HOAN Report Log 3
Whoops I made this all the way back in March but I only posted it in the discord server so I’m more than a little late but here it is, a speculative biology report on the zombie Vrul disease in @starr-fall-knight-rise​ ‘s HASO stories. Â
Greetings Admiral Vir,
While this paper would have been more valuable during your eradication campaign, it is better late than never. Most of the data we were able to collect on the Vrul disease was from observations, as any individual merely suspected of infection are terminated immediately by the Vrul council and it would be reckless and unethical to deliberately infect organisms. There have been more reported cases of infected individuals, however the council eliminates these individuals and shares nothing on these cases with us. Hopefully more information on this pathogen can be collected in the future, but I am glad that any information was shared with us at all.
Head Researcher,
Dr. A. H. Torrada
The Vrul Zombie Disease
Recently a disease that infects Vrul and resembles the zombie viruses in human media has been rediscovered. The disease appears to have been prevalent in the past until approximately 4,000 years ago. While the pathogen does exert neurological control over its Vrul hosts, which have been named sporebound, like imaginary zombie viruses, this disease is a fungus.
The fungus enters the body through the respiratory system, with the airborne spores being inhaled into the lungs and infiltrating the body from there. The exact process in which the disease goes from entering the lungs to manipulating the host is unknown, but it theorized that the fungus enters the circulatory system to travel to the central nervous system where it will reside. The fungus has a remarkably short incubation period, as noticeable symptoms develop only a few hours after exposure. After 2-3 hours the eyes lose function and become clouded and white. At this time the host also exhibits altered behavior, which consist of an apparent loss of cognition and fear and acute aggression. With vision eliminated, the sporebound navigate and target susceptible Vrul through vibrations. However, sporebound lack the ability to discern between organisms, and will attack anything that produces organisms indiscriminately. The sporebound are not aggressive towards each other but have no regard for others’ well-being, as they will clamber over one another with no hesitation. It was proposed that the infected identify one another through shortwave radio, but this is unlikely since the infected are unable to identify susceptible Vrul through radio waves. It is most likely that the fungus is capable of recognizing its kin through some unknown mechanism. 12 hours after exposure, yellow pustules form on the Vrul’s skin. The pustules are filled with infectious spores that disperse into clouds once the pustules are broken. The spores are acidic and can be neutralized into a harmless substance with water. The spores are also heavy and can last for no more than 24 hours under perfect conditions, which explains why the fungus relies on manipulated hosts for transmission rather than other modes such as wind.
Under unknown conditions, infected Vrul will bury themselves in clusters of about 7 individuals. Trees surround the buried clusters of sporebound, however the area directly above the Vrul remains clear of organic matter. This lack of organic material is peculiar since the soil is fertile and the light gap creates perfect conditions for secondary succession to occur. Upon further inspection, it has been revealed that when buried the fungus acts similar to the mycelium networks in Earth forests. The fungus produces light orange hyphae that extends outwards from their host. The connection between the hyphae and the host’s body is weak in order to easily break off when the infectious host emerges from the soil. The mycelium above the host is acidic and prevents plants from establishing. While the mycelium that extends horizontally from the hosts forms a mutualistic relationship with the trees that surround the cluster, with the fungi and trees exchanging needed nutrients. Additional nutrients are obtained through the degradation of the host’s organs that are unnecessary for transmission, including the eyes and reproductive organs. Once the mycelium network and the pustules are grown, the fungus becomes dormant and only expends resources for maintenance. The sporebound emerge after sensing vibrations, and once leaving the ground they immediately seek out susceptible Vrul.
Local wildlife avoid areas that contain buried individuals, and many large species have migrated to the poles of the planet. Animals with lighter gaits that produce minimal vibrations remain near the equator where the Vrul are found, but are still wary near burial sites. This behavior likely developed to avoid attacks from the indiscriminate and aggressive infected Vrul. While plant species are immune to the disease, it is unknown if animal species are susceptible.
Humans report the sporebound as having a stench of rot, however this odor is not produced through decomposition. The stench is comprised of dimethyl trisulfide, methanethiol, and putrescine. Dimethyl trisulfide and methanethiol are found in plant and Vrul tissues and are released due to the fungus-induced redistribution of resources and the bursting of pustules. Putrescine is produced by the breakdown of amino acids as unnecessary organs of disintegrated for their resources. Only a small amount of putrescine is released, but the chemical has a low odor threshold and is easily detected by humans. The released odors may be advantageous to the fungus as it may ward away wildlife and thus prevent costs associated with pursuing non-Vrul organisms. In addition, Vrul lack olfactory organs so the odor would not alert the target species.
There is little data on the impacts of the fungus on different classes of Vrul since deltas are the common of the Vrul hosts, currently any infected Vrul that emerge are eliminated, and it would not be ethical or wise to study the fungus through infecting Vrul. However, all of the Vrul classes known by the Galactic Alliance (GA) were observed during a mass extermination effort led by Admiral Adam Vir and Doctor Krill. Deltas are most commonly infected, although it may not necessarily be because they are the most susceptible. Delta’s are the strongest of the Vrul classes, and as such they make ideal vectors for the fungus. However, with their strength they are also capable of burrowing, so their high frequency may result from their ability to burrow and preserve themselves for thousands of years. While not as common nor powerful, infected omegas have the potential to be extremely contagious. Omegas possess non-functional, partially developed helium sacs that, when infected, develop into what functions as a large pustule. The pustule sac is more durable than the normal pustules, and as such does not burst randomly. Instead, the sac ruptures into a large cloud of spores when the host is exposed to a large amount of vibrations. Betas and alphas are physically identical and only differ in their intelligence, and this identicality is represented by their infected states. Even when infected their helium sacs remain functional, and infected individuals use their helium sacs more than their legs for transportation. However, infected Vrul float higher than uninfected Vrul do, and can sustain suspension up to 20 feet in the air.
It is predicted that the infected alphas and betas float like this to better spread spores. However, there is a trade-off between speed and floating as infected alphas and betas are significantly slower than their delta and omega counterparts. Cities on the Vrul homeworld are surrounded by walls that are 40 feet tall and 20 feet thick with no doors. It has been speculated that the walls were constructed to prevent epidemics of the fungus since sporebound can only float 20 feet and the spores can disperse upwards 10 feet in the air under the best conditions. However the Vrul council has requested that the Human Organisation of Alien Sciences (HOAN) refrains from studying or hypothesizing about the Vrul’s past, and we at HOAN will comply.