Bogleech.com's 2016 Horror Write-off:
Revised Zombie Guide
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Thank you for accessing the English abridged edition of the Red Ops Zombie Field Guide. Unabridged editions are available on an as-needed basis.
As a Red Ops agent there are a few things to remember when dealing with zombies:
* Though many will scoff at the name Zombie, due to its place in the cultural lexicon the term has been adapted for inter department communication when describing reanimated corpses whose primary modus operandi is the spread of a disease.
* Zombies are reanimated and controlled by a disease. The Zombie exists to spread this disease, while most strains will show signs of aggression, some do not
* There is not one source of Zombieism. In everything but the most extreme cases proper identification and disposal is paramount. An agent's imminent demises is not considered an extreme situation.
* Zombies are grouped into genus by disease, not by behavior or physical characteristics. However members of the same genus often have very similar behavior and physical characteristics.
* Know how to survive a with Zombie outbreak not only on the field but also at everyday work stations. If there is an outbreak at a workstation do not engage. In almost all cases special forces from the Center for Disease Control will be deployed for disposal and cleanup.
* An agent's eminent demise is not considered an extreme situation.
This guide contains write ups the most common types of Zombies. Included in these writes up are: type of infection; means of infection; reanimation time; identification information; basic infection information; brief history; signs of infection; allowed ways of disposal; disallowed way of disposal; and individual species within the genus.
This guide does not contain: Rare Zombie species; scientific names for the family, genus, and species; thorough history of the genus; in depth look into the infection, genus, or species as a whole; toxicology reports; necropsy reports; or field manual training.
Type of Infection: Bacterial
Means of Infection: Saliva
Reanimation Time: 1 to 2 Days
Identification: The Shambler appear to be an animated fresh corpse. Any wounds on the body will not heal, and there is minimal change to the physical features of the Shambler, making pre-mortem identification of the Shambler easy. The Shambler's teeth and gums are visible and pronounced. While the Shambler's teeth and gums could not pass for someone with good dental hygiene, they can pass for someone who is still alive. Of note is the Shamblers excess production of saliva.
Infection Information: Aggressive, but physically weak, the Shambler is a minimal threat when properly handled. The Shambler bacteria can only be spread through saliva. A Shambler without a head will remain mobile, but the body is not an infection risk; however the decapitated head of a Shambler will remain an infection risk, and can still bite. The Shambler bacteria is very potent and requires a very small bacterial load into the bloodstream. The Shambler bacteria is not zoonotic and has no effect on the previously deceased.
History: The most common, and as far as common knowledge is concerned, only Zombie on record, the Shambler likely predates written history. While relatively easy to contain, the species wide range and prevalent nature has lead it to becoming firmly embedded in our cultural zeitgeist as the quintessential Zombie. Our concentrated efforts in the media has painted them not only as bloodthirsty killers, but a humanity threatening issue. This has helped curb outbreaks as people now fear the Shambler, where before the Shambler were merely considered nuances.
Signs of Infection: Redness around initial infection area. Uncontrollable salivating. Physical weakening. Gum inflammation. Increased Hostility. Death happens within two weeks, appearing to be a type of fast acting Anemia.
Disposal: Decapitation, though this will still leave the infected head as a disease vector. Immolation. Time; Shambler bacteria does not protect the flesh of the infected from the natural rotting process. This combined with the body's inability to heal itself post-mortem will cause a Shambler to waste away rather quickly.
Non Acceptable Disposal: Trauma to the head. Due to the mode of the infection anything that can aerosolized the saliva of a Shambler is considered too great of an infection risk. Anything traumatic that will leave the head in more than one piece is not an acceptable means of disposal. While removing the teeth of a Shambler can slow the infection rate, since it does not stop the production of saliva it will not completely nullify the Shambler's ability to infect others.
Common Shambler: The Common Shambler appears to be a reanimated corpse. While the Common's teeth are not healthy looking by any pre mortem standard, they appear to be healthier that other type of Shambler's teeth.
Spitter: The Spitter's most distinguishing feature is the mouth, which is little more than a roughly circular opening ringed by gums. Instead of biting the Spitter spits with an alarming accuracy with a range of roughly ten feet. The Spitter will aims for the mouths, eyes, ears, and wounds of it's victims. Infection by this particular strain of bacteria results in the teeth loosening before death, with the physical deformation of the jaw happening post-mortem over a period of three to five hours.
Licker: The Licker be identified by it's complete lack of a lower jaw and it's elongated tongue. Due to the effects of the disease there are often blood stains down the front of the Licker. While most Lickers show an elongation of the tongue of three to six inches, cases of elongation of the tongue up to three feet have been observed. Instead of biting the Licker will either try to use its upper jaw to rake the skin off of a victim, or more likely, try to shoot its tongue into the victim's mouth or wounds. Note that infection by this particular strain of bacteria will result in a much quicker fatality, as the jaw will first develop sores then rot off within the first week, leading to death by blood loss if unchecked. Tongue elongation occurs simultaneously as the rotting of the jaw, and can lead to the infected dying from choking.
Drooler: The Drooler can be identified by the gross overproduction of saliva. The Drooler is always seen with a large wet stain down the front of its chest. The Drooler can be tracked by the smell of halitosis and the trail of saliva. Because of the overproduction of saliva the bite of a Drooler spread the disease more effectively to not only its victim, but to others in the vicinity. When dealing with a Drooler make sure that you are wearing protective footwear, as stepping in the trail the Drooler is a disease risk.
Wet: Originally misidentified as a type of Putrifier, the Wet Shambler can be identified by its glistening covering of saliva. Saliva pours the Wet's pores, not only increasing the danger as a disease vector but also making it the longest surviving Shambler, as the saliva protects against insect infestation. This type of Shambler will not try to bite, instead it will try to embrace its victims. Infection by the Wet bacteria leads to copious amounts of sweating, often leading to death by dehydration.
Preserved: While the Preserved are not a true species of Shambler, they are a unique example of the potency of the Shambler bacteria. The only case of a Zombie bacteria that can survive the embalming processes, the Preserved are more of an interest than a threat. A Preserved can be noted by its stiff movements. Often the mouth is sewn shut, reducing the chance of infection. Even when the mouth is not sewn shut, the embalming process stiffens and weakens the jaw muscles, meaning that an Preserved's bite often cannot break skin. Naturally time is not an effective way of disposal of the Preserved. Only the Common Shambler bacteria has been found to be able to survive the preservation process.
Type of Infection: Virus
Mode of Infection: Trichomonas Virus
Reanimation Time: Ten to Fifty milliseconds
Identification: The Moss Zombie appears as a meaty moss like biofilm. Depending on the species of Moss this biofilm can be a variety of colors and textures. Even a gradual look over the Moss Zombie highlights how it appears to be too fleshy to be a regular outcropping of other, more common, biofilms, such as regular moss or fungus. It is found in areas that would normally be inhospitable to those types of life. Upon microscopic examination Moss is revealed to be a multitude of zombified microorganisms.
Infection Information: Without proper safety equipment, exposure to an area contaminated by Moss is a guaranteed infection vector. Extended (two to five minutes) unprotected physical contact with most types of Moss is a death sentence, though environmental exposure rarely leads to fatalities. Immune systems do respond to Moss infections, those with compromised immune systems are not acceptable deployment, and have close to one hundred percent fatality rate after exposure. Moss cannot reanimate already deceased microorganisms.
History: Due to the inherent dangers of collecting samples; we do not have much information on Moss. While once considered by the Department of Wildlife to be a very dangerous type of cryptid recent analysis has shown Moss to be zombiefied eukaryotic microorganisms.
Infection Signs: Moss infections can vary greatly from species to species. In general though nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and bloody stool are all signs of infections. Death can occur within minutes of extended direct physical contact, and within hours of environmental exposure if it proves to be fatal.
Disposal: Aerosolization of a hydrofluoric solution containing Fluoroantimonic acid over a wide area is suggested in the most cases. Where that is not possible precision Cryo Bombing is preferred, though afterward a regular aerosolized antibiotic and antifungal sweep must be performed for a year plus.
