--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He saw virus particles shaped like…" description: "\"“He saw virus particles shaped like snakes, in negative images. They were white cobras tangled among themselves, like the hair of Medusa. They were the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/richard-preston-17899_like-snakes_he-saw-virus-particles-shaped-like-snake_2396231.jpg" --- # He saw virus particles shaped like snakes, in negative… ![“He saw virus particles shaped like snakes, in negative images. They were white cobras tangled among themselves, like the hair of Medusa. They were the face of nature herself, the obscene goddess revealed naked. This life form thing was breathtakingly beautiful. As he stared at it, he found himself…” quote by Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/richard-preston-17899_like-snakes_he-saw-virus-particles-shaped-like-snake_2396231.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/richard-preston-17899_like-snakes_he-saw-virus-particles-shaped-like-snake_2396231.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/richard-preston-17899_like-snakes_he-saw-virus-particles-shaped-like-snake_2396231.jpg) > ““He saw virus particles shaped like snakes, in negative images. They were white cobras tangled among themselves, like the hair of Medusa. They were the face of nature herself, the obscene goddess revealed naked. This life form thing was breathtakingly beautiful. As he stared at it, he found himself being pulled out of the human world into a world where moral boundaries blur and finally dissolve completely. He was lost in wonder and admiration, even though he knew that he was the prey. (149)”” [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes virus imagery as terrifying yet beautiful, blurring moral lines and evoking awe despite danger **In simple terms:** Seeing dangerous things can be awe‑inspiring even when they threaten us Key Takeaway Acknowledge both beauty and risk in the unknown Themes science aesthetics ethics fear Mood wonderful haunting Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - research labs - medical imaging - artistic representation - education Key Concepts microscopic imagery mythology human curiosity Questions to Reflect On - What does the beauty of danger teach us? - How should we balance awe with caution? A Different Perspective Obsession with the macabre can distract from practical concerns ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Goddess Revealed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goddess-revealed-5985351/) [Like Snakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-snakes-759081/) [Nature Obscene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-obscene-892464/) [Obscene Goddess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obscene-goddess-5985353/) [Snakes Negative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snakes-negative-5985352/) ## Related quotes > [“That is the nature of the obscene: a truth so honest it must be guarded, for it holds a revelation of purity that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-i-hope/that-is-the-nature-of-the-obscene-a-truth-so-honest-it-must-be/) [K.I. Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-i-hope/) > [The skin of my character in 'The Man Who Fell to Earth' was some concoction, a spermatozoon of an alien nature that was obscene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/the-skin-of-my-character-in-the-man-who-fell-to-earth-was-some/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [“Whitman and the Bible are no more obscene than Nature herself—no more obscene than a manure pile, out of which come roses and cherries.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-j-meine/whitman-and-the-bible-are-no-more-obscene-than-nature-herself-no-more/) [Franklin J. Meine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-j-meine/) > [My Romanian is pretty much limited to useful phrases like, 'Are these snakes poisonous?' and 'But you look much too young to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/my-romanian-is-pretty-much-limited-to-useful-phrases-like-are-these/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Credit cards are like snakes: Handle 'em long enough, and one will bite you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/credit-cards-are-like-snakes-handle-em-long-enough-and-one-will-bite/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [My fear in life, I don't have any kind of specifics like snakes or spiders or anything but I think if I was covered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theo-james/my-fear-in-life-i-don-t-have-any-kind-of-specifics-like-snakes-or/) [Theo James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theo-james/) > [I like snakes. I like hummingbirds. There's nothing on earth I don't like. Frogs. Salamanders. The bunnies, the giraffes, the hippopotamuses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/i-like-snakes-i-like-hummingbirds-there-s-nothing-on-earth-i-don-t/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [I'm very scared of snakes, I really don't like snakes, not even on my phone when I see it, I can't touch it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-pereira/i-m-very-scared-of-snakes-i-really-don-t-like-snakes-not-even-on-my/) [Andreas Pereira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-pereira/) > [I felt as if I had no control over what I said, as if loathsome, ugly words were waiting inside me like snakes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-whelan/i-felt-as-if-i-had-no-control-over-what-i-said-as-if-loathsome-ugly/) [Gloria Whelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-whelan/) > [The more guys I meet, the more I like snakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-guys-i-meet-the-more-i-like-snakes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Like Indiana Jones, I don't like snakes - though that might lead some to ask why I'm in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-may/like-indiana-jones-i-don-t-like-snakes-though-that-might-lead-some-to/) [Theresa May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theresa-may/) > [“I held it in my hands like it was a baby (and, just for reference, I hold babies like they are snakes).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-halle/i-held-it-in-my-hands-like-it-was-a-baby-and-just-for-reference-i/) [Karina Halle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-halle/) ## More by Richard Preston > [“Nine out of ten humans killed? And you're not bothered." A look of mysterious thoughtfulness crossed his face. "A virus can be useful to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/nine-out-of-ten-humans-killed-and-you-re-not-bothered-a-look-of/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [To mess around with Ebola is an easy way to die. Better to work with something safer, such as anthrax.