Why aren't you at the forum? Go to the forum. 1. Virus The term "zombie virus" can be applied to a wide spectrum of virii. We're going to look at three types of viruses; Real Viruses, which exist, Fictional Viruses, which are worst case scenario "possible" viruses, and Fantasy Viruses, which are so far fetched that they either aren't worth considering, or fall far enough into the realm of "magic" that they need to be ignored in order to avoid opening a can of worms. A. Real Viruses Zombie viruses already exist. It's not a government conspiracy. There are cases reported every day, and it's fairly likely that the symptoms of some of these virii were used or compiled into early concepts of Zombies. i. Rabies Rabies is a species of the genus "Lyssavirus", which is based off the Greek root meaning "frenzy". These are RNA viruses characterized by their bullet shape and spines. Lyssavirus-Rabies frequently causes foaming at the mouth, but this is not always present. The most common manifestation of Lyssavirus-Rabies is a zombie virus. It controls your thoughts, it makes you aggressive and wild, it's hard to detect in early stages, and the infection is so gradual that the victim often doesn't notice until it's far too late. It's highly contagious through bite and blood. Infected people are delirious, can make horrible screaming noises until their vocal chords bleed, and will lash out and attack everyone around, even failing to recognize loved ones. There are tens of thousands of cases per year, with many reported in South East Asia. Rabies was a tremendous problem everywhere until a vaccine was developed. Rabies can also come in a "paralytic" form, which causes the victim to become quiet and withdrawn. Combined with injuries from an attack, it's easy to mistake an infected and highly contagious creature as simply "injured". While rabies from rodent bite is extremely uncommon in areas with advanced and widespread medical treatment, many of us have been instructed not to go anywhere near injured squirrels or other rodents because of the possibility of rabies. Transmission has occurred via aerosol through mucous membranes, meaning it may be possible to transmit through sneezing or coughing very hard on someone who's currently inhaling, but it's not currently categorized as an airborne disease, and it would have to be an incredibly disgusting sneeze in order to pass this way. ii. Ebola A severe, typically fatal hemorrhagic fever that affects humans and primates. This virus was first recognized in 1976 and named after a river in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire). Ebola is one of two existing filoviridae (along with Marburg virus). Ebola is currently available in four known flavors: Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan, Ebola-Ivory Coast (aka Ebola-Tai), and Ebola-Reston, the fourth of which has only ever caused disease in nonhuman primates. The origin of this virus is unknown. As far as research can tell, it spontaneously came into existence 30 years ago, however it's very probable that this disease has been around for hundreds if not thousands of years and simply hasn't been able to spread enough to be noticed. The incredibly high rate of infection and fatality makes it very easy to detect and prevent spread in small societies. Turned loose on a dense population, this could very easily spell the end of a city. If for example Ebola-Zaiere was deployed in New York City, only a few hundred thousand would survive out of the population of over 8 million. This would make the Black Plague look like a summer cold. B. Fictional Viruses Fictional viruses do not exist, or have not been discovered, but may theoretically already exist or may be manufactured or bioengineered or mutate from existing viruses. We do need to consider limitations, as a virus that's "too good" will extinguish themselves, but we want to push these limits as much as possible. These are the viruses OZORT focuses on, because if we can handle a worst case scenario, we can handle any of the more likely cases. i. Lyssa X (Lyssavirus X) A fictional virus based on a mutation of the Lyssavirus-Rabies. Lyssavirus X's primary mutation is a much shorter incubation period, causing the person to become contagious within a week or two, rather than several months. The faster incubation also results in a shorter lifespan. Normal rabies infects within 2 weeks to 2 years, and is fatal at the end. Lyssa X incubates within a few days. ii. Filonecrosis Filonecrosis is a fictional third member of the Filoviridae family, along with the Ebola Virus and the Marburg Virus. Causes severe hemorrhagic fever, bleeding from every orifice, and necrosis. Necrosis is characterized by the death of cells and living tissue. Ebola typically incapacitates the organs, causing internal bleeding. Filonecrosis instead causes failure of the lymphatic system first, causing the skin to turn black or grey, rot, and slough from the infected victim. A person with this condition is extremely contageous, as the entire outside of their body is essentially covered in the virus. The virus itself doesn't cause violence or psychosis, though would likely cause extreme shock as the persons eyes and face begin to rot while still allowing them the strength to walk around. In this sense, it would behave similar to an extreme version of Leprosy. Contact with infected will likely cause hysteria, overreaction, and possible dangerous or irrational behavior from infected individuals that may lead to further infection, and should be handled in the same way as Leprosy is currently handled: Separate, Isolate, Destroy. C. Fantasy Viruses We're not going to spend much time talking about these, as they're medically impossible, but it's important to know what's impossible so you know how far to draw the line for possible. This would include viruses that make humans able to fly, or control water with their minds, that impart supernatural powers beyond simply enhanced senses, or any sort of magic that allow corpses to move around like puppets on a string in the same way an animated skeleton or nature-golum would move around. Works great in movies, and gives us a good "worst case scenario", but can't happen without magic. i. Solanum A fictional virus invented by Max Brooks (the son of Mel Brooks, director of "Spaceballs" and "Blazing Saddles"), and featured in his book "The Zombie Survival Guide" and probably in his upcoming book "World War Z". Max Brooks identifies this as a "Real" virus which causes evolution on the cellular level and allows muscles to flex without the use of ATP, oxygen, or blood flow. This is the result of attempting to justify an existing fantasy by stretching reality as far as possible. Its primary value is in its "it can't possibly get any worse" factor. Solanum is based heavily on the "Night of the Living Dead" movies, by George Romano, which features a radioactive space virus from the planet Venus. ii. T-Virus Featured in Resident Evil, and virtually identical to the Romano zombies. Much like Solanum, the T-Virus is capable of reanimating dead tissue, and again produces zombies capable of surviving under water. Zombies with the T-Virus have no nerve sensation at all, and a complete loss of memory of their former lives. This virus also seems capable of infecting dogs. In the real world, most viruses that can affect dogs also can affect cats, foxes, bears, and other similar mammals, which would be, for lack of a better word, a goddamn nightmare. Highly aggressive predatory zombie humans are one thing, but zombie bears and zombie squirrels are a whole new realm of hell.