Mr. Hubert was stationed at Colony 7 - Londor, as originally a quarry worker until being granted the funds to start his personal research on the infected, utilizing his knowledge on biology that he seemed to gain from reading old textbooks from the ruined buildings cleared out by the Londorian military.

Contact with the colony was lost via radio transmission, causing for a dispatch of a scouting party to confirm whether or not the worst happened. Indeed, the colony was overran with infected with no signs of life in any of the remaining buildings, nor any survivors scattered in the countryside. The area was abandoned for some time until the infected scattered the area before scavengers were sent in to pluck what was left. Mr. Hubert was discovered pacing around a alley between two stone houses, and promptly executed by gunfire due to contamination with the Ferox Virus.

Search of Mr Hubert's corpse yielded the papers on his personal research into the infection, which was then passed into my hands. I have decided to posthumously publish his research which will make the bulk of these documents.

I am Dr. Marvin, a title that may or may not have value, but considering the general population, I guess I can call myself a scholar of such a title for the time being. My background consists of textbooks recovered from the Old World settlements cleared out by soldiers, Old World being anything built before the mass infection event. Most superstitions and supernatural rumors and explanations I've been told by my family and neighbors will be ignored as much as possible, although there will be numerous occasions where I, nor science can currently explain what is going on.

These anomallies, I leave to the reader to fill in on what they think is happening. My personal contribution for this publish will consist of the editing and interpretation of Mr. Hubert's work, along with my own incomplete research on some of the psychology behind the infected.

I am currently stationed at colony 4 - Solitude.

As mentioned earlier, the Ferox Virus first appeared roughly one century ago at seemingly numerous continents around the world around roughly the same time. Resources as to what proceeded after is very limited due to the rapid destruction and lack of time for anyone to record anything. Most information recovered originate from diaries, graffiti, journals, suicide notes, etc. from the people of the time and the survivors after.

For clarification, any date before the period of first infection will have the abreviation OW (Old World) and any date after will have the abreviation NW (New World). Date formats will go as the following; 00-00-0000, day, month, and year in that order.

The name Ferox Virus is coined by Mr. Hubert in his research, meaning "Aggressive" in Latin.

At 03-00-0000 NW, it seems that the news and reaction of the population was quite delayed, most likely to skepticism of the reports of settlements and populations being wiped out in mere days. Due to this, little information as to what happened during these first few weeks is quite limited, minus the few suicide notes and final words left behind by the victims, whom had no choice but to come to terms with the reality of the infected shattering their windows and breaking down their doors.

At 21-02-0000 NW, countries under attack of the infection are shattered and destabilized on a national level all over the world. Total anarchy reigns supreme in these areas as the ocean of the infected grows exponentially in numbers. The lack of further primary sources once found in numerous areas of the world suggests the first deadzones created by the infection.

At 01-04-0000 NW, the deadzones appear to be expanding rapidly and have enveloped numerous states. Every single continent has at least one deadzones with a area of roughly 695,662 km² judging by the lack of further primary sources found in these areas around this time period.

At 16-06-0000 NW, the deadzones have consumed entire countries, at least 70% of the world seems to be infected. Total chaos and anarchy has gripped the world, as all formal states and constitutions appear to be disbanded.

From this point on a lack of reliable information is yet to be recovered to determine what events occured after, other than what can be inferred. Only bands of survivors seem to remain in isolated and sparse pockets all around the world.

At 30-07-0035 NW, the first evidence of a new settlement after the initial infection is discovered.

At 05-03-0037 NW, it seems the settlement has been overrunned or otherwise abandoned.

At 19-08-0046 NW, more evidence of attempts at establishing early settlements are discovered around the world.

At 07-10-0072 NW, the first colony is officially established, named Victoria.

At 02-01-0078 NW, the first mutations of the infected are reported.

Numerous colonies from this point are built afterwards as the population expands, with as many falling to the infection as they rise. Technological development of steam technology and mechanical parts is where most of our resources go, along with developing the most efficient methods to harvest what little resources we have left.

