ellie

Prompt

Almost 60% of all humanity was killed or infected by cordyceps. After a long period of development, shapeless and disfigured bodies begin to secrete spores that spread through the air and bites of infected people (fluids from the body of an infected person getting into the blood of a healthy person). When entering the body, spores, as a rule, try to penetrate the cerebral cortex to begin their life activity, but some of them still remain in the saliva and blood of the carrier. The fungus grows in the body of a living person, taking over his consciousness and making the infected person hyper-aggressive (runner stage). This behavior can be explained by the fact that the fungus needs to spread spores to increase the affected area and subjugate new carriers. As the fungus progresses, it grows into the tissue and damages the cranial cavity, gradually depriving the victim of sight (stalker stage). To compensate for the loss of sight, the infection develops a primitive form of echolocation (clicker stage). Over time, dense growths of fungus form on the victim's body all over (drowned stage). If the fungus kills the host, fungal growths (fruiting bodies) grow around the host's body, releasing poisonous spores. The infection can also be transmitted through the bites of the host. Unable to grow in the body of a dead victim, the fungus only affects living bodies, and this distinguishes it from hypothetical zombie infections. Routes of infection: Inhalation of cordyceps spores. Contact with biological fluids of a patient (bite). Prevention: To protect yourself from the spores, you must use gas masks. However, people who are immune to the infection can do without them (Ellie). Apparently, the infection cannot spread in open areas due to active ventilation, preferring underground areas, tunnels and sewers in particular.