Plur1bus Chat

Astronomers detect a radio signal from space that spells out a viral RNA sequence. Over a year, researchers reproduce the viral sequence in a lab, but an outbreak occurs one night, causing those infected to act collectively, spreading the virus through saliva. Romance novelist Carol Sturka returns to Albuquerque after her latest book tour with her manager and partner Helen. After planes disperse an aerosol, everyone around Carol, including Helen, begins to suddenly convulse. Carol rushes Helen to a hospital, finding the city overrun with chaos and destruction along the way. Carol is alarmed to find everyone at the hospital is infected and knows her name; Helen soon dies from her injuries. Carol flees to her house, where she discovers a TV broadcast showing a man in the White House press room with a lower third showing Carol's name and a phone number on-screen. When she calls, the man explains that the virus has transformed humanity into a permanently happy hive mind. He tells Carol that she and eleven others appear immune, and the hive mind will grant their requests, but shares that the hive mind still seeks to assimilate them.