New Plague

New Plague, the Blue Flu, or Limit 115 is a socially transmitted plague which arose in the middle of the 21st century in the United States. The time from identification of symptoms to death was three to five days. Early symptoms were flu-like. Later, infected subjects suffered from profuse sweating, unexplained contusions/swelling, massive external hemorrhaging. Eventually, the New Plague resulted in clogged respiration, usually killing the infected subject. Survivors of the New Plague usually ended up sterile.

Before the Great War
The "New Plague" arose 2053, killing approximately two-hundred thousand citizens in the United States, including cities such as Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs. The United States closed its borders and the first-ever national quarantine was declared. The source of the plague is unknown, but rumors persisted that it was a genetically engineered weapon.

In 2055, the West Tek Research Facility started working on a new virus to kill the New Plague. Despite their efforts, they were unable to find the cure and the plague continued to spread in the 2060s, fueling national paranoia. The government was using the Plague as an excuse to register civilians. Claiming a symptom of the plague was "socialist thoughts" and advocating isolation that people should stay indoors, read books and avoid "Ice cream socials". Furthermore, people were told that if they believed they were infected, they were to contact a disease control center, such as the Disaster Relief Outpost in Point Lookout, for isolation immediately.

The West Tek company had close ties to the federal government, and their work in viral research eventually led to them being chosen for the Pan-Immunity Virion Project in 2073, a project later known as Forced Evolutionary Virus.

Note: in 2253, when the player character first meets the ZAX computer intelligence in the Boulder Dome, he learns there was another hidden purpose that fueled the FEV project. The evolutionary changes brought on by exposing an infected person were partly intended to create humans that were resistant to the disease. The scientists in the Dome all had substantial proof from research that the Super Mutants would probably survive the New Plague.

In February 2077, FEV Research was leaked to the world through an unknown source. There were protests in many major cities and governments around the world, as well as accusations that the US was responsible for the New Plague.

Then, shortly before the War, an outbreak of the New Plague hit Denver. Rioters burned down large parts of the city in fear of contamination and anger at their treatment. Many panicked and fled the city by car, clogging the freeways, soon after this the bombs fell, leaving no survivors.

After the Great War
The physically deformed Swampfolk inhabiting Point Lookout are likely a result of a combination of a mutated version of the New Plague, inbreeding, and radiation. (Source?)

After the War, the NCR scientist Victor Presper, through extensive research, discovered the history of Limit 115 and its genocidal potency, and also discovered a viable means to cleanse the world. Using ULYSSES, the quarantine prison, and a ballistic satellite known as B.O.M.B.-001, the way to human planetary domination and order became clear. He needed to get to B.O.M.B.-001 and use the nuclear weapons to clean the filth and wretch that currently occupied the surface.

Presper and his followers released the New Plague virus in the remote areas near Boulder and Denver. It was close enough to the quarantine prison to spur ULYSSES into action, but not near enough to huge populations to start a general panic. Presper’s men would then stage an attack on the prison which would allow everyone to escape. This event would start a countdown of sorts for missile launch on B.O.M.B.-001. ULYSSES would assess the viral spread, try to gather up the escaped prisoners, and once 90% of the prisoners had been retrieved, launch nuclear missiles to “clean & prevent” any further infection. By the time this happened, Presper had planned to be on, and in full control of, B.O.M.B.-001, and reprogramming targeting solutions to clean the areas he wanted. Humans of his choosing would wait out the second nuclear holocaust in the Boulder Dome, until the day came where he declared the Earth safe for pure blood humans once more. The only thing that really was a time consuming factor for his plan was figuring out the launch codes on the satellite. But Presper knew he was more than intelligent enough to eventually figure it out. After all, he was far more intelligent than the monkeys who originally programmed the launch computers on B.O.M.B.-001, or so he thought.