing surface, which would meld with the pod’s tail in a (more or less) harmonious shape. Not an easy task, and the fairing was eventually sculpted with 2C putty, plus even more PSR… Looks quite homogenous, though.

After this massive body work, other hardware challenges appeared like small distractions. The landing gear was another major issue because the deeper AH-1 section lowered the ground clearance, also because of the chin turret. To counter this, I raised the OV-10’s main landing gear by ~2mm – not much, but it was enough to create a credible stance, together with the front landing gear transplant under the cockpit, which received an internal console to match the main landing gear’s length. Due to the chin turret and the shorter nose, the front wheel retracts backwards now. But this looks quite plausible, thanks to the additional space under the cockpit tub, which also made a belt feed for the gun’s ammunition supply believable.

To enhance the menacing look I gave the model a fixed refueling boom, made from 1mm steel wire and a receptor adapter sculpted with white glue. The latter stuff was also used add some antenna fairings around the hull. Some antennae, chaff dispensers and an IR decoy were taken from the Academy kit.

The ordnance came from various sources. The Sidewinders under the wing tips were taken from an Italeri F-16C/D kit, they look better than the missiles from the Academy Bronco kit. Their launch rails came from an Italeri Bae Hawk 200. The quadruple Hellfire launchers on the underwing hardpoints were left over from an Italeri AH-1W, and they are a perfect load for this aircraft and its role. The LAU-10 and -19 missile pods on the stub wings were taken from the OV-10 kit.

Painting and markings:

Finding a suitable and somewhat interesting – but still plausible – paint scheme was not easy. Taking the A-10 as benchmark, an overall light grey livery (with focus on low contrast against the sky as protection against ground fire) would have been a likely choice – and in fact the last operational American OV-10s were painted in this fashion. But in order to provide a different look I used the contemporary USAF V-22Bs and Special Operations MC-130s as benchmark, which typically carry a darker paint scheme consisting of FS 36118 (suitably “Gunship Gray” :D) from above, FS 36375 underneath, with a low, wavy waterline, plus low-viz markings. Not spectacular, but plausible – and very similar to the late r/w Colombian OV-10s.

The cockpit tub became Dark Gull Grey (FS 36231, Humbrol 140) and the landing gear white (Revell 301).

The model received an overall black ink washing and some post-panel-shading, to liven up the dull all-grey livery. The decals were gathered from various sources, and I settled for black USAF low-viz markings. The “stars and bars” come from a late USAF F-4, the “IP” tail code was tailored from F-16 markings and the shark mouth was taken from an Academy AH-64. Most stencils came from another Academy OV-10 sheet and some other sources.

Decals were also used to create the trim on the propeller blades and markings on the ordnance.

Finally, the model was sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) and some exhaust soot stains were added with graphite along the tail boom flanks.

A successful transplantation – but is this still a modified Bronco or already a kitbashing? The result looks quite plausible and menacing, even though the TOW Cobra front section appears relatively massive. But thanks to the bigger engines and extended wing tips the proportions still work. The large low-pressure tires look a bit goofy under the aircraft, but they are original. The grey livery works IMHO well, too – a more colorful or garish scheme would certainly have distracted from the modified technical basis.

Consequences by Thomas Hawk

42 3

Consequences by Thomas Hawk

The Consequences of Cutbacks by Joe Vance

6 6

just an ironic view of what might happen to vital services such as the Fire Brigade due to financial cut backs....originally an old house which I tried to add pretend flames to...digitally

thanks for looking...appreciated.....best bigger......hope you have a Great Weekend

Truth or Consequences by Helen Orozco

14 13

Seems like everything in Truth or Consequences is as unique as the town's name. The town was originally called Hot Springs but changed it's name to Truth or Consequences in 1950. Ralph Edwards, the host of a popular radio quiz show announced that he would air the program from the first town that renamed itself after the show. Hot Springs won. It's name is usually shortened to T or C. Just 30 miles away is the world's first purpose-built commercial spaceport Virgin Galactic plans to provide sub-orbital spaceflights to the paying public. Let's hope they don't rename the town again to Virgin or Branson, I like T or C better :)

Truth or Consequences, Sierra County, NM

Conséquences by ★ ♩♫ Je Suis Un Autre ♪♫♩ ★

Conséquences de plusieurs décennies d'absence de politique cyclable intelligente en France.

Il y a tout de même eu quelques tentatives de faites mais elles sont restées à l'état de belles paroles ou se sont dissoutes à travers les couches des millefeuilles politiques, administratifs et financiers et à travers les guerres de clochers, de départements, de régions et de partis politiques opposés.

Le résultat est un réseau cyclable insuffisamment développé, médiocre car réalisé à bas coûts et non maillé.

Des kilomètres de pistes cyclables médiocres sont alignés pour les statistiques à des fins électorales et de marketing touristique mais les parties dangereuses ne sont pas traitées et la nécessité de mettre en place un maillage n'est pas prise en compte. (les itinéraires touristiques ou de promenade doivent proposer des boucles : qui a envie de faire l'aller et le retour par le même chemin? Je ne connais pas d'agence de voyage qui le fasse! (hormis le trajet pour se rendre sur place, bien sûr)

Consequences by LK

10 32

Take them into Consideration ..

* from the archive =/ took it while waiting fil airport

Part I

Promising Consequences by Emerald Reign

ENB .161, In-game Vignette, Grain, Original post-processing (No Adaption), Bloom, 5-pass DoF, SSAO, Sunrays, Detailed Shadows, Custom palette + SweetFX for SMAA, DPX, LiftGammaGain, Vibrance, Sepia & Dithering.

Consequences by Thomas Hawk

Pandemic...Coronaviruses... COVID-19...A pandemic is an epidemic occurring on a scale that crosses international boundaries, by Hughes Songe

The 1918–20 "Spanish flu" influenza pandemic resulted in dramatic mortality worldwide.

A pandemic (from Greek πᾶν, pan, 'all' and δῆμος, demos, 'people') is an epidemic of disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents, or worldwide. A widespread endemic disease with a stable number of infected people is not a pandemic. Further, flu pandemics generally exclude recurrences of seasonal flu.

Throughout history, there have been a number of pandemics of diseases such as smallpox and tuberculosis. One of the most devastating pandemics was the Black Death (also known as The Plague), which killed an estimated 75–200 million people in the 14th century. Other notable pandemics include the 1918 influenza pandemic (Spanish flu) and the 2009 flu pandemic (H1N1). Current pandemics include HIV/AIDS and the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic.

Contents

1Definition and stages

2Management

3Current pandemics

3.1HIV/AIDS

3.2Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

4Notable outbreaks

4.1Cholera

4.2Influenza

4.3Typhus

4.4Smallpox

4.5Measles

4.6Tuberculosis

4.7Leprosy

4.8Malaria

4.9Yellow fever

5Concerns about future pandemics

5.1Antibiotic resistance

5.2Viral hemorrhagic fevers

5.3Coronaviruses

5.4Influenza

5.5Zika virus

6Economic consequences

7Biological warfare

8In popular culture

9See also

10Notes

11References

12Further reading

13External links

Definition and stages[edit]

The World Health Organization's former influenza pandemic alert phases—WHO no longer uses this old system of six phases

A pandemic is an epidemic occurring on a scale that crosses international boundaries, usually affecting people on a worldwide scale.[1] Pandemics can also occur in important agricultural organisms (livestock, crop plants, fish, tree species) or in other organisms.[citation needed] A disease or condition is not a pandemic merely because it is widespread or kills many people; it must also be infectious. For instance, cancer is responsible for many deaths but is not considered a pandemic because the disease is neither infectious nor contagious.[2]

The World Health Organization (WHO) previously applied a six-stage classification to describe the process by which a novel influenza virus moves from the first few infections in humans through to a pandemic. This starts with the virus mostly infecting animals, with a few cases where animals infect people, then moves through the stage where the virus begins to spread directly between people and ends with a pandemic when infections from the new virus have spread worldwide. In February 2020, a WHO spokesperson clarified that "there is no official category [for a pandemic]".[a][3]

In a virtual press conference in May 2009 on the influenza pandemic, Dr. Keiji Fukuda, Assistant Director-General ad interim for Health Security and Environment, WHO said "An easy way to think about pandemic ... is to say: a pandemic is a global outbreak. Then you might ask yourself: 'What is a global outbreak'? Global outbreak means that we see both spread of the agent ... and then we see disease activities in addition to the spread of the virus."[4]

In planning for a possible influenza pandemic, the WHO published a document on pandemic preparedness guidance in 1999, revised in 2005 and in February 2009, defining phases and appropriate actions for each phase in an aide-mémoire titled WHO pandemic phase descriptions and main actions by phase. The 2009 revision, including definitions of a pandemic and the phases leading to its declaration, were finalized in February 2009. The pandemic H1N1 2009 virus was neither on the horizon at that time nor mentioned in the document.[5][6] All versions of this document refer to influenza. The phases are defined by the spread of the disease; virulence and mortality are not mentioned in the current WHO definition, although these factors have previously been included.[7]

