“The Shangri-La Affair” is a 2009 science fiction short story by Lavie Tidhar. It is about a special agent who travels to Southeast Asia to find a unique virus engineered to bring peace.
Aha – Now I Know Why
With all the evil and bad viruses in this world, I have often wondered why we hear so little about “good” viruses. I figured that it was because the press (at least here in the USA) mostly focuses on negative, juicy and scary news. But after reading this story I think I may have discovered the real reason we never hear of those “good” viruses – they get wiped out by greedy people before they get a chance to spread! C’mon – it’s possible isn’t it? Maybe. 
Non-spoiler Summary in a Nutshell
A very dangerous virus is hiding deep in the jungles of Laos, and if it ever got loose there would be a big problem – peace would break out! Aaahh! And we all know what a travesty that would be right? People wouldn’t be at war anymore, and lots of money and political power would be lost. Well, determined not to let anything that drastic happen, the un-named protagonist of this story travels to Laos in search of the virus know only as “Shangri-La.” After lots of plane rides and clandestine meetings he gets close to the source – only to find a bigger problem than he anticipated.
My Two Cents…
- The whole idea of the Shangri-La virues was fascinating! Wouldn’t a virus like that be awesome? If only… I can dream can’t I?
- The author has a very unique way of telling this story. At first I was a little bit confused, but as I soldiered on I came to enjoy the strange style.
- The ending was very cool, and not something I saw coming at all.
Interesting Tidbits About This Story:
- Page Count: 15
- Word Count: 7,213
- Did you know that Lavie Tidhar grew up on a kibbutz in Israel? Yep. You can learn more about this up-and-coming science fiction author at his web site.
- Special thanks to Jason Sanford for recommending this story.
Where You Can Find The Shangri-La Affair:
- This story was originally published on the Strange Horizons web site on 19 January, 2009 – where you can still read it online for free.
Craving More Stories?
If you liked “The Shangri-La Affair” then you’ll probably also enjoy Yellow Card Man by Paolo Bacigalupi.
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