Mutamycete

Enemy organisations, countries, and rogue nations would suddenly become companions who cooperated and served voluntarily. By increasing the number of allies it would effectively eliminate the cost of not only prisoner of war handling but also combat itself. This concept soon attracted interest from several national organisations. The exact origins of the Mold remains unknown and all information relating to its initial discovery and source is classified. Initial studies led researchers to catalogue the mold as a ‘vicariant evolution’ fungus, meaning it was descended from an original fungal strain after species distribution became segmented and the separated populations evolved due to different selecting factors, causing these populations to become unique species. Like the Progenitor Virus, the Mutamycete strain may have evolved due to unique environmental factors from a particular location that helped it thrive and become unique enough to produce these special properties.

Although details remain censored, the bacterium was originally in the possession of criminal organisation ‘The Connections’ in the late 1990s. They intended to
create a human biological weapon using the Mold and taking advantage of its psychotropic compounds with the purpose of influencing others via mind control – up to and including inducement to violence. This successful application could vary from political to military to complete economic destabilisation. The method of inducement had to be chemical transference of psychotropic compounds via skin to skin contact between the host and the target, inducing a mentally suggestive state in the target responsive only to host.

The Mold may also have been tinkered artificially through application of a virus as later research notes describes the Mutamycete as ‘virus-accentuated.’ The fabrication method for this proposed bioweapon was to introduce the Mutamycete genome to a pre-Stage 4 human embryo and perform cultivation in a controlled environment over a period of 38-40 weeks. This was performed by a doctor named Olivia in 1999. Initially the A-C Series of embryos were either completely unviable or those born were not fit for purpose, with each letter classification representing a level of bonding success with the Mold. Eventually four working prototypes were successfully created, and these were D-Series models Dana, Dahlia, Darlene and Dorothy. The research implied that for unknown reasons, the Mutamycete genome would only take to female embryos, as all male infected subjects never made full term.

The resultant organisms were classified as ‘candidate specimens’ and graded based on usability. The D-Series were the most successful to date and four more subjects were created at a later date, yet they all still proved to have poor performance and poor practicality. One model became decrepit after just 319 days. Another died of over exposure to infection, and another committed suicide. Subject D-005, Delores, turned homicidal and killed two of the other subjects. Sometime later, the most promising subject, Eveline, showed a level of stabilisation with the Mold hereto unseen and her promise led to her becoming the first E-Series subject. Upon further study, Eveline became the only test subject able to secrete her own unique variant of Mutamycete at will. She was able
to completely control these secretions that were fully adapted to her body chemistry.

E-TYPE MUTAMYCETE

This Mutamycete was black and oily in appearance, and close examination revealed that E-Type Mutamycete imposed a profound control over body and mind when introduced into a host organism. It is believed Eveline could achieve this via a similar process to the auto inducer pheromones used for quorum sensing in
pseudomonas bacteria. The bacteria communicated with each other using chemical signal molecules which was critical for synchronising the activities of large groups of cells. This chemical communication involved producing, releasing, detecting, and responding to small hormone-like molecules termed auto inducers. This process, termed quorum sensing, allowed bacteria to monitor the environment for other bacteria and to alter behaviour on a population-wide scale in response to changes in the number and/or species present in a community. Transference of E-Type Mutamycete has to be through direct skin to skin contact and is broken down into three distinct phases:

1. Initial Infection: – The Mold ingests nutrients from the subject’s body to propagate itself and slowly takes over cells within the body. As a side effect of this, the subject gains remarkable regenerative abilities. During research experiments, arms and legs were removed from human test subjects who were then able to reattach the amputated limbs and restore full functionality within a few minutes. The Mycelia causes the infected subject to experience visions of Eveline (although she is not really there) and hear her voice (which is inaudible to anyone else).

