NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: Durring my absence from NS, my dad was talking to me about this book he was reading called Blindness, written by José Saramago.
Basicly, the story was about a person who was on his way to work (if I remember the conversation correctly), and he was stopped at a traffic light. When the light turned green, he was suddenly blind and could only see white in his eyes. The doctors examined him and couldn't find a solution to what caused the main character to go blind. The next night, the docter who examined the main character went blind, as well as the driver who drove the main character to the hospital.

In a few weeks time (or was it months?), the WHOLE WORLD went blind. There were riots, killings, accidental deaths, (ect) going on all around the world. It was utter chaos. A long story short, the world gained it's sight back in the last three pages of the book and no one could find an explanation to what caused the whole "blindness" issue in the first place.

My Idea:
I've noticed people creating ebola(sp?) virus BioWeapons, anthrax, black plague, zombie, (the typical works) here on NS. But I haven't seen anyone make a BioWeapon which caused people to loose their sight, or loose any of the 5 sences which humans have. Now, think about this for a moment.

It would be conseivable to create a virus which would attack the retenals of the human eye to cause them to go blind for a period of time (or perminatly). This would be done by releasing the virus as a type of gas into the air either by a bomb or other means. The subject(s) would inhale the virus and it would spread out through the blood stream and eventually will reach the retinals and will be activated and the person(s) will no longer have the ability to see.

Of course, if this is feasible (it definatly is for FT), the next step would be to take away sounds and smells.

ooc: Nice idea, thought would need a good deal of 'research' work to make it a valid MT weapon, imo anyways. The FT version would be less effective, unless it was a temporary weapn, as there would be cures/treatments for permenant blindness.

Is the virus capable of being transmitted to a second tier of victims? Even the longest war cannot justify causing a permanent threat to the human species.
Have you and your dad read Judas Virus? In it, a mysterious virus from asia caused (among death and other ailments) a swelling of the optic nerves causing scintillation and blindness.

It would be better for MT because FT has substitutes for those or even super soldiers that the virus won't affect.

ooc: Nice idea, thought would need a good deal of 'research' work to make it a valid MT weapon, imo anyways. The FT version would be less effective, unless it was a temporary weapn, as there would be cures/treatments for permenant blindness.

OOC: Actually, this virus would be more like an... AIDs virus. It mutates and adapts to the cure/treatments. Though some further research would be good.

It would be better for MT because FT has substitutes for those or even super soldiers that the virus won't affect.

I was thinking that this would be used on a city planet (such as coruscant) and ment to terrorize the populus. Sure some super soldiers wouldn't be effected, but normal humans would be effected. I'm going to try to find a way around to making this effective for FT.

OOC: Actually, this virus would be more like an... AIDs virus. It mutates and adapts to the cure/treatments. Though some further research would be good.
I'm guessing in many/most/possibly all FT nations, things like AIDs/HIV would be a thing of antiquity.

The problem is that such a weapon would have to managed carefully. I could easily say, oh look, I've got a nano-cure that protects my entire populous from your little super-bug. But that would be sheer wankage.

On the other hand, if you said that this virus can get past anything, so would that. (Godmod...)

So in the end, I'm saying go for it. But if you want it to be as powerful as you describe, leave it a pure plot device only.

The problem is that such a weapon would have to managed carefully. I could easily say, oh look, I've got a nano-cure that protects my entire populous from your little super-bug. But that would be sheer wankage.

On the other hand, if you said that this virus can get past anything, so would that. (Godmod...)

So in the end, I'm saying go for it. But if you want it to be as powerful as you describe, leave it a pure plot device only.

I plan on using it as a plot device (for the Civil War).

Jenrak (my country - duh) has already created a virus for blindness. Although we've hinted it sometimes during the RPs, we don't mass produce it to sell to others. It has to be in dart form.

Technically it's quite feasible. There's a certain disease from ant pesticides that, if consumed enough, causes many side effects. One of them is temporary blindness. Technically the blood flowing through the eyes are clogged up by deposits of the pesticide overdose, making them go blind. The more the pesticides, however, the more deposits are left in the eye.

Therefore, it becomes harder and takes longer to get the deposits out. It's like a heart attack or a stroke, but for the eyes.

Well....if its a bug, why not just change the genetic growth structure two reproduce and spread itself through the host, and infect through blood-to-blood, by air, or even by touch.

Now the key is to have it lay dormant for a set period of time, just some viruses already do. When it attacks after a set period of time....say a month, then everyone who is already infected would go blind who has been in contact with another person at a slightly different time.

Or you could just infect the masses and have a 'antibody' or something to awaken it. The trigger could be something as simple as a scent or medicine or something harmless. If it reacts to it, creates a poison or multiplies it could damage the eyes and other body parts and even lead to death.

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I have a more of an evil idea then a good one, kinda like a Chasity Belt or something of that nature. Give children a little of the dormant virus from an early age and if they go to have sex of any kind, self or otherwise, they go temporarily blind for a short period of time! Ha-ha! Make that old wives tale come true.

A slight danger of viral weapons and all, is that the type of medicine needs to be chained if it mutates or becomes resistant. Eventually it will become immune and then you'll have a real problem on your hands unless you have genetic immune shots to physically prevent the spread and growth of the virus.

"What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger."

That's the number one thing you have to keep in mind when RPing about viruses, or even working with them in real life.

I created a similar agent a few days ago for my storefront, Pale Rider Arms: Creative Weapons Division (http://s6.invisionfree.com/International_Mall/index.php?showforum=156). All it does is specifically target the unique tissues in the human eye, devouring them. The liquid (or aerosol, on one of my more annoying forms) resulting from the eye being annihilated is packed with the agent, making contact with it extremely infective. Admittedly, the victim has to rub their eyes to infect themselves, but the aerosol version makes it a damn lot easier to spread. For initial infection, I generally encapsulate the bacteria in air-borne carcerands, where they can be inhaled and carried to the eyes via the bloodstream, where the carcerands open and infect the victim.

It's quite a fun little bacterium, the only problem being that there's no real way to delay symptoms. It's also nearly impossible to cure in time, as I generally immunize my bioweapons to every anti-bacterial available (penecillin, etc). My favorite part is custom-tailoring it to only effect certain species, so you can kill off selected targets.