Author's Note

This chapter was authored by Drop It Like It's Clop.

ESCP-009 [Luster's Pox]

Anomaly Designation: ESCP-009

Containment Class: Moon

Anomaly Traits: Microscopic, organic, pathogenic, infectious

Special Containment Procedures: ESCP-009 samples are to be kept at a designated biohazard containment and research facility in marked airtight vials within an airtight sample tube, which are to be contained within a double-locked hermetic sample locker. The sample locker room must be accessed through an airlock equipped with nozzles which can disperse chemical disinfective agents in liquid or aerosol form, and emitters for magical sterilisation of all surfaces. Except when being entered by staff, the sample locker room must be sustained as an atmospheric vacuum with a minimum accepted upper limit of 0.01 atm. Any damage to the seals or surfaces of the room must be assessed and replaced or repaired if sufficient to cause a risk.

All staff handling or expected to come into proximity of ESCP-009 must wear full biological hazardous material suits rated to block viral and microbiological matter. When exiting an area in which ESCP-009 is present, a full disinfection of the protective suit is required before it is removed, followed by a further sterilisation of the equipment before it is re-entered into Foundation use. All equipment used to contain or study ESCP-009 is to be sterilised following completion of its use. Any staff who believe they have come into contact with ESCP-009 must report to the appropriate medical facility and quarantine themselves, minimising contact with all other surfaces, environments, and creatures, and will be expected to provide a full list of objects, locations, and creatures with which they came into contact within a contextually appropriate timeframe surrounding their suspected infection. Any indication of infection of any creature must be reported and detention by appropriate staff is mandatory upon such a report. Any infected individuals who do not voluntarily surrender must be detained by force.

All handling of ESCP-009 samples, contaminations, and infections must be done so by staff who have been trained and qualified to undertake the tasks required of them, such as medical intervention or site cleanup. Suspicion of infection or contamination should be acted upon, and no site or creature is to be regarded as safe until declared so by the present highest ranking personnel qualified to handle ESCP-009. No unauthorised samples may be collected nor cultivated by staff without the explicit permission of three Level 4 researchers.

When moving samples of ESCP-009, the container must be checked for damage before being removed from its sterile environment, and must be transported in a metal case with an interior lining of shock-absorbant padding, which should be secured to a gurney to remove the risk of dropping. If at any point damage is noticed to the container or if the container falls, the section of the facility in which the incident occured, and any more which are suspected to be at risk of contamination, must enter a lockdown while appropriately equiped staff attend the scene to sterilise the section. Damaged containers must be destroyed, along with the sample they contain. Prior to transportation occuring, the site must annouce the route to be taken by the sample and its escorts, and these areas must be vacated. The removal of a sample for whatever reason must be formally approved by the site director.

Assessment and observation agents and resources are to be aware of the signs of an ESCP-009 outbreak or infection and must report their suspicion immediately to their handlers. Containment teams are to be dispatched to all suspected or confirmed sites of infection and the location quarantined, along with any creature present. Quarantine must not be lifted until the threat is assessed as having been thoroughly eradicated, and appropriate resources and measures must be committed to aid this effort. Note: Guidance on levels of severity and appropriate measures can be found in Documents 009-1 and 009-2 respectively.

Anycreature found to be infected by ESCP-009 must be treated through a consistent application of maternal affection, including insisting the infected remains in bed, feeding them hot soup at least once a day, reading them bedtime stories, singing lullabies, and praying for them (Codename: NOSTALGIA). Treatment must continue until all traces of ESCP-009 have been purged from the body, with a strong correlation between the stage of infection and the required time and attention to a complete cure. This technique is most effective when performed by a mare, although attitude and demeanour are more significant as factors than biological sex, and sincerity bolsters the impact of the treatment significantly. Creatures with a good bedside manner, empathetic disposition, and approachable personality should be groomed for this role.

Description: ESCP-009 is a microscopic pathogen with the genetic and microbiological structure of a virus. In isolation, ESCP-009 particles are capable of airborne transmission across great distances, recorded as being as far as twenty kilometers (20km), and commonly sticks to clothing, structures, articles, and hairs. When bonding with a cell or mixing with compounds or substances, the particles lose their airborne transmissibility, even at short distances, and even a substance as chemically mundane as pure water is enough to negate the virions' airborne transmissibility. As is characteristic of a virus, it replicates using the cells of a living organism and produces effects within its host conducive to spreading itself to other organisms as part of its life cycle, with infected individuals spreading the virus through bodily fluids.