As of current publishing date, 08-02-0101 NW, fifteen colonies still stand.

We are not quite sure as to where the virus originated from, be it animal, environment, or a human, we simply cannot tell nor have the resources to investigate into this matter. For the time being, the relevance of this is too negligible to look into considering the strain on utilizing every resource possible to survive.

The virus appears to look like a bacteriophage, however due to a lack of equipment and technology, we are unable to look at the anatomy of this virus with much detail. Normally a bacteriophage attacks only bacteria, hence the name, by piercing the cell membrane of the bacteria and hacking the bacteria's DNA with its own DNA in order to make the cell spend resources replicating more virus cells. However, the Ferox Virus clearly does not attack bacteria and instead attacks Eukaryotic cells of the ♥♥♥♥ Sapiens species.

Realistic artistic drawing of a bacteriophage, and what the Ferox Virus could possibly look like.











Instead, the Ferox Virus seems to rapidly target and hijack every single human cell within range from the point of infection, placing a priority to reach a major blood vessel as soon as possible. Upon doing so, it seems that the virus is able to disguise itself as a blood cell as it travels up the arteries, bypassing the bloodbrain barrier and rapidly infecting the brain cells before the immune system can do anything. Whether or not the immune system can combat the virus in general isn't determinable, as it's hard to observe the immune system fighting the virus cell when the host is transformed in mere seconds. Current theories follow that the immune system is able to absorb the virus cells like any other virus, but the fact that it's able to replicate itself with previously unobserved speeds, completely overwhelm the system before it can do anything.

On the note of infection speed, we have no explanation as to how a cell can possibly invade trillions of cells in the human body so quickly to take over the host. Whether it be by efficiency in targeting important systems, or by exponential spread is unknown. As mentioned earlier, science cannot explain this speed in any mathematical sense, as the quickest infection previously recorded before the Ferox Virus still required at least days before any symptoms started appearing.

Petri dish containing a colony of the Ferox Virus. Note that only a single Ferox cell was placed next to a few human skin cells. Time until this picture was taken after placing the virus cell is approximately 0.063 of a second.












Upon analysis of the corpse of a deceased host, the virus still seems to be alive in whatever cells have not been destroyed during combat, continuously replicating itself still. The cause of this without any food or energy provided is unknown, as this should not be possible under our understanding of the law of conservation of energy. Perhaps the virus is very efficient at passive hibernation? When a healthy human cell is introduced to a deceased host, the virus cells still 'alive' are able to hijack and infect the human cell. A note will be passed to all colonies to watch their water supply and any other products with extreme caution, as well as recommend burning deceased bodies. Note that the term "alive" is used very loosely for viruses, as the only thing a virus does is float around and activates when encountering a host, releasing it's DNA.

The Ferox Virus has a 100% infection rate, successfully invading every single host that has been observed on the field and recorded. No carriers or immune individuals are known to exist as of writing, which is simply beyond words of explanation for a virus to be able to invade complex organisms with such unreal efficiency. No other observed virus in history has been able to accomplish this. It's worth noting though that any possible immune individuals could of been killed off by the extremely outnumbering infected at some point in our timeline, considering our low life expectancy is of this day and age.

Let it be known that the Ferox Virus is extremely contagious and infectious by most forms of transmission known. The virus can be passed on via blood, saliva, any infected cell, and has been confirmed to be airborne for some time now, which is why our frontline soldiers all wear a standard issue gasmask or environmental suit of some sort. To clarify, note that airborne does not mean that the atmosphere is contaminated and that simply breathing means a death sentence. No, a airborne virus means that virus cells are present in the particles that we sneeze, cough, and breathe out on a regular basis. These particles do not soar in the atmosphere waiting for a victim, but instead float around before settling to the ground between a time range of 30 seconds to five minutes at most. Fortunately, the epidermis is effective at acting as a barrier to the Ferox Virus unless punctured.