Management[edit]

See also: Mathematical modelling of infectious disease

The goals of community mitigation: (1) delay outbreak peak; (2) reduce peak burden on healthcare, known as flattening the curve; and (3) diminish overall cases and health impact.[8][9]

The basic strategies in the control of an outbreak are containment and mitigation. Containment may be undertaken in the early stages of the outbreak, including contact tracing and isolating infected individuals to stop the disease from spreading to the rest of the population, other public health interventions on infection control, and therapeutic countermeasures such as vaccinations which may be effective if available.[10] When it becomes apparent that it is no longer possible to contain the spread of the disease, it will then move on to the mitigation stage, when measures are taken to slow the spread of disease and mitigate its effects on the health care system and society. In reality, a combination of both containment and mitigation measures may be undertaken at the same time to control an outbreak.[11]

A key part of managing an infectious disease outbreak is trying to decrease the epidemic peak, known as flattening the epidemic curve.[8] This helps decrease the risk of health services being overwhelmed and providing more time for a vaccine and treatment to be developed.[8] Non-pharmaceutical interventions may be taken to manage the outbreak; for example in a flu pandemic, these actions may include personal preventive measures such as hand hygiene, wearing face-masks and self-quarantine; community measures aimed at social distancing such as closing schools and cancelling mass gathering events; community engagement to encourage acceptance and participation in such interventions; as well as environmental measures such as cleaning of surfaces.[9]

Another strategy, suppression, requires more extreme long-term non-pharmaceutical interventions so as to reverse the pandemic by reducing the basic reproduction number to less than 1. The suppression strategy, which include stringent population-wide social distancing, home isolation of cases and household quarantine, was undertaken by China during the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic where entire cities were placed under lockdown, but such strategy carries with it considerable social and economic costs.[12]

Current pandemics[edit]

HIV/AIDS[edit]

Main article: AIDS pandemic

Estimated HIV/AIDS prevalence among young adults (15-49) by country as of 2008

HIV originated in Africa, and spread to the United States via Haiti between 1966 and 1972.[13] AIDS is currently a pandemic, with infection rates as high as 25% in southern and eastern Africa. In 2006, the HIV prevalence rate among pregnant women in South Africa was 29%.[14] Effective education about safer sexual practices and bloodborne infection precautions training have helped to slow down infection rates in several African countries sponsoring national education programs.[citation needed]

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)[edit]

Main article: 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

People queueing outside a Wuhan pharmacy to buy face masks and medical supplies

A new coronavirus was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, in late December 2019,[15] as causing a cluster of cases of an acute respiratory disease, referred to as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). According to media reports, more than 200 countries and territories have been affected, with major outbreaks in the United States, central China, Italy, Spain, and Iran.[16][17] On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization characterized the spread of COVID-19 as a pandemic.[18][19] As of 3 April 2020, the number of SARS-CoV-2 infected persons reached one million, the death toll was 55,132 and the number of patients recovered was 225,335.[20]

Notable outbreaks[edit]

See also: List of epidemics, Columbian Exchange, and Globalization and disease

There have been a number of significant epidemics and pandemics recorded in human history, generally zoonoses such as influenza and tuberculosis, which came about with domestication of animals. There have been a number of particularly significant epidemics that deserve mention above the "mere" destruction of cities:

Plague of Athens, from 430 to 426 BCE. During the Peloponnesian War, typhoid fever killed a quarter of the Athenian troops, and a quarter of the population over four years. This disease fatally weakened the dominance of Athens, but the sheer virulence of the disease prevented its wider spread; i.e. it killed off its hosts at a rate faster than they could spread it. The exact cause of the plague was unknown for many years. In January 2006, researchers from the University of Athens analyzed teeth recovered from a mass grave underneath the city, and confirmed the presence of bacteria responsible for typhoid.[21]

Contemporary engraving of Marseille during the Great Plague of Marseille in 1720–1721

Antonine Plague, from 165 to 180 AD. Possibly smallpox brought to the Italian peninsula by soldiers returning from the Near East; it killed a quarter of those infected, and up to five million in all.[22] At the height of a second outbreak, the Plague of Cyprian (251–266), which may have been the same disease, 5,000 people a day were said to be dying in Rome.

Plague of Justinian, from 541 to 750, was the first recorded outbreak of the bubonic plague. It started in Egypt, and reached Constantinople the following spring, killing (according to the Byzantine chronicler Procopius) 10,000 a day at its height, and perhaps 40% of the city's inhabitants. The plague went on to eliminate a quarter to half the human population of the known world.[23][24] It caused Europe's population to drop by around 50% between 550 AD and 700 AD.[25]

Black Death, from 1331 to 1353. The total number of deaths worldwide is estimated at 75 to 200 million people.Black Death#cite ref-ABC/Reuters 1-1 Eight hundred years after the last outbreak, the plague returned to Europe. Starting in Asia, the disease reached Mediterranean and western Europe in 1348 (possibly from Italian merchants fleeing fighting in Crimea), and killed an estimated 20 to 30 million Europeans in six years;[26] a third of the total population,[27] and up to a half in the worst-affected urban areas.[28] It was the first of a cycle of European plague epidemics that continued until the 18th century.[29] There were more than 100 plague epidemics in Europe in this period.[30] The disease recurred in England every two to five years from 1361 to 1480.[31] By the 1370s, England's population was reduced by 50%.[32] The Great Plague of London of 1665–66 was the last major outbreak of the plague in England. The disease killed approximately 100,000 people, 20% of London's population.[33]

The third plague pandemic started in China in 1855, and spread to India, where 10 million people died.[34] During this pandemic, the United States saw its first outbreak: the San Francisco plague of 1900–1904.[35] Today, isolated cases of plague are still found in the western United States.[36]

Spanish flu, from 1918 to 1920. It infected 500 million people around the world,[37] including people on remote Pacific islands and in the Arctic, and resulted in the deaths of 50 to 100 million people.[37][38] Most influenza outbreaks disproportionately kill the very young and the very old, with higher survival rate for those in between, but the Spanish flu had an unusually high mortality rate for young adults.[39] Spanish flu killed more people than World War I did and it killed more people in 25 weeks than AIDS did in its first 25 years.[40][41] Mass troop movements and close quarters during World War I caused it to spread and mutate faster; the susceptibility of soldiers to Spanish flu might have been increased due to stress, malnourishment and chemical attacks.[42] Improved transportation systems made it easier for soldiers, sailors, and civilian travelers to spread the disease.[43]

Aztecs dying of smallpox, Florentine Codex (compiled 1540–1585)

Encounters between European explorers and populations in the rest of the world often introduced local epidemics of extraordinary virulence. Disease killed part of the native population of the Canary Islands in the 16th century (Guanches). Half the native population of Hispaniola in 1518 was killed by smallpox. Smallpox also ravaged Mexico in the 1520s, killing 150,000 in Tenochtitlán alone, including the emperor, and Peru in the 1530s, aiding the European conquerors.[44] Measles killed a further two million Mexican natives in the 17th century. In 1618–1619, smallpox wiped out 90% of the Massachusetts Bay Native Americans.[45] During the 1770s, smallpox killed at least 30% of the Pacific Northwest Native Americans.[46] Smallpox epidemics in 1780–1782 and 1837–1838 brought devastation and drastic depopulation among the Plains Indians.[47] Some believe the death of up to 95% of the Native American population of the New World was caused by Old World diseases such as smallpox, measles, and influenza.[48] Over the centuries, the Europeans had developed high degrees of immunity to these diseases, while the indigenous peoples had no such immunity.[49]

Smallpox devastated the native population of Australia, killing around 50% of Indigenous Australians in the early years of British colonisation.[50] It also killed many New Zealand Māori.[51] As late as 1848–49, as many as 40,000 out of 150,000 Hawaiians are estimated to have died of measles, whooping cough and influenza. Introduced diseases, notably smallpox, nearly wiped out the native population of Easter Island.[52] Measles killed more than 40,000 Fijians, approximately one-third of the population, in 1875,[53] and in the early 21st century devastated the Andamanese population.[54] The Ainu population decreased drastically in the 19th century, due in large part to infectious diseases brought by Japanese settlers pouring into Hokkaido.[55]

Researchers concluded that syphilis was carried from the New World to Europe after Columbus' voyages. The findings suggested Europeans could have carried the nonvenereal tropical bacteria home, where the organisms may have mutated into a more deadly form in the different conditions of Europe.[56] The disease was more frequently fatal than it is today. Syphilis was a major killer in Europe during the Renaissance.[57] Between 1602 and 1796, the Dutch East India Company sent almost a million Europeans to work in Asia. Ultimately, fewer than a third made their way back to Europe. The majority died of diseases.[58] Disease killed more British soldiers in India and South Africa than war.[59]