Non Acceptable Disposal: Fire Bombing. Standard Bombing. Standalone Antibiotic Aerosolized Sweeps. Standalone Anti fungal Aerosolized Sweeps. Moss is extremely hardy, and it does not take much more than a patch less than a inch in diameter to start spreading.
Meat Moss: The most common type of Moss. The Meat Moss virus does not attack one kind of Microorganism, instead attacking any it comes in contact. The Meat Moss virus causes the Microorganisms to gain a red tint and burst. After the Microorganism bursts it stays mobile and leaves a trail of viral load. In case of exposure Meat Moss species can not infect the cells of a macro organism, but also can wipe out the natural microorganism ecosystem of the victim.
Bloomer: Closely related to the Meat Moss species of Moss, the Bloomer species causes the cell to burst, like a Meat Moss infection, but instead of staying mobile the Microorganism stops moving, fully repairs its cell wall, and bursts again. This leads to a more aerosolized and faster spreading virus. The reaction of being exposed is much quicker and violent and can quickly spread between animals through proximity. Looks the same as Meat Moss, but is patchier and lumpier due to piles of microorganisms forming.
Living Rust: The Living Rust is white in color. Living Rust specifically targets the microorganisms responsible for microbial corrosion. Instead of leaving a viral trail Living Rust leaves a trail of Sulfuric Acid. The Virus thrives in the acid and also causes increased oxygenation, which further damages the concrete and/or steel Living Rust is found on. Will only reproduce on steel or concrete, non threat of infection to animal and plant life. Though The increased acidity in the environment can be hazardous. Chemical scrubs are an acceptable way of dealing with Living Rust, as long as the increased acidity of the environment and the possibility of chemical reactions are taken into consideration. Due to the odd behaviors of the Living Rust virus it is believed that it is is an artificially created variation of Moss.
Red Tide: The Red Tide variation of Moss only targets Plankton. Read Tide is only viable in a saltwater environment. While the actual effect of Red Tide Moss is well known to the general public, the fact that it is a Zombie Virus is classified information.
Float: A type of Red Tide Moss that can target the microorganisms in the Portuguese Man o' War. An infected Man o' War is not visually distinct. However once it finds a suitable patch of Plankton the Man o' War will burst and spread Red Tide.
Mushroom Moss: Named after the fleshy mushroom like growths that appear in the Moss, Mushroom Moss is Meat Moss that has been infected by Aerosol spores. These mushroom like growths spray a mist of Mushroom Moss infected spores. These spores infect living macro-organisms, creating what's are known as Moss Walkers. Exposure to the Mushroom spores will kill within seconds of exposure, and will reanimate in a similar time frame. The Moss Walker cannot get far, as it only takes a few minutes for the Moss infected fungus to completely break down its host and sprout more Mushroom Moss.
Balloon: Closely related to the Mushroom Moss, the Balloon gets its name from the puffball like growths it produces. This species happens when Moss infects the Dirigible species of Aerosol Zombies. If infecting a Dirigible type while the Fungus is still growing, the balloon will fill and when full will burst spraying Moss infected fungus. However if the Dirigible is mostly matured, it will still achieve flight, filling up slowly. After two to three days the Balloon will come down and will burst spreading more Balloon Moss.The Balloon and the Dirigible have no visual differences, with environmental clues being the best way to tell them apart.
Type of Infection: Virus
Mode of Infection: Waterborne pathogen
Reanimation Time: Five to eight days
Identification: The Putrifier appears to be a waterlogged corpse and is recognizable by its grotesque swelling. Wounds swell shut and the Putrifier's face is often swollen over, making pre-mortem identification difficult. Most species of Putrifier's lack teeth, hair, and nails. The flesh of Putrifiers has a bluish tint and appears to glisten, as if the Putrifier is sweating.
Infection Information: The Putrifier leaks virus laden water from its pores. Generally a non aggressive Genus, if cornered the Putrifier will try to press its body into the aggressor, almost like a loving embrace. Due to the high viral loads needed for the Putrefier virus to be viable, this "embrace" is rarely an effective disease vector. If left to its own devices, the Putrefier will search out the nearest body of water and enter it, at which point it will settle at the bottom of said body of water and begin decomposition, releasing the viral load over a period of months. The Putrefier virus is not zoonotic and cannot the previously deceased.
History: The first Putrifier on record was known as "The Weeping Man" in "Madame Agatha's Sideshow of the Bizarre", which toured the Americas during the late Eighteenth Century. Due to a Putrifiers ability to live for years out of water and low hostility, "The Weeping Man" was able to become a staple in the sideshow circuit. Various accounts of "The Weeping Man" suddenly changing height, color, and even sex; leads us to believe that "Madame Agatha" was purposely infecting hosts to repopulate the sideshow. For a while in the late 1880's "The Weeping Man" was replaced by "The Bloated Man", the first separate species in Zombies to be observed. The fate of "Madam Agatha" and her sideshow has never been recorded, though in the area of her last performance the first large scale outbreak of any Zombie species during the 1900s was observed.
Infection Signs: A swelling of extremities. Acid Reflux leading to vomiting and diarrhea due to the build up of water in the digestive system. Fluid pooling in lungs. Weakening of skin. Slight blue tint of skin. Hemophilia. Urinary retention. Persistent hunger and feelings of thirst. The cellular membranes of the infected will show signs of thickening. Death occurs within one months due to fluid in lungs. If lungs are routinely drained death occurs within two months due to water intoxication.
Disposal: Dehydration. The best way to deal with a Putrifier is removing the water from it. Since the virus can not survive in a non aqueous environment dehydrating a Putrifier can deanimate the corpse.
Non Acceptable Disposal: Fire. Time. The Putrifier has so much water in its system that the direct application of fire can cause it to burst from the buildup of steam, spraying the surrounding area with scalding hot water. If left to their own devices, and kept away from water, the Putrefier is surprisingly long lived.
The Weeping Man- Named after the first specimen of Putrefier observed. The most common, thickets skinned, and longest living of the Putrifier. The thick skin of the The Weeping Man makes it the most resilient and the hardest to dispose of among the Putrifiers. Kept in captivity and kept away from water, the Weeping Man can survive for over a decade.
Swimmer: The only visual difference between The Weeping Man and Swimmer Putrifier is the presences of webbing between the digits of the later. The Swimmer Putrifier prefers streams and rivers, where it can swim instead of decomposing at the bottom of a body of water, resulting in a much wider spread of the viral load, while sacrificing the concentration of the viral load.
The Bloated Man: Marked by it's grotesque bloating, the Bloated Man has the highest water content and thinnest skin among the Putrifiers. The Bloated Man virus not only causes an atrophy of the sensory organs before death, but also causes the victim to swell a grotesque size. This combination of physical characteristics creates a very clumsy Zombie, which will then run into many objects. This physical trauma will open gashes in the Bloated Man which can leak enough water to hit groundwater or run into a larger body of water.
Horny Toad: The thinnest of the Putrifiers, the Horny Toad is named after its ability to shoot a virus laden stream of water from its ocular cavities. The water from a Horny Toad has a much higher viral concentration than any other species of Putrifier. If cornered the Horny Toad can also vomit water, though this will dry it out and deanmiate it relatively quickly.
Barracuda: Named because of its long teeth like nails, when cornered the Barracuda is much more dangerous to than other Putrifiers. When the Barracuda defends itself it will inadvertently open wounds on whoever it "embraces", leaving a much quicker pathway for the Barracuda virus to enter the bloodstream.
Type of infection: Fungal
Mode of infection: Spores
Reanimation time: Five to ten minutes
Identification information: Recently reanimated Aerosol Zombies are nearly indistinguishable from a living person with a pervasive ringworm infection. Though upon close examination the Aerosol Zombie has discolored eyes as well as an unnatural scaly build up on their armpits, buttocks, soles of feet, and inner thighs. In the majority of Aerosol Zombie species, this scaly build up will eventually form cone like ascocarps. The longer an Aerosol Zombie is reanimated the more the moisture in the body will be sucked out by the fungus. Eventually this fungal caused dehydration will leave the Aerosol Zombie skeletal in appearance.