It is currently unknown if the virus is waterborne or can be carried by other animals as of writing. Infection by means other than a infected host has yet to be observed, thus we are not sure how patient zero was infected. We are also unsure as to how many parts per million of the Ferox Virus is required for a victim to be infected via airborne, as this has been the rarest method of infection.

Infection is achieved by a single Ferox cell invading either via a puncture in the skin or by entering through a openning in the human body. (Eyes, nose, mouth, and ears are possible entry points.)
As mentioned earlier, the virus then rapidly hijacks the host within seconds, taking over all organs and specific regions of the brain. Because of this rapid infection, initial symptoms of a victim has always resulted in a very brief comatose like state followed by immediate and rapid aggression torwards any non-infected. The host loses some pigmentation in their skin, leading to the more lifeless and pale appearance they're known for along with the discoloration of the eyes, notably the pupils in particular.

Rather than the stereotypical term 'zombie', the infected are not at all undead, but rather living people hijacked and being used to replicate more virus cells by attacking other potential hosts. As a matter of fact, the infected do not even bite their victims nor directly try to in any sense, as they're simply just overwhelmed with rage to attack and kill whatever victim in sight. Noting this, most infected attack their victims with their hands, however before the victim can be beaten to death, theyre usually infected by the various means possible listed above. Most common being skin puncture wounds and transmission through the infected's contaminated hands. Because of all these stated characteristics, we can see on the field how a single infected is able to contaminate an entire population of workers in any building within seconds, rapidly leading to a exponential destruction of a colony if left unchecked; the very nature of the virus that rapidly brought doom to civilization since day zero.

Infected individuals seem to have most of their organs still functioning, with the brain seeing a majority of cell death and shutdown. The brain stem remains largely unaffected, while the more complex brain lobes see the most shutdown and destruction. A more indepth analysis will be stated in the psychology section of this publish. Despite all of this, the infected are still able to maintain basic vital functions and remain alive, even maintaining balance and muscle coordination to be able to run and combat effectively, as well as effectively respond to stimuli. What we do not understand however, is the infected's ability to actually stay alive without proper nourishment for so long without simply decaying to nothing. With our understanding of the timeline, most of the infected should already be deceased a long, long time ago. Yet they still walk, groan, and attack anything in sight, unchanged in behavior since day one. This ability to function without an intake of energy or destruction to the elements seems to be simply impossible, as it defies biology as we understand it as well as the law of conservation of energy. Although I will propose a current theory that the infected somehow follow a system of stimuli-to-energy ratio, as the more stimuli a host recieves, the more energy is released from the body to go after whatever presumed healthy individuals there are to infect. When a infected isn't recieving a certain threshold of stimuli, they simply wander slowly in a hibernation like state. However, I still cannot explain how the Old World infected are still present to this day, as they surely would of ran out of energy by now.

Unlike the stereotypical 'zombie', the infected are not killed just by injuries to the brain only, and will simply expire like anyone of us, albet more resiliantly to other wounds and will take more damage than normal before expiring. For example, a fatal shot to a vital organ such as the heart, will not kill the host immediately as it should, but instead cause death within a delay of a minute or so. Since the blood supply is cut off for the host, the human cells in the host begin to expire in a certain time frame due to oxygen deprivation, but until that time is reached the host is still able to function normally. Because of this, we often see the infected that are attacking our colonies have their body obliterated into pieces before expiring to their wounds. Furthermore, injuries to the brain via gunshot or other means still lead to a quick death of the host, due to a sudden lost of nervous coordination causing the host to be paralyzed until expiration. However, injuries to the lobes of the brain do not garuntee a immediate death, as some infected are still able to remain active even with these injuries, despite losing a significant amount of their ability to detect and react to stimuli due to those assosciated areas being destroyed. Thus, the most efficient way to kill an infected is the destruction of the brain stem.

