O-Positivity

Not to be confused with the O+ blood type.

Transmission & Vectors

Oratic Crystal is incredibly dangerous for the human body if contact is made. It can be absorbed through the lungs, stomach lining, and intestines if inhaled or ingested, or through the skin if O-Positive blood is touched directly.
Once in the bloodstream, Oratic particles will hitchhike onto reproducing cells and begin to divide, saturating the blood with its radiation. Quickly, this will start to change the blood’s color, and, over time, it will also start to glow. There is also a small chance that crystals will begin to form and the infected will eventually die from either damage from crystals or Oratic Poisoning. Both the saturated blood and crystals have the potential to spread the infection. It can take up to a week for the O-Radiation to complete spread throughout the body, at which point that person is contagious.

Causes

Naturally, Oratic Material comes in the form of a crystal that exists deep underground in soils ripe with life, mostly insects. It cannot grow on it's own and needs a living host to reproduce. In order for it to take in a human, though, is for them to have a gene that facilitates O-Positivity, the O-Gene, usually found in the People of Ore, who've mostly been wiped out, and Descendants of Ore, people who have Ore blood somewhere in their lineage, but it can also be found in others who just have it as a mutation.

Symptoms

Powers

• The single most well known "symptom" of O-Positivity is the development of powers. Usually occurring between one and two weeks post initial contamination, powers can vary depending on the O-Signature of the individual. Generally, each O-Signature has it's own corresponding power, something currently being archived and studied by Achroma. At first, the infected person will not be able to control their powers, but as they continue to practice, they should eventually have it under control. After the O-Radiation takes on a signature, the bodies of those with the O-Positive gene will translate the O-Radiation into a power, and that's just about how O-Positives have the abilities that they do.
  
  

It should be noted that an O-Signature can change for a variety of reasons. During the first week of contamination, the infected person may flip between a few O-Signatures and powers before its settled. Each O-Signature may have a couple different powers associated with it that can actually be switched between through sudden exposure to very high amounts of O-Radiation, not freely.

Flu-Like Symptoms

• For the first week of contamination, the infected will experience flu-like symptoms as the Oratic Material begins to multiply. What this actually is is acute Oratic Poisoning as the body tries to adjust to the new amount of radiation in the body. It takes about a week for the body adapt, at which point the infected person will start to feel normal.

Oratic Poisoning

• When the body produces too much O-Radiation than it is used to, the infected person will begin to feel ill. This is what causes the flu-like symptoms previously mentioned, though it is a much less severe version. It occurs if the Other doesn't expel the O-Radiation by using their powers and it has nowhere to go, building up in the blood. This can cause death if left untreated. Symptoms include: irritability, anxiety, restlessness, inattention, rapid heart rate, nausea and vomiting, fever, insomnia, nightmares, and flush.

Oratic Withdrawal

• When there is an insufficient amount of O-Radiation present in the body, than the infected person to feel exhausted. It occurs if the O-Positive uses their powers too much and depleting the body of O-Radiation, a state which it is no longer used to, and causes it to use up calories instead. This condition is mostly harmless and will wear off in a day with proper rest and food. Symptoms include: malaise, migraines, muscle aches, double vision, dizziness, excessive hunger, depression, fatigue, fainting, and pallor.

