First Game

Start: 10/16/15

Bacteria: LoveBug V

Origin: Zimbabwe

100 people infected: 12/08/15 (around 2 months)

1,000,000 people infected: 02/08/15 (around 4 months)

First Death: Mexico 09/15/15 (around 11 months)

Destroyed Human Race: Yes 05/30/15 (593 days)

Conquered Greenland? YES

In this first game, I chose to go with Zimbabwe, a poor nation. Since a poor nation is a rather easy breeding ground for bacteria, I chose to focus on increasing some transmission but mostly the abilities so that it could survive in wealthier nations and I would increase the symptoms once more nations were infected so it wouldn’t be as noticeable. I think this game took longer than the test rounds I played before because it takes a lot of DNA points to increase the lethality of the symptoms as well as the abilities of the bacteria. Also, poor countries mean that no one really travels out or into the country so spreading the bacteria to wealthy nations is actually quite difficult.

Second Game

Start: 10/16/15

Bacteria: Rapid Z

Origin: Canada

100 people infected: 01/13/16

1,000,000 people infected: 06/13/16

First Death: USA 01/02/17

Destroyed Human Race: No

How long until cured: 972 Days (05/02/18); 05/31/18 bacteria was eradicated

In the second game, it took extremely long for the bacteria to travel out of the country and even longer for the whole world to be infected. I started this game thinking that if I maxed out the abilities of the bacteria it would prevent the cure from being made too fast. However, towards the middle and end, I realized that if the bacteria was not lethal enough, the whole nation would not die fast enough meaning the cure can still be created. It was already too late to do anything about it because as the game goes on, less DNA points are accumulated. Overall, starting in a cold and wealthy nation meant slow infectivity and low lethality if points aren’t distributed amongst the 3 categories evenly.

This game really helped me to understand the pandemic transmission better because it was visualized and I was the one controlling the bacteria. It was interesting to learn that although in both games the whole world was infected with my bacteria, the second game showed that there is still a chance for humanity to redeem themselves as long as they suppress the effects of the bacteria and slow it down. Perhaps humans can endure more than we think? Also, Greenland was infected in both games!

At first, I played around with the app and thought it was pretty limited. Keep in mind, I was not in class, so I was experimenting. After a couple of tries I saw that you can pick HOW your disease is transmitted which has a lot to do with the spread of a disease. Anyway, the poor country that I picked was the Dominican Republic, but came up generalized as the Caribbean. I also named my diseases an existing one, not realizing we were supposed to make up a name. The disease I picked was Tuberculosis or TB.

By November 20, 2015, there were 100 cases of TB. The first place the disease spread to was Mexico. Once it reached Mexico, the cases began to increase dramatically and exponentially. By the time, I blinked, the case number was already past 1 million. Guesstimated, the total count reached one million around early March 2016. Same thing occurred for the death toll. I looked one second and it was 0. I looked another second and it had reached 103 deaths by May 19, 2016. The second place it spread to was the United States. Once it reached the US, the number of cases began to still increase but by 10s rather than by 1,000s. This is because the US is medically advanced and knowledgeable. Then in July 2016, the disease spreads to the UK and Central America. The reason why it has traveled to places like that is by means of transportation, boat or plane. It took over 6 months for TB to be recognized by a medical professional. Not until March 2017, that a doctor in India is the first to begin researching the cause and cure of TB. The cure to the disease was completed on August 31, 2018. By the route that the plague was taking, when originating in a poor nation, I totally believe that it has the potential to wipe out the human race. Almost my entire map was red, or infected when the search for a cure was at 50%. The disease was eradicated in 1063 days.

When I started my disease in a wealthier country with more resources, the statistics weren’t all that the same. I started the disease in Italy, As soon as 11 people were infected, a notification arrived that medicine in Italy was slowing the infection. By January 12, 2016, 105 people were infected. The first country to be infected after originating in Italy, was France, and that was in March 2016. On June 9th, 2017, Germany began to work on a cure.  The first death occurred in September 2017. On October 22, 2018, the cure for the disease was completed. This disease was eradicated in 1,144 days.

The results weren’t as expected. The cure for the disease took longer when originating in the wealthier country. However, less deaths occurred due to the use of medicine sooner, than later. A prediction as to why the disease cure took longer may be because it reached the USA, which is the leading country in medicine, later in time.

In Weems’ “From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried.” collection, I feel that the appropriation of Zealy’s photographs are transformed into a deep meaning and feeling collection. Her use of the color red really make me focus on each photograph more carefully. The darks are darker and the lights contrast more. It might also evoke the emotion of anger or rage that she felt whilst making this collection. The text added to the pictures tells a flowing narrative through the collection and could also be used as a stand alone statement with the picture.  The text can be read along with viewing the photograph, but after reading the text I tend to analyze the picture more, and let the words sink in. It is like the picture accentuate the words and the words emphasizes the picture.  Without the text I don’t believe the collection would be as powerful a statement about slavery and racism. Weems turned what was a collection of pictures taken for a hateful purpose of lessening African Americans and turned it into a powerful piece about discrimination and bigotry.

It is not a hidden secret to me that photography has the ability to manipulate and objectify depending on the objectification, just in similar fashion; an eloquent caption can add a new frame or new dimensions to a story. For instance, the history of race relations in the US and throughout the new world was based on racism, the exploitation and the enslavement of people of color, by Europeans or those of European origin. A perfect example of that can be taken straight from the photograph of J.T. Zealy’s daguerreotypes of slaves that were commissioned by the eminent Harvard scientist Louis Agassiz to support his belief in the theory of polygenesis, with the idea that blacks were inferior to whites. Carrie Mae Weems, an artist who uses the tool of appropriation to critique the issues of race in her art, debunks the photographs of Zealy’s daguerreotypes of slaves. She adds a narrative to the photographs in order to help emphasize to the audience the new meaning behind them. The added texts, try to erase the harsh truth behind the pain and the suffering in the lives of black people during slavery or in the times of segregation. It made these series of photographs seem more like a work of art by changing and manipulating the colors which ultimately make them visually appealing to the senses. It captures their souls and their tribulations, with the transgressions committed against them. The provocative message behind Ms. Weems’ work is intended to serve as the voice of the voiceless; through her their feelings and emotions can finally be heard or felt. Moreover, it demonstrates through their hardships and calamities that their efforts and struggles were not in vain because black people have come a long way since then, and today we have many prominent, successful black people in every fields, who have contributed to the betterment of this country and to the rest of the world .

Personally, I don’t subscribe to the idea that history can be rewritten, even though this may not have been the intentions behind her work. Nonetheless, I believe that these series of photographs have made a poignant reminder to all of us that we are all human beings regardless of the color of our skins and our cultural heritage.