Romino Car

Romino Car is an anomalous car dealership located in the Xuan Gut Kombecture. This dealership only ever has one car on display: an old rusted SUV with no price sign on its surface or interior.

## Memetic Ability

Customers who enter, encounter it, or even see the dealership are immediately infected with a memetic virus which convinces them of the superiority of Romino Car’s product. This feeling persists regardless of any evidence to the contrary. The memetic influence of Romino Car is so powerful and persuasive that even those who do not directly witness or encounter Romino Car will become victims of this virus (1).

## Psychological Effects

Victims of the virus will typically try to purchase the car located at Romino Car. Those who purchase the car never actually seem to buy the car on display, but rather become convinced the car they are driving is the Romino Car. At this point, the virus degenerates their minds to believe that all dealerships are the Romino Car Dealership and all cars from them are Romino Cars. In worst cases, victims begin referring to all possible cars as Romino Cars. This behavior and resulting mania seem incurable (2), and their effects only spread the virus further by making people aware of Romino Car,

## Economic Ramifications

Romino Car's memetic effects make it one of the most successful and popular dealerships in the Kombecture. The proprietor of the dealership claims to be unaware of the anomalous properties, and extensive interviews and questioning, have supported his claim. The anomalous properties seem to have little to do with the dealership itself, and the proprietor simply takes advantage of the Romino Car phenomena to increase sales. So far, the proprietor has not been prosecuted, as the customers consent to the purchase of their own cars [3] and he does not lie to the customers at any point during the transaction. He is also seemingly one of the few Caliber 4 individuals with a natural immunity to the memetic virus, and this immunity is being researched along with many of the victims (4).

### Addendums

Addendum 1: Further research has uncovered that this is not entirely the case, and that the only reason that the virus seemingly spreads so much is that people who are told about Romino Car will typically check it out through sheer curiosity more than anything else. Also, said research has found that the virus is not nearly as effective as it first seemed, with its effect on the mind being proportional to the amount of interest one has towards cars and vehicles, as well as the amount of need that they have to purchase one. Those who do not need to purchase a car at the moment or are wholly uninterested in cars in general are highly resilient to the virus, and are generally safe from its effects as long as they do not develop either a need or interest in motor vehicles.

Addendum 2: While the virus is indeed incurable via normal means, Caliber 3 entities and higher discovered very quickly that a series of anti-memetic vaccines was sufficient to cure even the most severe of cases, rendering the individual immune to the hazard after the fact. This vaccine was soon disseminated into the general public to allow them to be able to inoculate themselves as needed. Of course, often one needs to get the victim to believe it is a standard flu shot, as they do not believe they need to be cured. The immunity to the virus lasts approximately 1 year, with booster shots generally being necessary unless the individual develops a lack of interest or need in cars. Also, it has been found that the virus does not always lead to the victim purchasing a vehicle at Romino Car and may even overcome the virus by sheer force of will, but such has been compared to overcoming a heroin addiction. Easy to relapse into and highly difficult to truly do, with only a few cases known where the individual did not eventually make a purchase at Romino Car.

Addendum 3: New legislation is still being created to determine at what point a memetic influence makes "consent" impossible, as well as when and whether commercial infohazards will be any more illegal than regular commercials.

Addendum 4: Further research has found that any caliber 4 entity that is associated or a part of a business that sells or disseminates cars are also for some reason either more resistant or immune, with workers at car dealerships having the highest resistance and typically immunity, with the salesmen and such having the highest ratings of immunity. Of course, that is not to say that it is impossible for an individual working in one of these places to contract the virus, but it is also very rare.