--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With reference to viral infections,” the…" description: "\"“With reference to viral infections,” the Librarian says, “if I may make a fairly blunt, spontaneous cross-reference—something I am coded to do at oppo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3d/neal-stephenson-362_nervous-system_with-reference-to-viral-infections-the-l_872065.png" --- # With reference to viral infections,” the Librarian says… ![“With reference to viral infections,” the Librarian says, “if I may make a fairly blunt, spontaneous cross-reference—something I am coded to do at opportune moments—you may wish to examine herpes simplex, a virus that takes up residence in the nervous system and never leaves. It is capable of…” quote by Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3d/neal-stephenson-362_nervous-system_with-reference-to-viral-infections-the-l_872065.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3d/neal-stephenson-362_nervous-system_with-reference-to-viral-infections-the-l_872065.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3d/neal-stephenson-362_nervous-system_with-reference-to-viral-infections-the-l_872065.png) > ““With reference to viral infections,” the Librarian says, “if I may make a fairly blunt, spontaneous cross-reference—something I am coded to do at opportune moments—you may wish to examine herpes simplex, a virus that takes up residence in the nervous system and never leaves. It is capable of carrying new genes into existing neurons and genetically reengineering them. Modern gene therapists use it for this purpose. Lagos thought that herpes simplex might be a modern, benign descendant of Asherah.”” [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Herpes simplex can be repurposed as a gene‑delivery tool, illustrating how viruses can be turned from threats into medical assets. **In simple terms:** Viruses can become useful in medicine. Key Takeaway Explore viral vectors for therapy. Themes science ethics innovation Mood analytical hopeful Type scientific speculative When to use this quote - medical research - clinical trials - genetic disease treatment Key Concepts gene therapy viral vectors biotechnology Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards are needed for viral therapies? - Can we control viral behavior fully? A Different Perspective Risks of unintended mutations and immune reactions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Herpes Simplex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/herpes-simplex-963567/) [Modern Gene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-gene-963568/) [Nervous system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nervous-system/) [Reference Viral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reference-viral-963566/) [Thought Herpes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-herpes-963569/) [Viral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/viral/) ## Related quotes > [We are all susceptible to the pull of viral ideas. Like mass hysteria. Or a tune that gets into your head that you keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/we-are-all-susceptible-to-the-pull-of-viral-ideas-like-mass-hysteria/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [Facebook is inherently viral. There are lots of sites that include a contact importer, and for lots of them it doesn't really make sense.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/facebook-is-inherently-viral-there-are-lots-of-sites-that-include-a/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [Every time I would tweet something about crypto it would go viral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-x-suarez/every-time-i-would-tweet-something-about-crypto-it-would-go-viral/) [Francis X. Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-x-suarez/) > [There's something about comedy, funny things, that people want to pass them along. Serious things and personal things are much more privately enjoyed. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coulton/there-s-something-about-comedy-funny-things-that-people-want-to-pass/) [Jonathan Coulton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coulton/) > [One of the bigger mistakes of our time, I suppose, was preaching the demonization of all judgment without teaching how to judge righteously. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/one-of-the-bigger-mistakes-of-our-time-i-suppose-was-preaching-the/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [Today's evangelism is just as likely to take place via chat rooms and viral videos as it is in a personal conversation or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-lindstrom/today-s-evangelism-is-just-as-likely-to-take-place-via-chat-rooms-and/) [Martin Lindstrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-lindstrom/) > [Being vegan or vegetarian isn't just about compassion for animals. Most of the destruction of the planet is the result of all the clear-cutting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcnamara/being-vegan-or-vegetarian-isn-t-just-about-compassion-for-animals/) [William McNamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcnamara/) > [No one cares about anything until it's something that goes viral. It's most certainly frustrating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-taylor/no-one-cares-about-anything-until-it-s-something-that-goes-viral-it-s/) [Maria Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-taylor/) > [Hauntings are memes, especially pernicious thought contagions, social contagions that need no viral or bacterial host and are transmitted in a thousand different ways.