..::Report On Weaponized Virus V1X53::..
TO: -REDACTED-
FR: -REDACTED-
SUB: Weaponized Virus V2X53
As the reader is aware, initial establishment of the Empire's biological weapons program following the repeal of World Assembly Resolution #65 (Biological Weapons Conference) was focused on novel ways of attacking a prospective enemy's ability to wage war. Following the success of that effort, reports of which have been filed and can be reviewed at the reader's convenience, the scientific team at -REDACTED- then moved on to ways of lethally attacking prospective enemy populations directly. As previous reports have indicated, our focus was initially upon a general purpose "carrier virus" using various strains of influenza. Our early preference was for mutations to naturally occur among test populations through the process of reassortment of two or more strains, however to date our efforts in that area have been less than satisfactory.
One particular naturally reassorted strain did point the way for the scientific team to deliberately engineer the (from our perspective) ideal strain. A single test subject had become symptomatic one day after initial introduction of several strains and rapidly expired thereafter. While the hybrid strain did not spread beyond the single test subject, the established virulence of the strain was more than acceptable. A necropsy revealed something truly horrifying; the strain had caused the test subject to expire via cytokine storm which was the result of the strain causing an over-reaction of the immune system, although it was abundantly clear the subject would have expired anyway from atypically severe influenza symptoms. Follow-up genetic analysis of the strain revealed a reassortment of H10N7 and a particularly nasty sub-strain of H1N1. The scientific team followed up this discovery by culturing sufficient quantity of this new strain (heretofore referred to as V1X101) to deliberately infect an entire test population under clinical isolation. The resultant lethality was 84% with no apparent discrimination for age, pre-symptomatic health, or other factors; the randomness involved was truly stunning, as was the fact that the entire test population became rapidly symptomatic irrespective of whether or not they eventually expired.
Following these results, further cultures were produced with the intent of deliberately causing reassortment between V1X101 and H5N3 with the goal of causing test populations to contract the new virus through a single vector. The first test was conducted, again, with a clinically isolated and individually caged test population; the test showed that the new strain (V1X102) had the ability to be spread through aerial transmission, although this seemed to happen is a fairly linear fashion, and 100% lethality was demonstrated within a week. The second test was conducted in a clinically isolated area that allowed for full interaction among a socially established test population with only one subject previously infected. It became abundantly clear that transmission of the virus was possible through the full spectrum of daily social activity and full lethality was established within 5 days with 75% of the population having expired within three. Our recommendation is that this virus be approved for full production and labeled V1W102 in official records.
We have also gone a step further and inserted genes into V1X102 from a high lethality strain of Ebola. We appear to have succeeded in introducing internal hemorrhaging as a symptom of the new virus and as an added benefit every test subject appears to demonstrate subtly different mutations of the strain. This has been confirmed in several socially established test populations and even among free interactions of several such test populations. We have dubbed this new virus V1X53 and recommend it be approved for full production as V2W53.
Further questions can be directed to Dr.-REDACTED- at -REDACTED-.
..::End Report::..
[OOC comment welcomed]
[Also, this report is IC secret, so any effort to use this as if it were common knowledge here, the WA, or elsewhere is godmodding and you will be called on it.]