Infected

After infection, the virus "plugs in" and activates junk DNA in it's victim, resulting in biological changes that create (and recreate) sentience within the infected creature cellular makeup. It acts by affecting the protein encoding regions of the promoter introns in each cell. As a retrovirus, it contains both RNA and the reverse transcriptase enzyme, allowing it to insert its own genetic codes into living cells. It enters, re-purposes and changes the cell, replicating previously dormant non-coding segments of DNA.

More often than not, these changes are too drastic and 99.99% of subjects die from massive organ failure and cell saturation. However, some variants have yielded other beneficial results; endowing the infected organisms with incredible superhuman genetic prowess, that greatly increase their natural abilities to levels far exceeding human capability, these variants include DX-1120 and DX-1118 C.

The virus is highly contagious and can infect organisms through a multitude of means.
Physical Contact: If a non-infected person is bitten or scratched by an Infected person, or Hunter, the virus can spread directly to the victim resulting in their infection.

• Exposure: Coming into contact with an Infected Water Tower, or a Hive can result in the infectious agents spreading to nearby humans.
• Bodily Fluid Contact: Infectious bodily fluids and materials are capable of infecting through open wounds.
• Injection: As used on the Project D-Code soldiers, the Virus can be spread through direct application via injection.

A group of scientists led by Dr. Alex Mercer managed to synthesize a new virus strain which they named Blacklight. The Blacklight virus' effects are variable and far more infectious than the Idaho strain. The Blacklight virus outbreak does not follow the pattern of the Hope outbreak: it causes too many infections, spreads over too wide an area, and leaves too many surviving entities. The Blacklight virus mortality rate is lower than that of the Redlight virus, and the incubation period is much longer. The full capabilities of the Blacklight virus were unknown, but were discovered in New York.





In 2006, the Redlight virus from Hope, Idaho was released in New York. Alex Mercer, code named Zeus, was an abomination of a different strand of the virus, the Blacklight Virus. Through the hard work of Blackwatch, the infection was purged from the city.

This peace, however, only lasted for 14 months. Alex Mercer started a new outbreak, this time of the Blacklight virus. An infected marine, James Heller, gained powers immensely similar to those of Mercer. In a final confrontation between the two titans, James Heller killed Alex Mercer, and consumed all the infected in the New York red zone. Just after the battle, the city was completely destroyed by a hydrogen bomb. The city, and miles around the city, were destroyed beyond repair. The events were labeled as an attack on terrorism, and fear of nuclear weapons exploded among the American public. James Heller has not been seen since the incident, and has been classified as dead.