Chaos in Chapter 26 of The Stand

In my reading last night of Stephen King’s The Stand: The Complete and Uncut Edition, I read Chapter 26, which was about the U.S. military’s attempt to prevent panic, or an out-and-out rebellion. This chapter said explicitly what was implied up to that point: that the U.S. Government created the superflu virus for the purpose of warfare (in violation of the Geneva Convention), and things got out of hand, as the virus escaped and impacted many Americans (and even people in other countries, since some in London and Hong Kong also have it). The military clamps down on the press, which sometimes manages to overcome it and to get the truth out. But the military prevails. And yet, the result is not a military dictatorship, for there is dissension within the military itself, as soldiers shoot each other, sometimes out of conscience, and sometimes to get power. This chapter reminded me of different things: the utter chaos that erupts at the end of Frank Peretti’s The Visitation, as miracle workers and self-proclaimed Messiahs pop up everywhere; and the political instability that existed in Northern Israel, as one person overthrew a king, only to be overthrown himself, and so on.