Aberrant: Dead Rising - The Z-Virus Discussion

[Primal]

Let's discuss this with Carver's input, there had been no real explanation of what it is. While it may not be known by the PCs I think it'd still be nice if we all agreed on some concepts of it for the sake of continuity.

When I think of it I think of the T-Virus from Resident Evil.

Is this the case? If so, is it a mutagen as well, spawning all manner of biological abominations?

[z016]

My thought was more the 28 Days Later virus.

[Wesson]

I think of more of the virus they talk of in World War Z.

[Dawn OOC]

I don't know all the various viruses - some description of what you're envisioning would be nice.

Thanks!

[z016]

The 28 Day Later virus, after reading a recap of the movie to remember better, is a horrible comparison for what we've seen so far. It infects and makes a person angy-crazy in seconds, and kills them usually after about a month because the person is too messed up to remember to eat. They just attack everyone around them until they die.

[Primal]

Yeah, no kidding, thanks Dawn.

[Dawn OOC]

Also, if someone wants to recap what you've learned ingame, that'd be cool.

[Jack]

That would be incredibly helpful for those of us just tuning in.

It would also be nice to have a sort of timeline for the virus.

How long does it take for someone to become infected, once exposed? Once someone is infected, through what stages does the disease progress? These, and other questions, may or may not have been answered within the game thus far, but there is a considerable amount of information that would be useful for background development and general knowledge.

[Primal]

Here's what I got...

The Tyrant Virus, or T-virus

The Tyrant virus allegedly operates similarly to most other viruses, but also has the abilities to animate dead tissue, to substantially mutate its host, and to infect nearly any tissue in any type of host. It animates dead tissue by killing and replacing any mitochondria in infected cells, and then combining with these cells to produce enough energy for motor and lower brain functions. By doing this, most of the body's systems, such as the circulatory or respiratory systems, are made redundant. However, this process has the drawback of severe necrosis in the host, and produces the distinctive rotted appearance of most BOWs. The mutations are produced when the virus incorporates itself into the host's genetic code and considerably alters it. Creatures with genetic structures different than humans generally show less severe mutations, and usually only increase in size.

As a side effect of the virus' consumption of its host, specifically its digestion of the host's frontal lobes, all hosts suffer from increased aggression. The virus also damages the hypothalamus, which results in a flood of neurotransmitters, enzymes, and hormones which induce a psychopathic rage and hunger in the host.

[Forge]

What I have gotten in chat for the virus is that it takes 1-5 days to mature in a person that has somehow exchanged bodily fluids with a infected person/zombie.

Not much, but what I got.

[The Fine Balance]

When I was running Dead Rising, the virus was described so as to be intentionally confusing and ambiguous. I don't know what direction Dawn's taking things in, but last I checked in she was plotting a course roughly similar to my outline. So things may just stay ambiguous on the virus front for a while. You may be surprised.

Then again, I may be surprised.

[Jack]

The origin of the virus, and precisely how it works, should certainly be ambiguous.

I'm more interested in the details of its transfer, and other bits of information that could be observed.

[Primal]

Does it mutate animals as well as humans?

Are 'eruptions' a result of the virus? If so then the PCs are mutants, not novas.

Is the result always a zombie or a nova? As an author could we take liberties with all sorts of fiendish infectious monstrosities?

Does it contaminate food and water?

Are 'powers' that result from the virus 'quantum' in nature?

Do the PCs actually possess 'nodes' or is the background simply a means of determining the potential output of a mutant?

These are questions that I as a player would like to know. In the past six months people must have learned at least something about the state of the virus and it's effects on the world at large (mutant cows, psychotic walking corn stalks, permanent eclipse of the moon, aliens... something).

[Fox]

Psychotic walking corn stalks cross-mutated with mutant cows!

I detect the unsteady hand of Doc Aeon behind this virus.

Seriously, I think it'd be cool if the virus led to the above-mentioned "fiendish infectious monstrosities". (Especially since I took that liberty kinda already in Part 2 of Bond's story and it'd suck to ret-con it.

My two cents-worth of suggestions:

The Z-Virus causes mutation. In 90% of subjects, this leads to drooling, shambling, unending hankerin' for brains, and behaviour best described as Zombie-like.

In 9% of the remaining 10, different forms of mutation occur. Go wild, but I think most of them would be mentally unstable due to the heightened levels of aggression and anger, plus a burning metabolism that just HAS to be satiated.

In the remaining 1%, you get viable evolutions: 'novas' or 'mutants' who can consciouly manipulate quantum forces, though damned if anyone currently can figure out how.

[Wesson]

World War Z Assumes that body gain a few things loses a lot of other stuff.