2. Mid-Stage Infection: – Once the mold reaches the brain, it gathers around the cranium and the subject’s thoughts become “in tune” with those of the E-Series asset. If this state continues, the host will lose all sense of ego. Auditions with infected subjects throughout the stages of infection revealed that at first, the phantom Eveline appeared to be a normal young girl, sometimes desiring companionship or assistance. As time progressed, she began making more and more extreme demands, including self-mutilation and attacks on other people. The psychological shock this induced helped to break down the mind’s natural barriers to Eveline’s brainwashing effect, and by the time mental control was achieved, the Mutamycete infection had progressed throughout the body’s cells, so the body will mutate in a unique fashion.

3. Complete Infection: – After every cell in the body has been taken over by the Mold, the subject began to lose their human form. Physical mutations differ from case to case, but all result in him or her acquiring incredible physical strength. Containing a subject at this stage is extremely difficult. The regenerative properties of the E-Type Mutamycete are due to the changed cells exhibiting an extraordinary resilience to physical and chemical damage. The E-Series Mutamycete secreted a telomerase-like enzyme through the cell wall, causing abnormal activation of the ERK pathway to achieve forced cell division-quickly
regenerating damaged tissue. However, studies showed that the regenerative properties could vary from subject to subject. Studies on the infected Baker family from 2014-2017 showed that despite each member possessing unnatural healing ability from trauma wounds, only the matriarch Jack possessed this ability in the extreme. Further tests showed that as the regeneration is repeated, the cellular tissue gradually became sluggish and dysfunctional. The working hypothesis of researchers put this down to the endlessly replicated cells reaching their Hayflick limit, meaning they could not replicate anymore because the individual cells had lost too much DNA to proceed through replication. In order for this to happen, something happened to the cells that inhibited the telomerase enzyme completely.

The E-Series bio-weapon also possessed the unique ability to from organisms composed of the fungal filaments making up the Mutamycete. These ‘Molded’ creatures were super organisms formed of countless mycelia. These creatures exhibited a strong survival instinct and would defend themselves ferociously with the slightest provocation. Their fungal toughness and remarkable strength gave them significant battlefield potential. Because she controlled the bacterium, Eveline could control the Molded in a similar process the t-Virus Queen Leech controlled the smaller leeches. There was also some indication that the E-Type Mutamycete could be used to revive the recently deceased, however this was never formally tested with early subjects destroyed much too early to collect any definitive data. Although Eveline created Molded subjects from corpses and subjects she did not want to join her ‘family’,

The Connections also performed experiments to weaponise these creatures, resulting in the ‘White Molded’ organisms. These creatures were much more durable than regular Molded, and could only be destroyed by a special type of anti-regen ammo comprised of mycetoxic rounds developed specially for use against fungus based bio-weapons. The bullets excreted a toxin upon impact that not only rapidly destroyed fungal cell membranes, but also prevented regeneration of lost tissue.

The E-Series Mutamycete became highly sought after, and in 2017, only Chris Redfield and the Umbrella Corporation PMC prevented Lucas Baker from selling E-Series data to an interested party. The E-Type Mutamycete was also trans-species and capable of infecting other plants and animals. It was highly virulent and would keep mutating as it encountered new organisms. Infected alligators would develop large tumours and blisters on their skin, and the Mold would congeal and gather around tree trunks and bushes. If left unchecked, it could contaminate and destroy an entire eco-system. It was also toxic and would quickly kill fish and other smaller organisms.

Treatments

When The Connections performed unspecified tests on samples of Eveline’s body tissue using a foreign element, a unique fungicidal serum was produced that could be used to treat accidental Mutamycete exposure provided it was at an early stage. Administering the serum to an infected subject would cause the mycelia to calcify, but if the subject’s cells were already largely invaded, the serum would be fatal. Since the treatment window was so small, the serum’s primary use was therefore for disposal of infected subjects, rather than a cure. In exploring the potential of this serum, researchers found a way to enhance its effects to extreme potency, becoming a compound now known as E-Necrotoxin which could completely destroy infected subjects with even just a small amount. For optimal performance, the E-Necrotoxin needed to be stimulated before use by placing a sample of an E-Series asset’s cells into the Necrotoxin container.

Blue Umbrella PMC also developed their own cure using various medicine compounds placed through a synthesiser. But due to the rapid mutational quality of the Mutamycete, the component compounds could quickly be rendered useless if exposed and had to be kept sterile.

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