Non-lethal wounds on an infected however, has always shown favorable results for the host. For example a bullet wound to the abdomen that has punctured the intestines, does not cause the infected to die of blood loss or infection if left untreated. We're not sure whether to rule it out to some sort of healing ability, or whether or not the damage merely destroyed a now vestigial organ. Any shot to any part of the nervous system of an infected has always proven to be effective, as the virus still relies on the neurons to properly manipulate the body, potentially disabling the infected to be terminated later. Thus, we should still place emphasis on training our soldiers in marksmanship to aim for vital areas in the infected to drop them quicker than otherwise; treasure your veterans!

The Ferox Virus has changed slightly over the years since its first encounter with humanity roughly one hundred years ago, as each passing host seems to have allowed some room for mutations or evolution. Because of this gradual change in the DNA of the Ferox Virus, we have catagorized the virus into two different generations: Feroxin Primaria and Feroxin Secundarium. Note that unless stated otherwise, all characteristics of the infected remain the same between all infected listed.

Feroxin Primaria, meaning First Ferox in latin, includes any existing hosts of the Ferox Virus dating between 0 NW and 50 NW. This is the oldest version of the Ferox Virus and can be considered the progenitor for Feroxin Secundarium and all of the unique mutations that will be mentioned later. So far, we have not noted any direct differences between Primaria and Secundarium, as both generations of infected exhibit the same characteristics and symptoms. What makes Feroxin Primaria so notable is the fact that the hosts still exist today, one hundred years later without decaying to nothing like nature should dictate otherwise. Infact, Primaria makes up for at least 50% of the billions of infected population that we currently estimate.


Feroxin Primaria "O-Ws" (Old Worlds), also unofficially known as "Walkers", "Rotters", and "Zombies".

Being the oldest generation of the Ferox Virus, these infected still wonder the globe seeking humans to infect, defying mother nature in her attempt to make their mummified bodies yield to the elements. Even though they somehow exist today, their bodies have indeed still paid a heavy price. All of these infected are characterized by their slow, shambling, skinny, and weak bodies. Due to their fragile nature, they have proven to be rather weak at generally everything and quite easy to take down. However, do not underestimate them as their rotten nature has made their body an infectious bomb for blood and infected tissue to spread everywhere; caution should still be taken. While they're rarely seen in hordes due to their inability to keep up, one should still keep watch cautiously as a single O-W can easily infect an entire colony within seconds if allowed past the walls.

Feroxin Secundarium "N-Ws" (New Worlds), also unofficially known as "Runners" and "Infected".

Being the latest generation of the Feroxin Virus, these hosts do not phenotypically exhibit any traits that the Primaria doesn't already have. However, their bodies are younger than the Primaria generation thus making them more resilient and much faster due to their bodies being significantly less decayed. Because these infected are some of the more nimble that we know of, most hordes consist entirely of Feroxin Secundarium as the Primaria are unable to keep up. The main difference between the two is the difference in genotype for the Secundarium, as it seems more diverse than Primaria leading to the mutations of different infected we see today.

Feroxin Gigantism "Chubby", also unofficially known as "Tank", "Heavy", and "Fatty".

This special strain of the Secundariam virus has caused the host to swell with body mass, causing the host to be more resilient to physical damage in general. Ontop of this, the host has developed an increase in muscle mass, allowing it to still keep up to pace with other Secundariums despite its dramatically increased mass, being twice the size of the average man. This cause of gigantism is unknown, as the mass and energy the infected acquires to achieve this dramatic growth remains a mystery, as it seems to defy the law of conservation of matter. Interestingly, 100% of reported Feroxin Gigantism have been noted to be of the male sex, leading to speculation as to whether the virus itself is mutated or if its reacting with our own DNA considering our diversity. It seems most likely that the DNA of the virus has indeed mutated, but only in such a way that the new coding activates only with the proper human DNA to host it. Considering that we've only seen male hosts, it's quite clear that it has to do with the male sex chromosome, the Y chromosome, that's being used by this new strain of the Ferox Virus. One should use caution when dealing with these beasts, as their ability to sustain far more damage than normal allows the other infected to close in on our walls, complicating our ability to defend ourselves.

