Necromorphs

Template:Enemies

> More of **what?!** What the hell are those things? Is that the crew?!
>
> Ritsu Tainaka

**Necromorphs** are the main antagonists of the *Dead Space Remastered* franchise. They are mutated and reanimated corpses, reshaped into horrific new forms by a recombinant extraterrestrial infection. The resulting creatures are extremely aggressive and will attack any uninfected organism on sight.

The sole purpose of almost all Necromorphs is to acquire more bodies to convert and spread the infection. They are believed by some to be the heralds of humanity's ascension, but on a more practical level are the extremely dangerous result of exposure to the enigmatic devices known as the Markers.

The Necromorphs are controlled via the Markers by a group of entities known as the Brethren Moons which are massive Necromorphs created once every living organism on an ecosystem unlucky enough to come into contact with a Marker was killed and infected. The Necromorphs's motivations are to create a mass of necrotic flesh to be collected by the Markers during a Convergence Event with the intent to create another Brethren Moon.

## Biology

The generation of Necromorphs begins with Markers. These structures re-broadcast a highly concentrated electromagnetic signal that alters any dead tissue in range on a cellular level, converting it into Necromorph tissue and re-animating the corpse of the host organism. This signal also affects the minds of intelligent life forms, usually manifesting as dementia and resulting in homicidal and suicidal actions, laying out a rich field of fodder for the Necromorph infection.<ref>

The infection is also spread directly through the Necromorph pathogen – that is, the reanimated cells created by the Markers and which compose the Necromorphs. Typically, the infection is passed on to new host bodies via specialized Necromorphs such as Infectors or Swarms. In order for the Necromorph pathogen to infect a host body, the host must first be killed; for reasons unknown, living victims who come into contact with the microbes do not undergo transformation, although symptoms of paralysis, catatonia, and impaired breathing can occur. While these symptoms do not necessarily ensure the death of the host, they can make it easier for nearby Necromorphs to catch and kill the victims. Living victims that ingest Necromorph tissue in quantity undergo a slow transformation, eventually dying and becoming Feeders.

Infection via Necromorph Swarms, witnessed during said creature's death scene, shows that the host immediately turns into a Necromorph; as the screen immediately fades, the host's new form can't be ascertained, but has been speculated to be a Fodder. Swarm-infected hosts retain their appearance prior to being "hijacked".

Once the host is dead, the recombinant properties of the infection take hold. The process is extraordinarily rapid, and predictably violent. Cellular functions go into a self-destructive overdrive, creating new biologically active compounds which are then metabolized by reanimated flesh to fuel further mutations. Bones are broken, put together in new configurations, or reshaped into entirely new forms. All of this takes place in a matter of seconds, and generates tremendous amounts of heat. More often than not, the violently spasming corpse becomes so hot that stagnant blood boils in the veins and arteries, rupturing the skin. Vital and digestive organs that are no longer needed are turned into additional musculature, giving all Necromorphs increased physical strength.

Pure Necromorph tissue is light pink and translucent; it is capable of independent movement and sticks to surfaces. The pink tissue is capable of consuming and reconstructing necrotic flesh, and can transform living flesh when injected directly into a living person's bloodstream.

The type of Necromorph created during infection largely depends on the location and circumstance. For example, Lurkers are usually created from the infant-like organ banks used for medical transplants, human-born infants or in other cases, dogs. Guardians are created from hosts who have been affixed to the Corruption, and Stalkers are believed to be created from human twins. However, some Necromorphs are clearly composed of more than one human (see Brute, Tripod or Graverobber), which is an indication that some form of intelligence is at work allocating biomass for specific use.

In certain cases, Necromorphs have been created via the insertion of Necromorph tissue into the brain of a living host. This results in exceptionally powerful Necromorphs capable of regenerating severed appendages in a matter of seconds. The most well-known Necromorph of this type was the Hunter, an experiment of the crazed Unitologist Mrs. Morga. Other similar Necromorphs include the Ubermorph encountered on Titan Station and the infected members of the S.C.A.F. Deep Dig Team on Tau Volantis.

All Necromorphs are extremely hardy and capable of surviving in lethal environments such as the vacuum of space. This implies a total lack of respiration or reliance upon vascular activity, which explains the Necromorphs' resistance to wounds that would cause massive blood loss due to hemorrhaging in uninfected humans.

Many Necromorphs feature yellow, luminescent tumor-like growths or pustules; these sacs often explode violently when ruptured. It is possible that these organs serve as sources of energy for the Necromorph.

The Necromorph infection is not only limited to humans. describes a Necromorph fish which behaves like all other Necromorphs, as it attacks another fish in order to kill and infect it. Lurkers, although typically created from cloned organ banks and human babies, can also be created from dogs. On the planet Tau Volantis, numerous Necromorphs created from native extraterrestrial species were encountered. Thus, this implies any living organism in the universe can be infected, no matter the species.