As early as 1803, the Spanish Crown organized a mission (the Balmis expedition) to transport the smallpox vaccine to the Spanish colonies, and establish mass vaccination programs there.[60] By 1832, the federal government of the United States established a smallpox vaccination program for Native Americans.[61] From the beginning of the 20th century onwards, the elimination or control of disease in tropical countries became a driving force for all colonial powers.[62] The sleeping sickness epidemic in Africa was arrested due to mobile teams systematically screening millions of people at risk.[63] In the 20th century, the world saw the biggest increase in its population in human history due to lessening of the mortality rate in many countries due to medical advances.[64] The world population has grown from 1.6 billion in 1900 to an estimated 6.8 billion in 2011.[65]

Cholera[edit]

Main article: Cholera outbreaks and pandemics

Since it became widespread in the 19th century, cholera has killed tens of millions of people.[66]

1817–1824 cholera pandemic. Previously restricted to the Indian subcontinent, the pandemic began in Bengal, then spread across India by 1820. 10,000 British troops and countless Indians died during this pandemic.[67] It extended as far as China, Indonesia (where more than 100,000 people succumbed on the island of Java alone) and the Caspian Sea before receding. Deaths in the Indian subcontinent between 1817 and 1860 are estimated to have exceeded 15 million persons. Another 23 million died between 1865 and 1917. Russian deaths during a similar period exceeded 2 million.[68]

1826–1837 cholera pandemic. Reached Russia (see Cholera Riots), Hungary (about 100,000 deaths) and Germany in 1831, London in 1832 (more than 55,000 persons died in the United Kingdom),[69] France, Canada (Ontario), and United States (New York City) in the same year,[70] and the Pacific coast of North America by 1834. It is believed that more than 150,000 Americans died of cholera between 1832 and 1849.[71]

1846–1860 cholera pandemic. Deeply affected Russia, with more than a million deaths. A two-year outbreak began in England and Wales in 1848 and claimed 52,000 lives.[72] Throughout Spain, cholera caused more than 236,000 deaths in 1854–55.[73] It claimed 200,000 lives in Mexico.[74]

1863–75 cholera pandemic. Spread mostly in Europe and Africa. At least 30,000 of the 90,000 Mecca pilgrims fell victim to the disease. Cholera claimed 90,000 lives in Russia in 1866.[75]

In 1866, there was an outbreak in North America. It killed some 50,000 Americans.[71]

1881–96 cholera pandemic. The 1883–1887 epidemic cost 250,000 lives in Europe and at least 50,000 in the Americas. Cholera claimed 267,890 lives in Russia (1892);[76] 120,000 in Spain;[77] 90,000 in Japan and 60,000 in Persia.

In 1892, cholera contaminated the water supply of Hamburg, and caused 8,606 deaths.[78]

1899–1923 cholera pandemic. Had little effect in Europe because of advances in public health, but Russia was badly affected again (more than 500,000 people dying of cholera during the first quarter of the 20th century).[79] The sixth pandemic killed more than 800,000 in India. The 1902–1904 cholera epidemic claimed more than 200,000 lives in the Philippines.[80]

1961–75 cholera pandemic. Began in Indonesia, called El Tor after the new biotype responsible for the pandemic, and reached Bangladesh in 1963, India in 1964, and the Soviet Union in 1966. Since then the pandemic has reached Africa, South America, and Central America.

Influenza[edit]

Main article: Influenza pandemic

Advice for travelers (in French and English) on the risks of epidemics abroad; posters from the Charles De Gaulle airport, Paris

The Greek physician Hippocrates, the "Father of Medicine", first described influenza in 412 BC.[81]

The first influenza pandemic was recorded in 1580, and since then, influenza pandemics occurred every 10 to 30 years.[82][83][84]

The 1889–1890 flu pandemic, also known as Russian Flu, was first reported in May 1889 in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. By October, it had reached Tomsk and the Caucasus. It rapidly spread west and hit North America in December 1889, South America in February–April 1890, India in February–March 1890, and Australia in March–April 1890. The H3N8 and H2N2 subtypes of the Influenza A virus have each been identified as possible causes. It had a very high attack and mortality rate, causing around a million fatalities.[85]

The "Spanish flu", 1918–1919. First identified early in March 1918 in U.S. troops training at Camp Funston, Kansas. By October 1918, it had spread to become a worldwide pandemic on all continents, and eventually infected about one-third of the world's population (or ≈500 million persons).[37] Unusually deadly and virulent, it ended almost as quickly as it began, vanishing completely within 18 months. Within six months, some 50 million people were dead;[37] some estimates put the total number of fatalities worldwide at over twice that number.[86] About 17 million died in India, 675,000 in the United States,[87] and 200,000 in the United Kingdom. The virus that caused Spanish flu was also implicated as a cause of encephalitis lethargica in children.[88] The virus was recently reconstructed by scientists at the CDC studying remains preserved by the Alaskan permafrost. The H1N1 virus has a small but crucial structure that is similar to the Spanish flu.[89]

The "Asian Flu", 1957–58. A H2N2 virus first identified in China in late February 1957. It caused about two million deaths globally.[90] The Asian flu spread to the United States by June 1957 and caused about 70,000 deaths in the U.S.

The "Hong Kong Flu", 1968–69. A H3N2 virus first detected in Hong Kong in early 1968, and spread to the United States later that year. This pandemic of 1968 and 1969 killed approximately one million people worldwide.[91] It caused about 34,000 deaths in the United States.

The "Swine Flu", 2009–10. An H1N1 virus first detected in Mexico in early 2009, and spread to the United States later that year. This pandemic was estimated to have killed around 284,000 people worldwide.[92][failed verification] It was estimated to have caused about 12,000 deaths in the United States alone.

Typhus[edit]

Typhus is sometimes called "camp fever" because of its pattern of flaring up in times of strife. (It is also known as "gaol fever" and "ship fever", for its habits of spreading wildly in cramped quarters, such as jails and ships.) Emerging during the Crusades, it had its first impact in Europe in 1489, in Spain. During fighting between the Christian Spaniards and the Muslims in Granada, the Spanish lost 3,000 to war casualties, and 20,000 to typhus. In 1528, the French lost 18,000 troops in Italy, and lost supremacy in Italy to the Spanish. In 1542, 30,000 soldiers died of typhus while fighting the Ottomans in the Balkans.

During the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), about eight million Germans were killed by bubonic plague and typhus.[93] The disease also played a major role in the destruction of Napoleon's Grande Armée in Russia in 1812. During the retreat from Moscow, more French military personnel died of typhus than were killed by the Russians.[94] Of the 450,000 soldiers who crossed the Neman on 25 June 1812, fewer than 40,000 returned. More military personnel were killed from 1500–1914 by typhus than from military action.[95] In early 1813, Napoleon raised a new army of 500,000 to replace his Russian losses. In the campaign of that year, more than 219,000 of Napoleon's soldiers died of typhus.[96] Typhus played a major factor in the Irish Potato Famine. During World War I, typhus epidemics killed more than 150,000 in Serbia. There were about 25 million infections and 3 million deaths from epidemic typhus in Russia from 1918 to 1922.[96] Typhus also killed numerous prisoners in the Nazi concentration camps and Soviet prisoner of war camps during World War II. More than 3.5 million Soviet POWs died out of the 5.7 million in Nazi custody.[97]

Smallpox[edit]

A child with smallpox infection, c. 1908

Smallpox was a contagious disease caused by the variola virus. The disease killed an estimated 400,000 Europeans per year during the closing years of the 18th century.[98] During the 20th century, it is estimated that smallpox was responsible for 300–500 million deaths.[99][100] As recently as the early 1950s, an estimated 50 million cases of smallpox occurred in the world each year.[101] After successful vaccination campaigns throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the WHO certified the eradication of smallpox in December 1979. To this day, smallpox is the only human infectious disease to have been completely eradicated,[102] and one of two infectious viruses ever to be eradicated along with rinderpest.[103]

Measles[edit]

Historically, measles was prevalent throughout the world, as it is highly contagious. According to the U.S. National Immunization Program, 90% of people were infected with measles by age 15. Before the vaccine was introduced in 1963, there were an estimated three to four million cases in the U.S. each year.[104] Measles killed around 200 million people worldwide over the last 150 years.[105] In 2000 alone, measles killed some 777,000 worldwide out of 40 million cases globally.[106]

Measles is an endemic disease, meaning it has been continually present in a community, and many people develop resistance. In populations that have not been exposed to measles, exposure to a new disease can be devastating. In 1529, a measles outbreak in Cuba killed two-thirds of the natives who had previously survived smallpox.[107] The disease had ravaged Mexico, Central America, and the Inca civilization.[108]

Tuberculosis[edit]

In 2007, the prevalence of TB per 100,000 people was highest in Sub-Saharan Africa, and was also relatively high in Asian countries like India.