Regardless of transmission type, a single virion is sufficient to infect a sapient creature with a one hundred percent success rate upon entering the cardiorespiratory system by any means. Immune systems do not react to ESCP-009's presence in the body, and are incapable of removing, resisting, or rejecting the virus or its symptoms when compelled to do so. Non-anomalous pharmaceutical and magical drugs and procedures are ineffective at treating an ESCP-009 infection, but standard cleaning and sterilisation processes and chemicals are capable of neutralising any presence of ESCP-009 that has not infected a sapient host. Research is ongoing to see at which stage the anomalous resistance to standard medicine takes hold and how it gains these properties, with the current theory being at the point of cell invasion.

Other than being deliberately cleaned, ESCP-009 does not appear to diminish naturally, and is able to persist upon contaminated surfaces or compounds until it is removed through focused effort. Upon entering a host, the virions will immediately and swiftly invade the closest cells to the point of entry into the body, and will proceed to replicate at a rate far beyond that of any non-anomalous contagion, although the host is not harmed at any point of the process. A predictable pattern of symptoms occurs as the host develops through several stages, which begins immediately upon infection.

Stage 1 is the initial infection stage, in which the virions invade the nearest cells within the body. There are no symptoms at this stage except the presence of proteins in a relevant sample test contextual to the origin of the infection in the host's body, such as an oral swab test. The immune system and natural bodily reactions to foreign bodies entering the system do not occur. While transmission at this stage is greatly lessened due to a lack of replicability of the protein strands of the virion, contamination and infection is still possible. With the process irreversible by standard means, the host is designated an instance of ESCP-009-1. This stage lasts from the intake of particles into the body until the virus uses the infected cells to replicate, which takes between ten and fifty minutes.

Stage 2 is the replication stage, during which time the infected cells reproduce copies of the virus, which in turn infect surrounding cells. All cells infected in this way also continue their original function uninhibited, despite the lack of expenditure of additional energy or nutrients which should be required for such a process. The presence of additional virus proteins becomes evident in relevant sample tests, though no adverse bodily reaction occurs, and no direct symptoms are detectable. This stage begins approximately one hour after initial infection, and lasts between three and seven hours.

Stage 3 is the reconditioning stage, during which time attempts are made to seek vectors for further infection. The virus influences the mind of the host, who starts feeling urges to socialise and engage in group activities, particularly those that encourage or require close proximity, such as contact sports. The host will experience an onset of spontaneity and will seek to make new friends or to include strangers into a group of existing friends, even going so far as to suggest immediate meetups of friends who have not spoken in several months. Creatures who are naturally introverts will appear to discover an inexplicable boost of confidence, and will become more socially astute, extroverted, and charming. This stage begins approximately five hours after initial infection, and lasts between three days and a week.

Stage 4 is when the host begins to develop lascivious interests beyond their previous norm, and seeks physical intimacy with other creatures, especially those within their friendship group. While this usually begins as cuddling and kissing, it quickly escalates to increasingly lengthy sex sessions, allowing for the transmission of the virus through saliva, semen, arousal fluid, or physical contact with the interior of the body, such as through oral sex. The host appears more lascivious, but their behaviour is not considered atypical of standard pony deviations. This stage begins approximately five days after initial infection, and can last between one and two weeks.

Stage 5 sees a massive and exponential spike in the host's libido, and their behaviour becomes troublesome and noticeably atypical of a normal creature. They become acutely sexually aggressive, seeking out carnal interactions with any and all sapient creatures above the age of sexual maturity, and forego other primary considerations such as eating and sleeping in pursuit of this endeavour. A significant majority of the host's cells, ranging between 76%-100%, have been infected, and replication occurs at a staggeringly high rate, in addition to alteration and increased functionality of those cells. As with stage 2, there is no increased nutrition requirement for this process, even with the increased output of bodily fluids by rates as significantly as +205%. Hosts secrete significantly greater seminal fluids, arousal fluids, and saliva, all of which is a carrier of ESCP-009. This stage of the infection begins between one and two weeks after initial infection.

Despite the significance of the infection, the host suffers no pain or discomfort, and does not suffer adverse health effects aside from the natural consequences arising from their altered behaviours. During or before inducing heightened libido in the hosts, ESCP-009 suppresses virility and fertility, rendering the host incapable of impregnating another of their species, or being impregnated by another of their species. The current theory for this sterility is the maximisation of the spread of the contagion, as hosts are capable of continuing to spread ESCP-009 without the burden of carrying a child to term. As a result of the ease of exponential spread to the entirety of the population of the globe and the sterility it produces, ESCP-009 is capable of causing a K-Class scenario, making containment a priority for the Foundation.

