Actually, the writers did their research here too! Human and avian flu viruses are indeed capable of spontaneous reassortment to form a recombinant strain, and in fact several historical pandemics were caused by reassortment events. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reassortment

Samaritan mentions the concept of the Great Filter - a possible explanation for the Fermi Paradox. The paradox being, given the size and age of the universe and what we know about the conditions required for life, why haven't we seen any evidence of it? Why aren't the skies crawling with von Neumann probes and autonomous explorers? One posited theory is a Great Filter - a wall or event that all civilizations hit before reaching that level of technology, one that very few civilizations move past while remaining intact. Nuclear war, grey goo, superplague, extermination by an alien species, or a technological singularity, for example. Though it's light on specifics, Samaritan seems to believe that without its intervention, humanity is destined for self-annihilation.

Guvf vf bayl gur svefg zragvba, ohg vg'f oebhtug hc va zbfg bs gur rcvfbqrf va gur ynfg unys bs gur frnfba. V jvfu gurl'q qbar n yvggyr zber jvgu vg, V jbhyq unir yvxrq gb frra zber rkcybengvba bs gur vqrn gung Fnznevgna frrf n guerng pbzvat, na rkvfgragvny evfx gung jbhyq jneenag gnxvat nal npgvba gb nibvq vg. Jryy, gung naq gur zragvba bs fcnpr geniry va .rkr. Orgjrra frnfbaf 3 naq 4 gur fubjehaaref grnfrq gur vqrn bs zber tenl-naq-tenl zbenyvgl fheebhaqvat Fnznevgna, juvpu jr qvqa'g trg gb frr zhpu bs.

The Machine POV shots are one of my favorite parts of the show. https://xkcd.com/1451/ For a while I was working on a Rainmeter skin based on the Machine's interface.

Freeze-frame foreshadowing: va bar bs gur svefg Znpuvar CBI fubgf, nobhg 3 zvahgrf va, jr frr n ohvyqvat jvgu gur gbc frpgvba qrznepngrq ol n erq obk naq ynoryrq 'AFN QFS' (uggcf://v.vzthe.pbz/MqcECza.wct). Cerfhznoyl, guvf vf gur fnzr ohvyqvat gurl vasvygengr yngre va gur rcvfbqr. Not sure if it's technically a spoiler, but cyphering anyways.

Welp, this is as good an episode as any to jump in commenting on. One of my favorites, I love this whole arc. My favorite moment, aside from the interrogation scenes, is the row of pay phones ringing as Finch walks past them. Bar bs znal ersreraprf gb Arhebznapre guebhtubhg gur frevrf.

LAIN! PERSON OF INTEREST!!!!! My day is made, and I was having a great day already.

Ng yrnfg F5 fubhyq or n gvtugre nep, aneengviryl. Gur fubjehaaref fnvq gurl'ir orra jnagvat gb gel n fubegre frnfba sbe n juvyr. Ubcrshyyl vg'f rabhtu sbe n fngvfslvat erfbyhgvba gb gur Fnznevgna nep.

Seconded! And also the sequel, Ancillary Sword.

I'd like to suggest the Nexus trilogy (Nexus, Crux, Apex), by Ramez Naam! It covers a lot of things near and dear to my heart. Transhumanism, brain-computer interfaces, and how society deals with technologies that can re-engineer our fundamental nature. Fantastic reads, I devoured them in the space of two days. And the author isn't a white guy.