One-quarter of the world's current population has been infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and new infections occur at a rate of one per second.[109] About 5–10% of these latent infections will eventually progress to active disease, which, if left untreated, kills more than half its victims. Annually, eight million people become ill with tuberculosis, and two million die from the disease worldwide.[110] In the 19th century, tuberculosis killed an estimated one-quarter of the adult population of Europe;[111] by 1918, one in six deaths in France were still caused by tuberculosis. During the 20th century, tuberculosis killed approximately 100 million people.[105] TB is still one of the most important health problems in the developing world.[112]

Leprosy[edit]

Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, is caused by a bacillus, Mycobacterium leprae. It is a chronic disease with an incubation period of up to five years. Since 1985, 15 million people worldwide have been cured of leprosy.[113]

Historically, leprosy has affected people since at least 600 BC.[114] Leprosy outbreaks began to occur in Western Europe around 1000 AD.[115][116] Numerous leprosoria, or leper hospitals, sprang up in the Middle Ages; Matthew Paris estimated that in the early 13th century, there were 19,000 of them across Europe.[117]

Malaria[edit]

Past and current malaria prevalence in 2009

Malaria is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Each year, there are approximately 350–500 million cases of malaria.[118] Drug resistance poses a growing problem in the treatment of malaria in the 21st century, since resistance is now common against all classes of antimalarial drugs, except for the artemisinins.[119]

Malaria was once common in most of Europe and North America, where it is now for all purposes non-existent.[120] Malaria may have contributed to the decline of the Roman Empire.[121] The disease became known as "Roman fever".[122] Plasmodium falciparum became a real threat to colonists and indigenous people alike when it was introduced into the Americas along with the slave trade. Malaria devastated the Jamestown colony and regularly ravaged the South and Midwest of the United States. By 1830, it had reached the Pacific Northwest.[123] During the American Civil War, there were more than 1.2 million cases of malaria among soldiers of both sides.[124] The southern U.S. continued to be afflicted with millions of cases of malaria into the 1930s.[125]

Yellow fever[edit]

Yellow fever has been a source of several devastating epidemics.[126] Cities as far north as New York, Philadelphia, and Boston were hit with epidemics. In 1793, one of the largest yellow fever epidemics in U.S. history killed as many as 5,000 people in Philadelphia—roughly 10% of the population. About half of the residents had fled the city, including President George Washington.[127] In colonial times, West Africa became known as "the white man's grave" because of malaria and yellow fever.[128]

Concerns about future pandemics[edit]

See also[edit]

Pandemic portal

iconViruses portal

List of epidemics

Biological hazard

Bushmeat

Compartmental models in epidemiology

Crowdmapping

Disease X

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)

Mathematical modelling of infectious disease

Medieval demography

Mortality from infectious diseases

Pandemic severity index

Public health emergency of international concern

Super-spreader

Syndemic

Tropical disease

Timeline of global health

WHO pandemic phases

Notes[edit]

^ For clarification, WHO does not use the old system of six phases—ranging from phase 1 (no reports of animal influenza causing human infections) to phase 6 (a pandemic)—that some people may be familiar with from H1N1 in 2009.

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^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cholera" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 262–267.

^ "The cholera in Spain". New York Times. 20 June 1890. Retrieved 8 December 2008.

^ Barry, John M. (2004). The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Greatest Plague in History. Viking Penguin. ISBN 978-0-670-89473-4.

^ cholera :: Seven pandemics, Britannica Online Encyclopedia

^ John M. Gates, Ch. 3, "The U.S. Army and Irregular Warfare" Archived 29 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine

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^ CIDRAP article Pandemic Influenza Last updated 16 June 2011

^ Spanish flu Archived 25 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine, ScienceDaily

^ The Great Pandemic: The United States in 1918–1919 Archived 26 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

^ Vilensky, JA; Foley, P; Gilman, S (August 2007). "Children and encephalitis lethargica: a historical review". Pediatric Neurology. 37 (2): 79–84. doi:10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2007.04.012. PMID 17675021.

^ "H1N1 shares key similar structures to 1918 flu, providing research avenues for better vaccines".

^ Q&A: Swine flu. BBC News. 27 April 2009.

^ A. M., Dumar (2009). Swine Flu: What You Need to Know. Wildside Press LLC. p. 20. ISBN 978-1434458322.

^ Trifonov, Vladimir; Khiabanian, Hossein; Rabadan, Raul (9 July 2009). "Geographic Dependence, Surveillance, and Origins of the 2009 Influenza A (H1N1) Virus". New England Journal of Medicine. 361 (2): 115–19. doi:10.1056/NEJMp0904572. PMID 19474418.

^ War and Pestilence. Time. 29 April 1940

^ The Historical Impact of Epidemic Typhus Archived 11 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Joseph M. Conlon.

^ War and Pestilence. Time.

^ Jump up to: a b Conlon, Joseph M. "The historical impact of epidemic typhus" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2009.

^ Soviet Prisoners of War: Forgotten Nazi Victims of World War II By Jonathan Nor, TheHistoryNet

^ Smallpox and Vaccinia Archived 1 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine. National Center for Biotechnology Information.

^ "UC Davis Magazine, Summer 2006: Epidemics on the Horizon". Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2008.

^ How Poxviruses Such As Smallpox Evade The Immune System, ScienceDaily, 1 February 2008

^ "Smallpox" Archived 21 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine. WHO Factsheet. Retrieved on 22 September 2007.

^ De Cock KM (2001). "(Book Review) The Eradication of Smallpox: Edward Jenner and The First and Only Eradication of a Human Infectious Disease". Nature Medicine. 7 (1): 15–16. doi:10.1038/83283.

^ "Rinderpest: OIE—World Organisation for Animal Health". oie.int.

^ Center for Disease Control & National Immunization Program. Measles History, article online 2001. Available from www.cdc.gov.nip/diseases/measles/history.htm[permanent dead link]

^ Jump up to: a b Torrey, EF; Yolken, RH (3 April 2005). "Their bugs are worse than their bite". Birdflubook.com. p. B01. Retrieved 26 August 2010.

^ Stein CE, Birmingham M, Kurian M, Duclos P, Strebel P (May 2003). "The global burden of measles in the year 2000—a model that uses country-specific indicators". J. Infect. Dis. 187 (Suppl 1): S8–14. doi:10.1086/368114. PMID 12721886.

^ Man and Microbes: Disease and Plagues in History and Modern Times; by Arno Karlen

^ "Measles and Small Pox as an Allied Army of the Conquistadors of America" Archived 2 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine by Carlos Ruvalcaba, translated by Theresa M. Betz in "Encounters" (Double Issue No. 5–6, pp. 44–45)

^ World Health Organization (WHO). Tuberculosis Fact sheet No. 104—Global and regional incidence. March 2006, Retrieved on 6 October 2006.

^ Centers for Disease Control. Fact Sheet: Tuberculosis in the United States. Archived 23 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine 17 March 2005, Retrieved on 6 October 2006.

^ "Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis". Archived from the original on 9 March 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2017.

^ Immune responses to tuberculosis in developing countries: implications for new vaccines. Nature Reviews Immunology 5, 661–667 (August 2005).

^ Leprosy 'could pose new threat'. BBC News. 3 April 2007.

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^ Boldsen, JL (February 2005). "Leprosy and mortality in the Medieval Danish village of Tirup". Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 126 (2): 159–168. doi:10.1002/ajpa.20085. PMID 15386293. Archived from the original on 16 December 2012.

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Consequences by Thomas Hawk

Unimagined Composite Consequences by Jim Goodyear

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FPWhtLdrPatGPPcSqmdl&r90&r180)3eHDRCompo

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Tierpark Berlin: Thomson-Gazelle in der Savanne - Berlin Animal Park (Tierpark Berlin): Thomson's gazelle in the Savannah by riesebusch

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Berlin boasts two zoological gardens, a consequence of decades of political and administrative division of the city. The older one, called Zoo Berlin, founded in 1844, is situated in what is now called the "City West". It is the most species-rich zoo worldwide. The other one, called Tierpark Berlin ("Animal Park"), was established on the long abandoned premises of Friedrichsfelde Manor Park in the eastern borough of Lichtenberg, in 1954. Covering 160 ha, it is the largest landcape zoo in Europe.

Rund 15 Prozent der Erdoberfläche werden von Savannen bedeckt. Damit gehören sie zu den größten und wichtigsten Lebensräumen des Planeten. Seit dem 26. Mai 2023 wird Besucher*innen im Tierpark Berlin ein Einblick in diese faszinierende Landschaft gewährt und sie können mehr über die unterschiedlichen Bewohner der ostafrikanischen Savanne und ihren natürlichen Lebensraum erfahren.