Infection information: During early phases of infection the Aerosol Zombie can only infect others from direct contact. A recently reanimated Aerosol Zombie will try to find a warm, moist place to hide while the fungus matures. Once the Aerosol Fungus starts releasing spores the Aerosol Zombie becomes a much larger infection risk, as proximity becomes an infection vector. Aerosol spores can infect animals and reanimate the already dead. Coupled with the fact that the Aerosol Zombie is exceedingly aggressive makes the Aerosol Zombie a larger threat than most other species of Zombie. The Aerosol is zoonotic and can animate the previously deceased.
Brief history: The Aerosol Fungus is believed to have originated during the Third Dynasty in Egypt. Due to being stricken from the historical records, the experiments that lead to the Ancient Egyptians mastering mummification in 2600 BCE are not known to "The Public". Through crossbreeding the Ancient Egyptians cultivated the fungus responsible for the Aerosol Zombie. seeing how the Fungus could animate a dessicated corpse, the Ancient Egyptians began experimenting. Coincidentally this experiment inadvertently lead to the founding of the ancient civilizations of Southern Europe, as the resulting Aerosol Zombie outbreaks caused many to flee their homes and settle in those areas. Even Egyptian Mummies dated post 2600 BCE have trace amounts of the Aerosol fungus in them, which is why the Egyptian mummification process has yet to be recreated by "The Public".
Signs of infection: Sore joints. Fatigue. Increased thirst. Troubled painful breathing. A painful ringworm like growth that will not respond to normal treatment. Death happens suddenly around the one week mark, when the spores reach the brain.
Disposal: A aerosolization of Filipin sprayed over the area. Killing the fungus will deanimate anything that has been animated. Immolation. Precision Cryo Bombing. If decontaminating through a non anti-fungal solution, the area of the outbreak must be quarantined for ,at minimum, two weeks. Anyone caught breaking this quarantine without credentials is to be eliminated through immolation.
Disallowed way of disposal: Blunt Force Trauma. Gun fire. Anything causing the aerosolization of the infected will just spread the spores farther. Time. Despite how dry and sickly the Aerosol Zombie looks, in a natural environment that hosts the Aerosol Zombie, there will be enough ambient moisture that the keep the Fungus alive, making the Aerosol Zombie effectively immortal without intervention.
Mummy: The Mummy is named after the earliest known specimens of Aerosol Zombie, and is the most commonly found type. The Mummy fungus takes about three weeks to reach maturity. The Mummy will try to nest during those three weeks, and will act aggressively if found. When cleaning out a Mummy's nest be on the lookout for infected animals and corpses, as the Mummy will try to trick small animals into the nest to supply more material to infect. Be especially wary of the Puffball variety of Aerosol Zombie when cleaning a Mummy's nest, as the two types of Aerosol will cohabitate.
Puffball: The Puffball fungus is named after Calvatia gigantea which it resembles. This type of Fungus does not create a Zombie. Instead the Puffball Fungus will form a Calvatia gigantea like fungal growth full of spores. This growth will burst if agitated, spraying both Puffball spores and and other Aerosol Spores that were near the Puffball while it was maturing.
Dirigible: Originally thought to be a subspecies of Puffball, the Dirigible appears to be able to collect gases from the putrefaction of animals that it infects. The Dirgile fungus will take about eight weeks to grow, during which time the Dirigible Zombie will try to find a open hunting ground where it can kill as many animals as it can to infect. After maturation the Dirigible Zombie will deanimate, and the Dirigible growth with detach, and float away, eventually landing and bursting, spreading the fungus to other areas. This detachment isn't always complete, there have been Dirigibles caught with large chunks of Zombies still attached, leaving a trail of Dirigible spores in the air.
Dried: The Dried Zombie can be identified by pieces of its flesh actively flaking off. Until three weeks the Dried Zombie and the Mummy are indistinguishable. However the Dried fungus continues to actively grow for another week, which requires much more moisture from the host body. Overly aggressive, the Dried Zombie will try to make as much physical contact with its victims as possible. Eventually the Dried Zombie will grind away to nothing, but before it does pieces will continually flake off. The pieces and dust left by the Dried Zombie have an extremely high spore count and should be the first priority in disposal, due to how easy they aerosolized.
Spore: The Spore Zombie is is a Putrifier Zombie that has been infected by Aerosol fungus. The Putrifier virus infects the Aerosol fungus, creating the Spore Zombie. The Spore Fungus begins to overproduce, creating what can be likened to a giant walking mushroom. Physically strong due to the resiliency of the Fungus, the Spore will attack anything that it can find. All the while producing massive amounts of spores to infect others. With its club like appendages, the Spore Zombie can easily break through a non reinforced door. The Spore Zombie is classified as an Aerosol due to its infection vector. Though the Spore Zombie is very dangerous, they are be among the rarest of all Zombies due to the different environments that to foster Putrifiers and Aerosols. Other than Purifiers and Moss, the Aerosol fungus cannot infect other types of Zombies.
Living: For unknown reasons certain Aerosol Zombies never enter the nesting phase of their development. Aerosol Zombies in these cases are known as Living Aerosol Zombies, named because will never enter the late stages of the Aerosol's life cycle, and as such remain resembling living animals. The Living Aerosol Zombie Can only transfer Spores through contact, and will aggressively try to do so. The hardest of Aerosol Zombies to track and eliminate, look for increases in crimes like frottage and muggings in an area suspected of hosting a Living Aerosol Zombie. Remember, if you kill a Living Aerosol Zombie in the middle of the street, it will appear that you have just killed a random person, and you will have to deal with ""The Public"" while we work on extraction.
Cordyceps: Physically, a freshly animated Cordyceps Zombie will appear identical to the Living Aerosol Zombie. The Cordyceps Aerosol is attracted to high places, look for abandoned skyscrapers and highrises. Roughly three weeks after reanimation a large fungal lump will start to grow on the Cordyceps' head. Eventually this lump grow into a gigantic ascocarp, at which point the Cordyceps will climb to the highest point it can find. Anything short of deanimation will fail to remove the Cordyceps from this place. If left alone this ascocarp will produce the greatest amount of spores out of any found Aerosol Zombie. This fact combined with the height the Cordyceps is found at will throw the spores into the wind, allowing for a wide, random, infection area.
Type of infection: Virus
Mode of infection: Fluid-borne pathogen
Reanimation time: Ten to Twenty Hours
Identification information: The Carrier Zombie is among the short lived zombie. Due to their short reanimation time post-mortem identification proves difficult and and irrelevant. Unlike other zombie pathogens the Carrier virus is easily identified in the bloodstream of the living infected. Carrier virus in itself.
Infection information: Sans standard post mortem differences, there is physical difference between a living infected and a Carrier zombie. Worryingly the Carrier virus is not only transferable from a Carrier zombie, but can be transferred pre mortem as well. The Carrier zombie remains reanimated for between ten and fifteen minutes. This short animation time shifts the importance to prevention as opposed to identification and disposal. Luckily the Carrier Virus is genetically simplistic, possibly pointing at an artificial origin. This short lifespan does not make the Carrier any less of a threat, as the Carrier zombie is extremely hostile and will go stop at nothing to spread the Carrier Virus. Due to our ability to identify the Carrier virus and its genetic simplicity we have been able to mass produce a vaccine. "The Public" is vaccinated against the Carrier virus under the guise of (Green level or above clearance needed) vaccination. The Carrier virus is not zoonotic and cannot reanimate the previously deceased.
Brief history: The first recorded case of a Carrier Zombie occurred on May 26th, 2012 in Miami Florida. Rudy Eugene attacked ######, an agent posing as a homeless man. Eugene had died from an overdose of recreationally smoked Bath Salts, provided by the agent. Due to the ferocity of the attack, we interfered thinking it was it was a new species of Aerosol Zombie. Due to our manipulation of media, the incident was blamed on the Bath Salts which, coupled with recent changes Eugene's personality, helped cement the cover story as true. We obtained the body of Eugene in transport to the morgue, replacing it with a cadaver acquired from The Corpse Farm. After an in depth analysis of the Eugene's cadaver it was discovered that there were no Aerosol fungus spores present, but a new type of Zombie virus was, deemed the Carrier virus. While we do have know how many people have been vaccinated against the Carrier virus, we do not have reliable numbers on the number of infected individuals. This paired with a growing anti vaccination movement, makes the Carrier Virus remain a threat. While the Carrier virus can be detected in blood tests, the amount of blood tests we would have to intercept makes this solution impossible.
