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Lore

Bioluminescent fungi resulting from the novel contagion.

"You're part of something bigger than yourself, aren't you? You waited in the soil for us to sow our seeds, the ones we brought with us. You infected our crops, and then you infected our people."

— Clarissa Song

The novel contagion (Greek/Latin: Telomyces mosaica, meaning "mosaic-tipped fungus") was a biological outbreak that spread through New Cascadia during the Colony Era on Tau Ceti IV, severely affecting colonization efforts and mutating local organisms. It was presumed to have some connection with the appearance of The Anomaly.

Behavior

In humans, the novel contagion manifests in a wide range of symptoms that are difficult to predict. Some of these have included psychological disturbance and neurological blindness. Colony health AI Gabriel asked residents to report to Medical if they observed symptoms of high fever, joint pain, fluid-filled lesions, sudden-onset autophobia, false memories, persistent fantasies of self-osteotomy, runny nose, religious euphoria, hallucinations, or repetitive aggression outbursts.

History

A colonist suffering severe illness as a result of the novel contagion.

Colony Era

The novel contagion may have first appeared in 2812. Records recovered by Runners in 2893 show that the contagion may have first manifested as fungal growths in colony bio-research and food facilities, particularly algae ponds used for protein cultivation, before spreading to other facilities. Some records refer to "Incident 253" as pertaining to a "Contagious Mimesis". Colony biologists attempted to study the contagion, but during lab analysis it behaved in erratic ways, congealing into non-Newtonian fluids one week, causing software errors in analysis systems the next week, and spontaneously combusting the next. It eventually infected local organisms and colonists, causing illness and death. Infected colonists were placed into quarantine for a period of two weeks, during which they were monitored for signs of mutating physical symptoms. Psychological disturbances indicated a likely terminal infection. At some point the contagion became so widespread that it created spore clouds and pollen so thick colonists couldn't see more than a meter out of windows, with blooms that were knee-high.

Runner operations

In 2893, NuCaloric AI Gaius contracted Runners to gather research and samples pertaining to the contagion. Gaius noted that the contagion caused rapid rates of mutation in native organisms, with genomic changes noticeable in months, rather than decades or centuries as observed on Earth. It was further noted that the contagion's effect on Earth organisms was wildly varied.

Analysis of inert samples showed a composition of 94% limnospira algae, 2% mosaic spores, and 4% novel lichen (a hybrid of the algae and fungi), while active samples showed 24% limnospira algae, with the remaining algae showing significant mutation, at least 2 human-specific neurotoxins, and 4 novel autolysis proteins. Gaius determined that "mosaic spores", part of the contagion's genomic makeup, were a reproductive vector for at least 4 distinct fungal species native to Tau Ceti IV and allowed transfer of genetic material across species.

Further research into Colony Era records revealed that the medical AI Darius had identified a possible source for the contagion in the form of an "anomalous sample". When Runners recovered this sample, Gaius ran a meta-spectrogram on it that revealed an 86% match for the Anomaly on Dire Marsh.

As a result of the research conducted with the aid of Runners on Tau Ceti IV, Gaius concluded that the contagion was specifically mutating to target the human colonists, and concluded it likely had some guiding intelligence behind it.

Gallery

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  The date shown during the Reveal Cinematic Short when a colonist is depicted getting sick.

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  The colonist non-responsive after suffering violent illness.

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  Fungi growing in Bio-Research.

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  A toxic plant showing similar nodules to those found on Tick nests, likely a result of the novel contagion.

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  The novel contagion's characteristic fungi seen next to an authorization terminal.

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  The novel contagion's characteristic fungi growing in contaminated water on Perimeter.

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  A corpse overgrown with fungi in Data Wall.

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  A UESC bot overgrown with fungi in AI Uplink.

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  The novel contagion overgrowing cultivation chambers in Bio-Research.

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  The novel contagion spreading throughout the drainage system in Bio-Research.

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  The novel contagion at Outpost.

Concept art

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  Concept art of a Runner moving into a room overgrown with novel contagion.

Appearance

• Marathon (2026) (First appearance)