One the blood canjiles(sp) so they way more stiff but as effect they are less likely be harmed by bombs.They also do not burn so well.

They know no fear.

They know no pain.

They do not need to eat, sleep.

Their bodies will keep moving until massive damage to the head

[Jasmine Gentian]

Yeah, I kind of assumed it was at least passed via any bodily fluid, otherwise all those doctors and nurses wouldn't have come down with it so fast at Jas's hospital. But I'm pretty sure I read that somewhere else..

[Dawn OOC]

Just a quick note. Unless you've seen it in the game, don't assume it's there. I know we're all geeks and we want to have fun speculating, but I've already dealt with "but this was said by so-and-so and I thought it was in the game."

Unless I tell you it's in the game or it shows up, it isn't there.

I will, over the next day or two, lay out what you guys do know, in game.

[SkyLion]

I thought someone, maybe Jules said that it was only transmitted through bite...meaning saliva rather than blood.

Also, not everyone who has erupted happened because they got bit. If the virus is the cause of our powers, there must be an airborne or other quality to it.

Dawn has posted IC canon that animals (cows) have been infected through an infected lake. The cows did not turn into zombies but eating the meat or the milk could infect someone.

It is not known if the virus could be pastuerized or otherwise killed.

As to the question of what we are...I will share what Dawn and I talked about with Jon. In my mind...Jon is really infected with these parasites...either they were in his body in the first place and just mutated/got bigger (a la T virus) or whether they are alien worms from another dimension (there is a rumour of a gate or portal device IC), I do not know. From my perspective, unless Dawn reveals something, his powers are not an expression of wish fullfillment or other "Quantum Trickery" that masquerades as powers. That is just mine (and Jon's) opinion. Even if as a player I *did* know that it was just a quantum expression, Jon wouldn't know that and we don't have the benefit of Mazarin and Rashoud to come and explain it to us.

Having sais that, Jon is obsessed with researching the virus and seeking out a way to cure at least himself and then humanity. Dawn and I agree that such may be impossible or otherwise never happen but the guy has his motivations so Im going to let him try.

[Travis Kincaid]

I've got the Zombie survival guide at home, which details in depth how the virus from WWZ works. Its been a while since I read it though but if you all would like I can give it a once over and try to sum it up later this week.

[Travis Kincaid]

Actually I found a rather nice Wiki article on Solanum here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie_Survival_Guide#Solanum

Enjoy!

[Courier]

What we know:

• 1) If you're bit then you're exposed, probably also infected.
• 2) At least some novas are immune to this.
• 3) So far we have only seen infected humans.
• 4) Given the world wide effects, presumably the virus was (or is) air born, especially at the beginning. Thus everyone who is still alive at this point is either immune to that virus (if there are multiple strains) or is resistant enough that they can't be infected by anything short of concentrated exposure (i.e. a bite).
• 5) So far we haven't seen the dead reanimate without previous infection.
• 6) We've seen evidence suggesting there are multiple strains. If anyone killed by an slime zombie becomes a slime zombie then that's confirmation, but they might have been one slime zombie and one normal.
• 7) Dawn (I think) said at one point that these aren't quantum powers, just something else approximating them.
• 8) The PCs are currently assuming that a 24 hour period of time is long enough to tell who is infected and who isn't. That doesn't mean you always transform in that time, but after 24 hours it's obvious if you will.

Point #7 is especially interesting. That might mean that zombies aren't mutated novas or vise versa.

[Dawn OOC]

Courier, thank you for covering what's been put out in the game. Technically, on #7, I think you're referring to the point I made that the characters aren't novas. I don't recall saying that they aren't powered quantum-fueled goodness, but then again, it's not come up in game, either. No one's figured out the source of the super's powers, yet, be it quantum or otherwise.

[Courier]

Hmm... left out a few...

• 9) Although Zoms are the 'source' of 'direct' exposure, the virus itself is widely believed to be infectious away from them. I.e. don't drink from a pond where there's a zom, and food/medicine can be 'contaminated'.
• 9a) Technically we've never seen someone infected from drinking contaminated water, or eating an animal which has, but this has come up a fair bit so we're pretty sure. It's not clear how long the virus can survive away from a zom (anywhere from hours to forever), or what fluids carry the virus (probably all of them). It's possible that we're being too careful with not eating animals, but whatever.
• 10) Zoms can most easily be killed by a head (brain) shot. Other ways (fire, explosions) appear to be variations on that.
• 11) Zoms don't need to eat, sleep, or breath. They're dumb and slow. They can't be reasoned with or bargained with. Mental/Social powers treat them like inanimate objects. They can sense human(?) flesh in the dark. Although they decay it's unclear if they age or will rot into nothing if given enough time. All of these rules might or might not apply to mutant-zoms.
• 12) Mutant-zoms are out there but rare. We're not sure how they're made or if they're contagious.

