If you were a medieval terrorist

Go somewhere up high and let the wind carry it?

Just make sure the wind is blowing the right way, into the city and not out to sea. Not that I would endorse such an evil plan.

Go to church, get up in the choir loft or triforium, take a bellows, and let her rip! Preferably during a hymn where everyone's doing a lot of breathing.

Queen of Swords said:

Like a windmill? Would there be any inside a city?

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I'm not an expert on windmills, but I would imagine that they are located outside a city somewhere in the middle of the countryside where they can get the most wind. Inside a city wouldn't be the best place to put them. I think SP meant the top of a high building overlooking the city.

Medieval cities frequently had windmills. They often sat on top of the city walls.

jvc said:

I'm not an expert on windmills, but I would imagine that they are located outside a city somewhere in the middle of the countryside where they can get the most wind. Inside a city wouldn't be the best place to put them. I think SP meant the top of a high building overlooking the city.

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Yep, she did.

Shame it's not something you could put in the water supply.

Not that I would endorse such an evil plan, either.

That means my genius idea flies (as do your germs). Therefore, I deserve a free copy when it's published.

I think a personal touch is good here. Put some liquid suspension on a paper fan then cough (over the fan) into the faces of every child, elderly person, or the already infirm.

Or she can invent the spray bottle and pretend it's perfume. Then she can invent the annoying store worker who applies perfume to everyone

Actually, I think bacteria that spread by aerosol are still infective if a large drop gets up the nose. Aerosol ain't that reliable (on a whole it works wonders) so maybe a drop down/up a few people's noses would be easier and similarly effective...

Well yes. For my Library of Doom, of course.

Regardless of how it spreads, you'll have an initial incubation period (1-5 days roughly, depending on how super your bug is), and then a second period (more varied. Same incubation time, but the initial contact varies) as the initially sick get everyone else sick. No primitive terrorist system, with a small amount of bacteria and one person, can hope to get a whole town sick in the first pass. Sorry. Over a few days/weeks. Yeah, it could get ugly.

Also, your bug might be carried or infective to animals. That would be fun

Sure, its easier to store food in grain form than flour form, as its more resistant to spoilage. So you need to have a means of grinding it inside the city itself, as it makes no sense to bring the grain into the city to store it, then haul it out of the city to grind it, and then haul it back into the city to eat it.

Examples of windmills outside the city are more likely to be preserved, however, because most medieval walled cities have outgrown and torn down their walls, and adopted more modern methods of grinding their grain. However, I did see such a town and mill while I was in France.

However, I think spreading the disease in a confined space would be better, as there's more chance for any particular spore to be inhaled. Also, the inside of the church might also be moist, increasing the viability of the droplets. I assume the bacteria dies if it dries out?

However, I think spreading the disease in a confined space would be better, as there's more chance for any particular spore to be inhaled. Also, the inside of the church might also be moist, increasing the viability of the droplets. I assume the bacteria dies if it dries out?

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Well then the fan would be great. Your girl just has to find a nice big party and flutter her fan while flirting outrageously with every man in the room.

It would at least make the spreading it more fun. Make sure the real toady men get an extra dose

Derek, don't you know that girls don't fart?

Queen of Swords said:

You don't know the half of it. She got to the capital city by allowing two traveling merchants to capture her, then contaminated their food with Shigella and secretly jabbed their guard with a needle dipped in a rabid dog's saliva.

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She's evil. I like her already

Good Lord, QoS--perhaps you should talk to someone about these unresolved issues...?

Best place to get lots of people at once? market day.

Regardless of whether there were windmills in the city or not, I'm not sure how you're figuring they will be useful. A windmill isn't a giant fan, it's not going to blow your bacteria around. Just get up anywhere high on a blustery day and let it rip.

I vote for polluting the water supply or the church thing. Seems the most logical to me.