The Savage Worlds setting The Last Parsec has what I thought a neat Monster concept that manages to mimic the effects of a deadly plague, without actually being [technically] a disease at all. "Chromo-Spores" present as a green fungus that can infect just about any complex structure, from grass to people to computers. From their description:

"The affliction is sub-viral, rearranging chromosomes within living cells and forcing immediate cellular transformations in what are usually fatal experiments to produce longer cell life or greater reproduction. Within hours of infection, a life form is analyzed and transformed, seemingly at random. A human might be reimagined with larger lungs or eight spleens, reformed with alien organs learned by the spores from centuries past, even turned into a hermaphrodite or switched to the opposite sex. [The spores] are indifferent to the survival of the subject creature. Once data is gathered, the chromo-spores move on."

An all-purpose icky thing! They are described as an ancient, alien experiment in life-extension that went horribly wrong, killing off the creating race as well as [every?] other nearby civilization, then going dormant until disturbed by some [very unlucky!] adventurers. They sorta remind me of the alien virus from The Expanse books/show.

On Sat, Mar 21, 2020 at 7:43 PM Jeff Zeitlin <xxxxxx@freelancetraveller.com> wrote:

... means that I have at least an idea for a Theme for the next issue of
Freelance Traveller. This might or might not be a good choice under the
circumstances, but...

...if enough people apply their knowledge and (mostly fresh) experience to
writing, I think we could have a Theme Issue on the topic of Plagues.

* We know that, canonically, the conquest of the Ziru Sirka was accompanied
by what came to be known as the Plague of Duskir. Stories about it, and
how it was ultimately brought under control, would fall under this theme.
* The partial isolation of the Long Night would have epidemiological
implications, as would the resumption of contact as the nascent Third
Imperium (and other dawn polities) expanded and coalesced. What sort of
response do individual worlds - or the Imperium, or any subordinate
polity-in-all-but-name - have to a pandemic?

* To what extent do human diseases cross between any of the major human
racial goups, or between them and the more extreme minor-racial variants?
What about to non-humans of Terrestrial origin (e.g., Dolphins, Vargr,
uplifts)? What about to non-humans of non-Terrestrial origin (e.g.,
Virushi, Llellewyloly, Bawapakerwa-a-a-awapawab) or of geneered mix
(e.g., Luriani)? What about the reverse - minor-racial diseases crossing
into major human racial groups?

* What sort of diseases are endemic to specific worlds or regions, and what
sort are "universal"?

* What sort of medical technology exists to address specific classes of
disease, or complications therefrom?

* Are there techniques that can be used on some races but not others? What
are they, and why don't they cross?

* We know of bacteria, viri, fungi, parasites, prions, and protozoa as
infection agents; under what circumstances is each likely to be able to
cross racial/species boundaries?

* What sort of protocols are there in place on various worlds to try to
minimize or block the spread of infectious diseases?

* What sort of failure modes are there that might let a disease go pandemic
on one or more worlds?

Use your imaginations, folks, and don't leave the entire idea to those who
have formal medical knowledge - this is the Far Future, and we can use any
sort of Far Futuristic ideas that will make interesting reading and don't
do _too_ much snapping of the Suspenders of Disbelief.

®Traveller is a registered trademark of
Far Future Enterprises, 1977-2020. Use of
the trademark in this notice and in the
referenced materials is not intended to
infringe or devalue the trademark.

--
Jeff Zeitlin, Editor
Freelance Traveller
The Electronic Fan-Supported Traveller® Resource
xxxxxx@freelancetraveller.com
http://www.freelancetraveller.com

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