Unreviewed Erebryx

[R'ayne Asara]

Fig. 1: Microscopic view of Erebryx.

Fig. 2: A vial containing the Erebryx virus.
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OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: Create a Virus
• Image Credit: Both images • Microsoft AI Image Generator - Yours Truly
• Canon: N/A
• Permissions: N/A
• Links: N/A

GENERAL INFORMATION

• Scientific Name: Erebryx
• Abbreviation: EBX:1
• Common Name:
  
  • Among the select Imperial scientists, medical personnel, and those familiar with the virus’s clinical records, but not widely recognized beyond those circles, the Erebryx virus is known as "The Hollowing". They describe it as a gradual devastation of a Force-sensitive’s connection to the Force, as though something essential within them is being silently hollowed out while their body remains alive.
• Virus Family: Nihilovirus
• Origins: Mahporeem Imperial Science Station
• Other Locations:
  
  • The Maleficarum Bio- Genesis Facility
  • MIR-13 Ironspine Outpost
• Description:
  
  • The Erebryx virus possesses a dense, textured reddish-orange surface covered in numerous short, club-shaped glycoprotein spikes that project outward in a crown-like arrangement.

PHYSICAL INFORMATION

• Morphology: Spherical
• Size: 20 nanometers.
• Color: Reddish-Orange
• Distinctions:
  
  • Erebryx possesses a unique distinction among known viral pathogens, existing in a dormant, biologically inert state until it successfully enters a suitable host. Upon infection, the synthetic pathogen transitions into an active, living state, initiating its attack on the host’s midichlorians and rapidly compromising their connection to the Force. Unlike conventional viruses that may eventually become inactive or be suppressed by the host’s immune response, which the virus has a natural defense against white blood cells, Erebryx remains persistently active within its host until a successful cure eradicates the infection.

VIRUS SPECIFICS

• Source:
  
  • The Erebryx virus is an entirely synthetic pathogen engineered for a singular, predetermined purpose, its artificial design reflecting the ruthless precision of a scientific instrument created to fulfill a dark ambition.
• Host Species:
  
  • The virus is not engineered to recognize or infect any specific sentient species, rendering the biological distinctions between its potential hosts irrelevant to its singular design. Instead, its synthetic architecture is intended to target the midichlorians within a host’s cells, striking at the microscopic symbionts that facilitate a being’s connection to the Force.
• Host Range: Broad
• Viability:
  
  • The virus requires a host’s internal body temperature to reach 73 degrees or higher to transition from its dormant state into an active, infectious phase, initiating its attack on the host’s midichlorians upon activation. At temperatures below this threshold, the pathogen remains dormant and does not actively compromise the host’s connection to the Force; however, it retains its transmissibility and may be passed to another host while remaining biologically inactive.
• Lethality: Low
  
  • The EBX:1 virus exhibits a comparatively low lethality rate, with fatal outcomes considered rare among infected sentients despite the profound biological interference associated with its intended function. Nevertheless, clinical trial records document several fatalities among test subjects, not from the virus itself, but from the lack of white blood cells to fend off other harmful infections, viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites; serving as grim evidence that even a pathogen engineered with calculated precision cannot guarantee survival in every case.
• Severity: Extreme
  
  • The Erebryx virus produces an exceptionally severe progression of symptoms in Force-sensitive hosts, rapidly diminishing their connection to the Force once the pathogen begins attacking their midichlorians, leaving them increasingly disconnected from the very energy that once defined their perception of existence. As the infection advances, afflicted individuals may experience profound disturbances in their Force perception, a precipitous decline in their ability to channel Force abilities, and an increasingly distressing sensation of spiritual emptiness, as though an essential part of their being is being methodically extinguished.
• Infectivity: Very Low
• Modes of Transmission:
  
  • The virus is transmitted through direct injection or the transfer of infected bodily fluids, particularly blood, into a susceptible host. Transmission may occur through contaminated open wounds, direct blood-to-blood exposure, or blood transfusions involving infected material. It can also be transmitted through contact saliva, such as kissing or sharing of drinkware and utensils. For a brief moment, it can be consumed through beverage sources or water sources.
• Incubation Period:
  
  • The incubation period of the Erebryx virus is extraordinarily brief, becoming active within minutes of entering a host’s system. During this initial phase, the synthetic pathogen rapidly establishes itself within the host before initiating its attack on the midichlorians, causing the first signs of disruption to the host’s connection to the Force to emerge with alarming speed.
• Re-Infection:
  
