Vampires

Vampires are humans who have been infected with a communicated infection which fundamentally, and permanently, changes their physiology and psychology. For ease of reference, we will refer to the communicated infection as a retrovirus, although understanding is still limited.

In general, vampires have lethal allergies to sunlight, which can kill them with even relatively minimal exposure. They are nocturnal. They can generally only derive sustenance from blood. They do not have a need to breathe, and most vampires beyond a certain age do not breathe. Most cannot ingest food or drink other than blood, and those few that can seem to be unable to keep it down.

They are highly resistant to injury.

The retrovirus seems to have begun with a "patient zero" that some vampires refer to as Caine, possibly referring to the biblical figure of note. The retrovirus, once it has fully infected a patient, generally appears to be stable. The infected person is then able to infect other persons, although there appears to be no evidence of inadvertent communication - from observations, all communication of the retrovirus to other individuals must be deliberate. The common parlance amongst vampires for an infected individual who infects a new individual is "sire" while the infectee is referred to as a "childe".

There appear to be a number of different variant strains of the retrovirus. The strains are defined by predisposition to certain physiological and psychological changes that appear in the transmittee beyond the core/universal changes. Individuals afflicted by a particular strain of the retrovirus often associate more with one another than with individuals, and these groupings, called "clans" or "bloodlines", serve as one of the core socio-political groupings or organizations underlying "vampiric" society.

However, the exact form of the retrovirus afflicting a new transmittee will be different from that which afflicts the transmitter, even between individuals sharing the same variant strain, regardless of common features that they might share. As a result, This may indicate that the strain mutates and adapts itself to the original genetic makeup of the individual.

Occasionally, the differences between

Generally speaking, the "strain" of the retrovirus will rema

The retrovirus, and the corresponding physiological changes,

seems to weaken from one "generation" the next. The closer the strain of retrovirus present in a vampire is to the strain originating in "patient zero", the more pronounced the degree of physiological change, although the physiological changes are generally not observable (except in the cases of the various "Nosferatu" strains") or even immediately apparent, especially as the degree of changes also seem to become deeper over time. However, generally speaking, although the degree of the physiological changes seem to weaken with each successive "generation", the degree of psychological change appears to be constant.

vary psychological changes typically

Physiological Changes:

