Zombies but worse
This disease is kind of evil what the hell CHG?
Transmission & Vectors
It starts as an air-based disease that infects about 90percent of the population. 10percent are unaffected to the point of not spreading it as the CHG decided that going to a full 100percent infection rate would be OTT for just tricking planets into being loyal to you.
It also can be spread by most animals, who are also affected by the disease.
Causes
The CHG's plan:
1. Make terrifying disease that infects 90percent of population
2. Release disease amongst planets full of rebel scum or aliens
3. Tell inhabitants "The aliens did it" (for aliens this will be "The LIR did it")
4. Roll on in and kill infected
5. Survivors on planet love you for saving them and hate the LIR for supposedly trying to kill them all
6. Wait no terrorists got their hands on it and don't really know what it is TERRORISTS NO STOP DON'T DO IT aaaannnnd most of both the LIR and CHG are full of zombies
Symptoms
This disease sucks. You're still in there for the first few weeks as a passenger in your own body while your skin slowly darkens to a charcoal black for a process sort of but not really similar to photosynthesis, which is how Mr Zombie is able to stay so energetic despite there being no food around - since the air basically becomes the food. At the same time you start breathing out spores.
Eventually, Mr Zombie has completely wiped you from the mind and has begun a process dubbed "headshot proofing" by making it possible to store far more information in every bit of grey matter and then copying and pasting the rather small amount of information they run on so that utter destruction of all the brain is necessary to kill an infected. Don't go thinking decapitation will do the trick either because they also transform and use the nerve cells in their spine to add to their durability.
To top that off their photosynthesising skin stretches out slowly as the matter acquired from its processes is used to build up dense muscles and so Mr Zombie is also insanely strong and durable. Being in complete control of his own body means Mr Zombie can ignore problems like being shot through the heart as muscles around blood vessels can be clenched and unclenched to push blood along through the body.
Or you're part of the lucky 10percent that go completely unaffected to the point of not spreading the disease.
Treatment
The best way of "curing the infected" seems to involve lots of bullets, fire, lasers and explosions.
No actual cure is known at the moment. The CHG really should've made a cure but they were worried people might notice that a disease pops up one day and the CHG with the cure the next.
Prognosis
Becoming a disgusting zombie thing with photosynthesis.
Affected Groups
Pretty much anything that has a spine and is carbon-based can be infected.
However, 10percent of anyone who is infected will go unaffected to the point of not spreading the disease as a measure by the CHG in case it gets out of hand (i dunno CHG maybe you should've set it a little higher than that)
Hosts & Carriers
Animals can spread it, including ones which aren't affected (most are)
Speaking of animals, things get weird with them as the disease is intended for humans and aliens and can only affect them because of their similarities to humans and aliens but due to it not being meant to at the same time as doing it anyway you get some weird stuff.
Prevention
Firstly, 10percent of anyone who gets infected will be unaffected to the point of not spreading it. That's pretty useful.
Next: gas masks and space helmets. Eyes should be covered with noses and mouths as spores can get into cuts in blood vessels on eyes by chance. Cuts should be covered and it is even preferable to wear a full-body suit for cuts that may not be visible.
Temperatures exceeding 183 degrees Celsius will destroy spores and 172 degrees Celsius will kill infected but anything short of that just speeds up internal reactions and so makes them stronger.
Temperatures lower than -43 degrees Celsius will cause spores to die as their cells can't carry out reactions needed for survival and anything lower than -12 degrees Celsius gets you some zombie Popsicle... but don't lick the Popsicle or you'll totally get infected (unless you're immune but ew).
Since the infected need sunlight for their photosynthesis to stay capable of moving despite not eating anything, they don't go into dark areas for long periods of time and hibernate at night. The fact that they can't tell sunlight from regular light means they can be tricked into moving about a lot when in a dimly lit building and burning themselves out. At night sneaking past them is slightly easy but they will wake up and chase you if you're too blatant about it (and they are way faster than you).
Generally, a good technique is the use of laser fields (walls of laser. Plasma used to be used because it was better for destroying stuff but budget cuts and a bit of cancer got that idea abandoned. Laser fields are sufficient for destroying spores though) around areas with lots of uninfected people.
Killing infected will cause them to chemically break down rather than erupt into spores, so doing so to prevent them from breathing out more spores is advised. Despite this, burning the corpses is advised as the scent of dead zombie attracts more zombies.
Due to their durability, laser and plasma weaponry is advised as it melts through their flesh rather than having to break through like gunpowder or rail-gun weaponry. On top of that they are fairly immune to radiation so FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP NUKING CITIES AND FIREBOMB THEM INSTEAD.
Epidemiology
It spreads through the air as a result of the CHG putting it there at first but then the infected start breathing out spores so that any non-immune who aren't wearing their gas masks are in for a bad time. The disease is more dangerous in warmer areas and areas that get more sunlight as the warmth is used to speed up the reactions involved in transforming the body and the sunlight is used for their photosynthesisish process. Also the fact that most ships run on AIs and therefore will keep travelling to a destination even when the entire crew is infected helps a lot with spreading the disease.
History
Well it was made by the CHG as a way of gaining the loyalty of planets that weren't under/had escaped their control by saying "uhh the aliens did it look we're coming to rescue you"
Cultural Reception
Let's just say that arms dealers and anarchist nutcases were the only ones questioning whether or not this was a bad thing when it went wrong. People were terrified of this disease and it quickly became the case that everyone walking around in any city looked like Bane from that Batman movie or like a straight up astronaut and had concealed weapons. Defence Force numbers grew massively as people wanted the excuse to have a gun and the training to use one and the CHG was no longer limiting how many people could be in the Defence Force. Many got in ships that were going to space in order to live in cryo-sleep until the zombies died out (fun fact: they'd have never died out).
Type
Fungal
Origin
Engineered
Cycle
Chronic, Acquired
Rarity
Uncommon
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