Spasmus Aquaticum

## Description:

Spasmus Aquaticum, translated as "aquatic spasms" refers to a algae-based fungal infection developed by Martinus Biological Containment Inc. in 2029 CE at an island facility located in the Atlantic Ocean with the intention of designing a counterpart to Senilis Verminosa that lacked SV's weaknesses in/around water. The effects of Spasmus Aquaticum are most commonly the reanimation and manipulation of drowned individuals that come into contact with the algae-infested water; infected individuals also exhibit a very adaptive DNA sequence and conscious suppression of the host's immune system, allowing for the perfect integration of foreign bodies and tissues without rejection. The project, and the island facility, were abandoned in 2031 CE after the project, deemed "Operation: Fishmonger," was considered a failure and deemed to resource intensive; despite the island's abandonment, the facility and island were left intact, including the electronics-disrupting and signal-jamming array, and would be discovered in 2035 by UN forces returning from Antarctica after their ship was caught in the island's EMP field and beached.

### Stages of Infection:

Spasmus Aquaticum is an algae-based fungal infection created using a modified strain of Senilis Verminosa as the genetic base with the intent to create a water-adapted SV strain that would be capable of surviving in water-logged environments for long periods of time. Spasmus Aquaticum is administered via infection, most commonly by coming into contact with water containing the algae or by coming into contact with the fungal spores that grow near water sources. Spasmus Aquaticum can also reanimate the dead as long as the deceased drowned or is water-logged; reanimation can be delayed as long as is desired until the algae detects a disturbance in the water nearby, at which point the host is jolted back to life ready to ambush the source of the disturbance. The time of infection can vary greatly depending on the amount of algae the host was exposed to, the time of exposure, and the status of the intended host as being alive or dead.

Stages of infection differ if the host is alive or dead:

#### Living Hosts:

1. A living host is first infected by drinking algae-infected water, coming into contact with algae in water, or by contacting mold along walls, floors, or ceilings; the host experiences no initial symptoms of infection. The infection spreads through the user's body over an average period of 1-2 days.
2. After about 12 hours, the host begins exhibiting shifts in personality and behavior, beginning initially as an increased thirst and quickly escalating over a period of another 12 hours into more drastic behavior, such as increased aggression, incoherent speech, erratic emotional outbursts, an attraction to water sources, loss of fine motor functions, the presence of light regenerative capabilities, and the ability to graft foreign tissues onto their body without issue.
3. After 1-2 days of infection, the host is no longer a sentient being and lacks all fine motor control, being reduced to a standard Senilis Verminosa-esque infected individual, shambling around mindlessly with the singular goal of converting others. These advanced-stage infected individuals are passively attracted to water and will congregate around it.
4. These types of hosts have an unidentified maximum lifespan and can survive indefinitely so long as they have ready access to water; the bodies of living hosts continue to mutate and change as they graft more foreign body parts onto themselves, but none of the flesh decomposes despite their state of reanimation. Similar to Senilis Verminosa, living hosts that are killed can reanimate once again at a later date.

#### Dead Hosts:

1. A dead host is first infected either by drowning in algae-infested water or coming into contact with fungal mold prior to or shortly after death. Infection of a dead body takes between 12 hours and 24 hours, less than half of the expected time period than living hosts due to the deceased's lack of active immune system and metabolism.
2. Once fully infected, the algae then mutates the body and can opt to reanimate it right away or keep it in a dead state until a disturbance is detected. Dead tissues and decomposed/necrotized flesh is not regenerated or replaced, the infection simply making due with whatever tissues remain to make the body function, replacing any necessary pieces but leaving all superficial organs, tissues, etc. left to rot. Dead hosts do not continue to decompose after infection. If a dead host is taken out of water without being reanimated, it will desiccate after ~1 hour; if it reanimates while being removed from the water or shortly thereafter, the host desiccates after ~3 hours.

### Types of Infected:

The island facility was known to have produced a number of types of infected individuals, with several instances of unique infected also being discovered; the circumstances of the creation of these unique infected are unconfirmed, but current hypotheses are posited alongside the infected individuals' descriptions.