  • A host successfully cured of the Erebryx virus remains susceptible to reinfection, as the treatment does not confer lasting immunity against subsequent exposure. Given sufficient time, the host’s midichlorians and white blood cells will regenerate and recover, restoring the biological conditions that allow the virus to attack and defend against them once more.
• Vaccine/Cure:
  
  • The only known cure for the Erebryx virus involves a specialized blood transfusion from another Force-sensitive individual possessing an exceptionally high midichlorian count, introducing donor-derived white blood cells and genetic material into the infected host’s bloodstream, where the virus is most vulnerable during its inability to adapt to the newly introduced biological material. These introduced immune cells subsequently attack and neutralize the pathogen, allowing the surviving midichlorians and the host’s depleted white blood cell populations to regenerate over time, gradually restoring the individual’s connection to the Force.

SYMPTOMS & EFFECTS

Symptoms

• Gradual Connection Lost
  
  • The Erebryx virus manifests through a single, progressively worsening symptom; the gradual loss of a sentient’s connection to the Force, initially perceived as a subtle sensation of physical exhaustion or mental fatigue easily mistaken for ordinary weariness or psychological strain. As the virus advances, completing its infection of the host's body within three-four days, the host’s midichlorians are systematically eradicated, intensifying the disconnection while leaving the body’s other cellular structures and biological functions unharmed.

Effects

• Severed from the Force
  
  • Once the virus has completely eliminated the host’s midichlorians, the individual becomes irrevocably severed from the Force, rendered incapable of sensing or accessing its presence despite remaining otherwise biologically intact. Unlike a conventional infection that subsides after exhausting its initial targets, Erebryx remains persistently active, continuously attacking newly regenerated midichlorian organisms as they emerge within the host. This perpetual cycle of destruction prevents the restoration of the host’s connection to the Force, maintaining an enduring state of severance for as long as the virus remains active within the body.
• Extremely Weakened Immune System
  
  • The Erebryx virus harbors an artificial defensive mechanism that initially shields it from destruction by the host’s white blood cells, allowing the pathogen to persist while concentrating its activity on the host’s midichlorians. However, a fatal flaw in its synthetic design eventually causes the virus to turn against the host’s own white blood cells, progressively destroying them as a secondary consequence of its defensive processes and severely compromising the host’s immune system. This immunological deterioration leaves the infected sentient extraordinarily vulnerable to opportunistic bacteria, secondary viral infections, and other dangerous pathogens, potentially resulting in death not from Erebryx itself, but from a separate, otherwise survivable infection that the host’s depleted immune system can no longer combat.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

Strengths:

• Continuous Hunter
  
  • The Erebryx virus remains persistently active within its host, continuously seeking and eradicating any newly regenerated midichlorians, preventing the restoration of the host’s connection to the Force. Its synthetic defensive mechanisms subsequently target newly produced white blood cells, perpetuating the deterioration of the host’s immune system and ensuring that neither midichlorian regeneration nor natural immune recovery can occur while the pathogen remains active.
• Defense Mechanism
  
  • Once perceived as a fatal flaw in the Erebryx virus’s synthetic design inadvertently evolved into a formidable defensive mechanism, enabling the pathogen to resist and neutralize attacks from the host’s white blood cells while continuing to eradicate midichlorians. However, this same mechanism eventually turns against the host’s immune system, progressively destroying its own biological defenders and leaving the infected sentient increasingly vulnerable to secondary infections that may ultimately prove fatal.
• Sentient Species
  
  • The Erebryx virus is capable of affecting any sentient species, regardless of physiology or species classification, as midichlorians are present in all living beings and serve as the pathogen’s primary target. Its effects are not limited to those strongly attuned to the Force, whether they wield its power for personal ambition, devote themselves to a greater good, or occupy any position between the light and dark; instead, the severity of the resulting Force disconnection depends upon the host’s existing relationship with the Force.

