NationStates Jolt Archive

As the fires of war swept Kaukolastan, machinations were set in place, plots and ploys never conceived by the civilian government that had reigned before, but were now given free run. The Director had ordered all weapons pursued to the fullest, and with the completion of the Human Genome Project, Third Horseman was promising. Pestilence was it's common name, and it was devious strain of virus. Starting with the synthesis of Ebola and Smallpox (ebolapox), the biowar labs had been running overtime. Ebolapox, because of the problems grafting DNA and RNA, was inherently unstable, but those issues that had arisen had given Project Third Horseman: Pestilence its needed start. Internal Security Agency Director Kerrik had supported this research, but had slapped heavy conditions upon it.

1.)All research will be centralized in one location, on Osiris. Isis will retain backup copies of data and strains of the virus, but nothing else.
2.)Only natural born ISA personel shall deal with this virus.
3.)An automatic Pure Fusion self destruct shall be implanted, to prevent any leak of Third Horseman.
4.)Any failure to predict the spread will result in the destruction of Third Horseman.

And so, in a secret bunker on the military island of Osiris, untouched by the coup and war, Third Horseman waited. It was truly a work of art: a virus, modified from ebola and spliced with VEE to give it an even higher Contagion Rate, and to spread its effects directly into the brainstem, and which required synthesis with the infected victim's own Genetic Code to operate. Through this method, the sections of "missing" data could be editted to broad or specific, from a single DNA matching individual, to everyone with a certain trait, to entire species.

Those involved called their own project a sick idea. They labored in secret to produce this smart disease, this specific genocide virus. It was called Pestilence for a reason. War had come first, then Famine. After it, Death would be all that would remain before the new bloody sword of the ISA. And before this depraved weapon, all would quake, and Kaukolastan would never again fear war.

Third Horseman continued.

:TAG:

Interesting...

Belem's got one too.

OOC: Looks for Menelmacar...

<_<>_>

I have the full set

OOC: Investigated his virus, decided they weren't too similar. RP will continue.

I have the full set
OOC: Huh? And this is all secret IC. You don't know, yet.

"Commence testing, Doctor." Sub-Director Phaellan ordered.

"Yes, sir!" The technicians, dressed in full Level 4 Biohazard gear, entered the negative pressure room from the side airlock. Both carried hamsters in cages, one white, one black. The two set the cages near each other, opened the filters, and retreated through the airlock. It clicked safe, and the Doctor motioned to another technician. "Release the proto-virus." He faced Phaellan, "Sir, we've managed to seperate out the gene to decide the hamster's fur collor, and we've programmed the virus to only accept the "black fur" combination."

There was a hiss, and the airborne contagion spread into the room, circulating around the cages. The staff watched intently to the monitors. An hour passed. Two. Four. Eight. Without warning, at the thirteen hour mark, the black hamster began to writhe. Within ten minutes, it was dead, seeping blood from all orifices. Another hour passed. Several more. At the twenty hour mark, the white hamster showed symptoms. By twenty-two, it was also dead and bleeding.

Phaellan began to file his report. "It's still adapting, Doctor." he declared calmly.

"I know, sir, but we've slowed the mutation rate. We think we can restrict it completely within another two test cycles."

"And it acts too fast. Thirteen hours of contagion is nice to get a city or barracks, but this is a strategic weapon, not tactical."

"We're working on that, sir."

"Keep at it. And dispose the mess." He pointed to the bloody pools that still slightly resembled rodents.

*tags* *yells at K-Stan to get online*

Secret IC:
"You do realise the limitations of Third Horseman, don't you?"

"That we need a sample DNA helix to start with? Yes, but most nations are human, and we have plenty of that."

"But the others, Phaellan. What if we got in a war with some exotic species?"

"Then we'd obviously need to capture samples. A tongue scrape would suffice." Phaellan sighed, "But, I see your point, Doctor. We'll do something to stockpile a genome database for you..."

Open IC:
KNN Reports:
In a bid to help extend the boundaries of medical science and increase health among all species, the CBC has asked for volunteers to come forward to provide genetic samples for a "Universal Genome Project", a spin-off of the highly successful "Human Genome Project", which has already given us many cures. There is a one hundred credit prize to anyone providing exotic genes that may help the CBC extend its disease prevention research. Cookies are also promised, just like a blood drive. You can report to any blood center to contribute to this cause.

Project Third Horseman continues.

More research progresses. Mutation controlled.

This time, the test went as planned. The black furred hamster died harshly, while the others sniffed about their cages, uneffected. The techs waited, went in in full gear, cleaned the cages, replaced food and water. The hamsters lived. A week passed. The hamsters lived. More hamsters were introduced into the system. They lived. A single black furred hamster was introduced. It died.

Phaellan nodded appreciatively. "So, Doctor, even the unaffected spread the disease?"

"Yes, for the moment. We're looking at two strains, a permanent and non-permanent variation. One would function as this, staying forever in the environment, killing survivors far after the initial spread. However, some of us fear mutation even now. So we're working on another version that is not so versatile."

"Keep up the work. And keep those hamsters sealed."

"Ay, sir. Don't want to lose all your black hamsters?"

"Don't want it to mutate."

"Sir, you do realize that we can no longer gain any information from hamsters. We're changing to rhesus monkeys now, but after that..."

Phaellan leaned back, thinking. "After that, we'll need to gain absolute data." He bit his lip. "That means human data." he bit his lip harder. "That's the crutch, isn't it, Doctor? We can't know if it works until it's tested, and we can't test it without becoming monsters."

"Exactly, sir." he paused. "Sir, we've been thinking... perhaps this isn't right. Sir, perhaps we should stop."

Phaellan snapped upright, his pistol in his hand, aimed at the doctor. "That is treason. We must be monsters if we must be, and perhaps our monstrosity can save our people! Research shall continue!" he bellowed.

"Yes, sir." the Doctor stated meekly.

Phase Two Tests Complete. Rhesus monkey research ended.

Three Proto-Strains:
1.)Alpha - Permanent, slow acting
2.)Beta - Non-Permanent, moderate speed
3.)Gamma - NP, fast

In the facility, the three strains waited, each of them preserved. No human testing would happen, at least until it was needed, but three perfectly lethal and predictable viri waited for their time...