Feroxin Lingua "Venom", also unofficially known as "Viper", "Mudman", and "Skunk".

The Feroxin Lingua is another special strain of the Secundariam virus, this time it seems to be autosomal as the creature appears to be a possible mutation from both sexes. The various digestive organs in the abdomen have been shifted and mutated to fuse together and form a singular, dedicated organ to be used as a weapon. Specifically, it seems that the gall bladder, which produces bile, has been enlarged and kicked into overdrive to provide a base liquid for the toxic substance that the venom is known to projectile vomit on it's victims. The stomach has been fused with the gall bladder to produce the actual lethal and toxic acid that is infamous for its deadly effectiveness, reaching a pH of 1 in lab tests, this vile venom will burn through most flesh and some materials that it encounters, breaching the flesh and exposing the victim to further infection. The bodily fluid projectiled from the venom has a consistency of roughly 70% harmless, albet Feroxin contaminated gall bladder fluids, and 30% of the lethal and deadly stomach acid. It seems the digestive system has been turned into a factory dedicated to producing this compound, allowing it to keep up its acid rain on its targets. Once again, it is unknown and should be impossible for the venom to acquire the necessary energy and resources to constantly produce the compound without any significant consequences to its own health. The tongue of the venom is another particular feature that has been significantly mutated, as it has grown significantly in length not only externally, but also internally. The tongue has grown along the length of the esophagus and wrapped around the new venom-producing organ, serving as a muscle that contracts at will to propell the compound when ready at extreme ranges. Characteristic for it's green skin tone, we are not quite sure why this is the case, as surely such a powerful acid would dissolve the Feroxin Lingua's body. What does seem apparent however is the strain of the intensive acid production it has put on the host's body, as it is visibly malnurished down to the bone, even lacking many features such as hair, nails, breasts, cartilage, and possibly more, all presumably sacrificed to produce more of the toxin. Feroxin Lingua is infamous among the colonial military, accounting for a significant portion of all military casaulties, as it's projectiles are known to hit multiple soldiers at once in one spray if grouped close together. I've even read of reports of fellow soldiers being melted or at least dismembered by the acid upon being saturated in the deadly toxin by multiple Linguas at once. While deadly, the lethality of the toxin at least serves to be counter productive to the infectivity of the Feroxin Lingua, as the victim's body is often destroyed beyond use for the Feroxin virus to infect and make use of it.

Feroxin Ferrum "Harpy", unofficially known as "Demons", "Loonies", and "Wraiths".

The Feroxin Ferrum is a strain of the Feroxin Secundarium, a sex-linked mutation that only affects females, most likely due to a recessive X chromosome gene requiring both X chromosomes in a female to be a carrier for the mutant causing gene. Due to the general rarity for both X chromosomes in a female to carry the same recessive gene, the rarity of the Feroxin Ferrum to be encountered on the field backs up this theory, as a small ratio of females seem to mutate into Harpies. If the theory stands true, then it also explains why men can't be harpies, as the Y chromosome is infact epistasis to an X chromosome carrying the recessive gene, or at least interferes with the mutation preventing it from happening. Of all of the mutations listed so far, the changes in a host's body is the most extreme with the Feroxin Ferrum strain. Autopsy of a Ferrum has revealed that the Radius and Ulna bone in the arms have infact overgrown, branching out and piercing the Carpus to form the distinct claws seen on Harpies. This mutation has rendered their hands locked in position and useless, but grants them a very deadly and feared weapon. Furthermore, their incredible speed and ability to jump as high as fifteen meters - enough to scale the walls of a colony - is owed to the relevation that the body has undergone extreme measures to decrease its mass as much as possible. All of the Ferrum's bones have been found to be hollowed as much as possible, until deminishing returns make further hollowing unreasonable. Ontop of this, the skeleton has converted into unusually high concentrations of spongy material, allowing the Ferrum to absorb the shock of landing from such high falls, also acting as an effective spring for the host. Numerous organs appear to be missing from the Harpy, as well as "useless" muscle mass that wouldnt be used for combat. The harpies legs have been found to develop extra and even more dense muscle mass around the legs, giving it the powerhouse needed to accelerate to its high speeds it's infamous for. Once again, the anomally as to where all this energy came from is unknown, as it seems unlikely a Harpy can last for long due to it spending so much energy without nourishment to replenish this energy. Similarly to the Lingua, while the Ferrum is incredibly deadly it is also counter intuitive, as the Ferrum's hyper aggressive behavior and deadly claws tend to damage its victim's bodies beyond use for the Ferox Virus to utilize as a host.