Ein wahrer Höhepunkt der neuen Tierpark-Savanne ist der 120 Meter lange Giraffenpfad: Hier werden die Gäste den bis zu fünf Meter hohen Grazien der Savanne zukünftig auf Augenhöhe begegnen können – wer sich traut, bahnt sich den Weg durch den Wald bis zu den Aussichtsplattformen über eine abenteuerliche Hängebrücke. Der Tierpark Berlin erreicht mit der Eröffnung der Afrikanischen Savannenlandschaft ein neues Etappenziel auf seinem Weg zu einem Zoo der Zukunft. Seit knapp neun Jahren wird der 1955 gegründete und 160 Hektar große Tierpark Berlin zu einem naturnahen Geozoo umgebaut. Um einen Einblick in den Lebensraum der einzelnen Tierarten und deren Interaktionen, Besonderheiten und Problematiken zu ermöglichen, werden die Tiere im Tierpark größtenteils nach geografischen Gesichtspunkten zu sehen sein.

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Around 15 per cent of the earth's surface is covered by savannahs. This makes them one of the largest and most important habitats on the planet. Since 26 May 2023, visitors to Tierpark Berlin have been given an insight into this fascinating landscape and can learn more about the different inhabitants of the East African savannah and their natural habitat.

A true highlight of the new zoo savannah is the 120-metre-long giraffe trail: here, guests will be able to meet the up to five-metre-high graces of the savannah at eye level in future - those who dare will make their way through the forest to the viewing platforms via an adventurous suspension bridge. With the opening of the African Savannah Landscape, Tierpark Berlin has reached a new milestone on its way to becoming a zoo of the future. For almost nine years, the 160-hectare Tierpark Berlin, which was founded in 1955, has been transformed into a near-natural geozoo. In order to provide an insight into the habitat of the individual animal species and their interactions, peculiarities and problems, the animals in the zoo will largely be seen according to geographical aspects.

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Consequences by Thomas Hawk

The Age of Unfulfillment by ₡ґǘșϯγ Ɗᶏ Ⱪᶅṏⱳդ

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Although the Industrial Revolution increased life expectancy, it also produced many negative consequences. As a result, we live in a society that has lost much of its roots and moral grounding. Therefore, we live unfulfilling lives. As technology continues to advance, we will witness more social disruption. We now live in an industrial-technological system, which we will not be able to turn back. As this system marches forward, we will lose our dignity and freedom—even our humanity.

We have become a society of leisure; we have become decadent. As a result, we have become bored, hedonistic, and demoralized. An individual must have meaningful goals in life, which they can ‘autonomously’ work toward—goals with real adversity and reward. In accomplishing such goals, a person finds fulfillment. In our modern society, we have lost much of our autonomy. We have been trained to be obedient to the system. We must follow ever-increasing bureaucratic rules and regulations. Nowadays, experts tell us what to do and how to think. We are cogs of the machine—we are under the direction and control of the system. Yet this is not healthy for human beings. We must have our own independence, so that we can build our lives by our own initiative. If there is little room for a person to exercise autonomy, they will feel insignificant. If they have the autonomy to attain meaningful goals, they will gain self-confidence. A society that cannot make/create/set or fulfill meaningful goals will become demoralized; they will suffer from low self-esteem and feelings of inferiority; they will suffer from depression, anxiety, and guilt; they will become frustrated, hostile, and unfriendly; they will become bored and pursue hedonistic pleasures in order to cope.

Many young people today lack goals. They cannot see themselves attaining enough financial stability to marry a spouse or raise a family. They cannot see themselves owning a house or having a future to look forward to. This results in demoralization and defeatism.

In the past, people had to truly survive. This took serious effort. They had to make tools and weapons. They had to hunt down an animal, kill it, butcher it, get it home, cook it, and eat it. How manly and satisfying! A man would find fulfillment in a lifetime of roaming and exploring the land, hunting wild game for his family. He would have many adventures. Yet in our modern society, it takes minimal effort to attain one’s basic needs. Today, we work dead-end jobs that are unsatisfying. They provide us with a paycheck, but they don’t provide us with real fulfillment. We then try to find fulfillment in hobbies and other leisure activities, which will not bring us real fulfillment. What is worse, we spend our spare time sitting around staring at screens. The human body is not built to live a sedentary life. The human brain is not built to doomscroll. Living sedentary lives and doomscrolling obviously leads to unhappiness. Such activities are less satisfying than accomplishing meaningful goals such as buying land, clearing the land of trees by hand, using the trees to build a house by hand, carrying ones wife over the threshold, raising a family, working the land and raising livestock, thus conquering the land and continuing ones posterity. This in itself is Biblical. Why do you think, when Christ returns, He will divide up the land among the people (as it was done in the Old Testament)? It is so that man will work his ‘own’ land. Then man will work in nature, where he will be happiest. God made nature for man, not man for nature. The goal of the globalist agenda is to further divide man from nature; it is an antichrist agenda. Their goal is transhumanism, which will dehumanize mankind and further divide him from nature. Moreover, transhumanism will divide man from God.

A pre-industrial society is predominantly rural. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, the population of cities vastly increased. A technological society changes rapidly, thus there is less stability. These changes affect all aspects of society and cause the breakdown of traditional values. Breaking down traditional values causes the breakdown of societal bonds. An individual’s loyalty changes: it must not be first to their family or community, but first and foremost to the system. Indeed, individuals must be tools of the system. This makes us less independent and autonomous, because we become reliant on the system. The system is constantly changing, and we are taught to obey its changing rules and regulations. Yet these regulations are laid down by others. We have little to no input in the making of these rules. They are made by corrupt politicians and bureaucrats, corporations and organizations. This makes us feel powerless, which gives us a sense of hopelessness. Can you see why society has become so frustrated, insecure, humiliated, and angry? The more unfulfilled a society becomes, the more restless it becomes. Restlessness causes friction, and friction causes factions. Thus, a society breaks into factions. A society of impoverished relationships makes for a toxic society. Science will give us the tools to alter the material world, but our relationships with one another and with nature will be destroyed.

As society advances technologically, we lose more freedoms. People can’t even put down their phones, let alone toss them away to fight the system. People don’t want to sacrifice what they have become addicted to and dependent on. Yet they will replace their current technology with something more advanced. They will go from cell phones to wearable technology to microchips. With the promise of eliminating diseases and gaining super intelligence, much of society will give up freedom to be genetically engineered and microchipped. Even though, such a step will never be reversed. Humans will be modified to suit the needs of the system. They will become one with robotic technology.

Many people are not concerned about these dystopian scenarios. Yet technologies such as robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotechnology pose a great threat to humanity. These technologies will be used as tools to redesign the world. Self-replicating technologies will cause great damage to the biosphere. In the end, self-replicating technology will be impossible to control.

Artificial Intelligence will replace human creativity. In the future, the internet will be accessed only by your personal AI assistant. You will ask your AI assistant questions, and it will surf the internet for you. You will not go on Youtube to watch videos. You will ask AI to make the kind of videos you desire to watch. There will be no human content creators. Get used to AI art, AI videos, AI music, AI articles, AI slop! That is what you will be fed. Many who want to fight the system will eventually become passive, and they will no longer resist. They will be sucked into the system and become zombified. They will become docile slaves of the system. It desires complete control over everything on earth, both man and nature. Humanity will then be reduced to the status of domestic animals. Of course, this will be for the good of the planet!

If university students are using AI to write papers, AI will replace them in their future jobs. If teachers and professors are using AI to write curriculum and mark papers, AI will replace them. If the younger generation has no work ethic, they will be replaced by subsidized foreign workers, then both will be replaced by AI. If generation Alpha can’t read, then AI will replace them. The (dangerous) foreign semi-truck drivers on our roads will be replaced by AI self-driving trucks. AI in the schools, AI in the hospitals, replace, replace, replace. The politicians make many terrible decisions, thus they will be replaced by AI.

Moving on! The more society moves away from the traditions of marriage and family, the more unfulfilled and unhappy society will become. Radical leftists feel the least fulfillment, because they long to destroy society and its traditions. How happy can one be if they want to destroy their roots? They are constantly deconstructing themselves, it’s the Maoist way—how else can you brainwash yourself? Therefore, they feel guilt and self-hatred. They gain an inferiority complex. They have a love-hate relationship with themselves. On one hand they loathe themselves, but on the other hand they selfishly desire power. For this reason, they are self-loathing narcissists. They feel unfulfilled and powerless. Therefore, they seek power to bring about fulfillment. They feel weak and helpless, so they desire to feel strong and competent. It’s a coping mechanism. They also hate anything that appears strong, moral, and successful. They hate America, Western civilization, capitalism, the family, patriarchy, whites, males, heterosexuals, the rich, the middleclass, and even rationality. They despise all who are more beautiful, talented, intelligent, or successful than them. Envy does not equate to fulfillment or happiness. Side note: social media causes much envy and unhappiness.