Document 009-1: Severity scale of ESCP-009 contamination from least to most severe

Clean: No presence of contagion
Contained: Contagion subject to all conditions expressed in the Special Containment Procedures
Minor: Contagion uncontained within a small confined space over which the Foundation has effective control
Major: Contagion uncontained within a locale over which the Foundation does not have effective control and/or contagion present over a large open area
Extreme: Widespread contamination in densely populated locations and/or heavy contamination of infrastructure or resources necessary for civilisational continuation, or contamination of items and resources with which the public will innevitably interact on a large scale.
Critical: Uncontained contamination on an unlimited scale, imminent risk of a cascade into a global infection, potential GK-Class "Dead Greenhouse" scenario or IK-Class "Collapse of Global Civilisation" scenario.

Document 009-2: Excerpt from ESCP response manual

Some biological outbreaks, such as an ESCP-009 outbreak, are a pernicious threat which have the potential to eradicate all sapient species on the planet, or potentially further if the virus spreads beyond the atmosphere. As such, all suspicions of infection must be reported up the chain of command and as detailed and precise a report as possible made on all relevant elements of the incident, including the time, date, location, involved parties, descriptions, and physical contact made. Avoid making skin-to-skin contact wherever possible and submit yourself for a medical examination after dealing with any suspected incident. If possible, secure any relevant material and creatures at the scene of the suspected outbreak.

Field agents and MTF commanders are authorised to set up a quarantine zone if they believe there is an active outbreak or infection site and detain any and all creatures within such a zone, including any creatures suspected of having travelled into the area prior to its establishment but after the outbreak began. Any individuals suspected of being vectors must be contained, unless pursuing them would further spread the contagion, in which case their identity must be noted in as much detail as possible and reported up the chain of command for interception by Foundation personnel.

The need for secrecy must be balanced against the containment and prevention considerations that outbreaks necessitate, and what constitutes a balanced approach will be situational, depending entirely on the circumstances of the case. To facilitate Foundation operation, appropriate guidelines from which to make further decisions are as follows, working on the basis of an ESCP-009 outbreak.

When the risk level is minor, the area must be quarantined and all exits blocked, and entry prohibited to anycreature not wearing a suitable fully sealed hazardous materials protection suit. A decontamination team should be called urgently, and entry to the area must be swift and orderly, and decontamination begun immediately with chemical disinfectants. Any unauthorised creature on site must be detained for medical examination and treatment. If the occupants of the area are in stage four or five of infection, field agents may be required to incapacitate them prior to the arrival of the decontamination team. In doing so, the agents must limit their exposure as much as possible, and must submit for a medical examination following full cleanup of the site. Agents should pose as law enforcement officials or health workers for the purpose of explaining to any witnesses or bystanders, with the exact cover story decided by the team leader. Infected individuals should be removed to and amnestitised at a Foundation facility.

When the risk is major, multiple teams should attend to the scene and establish the exact boundaries of the contamination zone, which must be quarantined. Decontamination teams must attend the scene immediately and begin full chemical decontamination, while agents and MTF operatives detain and gather intelligence on the outbreak. Priority must be given to individuals in later stages of infection, but the utmost consideration is maintaining order and preventing as much interaction as possible between anycreatures present, as well as halting any traffic to and from the quarantine site that is authorised by the Foundation. Medical teams must be brought in to conduct the procedures necessary to cure all instances of ESCP-009-1, and this should be done on-site to prevent further spreading of the contagion. All agents should pose as health workers attemtping to combat a particularly virulent strain of a non-anomalous disease, and low-level amnestics must be provided to prevent the full extent of the intervention being understood while allowing those involved to retain memories of treatment so as to avoid suspicion. Gaps in memory or confusion should be explained as side-effects of the medication they were given.

Extreme risks require large-scale deployment of Foundation resources, including use of non-Foundation and civilian workers and connections. Local governing bodies should be contacted and compelled to aid in whatever way they have the authority to do, which may be broadcasting for the purpose of misinformation or public control. Infection of water facilities or bodies of water used for equine consumption requires the cessation of all operations of the facility or collection of water until full decontamination has taken place using an abundance of disinfectant materials. All contaminated personal property must be seized and its owners detained for examination, and urban or public centres must be decontaminated through heavy rainfall carrying disinfectant chemicals and magically embued purity. For this purpose, Containment Site CD-81-V should be consulted for its connections with the Cloudsdale Weather Corporation and the local authority. Door-to-door examinations should be conducted on the guise of checking for colds, flus, damp-related illnesses, and other maladies consistent with the high level of rain that will be present. Examinations of private and personal property should be conducted under the guise of ensuring building safety standards are being met, with particular focus on examining for mould or other fungal particulates. MTF teams must co-ordinate a systematic grid-based search of the urban area to ensure total coverage of the population, and further discoveries of contamination must be immediately reported in full and a hazmat team dispatched to focus on its eradication. Low-level amnestics must be provided to any witnesses to the procedure to cure an ESCP-009-1 instance.