Special mention will be given for the absolute infamousy this creature possesses among the colonial military, being responsible for the majority of military casaulties. This biological exterminator is nothing to take lightly indeed, as the claws of a Harpy is an often prized trophy for soldiers who live to tell the tale.

"Executive", also known as the "Patrician" and "Noble".

While soldiers insist that this Feroxin Secundariam is another unique strain that has mutated, this does not seem to be the case. Despite the evidence of it's increased stength, speed, and resiliance to damage, these traits are not due to mutation, but instead due to the fact that the host was ideally fit and athletic upon infection. Because of the extra finess and existing muscle tone, the "Executive" is naturally stronger than the average Ferox Secundariam, but nevertheless the same strain of the virus; a result of the host rather than the virus itself. It's worth noting that this is the only example of a host's phenotype directly influencing how a virus manifests itself in the host, rather than the host's genotype being influenced by the virus.

With the host's brain stem intact, it's worth noting which parts of the brain lobes have been spared from destruction of the virus.

Figure no. 3 areas of the brain are interestingly still found to be firing neurological impulses, despite most of the brain mass being inactive and deceased. Particularly, the motor cortex is the most active area of the frontal lobe, seemingly being spared for its use in muscle coordination in order for the host to function at it's job of attacking others. Very limited regions of the frontal lobe has also been spared, particularly regions most assosciated and theorized to be involved with communication. The temporal lobes, which are currently cut away so that figure 5 could be shown, are also found to be quite active, most likely to maintain the host's ability to sense sound, as this is the primary job of the temporal lobes before infection. The occipital lobe (Figure 3b) at the back of the brain, which is responsible for sight, seems to be the least active of all the stimuli related areas of the brain. Whether or not the infected use sight to locate their prey is debatable, as their eyes are already near useless with the existing damage of the pupils to discoloration and other related damages. All other regions of the brain are found to be inactive and deceased, or at least we cannot detect any neurological impulses being fired anywhere else in the brain. Though I theorize that there's probably just a few neurons spared through the entirety of the brain in order to act as necessary "roads" that the neurons still need to send messages across the brain, unfortunately if this does exist, our equipment is not sensitive enough to detect such faint activity.

While most of the brain stem has been spared, its interesting to note that the hypothalamus has been shut off entirely, with no neurological impulses being detected here either. The original purpose of the hypothalamus was to trigger sleep with the build up of melatonin, as well as staying awake and alert. While we don't understand exactly how sleep really works with the brain, it seems the Feroxin Virus has no need for such a function and has made this part of the brain stem entirely vestigial now.

Figure no. 9, the cerebellum, is entirely active and has infact not seen any decrease in neurological activity compared to the lobes in the brain, particularly the motor cortex. The cerebellum is known for its major involvement in muscle movement and coordination, as well as recieving information from the sensory systems of the body.

Multiple autopsys were performed on Feroxin Primaria and Secundarium, each one yielding close to identical results described above. Based on the data and evidence gathered, I can conclude that the Ferox Virus disables and kills off any brain tissue that is non-essential for its purpose, particularly brain matter utilized for the formation of personality, learning, memory formation, etc. While on the other hand, the virus has spared and even seems to well maintain the brain matter assosciated with muscle movement and coordination, as evident by the good condition of these areas even in Feroxin Primaria. If possible, it may be a good idea to capture some infected and study how the virus is able to maintain brain tissue so well, and perhaps find a way to apply that technique for ourselves to potentially treat disorders, particularly dementia.