Signs of infection: The immediate signs of the Carrier virus appear as a light cold that lasts between five to fifteen days. During this phase the virus is non communicable. After this period a change of personality starts to appear. At this point the virus is communicable and the cold like symptoms will start reappearing every few months. This stage can last for years if theoretically not decades. The virus itself is non fatal and cannot infect the already dead, though the drastic changes in personality can have negative effects on health.
Disposal: Vaccination. Immolation. Time.
Disallowed way of disposal: Anything that leaves the body intact. During the short period the reanimated Carrier is alive nothing short of the complete destruction of its body will stop it.
Mutilator: Transferred through blood, the Mutilator virus is the far the most common variety of Carrier virus. A pre mortem Mutilator zombie has no observable change in behavior. After post mortem animation the Mutilator zombie self mutilates, using the resulting fluid spray to spread the disease.
Face Eater: The Face Eater virus is transferred through saliva and is the first type of Carrier to be observed. A pre mortem Face eater will show a sudden propensity for hard drug use, either picking the habit up or their pre existing addictions becoming significantly worse. After post mortem animation the Face Eater becomes cannibalistic, and can easily kill its victims.
Butterfly: The Butterfly virus is specifically an Sexually Transmitted Infection, causing an infectee to have a sudden increase in sociability. This sudden in sociability often includes a decrease in inhibitions and an increase in the Butterflys sex drive. After post mortem animation the Butterfly zombie will try transfer the virus through and aggressive attack that leaves the zombie "kissing" its victims.
Vain: Like the Butterfly, the Vain virus is transmitted through digestive fluids. Pre mortem someone infected with the Vain virus will show a sudden obsession with their health and physical appearance. Body dysmorphic disorders onsetting quickly can be a sign of a Vain infection. Many of these disorders create a large amount of vomitus, leading to high exposure to the viral load. Post Mortem the Vain zombie chase down it's victims and bite, not unlike a Shambler. Since pre mortem physical health doesn't greatly factor into a zombie's speed, the loss of weight from these disorders cause the Vain zombie to be significantly faster than other Zombie types.
Binge: The Binge virus is transferred through digestive fluids and solids. Pre mortem someone infected with the Binge virus will gain sudden irresistible cravings for mass amounts of unhealthy foods. A side effect of this binge eating is that the Binge will become less mobile, often to the point of immobility. At this point the infectee will not be able to take care of themselves, needing a caretaker, who will end up being exposed to a large amount of viral load. After post mortem animation the Binge zombie will continuously projectile vomit until it deaminates. The Binge zombie post mortem animation time is the shortest of any of the Carrier zombies, only lasting for three to five minutes.
Daredevil: The Daredevil virus is transferred through bodily fluids, those infected by Daredevil virus will do gain a prosperity for dangerous hobbies and stunts. The Dare Devil infectee will show openly disdain for safety precautions and will go so far as privately sabotaging said safety precautions, all in the name of "the thrill". After post mortem animation the Dare Devil zombie will become "suicidal", doing whatever it takes to create the largest bodily fluid spray, such as trying to jump of buildings into crowds and attacking armed police.
Paranoid: The Paranoid virus is transferred through spittle, the Paranoid infectee will avoid medical care at all costs. The anti vaccination movement was most likely started by a group of Paranoid infectees. This avoidance of medical care often leaves the Paranoid infectee ill, spreading its viral load through hacking and coughing. Furthermore this avoidance of medical care often leads the Paranoid infectee and its children to avoid the Carrier vaccination, guaranteeing reanimation and new hosts for the virus. Post mortem the Paranoid zombies will try to the chew extremities off of its victims, showing preference for the ears.
Haitian: During the original Haitian Zombie epidemic the technology used to the detect the Carrier virus did not exist. The cause of the Haitian zombie was originally thought to be a blend of toxins and/or magic, we now know that the Haitian zombie is infected with a modified Carrier virus. This Haitian virus knocks the victim out for a long period. When the victim awakens, they will have lost their will and will follow any simple command. After death the Haitian Zombie will dissolve into the fine powder that, when blown into someone's eyes or nostrils, will infect them with the Haitian virus. The existence of the Haitian zombie raises the rather disturbing question of what kind of organizations or individuals have access to this kind of technology.
Type of infection: Virus
Mode of infection: Blood-borne pathogen
Reanimation time: Four to Five hours
Identification information: The Cannibal Zombie appears to be a corpse that is minutes old, as opposed to the hours the Cannibal Zombie takes to animate. Older Cannibal Zombies will often have large pieces missing due to the accumulation of bites the Cannibal Zombie has received. The easiest identify the Cannibal Zombie is by smell. Described as a mixture of rotting fruit and fresh meat, the smell of the Cannibal Zombie is unique and does not linger long, making identification easy but tracking difficult.
Infection information: The Cannibal Zombie's unique smell is due to a pheromone cloud. In carnivorous and omnivorous animals these pheromones not only trigger feelings of starvation but also have a hallucinogenic effect making the Cannibal Zombie appear to be the animals preferred prey. While non sapient species seem to be unable to resist eating the Cannibal Zombie, Humans and other sapient species are able to resist the pheromone cloud as long as they are not exposed for extended periods. While insects are not affected, the smell of the pheromone cloud does attract a large amount of biting insects. While the consuming of the flesh of the Cannibal virus guarantees exposure, the small amount of blood transferred through the biting insects give the Cannibal Virus another vector of spreading. The pheromone cloud has no effect on herbivores that have been exposed, through lingering pheromones on the skin of herbivores will cause carnivores and omnivores to react as if they were exposed to the original pheromone cloud. The Cannibal virus is zootropic but cannot reanimate the already dead.
Brief history: The first confirmed case of a Cannibal Zombie outbreak occurred in 1878. A trapper by the name of Swift Runner was found to have butchered and eaten his family, though other food sources were readily available. Swift Runner had eaten his eldest child, who, after taking a bite out of patient zero, his mother and Swift Runner's wife, killed himself out of disgust. Furthermore Swift Runner's other five children were exposed for the pheromone cloud and devoured their mother, guaranteeing the spread of the disease through multiple infectees. Due to the Runner family's isolation and the cold winter the disease would not have normally spread, after not hearing from the Runner family for months a rescue party was sent. Not noticing Runner's reanimated nature and the skeletal remains of his family, the authorities tried to take Runner to local authorities. They did not make it, dieing and reanimating outside of the town, attracting a group of local wolves, spreading the virus into the local wildlife population. To avoid exposing more people to the disease via search parties for the missing people, Runner and his to be rescuers were replaced by blank slates from the Corpse Farm, conditioned to play out the scenario of Runner admitting to cannibalism and hanging for his crime.
Signs of infection: The immediate signs of Cannibal virus infection is strong smelling perspiration. As the virus advances this smell gets stronger, as the body begins producing minute amounts of the pheromone. While this is the only direct effect of the virus, there is a universal reaction within the body. This sudden increase of pheremones causes the immune system to react violently, leading to an extreme allergic reaction within a week of catching the virus. This eventually causes the throat to swell shut, resulting in death.
Disposal: Immolation or cryo bombing. As long as the Cannibal Zombie remains animated the pheromone will be produced. Without the Cannibal the pheromone will dissipate in roughly an hour.
Disallowed way of disposal: Any disposal that exposes an agent to the pheromones is not allowed. This includes exposure in a sealed protective suit, as the pheromone will stick to the suit, leading to attacks by local wildlife and even possibly other agents.
Runner: The Runner virus is named after the original infected group. The Runner Zombie is identified by the smell of its pheromones (described earlier in this entry) and how fresh the animated corpse appears. The Runner zombie attracts large amount of carnivores and omnivores, but a small amount of bloodsucking insects. The Runner zombie is the most commonly encountered Cannibal Zombie.
