When the plague came, we lost most of our doctors before we realized that the plague had a dark sense of humor. No, really! Wear a bio-hazard suit and it went after you twice as hard, three times as hard, calling in all the neighbor pathogens until it got you. The scent of alcohol sanitizers brought it running (the only way they figured that one out was by seeing that winos were dying in the same percentiles as people who were obsessive about washing their hands). In the end, we just...lived with death. We lost other people who refused to see the doctor for simple things like appendicitis, for fear of catching the plague. They may have been half-right, but it isn't a good way to go, either. Our doctors began to camouflage themselves a little more. Home visits were very popular. Boiling water and harsh soap replaced antibacterial foam. Midwives were absolutely, definitely the safest option, even though they still meant that many more women died in childbirth. The plague complications rate in the hospital was higher. So you can see that we were still holding a grudge when we found out that the plague had been engineered that way, as a "survival of the fittest" improvement.


Inspiration: Still photo of a person in a biohazard suit from Season 1, Episode 1 of "Helix."
Story potential: High.
Notes: I didn't think this was all that interesting until I realized it would have to be written from the PoV of a young doctor who has been working in this environment for most of his/her life. Then it became more interesting.

The bombs were ready when the dog walked around the corner. She felt her ruff rise as she crouched on the ledge above the alley. This was cat territory, and any dog that entered was looking for trouble. She turned her head and bared her teeth, flashing the embedded lights back to other watch cats to get the alarm sounded. The dog stopped and sat at the entrance to the tunnel, keeping its eyes down in a non-challenging way. Not what dogs usually did--most were the friendly idiots who made eye contact with everyone, even if they knew how cats would read it. Interesting. She sniffed the air, but smelled nothing but dog and normal city. The dog was naked--not an unusual sight, but not--

Inspiration: This LOLcat: http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/funny-pictures-kittens-will-throw-water-balloon.jpg
Story Potential: High-ish?
Notes: Not sure how much remains to be mined from the "when cats and dogs evolve" vein, but I found myself becoming more interested as I wrote along.

He wept as he clung to the raft and watched the burning ship go down. It was the labor of four years to collect all the specimens that were sinking beneath the icy waters. It was the work of his lifetime, the one that was to have made him an equal to the new science heroes. He'd written up his notes, at least, and sealed them in oilskin and tied them to his body. For that much at least, he hoped to be remembered. They would not know the half of it, though, not without his specimens, living or preserved. He was more affected by that loss than by the knowledge that he would soon freeze to death.

Inspiration: Listening to either MPR's science Friday or the SciAm podcast. There was actually a ship like this which sank with the collection of one of Darwin's contemporaries, but it sank in warm waters and the guy lived and went back a couple of years later for another several years to re-collect it all.
Story Potential: High.
Notes: Centuries later, a treasure-hunting expedition goes after the ship. For biological specimens to revive from extinction? Something like that? Straight sci-fi or do they bring up something they really shouldn't have?

Given all the Darwin-related science/news shows, I predict a rash of fictional stories about such topics in about 4-6 months.

She was sick, and it was killing her. Oh, not the illness--the alien doctors assured her it was nonfatal--but it was contagious. She had to be a Separate because of it. She couldn't even have a proper leavetaking, because the illness would infect her Selves if she went among them. So she was Separate, and suffering. She'd die soon, she knew, because that was what happened to Separates. She had explained that to the doctors, and they'd all shaken their heads and said there was no reason for it. They didn't understand. At least Separates were usually insane. They didn't really understand the pain--the world was pain and madness to them, or sometimes blessedly madness alone.

Inspiration: Dear Prudence" column about person who is part of a very cuddly social group who now can't always be social because of avoiding sickness.
Story Potential: High.
Notes: I don't like the "alien doctors" part--think it would work better if it was more of a divergent paths of human self-evolution. Heh. Bet you can tell I fear Contagion.