1. Universal/Core
	1. Elongation of the upper canines, which become retractable;
	2. An advanced form of porphyria cutanea tarda, of a severity never previously observed in living human beings, to the extent that an even brief exposure to sunlight may become fatal;
	3. Complete nocturnalism;
	4. Hunger for vertebrate blood, particularly human blood;
	5. Ability to sustain self entirely based on consumption on vertebrate blood.
		1. N.B. 1 - The ability of "vampires" to sustain themselves entirely on vertebrate blood appears to violate the Law of Conservation of Energy, as the energy present in the requisite "unit" of blood, occasionally referred to as a "bloodpoint" (typically equal to approximately 450 - 570 mL of blood for an uninfected human), as understood by modern science, appears to be far less than the energy that would be needed to sustain the level of activity exhibited by vampires. This suggests that vampires have a hyperefficient digestive system, and that (if we assume that the Law of Conservation of Energy is not violated) more energy is present in the "bloodpoint" than we currently understand from modern scientific techniques or can measure using same.
		2. N.B. 2 - The closer the "generation" of a particular vampire is to the retrovirus of the hypothesized patient zero, the more efficient that vampire's digestive system and ability to store and access the energy present in vertebrate blood (through means unknown). Accordingly, while the volume of a bloodpoint taken from an uninfected vertebrate seems constant regardless of the "generation" of the retrovirus with which the "feeding" vampire" is infected, the ability to access and extract energy from that bloodpoint drastically increases the closer the generation of the feeding vampire is to that of the hypothesized patient zero. As an example, a vampire that is ten (10) or more "generations" removed from patient zero has a "bloodpool" of ten (10) bloodpoints, while an otherwise physically similar vampire that is seven (7) generations removed from patient zero has a bloodpool that is equivalent to fifteen (15) bloodpoints, although the volume of the blood ingested and stored may be identical. It is hypothesized that vampires significantly closer to patient zero (five or less generations removed) may have a bloodpool that is much greater still - perhaps a multiple, although not quite an order of magnitude over the previous few "generations". As with other aspects of vampire physiology, this seems to indicate either that our understanding of the level of energy present in a substance (vertebrate blood in this case) is fundamentally flawed, or that there are exceptions to the law of conservation of mass and the law of conservation of energy. The efficiency of extracting the stored energy in the bloodpool also seems to correspond with the number of "generations" that a vampire is removed from patient zero. As above, a vampire that is ten (10) or more "generations" removed from patient zero is able to extract the energy of one (1) bloodpoint in a six (6) second period, while an otherwise physically similar vampire that is seven (7) generations removed from patient zero is able to extract the energy from three (3) bloodpoints in that same six (6) second period. Again, it is hypothesized that vampires significantly closer to patient zero may have an even more drastic increase in their ability to efficiently extract energy from their bloodpool in that same six (6) second period.
	6. Inability to derive or extract energy or nutrients from substances other than vertebrate blood.
		1. N.B. 1 - Most vampires, although not all, seem unable to even ingest food and beverages other than vertebrate blood or hold such down for more than a few minutes, and derive no enjoyment from ingestion of food and beverages other than vertebrate blood.
		2. N.B. 2 - Some vampires have demonstrated an ability to ingest food and beverages and keep it down for longer periods of time. These vampires also do derive some manner of enjoyment from such ingestion. This is more frequently observed in those whose "generation" is much further removed from that of patient zero. However, even these vampires who have demonstrated an ability to ingest food and beverages and hold them down for a more prolonged period of time,
	7. Cessation of all physical aging, and the physiological changes brought by age in individuals not infected with the retrovirus.
	8. Lack of cellular growth or change.
	9. Unbelievably rapid healing, even of major trauma.
	10. Ability to fully regenerate limbs, digits, organs, and all other bodyparts, as present at the date of the full infection of the individual (meaning that an ability who had lost a limb prior to the original infection is not, generally speaking, not able to regenerate that limb), unless the head of the infected individual is separated from their body (thus separating the brain from the heart) or they sustain trauma so overwhelmingly massive as to utterly obliterate their body.
		1. N.B. 1 - This appears to be in partial, perhaps full, violation of the Law of Conservation of Mass. As long as a vampire has sufficient "bloodpoints" in their body, they can fully regenerate an entire limb or other bodypart, even though the mass of such bloodpoints is fractional compared to the mass of the limb or bodypart regenerated.
		2. N.B. 2 - More extensive regeneration appears to be deliberate, rather than automatic. A "vampire" can choose not to regenerate a particular bodypart.
	11. Inability to aerobically respirate;
		1. N.B. 1 - Afflicted individuals do not seem to even need to breathe. Some test subjects were kept completely submerged for periods of up to a week with no harm observed.
