Viruses are functionally, if not deliberately parasitic. And they're more than just lines of code since they include a capsid or protein coat, which surrounds and protects the DNA.

But you seem to be misreading my point. I'm not saying viruses are cruel adversaries. I'm using the virus as an analogy for the zombie-like aspect of natural processes. My point is that nature is zombified when it's objectified, that all of nature exists in a state of living-death.

I'm saying that nature is "monstrous," not in the sense of being evil but of being inhuman, impersonal, indifferent, and amoral.