A fallout for a zombie
Nobody expected that two different types of viruses could spread around the world at the same time. It happened in the late 50s. By focusing on the flu, the Zero.X pandemic wiped out 60 procent of humanity. And all this in only one year.
May 1958, the political relationship of all the great powers escalated to a furnace. Each tried to blame the other for the Zero.X. In no time at all, 45 million undead human-eaters were roaming the streets. When popular uprisings were no longer tolerated, governments cracked down hard, resulting in thousands of civilian casualties around the world. Even in Europe, the civilian population armed itself.
Overthrown government
Governments were completely or partially overthrown and lost their authority. Since the virus spread first in the metropolises, they chose the last resort and used nuclear explosions. With the goal of being able to contain the remaining infected in a more controlled way. All metropolises of the world were left in ruins. A radioactive fog contaminated continent after continent, almost all habitats. The result is 20% survivors.
The overthrown governments then concentrated on non-radioactive parts of the country and built new cities there.
That we are so advanced in the 21st century, despite the fall out in the 50s, is a miracle. The science and research have focused intensively on technologies to fight the mutant hordes. Meanwhile, many of us are living in the Outlands like in the stone age.
Zero.X
The new virus was not discovered until mid-1958. It has not yet been decoded. And the origin is only being speculated about. Its genome is completely unknown to us and contradicts our biological laws. Perhaps it is not from our planet. Hence the name Zero.X
It is the most dangerous virus that has ever existed. It reacts to its environment by mutating within seconds. And it responds to all the substances that we introduce into it with a defensive reaction. You’d think this thing was an intelligent life form.
Dangerous Mutation
Basically, there are millions of different forms of Zero.X as new ones are created every day. Even if we were to decode it completely, we would have no chance of finding a vaccine, because any human being can carry a mutated virus. We would need an individual vaccine for each and every one. That is why scientists are not looking for decoding or understanding of the virus, they are focusing on a possible symbiosis.
It should become part of the biological network and fulfill a function. Of course, it should only be a placebo for the Zero.X.
How does Zero.X actually behave
Currently, the virus does the following,… It sneezes into the brain and waits for the cells in the host to die. It feeds on these dead cells and begins to mutate. Afterward, it gains mental and motor control. This means that it only becomes active when necrosis occurs in the body. Unfortunately, this can also simply be a burn, or a bite or bruise. Fortunately, apoptosis is excluded. But occasionally Alzheimer’s disease has also been reported to activate the virus. In summary, it means that when a person dies, reaches old age, or suffers a massive injury, the virus comes back to life and takes control. The cognitive ability is zero. Only its primal instincts such as eating and pack behavior are present.