Infection Form

The **Flood Infection Form** is the first stage of the virulent Flood xenoform. It is the most commonly seen stage of the Flood, and is the form responsible for spreading the Flood infection.

## Overview and Background

The Flood Infection Form might appear at first glance to be little more than a harmless and repulsive creature, but once it gains physical contact with a biological host, it instantly becomes a deadly foe. Any foe without shielding protection will be prone to instant death or
infection, although the potential host can fight back with limited success when the Infection Form attempts to infect them. Small tentacles underneath its body penetrate the skin, tap into the victim's spinal cord, and unleash an attack on the host's nervous system via direct contact with the spine, killing the host almost instantly, though in rare cases leaving the victim conscious. Once this is accomplished, it rewrites the neural pathways of the victim's brain with its tendrils, forcing a resonant frequency match between its neural signals and the host's signals. Then, it releases the Flood Super Cell which overwrites the host DNA and causes rapid mutation.

After this is accomplished, it starts to morphologically augment the body, liquefying organs and redistributing biomass to create
tentacles on the left arm from the calcium in osseous tissue. The central mass of the Infection Form will finally nest itself within the chest cavity of its host. This mutagenic process can occur within a matter of seconds. In exceedingly rare cases, such as if the Infection Form has been damaged or is incredibly old, it will go through the mutation process *without* killing the host, leaving them at least partially aware of what is going on, but unable to move or act. This was the fate of UNSC Private Wallace Jenkins.

If the infection of a particular being is not possible, that organism will be totally disregarded by Infection forms, deferring to other Flood forms the task of slaughtering it. It is likely that the Flood will use the biomass of the incompatible body for sustenance later. An Infection Form may also abandon its host if the corpse has been heavily damaged to look for a new one. Several Infection Forms, sometimes ranging from 5 to 15 at once, can attack certain victims. Infection forms appear at first glance to be quite small, but upon comparing them with the average Human, they are roughly the size of a man's torso.

### Immunities and Defenses

Energy shielding negates the effect of the infection form by causing it to explode on
contact in a small, damaging cloud of gas. However, if no shield system is present on the target, the infection process begins.At this time, the only known human to be incompatible with Flood infection forms is Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson due to his supposed contracting of Boren's Syndrome from the residual radiation of a crate full of plasma grenades on Paris IV. However, Johnson actually contracted this immunity from the augmentations he received as part of the ORION Project. It is possible that this causes *all* members of the ORION Project to be immune.

The Mgalekgolo's lack of a central nervous system and nature as an invertebrate colony consisting of multiple worms make them immune to Flood infection. These exceptions do not mean that augmented Humans and Hunters are outright impervious to the Flood, however, as they still possess the necessary biomass to be reconverted into other Flood strains.

## Gameplay Information

### General

Infection Forms will gather in large swarms, attacking in unison with their claws and tentacles. If the victim's shields are active, as explained earlier, the Infection Form will burst. However, the sheer force of numbers can sometimes deplete a victim's shields, weakening them enough for fellow Flood forms to kill the victim to allow the Infection Form to start the process or infect them while they are still alive.

### Strategy

When by itself or in smaller numbers, they aren't much of a threat on lower difficulties. However, large numbers can bring down the players shielding rather quickly than expecting, leaving the player vulnerable for attacks. Most weapons work but ones that are great at close range such as the Shotgun and Flamethrower are highly recommended.

## Developer Information

No changes here, just visual and animation overhaul.

## Trivia

* Infection Forms are carried and incubated by Carrier Forms, Combat Carrier Forms, and from Flood growth pods in Flood-infested areas. Try not to destroy these sacs, unless you think you can take them one by one, or swarm by swarm.
* In Halo PC, if the player uses cheat\_bump\_possession to take over a Marine, they will have no control over their body if an Infection Form latches onto them.