Wendigo: The Wendigo physically appears the same as the Runner but can be identified by the strong smell of blood within its pheromonal stench. While the pheromonal cloud has similar effects on animals as the Runner, the Wendigo also acts an aggressor. Attacking animals who come to pray on it leads to a higher infection percentage, but leaves the Wendigo with less viable hosts.
Insect Trap: The Insect Trap Zombie is identified by the swarm of biting insects surrounding the zombie and its sweet smelling pheromone cloud. The Insect Trap's pheromone cloud does not attract predators to it, instead attracting a large amount of biting and bloodsucking insects. These insects drink infected blood, fly off to other animals they prey on, and transfer the virus through feeding. The insects act only as carriers and are not affected by the virus.
Self Cannibal: Unable to resist its own pheromones, The Self Cannibal quickly destroys itself through self cannibalization. Observed in the wild but never successfully detained, the capture of a Self Cannibal Zombie is of utmost importance. Analysis of the pheromone cloud of the Self Cannibal Zombie could be useful in crafting a countermeasure to the Cannibal Zombie genus.
Vampire: The Vampire zombie is marked by its bleeding gums and its pungent odor. The pheromones of the Vampire do not cause predatory actions in animals, instead acting as not only a lure but a calming agent. Once the animal is in range the Vampire Zombie bites the animal. The Vampires bleeding gums acts as a medium for spreading the disease.
Genus: Gorta Mór
Type of infection: Fungus
Mode of infection: Pollination/spores.
Reanimation time: Two to Three Minutes
Identification information: Plants infected by the Gorta Mór fungus appear as if they are in the middle of wilting. Furthermore, covering the plant will be what appear to be thick peach colored veins. Animals who become infected with the fungus through ingestion will also be covered by these veins.
Infection information: The Gorta Mór fungus exclusively infects Autotrophic plants and bacteria. Spread through the pollen of infected plants, the Gorta Mór fungus hijacks the Photosynthesis of the plant. With all the chemical energy produced via Photosynthesis consumed in the growth of the fungus, the host plant eventually succumbs to cellular death. Roughly two to three minutes after the initial cellular death the cells of the host plant will reanimate and restart Photosynthesis. Starting at the point of reanimation the Gorta Mór fungus start producing a toxin found nowhere else in nature. While the fungus cannot reanimate Heterotrophs, it is still fatal through due to this toxin. After the reanimation of its host plant the Gorta Mór fungus has an acute toxicity category of one, it needs direct contact with the mucus membrane and is not readily absorbed into the body through other means.
Brief history: The Gorta Mór fungus was discovered during, and named after, the Great Famine of Ireland. While historically the Great Famine was blamed on Phytophthora infestation, in reality the Potato blight was only partially to blame. In 1845, a doomsday cult known as An Dúchan Mór released the first spores of Gorta Mór into the Irish potato crops. This new fungal infection went unnoticed due to the the already existing Potato blight. Leading to a reduction of the Irish potato crops of roughly a third and eventually leading to the a death toll over a million, An Dúchan Mór would have achieved their goals if not for our interference. By opening the borders of the United States and systematically eliminating members of the cult, we were able to minimize further deaths. In recent years the Gorta Mór fungus has been linked to the looming extinction of the a variety of food crops, which when combined with our inability to handle a global outbreak, makes the Gorta Mór fungus one of the largest threats to our modern way of life.
Signs of infection: The first sign of a Gorta Mór fungus infection are small fuzzy peach colored bruises appearing on the flowering body of a plant. As the infection progresses these bruises become more pronounced and will start branching into peach colored veins. These veins will eventually form into cracks in the flowering body. As the Gorta Mór fungus matures these cracks will become more pronounced and will start running from the flowering bodies of the plant to the plant's stem. On animals that have been infected look for fuzzy peach patches that branch out.
Disposal: If found in the wild, an aerosolization of Filipin is suggested. If found in a cultivated source, thorough immolation is required. Due to the potential dangers of Gorta Mór fungus, anyone caught cultivating Gorta Mór is to be treated, at a minimum, as a Bioterrorist.
Disallowed way of disposal: Cryo bombing, mulching of infected host. The Gorta Mór fungus can survive extreme colds and mulching can spread the spores.
Plant: The most commonly found strain of the Gorta Mór fungus. The Plant Gorta Mór fungal spores cling to pollen. The Plant Gorta Mór fungus spreads to fauna by clinging onto the hair of pollinators. Due to its difficulty in infecting autotrophic bacteria, the Plant Gorta Mór fungus is considered a less direct threat than other species of Gorta Mór.
Great Famine: Used by An Dúchan Mór, the Great Famine Gorta Mór strain feeds on starch, and as such can only infect plants with extremely high starch content. The Great Famine Gorta Mór strain can not only be transferred by pollen but also through groundwater and the root systems of infected plants. While the Great Famine Gorta Mór fungus is extremely deadly to plants, it is non toxic to animals, making it potent starvation risk but not a direct threat. Plants infected by the Great Famine Gorta Mór fungus do not present the the peach colored veins as other types of Gorta Mór fungal infection present.
Kelp: The Kelp Gorta Mór fungus can only be able to infect marine algae. Native to the the area known as the Bermuda Triangle; the Kelp Gorta Mór is believed to be the original strain of Gorta Mór that was cultivated into the Great Famine Gorta Mór strain. While extremely toxic to non marine animals, Kelp Gorta Mór's inability to infect outside of an aquatic environment keep it from being dangerous. Due to a unique byproduct of gas build up in Kelp infected by Kelp Gorta Mór fungus, infected Kelp does not sink. Because of this thick tangles of Kelp, dozens of nautical miles in area, can form, becoming a major threat for ships passing through the area. Unlike most forms of Gorta Mór fungi, which infect the pollen of the host plant, the Kelp Gorta Mór fungus infects the sperm of the host Kelp, making the seemingly quick adaption of Gorta Mór from a fungus that uses sperm as a reproductive method to one that uses pollen a mystery that died with An Dúchan Mór.
CC: The CC Gorta Mór fungus changes how flowers are seen under ultraviolet light. This change is subtle and not overtly apparent to animals that can not see in the ultraviolet spectrum. The CC Gorta Mór fungus changes the colors the flower present so it is more inviting to pollinators than other flowers of the same species. Named after and responsible for Colony collapse disorder, the honey made from CC Gorta Mór Fungus infected flowers carries the spore of fungus and is slightly toxic. The toxicity of the CC Gorta Mór Fungus spores is sickening to non arthropod fauna it is nut fatal. However the spores causes a variety of neurological disorders in arthropods. Members of the genus Apis are especially vulnerable, leading to Colony collapse disorder. While the occasional outbreak of sickness in the human population can be traced back to infected honey, we have been able to manipulate the media and as such they report it Botulism.
Goldenrod: The Goldenrod Gorta Mór fungus is named after the color of the veins the that appear on the infected host. The Goldenrod Mór fungus' flesh is a Class 1 acute toxin. While this toxicity means that pollinators can't land on the infected plant, the Goldenrod Gorta Mór fungus' spores do not cling to the plant, instead being airborne. This insures a slower spread and more chaotic spread of the fungus but also much higher chance of survival for individual hosts, as pollinators attract parasites and predators, both of which can damage the host.
Seedling: The Seedling Gorta Mór fungus only infects the seeds of plants. The Seedling Gorta Mór fungus has only been observed in a controlled environment. Due to cellular death, the infected seeds cannot take root, and as such the Seedling Gorta Mór fungus dies off quickly. The existence of the Seedling Gorta Mór fungus is only known because of traces of it found in the lungs of troops World War 1, presumably from infected peach pits used in the manufacturing of gas masks.
