H5G9 Virus

The **H5G9 Virus**, commonly known as the **Sick**, is a dangerous virus that manifested at the same time as the hybrids; it is unknown how the hybrids were created, but the leading theory among the survivors is that the virus's discovery led to the birth of hybrids and ceased the birth of human babies. The main symptoms of the virus include:

* *Pinky finger twitching*
* *Difficulty breathing*
* *Red nose*
* *Red-rimmed eyes*
* *Lesions*
* *Fatigue*
* *Runny nose*
* *Balding*
* *Death*

## Description

Little is understood about the H5G9 virus other than that once infected, death is inevitable in almost all cases. The symptoms resemble that of a serious illness such as the flu, with fever, coughing, red-rimmed eyes, fatigue, and twitching in the pinky finger; the virus's symptoms progress at a rapid rate, and death is expected after the 3rd or 4th day of infection. In later stages of the virus, lesions, balding, and emaciation are observed.

Its main goal was to aid in prolonging health as a part of project Midnight Sun, led by Gillian Washington. Found in Alaska, it was apparently responsible for the birth of Gus, along with the deadly H5G9 virus which breached and spread worldwide. It had killed more than 95% of the world and the USA. It is unknown if the virus caused the birth of hybrids, but they are linked.

The virus was birthed inside of a genetically modified chicken egg, it was then incubated until it finished its development. Gillian Washington (Patient 0) was worried about her health; the Thacker lineage was cursed with bad health. In an effort to prolong her life, she injected herself with the first strand of H5G9. Gillian learnt the hard way that H5G9 was killing her, from her symptoms the virus may be targeting her Lungs, Nervous System, Immune System, and Motor functions.

## Cause of illness

Like most viruses, the H5G9 virus can spread through:

* Physical contact with an infected person, surface, or body
* Inhaling the virus through the air or cough droplets

It's unknown if the purple flowers can spread the H5G9 virus though survivors avoid them since they appear whenever an infected victim comes into contact with the ground, the virus acting like a fertilizer or seed. It's also believed the mortality rate of the virus is 100% as nobody is known to have survived the virus yet other than Rani Singh.

"The H5G9 strain is officially the deadliest virus in our lifetime. it is here, it is now. If you don't pray, now is a good time to start." - The President

## Treatment and Prevention

Gladys Bell found that by extracting "unique secretions in the **Pineal Gland** of a living hybrid" and combining it with hybrid bone marrow stem cells one gets the "secret sauce" as it's called in the show; injecting a sufferer with the serum suppresses all symptoms (from mild ones like the twitching finger to the most extreme, death). This treatment is not a cure - symptoms are only suppressed for about a month before another shot is required. Near the end of Season 1, Rani and Aditya Singh are taken by the Last Men tasked with finding a cure or vaccine for the H5G9 virus.

Prevention is so seemingly trivial - any disease that kills nearly all humans in 3-4 days would be completely preventable with even a single week of quarantine - that the disease's apocalyptic nature implies that there is more to the virus than the audience is shown. Possibilities include that the virus is carried by some nonhuman vector which the virus does not kill (e.g. potentially the purple flowers, insects, and/or some other omnipresent organism such that quarantine is insufficient due to exposure to the vector after quarantine) which is unknown to the general populace, or that absolutely everyone is *already* infected and tests for the virus yield positive results only when it progresses in that individual. The virus's global reach means the latter is the most likely explanation, as the few nonhuman organisms that thrive anywhere humans do (e.g. rats) are well-known plague vectors and would have been presumably tested exhaustively. As a result, prevention is likely impossible.

Despite all this, Aditya Singh cracked the code. After watching documentaries and studying the research conducted by Gertrude Miller, he discovered that the genetically modified chickens were capable of creating antibodies to kill the virus. He combined the secret sauce with the antibodies, there was a short lived success with the discovery of the "cure". It's unknown what happened but the cured later expired or no longer worked.

## TV series

In the Netflix series, the virus was found by Birdie and the research team at Fort Smith Labs in Alaska. In addition to its debilitating ailments, the virus also causes the pinky finger of the sufferer to quiver rapidly, a symptom that can be used to quickly identify the virus. It can also be identified using a blood test. Due to the outbreak and the existence of the hybrids, Birdie referred to them being two sides of the same coin.

The only known human to survive the virus is Rani Singh, who relies on regular booster shots created through Gladys Bell's experimentation with hybrid children. These shots cause the virus to go into remission for a period of about a month before symptoms return. In a plot twist, Gladys retires and Aditya Singh is now responsible for creating the booster shots.

In addition to the obvious physical symptoms of the virus, purple flowers are known to grow in areas surrounding the illness. These frequently grew outside of Aditya Singh's house, and were a marker that Rani was due for a booster shot.

Its link to purple flowers and reputation of inevitable demise were vital to the Air Lord's attack on the Zoo. Abbott's army panicked as they realized the Air Lords had dropped barrels filled with fake purple flowers directly at them, the barrels jokingly labeled "Flower Power".

## References

1. ↑ Purple flowers, plants that typically grow near infected and is known to cause hallucinations as seen in Gus in Episode 5 "What's In The Freezer"
2. ↑ This quote is from The President said in Episode 1 "Out of the Deep Woods". In his speech he warns the USA and the world of the H5G9 virus, causing panic and pandemonium.
3. ↑ *Sorry About All the Dead People*