VirSI

Introduction

Virsi refers to a mysterious illness that would often result in a state often mistaken as the walking dead. Virsi is a subcellular parasite that infects all tissues, but it has its greatest effect on the central nervous system. Virsi can be contracted through contact with open wounds, mucous membranes, and by ingesting infected material. Virsi infection inevitably results in brain failure and functional replacement by the disease. RAVI, ReAnimated VirSI Infected, manifest with a mind of their own as they use the host's body as a structure to organize their own multicellular intelligence. Unlike normal people, RAVI will actively take risks so they become injured and infect others. In cases where they may be consumed, they will often place themselves in positions of risk so that they can infect a larger body.

EVentually, RAVI will progress to a final stage where the body will decay and form stalks that allow cysts to spread by way of air and water. Air vector VirSI is much less effective than water borne VirSI which can take advantage of aquatic ecosystems to increase their size and likelihood of being ingested.

The relatively recent emergence of this pathogen has led most to think it either came from an ancient reservoir or from an laboratory setting. Conspiracy groups have formed on both sides, but neither has been able to show proof of Virsi's origin.

The true origin of the parasite was a directed biological strike from an advanced alien species set on clearing and preparing a world more to their liking. It is the latter part of that statement that is important because it implies that killing everyone is not as important as making them into something more to their liking. A global consortium has been able to discern this much, but they still lack the means to stop it. Because Virsi form a thinking organism, it can evade most useful quarantine protocols.

The endgame for Virsi is subjugation and removal of top tier predators. Those who know also suspect that it was meant to be used in a staged manner. If Virsi is not controlled or stamped out, there is a risk of it become a building block for the next weapon.

Non-Infected Form

Virsi is a sub-cellular organism that is most often found in contaminated water. Capable of living without host cells, it typically reproduces to form small balls of cells that can get as large as some fish eggs. This size makes it a tempting meal for vertebrate predators including fish and frogs.

The reservoir for Virsi is not currently known. However, it has been seen in association with diatoms, algae, and amoeba. At present, it is thought that Virsi in these hosts is replicated with the host, and that it does not damage the host such that it reduces its survival chances by much.

Infection of Hosts

Infection by Virsi appears to be limited to vertebrates. To date, no non-vertebrate has sustain am infection that progressed to RAVI. However, such animals are still capable of carrying the infection into other species. So far, the only lead on this selectivity appears to involve sub-cellular structures such as keratin fibers that do not appear in other species. Reptiles and avian species are only slightly less prone to progress to RAVI than amphibians or mammals. Like prion diseases, there is no means to selectively purge the parasite once it has settled intro the nervous system.

While the parasite has multiple points of entry, it will invariably target the central nervous system where it can remain silent for months. Eventually, the parasite will start to replicate and spread into other tissues. At this point, the infected begin to show trouble with memory and may show impaired motor function. While the parasite does infect other tissues, it is usually non-disruptive and instead starts to use the body's signalling networks for its own.

At the height of infection, nearly every tissue will be infected. However, the parasite rarely if ever appears in waste, so it must be screened for by blood or tissue sample. In late-stage Virsi, the infected will actively avoid other beings and try to isolate itself for the final loss of the former self and the take over by the parasite.

Progression from VirSI to RAVI

At the end of Virsi's initial infection, the host will appear to lay down and die. They may lay waiting for two or three days in a comatose state as the final takeover occurs. During this transition, most of the host's higher functions are lost and replaced by the parasite's control. After this transition, the body will begin to move again, and the resulting state is called RAVI.

RAVI often recall some memories, and many of them can communicate vocally. However, they lack most of their host's memories, and they appear to have a memory of their own. In their first few days, they are often show poor coordination which has dubbed them as zombies or the living living dead. In truth, they are neither. Instead, they are an organism training its new nervous system and adjusting its cellular communications just as an infant's nervous system has to develop to function as an adult later.

Fully progressed RAVI can move, speak, and generally interact as seamlessly as their host would have. However, their sense of self and manner of speaking often gives them away as they speak as a colony and not as a person.