		2. N.B. 2 - Afflicted individuals who do breathe do not seem to absorb oxygen (or indeed any other substances, or any benefit, or any detriment) from breathing;
		3. N.B. 2 - Many afflicted individuals (and a substantial majority that have suffered from the affliction for more than a decade or two after initial full infection) do not appear to breathe at all;
	12. Inability to extract energy from ingested;
	13. The development of an addictive quality to the blood (the mechanism of which is unknown, but those who ingest the blood quickly exhibit strong symptoms of a severe addiction);
	14. Ability to infect others with a weaker strain of the virus, both permanently or temporarily;
		1. N.B. 1 - As explained further in these notes, it appears that, if an infectee is not drained of all blood before being infected, the infection is temporary. These individuals, commonly called "ghouls" in different parts of vampiric society, become temporarily subject to some of the physiological and psychological changes that afflict vampires. These changes reverse themselves over time as the retrovirus is flushed from the subject's system;
	15. Enhanced strength, stamina, reaction times, and fine motor skills;
	16. Ability to temporarily further enhance strength, stamina, reaction times, and fine motor skills by extracting energy from their "bloodpool" and channeling it towards such ends through an unknown mechanism. This can be done both instinctively and deliberately;
	17. Vastly heightened resistance to environmental temperature extremes;
2. **Particular (Incidental Frequence Varying Both Among Strains, "Generation", and Individuals)**
	1. Loss of raised body temperature, which quickly changes to that of the environment in which the individual finds themself;
		1. N.B. 1 - This is common in almost all afflicted individuals, but is not quite universal. Some few individuals do seem to have a body temperature only slightly less than that of unafflicted humans. The "generation" of the retrovirus of such individuals generally tends to be quite removed from that of the hypothesized patient zero.
		2. N.B. 2 - For a short time after taking a substantial amount of blood directly from a live vertebrate, the body temperature of the vampire increases to a temperature approaching that of the subject from whom the vampire fed, but such increase in the body temperature of the vampire is not sustained for very long;
	2. Drastically enhanced resistance to injury.
	3. Drastically enhanced physical strength.
	4. Drastically enhanced reaction times;
	5. Drastically enhanced speed;
	6. Drastically enhanced fine motor skills;
	7. Drastically heightened senses;
	8. Psychosocial dominance;
		1. N.B. 1 - This can take several forms, including, but not limited to:
			1. hypnotic suggestion;
			2. projection of dominance or status;
			3. intimidation;
			4. increased status;
	9. Additional physiological changes.
		1. N.B. 1 - This can take several forms, depending on the variant strain of the retrovirus, including, but not limited to:
			1. Retractable claws, with amazing material properties (massive strength to weight ratios, massive tensile strength and shear strength, incredible sharpness);
			2. Tentacles;
			3. Darkened skin pigmentation, which, for some individuals, appears to increase with time elapsed since their initial infection with the retrovirus;
			4. Elongation or shortening of the individual's frame;
			5. Weight gain;
			6. Additional bone growth, including external protrusions of bone;
			7. Ability to camouflage oneself;
			8. Elongation and enhanced sharpness of teeth other than canines (although in such cases, the elongated teeth do not appear to be retractable);
			9. Additional cartilage growth or loss;
			10. Advanced alopecia;
	10. Enhanced charisma;
	11. Enhanced appearance/attractiveness;
	12. Enhanced vocal range and musical ability;
		1. N.B. 1 - Some individuals seem to be able to exert psychosocial dominance or psychoemotional through the medium of vocal music.
	13. Ability to non-verbally communicate with others, including with vertebrates other than human beings;
		1. N.B. 1 - The mechanism for such non-verbal communication is very unclear at the present time.
	14. Temporary suppression of various mental and/or behavioural disorders in self and/or others;
	15. Temporary enhancement or aggravation of various mental and/or behavioural disorders in self and/or others;
	16. Decomposition of the dermis;
	17. Heightened pallor;

**Psychological Changes and Mood/Behavioural/Personality Disorders**

1. **Universal/Core**
	1. Heightened "fight or flight" responses;
	2. Heightened aggression;
	3. Heightened need for psychosocial dominance and status;
	4. Hypersensitivity to certain forms of interpersonal rejection;
2. **Particular (Incidental Frequence Varying Both Among Strains, "Generation", and Individuals)**
	1. Drastically increased aggression;
	2. Bipolar disorder;
	3. ADD and ADHD;
	4. Schizophrenia;
	5. Susceptibility to addiction;
	6. Psychosomatic physiological changes, such as the inability to extract energy from vertebrate blood taken or derived from non-infected individuals other than a certain narrowly defined type;
		1. N.B. 1 - This is a very interesting disorder, and is universally present among those who are infected by the "Ventrue" strain of the retrovirus;
	7. Obsessive compulsive disorder;
	8. Obsessiveness;
	9. Late onset autism;
	10. Ennui;
	11. Muted emotional responses (other than the heightened "fight or flight" response and other universal/core psychological changes;
	12. Dementia;
	13. Memory loss;
	14. Psychosis;
	15. Heightened aversion to risktaking;
	16. Heightened inclination to risktaking;
	17. Various other psychiatric conditions;