Jack Sandrow
Writer, Character, Invasive Species
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Note: all infection symptoms and effects are theorized. To date, no one has yet been infected with this, either accidentally or deliberately. Assumptions are based on the effects found in the fungi's original host.
Stage 0: Infection
Strengths:
A variant of a pre-existing species, the Clawing Madness variant is a species of fungal parasite that has made the jump from gutkurr to humanoid. While there have not been any outbreaks (nor will there be, ideally), it is still important to note and codify this variant for its effects on both the individual and the community.
The progenitor of the Clawing Madness, the Gutkurr Madness, was first noted by Jack Sandrow some time after encountering a Force-sensitive infestation aboard a starliner he had been visiting for a brief respite. While initially he had drawn similarities, upon further discovery and exploration he had found that there were significant discrepancies between the Gutkurr Madness and the 'black plague' he had previously encountered. Nevertheless, maintaining his studies, Jack was able to make a few interesting discoveries in relation to aforementioned Gutkurr Madness. In his studies he noted that the jump from gutkurr to humanoid was not only possible, but potentially inevitable as the fungi would seek to branch out and spread across Ryloth.
These notes about the Clawing Madness (so named by Jack Sandrow) are by and large hypothesized, as there have been no outbreaks to date of this pathogen spreading. Hopefully it will never enter the galaxy at large....
- Intent: To craft a pathogen similar to real-life fungal infections
- Image Credit: N/A
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: 'Gutkurr madness' (SWRPC), Ophiocordyceps unilateralis (Wikipedia), Onychomycosis (Wikipedia)
- Scientific Name: Gibbospinea bilateralis hum. originis (lit. 'two-sided humpbacked spine, humanoid origin')
- Abbreviation: GBHO
- Common Name: Clawing Madness
- Virus Family: Gibbospinea bilateralis
- Origins: Accidentally hybridized in a lab, when introducing G. bilateralis specimens to blood samples from humanoid species
- Other Locations: None
- Description: Unlike virus or bacteria-based pathogens, fungi use nuclei and cellular walls. Spores are fewer in number, but each have greater individual potential.
- Morphology: 'Football' shaped ascospore shells, filled with smaller spores that disperse upon impact
- Size: Ascospores are approximately 25 µm long, and 0.8 µm wide. The individual spores within are about 0.3 µm, and spherical.
- Color: Spores and ascospores are gray-brown, though it's difficult to see this unless the spores are collected en masse.
- Distinctions: Unlike a virus, a fungal spore is part of a living species. Unlike a bacterium, it is not designed to self-reproduce, and must -infect in order to propagate its life cycle.
- Source: Synthetic
- Host Species: Humans and humanoid species; can infect most species with cardiovascular systems and a localized brain and brainstem.
- Host Range: Medium
- Viability: Outside of a host species, spores require a Type I or Type II atmosphere to propagate, and cannot survive for longer than a few weeks once they have formed and ejected from their host hyphae
- Lethality: High to Fatal* (see also Symptoms and Effects)
- Severity: Moderate* (see also Symptoms and Effects)
- Infectivity: Low
- Modes of Transmission: Airborne & Blood infection
- Incubation Period: 12 hours to 1 week (see also Symptoms and Effects)
- Re-Infection: Yes; infection increases susceptibility
- Vaccine/Cure: A specific vaccine and/or cure is unknown, but surgery & modern medicine can prevent the infection from progressing. See also: Symptoms and Effects.
Note: all infection symptoms and effects are theorized. To date, no one has yet been infected with this, either accidentally or deliberately. Assumptions are based on the effects found in the fungi's original host.