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/to-mess-around-with-ebola-is-an-easy-way-to-die-better-to-work-with/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [“A good businessman is hard to bruise and quick to heal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/a-good-businessman-is-hard-to-bruise-and-quick-to-heal/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [The best way to know what's in the soup, is to boil yourself in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/the-best-way-to-know-what-s-in-the-soup-is-to-boil-yourself-in-it/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [“He becomes dizzy and utterly weak, and his spine goes limp and nerveless and he loses all sense of balance. The room is turning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/he-becomes-dizzy-and-utterly-weak-and-his-spine-goes-limp-and/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [Humans in space suits make monkeys nervous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/humans-in-space-suits-make-monkeys-nervous/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [“Ebola Zaire attacks every organ and tissue in the human body except skeletal muscle and bone. It is a perfect parasite because it transforms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/ebola-zaire-attacks-every-organ-and-tissue-in-the-human-body-except/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [“Jahrling sat down at his desk and sighed. There was a landfill of papers on his desk, mostly about smallpox, and it was discouraging.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/jahrling-sat-down-at-his-desk-and-sighed-there-was-a-landfill-of/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [“we could eradicate smallpox from nature, but we could not uproot the virus from the human heart”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/we-could-eradicate-smallpox-from-nature-but-we-could-not-uproot-the/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [“C.J. had spoken longingly of finding the African termite queen, the glistening white sac that was half a foot long and as thick as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/c-j-had-spoken-longingly-of-finding-the-african-termite-queen-the/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [During climbs into taller trees, I was occasionally able to look down on the backs of birds, which shine with reflected sunlight as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/during-climbs-into-taller-trees-i-was-occasionally-able-to-look-down/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [The Ludolphian number is fixed in eternity— not a digit out of place, all characters in their proper order, an endless sentence written to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/the-ludolphian-number-is-fixed-in-eternity-not-a-digit-out-of-place/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [“Your mouth bleeds, and you bleed around your teeth, and you may have hemorrhages from the salivary glands—literally every opening in the body bleeds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/your-mouth-bleeds-and-you-bleed-around-your-teeth-and-you-may-have/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [“One room in the hospital had not been cleaned up. No one, not even the nuns, had had the courage to enter the obstetric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/one-room-in-the-hospital-had-not-been-cleaned-up-no-one-not-even-the/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [It showed a kind of obscenity you see only in nature, an obscenity so extreme that it dissolves imperceptibly into beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/it-showed-a-kind-of-obscenity-you-see-only-in-nature-an-obscenity-so/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) [Explore all 36 Richard Preston quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) ## More Like Snakes quotes > [Like Indiana Jones, I don't like snakes - though that might lead some to ask why I'm in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-may/like-indiana-jones-i-don-t-like-snakes-though-that-might-lead-some-to/) [Theresa May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theresa-may/) > [The more guys I meet, the more I like snakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-guys-i-meet-the-more-i-like-snakes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I felt as if I had no control over what I said, as if loathsome, ugly words were waiting inside me like snakes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-whelan/i-felt-as-if-i-had-no-control-over-what-i-said-as-if-loathsome-ugly/) [Gloria Whelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-whelan/) > [I'm very scared of snakes, I really don't like snakes, not even on my phone when I see it, I can't touch it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-pereira/i-m-very-scared-of-snakes-i-really-don-t-like-snakes-not-even-on-my/) [Andreas Pereira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-pereira/) > [I like snakes. I like hummingbirds. There's nothing on earth I don't like. Frogs. Salamanders. The bunnies, the giraffes, the hippopotamuses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/i-like-snakes-i-like-hummingbirds-there-s-nothing-on-earth-i-don-t/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [My fear in life, I don't have any kind of specifics like snakes or spiders or anything but I think if I was covered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theo-james/my-fear-in-life-i-don-t-have-any-kind-of-specifics-like-snakes-or/) [Theo James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theo-james/) > [Credit cards are like snakes: Handle 'em long enough, and one will bite you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/credit-cards-are-like-snakes-handle-em-long-enough-and-one-will-bite/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [My Romanian is pretty much limited to useful phrases like, 'Are these snakes poisonous?' and 'But you look much too young to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/my-romanian-is-pretty-much-limited-to-useful-phrases-like-are-these/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“I held it in my hands like it was a baby (and, just for reference, I hold babies like they are snakes).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-halle/i-held-it-in-my-hands-like-it-was-a-baby-and-just-for-reference-i/) [Karina Halle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-halle/) [Browse all 10 Like Snakes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-snakes-759081/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He saw virus particles shaped like snakes, in negative images. 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