Peter Cardinal Character Analysis in The Hot Zone

A ten-year-old Danish boy, Peter Cardinal dies of Marburg after visiting Kitum Cave in 1985. No one knows, how he contracted the virus, or why his family members did not become ill. Both Gene Johnson and Preston speculate about what infected Peter within the cave, but never draw a definitive conclusion.

Peter Cardinal Quotes in The Hot Zone

The The Hot Zone quotes below are all either spoken by Peter Cardinal or refer to Peter Cardinal. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Anchor Books edition of The Hot Zone published in 1999.

Some of the predators that feed on humans have lived on the earth for a long time, far longer than the human race, and their origins go back, it seems, almost to the formation of the planet. When a human being is fed upon and consumed by one of them, especially in Africa, the event is telescoped against horizons of space and time, and takes on a feeling of immense antiquity.

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Page Number and Citation: 103

Explanation and Analysis:

Gene felt a prickling sensation on his scalp. The paths of Charles Monet and Peter Cardinal had crossed at only one place on earth, and that was inside Kitum Cave. What had they done in the cave? What had they found in there? What had they touched? What had they breathed? What lived in Kitum Cave?

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Page Number and Citation: 106

Explanation and Analysis:

Peter Cardinal Character Timeline in The Hot Zone

The timeline below shows where the character Peter Cardinal appears in The Hot Zone. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...Johnson receives a mysterious package from Kenya containing blood from a 10-year-old Danish boy named Peter Cardinal. As Johnson drives to USAMRIID, he doubts there will be anything interesting in the... (full context)

...on the Cardinal family, which had recently taken a vacation in Kenya. During the trip, Peter fell ill (the first symptom was red eyes), and the doctors diagnosed him with malaria.... (full context)

Preston meets David Silverstein in a coffee shop to learn more about Peter Cardinal. Silverstein describes an alert, fit 10-year-old, who appeared to have pneumonia. Soon afterward he... (full context)

Peter Cardinal’s parents and sister watched as he lay in agony. Eventually his brain activity flatlined,... (full context)

Back in USAMRIID, Gene Johnson puts Peter Cardinal’s blood into a vial full of monkey cells in order to observe its effect... (full context)

Preston visits Gene Johnson near Fort Detrick. The scientist recounts his discovery that Peter Cardinal and Charles Monet had both been at Kitum Cave. Afterwards, Johnson flew out to... (full context)

The year before Peter Cardinal’s death, in 1986, Gene Johnson had infected monkeys through their lungs with Marburg and... (full context)

...sight, and has spent a great deal of time looking at the Marburg taken from Peter Cardinal. (full context)

...appear to be spilling out of them. The two decide to show the cells to Peter Jahrling. Since he’s only in Level 3, Geisbert removes his scrub suit and takes a... (full context)

...filovirus, his first thought is “Marburg.” Panicking, he recalls how similar this sample looks to Peter Cardinal’s, and realizes that he and Peter Jahrling may have smelled a hot Level 4... (full context)

...asks Robin MacDonald who has died in the cave. Preston explains about Charles Monet and Peter Cardinal, and explains that he’s just being careful. Okuku states that he’s heard of the... (full context)

...months to study elephants. He wore no biohazard gear but never fell ill (and later Peter Jahrling would express an interest in testing his blood). Preston explains Iain Redmond’s theory that... (full context)

...and petrified trees. There are crystals too, which look very sharp. He speculates that perhaps Peter Cardinal cut himself on one. He continues along, disturbing another colony of bats, and finding... (full context)