Probennummer BP-107

**Probennummer BP-107** (Galactic Standard: *Specimen Number Bio-Fungi 107*), known fully as **Probennumer Biopilze 107** in Stadtverisch and code-named as **Weißes Gänseblümchen** (lit. *White Daisy*), is a fungal species and biological weapon of mass destruction that has been created by the *Hügelsaugen-Forschungsabteilung 279* (lit. *Hill's Eyes Research Unit 279*) of the *FuE Staatsschutz* research and development sub-organization of the *Staatsschutz* paramilitary. Taking into account various galactic pandemics and related virulent incidents that have occurred in the Milky Way, such as the threat of the Weld and the recent outbreak of Karax, several biological research and defense committees within the inner circles of the government of the Menschlicher Sternenstaat convened to study a possible method of indirect biological and/or chemical warfare for future wars.

*White Daisy,* in particular, was artificially created in 779 SA by the HAFA-279 research group of the *FuE Staatsschutz* as a response to these committees through synthesis of fungal and xenoi analogue DNA, and has been intensely researched for practically eleven years for applications as a mass-utilized biological weapon. First field tests of the specimen were isolate uses of the weapon in Operation Wolkenkratzer by special elements of the *Staatsschutz* against enemy armed and civilian targets.

*Work in progress.*

## Description and morphology

*White Daisy* takes physical form as a superficial ascomycete with thickened asci and a countless amount of conidiophores that produce a unique form of asexual spores known as *kinesioconidia.* These *kinesioconidia* possess a lightweight form of flagella that allow both propulsion through water (or other fluids) and passive movement through wind dispersal in an effort to find biomatter to attach onto as a substrate.

On inorganic surfaces, such as metal, *White Daisy* macroscopically forms miniature lanes of white hyphae with intermittent clusters that give way to elongated, cylindrical fruiting bodies. These fruiting bodies range from sizes anywhere between seventy two millimeters to nearly nine centimeters depending on the availability of nearby biomatter. This form of the specimen is known as its *transient structure,* which was developed to maximize dispersal of *kinesioconidia* and ascospores in urban environments; especially an ecumenopolis.

On organic surfaces (mainly including biomatter analogous to the dermis and protective coverings of animals, but also including matter analogous to plant, fungal, and even unicellular colonial structures), *White Daisy* will first burrow an underlying layer of white mycelia before erupting into the atmosphere with thick, bulbous and elongated, cylindrical fruiting bodies that disperse astronomical amounts of *kinesioconidia* and ascospores. The bulbous fruiting bodies, or *vegetative structures,* often erupt at a maximum of four meters high and six meters in diameter depending on the size of the biomatter sample, and the elongated fruiting bodies can erupt with a height of up to 10 meters tall and one meter in diameter given enough biomass. It has been noted that this gigantism within the fruiting bodies was made dually for the purposes of fear and to maximize wind and water dispersal in a plethora of environments; namely urban and pastoral.

A unique structure of *White Daisy* has been designated as *interstitial structures*. Near a presence of an air or fluid flow within a generally compacted substrate (such as air pockets in soil or blood vessels in animals), small spherical fruiting bodies will form and expunge spores as to allow passive transport and/or collection through such avenues. These structures are integral in spreading the fungus quickly throughout hosts in infection.

The hyphae themselves exhibit significant hardiness to environmental pressures and hazards, including increased protection against atmospheric/water pressure, toxic/acidic atmospheres, and extreme heat or cold. Although *White Daisy* cannot feasibly multiply in a vacuum, it can, in a limited manner, spread in substrates crushed by solids or liquids.

It has also been noted in field tests that the specimen will propagate through both fertile and infertile soils at unprecedented rates, allowing it to be potentially used as an anti-agriculture weapon.

*Work in progress.*

## Etymology

Its official designation as *Probennumer Biopilze 107* is due to the specimen being the 107th fungal product of the *FuE Staatsschutz* to pass initial testing. The code-name *White Daisy* is thanks to the unique physical patterns of its vegetative structure, with frills complementing the underlying asci and conidiophores upon its superior surface and resembling that of a daisy flower.

*Work in progress.*

## Epidemiology

*White Daisy* was only present beyond laboratories of HAFA-279 during Operation Wolkenkratzer and its field tests on the planet of I-aakii-a. Around 56,000 humanoid individuals were infected by the specimen over the course of three days in two designated deployment zones of 50 to 60 kilometers in area. Initial dispersal of the weapon was via outfitted and specialized Kr-298 Geier precision bombers at an altitude of twenty three kilometers utilizing titanium dispersal pods, and further spread of the fungus was thanks to its frenetic spread through the local soils and infection of wildlife carriers.

### Deaths

All fifty six thousand humanoids succumbed to either the disease or interpersonal violence within 72 hours of dispersal via interatmospheric bombers. The first surveyed humanoid case was that of a teenager who was in contact with an infected stream that flowed from a forest entering the initial stages of spore dispersal; the death of said subject twelve hours later instigated significant infighting between social groups that lead to the deaths of four hundred. Containment was enacted through orbital bombardment after the field tests were ordered to be concluded.

### Estimates

Through laboratory and field tests, the release of such a specimen on a reasonably populated world such as Vera and no enactment of containment policies would lead to the majority of the population (51%, 8.67 billion) being infected within the span of one week; total population infection within the span of three days. With containment procedure simulation, the initial phase was delayed by 36 hours and the second phase by 12 hours. On an ecumenopolis such as Vilten, total population infection would occur within a five-to-six day period including containment procedures.

*Work in progress.*

## Signs and symptoms

The following information was collected by HAFA-279 unit researchers from both laboratory and field tests, in addition to virtual simulations in the context of a baseline human patient with an average immune system. Stages of humanoid infection are listed for comprehension.