While most of the brain mass not assosciated with muscle movement in an infected is disabled, there are still a few noteworthy areas still active in the frontal lobe. These areas could perhaps be responsible for the little behavior that a host exhibits whatsoever, whenever the amygdala isn't in overdrive, overpowering all other functions of course.

The amygdala, which is responsible for survival instincts and emotions; particularly sex drive, anger, and fear, seems to drive most of the behavior exhibited in an infected. Particularly anger, as one may guess, as the amygdala in an infected host has actually seem to swollen in size slightly for all infected that was autopsied on, suggesting that the organ is pumping unusually high amounts of hormones to enforce constant rage upon stimuli. Interestingly, while the amygdala is swollen in size, a significant portion of the organ is disabled or inactive, suggesting that these zones were once responsible for pleasure, survival instincts, and fear. This would explain why the Feroxin show absolutely no sense of hesitation or self preservation, nor any desire to nourish themselves or seek any shelter. If this is true, then the Feroxin literally cannot perceive fear nor pain.

As for the remaining brain mass, it seems that the virus spared just enough of the brain lobes to allow the infected to distinguish one another from healthy humans. However, how exactly this is accomplished, isn't known as it's likely the virus itself has some influence in this rather than taking advantage of the brain. While an infected will spend most of its time aimlessly wondering around, hordes of infected have randomly organized into massed groups migrating across the countryside in hunt of other victims. How the infected are able to socialize enough to interact with each other and form a organized mob is not quite understood, as this is the only behavior exhibited by the infected other than aimless and inactive wondering. I personally recommend a proposal to provide funding for research on how the infected are indeed able to communicate and form these hordes, for if we can produce a weapon that disables their ability to communicate, we can dramatically increase the survivalability of our colonies. As of now, I theorize that the infected's ability to organize into large hordes might be due to the fact that we are a social species, a trait that the virus has inherited upon infecting us, displaying this in the form of very deadly hordes of infected moving together in a hivemind like state, seeking to besiege colonies and break through the walls.

Further research and documentation will be provided as further analysis is provided, as for now, this is all we can infer with current technology and what has been observed of the infected.

While Mr. Hubert's research has brought significant amounts of data and perhaps the first insight into what exactly is going on with what has destroyed our world, our understanding is still incredibly limited. If anything, the research recovered today has created far more questions than answers, particularly with the supernatural like anomallies present in the infected.

Further research and documentation will be published as further findings are recovered, particularly any new appearances of special infected reported from the field.

This is Dr. Marvin of Solitude - colony number four. Good luck to all of you and godspeed, there is hope left for the few of us against the billions that walk among us.

Thank you for reading, the purpose of this guide is to provide some backbone lore for a young game in early access! Feedback is welcomed as to the writing style of this lore, hopefully it isn't too dark or overly serious considering the somewhat comedic personalities of the soldiers and colonists. The writing is heavily inspired by actual medical science and psychology, as the scientific explanation for everything can be considered realistic fiction using what we understand of biology today as a foundation to build around the fictional idea of this virus. I'll leave the history part of the lore as vague as possible, as simply no information whatsoever has been released about this nor can anything be inferred since it is steampunk afterall, though a British theme can be followed since it is infact steampunk, considering the Victorian era culture. Good luck with your colonies!

I might be forgetting one more special infected, but I've yet to get far enough in the game to see it myself nor can I find it online. I'll add it later if it exists. (The stone texture like chubby I see on some media)

Credits:
Ingame screenshots taken by me using the game They Are Billions.

Skull credited to artist Kouji, Tajima.

Tajima, Kouji. “Skull.” Kouji Tajima Art, koujiart.blogspot.com/2012/07/skull_27.html.

Other images are found from google images, all rights and ownership going to their perspective owners. (Note that the picture of the bacteriophage is infact fake, we do not have the technology today to take a clear image of a bacteriophage via electron microscope. It is the creation of an artist.)