Weaknesses:

• Failed Adaptation
  
  • The virus possesses a critical limitation in its synthetic design; it cannot adapt to newly introduced biological cells, having evolved its defensive mechanisms specifically around the original host’s white blood cells. Following a specialized blood transfusion, the pathogen continues to eradicate newly introduced midichlorians but fails to recognize or defend itself effectively against the donor’s white blood cells, which identify and attack the virus as a foreign threat. This biological incompatibility ultimately becomes the pathogen’s undoing, as the introduced white blood cells neutralize the Erebryx virus while allowing the surviving midichlorians and the host’s depleted immune system to begin regenerating.
• Lower Temperatures
  
  • The Erebryx virus requires a minimum temperature of 73 degrees to transition from its dormant state into an active phase, initiating its pathogenic functions only when this thermal threshold is met. If the temperature is below this critical mark, the virus remains inactive before eventually undergoing irreversible biological degradation and dying, rendering it incapable of infecting a host or resuming its activity.
• Lacks Outside Sustainability
  
  • The Erebryx virus is incapable of surviving outside a living host’s body, regardless of its active or dormant state, undergoing irreversible biological degradation and death within a matter of seconds upon exposure to the external environment. This already limited survival window can be further shortened by atmospheric conditions, as increasingly toxic or chemically hostile environments accelerate the pathogen’s deterioration until it becomes completely inert and biologically nonviable.

HISTORICAL INFORMATION

The history of the Erebryx virus began not within the sterile confines of the Mahporeem Imperial Science Station, but aboard a derelict vessel adrift in the cold, indifferent darkness of space; the Decadent Lord. During an investigation of the abandoned ship, R’ayne Asara, known only to a few in the galaxy as Darth Sycophantia, became embroiled in a side bet with her fellow Imperial, Ronhar Tane, over which of them would reach and retrieve the Sith holocron concealed aboard the vessel for the Mahporeem Imperial Remnant.

Though R'ayne Asara ultimately lost the wager, Captain Ronhar Tane requested that she create something for the High Commander, Victport Graras, that would protect him against the influence of the Force. Accepting this as her way to fulfill her bargain in the bet, she fashioned a set of rings imbued with formidable protective properties. Nevertheless, amid the chaos surrounding the pirates and the frantic pursuit of the ancient Sith artifact, she had briefly discovered several vials in a laboratory aboard the Decadent Lord.

With little time to investigate their contents, she left them behind, unaware that her fleeting discovery would eventually become the foundation of an entirely different undertaking.

Upon returning to that one specific Decadent Lord room, R'ayne Asara resumed her investigation of the laboratory, examining its neglected instruments and scattered remnants of scientific research until she uncovered a personal scientific datapad. Its exterior bore the familiar scars of abandonment; a fractured screen, missing buttons, dents, chips, and scratches accumulated through the ransacking of the room. Yet the device remained operational, and its surviving records proved considerably more valuable than its battered condition suggested.

Darth Sycophantia recovered the datapad and the previously discovered vials, transporting both to the Mahporeem Imperial Science Station, where she commissioned her hand-selected biological and chemical engineers to examine the mysterious liquids while she personally scrutinized the archived research in her Victoria scrutinized her.

The records belonged to a scientist identified as Doctor Whovian, whose identity and ultimate fate remained unknown. Dr. Whovian had been investigating the possibility of engineering a pathogen capable of selectively targeting particular cellular structures and compositions, with the original intention of combating certain viral and bacterial diseases by destroying infectious cells while sparing their hosts. The surviving personal entries documented repeated failures, frustrating setbacks, and abandoned hypotheses; even the experimental liquids preserved within the ship’s cooling chambers had fallen short of expectations.

To R'ayne Asara, however, these failures were not evidence that the research was worthless. They were evidence that its creator had stopped short of discovering what the science might truly accomplish.

What Doctor Whovian had begun, Darth Sycophantia intended to finish, though her purpose would stand in deliberate opposition to the original researcher's benevolent ambitions. Where Dr. Whovian had envisioned a medical instrument capable of eliminating disease, she envisioned a synthetic pathogen that could strike at the midichlorians themselves, severing a sentient being’s connection to the Force while leaving much of the surrounding biological architecture intact.

Months of experimentation followed, marked by scientific stagnation, discarded prototypes, bitter disappointments, and occasional breakthroughs that brought the project closer to fruition. Working alongside a carefully selected team of biological and chemical specialists, she gradually transformed Dr. Whovian’s incomplete research into something altogether more sinister; the Erebryx virus, a synthetic pathogen designed to target the midichlorians of its host and persist in its destructive purpose until successfully cured or rendered nonviable.

Its creation represented more than the completion of another scientific project; it was the transformation of abandoned research into an instrument of calculated devastation, one that could undermine a Force-sensitive being at the very foundation of their connection to the Force. Yet, as Darth Sycophantia studied the completed pathogen and contemplated its implications, she understood that Erebryx was not an ending.

It was a proof of concept, the first of what she believed could become an entire new generation of synthetic biological creations. The Erebryx virus would be only the beginning.