{"product_id":"virus","title":"Virus","description":"\u003cb\u003eA critical, annotated version of Narlikar’s iconic novel about a cybervirus attack by an advanced alien species—with updated text and added material.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA year before Robin Cook’s \u003ci\u003eInvasion\u003c\/i\u003e (1997)––in which an alien force activated a latent biological virus in humans––and almost a decade before Liu Cixin’s \u003ci\u003eThe Remembrance of Earth’s Past \u003c\/i\u003etrilogy (2008–10)––in which humanity’s scientific progress was curtailed by an alien supercomputer’s “sophon-lock”––Jayant Vishnu Narlikar’s \u003ci\u003eVirus\u003c\/i\u003e (1996) painted a similar scenario. In his novel, a cybervirus broadcast by an advanced, extraterrestrial species invaded Earth and froze its digital infrastructure: a prelude to an alien invasion. The novel, first published in Marathi, recounts how vast radio arrays on Earth intercept a seemingly innocuous message from an unknown planet orbiting Barnard’s Star. The radio signal, sent six years ago, coalesces into a cybervirus that has the potential to cause a complete digital meltdown and lead humanity into an age of chaos—an alien First Strike to prevent humanity from evolving further.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book—a critical, annotated version of \u003ci\u003eVirus\u003c\/i\u003e, edited and revised by Sami Ahmad Khan\u003ci\u003e—\u003c\/i\u003ereissues Narlikar’s iconic novel with updated text and added dimensions. It includes detailed annotations that locate the technology of the text along the axis of contemporary scientific thought\u003ci\u003e,\u003c\/i\u003e as well as critical essays that focus on the literary, political, and sociocultural dimensions of the novel; articles on Narlikar’s role in India’s science and science fiction; an exclusive conversation with the author; bibliographical information on his works; and a bonus short story.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEssays by Sami Ahmad Khan, Nilam Ingole, Priteegandha Naik, Jayant V. Narlikar, and Dibyadyuti Roy.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57499258028405,"sku":"9780262056281","price":38.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780262056281.jpg?v=1786694575","url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/virus","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}