The far left wants society to take care of them, because they are lazy and lack confidence. They feel strong only as a member of a large group or movement. They like to be abusive to those who disagree with them, because they have masochistic tendencies. The Marxist ideology is an authoritarian ideology, which is masochistic in nature, because it revolves around revolution. The far left may act empathetic, but they are apathetic. Indeed, a study on this topic found that radical leftists were apathetic and narcissistic. Their goals revolve around revolution and power. Their insecurity causes them to feel hostile, and their revolution helps them to vent their hostility. They don’t care about diplomacy, so they act hostile. With them, it is all or nothing: they want revolution, they want power. How can you have a rational conversation with individuals who don’t want dialogue? They use minorities as an excuse for revolution. They hide behind minorities, using them to shield their intentions of revolution. They go into poor black communities to fight for poor black people, yet they burn down black businesses and ruin their local economy. The communist must fight for the revolution, for everything opposed to the revolution is a sin. The communist tries to find fulfillment in the act of rebellion; he tries to find fulfillment in the act of revolution. He, however, is never satisfied. Thus, the revolution moves onward.

For the radical, activism is a vent for their pent-up emotions. Activism produces unity among the young militants, creating a bond between like-minded people. Losers can feel accepted, like they belong. Many of these communist agitators are from middle and upper middleclass homes. They have had an easy but unfulfilling life. They are the most radicalized, because they feel the most unfulfilled. They have become so demoralized that they have become nihilistic. Their life seems to have no meaning. They have lost their moral compass. They rely on emotions rather than on reason. They rely on feelings rather than on facts. “Their political activism is thus only a reaction to the more basic fear that the times are against them, that a new world is emerging without either their assistance or their leadership.” These activists will gradually accept more deviant subcultures as they further divorce themselves from reality. “The supreme irony of that loose and volatile sociopolitical phenomenon of contemporary middleclass America named the New Left is that it is itself the creation of the technetronic revolution as well as a reaction against it.” “The New Left was able to draw on the deep-rooted traditions of American populism, Quaker pacifism, and the pre-World War II largely immigrant-imported socialism and communism.” (The ‘New Left’ refers to the leftist movement of the 60s).

Paying for your child’s first car, college tuition, wedding, or house down payment will give them little sense of accomplishment. Giving children everything not only spoils them but also makes life boring. There must be ups and downs for life to be interesting. Bad times can produce growth and maturity, that is, if a person desires to learn from life. Especially if they want to build a strong moral character. The rewards of being cogs in the system produce great boredom. These middleclass kids have a self-indulgent lifestyle that contradicts their professed anti-materialism. Their material existence tends to depend on their parents. Their ideological infantilism stems from obsolete nineteenth-century criticisms of capitalism. They are spoiled kids who are rebelling against middleclass society. These activists offer no real response to the dilemmas of our age. Their revolutionary movement is really an escapist movement. It is a way of coping with their unfulfilled lives. They supposedly desire to change society, but they really want to create a refuge (safe space) from society. Their activism is a psychological safety valve, in which they can blow off steam. They escape their boring lives through activism, so they can feel a sense of freedom and self-gratification. They pat each other on the back, because they are supposedly fighting against their capitalist enemy. However, this is really a form of group therapy.

The woke activists on the ground are the canaries in the coal mine. They are indicators of the problems of our society as a whole. Through them, we have the best lens on society’s anxiety, uncertainty, vulnerability, and dissatisfaction. Side note: we can see the incoming collectivist system through the lens of the United Nations. They want to eradicate poverty. Yet they hide behind poverty, using it to shield their intentions of ruling the world. With communism, it’s all about gaining power. Communism is meant to go worldwide. Collectivism seeks to bind together the entire world (both man and nature) into a unified whole.

Neo-Marxism went through the dialectic with postmodernism and produced wokeism. Some think that post-postmodernism will have a more spiritual element to it. I think that wokeism will go through the dialectic with some sort of religious spiritualism, which will produce antichristism. Wokeism is authoritarian in nature, yet it has a quasi-religious character. Post-postmodernism will lead to an authoritarian system with a spiritual flavour. Man must be grounded to a one-world religion to be grounded to a one-world government. Woke socialism must have a spiritual awakening, so to speak. Wokeism must awaken further in its social enlightenment in order to transcend to the next level of social consciousness. This dialectic enlightenment will mix socialism with a spiritual experience. It will lead to transhumanism. The coming socialist leader—the antichrist—will combine socialism, religion, and transhumanism. Modernity, with its globalization, technology, and social(ist) change, has produced a society that lacks fulfillment. Although technology will bring less fulfillment to humanity, the technological system will lead it forward on a leash. I can see one of the marketing strategies for the Mark of the Beast: we live in stressful times, take the microchip and become numb to the stresses of reality. The soma of the Brave New World Order will give you fulfillment. You will be modified to suit the needs of the system. Warning: do not follow the world system!

Revelation 18:4 “Then I heard another voice from heaven say: ‘Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.’”

1 John 4:4 “Little children (believers, dear ones), you are of God and you belong to Him and have [already] overcome them [the agents of the antichrist]; because He who is in you is greater than he (Satan) who is in the world [of sinful mankind].”

1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

Romans 8:7 “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.”

Galatians 5:25 “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.”

In a sinful world, no individual can experience perfect fulfillment. When I’m in eternity with the Lord, I’ll know perfect fulfillment!

Play of consequences by Eldon Underhill

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Description

Consequences by Thomas Hawk

Tierpark Berlin: Hartmann-Bergzebras in der Savanne - Berlin Animal Park (Tierpark Berlin): Hartmann's mountain zebras in the Savannah by riesebusch

9 6

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Consequence by Nikolay Miroshnichenko

Consequences by Thomas Hawk

Do you need a hand to cross the road? by theSnoopyG - thanks for over 1/2 million views!

42 109

During a thunderstorm I found this little toad on the edge of a road, so I gave him a ride to cross it. He seemed to appreciate it!

P.s. That's my left hand: he's exactly on the proximal phalanx of the little finger. Extremely little, extremely cute toad.

Bufo bufo. #WhyDidTheToadCrossTheRoad

Rospetto trovato sul ciglio di una strada durante un temporale: in foto si trova esattamente sulla prima falange del mio mignolo, giusto per dare un'idea delle dimensioni!

Sarebbe potuto stare abbondantemente largo anche appoggiato su una moneta da 1€.

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Endangered Species International:

"WHY CARE FOR AMPHIBIANS?"

Amphibians are one of the main links in many ecosystem food webs. Often unseen, they can be quite abundant in some habitats. In temperate and tropical regions, amphibian can exceed all other terrestrial vertebrates such as birds, mammals, and reptiles. Amphibians including their larvae are important predators of invertebrates. Removal of amphibians from particular habitat can have drastic consequence by increasing insect populations. Through metamorphosis, many species of frogs and salamanders are a link of transfer of nutrient from aquatic systems to terrestrial ones. Therefore, removing amphibians from a particular habitat can affect drastically algae communities, invertebrate populations, predator dynamics, leaf litter decompositions, and nutrient cycling.

Preserving amphibian diversity is an important component for living in a healthy environment.

www.endangeredspeciesinternational.org/amphibians6.html

"WHAT CAN YOU DO TO SAVE AMPHIBIANS?": www.endangeredspeciesinternational.org/amphibians7.html

WORLD'S AMPHIBIANS UNDER THREAT:

Earth is facing its largest mass extinction since the disappearance of the dinosaurs, with up to half of the world's 6,000 amphibian species in danger of extinction, conservationists warn.

Amphibians (frogs and toads, newts, caecilians and salamanders) are being affected by habitat loss, climate change, pollution, pesticides and introduced species, but face an even bigger threat from a deadly parasitic fungus known as amphibian chytrid.

"The world's most endangered frogs": www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2008/jan/09/conse...

EUROPE'S AMPHIBIANS AT RISK:

More than half of all frogs, toads and newts living in Europe could be driven to extinction within 40 years, scientists have warned. Climate change, disease and habitat destruction are taking their toll, with research showing that more than 40 species could become extinct by 2050.

The majority of the most threatened species live in Mediterranean regions, which are expected to become warmer and drier. Island species, such as this Mallorcan midwife toad, are especially at risk because they are unable to move to cooler climates.

Researchers described the bleak outlook for Europe's amphibians at a meeting of the Zoological Society of London last night. Sir David Attenborough, who was due to attend the symposium, said: "Amphibians are the lifeblood of many environments, playing key roles in the function of ecosystems, and it is both extraordinary and terrifying that in just a few decades the world could lose half of all these species."

www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/sep/26/wildlife.cons...

