What is The Nanovirus?

The nanovirus represents growth through unnatural means. At the beginning of the novel, Kern admits that the nanovirus is meant to accelerate natural evolution. She expects it to create new humans which her opposition sees as unnatural. However, the reason the nanovirus is so successful is because it infected spiders, a creature that nobody, including Kern, accounted for. The spider’s evolution is something that is theoretically impossible, but puts their society leagues ahead of the humans left on the Gilgamesh. It is the nanovirus that unites the two, rapidly building a coexisting society that the humans never dreamed of.