Type of infection: Memetic
Mode of infection: Overexposure to an infected area
Reanimation time: Instantaneous
Identification information: The Digital Zombie is only found within environments that have been affected by the reality infecting Happy.EXE computer virus, or other computer viruses using the same programming framework as Happy.EXE. The Happy.EXE computer virus is not the direct cause of the digital Zombie, it instead infects reality, and exposed to the infected area will eventually turn into a Digital Zombie. This transformation is slow in living subject but instantaneous in dead subjects, no matter the cause of death. Both the environment and the physicality of the Digital Zombie will slowly degrade . This degradation starts as simple "glitches" one would find in a digital environment; such as coloration being off, sound distortion, and objects "clipping" through other objects, etc. The longer the Zombie is alive, or the environment is infected, the worse these "glitches" get, eventually cumulating in what can be likened to a complete system crash, where the environment, as well as any Digital Zombie or any living thing in the environment, will simply cease to exist. While the destruction of the environment in itself is a threat, the damage this can do to the infrastructure should not be downplayed.
Infection information: Happy.EXE does not infect the individual but rather the environment. All variations found originate from visually identical USB Flash Drives. These USB Flash Drives are beige, are 4.7 x 1.7 x 0.8cm, have no manufacturer marks, do not respond to physical trauma, and are warm to the touch. Humans exposed to these USB Flash Drives report a feeling of unease, while other Fauna will either act aggressively or cower when exposed. Once infected with Happy.EXE or one of its variations, the access point will start to generate a file known as PRISONER.MPG. When viewed PRISONER.MPG will immediately cause the exposed Fauna to convert to a digital zombie. If no countermeasures are taken, PRISONER.MPG will start releasing the surrounding environment as the programming of Happy.EXE dictates. Any living thing that makes physical contact with the infected USB Drive after PRISONER.MPG is generated will convert to a Digital Zombie instantaneously. The Digital Zombie is not only a physical threat, but can leave the environment modified by PRISONER.MPG, and the Digital Zombies mere presence in an unmodified environment will eventually modify the environment to match the pre programed Happy.EXE's environment.
Brief history: All known variations of Happy.EXE USB Flash Drives distribution can be traced back to an unknown entity known as the Coded Man. While this entity has called itself many different names, its physical appearance is always the same. The Coded Man will always cast a visible shadow of the same dimension no matter the ambient light, and in all cases the Coded Man's shadow is filled with different lines of coded information. The original strain of Happy.EXE can be traced back to The Unknown, a Dadaist art collective/cult. According to texts recovered from the last known site the cult operated out of, The Coded Man, shadow full of hexadecimal, appeared on the night of October 10th, 2010, and gave The Unknown the original USB Flash Drive containing Happy.EXE, with the verbal instructions to plug the USB Flash Drive into the nearest available USB port. Thinking the Coded Man was their god, The Leader of the Unknown, Mr. Mrs. (real name not know) proceed to plug the USB Flash Drive into USB port that she had surgically implanted in the base of her skull, creating the first Digital Zombie. After we stepped in and destroyed the area, using protocol Mandrake, we were able to recover the written record of the night of October 10th, 2010. Before the Unknown's destruction they were able to replicate the USB Flash Drive containing Happy.EXE. How they were able to not only extract the USB Flash Drive from the back of Mr. Mrs. head without themselves converting to Digital Zombies, but also replicate the USB Flash Drive containing Happy.exe is unknown. How many copies of the Happy.EXE flash drive are in existence is unknown, though we have recovered Ninety Eight of them. More distressingly, however, is the fact that the file Happy.EXE has started to appear on a number of Darknet host sites.
Signs of infection: While it is easier to identify an environmental infected with Happy.EXE, there are signs of that an individual infected with Happy.EXE displays. Early on in the infection the infected individual's eyes will become glassy and take a greenish hue. A close inspection of the eyes of an infected individual will show that this greenish hue is in the coding for whatever variation of Happy.EXE is infecting the host. Furthermore, the Digital Zombie interacts with the environment in an abnormal way, even when the Digital Zombie is in a non infected environments. The Digital Zombie simply does not interact with the world in a logical way. Instead the Digital Zombie will interact with the world as if the World where a digital construct, and the Zombie was a poorly coded character in said world. This "poor coding" leads to "glitches". the The types and severity of these "glitches" depends on the variation of Happy.EXE that is infecting the Digital Zombie.
Disposal: Long range unmanned drones. Since the infection vector for the Happy.EXE virus is the environment, the use of long range unmanned drones to scout the area and find the source of the infection is prefered. Once the source of the Happy.EXE infection is found, a specialty crafted memetic antivirus can be ran through the environment to slowly counteract the infection.
Disallowed way of disposal: Close Combat. Unless the antivirus has already been applied then the risk of spreading the infection is too great to allow for close range means of disposal of the Digital Zombie. Short range unmanned drones. The chances of a short range unmanned drone becoming infected and spread the Happy.EXE virus further negates their usefulness,
Happy.EXE: The first recorded example of a reality altering computer virus, the Happy.EXE computer virus is the base program that all other reality altering computer viruses are based on . Please see the History section of Digital Zombies earlier in this document for the history of the Happy.EXE computer virus. The Happy.EXE computer virus degrades reality in a way similar to how the visual output of Video Home System tapes degrade. Agents should be on the lookout for things such as colors in the environment becoming washed out, static to flicker in the vision when looking at the environment, and "vertical hold" errors. It should be note that while "vertical hold" errors start off as purely a visual issue, as the environments degrades they can become a physical, often fatal, issue also. Digital Zombies infected by the Happy.EXE computer virus will babble at random volumes and appear as if under the effect of the fast forward, rewind, or pause function of a Videocassette Recorder. The Digital Zombie produced by the Happy.EXE computer virus is extremely aggressive and incurable, with a "cured" Happy.EXE Digital Zombie simple ceasing to exist.
Happy1.EXE: The Happy1.EXE computer virus was first found on the website for Wild Child Farms, an Anarcho Farming collective. Upon viewing the now defunct websites "about us" section a copy of the Happy1.EXE virus and a .txt file detailing the Reily Keller's meeting with the Coded Man embed itself into the victim's computer in a new folder called "Wild Child RECIPES". One this folder is opened Soldier.MPG plays and the Happy1.EXE virus begins infecting the surrounding environment. On the night of Oct.31, 2011 the Coded Man appeared before Reily Keller, the Web Page Designer/Financial Officer for Wild Child Farms and introduced itself as The Programmer, shadow filled with binary. Instead of handing Keller a flash drive, the Coded Man whispered into Keller's ear. The next day Keller was found dead, an autopsy revealing pieces of tissue sized 4.7 x 1.7 x 0.8cm randomly removed from Keller's body, and the About Us section of Wild Child Farm's website started to embed the "Wild Child RECIPES" in user's computers. After discovery we were able to erase Wild Child Farms from the collective unconscious by Nov.4 2011. However since the erasure of Wild Child Farms random low traffic sites have started to embed the "Wild Child RECIPES" folder in user's computers. The infection of Happy1.EXE computer virus degrades reality in a way that mimics the corruption of various video file formats found on the Internet. Initially an area infected by the Happy1.EXE computer virus will appear to have "hang ups", with moving objects in the environment stopping suddenly, stuttering, or even moving at an accelerated rate. As the infection progresses discolorations of the environment start appearing. When the infection nears its completion look for "skipped frames", where objects will suddenly appear as if they have followed a path, such as a bird instantaneously appearing two feet in front of where it was flying. The Happy1.EXE Zombie is randomly aggressive and completely silent, with even its interactions with the environment not making sounds. The Happy1.EXE zombie can move through its environment by the patches of discoloration that appear as the Happy1.EXE computer virus progresses in an environment. While normally the Happy1.EXE Zombie appears to be slow and distracted, do not take them as a non threatening, be on the lookout for sudden aggression that coincides with "frame skips" and "hang ups".
