"Advanced Cognition Inhibitor Virus - Apocalyptic?" Topic

WHAT IF …

A virus was developed and released, and all it did was impede the ability to create (and comprehend the use of) machinery and other technology?

Would you imagine bands of "cavemen" roaming the Earth, carrrying bits of machinery and tools for mostly spears and clubs?

How much worse would it get if the virus also affected communication? Would such a 'Babel' virus prevent large bands from forming up and working together for long?

Would you call such an event "Apocalyptic"? And what name would you give the virus/event?

And, with that general premise as your starting point … what kind of gaming scenarios would you come up with? Would you have some of the population naturally unaffected, and some immune because they took a vaccine?

I was watching an old episode of STNG and this image of Ryker stood out, which also reminded me of the primitive guys in the film Pandorum a bit.

Khurasan Trans-Human Mutants:

Oddzial Osmy's Scifi Ghouls:

GW Moria Goblins (compared to 1/72 humans):

Dan
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PS. I'm not sure why I wasn't allowed to cross-post this to 15mm SCI Fi. Sorry for clicking 15mm Fantasy.

First would be the massive die off.

How simple a machine can still be used? Are Bows too high tech?

Good question! If the virus was meant to temporarily incapacitate enemy troops (keep them from working radar, rifles, artillery, vehicles, etc), but the virus somehow made the effect permanent, could some residual knowledge creep back up to the surface?

With so much new knowledge on the workings of the human brain, and all it's redundancies, I'm not sure what is plausible these days.

Could someone have brain "damage" so specifically selective that they could still go about with most other things in life but go completely blank when it came to inventing or coming up with how a sling or a bow works? If so, shouldn't that have helped them use a rifle too?

Thoughts?

Dan

Snow Crash.

related (sort of): I've read a short story along similar lines. Something is found that greatly increases lifespan but conversely also results in loss of memory and cognitive function. The discovery came from a study of a particular town where significant longevity is the norm. The discovery is universally adopted. The discoverer finds out later (too late) that the town also has extreme levels of early onset dementia.

Brilliant 1970s sci-fi novel, called – I think – 'IQ83', on that very subject.

Focussed on the biomedical scientists trying to find a cure, while painfully aware that they're getting dumber by the day – a race between progress and decline.

50 years after the event, it would be called "unggnuung"…well, maybe not.

Scenarios would probably result from conflicts over hunting grounds, 'secure' housing areas, water sources, kidnapping/rescuing potential breeding mates, etc. The usual stuff.

Since their brains are people's most potent weapons, loosing that would probably lead to a quick extinction. Try fighting off a pack of wolves using only your 'claws' (read that as finger nails).

Really depends on how contagious the virus is, what the incubation period is, etc; if it's as easily transmittable as the cold and has a chance to get around before symptoms manifest then this is probably an extinction-level event.

For gaming purposes you probably want it to some combination of moderately transmittable (say direct skin contact) and long incubation period; this would allow the virus to get around but means not everyone catches it. Maybe have the symptoms manifest over a couple of months. So you can have an accelerating crisis as the virus spreads and the effects start to appear. By the time people catch on to what is happening the situation is already falling apart. Sounds interesting to me!

-Will

Carique Caribe

I developed similar ideas.

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In my campaign, which unfortunately we only ever gamed out a few (three?) scenarios.

The virus was an intentional biological attack intended to depopulate earth. Development of the virus was directed and funded by a wealthy industrialist doctor who had significant dealings with medical industry. He used fanatical eco-terrorists to spread the disease which required fluid contact for transmission. It resulted in "fast zombies" who would go into rage and attack whenever they encountered 'normal' humans.

He had vaccinated about 50,000 people before the infection was released, these were selected employees of his (about 10000 employees and their also vetted/selected spouses and childern) who were based in a highly protected compound a few hours outside of Portland, OR.

Others who got the vaccines (almost all of them understood they were getting a flu vacine, and did not have knowledge of the plan) were selected military and law enforcement personnel mostly from the Portland area.

He also sent vaccines to other people he admired (including Olympians, select celebrities, and persons known as heroes and humanitarians.

The vast majority of Earths population was infected, the ECO-terrorists flew in and out of all major airports, spreading the disease. The vast majority of the infected died off within the first year, but small populations (I used .1% (1 in 1000) of the regions original population) remained as savages. Reverting to basically cave man levels.

Small pockets of 'normal humans' survived. The compound outside Portland survived. Other surviving populations of uninfected were in the deserts of the Southwest (A combination of aggressive leadership, the deserts and 110' temperatures in the area (which caused very rapid die-off of the infected) and the military forces assigned to 29 Palms, Fort Irwin, Nellis AFB, and MCB Barstow was able to control the infection.

There was a small percentage of people who proved to be naturally immune. Most of these were traumatized heavily. Small groups of survivors banded together. In many cases they took to hunting and waging aggressive wars of extermination against the infected.