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitl-n-r-kiernan/hauntings-are-memes-especially-pernicious-thought-contagions-social/) [Caitlín R. Kiernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitl-n-r-kiernan/) > [I like to know why a video has suddenly gone viral, why a song has broken, why a TV show is suddenly rating out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-cowell/i-like-to-know-why-a-video-has-suddenly-gone-viral-why-a-song-has/) [Simon Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-cowell/) > [In terms of how I understand the online world, it doesn't just work in the old-fashioned way. You're not going to see billboards and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eick/in-terms-of-how-i-understand-the-online-world-it-doesn-t-just-work-in/) [David Eick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eick/) > [Facebook is inherently viral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/facebook-is-inherently-viral/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [In the end, the whole Internet thing kills me, because you can use it as a positive thing or you can read into all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-sixx/in-the-end-the-whole-internet-thing-kills-me-because-you-can-use-it-2/) [Nikki Sixx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-sixx/) > [Once a viral program gets started, there is nothing to stop it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/once-a-viral-program-gets-started-there-is-nothing-to-stop-it/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“I am a walking biohazard - a heated container of deadly viral particles. I don't look sick. But I could kill you. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regan-hoffman/i-am-a-walking-biohazard-a-heated-container-of-deadly-viral-particles/) [Regan Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regan-hoffman/) ## More by Neal Stephenson > [“I study dead languages for a living,” I said. “That’s why you hired me. Why should I be up to speed on your line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/i-study-dead-languages-for-a-living-i-said-that-s-why-you-hired-me/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“Other people - store clerks, burger flippers, software engineers, the whole vocabulary of meaningless jobs that make up Life in America - other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/other-people-store-clerks-burger-flippers-software-engineers-the/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“It is what you don’t expect,” he’d said, “that most needs looking for.” “Do”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/it-is-what-you-don-t-expect-he-d-said-that-most-needs-looking-for-do/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“...the insects here see you as a big slab of animated but not very well defended food. The ability to move, far from being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/the-insects-here-see-you-as-a-big-slab-of-animated-but-not-very-well/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“There was no way that these guys were going to let a bleeding, barefoot woman simply wander off alone into the streets. Two of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/there-was-no-way-that-these-guys-were-going-to-let-a-bleeding/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“Space and Time! Two minor omissions that no one is likely to notice," grumbled Newton.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/space-and-time-two-minor-omissions-that-no-one-is-likely-to-notice/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [See, the world is full of things more powerful than us. But if you know how to catch a ride, you can go places,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/see-the-world-is-full-of-things-more-powerful-than-us-but-if-you-know/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“Hey,” Shaftoe says, “if we surrender to you, you’ll kill us. Right?” “Yes.” “If you guys surrender to us, we won’t kill you. Promise.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/hey-shaftoe-says-if-we-surrender-to-you-you-ll-kill-us-right-yes-if/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“My men think you are dead now, and won’t waste balls on you,” Jack said. “In fact I have let you live, but for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/my-men-think-you-are-dead-now-and-won-t-waste-balls-on-you-jack-said/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“You’ve probably heard the expression that the Industry feeds off of biomass, like a whale straining krill from the ocean.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/you-ve-probably-heard-the-expression-that-the-industry-feeds-off-of/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“The Deliverator belongs to an elite order, a hallowed subcategory. He’s got esprit up to here. Right now, he is preparing to carry out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/the-deliverator-belongs-to-an-elite-order-a-hallowed-subcategory-he-s/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [Interesting things happen along borders - transitions - not in the middle where everything is the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/interesting-things-happen-along-borders-transitions-not-in-the-middle/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“and people could only make sense of complicated matters through stories. Likewise”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/and-people-could-only-make-sense-of-complicated-matters-through/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“Van Eck phreaking,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/van-eck-phreaking/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“When the Deliverator puts the hammer down, shit