It was on one of his vacation visits here that Bob O'Quinn realised he had found the perfect setting for his "end of the world'' story, "Bermuda Virus.'' "I love Bermuda and I can't think of anywhere that provides such a good contrast between the beauty and the ugliness of this world,'' says Mr. O'Quinn of his first novel. "I would like to stress, of course, that it is just a story -- I hope people will keep it in perspective!'' His hair-raising tale of global mayhem opens in the perhaps unexpected setting of a secret research laboratory in the middle of Hamilton, on a Friday morning when "it was not yet nine o'clock, but already hot and muggy, the sun a perfect searing disc.'' So begins a fatal chain of events where a combination of evil and greed unleashes a deadly, airborne disease that kills within minutes. A frantic search begins for a cure for this modern-day plague which, thanks to the efficiency of today's jet travel, is soon carried by unwitting medical patients from Bermuda to all corners of the earth, threatening to wipe out virtually the whole of mankind.

"Bermuda Virus'' is tautly written, with the bulk of the action chronicled, in countdown fashion, in various locations between Bermuda, the US and in the skies over the Atlantic, over a period of just two drama-filled days.

"I wrote this book at the speed I like to read -- I prefer stories that move along fast ... pure escape fantasy! I've always been interested in the concept of what you would do if you were the only person left in the world,'' says this author-turned-writer.

Admitting that originally he would have liked "99 percent wiped out by this virus,'' editor Mr. Paul Shapiro persuaded him this would have meant only about four people remaining alive in the whole of Bermuda.

"So we compromised, and ended up with about 90 survivors. This part of the story really fascinates me. What priorities would you have in a situation like this, what would you actually do, what would you try to save? What sort of people would survive -- and how could their talents be put to use to start building up a new world?'' In this sense, Mr. O'Quinn finds another intriguing analogy with Bermuda.

"After all, this is what really happened here, isn't it? A group of people were shipwrecked on an island and they had to use their ingenuity to survive -- just as the Virus survivors had to use everyone's collective knowledge and expertise.'' In his book, he came to the conclusion that the Bermuda ferry boat was essential, as were medical supplies, food and some kind of armaments for protection in a world where anarchy is rife: "It wouldn't hurt to have a bit of Johnny Walker Black Label on hand, either!'' he adds.

There is plenty of local colour, culled from the author's visits here.

But is the plot is a bit far-fetched? At first glance, perhaps, but as Mr. O'Quinn points out, "Science fiction often becomes reality with time! I think the spread of viruses is probably the archetypal fear for the '90s. Every generation seems to have some special dreadful spectre hanging over them and this appears to be the one for this decade.'' As an example, he mentions AIDS -- a virus believed to have originated in Africa -- and its terrifying journey around the world. But an airborne virus, that is only a breath away? In fact, as recently documented in a disturbing book, "The Hot Zone,'' by Richard Preston, this particular kind of evil genie has already been released.

As an uncaring world stands by, watching the rapid and systematic destruction of the tropical rain forests, viruses that have slept for eons within their depths are now entering human populations.

As in Mr. O'Quinn's book (and, indeed, as is the case with AIDS), it is world travel which is transporting these viruses, such as the Marburg and the potentially even deadlier Ebola strain, to places thousands of miles away from their origin (in all, some 27 known "emerging'' viruses are listed).

"While I was doing a re-write of this book, I happened to see an interview on TV about `The Hot Zone' and they ended by warning, `This is something that could really happen', so I don't think the plot is all that far-fetched!'' In any case, he continues, as a corporate lawyer specialising in employment matters, who spends most of his working days dealing with other peoples' problems, he finds mental release in reading escapist fiction.

Asked when he decided to write his own thriller, he says he started off by writing law and travel articles, one about cruising to Bermuda.

Armed with a degree in English, the Vietnam war was already taking its toll in America by the time he was ready to go on to law school.

"As I had already qualified as a pilot in civilian life, I decided to go into the air force right away. Fortunately, they made me an instructor pilot, so I stayed in the US and never had to go away.'' After the war he obtained his law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in North Carolina and has now been in practice for 20 years.

Paying tribute to his wife, Catherine, for her help with the book, he says, "I wrote the whole thing in long-hand, in the evenings and weekends. We would spend about six hours every night. I loved it, especially when I found the characters were taking over until, in the end, once I got going, the book more or less wrote itself!'' AUTHOR Bob O'Quinn