Postnuclear Necrosis

Postnuclear Necrosis, also known as Nukrosis in slang, is a term developed by the scientists of Huron's Redoubt to classify the condition of seemingly-eternal bodily decay experienced by some survivors of high radiation doses in Ontario.
==Background==
While most who experienced high levels of radiation during and after the Great War perished, a small quantity of people survived albeit permanently changed. Radiation ravaged their skin, leading to a permanent necrosis of the body. As Huron's Redoubt expanded and more refugees sought it out, the settlement's scientists saw more cases of the affliction. No such condition was known by its scientists to have existed before the war, and so the term Postnuclear Necrosis was coined to describe this new phenomenon. Research has been ongoing on this form of necrosis for over a decade, however much is still unknown about it.
Victims are often shunned by other wastelanders and the derogatory term "corpse eater" is sometimes used for those afflicted with it, in reference to their visual similarities with the zombies of Old World horror movies. Some communities composed entirely of its victims can be found in the isolated reaches of Ontario. While uncommon for other communities, Huron's Redoubt openly accepts them and some of its well-respected citizens like Chief Marshall and Amelie Van Egmond suffer from it. The survival benefits of this necrosis, like resistance to bodily harm and complete immunity to radiation, has turned many "victims" into valuable assets for the settlement and its security force.
==Characteristics==
Most victims experience several symptoms including:
* Skin flaking and eventual loss
* Deterioration of connective tissue
* Loss of nose, ears, and hair
* Exposed muscles, sometimes internal organs and bones
* Apparent complete immunity to the harmful effects of radiation
* Ability to survive for atypical periods without traditional nutrients
* Resistance to injuries that would regularly kill or maim
While uncommon as of 2102, some Postnuclear Necrosis victims have been known to experience a complete loss of their mental faculties and a transformation into a feral-like state.
One major and unsolved issue is that human contact to nuclear explosions and fallout was not a strictly post-War occurrence. Neither the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nor the terrorist nuclear attack on Tel Aviv produced any known examples of Postnuclear Necrosis. One working theory is that this affliction is so rare and requires such a specific dosage of radiation that it took global nuclear war to produce any examples.
==Behind the scenes==
* In reality the "condition" is the regional post-War Ontarian phrase for ghoulification. Many in the Fallout universe do not understand nor take the time to research the truth behind ghouls. The prominent Ontario settlement of Huron's Redoubt, built by the survivors of a pre-War nuclear power plant, contained scientists both knowledgeable and interested enough in radiation to genuinely study this mutation.
* The term "corpse eater" is in reference to the 1974 movie The Corpse Eaters, filmed in Sudbury and considered Canada's first gore film.
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