Your Immunity and the fall Rome

The Immune System - your defence against against viral attacks and other deadly foreign substances - is perhaps THE most vital system of them all. Our very survival depends on it. Without it, we could be dead in a sec...or a day or two. Yep, our very existance depends on it! But, have you ever had it explained to you...very confusing...right, unless you’ve had years of medical training. Well fear not my frazzled friend, I’m going to take the guess work out of it and simplify it in terms we all understand. Read on MacDuff......

In a nut shell, the Immune System can be described as a democratic, specialised, military outfit -disciplined professionals that make sure they destroy everything - and get this - leave with a permanent truce for peace. It's a bit like what happened to Carthage when the Romans took their final revenge. And that's as good an analogy as I can think of in describing its function. 

So, let's compare your immunity as a microcosm of the Roman Empire and all that that scenario suggests: politics, diplomacy, defence and jealous enemies - the barbarians - the babbling hordes, prowling on the borders. But for the sake of this analogy, we'll call them 'Viruses' (collective noun for the Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals and other Varlets vying for victory). We'll call your body - 'the Empire', and your immunity (which for Rome, was its central military defence force with contingent legions patrolling it's borders) as 'Soldiers'   

One day, due to a weak link in the Empires borders, the odd Virus gets in and defeats a small unprepared patrolling border garrison. This initial victory builds momentum as it gathers converts marching on its way to destroy Rome, the Empires capital. Viruses, you have to remember, have no affinity with the achievements of the Empire and have no knowledge of surviving beyond what it destroys. So, if Rome falls...your dead! Dead I said! That's it, no second chance. Rome must survive at any cost. You're only hope lies in the Empire's Elite Roman Legions - Soldiers descended from the great Horatius, who held the bridge and fought off the Etruscans, to forge their destiny as a super power. 

Rome and its Legions - your Immunity - is your last bastion of defense. First to be deployed are the legions or Special Forces - Soldier units consisting of Phagocytes and Macrophages - specialists in camouflage, they can fall behind enemy lines and pinpoint the Viruses' position. Here they set up Antigens - wireless transmitters that communicate directly to headquarters and the “Commander-in-Chief”. Here, at this strategic centre, with his team of officers, vital decisions are made with a swift chain of commands. The Chief’’s first action is to brief the T-helpers (T for technical support) - academy trained, logistics officers who, based on intelligence reports coming in from the Special Forces, calculate the size of the ‘force’ sufficient to defeat the enemy. The resulting ‘Legion’ is divided into 2 groups. The first to go in are the T-killers - Infantry front line soldiers {T - for Terrorise and Take no prisoners, no, not for 'Terminate' as will become obvious as you read on). With 'blitzkrieg' efficiency they swamp the unsuspecting Viruses who scatter in confusion and disintegrate into a leaderless mob unable to mount a counter offensive. Defenceless, and scared shitless from the ferocity of the T-killers, they are easily gathered and contained till the second line of defence arrive. Their unit is called the B-cells (B for 'Basic' and 'Bloodless') - the no fuss, no mess, final solution. These are the real Terminators - total chemical annihilation. These chemicals called 'Antibodies' (So aptly named - anti meaning no, in other words 'No Body' - leave no trace of a body). The Viruses have no chance, they are neutralised and killed instantly (just like Carthage was plowered over and salt tossed onto its soil to sterilise it forever leaving no trace of a civilisation). 

This carnage may last for days, even weeks, as the process repeats itself on various fronts of the Empire, leaving it in a toxic and fatigued state - it is literally 'sick' of war, and yearns for peace. As the final victory takes place, a unique auxiliary unit is sent out to do what no other conventional force has ever been able to achieve - a permanent Truce! Granted, it's only on that particular invader, others will still be able to try, but imagine defeating each, one at a time, permanently. That's a bloody good average.   

These diplomatic envoys are called T-suppressors (T for Terminal Truce - never again to be attacked by the same Virus). Here's how T-suppressors work: with the T-killers and the B-cells so focused and hyped on the task at hand, they loose sight of their perspective and don't quite no when to stop, so the T-suppressors come in to calm them down and tell them it's over. In the wash-up, they employ two sub-sections of their unit. The first are called T-memory - as the name suggest - T is for Total - they memorise the data gathered about the enemy totally, then file it under 'T' for totally known enemy. In the future, if they spot the former foe again, they alert the second unit - B-memory (B for oBlivion) - who based on the info provided by T-suppressors release the Antibodies in storage to destroy it.   

Based on the above scenario, it sounds like the enemy doesn't have a chance! But of course, sadly, nothing lasts forever. History remind us of that, so does our own mortality. Just like the Roman Empire, our Empire will fall one day too. It's inevitable that the continual attacks, strain and weaken the foundations they were built on. Your exhausted Immunity, like Rome, will finally surrender to defeat. And like the 'variety' of barbarians that finally sacked Rome, persistent ‘variant viruses’ will do the same to you. In fact, if you're not accidentally killed, this is what kills you in the end.  

So, If you think this is THE END of the story, think again...think hard...real hard...who really wins in THE END?

INTERESTING ISN'T IT!!! With all that I've sprouted about - the marvellous efficiency of the immune system etc. - I get to the end only to realise this: The bugs - the buggers, they WIN in the end. We may destroy trillions of them in the process, but they get US in the end - the little buggers!  

So is their a moral to this yarn, a lesson we can learn? Here's what I got out of it.......
1. Persistence will always triumph. 
2. Don't do what Rome did - take on more than you can handle - it'll only weaken your defences.

Can you thinks of others - let me know, and add to the list.