"Empty World" is a 1977 novel by John Christopher about an adolescent boy who survives a plague which has killed most of the world's population. Originally published in 1978, Stephen King's "The Stand" follows the odyssey of a small number of survivors of a world-ending influenza pandemic, later revealed to be the man-made superflu "Captain Trips". It was eventually adapted for a 1994 miniseries of the same title starring Gary Sinise and Molly Ringwald. The novel was semi-inspired by King's earlier short story "Night Surf". Also published in 1977, Graham Masterton's novel titled "Plague", tells the story of a mutated (and incurable as well as fatal) version of Yersinia pestis sweeping across the United States. Gore Vidal's 1978 novel "Kalki" also involves an apocalyptic event caused by a man-made pandemic.