Thanks for the link. Interesting comment there, which somewhat reminds me of the current COVID-19 situation:

"The way the different countries failed to come together in the face of a world-wide catastrophe was plausible. The turn against science... while only briefly touched on, the way the angry masses turned on scientists was believable." by Clackamas in 2008.

A childhood favorite of mine. It seems infinitely more plausible today than when I read it.