In hard-core science fiction in which characters are responding to a change in environment caused by nature or the universe or technology what readers want to see is how people cope and so the character are present to cope or fail to cope.
My two secrets to staying healthy: wash your hands all the time. And if you can't use Purell or one of the sanitizers. And the other is hot peppers. I eat a lot of hot peppers. I for some reason started doing that in 1992 and I swear by it.
