New Plague



The 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 in the 2050s, eventually demanding a national quarantine in 2053. The epidemic became the driving force behind the Pan-Immunity Virion project that paved the way for the Forced Evolutionary Virus.

Characteristics
The time of incubation of the virus varies, taking between three to five days. Initial symptoms greatly resemble the classic flu. The Plague eventually worsens, leading to profuse sweating, unexplained contusions and swelling, eventually terminating in massive external hemorrhaging. It may also result in clogged respiration, leading to death through asphyxia (deriving the name Blue Flu). Should anyone survive the plague, they are rendered completely sterile by the virus.

Though the exact method of infection is unknown, the New Plague virus was highly virulent and could be easily contracted in any social situation. The usual methods of controlling the spread of the disease were isolation and containment.

Before the Great War
Limit 115 was a secret, genetically-engineered weapon designed by scientists working for ether the United States government or the shadow government later known as the Enclave. The intent was initially to create a virus that would sterilize the infected people, to be used on enemies such as China.

The "New Plague" arose in 2052 after Chinese Hei Gui agents managed to steal some of the Limit-115 during a sabotage of the Hoover Dam testing labs. The spies were in the process of trying to escape Denver and were killed, breaking samples of the virus in a crowded public area. The epidemic killed approximately 200,000 citizens in the United States, including cities such as Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs.

The virulent nature of the plague and the speed at which it spread led to the first-ever national quarantine of the nation and the closing of borders, as tens of thousands die. In 2055, West-Tek started to develop a cure for the virus, establishing the West Tek Research Facility. Despite their efforts, they were unable to find the cure and the plague continued to spread in the 2060s, fueling national paranoia. The government used the rising paranoia to discourage assemblies, fuel anti-communist sentiment, and encourage informing government forces of suspected subversive elements. The government further used New Plague to register civilians, claiming a symptom of the plague was "socialist thoughts" and advocating isolation: 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.

However, despite extensive quarantine measures and research, no cure would be developed. By 2062, the New Plague continued to spread throughout the nation, increasing the death toll further. West-Tek was ultimately unable to develop a cure. 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. The project was in response to China's aggressive use of biological weapons, and although unsuccessful, it later laid the groundwork for Forced Evolutionary Virus.

In February 2077, FEV research was leaked to the world through an unknown source, which leads to widespread protests in many major cities and governments around the world, as well as accusations that the U.S. was responsible for the New Plague in the first place.

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, FEV, and radiation.

During the decade between 2277 and 2287, Robert MacCready's son Duncan has come down with a mysterious disease with no known cure. Its symptoms of high fever and painful blue boils closely matches the New Plague, although this information may not be true, as the virus Prevent was to cure only affected teenagers and children.

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 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.