[Jack]

Realistically, drinking from a pond "where there's a zom" is equally as bad as drinking from any other random pond. The virus could easily be waterborne as well (many have multiple vectors of infection), and any water source should be assumed to be dirty unless the water is sampled, tested, and purified. Any infected animal drinking from that pond before moving on would potentially introduce the virus into the water.

[Adrian Moss]

On a related note, it appears to have broken out globally in a very short time - Shorter than would have been easily accountable by air travel. I think it was 4 days from freak news story to the End of the World.

I think I got this from Alex when we were discussing the virus and the CDC and why the scientists universally failed to stop it. It happened way too fast.

This suggests some kind of biological weapon.

Also, I am unsure if any dead body can also be re-animated. Again, I recall some talk about anyone dying, even without being noticably infected, came back as a zombie. Again, I could be wrong.

[Mr Fox]

yeah, from what was discussed back when the game started, the world went to shite in a matter of days. that is why there is so much stuff just lying around to be taken by scavengers and survivors. Pretty much 6 billion people turned into zombies in a matter of a week or so.

[Primal]

I think that number is bit off, if 6 billion became zombies, they'd have won by now. I think it's safe to assume that while a vast majority became zombies even more still were killed and devoured by said zombies leading our current population problem.

Look what we did to Earth, how many billion of us? We destroyed this place in no time and nothing survives unless we protect it with endangered species bills and environmental protection plans whatnot. Now take 90% of us and implant them with a hunger for flesh... not just human flesh, but any flesh. Now give it to the animals too...

We wouldn't last three days if humanity decided to kill with impunity.

That's kind of the point of this thread, I'm not looking for the plot to be blown open or anything, I just want some clear answers so while I (or all of you) write we're all clear on how this thing works.

[Courier]

Say 10% of the population actually convert in the first pass.

Hospitals get flooded, relatives gather round... and then they convert and attack. Many people die, many others are infected, and the contagion spreads.

As a default this appears to match what we've seen. If 10% doesn't work we could increase that to 15% or decrease it or whatever.

Or... if it's a deliberate bio-weapon being used by someone, then maybe it's not air-born. Put it in the water pretty much everywhere (although if this had happened then presumably some cities would have been spared the initial z-day and stayed organized).

Or... maybe "the magic came back". The earth entered a different area of space or whatever, and the natural laws changed just enough that 'magic' was now possible... and something that was harmless before is now 'cursed' or 'diseased'. Maybe some blood type or gene that evolved while it was gone now meant, 'you're a zombie'.

[Travis Kincaid]

Maybe it was American Idol ...

[Ira Sagebrush]

Simon Cowell, Zombie Master

[Adrian Moss]

From what I recall from earlier discussions, about 0.1% of the popoulation has survived - roughly 6million people over the entire globe. That knocks us back about 7 thousand years of populations growth.

Also, the key river deltas tend to be populations centers even today. Agriculture in most of the world has a real problem.

As for why haven't the zombies overrun the world? They don't travel far at all unless it is to move close to a nearby human. They don't come out of the cities to hunt us down. They don't chase us after a certain distance.

Cities got swamped and are zombie havens. Few people could survive for long in such an enviroment, but ...

in the rural districts, were the population is less and gun ownership is higher, the zombie problem was dealable once they figured all it took was a blast to the head. Zombies aren't fast. Small towns could and did deal with the outbreaks.

No one is sure what is the tipping point for civilizatio in America, but we can guess that between the precentage of the population that went over, plus those the ate, was enough to do it.

If 10% of the population survived, then the US has 30 million survivors. Civilization survives in some form. America was founded on far less.

If 1% survied, that's 3 million. The US is a dead entity. Too few people ont he ground. A number of states will rise up in the more populous areas - like the one we are in. Most modern technology is toast, but the odds are the knowledge will be preserved for future generations.

If 0.1% survived that's 300,000. Spread out over the entire US. Not only is the US a dead idea, but most survivors are going to be left with only their own town to count on. It will take generations, if they survive at all, before we can look at things like states.

In fact, the survival of the human species is in some doubt. More men have survived than women. Few if any kids. People too afraid to travel (unless you are crazy like Bond or Priest). Some enclaves won't have the resources or inclination to keep knowledge alive.

This last option was the one I thought I was playing in. Here and there there are enclaves and small towns that have survived, but daily life is as struggle. Food is becoming scarce. People are worrying about being able to farm since fuel should be scarce as well and most farm machinery is diesel powered.