happens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/when-the-deliverator-puts-the-hammer-down-shit-happens/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) [Explore all 633 Neal Stephenson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) ## More Nervous system quotes > [When it comes to having a central nervous system, and the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a rat is a pig is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/when-it-comes-to-having-a-central-nervous-system-and-the-ability-to/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [Time is the nervous system of narration, whether factual or fictive. If it gets confused some of the minutiae of human nature are certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenway-wescott/time-is-the-nervous-system-of-narration-whether-factual-or-fictive-if/) [Glenway Wescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenway-wescott/) > [With the arrival of electric technology, man has extended, or set outside himself, a live model of the central nervous system itself. To the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/with-the-arrival-of-electric-technology-man-has-extended-or-set/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [No actor has made a career of exerting determination to the extent that Matt Damon has. In the 'Bourne' movies, he burned himself down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-mitchell/no-actor-has-made-a-career-of-exerting-determination-to-the-extent/) [Elvis Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-mitchell/) > [It's not telepathy. It's not the Borg. But we created a new central nervous system made of two brains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-nicolelis/it-s-not-telepathy-it-s-not-the-borg-but-we-created-a-new-central/) [Miguel Nicolelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-nicolelis/) > [Zoocentrism is the primary fallacy of human sociobiology, for this view of human behavior rests on the argument that if the actions of "lower"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/zoocentrism-is-the-primary-fallacy-of-human-sociobiology-for-this/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The patterns of activity of neurons in sensory areas can be altered by patterns of attention. Experience coupled with attention leads to physical changes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-merzenich/the-patterns-of-activity-of-neurons-in-sensory-areas-can-be-altered/) [Michael Merzenich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-merzenich/) > [Torture takes over someone's nervous system. Torture takes over what they feel. Torture takes over and penetrates into their mind and into their body.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-danner/torture-takes-over-someone-s-nervous-system-torture-takes-over-what/) [Mark Danner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-danner/) > [ It was at Harvard not quite forty years ago that I went into an anechoic \[totally silent\] chamber not expecting in that silent room… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/it-was-at-harvard-not-quite-forty-years-ago-that-i-went-into-an/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [“To switch effectively from defense to social engagement strategies, the nervous system must do two things: (1) assess risk, and (2) if the environment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-w-porges/to-switch-effectively-from-defense-to-social-engagement-strategies/) [Stephen W. Porges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-w-porges/) > [Using less of the Earth’s resources more efficiently and productively in a circular economy and making the transition from carbon-based fuels to renewable energies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-rifkin/using-less-of-the-earth-s-resources-more-efficiently-and-productively/) [Jeremy Rifkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-rifkin/) > [“But it must be said from the outset that a disease is never a mere loss or excess— that there is always a reaction,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sacks/but-it-must-be-said-from-the-outset-that-a-disease-is-never-a-mere/) [Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) > [“The purpose of the nervous system is to organize chaos.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-h-wolinsky/the-purpose-of-the-nervous-system-is-to-organize-chaos/) [Stephen H. Wolinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-h-wolinsky/) > [In a person who is open to experience each stimulus is freely relayed through the nervous system, without being distorted by any process of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/in-a-person-who-is-open-to-experience-each-stimulus-is-freely-relayed/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [All of the physical injuries are like souvenirs. But the emotional stuff is harder. When youre spending 17 straight days in a heightened state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-reynolds/all-of-the-physical-injuries-are-like-souvenirs-but-the-emotional/) [Ryan Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-reynolds/) [Browse all 435 Nervous system quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nervous-system/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“With reference to viral infections,” the Librarian says, “if I may make a fairly blunt, spontaneous cross-reference—something I am coded to do at opportune moments—you may wish to examine herpes simplex, a virus that takes up residence in the nervous system and never leaves. It is capable of carrying new genes into existing neurons and genetically reengineering them. Modern gene therapists use it for this purpose. 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