Season 11 Lore
Origins of the apocalypse
With the announcement of an experimental treatment for cancer having been accepted for human testing in November 1998, the world watched in anticipation as the Elysium Institute of Science and Technology bordered making history amidst the turn of the century using as extremophile with supposed genetic repair capabilities. However, much to the world’s disappointment, the events that would follow would bring upon ruin and further sickness rather than an everlasting cure and the population would watch as the school’s lab in Seattle would become ground zero for the “Sweeping Flu”.
Originally, testing seemed ineffective and willing patients ended up passing on due to the disease that had managed to elude a cure yet again, but the trouble began when the same extremophile that was supposed to save lives refused to die with its new hosts. Instead, it continued its process and attempted to repair the host’s DNA. As quickly as they died, the once-dead began roaming the streets. Chaos ensued and vicious attacks were reported more and more frequently. Quarantine measures began to go into effect and the United States government tried to corral the state itself from falling into madness.
With the situation appearing to seem more grim with every passing day to those outside ground zero, stories began to make their way to media outlets and radio shows about of cannibalism, inhuman levels of resistance to damage, and a military force that was relatively unprepared for the new threat around them.
Week Two: An Interview on NNR Radio with Dr. Victor Noble
Host: Now we’re bringing on Dr. Victor Noble, Virologist and expert in the field in regards to the ‘Sweeping Flu’, the disease that everyone’s talking about. It’s a pleasure to have you here doctor.
Dr. Noble: Pleasure to be able to answer some common questions and give the public an idea about what’s going on.
Host: Now, first can you explain to the folks at home what an extremophile is?
Dr. Noble: Right, so an extremophile is an organism that can live in extreme environments. And by extreme, I mean in conditions that are approaching or surpass the limits of what known life can adapt to. So places with extreme temperature changes, radiation, salinity, pH levels, and the sort.
Host: And this was supposed to treat cancer? By like putting the organism in their body.
Dr. Noble: Yes, that’s right.
Host: But on patients, that’s not what’s been happening.
Dr. Noble: That’s…correct. The cancer is still killing the host but the extremophile is still living in the host after their death and rather then stop production, it is still trying to continue to repair the DNA. However, this is merely a setback to our ongoing research into it, and in some ways it had helped. We’ve learned a lot from this, and we hope to use our newfound knowledge into our continued efforts.
Host: What would you say about the current protests that say the medical community is hiding information and working with the government? There are supposedly eyewitness accounts saying they’ve seen the extremophiles’ host not just existing in the body of the deceased host but walking and shambling down streets in downtown Seattle. One claims to have been assaulted by it. To my knowledge, the current monitored zone was solely restricted to the Elysium Institute and its surrounding area, and was deemed to be non-hostile by the–
Dr. Noble: Personally, I think the spread of disinformation is coming from companies who are trying to get out stocks to drop, our research discredited, and furthermore have a direct monetary incentive in the form of the current cancer providing treatments available. There has no accredited study or peer reviewed article from a noteworthy journal that has gone against our findings, or suggest the situation is worse then what was proposed by both the Elysium Institute and the federal government. The current quarantine around the institute and the surrounding blocks has been maintained and watched vigilantly. The current worries should last realistically, two weeks, maybe three weeks tops. And in time, we’ll all have forgotten this slight inconvenience.
Host: I hope you’re right, Dr. Noble. And I hope your words assuage the worries of some of the Seattleites listening to this at home. That’s all the questions I had for you today. Thank you for your time.
The Fall of The United States...and the Rise of The Three.
8 months after the initial outbreak escaped ground zero, the final transmission from the US Government came over the emergency frequencies of the radio, as most News channels had shutdown or simply stopped broadcasting. They declared that the virus had made its way to Mexico through Texas, likely overseas to Europe as well due to an infected air passenger, and that there would be no further coordination of support as their simply wasn’t enough manpower or resources, there simply wasn’t any way to keep going.
Following this announcement, States began forming their own borders, their own laws and ways of conducting trade, diplomacy, and even warring on each other over resources and territory. Those who were military prior to the collapse operated in severely diminished cells of “resistance” against the disease, coordinating bombings of mass infection sites, or handing out what little aid they could to those around them.
And from that lack of leadership, three groups rose to the task.
A nomadic brotherhood of observers that knows the streets, forests, and plains of Knox County like the backs of their hands. They communicate via their own developed methods such as wall markings, hand signals, smoke signals, and light signals.
They can’t fight us if they can’t find us.
An eco-terrorist group that crosses into fundamental Christianity to make sense of the world around them. They take inspiration from the ways of their ancestors and yearn for a return to a less wasteful world.
Man is not a god, Nature is.
A highly militaristic group of futurists who want to take advantage of the collapse of the status quo to propel society to a new Apex, under their vision. Follows a clear chain of command with a Commander-In-Chief.
The end justifies the means.
