Although Nagamatsu began working on How High We Go in the Dark in 2011, the virus that the novel describes has obvious parallels to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 is a variety of the severe acute respiratory symptom disease (SARS), which stems from viral infection. The underlying coronavirus first appeared in 2003 and is transmissible through the air, saliva, and close contact. Case fatality is estimated at approximately 3%, with symptoms ranging from fever to body aches (“Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS),” World Health Organization). The specific strain of the virus that causes COVID-19 was first identified in December of 2019 in Wuhan, China. Virus adaptability means that it undergoes significant genetic changes that impact its spread, its speed, and the severity of illness it causes. Currently, no cures exist for the COVID-19 virus or the broader SARS strains, though vaccination can dramatically reduce the likelihood of infection as well as infection severity.

COVID-19 has had long-term ramifications for communities around the globe, impacting health, social behavior, work, and emotional development. Lockdowns and masking procedures restricted access to communities, and people missed out on major life events. Many workplaces transitioned to fully remote or hybrid work, changing both the landscape of cities that once housed employees and the skills necessary for career readiness. Lockdowns caused significant education crises at all levels because students had to engage in online learning, the accessibility of which was severely impacted by students’ home environments. Mental health outcomes have drawn renewed attention, as those with preexisting and new conditions both experienced negative effects. In its totality, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the international landscape, altering how people interact, highlighting inequalities existing in present systems, and reinforcing drastic needs across all populations (“The COVID Decade: understanding the long-term societal impacts of COVID-19,” The British Academy, 2021).

The parallels between the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact and that of the fictitious virus that Nagamatsu explores in his novel are undeniable. The scientists unearth the virus from melting permafrost and reanimate it to study it, similar to how scientists in the Wuhan lab studied the coronavirus when it was discovered. Like people during the COVID pandemic, the novel’s characters grapple with the trauma of being in the midst of a global plague, spending many of the novel’s early chapters without a clear understanding of the disease and how to combat it. The virus has dramatic symptoms, it mutates, and many people die. They constantly try to adjust to a “new normal,” but the ever-changing world prevents them from finding peace and structure. They live in a futuristic landscape forever changed by capitalism and an illness they can’t control. These similarities between our world and the world of the novel make even the science fiction elements of the text feel more familiar. These comparisons may be triggering to some readers, depending on their COVID-19 experience.