Stage 0: Infection
- Possible vectors of infection:
- Eyes (thinness and proximity to major brain connections)
- Ears (connects to the nasal cavity through the pharyngotympanic tube)
- Inhalation (through the lungs)
- Blood (open cuts and sores)
- Vectors that do not and cannot produce infection:
- Ingestion (eating)
- Dermal contact (skin to skin)
- At this stage:
- No immediate immune reaction
- Non-infectious
- Increased appetite and energy
- Increased social desires (more extroverted, more social, more outgoing)
- Mild amnesia of the past 24 hours (cannot recall exact vector or timeline of infection)
- At this stage:
- No immediate immune reaction
- Non-infectious
- Headaches
- Mood swings
- Itchy extremities (hands, feet, tail, horns, etc)
- At this stage:
- Immune reaction produces itchy extremities
- Infectious, coinciding with appearance of itchy symptoms
- Increased aggressive tendencies
- Possible self-injury
- Increased pain at the extremities, specifically nail bed pain
- Increased sensitivity to external stimuli (sounds, sights, tastes, etc)
- At this stage:
- Fully infectious
- Still reversible with medicine, surgery, & extreme and intensive care
- Very aggressive
- Sharp growths form from the nail beds
- Self-isolation tendencies
- Extreme alertness and territorial attitude; possible insomnia?
- At this stage:
- Fully infectious
- Irreversible once growths have manifested
- Facial growths - nose, mouth, eyes, ears. Hampers consumption of food and water.
- Facial growths increase protection to the head, with growths appearing bulbous and chitinous around the face and skull.
- Claw-like growths protrude from the hands and feet, formed of fungal and animal tissue twisted and hardened to increase its sharpness and effectiveness
- Extreme aggression and territorial tendencies; hosts may attack on sight.
- At this stage:
- Fully infectious from contact with infected blood
- Constant sporation from facial growths makes each host extremely infectious even without contact
- Near the end of the host's life cycle, there is an instinctive desire to move somewhere with increased atmospheric activity - to 'seek help'.
- Muscles seize up and lock in place once an optimal location has been found
- The body will 'pop', releasing an immense cloud of infectious spores into the surrounding area. These spores, once released, can linger for weeks at a time by floating on the air.
- Until every last bit of the body has been converted into compatible matter, the body will continue producing these spores. Depending on the physical mass of the body, this may take weeks or months.
- At this stage:
- The host finally perishes, emaciated and starving, unable to continue as their body functions have been parasitized into producing more fungal matter.
- The body remains infectious, both in terms of infected blood and sporating bodies, for quite a long period after death.
Strengths:
- Long-term infection is designed for survivability and maximum production of other infectious spores
- Keeping the host alive as long as possible allows the pathogen to fully gestate and produce as much as possible
- Hosts retain intelligence and awareness, despite increased aggression and territorial tendencies; with enough wherewithal, they can keep themselves from infecting others.
- Spores are only viable in the air. While they do require damp locations (eyes, ears, nose) to enter the body, putting the spores in water will quickly kill them.
- Spores are vulnerable to all biological hazards (heat & fire, extreme temperatures, chemicals, acids, the body's natural defenses)
- Natural filtration systems quickly eliminate spores; inhalation only leads to infection with sufficient density of spores, and proper HVAC systems will filter all spores out of the air with ease.
- Entirely reversible before external growths happen, with medicine and surgery any side effects can be remediated and the infection can be neutralized.
A variant of a pre-existing species, the Clawing Madness variant is a species of fungal parasite that has made the jump from gutkurr to humanoid. While there have not been any outbreaks (nor will there be, ideally), it is still important to note and codify this variant for its effects on both the individual and the community.
The progenitor of the Clawing Madness, the Gutkurr Madness, was first noted by Jack Sandrow some time after encountering a Force-sensitive infestation aboard a starliner he had been visiting for a brief respite. While initially he had drawn similarities, upon further discovery and exploration he had found that there were significant discrepancies between the Gutkurr Madness and the 'black plague' he had previously encountered. Nevertheless, maintaining his studies, Jack was able to make a few interesting discoveries in relation to aforementioned Gutkurr Madness. In his studies he noted that the jump from gutkurr to humanoid was not only possible, but potentially inevitable as the fungi would seek to branch out and spread across Ryloth.
These notes about the Clawing Madness (so named by Jack Sandrow) are by and large hypothesized, as there have been no outbreaks to date of this pathogen spreading. Hopefully it will never enter the galaxy at large....