1. "Chum": Named so for their destroyed, decomposed, or shredded appearance, Chum is the unofficial name given to aquatic lifeforms infected with Spasmus Aquaticum; Martinus Biological Containment Inc. records list these infected animals as "Tainted Fish." Chum can be any aquatic lifeform, from squids and octopods to sharks or tuna.
### Tissue Grafting:

The most striking feature of Spasmus Aquaticum, and the aspect that seemed to intrigue scientists at Martinus Biological Containment Inc. that most, was the algae's ability to integrate foreign tissues and organs, even entire limbs, into a different host organism without issue, connecting even complex nerves, bones, muscles, and organs. Records recovered from the site and from Illuminati servers reveal that the integration was fasted when conducted with tissues of fish or aquatic lifeforms, second fastest when conducted with other human body parts, and slowest with the body parts of other animals; entire limbs could be fully integrated into a new host, with the most extreme example being [REDACTED], although even mundane infected individuals were known to use similar tactics.

In one particular case, a living infected host lost his arm while adrift at sea after being stranded on the island facility, and grafted the recently-deceased head of a swordfish onto his upper arm; the head was then reanimated and connected to the host in a matter of moments, even allowing the host to see through the swordfish's eyes without issue. When the host was eventually killed and later dissected, it was revealed that the host's blood circulation had even been connected to the attached fish head; the presence of the fish's still-active brain now integrated with the host's body is hypothesized to have contributed to the host's sudden mental deterioration. [Note: TISA researchers believe that the grafting of fish parts may be responsible for Spasmus Aquaticum's weaker Hivemind]

### Bioluminescence:

Another aspect of Spasmus Aquaticum that was discovered to be unique to it was the presence of bioluminescence among the algae and mold that was known to grow across the island. This bioluminescence manifested as an eerie green glow, and is believed to have been produced as a byproduct of the mold's internal processes. This bioluminescence appeared in very limited capacities on/in infected individuals, however, manifesting only on subjects that had parts of the algae or mold growing on their bodies; this has led TISA researchers to believe that the bioluminescence is part of a process similar to photosynthesis, a process that is not needed when the infection has control over a host's metabolism and body. When in a host, the infection feeds off of the host, nearby water, and the flesh of others (animals and fish included), and as such does not need to undergo the same metabolic processes it does when outside of a host; despite this, the larger or stronger types of infected have manifested this bioluminescence as glowing pieces of mold behind the infected's eyes, making their eyes appear to glow. This glow is known to diminish the infected's eyesight, but is believed to be an unrecorded and unintended side effect of long-term large-scale mutation and infestation by Spasmus Aquaticum.

### Collective Intelligence

Due to Spasmus Aquaticum's use of a modified strain of Senilis Verminosa, Spasmus Aquaticum shares many of Senilis Verminosa's traits, including its reanimating properties and high infectivity. Another notable trait shared between the two is the Hivemind intelligence developed between infected individuals. Spasmus Aquaticum did not develop as intense or complex a Hivemind as Senilis Verminosa, which stunts the abilities and intelligence of individual infected; it is believed that the Spasmus Aquaticum Hivemind is not sentient or embodied in a physical form like that of Senilis Verminosa. The collective intelligence behind Spasmus Aquaticum is, however, intelligent enough to react to intruders upon their island and send out infected individuals via raft, boat, or infected aquatic life to spread the infection beyond the island's borders.

## Origins:

Spasmus Aquaticum was initially developed by Martinus Biological Containment Inc. in 2029 CE as part of "Operation: Fishmonger," a plan by the Illuminati to diffuse fish infected with Senilis Verminosa and ship the tainted fish across the globe as a means of quickly spreading the virus. To conduct their research and tests, Martinus Biological Containment Inc. purchased an abandoned, uninhabited island out in the Atlantic Ocean (believing that the rougher seas of the Atlantic would prove a better test site than the calm Pacific); the company soon discovered the ancient ruins of a pirate settlement from the 17th Century, in addition to a ruined fort of similar age atop the island's cliffside. Debates within the company about demolishing the ruins continued for several weeks before it was decided that such structures would make for easy camouflaging of their operations. Construction of an underground facility, constructed underneath the large mansion atop the cliff, began shortly thereafter. The Illuminati conducted counter-intelligence operations in the area and along the nearest coasts of Africa, spreading ghost stories of the newly-purchased island as a way of deterring trespassers; additionally, all records or major maps mentioning the island were erased, and it was censored from all publicly-available satellite photos/footage.