Law ends at range of a shot from the wall. People are making the rules up as the go along. They are waiting to see if things go over the edge, or they find a way to survive. Life is precious, because everyone knows that the majority of their friends and neighbors are dead. IF it was that bad here, how bad was it ...

Just my nickles worth.

[Mr Fox]

Quote:

If 0.1% survived that's 300,000.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought as well. I ran the game for a short time during Alex's first absence and from talks we had and from the way I ran it my understanding was that only about 0.1 percent survived and that the whole downfall of civilization occurred in about a week or so. The aftermath was bloody and messy and only now after 6 months or so are little communities starting to band together.

And pardon my mis-representation above. When I said that 6 billion turned, I meant that most of the population either became zombies or became food and that only tiny fraction survived.

Unless Dawn says otherwise only small pockets of survivors exist like Fox's refuge. Ultimately it's up to Dawn to decide on the virus and such as ST and I trust her decision.

OOC wise I'd like to hear what Dawn's vision is, at least as much of it as she can give us without spoiling future stories.

With the player base so much expanded over the little group of us that started the game way back when, this might be a good point to get us all on the same page as to how we see the world.

[SkyLion]

While the mutant-zombie-grizzly is cool to read about, I am curious about whether such a thing is canon in this game, since AFAIK, no animals either domestic or wild have been shown to be infected. If all the animals get infected then we are *rally* fucked since there will be no food and every living thing will be a contagion. I would lean in favor of not animals or clear conditions for animals to be infected. I can understand that the authors dont want to have to retcon zombie bear, but its something that should have been cleared with the ST first IMHO.

[Adrian Moss]

If mammals get it, do birds get it, because if it is the case, Game Over. Just saying ... unless Zombie birds can't fly then we are only MUCH more screwed, than totally screwed.

[Amarant]

If it does need to be retconned out (the bear, I mean), then we can simply say - for OOC purposes - that it was a badly tainted nova/mutant that looked very bear-like. From an IC standpoint, no one really needs to ever realize this for it to still be true. Mysterious things happen, IRL, why not in this game?

Then again, maybe Dawn's got something in mind that'll allow it to exist ICly as is. I'm fine with either, since I trust Dawn's judgement as ST, and trust the ability of the players' in this game to act responsibly. All of that meaning that I'm not worried about the game going somewhere it shouldn't, and I believe the story will continue to get cooler as time goes on.

[SkyLion]

Yeah...it was the birds I was thinking about specifically when i wrote that Adrian...RE: Apocalypse really showed that pretty well...

[Primal]

Animals are very much like humans in the sense that some would be affected, others wouldn't.

If it's in the water supply like you guys said, with only 300,000 people left alive in the U.S. not only does it leave virtually no chance of running into other people (do the statistics of population vs. square miles, you could actually go several years and not run into another soul, which means there's a lot of re-conning to be done all around) it also means the planet is dead, population and all in about two years anyway.

To put it perspective the city of Aurora in Denver Colorado has a population of 298,640. Now spread those people across 50 states... that's roughly 6,000 people per state that was either immune or 'erupted' initially. Now tack on 6 months of fighting, looting, pillaging, zombie/animal attacks etc...

They would not survive.

[Mr Fox]

Yeah, according to Alex's vision when he created the game that was exactly in plan, things were supposed to be getting worse at an increasing rate. That's not really the world I want to play in so I'm open to figuring out a reasonable compromise. As for the numbers, I can see 6000 per state being reasonable as far as surviving numbers, and given what we know of the game so far that reflects the IC reality. Fox's refuge has been broadcasting on the radio for people in the area and we have at most a few hundred. The impression I've gotten from the game is that you could drive across a state and not run into a single survivor unless you happened to run across a compound where people banded together for mutual protection, and given that most of the enclaves are in out of the way places away from major population centers that's even more likely.

300,000 people in the US sounds like a reasonable number to me. What do others think?

[Amarant]

At this point I would be inclined to not get too heavily into the math concerning the plague. Others may disagree, but I enjoy knowing only slightly more than my character does about what's really going on out there.

What I would like to see cleared up some is what our characters really do know, based off of six months of survival up to this point. That probably isn't going to be much, but it would be something, and it would help keep all of our characters on the same IC page.

[Ira Sagebrush]

I agree with John. Not knowing what's going on is half the appeal of the game. If everything was laid out, where is the mystery? Post-apocalyptic settings where communication is nil make it nigh impossible to nail down any details about the virus. Especially when it hit as fast as it did.

Regarding the population, I don't really care about specific numbers per se, but 300k sounds fine, yes that may be only 6k per state when spread even, but population density is hardly even across the entire country even now. The east coast dominates heavily when compared to the midwest or even the west coast. Not to mention that the rockies take up a whole lot of territory where basically no one lives.