Genesis
Mar 20th, 2010, 12:22:48 AM
http://www.sw-fans.net/wiki/index.php?title=The_City
"1st of July 2027. 6574 days after the initial contamination. Initial mortality rates were 100%. In the first week of the outbreak, there were 245 000 casualties. In the year to follow, over seven million people died in NYC area solely. Over the course of 18 years, I managed to collect a little more than 2300 different DNA samples from various individuals, both with and without immunity to the virus. I isolated seven hundred different mutagens of the initial RNA viral strand. None of them are the same."
In 2009 a virus was unleashed on the United States (presumably this also spread to other countries). The virus was developed for military purposes, mainly to fight terrorism back in the Middle-East. Deep in its RNA structure, it had a genetic program embedded, kind of like a protocol it was supposed to run when it infects people. A smart virus. However, it got out of the lab (via some mysterious channels) and was released among the populace.
At first, it did what it was supposed to do - kill. Later on...it started to mutate, subsequently mutating the host. It's behavior became erratic and unpredictable, like it had a will of its own. But by the time it happened, it wiped out 98% of the population of the world. At that stage, it was transferred via bodily fluids or touch. So even how it is transferred changed over time.
Given the severity of the situation, the government had some time to react but didn't last longer than a year. Why? Nobody knew what's happening with the virus, they were unsure how its transferred and why some people showed resistance/immunity...
Rumors abounded, and in the meantime the City devolved into a dirty place full of factions and frightened survivors. Most people believed that the Virus was passed through the water supply, so everyone boils all water, unless they're already infected and don't care.
The Chosen (aged 18 and under) - the children who were in utero during the Virus and those born immediately after the virus hit. They are immune to its affects. Some may have been orphaned immediately, others may have been raised amongst infected families as their parents and elder siblings perished slowly. For a few years after the outbreak all babies were Chosen - immune - but in 2013 that changed. After that unless the child had a Chosen mother it was born non-immune, and, in almost all cases, mutated.
The Infected (aged 18 and older) - whether newly born or already well into their lives, these people are not immune to the virus and will likely die before they reach 50. Because the Virus has mutated, now infection does not mean immediate death. Mutations are common among Infected, but not all Infected are mutated. With every subsequent generation of Infected breeding, the mutations become more apparent and agonizing. The most common side-effect of the Virus is a shortened life-span ending with a painful death. However, because of the Virus' many mutations there are different 'side effects' being found all the time.
Cutters and Cleansers - Cutters are the slang term for Chosen Hunters. People who look for the Chosen and kidnap them for experiments in labs looking for a cure, or to be used in forced breeding farms. Cleansers are those who hunt for the mutated - by killing the muties they believe they are cleansing the gene pool.
Breeding - Infected male + infected female = non-immune baby
Infected male + chosen female = chosen baby
Chosen male + infected female = non-immune baby
Chosen male + chosen female = chosen baby
Each subsequent generation of infected kids would have shorter lifespans / greater mutations / quicker on-set of symptoms / more painful deaths (etc) as the virus mutates through generations. For instance, the feral kids in Central Park might have a lot of second generation infected. A non-immune child could live for a while without becoming Infected, but this is rare as no one knows how the virus is passed on.It is important to know that while a character (our scientist) may know the secret of where the virus came from, etc, the general populace most certainly does not. Feel free to make up whatever you like and have your character believe it with all their heart.
Anyone still interested in this? I'm resurrecting my thread.
"1st of July 2027. 6574 days after the initial contamination. Initial mortality rates were 100%. In the first week of the outbreak, there were 245 000 casualties. In the year to follow, over seven million people died in NYC area solely. Over the course of 18 years, I managed to collect a little more than 2300 different DNA samples from various individuals, both with and without immunity to the virus. I isolated seven hundred different mutagens of the initial RNA viral strand. None of them are the same."
In 2009 a virus was unleashed on the United States (presumably this also spread to other countries). The virus was developed for military purposes, mainly to fight terrorism back in the Middle-East. Deep in its RNA structure, it had a genetic program embedded, kind of like a protocol it was supposed to run when it infects people. A smart virus. However, it got out of the lab (via some mysterious channels) and was released among the populace.
At first, it did what it was supposed to do - kill. Later on...it started to mutate, subsequently mutating the host. It's behavior became erratic and unpredictable, like it had a will of its own. But by the time it happened, it wiped out 98% of the population of the world. At that stage, it was transferred via bodily fluids or touch. So even how it is transferred changed over time.
Given the severity of the situation, the government had some time to react but didn't last longer than a year. Why? Nobody knew what's happening with the virus, they were unsure how its transferred and why some people showed resistance/immunity...
Rumors abounded, and in the meantime the City devolved into a dirty place full of factions and frightened survivors. Most people believed that the Virus was passed through the water supply, so everyone boils all water, unless they're already infected and don't care.
The Chosen (aged 18 and under) - the children who were in utero during the Virus and those born immediately after the virus hit. They are immune to its affects. Some may have been orphaned immediately, others may have been raised amongst infected families as their parents and elder siblings perished slowly. For a few years after the outbreak all babies were Chosen - immune - but in 2013 that changed. After that unless the child had a Chosen mother it was born non-immune, and, in almost all cases, mutated.
The Infected (aged 18 and older) - whether newly born or already well into their lives, these people are not immune to the virus and will likely die before they reach 50. Because the Virus has mutated, now infection does not mean immediate death. Mutations are common among Infected, but not all Infected are mutated. With every subsequent generation of Infected breeding, the mutations become more apparent and agonizing. The most common side-effect of the Virus is a shortened life-span ending with a painful death. However, because of the Virus' many mutations there are different 'side effects' being found all the time.
Cutters and Cleansers - Cutters are the slang term for Chosen Hunters. People who look for the Chosen and kidnap them for experiments in labs looking for a cure, or to be used in forced breeding farms. Cleansers are those who hunt for the mutated - by killing the muties they believe they are cleansing the gene pool.
Breeding - Infected male + infected female = non-immune baby
Infected male + chosen female = chosen baby
Chosen male + infected female = non-immune baby
Chosen male + chosen female = chosen baby
Each subsequent generation of infected kids would have shorter lifespans / greater mutations / quicker on-set of symptoms / more painful deaths (etc) as the virus mutates through generations. For instance, the feral kids in Central Park might have a lot of second generation infected. A non-immune child could live for a while without becoming Infected, but this is rare as no one knows how the virus is passed on.It is important to know that while a character (our scientist) may know the secret of where the virus came from, etc, the general populace most certainly does not. Feel free to make up whatever you like and have your character believe it with all their heart.
Anyone still interested in this? I'm resurrecting my thread.