Crystal Growth Phenomenon

• By far, the most dangerous part of Oratic Infection is the potential of crystal growth in the body. The locations of these crystals vary depending on the person and where they use their powers the most. There are internal and external crystals that can develop, the former being more serious since they cannot be removed as easily. It begins with sensitivity around the area they intend to grow, followed by glowing hair-like depressions that resemble cracks forming in the skin. They’d feel smooth and hard like glass. As the lines spread, the origin of them will fan out into a series of glowing fissures. These are what become the crystal beds in which they’ll grow. It isn’t a peaceful development. Crystals can fall off or be pushed out by newer ones. Internal fissures are hard to notice aside from the pain and are, as a result, incredibly deadly. Internal crystals can be coughed up from the lungs and throat, vomited from the stomach, or expelled through other accessible orifices, damaging them as they come up. They can cause paralysis if they grow on the spine, muteness if they grow in the throat, brain damage if they grow in the brain, and a whole host of other problems depended on where else they grow. It is this that gave Oratic Crystal its nickname: the Crystal Cancer. This is a rare condition caused by exposure to sudden and extreme levels of O-Radiation, but it can also occur inexplicably. It is hypothesized that an inability of the body to adapt to the O-Radiation it is now producing and/or poor moderation of O-Radiation emission, inducing either Oratic Poisoning or Withdrawal, can also cause this.
  • Symptoms of Crystal Growth vary depending on where they are developing, but can include: stomach pain, head pain, sensitivity around the affected area, hemoptysis (coughing up blood), hemorrhage (ex. nosebleeds), difficulty breathing or swallowing, discoloration around the affected area, and signs of nerve damage (trembling, stuttering, etc.).

Changes in Color Vision

• The ability to perceive color may change. The color equivalent of one's O-Signature may appear more prominent than other colors. In addition, Oratic Crystal, which usually has a multicolor quality to it, may look dominantly one color due to this. In fact, some O-Positives have displayed a newfound preference for the color of their O-Signature, as if they're now drawn to it.

Mutation-Based Symptoms

Pigment Mutation: Change in Eye Color (100%)

• The eyes are the window to the soul and in O-Positives they show a color representation of their O-Signature. The color will vary depending the O-Signature. There are no negative effects associated with the change in pigment, but it is recommended that O-Positives pay very close attention to their eye color due to its known relationship with the production of O-Radiation in the body. If they return to their original color, the infected person is suffering from Oratic Withdrawal and has used up all of the O-Radiation currently present in the body, and it they become super bright to the point of glowing, they're suffering from Oratic Poisoning which means they haven't used enough O-Radiation currently present in the body and must get it out.

Pigment Mutation: Changes in Blood Color (84-93%)

• This occurs much slower than the change in eye color, over the course of years, but, like eye color, can display an O-Positive's Oratic production (severe Oratic Poisoning can cause veins to become abundantly visible). Blood may develop a metallic or sparkling effect over time, not unlike shimmering nail polish, but can also start to glow in some cases. it can usually be seen through the skin in pale individuals, or through the lips and nails in most people. This is also visible through the interior mouth. O-Positives in the D-Group (red) and N-Group (vermillion) may not experience as drastic of a change and, while it technically does happen, they tend be excluded from samples because it has little to no effect on their appearance.

Pigment Mutation: Skin and Hair (50%)

• The least common kind of pigment mutation, skin and hair would take the longest to change. In people with light skin and/or light hair, this type of mutation would be much more visible. Darker skin and darker hair may take on a tinge of the color, like black hair may look like it has more of a blueish tone in those with a hair pigment mutation in the K-Group (blue) and dark skin can look rosier for those with a skin pigment mutation in the J-Group (magenta).

Physical Mutations (30%)

• Physical mutations can happen, but they are not nearly as common as pigment mutations and they take a lot more time to occur. They're usually minor, coinciding with they type of power the individual develops as a way to compensate or maximize its effect. For example, an O-Positive in the K-Group has developed the power to produce toxins through her mouth and lungs. To improve the effectiveness, she would also begin to grow fangs for injecting her venom. Other mutations in this category include lowered or raised body temperatures, vocal changes, and non-pigment-related mutations to the eyes, skin, hair, and blood.

Treatment

There is no cure for O-Positivity.
When it comes of O-Positivity in general, the only real way to handle it is to manage O-Radiation Emissions to prevent O-Poisoning and Withdrawal. Most of these treatments address CGP (Crystal Growth Phenomenon).