Harpy.EXE: The Harpy.EXE computer virus point of origin was the night of Jan.1 2015, at 8 Byte Me, a small video game development conference, where the Coded Man, calling himself the Beta Tester, shadow full of C++ coding, appeared as a keynote speaker. The Coded Man gave a speech about the sudden leaps in recreational technology leading to the the end of the world. This conference was simultaneously broadcasted on 8 Byte Me's website and YouTube Channel, though during the Coded Man's speech the broadcast crashed and was unrecoverable. In attendance was one Jonathan Yuntaro, a Graduate Student at MIT/indie game developer. Upon hearing the Coded Man's speech, Yuntaro was compelled to put the folder "IAMBETA" into the programming tree of a the game "eArthwAre" he was developing. The "IAMBETA" folder resists deletion, going so far as appearing in the file tree of "eArthwAre" after being physically removed from the memory of the hard disk. Attempts to remove the game from the internet have been proven ineffective, though we have managed to program a memetic suggestion into the file tree, resulting in hives, nausea, and even death if the folder "IAMBETA" is opened. While opening "IAMBETA" does not activate the Harpy.EXE computer virus, in exactly three hours, eight minutes, and twenty four seconds the user will find one of the Coded Man's USB Flash Drives with the Harpy.EXE computer virus on it. Upon activation. the Harpy.EXE computer virus causes reality to start breaking down in a way that mimics an "open world" game. Initially changes in the environment are not as obvious as other Happy.EXE computer viruses. As the virus progresses in the environment be on the lookout for objects "clipping" through other objects and physics within the infected area to stop working in a logical way. the look for clipping issues and physics issues. When the Harpy.EXE virus starts to enter the end of its infection cycle reality will become more and more "polygonal" until eventually reforming into a "wire frame" like world. If an agent has to enter a end phase Harpy.EXE infection they must be briefed about the fact that the area between the wireframe is not solid, and injuries and fatalities are common. When the Harpy.EXE Zombie is first infected it will repeat the same words and phrases, will send people on "quests", and can become aggressive if these "quests" are ignored. Theses "quests" can range from simple things as "throw this can away", to unrealistic things such as "kill the President", to the fatal "eat this cyanide pill". As the Harpy.EXE computer virus infection advances in the Harpy.EXE zombie the physicality of the zombie begins to corrode. They Harpy.EXE Zombie body parts will begin to rotate impossibly, clip through objects, and deform. Once the Harpy.EXE computer virus begins entering its final phase the Harpy.EXE Zombie will begin to interact with the environment in impossible ways; such as swimming through air or sinking through ground. Once the Harpy.EXE Zombie physical "glitches" start happening, the Harpy.EXE Zombie can cause other creatures to physically "glitch" after biting the victim, often leading to death if they victim has not yet zombified.
Puppy.EXE: The USB Flash Drive containing Puppy.exe can be traced to the night of Apr. 16, 2013. Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weir, two adolescents with an interest of the occult, carved the heart out of a frog on top of a Russian Cross stolen from Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. Upon Morgan Geyser's removal the frog's heart, the heart burst into flames. Startled Morgan Geyser threw the frog's heart, which when hitting the ground exploded in a brilliant flash of light revealing The Coded Man, shadow full of static. The Coded Man introduced itself as The Operator. Upon viewing The Coded Man Geyser and Weir fainted. Upon waking up, the Coded Man was gone, in place of the frog was the USB Flash Drive that contained Puppy.EXE. While Geyesr and Weir did not run Puppy.EXE they did upload Puppy.EXE to the file sharing site Rapidshare.com. In an environment infected with The Puppy.EXE computer virus looks for environmental factors in line with "generic" horror imagery; such as Ouija Boards floating, reflections not matching movement, walls bleeding, street lamps bursting, chairs being impossibly stacked upon one another, etc. During the initial infection of the environment only already existing objects will be effected in this way. As the virus progresses these supernatural phenomena will begin effecting objects that are ontologically related to the supernatural object, either by similar visual design or ideas, such as at first any board game substituting for an Ouija Board and as the virus progresses any roughly game board sized flat object. The Puppy.EXE Zombie will always be armed, even if unarmed before their reanimation. During the initial stages of infection the Puppy.EXE Zombies are more vulnerable than other types of Happy.EXE Zombies, and can be "killed" through standard physical trauma, though they will reanimate in roughly six hours, thirty nine minutes, and thirty six seconds. However as the Puppy.EXE infection progresses the Puppy.EXE Zombie gets more and more resilient and physically violent, eventually transforming into a stereotypical "slasher", as dictated in popular culture. The Puppy.EXE Zombie is not the only spawned physical threat in an area infected by the Puppy.EXE computer virus. Randomly within an infected area agents can be expected to find various popular culture entities, such as "The Slender Man", "Nuckelavees", "Graboids", "Vampires", "Deep Ones", etc. These entities act autonomously, and do not deviate from how they would act within their self contained fictional worlds. creatures taking the forms of various popular culture and tities, such as "Slender Man" and the "Rake" will appear. Finally, the Puppy.EXE computer virus differs from other Happy.EXE computer viruses in two distinct ways. 1. The Puppy.EXE computer virus does not cause the removal of reality like other Happy.EXE viruses. 2. The Puppy.EXE computer virus does not end at the misunderstood "borders" like other Happy.EXE computer viruses, since this could mean a global infection it is still paramount to find the origin point of the virus and inject an antivirus program.
Sad.EXE: We were eventually able to reverse engineer the Happy.EXE computer virus; using insight into the programming structure of the virus we were able to produce an antivirus, however this reverse engineering was rife with setbacks. As an organization, our biggest setback would be the theft of the Sad.EXE antivirus, our first attempt at an antivirus for the Happy.EXE computer. Sad.EXE was programmed to speed the process of deletions of the environment up that most Happy.EXE computer viruses cause. Unlike the Happy.EXE computer virus family, which only deleted reality on the base level, Sad.EXE deleted reality on a data level. In layman's terms this would mean that the deletion of the Happy.EXE computer virus infection point would stop the Happy.EXE infection. In controlled environments we were able to use renaissance about the infected areas to create a small and stable infection area for Sad.EXE around the Happy.EXE infection point. This small infection area not only increased the chances of Sad.EXE deleting the infection point before it deletes itself but also minimized the risk of Sad.EXE zombies, as we were not able to find any programming in the code of Happy.EXE that caused Zombification. On the day of Dec.25th, 2013 during transportation of one of the hard drives containing Sad.EXE from one of our Austin, Texas laboratories to one of our St. Louis laboratories, to an unknown entity attacked the transport containing the hard drive. Upon sudden anti memetic radio silence, a "clean" team was dispatched. Upon arrival the "clean" found the transport missing and the area covered in greenish crystals, which upon elemental analysis were composed of both the elemental building block and the metaphysical data of human life in a crystalline structure. One week, two days, twenty one hours, thirty five minutes, and sixteen seconds after the hard drive containing Sad.EXE went missing, the Coded Man; calling itself The Scientist, shadow filled with Periodic table, appeared to a real world meeting of The BlackMagikHat, a small wiccan/blackhat hacking forum. Bearing a flash drive containing Sad.EXE, the Coded Man gave a small lecture on how programming can change reality. After the Coded Man gave its speech it handed out an unknown number of modified Sad.EXE USB Flash Drives. Since then all members present at The BlackMagikHat meet up have either gone missing or been found dead, autopsy revealing their organs rearranged into various ruins. This has not stopped these modified USB Flash Drives from getting into the environment, and the file Sad.EXE appearing on various darknet file hosts. The Sad.EXE computer virus has been modified from its original antivirus origins. The coding for its small infection area has been removed, instead replaced with a standard Happy.EXE area coding. Furthermore, a variety of protective ruins have been laced into the coding, keeping the Sad.EXE computer virus from deleting itself. All attempts to put the original coding back into the Sad.EXE computer virus have failed, and in fact the whole project had to be destroyed due to even our backup copies of the antivirus had turned viral. The Sad.EXE Zombie is a non threat, as random pieces of the zombie disappear. Vivisections on Sad.EXE zombies show that while common signs of death are present, the pain reaction still functions, causing the missing pieces to put the Zombie into a state of shock.
Type of infection: Viral/Parasitoid
Mode of infection: Arthropod Bites, Arthropod Stings
Reanimation time: Less than one second during the first stage of infection. Varies during second stage of infection.
Identification information: Identification the second stage of the Hive Zombie is simple. Look for animated corpses crawling with various arthropods. The second stage of a Hive virus infection is the most commonly encountered and the easiest to identify. The first stage of infection only affects arthropods. Look for odd aggressiveness, odd swarming behaviors, and black bruises appearing on the exoskeletons of infected Arthropods. The second stage of the Hive virus can reanimate already dead mammals but the first stage can not reanimate already dead arthropods.
