War imagery
Preston often describes the fight between humanity and the Ebola virus as a kind of war. For example, he states that "the Ebola war wasn't won with modern medicine," and also calls it a "medieval war... a brutal engagement between ordinary people and a life form that was trying to use the human body as a means of survival through deep time." By describing it as a war, Preston emphasizes the cruelty and tragedy of this virus.
Science imagery
Preston often uses imagery to simplify the technical and scientific sections of the text and to make them more interesting. For example, he tells us that:
“One way to understand viruses is to think about them as biological machines. A virus is a wet nanomachine, a tiny, complicated, slightly fuzzy mechanism, which is rubbery, flexible, wobbly, and often a little bit imprecise in its operation—a microscopic nugget of squishy parts. Viruses are subtle, logical, tricky, reactive, devious, opportunistic."
In doing so, Preston ensures that the text is engaging and easy to understand. In addition to this, he teaches his readers about the biological properties of viruses.
Virus particle imagery
Preston describes a virus particle, using imagery to bring his description to life. He tells us that "a virus particle is a very small capsule made of proteins locked together in a mathematical pattern. The pattern of the interlocking proteins in a virus is far more complicated than a snowflake." After, he continues this image of a snowflake to inform us about the properties of virus particles.
