| "Something Going Around" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Author | Harry Turtledove |
| First Appearance | Tor.com |
| Publisher | Tor.com |
| Reprinted | No |
| Collected | No |
| Illustrator | Greg Ruth |
| Genre(s) | Science Fiction, Horror |
| Publication date | April, 2014 |
"Something Going Around" is a short work by Harry Turtledove published at Tor.Com in April 2014. It is probably best classified as a horror story with some science fictional elements.
Stan, the story's narrator, is a Germanic languages professor, specializing in Gothic, at the university in an unnamed town. He spends much of his down time at the local bar, Mandelbaum's. There has been a recent rash of pedestrians being struck and killed by automobiles in the area.
During an evening at Mandelbaum's, Stan meets parasitic ecologist Indira Patel. The two hit it off discussing their respective fields. During their conversation, Stan wonders if there could be a parasite that could live in people, but requires another host for sexual reproduction, and whether such a parasite could alter human behavior to allow for the required change in host. Indira allows that, unlike some other animals, human behavior is difficult to influence, but would not say if it was impossible.
After a brief relationship, Indira is killed when she inexplicably steps into the path of a car. Stan realizes that Indira and the others hit by cars were hosts to some sort of parasite, and that their careless actions were actually the parasite trying to escape the humans (by forcing their suicides) and find a host suitable for reproduction.
The story ends with the possibility that Stan may also be carrying the parasite.
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