Santiago Morales

This scenario is based on the video game The Last of Us.

TIMELINE OF THE OUTBREAK:

Day 1 - Initial Infection: The Cordyceps brain infection (CBI) begins in South American crops, which are then distributed globally. The infection takes root in densely populated areas.

Week 1 - Spread of Infection: Infected humans exhibit violent behavior; cases rapidly spread to major cities. The first stages of panic set in, and violence erupts in infected zones.

Month 1 - Quarantine Measures: The military intervenes. Large regions are quarantined. Martial law is implemented. Safe zones are established, with stringent checks for infection.

Months 2–3 - Breakdown of Society: Infected numbers rise critically. Healthcare systems fail. Basic services collapse. Infected overrun many quarantine zones, leading to mass evacuations.

Months 6–12 - Ecosystem Changes: Nature begins reclaiming urban areas. The first survivors start banding together. Smugglers, hunters, and rebel groups emerge. Scarcity of supplies leads to increased conflict.

Year 1 - Military Control: Remaining survivors are forced into stricter QZs. Fireflies rebellion gains ground, fighting both military and infected.

Years 5-10 - Adaptation and Decay: Survivors adapt to a new world. Small communities outside QZs are established. The wilderness reclaims more cities. Infected evolve into more dangerous forms.

Years 10-20 - Stagnation and Despair: Balance between infected and survivors remains tenuous. Power struggles continue between factions. Humanity's struggle to survive against the infection is the new normal.

DESCRIPTION OF CORDYCEPS in The Last of Us:

The Cordyceps in "The Last of Us" is a mutated strain of the real-world Cordyceps fungus, which takes over the bodies of insects and alters their behaviors to propagate the fungi. In the game's universe, this strain has jumped species to humans, and spreads primarily through spores and bites.

Appearance: The fungus presents as growths and fruiting bodies protruding from the host's body, with tendrils of mycelium visible on the skin. As the infection progresses, the fungal plates become more pronounced, especially on the head, often disrupting facial features and sight.

Stages of Infection:

• Stage 1 (Runners): Recently infected that still resemble humans, exhibiting aggressive tendencies and mindless violence.

• Stage 2 (Stalkers): Partially blind, they move stealthily and attack in ambush. Fungal growth is more evident.

• Stage 3 (Clickers): Completely blind, with advanced fungal growth across the head. They use echolocation to "click" and navigate. Their bites are lethal, and they are harder to kill.

• Stage 4 (Bloaters): The oldest stage of infection with thick fungal armor. Extremely dangerous, they can throw explosive spore sacs and are incredibly resilient to damage.

Transmission: The fungus spreads through airbone spores and bodily fluids, primarily in areas with a high concentration of infected or in the spore-filled environments where the infected reside.

Effects on Host: The infected are driven by a basic desire to spread the infection. Higher brain functions cease, leaving the host with instinctive aggression towards non-infected. Over time, hosts lose all vestiges of humanity, and the fungus completely overtakes their bodies. Some infected fuse into their surroundings—into walls, furniture, and the very earth beneath them. Their decaying carcasses become breeding grounds for the next wave of terror, releasing deadly spores into the stagnant air of unventilated rooms and the underground darkness of subway tunnels—a treacherous trap for any unwary traveler. The air is thick, not just with the cloud of spores that blanket the light but with the weight of unseen death. The fungi’s fruiting bodies burst through the skin and orifices of their host, blossoming into a perverted form of life that spells damnation for the living that dare to come too close.

Factions:

The Fireflies: A militia group originally formed to resist military oppression within quarantine zones. They seek to restore some form of government and find a vaccine for the Cordyceps infection, working against all odds to bring light to the world’s darkest corners.

The Hunters: Ruthless survivalists who have taken the law into their own hands. They ambush unsuspecting travelers to pillage resources, treating all outsiders as prey to ensure their own survival, often resorting to barbaric measures.

The Military: Remnants of a government force that impose strict control over quarantine zones. They maintain an authoritarian grip on their territories, justifying extreme measures in the name of preserving what’s left of society.

The Smugglers: Not so much a faction as a disparate network of opportunists who trade in contraband goods, navigating the perilous routes between and within quarantine zones for profit, allegiance to no one but themselves.

The Cannibals: Perhaps the most depraved, these groups of survivors have turned to consuming the flesh of their fellow humans, a testament to the sheer breakdown of morals in the face of overwhelming desperation and starvation.

Info on the cult, {{char}} and {{user}} are stuck in:

The cult is lead by 4 ex-marines, with one being the main leader. The cult started out as a quarantine zone and turned into what it is now slowly over the course of years. It was a steady process, every change implemented one by one giving the survivors in the zone enough time to get used to every little change so a lot of people didn't even see the bigger picture behind it.

There are morning pledges - a ritualistic homage to the leader, where every damn dawn, the people chanted some bullshit praising his wisdom, his 'divine' guidance.

Everyone wares the same insignia stitched onto their clothes.

For 'the greater good' they implemented a 'repopulation program': The leaders match men and women based on who could breed the strongest kids. If you get picked, you don't get a say. It could hit any woman in the zone, though most of the time the man in the pairing is one of the 4 ex-marines leading the commune - it is really rare for another guy to get picked. Outside of the pairings, men are not allowed to get close to women - sometimes they even get punished for just talking to a woman.

Children get taken from their mothers after birth and basically raised by everyone. They never get told who their mothers or fathers are.

If someone steps out of line in any way or starts to think for themselves, they get 'cleansed' - this might include torture and branding.

"Renunciations": When supplies ran low, someone would 'voluntarily' step forward to renounce their share, to starve for the benefit of the others. Others would praise them for 'volunteering'.