O-Radiation Emission Management

• Oratic emission management is the most effective way to prolong life since Oratic Poisoning and Withdrawal actual encourage crystal growth. Even though it's rare, it's important to take all precautions necessary to prevent CGP, which includes avoiding Poisoning and Withdrawal whenever possible. Suppressants can temporarily stop O-Radiation production by inducing Oratic Withdrawal, despite the actual amount of O-Radiation in body, but it tends to cause Oratic Poisoning when it wears off. There is also the option to drain O-Positives of their O-Radiation using converters, small cell-like rooms which absorbs and turns the radiation into energy. Unfortunately, this means that the body doesn't adapt to the amount of radiation that it's producing, so if the individual spends years in a conversion cell and then leaves, it will cause crystal formations to overtake the body insanely quickly, killing the person within minutes of freedom. Not much can really be done before crystals start growing.

Crystal Extraction

• Externals crystals can be extracted using a scalpel to separate them from the skin and forceps to remove them from the crystal bed, though this causes immense bleeding and pain. It also accelerates the growth rate of future crystals. Internal crystals would have to be surgically removed. This is not a permanent solution.

Cauterization

• Cauterization of the crystal beds is a procedure that will temporarily stop them from growing that is typically performed for internal growths.

Amputation

• An extreme treatment often performed on limbs and certain organs is amputation and removal. This the most effective solution for those who it is available for and can extend life for up to twenty years.

Medication

• Patients are often prescribed painkillers, sleep-aids, and antibiotics to combat the pain, discomfort, and potential for infection caused by the fissures. Anti-depressants may also be recommended.

Psychological Help

• It is advised that O-Positives experiencing CGP seek psychological help due to the stress of the diagnosis. It is also falsely believed that O-Positivity causes insanity and that stigma has made it hard for O-Positives to think they're sane.

Prognosis

Mortality Rate: 100%

There is no time frame for anything past the initial infection, but the mortality rate of O-Positivity is 100%. If someone is O-Positive, the only way to have it not kill them is for someone else to kill them first. Unfortunately, due to the unpredictability of the symptoms, it is nearly impossible to predict how long someone will have left. An O-Positive can have a full life, but it can't be assured.

Stage One - Initial Infection / Adjustment Phase

• Flu-like symptoms / Acute Oratic Poisoning.

• Lasts about a week.

Stage Two - Post-Adjustment Phase / Powers Phase

• Powers develop.

• Eye color changes.

• Susceptibility to Oratic Withdrawal and Oratic Poisoning.

• Starts a week after initial infection

Stage Three - Mutation Phase

• Pigment mutations begin to form.

• Physical mutations begin to form.

Stage Four - Crystal Growth Phase

• Lines begin to form on skin.

• Fissures develop into crystal beds.

• Crystals begin to form

Stage Five - Complete Crystallization / Crystal Phase

• The body is over taken by the Oratic Crystal.

• This results in death.

Prevention

Everyone should be tested for the gene and those who have it should be registered.

People with the inactive gene for O-Positivity should not treat the open wounds of O-Positives.

Blood contact should not be made from an O-Positive to someone with an inactive O-Positive gene.

O-Positives should keep fissures covered.

History

While Oratic Crystal had been used forever in Ore culture, it wasn't until an underground Ore civilization was raided and it's people were exterminated that Oratic Crystal saw the light of day. Most of the crystal was never found, kept in a temple hidden away from the main civilization, but the few pieces that made it to the surface were either studied or used for their radiation, which could be used as a mostly clean source of energy. It wasn't yet known what they could do, but when staff were infected and mutated, they were quarantined and the the whole situation was kept secret to avoid mass panic.

The first publicly recorded case of an O-Positive was that of Marvelous, a 24 year old geologist formerly known as Katherine Duan, in the 1966. She had the power to control the blood of anyone at will and after a career of entertaining the masses as "The Marvelous Woman of Iris Side" she decided to work with law enforcement as the first real-world superhero, but she was unfortunately killed when confronted with a lightning-themed self-proclaimed arch-nemesis called "The Strike" who'd also perished in the encounter, along with two-hundred-plus civilians. This would lead to the creation of Achroma, a secret organization that captures and contains O-Positives for the protection of civilian life.