Infection information: Out of all the common type of zombies the Hive Zombie is the rarest but can be among the most dangerous. During the first stage of the Hive virus the virus will quickly kill and reanimate and infected Arthropod. The initial infection is easily spread from arthropod host to arthropod host, whether through a direct method such as stinging or an indirect method such as an infected host being eaten. Though an infected arthropod will try to infect other arthropods if possible, the main goal of the Hive Zombie at this stage of infection is to find a large aammel. Once found the infected arthropod will begin burrowing into the host, continually injecting the now infected mammal with the Hive Zombie virus through the act of burrowing. The mammalian host cannot infect other mammal or other arthropods with the Hive virus, instead acting as protection against the elements and predators that would not be infected upon consumption of an infected arthropod, such as Birds.The simple fact is that Hive Zombie virus can only reproduce in arthropods, and will quickly die off in mammal hosts if the if the infected arthropods are removed. While the Hive virus cannot resurrect previously deceased Arthropods, during the second stage of infection infected arthropods can can reanimate previously deceased mammals. However infected arthropods prefer living mammals to infect, as their flesh tends to be healthier and as offer better protection.
Brief history: The first confirmed widespread outbreak of Hive Zombies was in Tallahassee, Florida during the summer of 1863. Looking for way to cripple the supply lines of the Confederacy, the Union introduced the Harlequin Cabbage Bug into the crops of Florida. We do not know how long the Hive virus was carried in the local arthropod population, but due to preserved samples of arthropods from that time period we know that the Harlequin Cabbage Bug was not the original carrier of the virus. While native arthropods were not affected by the Hive virus, theoretically evolving with the virus the Harlequin Cabbage Bug did not have the immunity and as such is the species of arthropod to reanimate. The spread of the Hive Zombie started slowly, due to the limited number of hosts for stage one infections, but due to the heavy fighting at Battle of Olustee in 1864 a large number of non native species of arthropods were exposed to the infected Harlequin Cabbage Bug, leading to an epidemic. While both Union and Confederate soldiers were infected, Florida was so geographically isolated that the spread of the Hive Zombie mostly affected the Confederacy. The inability to cope with a traditional war on one side and a war against the Hive Zombies on the other greatly quickened to the fall of the Confederacy. The spread of the Hive virus was guaranteed in the new economy of the now unified United States, as newly sanctioned trade routes throughout the United States bought the infected Arthropods with them.
Signs of infection: Look for unusual swarming behavior and large black blemishes on the exoskeleton of infected arthropods. This unusual swarming behavior takes the form of arthropods swarming that normally are solitary and swarms forming of multiple types of arthropods, many of which would normally form a predator prey relationship. From a distance a stage two Hive virus infection can be confused for a Shambler that just happens to have attracted a large colony of flying insects around it. However there is no mistaking the Hive Zombie for anything but itself at anything but far distances. Depending on arthropod species that is infected look for holes chewed in the host or even a hive like structure being built into the host. Furthermore massive amounts of arthropods will be crawling into and out of the holes/hives in the reanimated mammal. Be sure to note any boils on the reanimate host, as these can be signs of an infection under the flesh and can burst showering the area in infected arthropods.
Disposal: A aerosol spray of Permethrin in the affected area will kill the infected insects. Without the insects to reproduce in, the Hive virus will quickly die off. To minimize the chance of the Hive Virus spreading five square miles around the outmost reanimated host must be treated. Furthermore there must be a three mile buffer zone around the area treated that must not be treated to minimize impact on the native environment. We do not know why Permethrin still affects reanimated Arthropods, as most chemicals lose their toxicity on creatures reanimate through viral means. In an extreme cases, such as an unexpected field encounter with a large number of stage two reanimated corpses, immolation may be used. However the chance of an infected insect escaping the blaze or just spreading the fire out of control are too great for this to be the prefered disposal method.
Disallowed way of disposal: Cryo Bombing. Unlike living arthropods, the arthropods infected by the Hive virus are extremely resilient to temperature extremes, and will reanimate once thawed out. Traditional combat. Destruction of the stage two reanimate corpse will generally not stop the infection vector. Due to their small size traditional combat is not effective against arthropods infected with the Hive virus.
Swarm: The Swarm Hive Zombie is the most common of the Hive Zombies. This prevalence is likely due to the Swarm Hive virus' ability to infect any kind of Arthropod, as opposed to specialized hosts. This leads to the most visually obvious of the stage one infections, as the not only will the swarm be large but also contain a much larger variety of arthropods then swarms produced by other Hive viruses.
Poisonous: The Poisonous Hive virus only infects poisonous arthropods. The reanimated stage one infections of the Poisonous Hive virus do not stop producing toxin. Due to this the stage two hosts die quickly. This leads to stage two infections quickly losing their viability as a protective hive. However the Poisonous Hive virus is the only Hive virus that causes a mutation in the stage two host, this mutation cause both aggression in the stage two host and also causes there salivary glands to produce a mild neurotoxin. This neurotoxin has an effect similar to extreme alcohol intoxication, limiting the victim's ability to get safely away from the infected host. Due to this change to the salivary glands we have been looking into connections between the Shambler bacteria and the Poisonous Hive virus, though so far genetic coding has proved inconclusive.
Pomegranate: The Pomegranate Hive virus is unique among Zombie viruses, leaving the infected arthropods the ability to reproduce post mortem through parthenogenesis. Only infecting female wasps, the Pomegranate Hive virus is named after the large number of self fertilized eggs the infected wasps lay in the stage two hosts. These eggs start off small, red, with a hard white tip; resembling the arils of a pomegranate. As the eggs mature they increase in size, turn translucent, and the white tips slowly forms into a full grown infected wasp, going through an incomplete metamorphosis in the egg. Once fully grown within the egg, the wasp will hatch and burst through the host, showering the area with infected fully grown wasps. Trauma to the stage two infectee can cause these eggs to hatch prematurely and while the immature wasps can't reproduce, they can still infect stage two hosts with the Hive virus and will instead act more akin to stage one infectees of the Swarm Hive virus.
Apis: The Apis Hive virus only targets bees of the sub genus Apis. The Apis Hive virus first infects drone bees, who act as asymptomatic carrier, who will mate with a queen from another hive. An infected queen will find a suitable mammalian, tunnel into the flesh, and reach reproductive maturity and start laying infected eggs in the host's flesh. These eggs function similarly to the eggs laid from wasps infected with the Pomegranate Hive virus. The eggs look like small, clear, hard pearls upon being laid. While the eggs mature they grow in size, but do not change color or shape. From these eggs infected worker bees will hatch fully grown, and start converting the hosts fat into wax and flesh into honey. This honey smells like rotten eggs, and releases a pheromones that will keep predators away As the queen bee matures she will dig deeper into the host. By an unknown means the infected queen will know when she is in the deepest recess of the host. She will lay six to ten more eggs that will hatch infected drones. After laying these eggs the queen willd deanimate.. These drones will find queens to mate with and start the cycle of infection again.
Harlequin: The Harlequin Hive virus is named after the Harlequin Cabbage Bug, the first species to be reanimated by the Hive virus. The Harlequin Cabbage Bug is a True Bug, which means it lacks the necessary mouthpart to breach the flesh of other arthropods, making it unable to transfer the Hive virus through bite. However the Harlequin Hive virus mutates the male Harlequins pheromone productive organs. Instead of producing murgantinol the male infected Harlequin Cabbage Bug will produce a pheromone found nowhere else in nature, that specifically attracts arthropod predators, there for spreading the disease through the food chain. This allows the virus to transfer via death of its host into a more aggressive, and as such more likely to spread the virus, host. Infected female Harlequin Cabbage Bugs act as asymptomatic carriers, able to pass the virus through sexual conduct but will not be animated by it. Other arthropods infected by the Harlequin Hive virus do not produce the pheromone, and act like they have been infected by the Swarm Hive virus.
If an agent are expected to encounter a non common Zombie type on a mission your field commander will have access to the necessary information. If an agent encounters a unidentifiable zombie or a zombie not on a mission manifest they are to contact a quarantine team immediately.
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