### Stages of infection

#### **Stage 1 (initial exposure; 0 - 30 mins.)**

The ascospores and/or kinesioconidia of *White Daisy* will most likely enter a host through their respiratory tracts (such as tissues in the mouth, nose, throat, and lungs), although entry by any exposed orifices or wounds are possible. The spores that have entered will begin to multiply and spread hyphae through the immediate tissues, burrowing through flesh until they reach blood vessels or other cavities. Once reached, quasi-tumorous structures known as *interstitial structures* will form, reconverting biomass into spores that will fill these cavities in an effort to further spread the fungus beyond the meandering speed of hyphae.

The symptoms from such instantaneous multiplication in the respiratory tract will include massive bouts of sneezing, coughing, and expunging of blood, in addition to devastating chest, throat, and oral pains. This is due to the destruction of host tissue and the burrowing of fungal hyphae deeper into the body.

#### **Stage 2 (accelerated invasion, 30 mins. - 2 hrs.)**

During the phase of "accelerated invasion", spores and mycelia of *White Daisy* will spread far beyond the point of infection. Invasion of the circulatory system will yield *interstitial structures* in the lungs, heart, and certain points in the circulatory system in addition to open airways and the beginnings of the digestive tract in the throat and mouth. Excruciating pain and eventual shock will set in without anaesthesia of any kind as the blockage of blood will begin to occur in capillaries, choking extremities of the body (i.e the distal portions of the limbs).

Intrusion into the nervous system will also begin through breakage of the blood-brain barrier in the later portions of this stage. Beyond the agonizing pain, further symptoms will include possible myocardial infarctions from blockages in the coronary arteries and vomiting through invasion of the digestive tract.

#### **Stage 3 (physiological degeneration, 2 - 6 hrs.)**

During physiological degeneration, the nerves of the body will become compromised and die from a lack of oxygen and/or fungal infection. Visible dermal sores containing outgrowths of *interstitial structures* and the beginnings of *transient structures* will be apparent as the fungus prepares for atmospheric dispersal. Although parts of the body (such as the brain) may still be considered "alive", practically all of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems will be compromised, in addition to massive degeneration of the muscular systems and invasion of the dermal tissue. The digestive tract, in some instances, may become filled with converted ascospores and kinesioconidia, and may involuntarily leak through the mouth and anus due to loss of nerve control in both endings.

#### **Stage 4 (macrostructural appearances, 6 - 12 hrs.)**

Further reproduction and expansion of *White Daisy* in the host will lead to eventual brain death through hypoxia or direct consumption by fungal structures. As the host truly dies and the vestiges of the immune system collapse, the onset of decomposition will instigate an immediate proliferation of fruiting bodies that will explode both within and out of the body via the skin and internal linings (such as the intestines, mouth, stomach, et cetera). Beginning as enlargened *interstitial* and infant *transient structures*, *vegetative structures* will appear through incorporation of nearby biomass via the mycelia. At this point, the fungus enters a stage of maximum spore generation that will eventually lead to dispersals as fast as one to six hours after death.

After ceasing spore generation, the corpse will wither away as the fungus converts the rest of the biomass before disintegrating and/or splitting off into nearby ground substrates.

### Diagnosis

Determining initial infection within the span of half an hour can be possible through the employment of medical nanites or a GHATM.

*Work in progress.*

## Treatment

Due to the rapid degeneration of the host and simultaneous growth of fungal tissue within the body, treating cases of *White Daisy* in any feasible manner will necessitate the immediate usage of advanced medical macro- and nano-technologies, preferably within the span of half an hour of infection.

### Case of Heinrich Ludens

*Schütze* Heinrich Ludens was a Kampf-Staatsschutz soldier who participated in the field tests on I-aakii-a through guarding a hundred-and-twenty kilometer exclusion zone perimeter of Site B. After thirty hours into the experiment, Ludens contaminated himself with spores of *White Daisy* through removing his "faulty filtration" mask and drinking from a river that originated near the epicenter of Site B. Instantly complaining of stomach pains, Ludens began to vomit and retch intensely five minutes thereafter and was rushed to an anticipatory field hospital three kilometers away.

All non-essential personnel were evacuated within a kilometer of the field hospital as medical droids and K-SS staff attempted to pump the stomach of Ludens and purge his throat of possible contamination. It was noted through an abdominal endoscopy that a "fine webbing of mycelia" was present along the rugae of Luden's stomach, and fearing intrusion into the gastric tissue and abdominal cavity, medical personnel utilized Nanovixin to incapacitate Ludens indefinitely and minimize blood flow. Ludens was hooked onto a nanofiltrative dialysis and life support machine to prevent bloodstream contamination and assist in maintaining critical life systems, and an immediate *abdominotomy* was ordered for the total resection of the stomach and immediate peripheral organs such as the liver, gallbladder, spleen, and superior portion of the small intestine.

A scheduled flight for emergency medical transport to the  KSS *Abaddon*was ordered at the behest of HAFA-279 representative Arnold Osswald for Ludens, and as an interatmospheric medical carrier was dispatched, Luden's excised organs were immediately cremated and an emergency administration of anti-pathogenic nanites were ordered in circumvention of normal anti-nanite procedures.

While on critical life support, Ludens was successfully transported to the *Abaddon* and was kept in an induced coma until he was received by a dispatched courier vessel for HAFA-279. He was then transported to their black site on Lugan's Scepter and was able to receive approval for a total organ regeneration batch by the high command of the *FuE Staatsschutz*. He has been in this coma since, but technically counts as the sole survivor of *White Daisy* due to the expectance of such by field testers and the advanced medical technology of the Sternenstaat.

*Work in progress.*