THE DIAGNOSIS

[JELLY]

THE SYMPTOMS

First came a subtle cough, a little nasal congestion - nothing to worry about. It was when the hives over a person's neck and chest started appearing that it was obvious the infection had set in. After an unknown incubation and infectious period, death came quickly.

Much like tuberculosis or pneumonic plague, the patient would start coughing up blood as their lungs deteriorated and their extremities (often nose and fingertips being the most obvious) would take on a blue-ish hue as their body stopped processing oxygen and passing it through their blood. They would die within hours of the first sign of blood.

THE SPREAD

The infection can survive an unknown amount of time outside of the human body once it has been activated - so it quickly became common to throw out anything and everything a deceased person had come in contact with as it had been contaminated - and the infection could also be spread through the air.

It dies off much quicker in this latter form, but if one is in the presence of an infected individual without protective gear it is almost certain that they would also become infected.

THE "CURE"

As the disease ran rampant, little attention was paid to the "lucky" few who simply avoided getting sick. However, an Ellis Pharmaceuticals scientist discovered something interesting (although how he came to this conclusion is unknown and lost with his death - by drowning, not the infection). Somehow he tracked the original test subjects for the common-cold pills, and he discovered that anyone who was still taking these pills (although many had abandoned them in the chaos) had yet to fall ill despite their contact with others who were now dead or dying.

He made this discovery public, claiming that it was the presence of the cold virus that was making it impossible for the infection to take hold - much like how victims of tuberculosis became immune to leprosy. The desperation of the world both shunned him and catapulted him to the heights of fame. He was placed in charge of the production of these pills shortly before his death, but by then the remnants of Ellis Pharmaceuticals had been bought and transferred to Australia - one of the last "clean" areas of the planet.

As the chaos continued, they used a small air fleet that the group in charge had commandeered, and made regular air-drops into any major cities or areas where people had fled.

Despite their efforts, only a fraction of the human population was left, and those were often scattered and alone.

THE "IMMUNE"

There are a very very small number of people who are biologically immune to the infection, but there is no way to tell who is and who isn't. Because of the reliance on the "immunity pills," no one dares to chance not taking them - and often anyone who does is banished from whatever safe haven they might have found because they have become a threat to all the others there.

Maybe in time the population will adapt, but no one can be certain...