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Consequence by Cláudio Cardoso

9 14

Consequences by Thomas Hawk

There are consequences by jeff fletcher

11 7

We're Here looks at Hammer Time today.

Consequences by Thomas Hawk

Hell & Consequences by Francesca Dioni

37 20

I’m not a victim,

till I let you take me down.

Im not a target at the sites of your mercy,

I never asked for anything,

I'm not asking now.

I will not be afraid,

I've done this on my own

and I don’t care what you do to me,

I woulnt hand over what is mine

Ive done this for too long,

to let you take it away from me,

its to late to stop me

cause I refuse to die.

(Stone Sour)

Consequences by Thomas Hawk

Daybreak Finale: The Practical Applications of Self Reflection by Killer Moth

17 3

===Arkham Asylum==

There was a blinding yellow light and then, Krill staggered into the room, still reeling from Kuttler's attack. "Cheap shot..." he wheezed, before collapsing onto the floor, a mix of blood and drool dripping out of his mouth.

"Oho, there he is! There's my little bundle of comic relief and profanity!" Joker let out an overjoyed giggle as he rushed to greet him.

"Joker!" Crane snapped impatiently, "He needs medical attention. Now."

"And?" Joker asked disinterestedly. "What do you want me to do about that? Page the Crime Doctor? He blocked me after one too many 'Doctor, Doctor,' jokes, which, in my defense, were absolute killers!"

"No... Doctors... Sugar pills... Top cabinet..." Krill gasped, shrugging Crane off. "I'll be... fine... Just give me someone to kill and... And a banana split... Might... Might also need a rabies shot."

"The Misfitspose aaaaaaaa threat, Joooooooker," Zoom warned, as he watched Krill wolf down his medication.

"Hah! Now there's a sentence that's never been uttered before..." Joker chuckled dismissively. As he attempted to leave the room however, Zoom blocked the doorway.

"No. First theErasaaaaaaaaaser discoveredour lair. Now theyhaveincapacitated theeeeee Pooooolka DotMan. Theymustbe eliminated."

"Now, where's your holiday spirit gone?" Joker looked down at Zoom's hand, and then back at his face, trying to mask his indignation. "All in good time, Hunter," he stated. "I'm in the giving mood right now, and I've promised Julian he'll have his fun with them first."

==Greendale Community College==

The Infirmary

Day 16

Flannegan was lying on a hospital bed, as a nurse doted around him. Sat around him, were Reardon, Rigger, Blake and Chuck, each in varying states of concern.

"Get off! I'm fine, really," he protested, as he pushed the nurse's hand away from his black and blue face. "You shoulda seen the other guy!"

"You mean the one that escaped?" Blake smirked.

"That's not what-" Flannegan spluttered. "Blame the science geek, I had the spotted bastard dead to rights."

"Didn't he drop a microwave on you?" Rigger butted in.

"It was a filing cabinet!"

"Is he going to be alright, miss?" Reardon asked, narrowly dodging a flying fruit cup intended for Joey.

"He took quite a beating, but he'll be fine," the nurse replied. "Just don't use that arm against any more Polka Dot Men for a while," she advised Flannegan with a clear hint of sarcasm.

"He was real!" he protested once more, as he attempted to get out of the hospital bed. His advances were interrupted by a commotion outside, as the voices of Kuttler and the Dean grew louder and louder.

"Noah, please, you can't just leave. Where am I supposed to get another computing studies teacher on such short notice?" Pelton was pleading with him. "You were going to show me how to use Excel!"

"Frankly, that's none of my concern," Kuttler retorted. "Hire Answer, hell: hire Cluemaster for all I care- see if you can piece his skull back together, I imagine it's like a particular irritating jigsaw puzzle... Oh, and check your basement, because there is definitely a sex computer down there. I know that frequency."

"Sex computer?" Pelton's brow furrowed, as he stopped in his tracks. "Wait up-" he began, but Kuttler had already reached the infirmary, and made sure to lock the door behind him. He then approached the Misfits, and placed a small glass bottle, filled with small yellow pills, onto the table beside Flannegan.

"Diaxymine," he stated. "Should cancel out the effects of the Fearless drug on your rotund friend."

"Woah woah woah, that's potent stuff. Who's to say it won't just fry his mind?" Rigger asked anxiously.

"No one, of course, but there was a guard here that stockpiled the stuff," Kuttler deflected. "From what I was able to piece together, he was some kind of supervillian, went by the name 'Chinese Tiger.'"

"We... appreciate the gesture, but if it's all the same to you, I think we'll wait until we're back in Gotham, and cure him then," Chuck spoke, as he slid the glass bottle into his yellow utility belt for safe keeping.

"Fine. Use it or don't," Kuttler shrugged, standing back up. "But when your sauce spraying friend tears your throat out, remember I gave you an out," he replied, as he walked back towards the exit. "I'll see you in the courtyard tomorrow. That is, if the offer still stands."

"It does- I mean, sure, great!" Chuck stuttered, a little taken aback by Kuttler's sudden change of heart. "But... what about that ankle monitor?" he asked, pointing down at Kuttler's feet. "Shouldn't we-?"

"That old thing?" Kuttler looked down, and to The Misfits' surprise, casually unbuckled it and dropped it in the bin. "I reprogrammed that months ago. I just fancied the time off."

"Right, of course you did," Chuck tutted. "What exactly changed your mind?"

Kuttler glanced over at Blake before answering. "Let's just say I had an enlightening talk with one of your teammates," he smirked, before turning back to face them. "Oh, and of course, thanks to you, Abner Krill knows where I am and he'll want revenge: The first thing he'll do once he's healed, will be to sell off my location to the Society remnants I testified against. And frankly, I'm simply too emotionally drained to draft a countermeasure against Bane or his allies... I could do with the meat shields."

"Bane's in Slabside, bud, he's not going anywhere," Blake reassured him.

"The same Slabside that Killer Moth broke into a month ago?" Kuttler spoke, as he raised a condemning eyebrow.

"Ok, fair point," he swallowed.

"Uh-huh. The courtyard. Tomorrow at 12pm. Don't keep me waiting," he ordered them, before leaving the way he came, still swatting away Pelton's advances.

"Well, he seemed lovely," Ten said dryly.

~-~

Gar was slumped against the wall, waiting for Chuck as he exited the infirmary, flicking his lighter on and off obsessively

"You shouldn't smoke indoors," Chuck advised him.

"I wasn't." Gar confessed. "So. Who won? The game, I mean," he clarified.

"Funny you should ask: the Dean called it off. Apparently, some Freddy Krueger lookalike ran onto the campus, and threatened a hundred students with a flamethrower."

"Jeez, what're the chances?" Gar wondered aloud.

"Oh, I dunno... One in a million," Chuck replied, eyeing him up.

Gar paused. "I... might have been projecting my anger onto a bunch of amateur cosplayers.

"Not to worry, we've all been there."

"Still, Krueger. Nice chance of pace. About a dozen students stopped me earlier and said 'Nice Deadpool, bro. Have a chimichanga on me.' Irritating as hell," he frowned. "He gonna be ok?" he changed trajectory.

"Flannegan? He's tough, he'll pull through," Chuck reiterated.

"Not who I meant," Gar spoke, as he watched Mayo shuffle past them into the infirmary, a bunch of crumpled flowers in his hand, no doubt a last minute gift, hand-picked from the gardens.

"Yeah," Chuck replied. "We'll get him cured once we're back in Gotham. If we ever make it..." he added tiredly.

"We will. Drury has a plan, I know it," Gar vouched for him. "But it's weird, right? I mean, you and I both know what Fearless can do to a person; the chaos, the anger, the devastation... it turned you into a reckless thrill-seeker, submerged Two-Face's better half and it barely even worked on Dekker. Kid could've killed us all if he wanted to, or at least try. Yet even with that crap pumping through his veins; nothing holding him back; free to do anything, say anything without consequence, all Mayo really wanted, was to win a damn paintball game. just gain a little bit- a tiny sliver of recognition from his peers."

Chuck reflected on this, and pulled the glass bottle of Diaxymine out of his belt to examine it.

"What's the stuff Kuttler gave you anyway?" Gar inquired.

"Supposed to be Anti-Psychotics," Chuck explained.

"'Supposed to be,'" Gar rolled his eyes. "Between you and me, I'm pretty sick of experimental drugs."

"Boy, I hear you there..." he chuckled softly. "Listen, Gar-"

"What?" he snapped suddenly.

"Just... I'm sorry about Jenna."

Gar's features softened, as he flicked his lighter shut. "Me too."

==Study Room F==

Day 17

"So, this is what you wear for a living, huh?" Jeff raised an eyebrow at both Blake and Chuck's suits.

