V
Vexor
Guest
Original poster
A terrorist organization, (IRA, Al Qaeda, the Yakuza, etc.) has developed a virus that they believe capable of destroying entire cities in one fell swoop, but it can only be transferred via contact with animals.
But that's not the real catch, no, it's a bit stranger than that. Once exposed, the person, rather than dying a slow, agonizing death, undergoes a transformation of equal torment. It would seem, rather than lay dormant within it's original host, the disease fuses with the beast's DNA, and the infected humans, well, maybe not so human anymore, take on the aspects of the creature who originally infected them, but still maintain a humanoid form.
As you may expect, this causes plenty of problems. Medical, political, and legal.
Amongst medical problems, well, the transformations aren't always proper. The improper ones leave a variety of crippling physical conditions such as: stub limbs, dwarfism, blindness, deafness (though this doesn't really affect anyone's working ability), paralysis, muscular dystrophy, and even the dysfunctionality of vital organs (usually ending in death).
Now, proper transformations, while more common, have their share of problems too. Not all of them too bad, but still noteworthy. They can include: complete incontinence, osteoporosis, scoliosis, extremely potent adrenaline and dopamine production, loss of muscle memory or strength in the arms and legs, and heightened skin sensitivity.
Mental conditions are also quite common in infected individuals. ADHD, tourettes, aspergers, autism, schizophrenia, bipolar, you name it. Some even lose their memory completely, leaving nothing left to suggest they were ever human.
Political problems formed when people began to speculate as to what the unfortunate souls should be classified as. Before the virus was said to die after taking it's toll, people said it's victims should be killed to avoid infecting the populous, this was also before the victims were known to still be sentient. While they are considered human now, they still face discrimination. Don't get me wrong, it's not like the Jim Crow Laws. Kids who went through the transformation face bullying and are often put into special education programs due to the common assumption that their animal DNA slows their learning process. Adult anthropomorphs have trouble getting jobs due to the humans fearing animal instinct would kick in which, depending on the type, could cause various corporate lawsuits.
And finally, legal problems. adults and children alike are always the first to be looked at when a human gets injured or killed, and the adults are almost always arrested for a violent or sexual crime they were nowhere near the scene of.
Basically, the disease has regressed society to the way America was shortly after the Civil Rights Act of 1964. With a bit less of the hate groups getting involved.
Also, to anyone interested, I would prefer the characters to start out human. Whether they stay that way or not is up to you.
But that's not the real catch, no, it's a bit stranger than that. Once exposed, the person, rather than dying a slow, agonizing death, undergoes a transformation of equal torment. It would seem, rather than lay dormant within it's original host, the disease fuses with the beast's DNA, and the infected humans, well, maybe not so human anymore, take on the aspects of the creature who originally infected them, but still maintain a humanoid form.
As you may expect, this causes plenty of problems. Medical, political, and legal.
Amongst medical problems, well, the transformations aren't always proper. The improper ones leave a variety of crippling physical conditions such as: stub limbs, dwarfism, blindness, deafness (though this doesn't really affect anyone's working ability), paralysis, muscular dystrophy, and even the dysfunctionality of vital organs (usually ending in death).
Now, proper transformations, while more common, have their share of problems too. Not all of them too bad, but still noteworthy. They can include: complete incontinence, osteoporosis, scoliosis, extremely potent adrenaline and dopamine production, loss of muscle memory or strength in the arms and legs, and heightened skin sensitivity.
Mental conditions are also quite common in infected individuals. ADHD, tourettes, aspergers, autism, schizophrenia, bipolar, you name it. Some even lose their memory completely, leaving nothing left to suggest they were ever human.
Political problems formed when people began to speculate as to what the unfortunate souls should be classified as. Before the virus was said to die after taking it's toll, people said it's victims should be killed to avoid infecting the populous, this was also before the victims were known to still be sentient. While they are considered human now, they still face discrimination. Don't get me wrong, it's not like the Jim Crow Laws. Kids who went through the transformation face bullying and are often put into special education programs due to the common assumption that their animal DNA slows their learning process. Adult anthropomorphs have trouble getting jobs due to the humans fearing animal instinct would kick in which, depending on the type, could cause various corporate lawsuits.
And finally, legal problems. adults and children alike are always the first to be looked at when a human gets injured or killed, and the adults are almost always arrested for a violent or sexual crime they were nowhere near the scene of.
Basically, the disease has regressed society to the way America was shortly after the Civil Rights Act of 1964. With a bit less of the hate groups getting involved.
Also, to anyone interested, I would prefer the characters to start out human. Whether they stay that way or not is up to you.