O-Positives would disappear for a long time after Achroma began releasing propaganda about Marvelous that claimed she was a fraud and that her encounter with The Strike was a publicity stunt gone horribly array. People soon forgot about her and powers in general. Due to Oratic Crystal unknowingly existing in circulation as jewelry, healing stones, and decor, and being sold in powder form as a drug in an illegal move to lie to youths about what they're taking (mentioning nothing of the powers) before kidnapping them and using them in cockfights or as power sources, O-Positives do keep popping up. And every time they do pop up, Achroma sends their Silver Soldiers to pick them up for quarantine.

The following spoiler occurs in the middle of the plot

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In 2019, the first outbreak occurs after the villain unleashes Achroma's hoard of O-Positives that had been kept in converters for years. As the people clambered out of their cells, out of the compound, and onto the streets, the crystals began to form and many of them perished. There was suddenly an abundance of Oratic Material around and mass contamination was imminent.

Post-outbreak O-Positives are actively and openly hunted by the new and improved Eclipse's Silver Soldiers. Citizens can report O-Positives, there are routine checks of people on the street, and, occasionally, considerably dangerous O-Positives are killed on sight. During scans, people are marked on the backs of their hands with a "-" if no traces of O-Radiation is detected, "⊝" if trace amounts of O-Radiation is detected (which could simply mean that they were near an O-Positive), or "◯" if large quantities of O-Radiation is detected. After everyone in a group is checked, all "-" are sent home, "⊝" give their contact information for making followup appointments, and "◯" are carted off with the Silver Soldiers. It is possible for O-Positives to evade capture with the use of illegal suppressant and trustworthy friends.

Some O-Positives who are considered nonthreatening get to live mostly normal lives. First they have to be registered, which usually happens after being checked by the Silver Solders and sent to a former Achroma facility. It is there that they are given a battery of tests and finally registered, at which point it is decided by a small council of high-ranking Silver Soldiers and Eclipse himself whether or not that particular O-Positive shall be granted a pardon, which is only given to those who have "earned" it. These are usually O-Postives with privilege like celebrities or the upper-class. One such example is the cryokinetic figure skater and former hero, Sugarplum, who performs ice shows and works as a bodyguard.

Heroes do still exist, and some are even beloved by both O-Positives and O-Negatives alike. This includes Metara, who is a hero that was granted a pardon for her popularity but who also secretly protects and hides O-Positives, and Infra, a vigilante who rescues O-Positives from Silver Soldiers and from illegal extraction plants and/or fighting rings.

Cultural Reception

It is a commonly held belief that O-Positives are dangerous and need to be contained. It is also falsely believed that exposure to O-Radiation causes insanity and cancer. Pre-outbreak, the few O-Positives that there existed were hunted down by Achroma to quaranteed, study, and exploit. It is due to people like this that the Silver Soldiers post-outbreak are so successful and well-viewed in the public eye despite their invasive tendencies.

Some O-Negative people support O-Positive heroes.

It isn't uncommon for O-Positives to be enslaved as power sources, since O-Radiation is an excellent source of energy, or gambled on in cockfights.

Type

Parasitic

Origin

Natural

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Uncommon

O-Signature Groups

R-
C-
S-
F-
D-
H-
V-
Q-
K-
Z-
P-
T-
N-
L-

Red
Vermilion
Orange
Amber
Yellow
Olive
Green
Teal
Blue
Indigo
Violet
Magenta
Black
White

Canon O-Positives
Seth Russell-Khalil - R068
Thanh Phan - K119
Kaptain Irving - V091
Veronica Rose - T139
Umeko Yukimura - P125
Amber Glass - D161
Dana Monarch - S115