"I don't know, you fill that costume out nicely," Britta smiled.

"I made you boys sandwiches for the journey home," Shirley said, offering Chuck an enormous bag of filled sandwiches. Though unlikely to eat them himself, due to the high fat content, Chuck felt it best not to tell her, and instead thanked Shirley politely.

Chuck hugged the girls, shook Jeff's hand and patted Troy and Abed on the back. "Pierce," he nodded. "It has been an experience."

"Urgh, I'm always getting shafted," he grumbled. "But not as much as Jeff in gay bars," he chuckled.

"Dude, read the room," Blake shook his head disapprovingly.

Chuck looked over at the Misfits' table, where Mayo had been silently drawing for a while, and took a deep breath. "Hey, buddy," he approached, examining each of his sketches. "Who's this guy?"

"Malcolm Fleming. He's a cucumber," Mayo sniffed.

"And this one, that his friend?" Chuck pointed to the second figure.

"Stephen Tucker. A gherkin."

Chuck smiled, as he reached into his rucksack and handed Mayo a large parcel. "Here. I want you to have this. I know it's not perfect. Dekker, for all his quirks, knows how to make a suit much better than I ever could, but I made I do."

"I don't understand. You're not mad?" he asked, puzzled.

"It's paintball, Mitch," Chuck winked. "No one got hurt. That's the main thing."

"Flannegan might disagree there-" Blake calmly pointed out.

"Most people didn't get hurt, Chuck corrected himself, shooting daggers Blake's way. "Thing is, you're one of us. A Misfit, Mitch. It's time we treated you like one."

"Thank you," Mitch nodded sincerely, as he pulled the black and red costume from out of the bag. "I love it."

"What about it, Jeff? A final rousing speech?" Abed asked.

Jeff smirked. "Actually, Abed, I think Chuck should do the honours."

"Actually, we really have to go," Chuck began, as he rose to his feet. "Kuttler would kill us if we're late. Literally, probably... Look, they're your people, Jeff. Look after them, love them. Care for them. Because remember, they may all be misfits, but together, you're all so much stronger."

"Well, I don't know if I'd class myself as a misfit-" Britta began, her protests drowned out by the Study Group's collective groans.

"Then find another name," Chuck encouraged them. "But find it together. Because, uh, because that one's already taken- branding was always Drury's thing."

"Ooh, actually have a couple ideas in mind." Annie said, as she pulled out a massive binder. Jeff looked up at Chuck, and smiled gratefully. Chuck nodded back and rested his hand on the door handle. 'Hell Yeah.'

"Oh, before I forget- in two or three days, you might be emailed a YouTube link from a Montgomery Sharpe. Don't open it," he added.

As Chuck left, Troy turned back to the rest of the group. "Do any of you guys know who that is?"

~-~

"Drury, you're always gonna do something stupid... That's why I love you. We'll win. We always do, you old softie. Because we don't-?"

Because we don't give up. Yeah. Someday. Because of you.."

"You're just tired Drury, that's all. Just tired."

"To doing something stupid," Drury lamented.

"You were flashing back, weren't you?"

"I'm sorry?" Drury asked, turning his head away from the trophy cabinet.

Abed shrugged. "Just now. It looked like you were having a flashback to something."

Walker smiled weakly. "Yeah, yeah. something like that."

"I'm Abed," he said, offering him his hand.

"Drury," Walker nodded as he shook his hand.

"Yo, Abed, could you give us some space please?" Chuck asked.

"Cool," he replied, as he disappeared down the hall. "Cool cool cool."

"Kuttler's on board," Chuck revealed. "He'll want to be paid obviously, but I think we can probably pull enough money together, right?"

"Yeah, Joe texted me," he nodded. "What happened to you anyway?" Drury asked, eying Chuck's shattered visor suspiciously, "I thought it was just a paintball game."

"Oh, I died," Chuck said bashfully. "Well, I should've. Mitch used condiments, so it didn't technically count."

"Ah. Typical, really," Drury winked. He looked down at his watch.

"C'mon, we shouldn't keep the others waiting," he said, glancing at the otherwise empty, paint soaked hallway.

"Sure," Drury lay his hand on the trophy cabinet and smiled faintly, gesturing to a framed photo. "Here, take a look at this, please: Gotham University, interschool basketball championships 2001, I actually competed in that- I'm the scrawny kid with the broken leg, see? And, sure, the Mathletes lost, but that's life, ain't it?"

"Yeah..." Chuck smiled encouragingly.

"And there, in the opposing team's photo... There she is. My Tiger Lily. Funny coincidence, right?" Drury, was pointing to a blond girl in the back. "Didn't even know she existed. Imagine."

"I guess," Chuck nodded.

"Just like that time in Gaige's office, or that Janus Christmas party... I missed out on several more happy years because... because I didn't know what was right in front of me."

Chuck bowed his head. "I never believed in all that star-crossed, meant-to-be kind of love myself. First Maria, then Pam. But you and Miranda? I think that maybe, maybe that was the closest thing to it. And, I dunno, maybe the universe knew that too. You look at these photos and you see it as a missed opportunity, sure. But I see it as a gift. You got to know that the two of you had more time together than even you knew."

"Maybe," Drury said softly, his eyes brimming with tears. "Thank you."

"Any time," Chuck replied, before changing the subject back to the here and now. "I finally read those files by the way. The ones we stole from Batman. You know what that Zolomon guy can do, right? He's not just fast, he slows down time. And it's not just him, I mean look at the Pirate, or Pike. I mean, we joke, but Carson beat the crap out of us last time. And seeing what Krill of all people did to Flannegan... Even with Kuttler backing us, I just don't know." Chuck nodded solemnly. "Like, you do realise that we can't just drive back into Gotham in a highly conspicuous Bat-Truck? The Bats will be on us before we even reach city limits."

"I know," Drury responded. "I know. Contrary to popular belief, I do actually have a plan, Chuck. Maybe not a good one, definitely not a popular one, but I do have one. It's just... You're not gonna like it."

"Well, that's a first," Chuck joked.

"Hah. Stick to the herbal tea, Chuck," Drury smiled back. "Let someone else handle the sarcasm."

~-~

"God, that was the longest six months of my life," Flannegan declared, as he stretched his back out, the rest of the Misfits following closely behind him.

"We were there three weeks, tops," Rigger pointed out.

"I know what I said," Flannegan replied stiffly.

As they walked out to the courtyard, Blake and Joey jumped back in fright, Gar and Flannegan drew their weapons, Kuttler ducked behind Walker and Reardon took a deep breath.

Waiting for them outside, flanked by some twenty armed men, was The Great White Shark. Behind him, the Bookworm nodded to Walker affirmatively.

"Look, boys. Hitchhikers," White joked. "A little bug told me you lot needed a lift."

"Uh, Drury?" Chuck asked, awaiting an explanation.

"I mean, I said you wouldn't like it."

==Gotham City==

Hellhound exited the Stacked Deck through the back alley and smiled, riffling through a stack of newly acquired green bills. All in a day's work... Dekker would take his cut, of course: but there was no need to split it evenly. After all, he was the one doing all the work. A trash can toppled over behind him, and he spun around. "Who's there?" he called out to the dark, reaching for the knife in his pocket.

"Your worst nightmares. Your nastiest dreams," a raspy voice hissed.

Hellhound stumbled back in fright, tripping over an empty tin of cat food. "Hey, no hard feelings, man," he insisted. "I didn't actually believe in any of that crap: It was just a trick, a con, a dirty grift! I didn't actually do anything: that thing, with the knife and the fat guy? That was all the Misfits, I swear!"

"I believe you," the King of Cats agreed, as he bent down, and licked his face. "Good doggy."

"Ahem," a second voice called out. "Sorry to intrude upon this, ah, tender moment, but my partners have a proposal for you."

"Ah, the clever-clogs," the King recognised Day. "How did you find us?"

"I followed the smell," Day said stiffly.

"Oho," The King laughed. "Clever!"

"You've taken a new form, I see," Day noted. "Which poor unfortunate host is it this time?"

"A City Counsellor from Hub City. A frequent adulterer not worth your pity," the King giggled maliciously, the moonlight glinting off of his leather catsuit.

"Curious. But what if I told you that we could do better? Restore you to your former glory: So to speak."

"I'm listening," the King replied, his green eyes narrowing. "But if you don't mind, first, I'd like to finish my supper," he announced, gesturing to Hellhound's incapacitated body.

Julian's skin crawled. He despised being the middle man between the clown and these... creeps. "Do what you have to. Just don't make a mess."

"Clever Clogs, please," the King scowled. "I make no such promises."

Consequences by Thomas Hawk

Consequences of the human being by David

Consequences of Storm Doris by Dave ☠️

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Consequences of Storm Doris

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