After construction of the facility finished in early 2029 CE, Martinus scientists began their work in earnest, but quickly hit a critical failing point of their plan; Senilis Verminosa could not survive in water for nearly the amount of time their estimations predicted, and infected individuals (like fish) could not survive or maneuver well enough to spread the virus themselves. The Illuminati, still convinced of the efficacy of their original plan, commissioned the development of a new virus adjacent to Senilis Verminosa, designed to be capable of surviving, even thriving, in water and designed to interact well with aquatic life. Hence, Spasmus Aquaticum was devised and developed.

Tests on the new algae-based infection continued into 2031 CE, at which point it was decided that too much testing was still required for Operation: Fishmonger to be ready in time for the Illuminati's proposed timeline; Martinus researchers were convinced that Spasmus Aquaticum had further potential as its own independent bioweapon, however, and were initially hesitant to abandon the project. Despite protests from staff at the site, the island was abandoned by all personnel and all valuable records retrieved; to ensure the locals continued to avoid the island, however, the Illuminati created a series of electronic devices and EMP's designed to disrupt electronics like GPS, radar, communications equipment, sonar, satellites, and deactivate or outright destroy weaker electronics. This array of equipment was designed to disturb locals and beach any ships foolish enough to ignore the failings of their equipment; to ensure that no one that washed up on the island as a result of their own hubris ever made it off, and as part of a continued "experiment" by the researchers at the site, all of the infected creatures and individuals that had previously been contained within the facility were released into the ruined mansion and the wider island. An unforeseen consequences, Martinus scientists observed, was that the unburied or poorly-buried corpses of ancient pirates were slowly coming back from the dead as the algae and mold made its way deeper into the ground through rainfall, stories, and the tides; these infected remained in and around the ruined pirate settlement.

These deterrents would continue to function as intended until the Spasmus Aquaticum Hivemind developed the keen plan to use it as another means of spreading the infection; by beaching many ships over such a short period of time, larger forces began investigating the area, which meant more potential hosts for the infection. The Hivemind then sent off some of the infected individuals, often accompanied by infected aquatic lifeforms, on rafts or chunks of driftwood out into the surrounding oceans, not only creating a sort of early warning system for intruders, but also creating bait for passing search and rescue ships to find and "save." By bringing these fake castaways onboard a ship, the infection could spread throughout the ship and then beach it on the island, trapping any survivors with the horde.

This strategy would eventually attract the ire of TISA and the UN after a UN vessel, the [REDACTED], heading from Argentina to Europe with the surviving members of Arctic Research Station Unified Hope, fell victim to the castaway bait and had much of their crew slaughtered and their ship beached on the island. The surviving members of the crew, including the ship's captain, [REDACTED], then explored the island and fought their way through the horde until they could reach the flooded underground access tunnel that led to the abandoned facility and the EMP array. Destroying the array and escaping the island by the skin of their teeth, TISA would later be made aware of the island and send further investigation teams to scavenge it for any and all useful information.

The island would, however, play a more important role even after TISA's involvement. When the world ended in nuclear hellfire, Spasmus Aquaticum finally had the high water levels it was waiting for, and escaped the island riding the tides of the nuke-induced global warming and melting of the polar ice caps; the Illuminati, surprised at this development, reopened Operation: Fishmonger and began directing schools of infected life forms (both aquatic and reanimated humanoids) to key locations around the world, including New York City, London, Rome, Los Angeles, etc., where the infected would stalk the waters of these flooded cities and infect or kill any and all they found...