Log Entry 2281

We have caught the plague. It is not what we expected. It feels…. good.

Yes we have indeed caught the plague over here at Deadzone THE Article. It knocked us out for a few weeks and thus this column is a little late but we made it in. And in tribute to the virus that brought us down let's have a chat about the Plague.

Some would have you believe the Plague as mindless Zombies running around trying to infect anything that moves. Is this true? We don’t think it is 100% accurate. Sure the Stage 2s can get a bit angry. Yes the Stage 1s are scary as hell. The Plague Dogs are cute in their own slimy way. And the Stage 3s can get a bit ornery but that’s a coping mechanism for their total uselessness in battle. Don’t blame them, they have issues. Maybe the Plague are just the next step in evolution kick started by the alien artifacts? Maybe they just want to spread the love and harmony that is the Plague to all the races? Or most likely the truth lies somewhere in between.

Naming The Beast

Let's start with their name; The Plague. It’s obviously the name that was given to them by those who resist their “gift”. The question is what do the Plague call themselves? I’m pretty sure it’s not “The Plague”. It’d be like you naming yourself The Smelly. No one wants an insult as a name for their new species. Knowing today’s naming schemes they’d be called Humanity 2.0 or 'Humn' but I’d hope they’d think outside the box and call themselves something more unique. Post below what you think they should be called.

So the Plague do like to kill or convert. Nexus Psi showed that. But was that just growing pains? Could they actually get along with non-Plague? Well there is president for this; Mercenaries. These morally questionable members of society do in fact work with the Plague without the Plague clawing their faces off. Now this shows that the Plague are not mindless eating and procreating machines. At least not all the time.

Stages Of Evolution

Let’s look at each stage and see if we can determine each of their intelligence levels and general demeanor. Starting at the bottom we have the Plague Swarms and Hellhounds. Being animals we can assume that these groups have limited intelligence and are a bit aggressive. We wouldn’t want to meet these fellows in a dark alley as I doubt we could reason with them before being mauled.

Next up the food chain are the Stage 3s. These are the most unchanged of the Plague and thus most likely to be amenable to friendly relations. They themselves can’t cause mutation so are less likely to bite first and ask questions later and can operate machinery and vehicles. They also can be leaders amongst the Plague so obviously are highly intelligent.

Now onto the Stage 2s; these seem to be the Plague giving the rest a bad rap. Their attack first and ask no questions ever attitude is what everyone thinks of when they think of Plague. Their not as big as the Stage 1s but they aren’t as smart as Stage 3s so being stuck in the middle they are the socially challenged of the Plague. I assume that once Plague society gets better established these Stage 2s will be used for manual, unskilled labour. They are the least likely to be friendly to outsiders and don’t even get me started on the Stage 2 Terratons!

Lastly we have the Stage 1s. These huge, scary, hulking masses of death and horror would seem to be the worst of the lot. They stand almost twice a normal human’s height. They are covered in nasty looking spikes. They have claws and teeth which can rend Enforcer armour. Yet they are also generals of the Plague Faction. This speaks volumes for their intelligence and general deportment. A general can’t be a mindless hulking brute bent on only making more Plague. They hire Mercs, they command Armies, there has to be a higher intelligence at work. It just proves you can’t judge a book by its cover.

Long Live The Plague!

So obviously the Corporations see the Plague as a threat. Mostly due to misunderstanding what the Plague are. Even by naming them Plague they have created a misconception as to their intentions. Are the Plague any worse a threat to the galaxy than the Veer-Myn, Forge Fathers or Marauders? Probably not. What they are though is a threat to the status quo that the Corporations need to retain control. It's bad enough they have to deal with the Rebs but now this! The Corporations sent out their extermination squads of Enforcers and a new war has begun.

The Plague never had a chance to show that they could integrate into galactic society before being hunted with the aim of genocide. Lucky for the Plague, they breed quickly. They’ll need to if they want to make up for the loses they sustain from the Enforcers and the misunderstandings they receive from the other Factions they meet.

One look at the Plague and you see monsters but has anyone thought to ask how they feel? Plague are people too!

Rob Harper & Jack Fyke

Deadzone THE Podcast

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