Critical risks supersede the requirement for secrecy, and total deployment of all Foundation assets becomes mandatory. At such a stage, fully open deployment of Mobile Task Forces will likely be perceived as a national or international response, and coverups should be undertaken following the resolution of the outbreak and return of normality. There is no need to inform any civilians of the existence of the Foundation, but anycreature who deduces the truth need not be detained or administered amnestics. The Foundation's focus must shift entirely to large-scale treatment and corralling efforts, with manageable batches of the infected abducted and treated at any one time, while non-infected civilians are confined to refugee camps and centres. All creatures who are available to treat ESCP-009-1 instances must be informed on the virus and its nature, as well as the treatment technique, and all remaining national authorities must be compelled and organised to contain the outbreak. It is likely that climate techniques for large-scale decontamination will lead to widespread environmental damage and degredation, including agricultural collapse and ecological endangerment, which will require continued co-operation between non-Foundation authorities and the Foundation to sustain and heal civilisational development in the years following a return to normality, during which time the presence of the Foundation should be construed as nothing more than a governmental department. Amnestics should be distributed at this stage to remove any knowledge of the anomalous and the suggestion that the incident was any more than a non-anomalous disaster.

Document 009-3: Partial list of ESCP-009 outbreak incidents

Date: [REDACTED]
Location: Silver Horns Nightclub, Manehatten
Severity level: Major
Description: Following multiple noise complaints regarding the Silver Horns Nightclub in relation to their seemingly twenty four hour operation, a Foundation agent investigated the venue during a patrol of the area, and discovered several ESCP-009-1 entities in stage five of infection. The incident was reported and an MTF team deployed to secure the club, posing as police officers, while a hazmat team posing as forensic investigators began decontamination of the alleyway in which three ESCP-009-1 entities were found fornicating. With the alleyway deemed to be decontaminated and cordoned off from public view and access, it was utilised as a treatment area for the club's inhabitants. Several of the clubgoers had to be detained, and the vast majority were found to be in various stages of ESCP-009-1 infection. Over the course of seventy two hours, the entire club was decontaminated and the clubgoers treated according to the NOSTALGIA protocol. A search of the creatures present and the venue itself revealed the presence of drugs, and medical checks on the treated parties found many to be intoxicated and various amounts of chemical stimulants in their systems.
Outcome: ESCP-009-1 entities initially found in stage five of infection were immbolised, covered, and covertly brought to the nearest Foundation site for dedicated NOSTALGIA protocol treatment, and were then interrogated for their whereabouts prior to their appearance at the Silver Horns Nightclub. It was discovered that they had been at the club for almost a week, partying and fornicating, and that the outbreak had come from contaminated drugs. Everycreature present was amnestised, and a public cover story was published claiming that the club had been the subject of a police raid due to noise complaints and the suspicion of a large presence of drugs. No further action was needed.

Date: [REDACTED]
Location: Residence of [REDACTED], Canterlot
Severity level: Minor
Description: Neighbours of the [REDACTED] household expressed concern at having not seen the usually sociable husband and wife nor their servants, despite lights being on in the house constantly. Foundation agents embedded in the EUP Guard learned that the husband and wife had last been seen on a Saturday morning, entering their estate with several friends and acquaintances, and none had emerged since. An MTF response team was readied and sent to the address, and discovered upon a first check that the aforementioned ponies were engaged in an orgy, seemingly having been occupied in this way for the past several days, and further examination revealed that they were all in stage five of ESCP-009 infection. The MTF breached the building and secured the present parties, and the property was quarantined pending a full decontamination. Medical staff qualified to perform the NOSTALGIA protocol were brought in.
Outcome: Sixteen ponies were fully treated and the property was utterly sterilised, with no further contamination discovered outside. The parties were questioned on what had happened, and it was deduced that a particulate of ESCP-009 had entered the Canterlot water supply by coincidence and had just so happened to have been consumed by the wife, who had infected her husband. As the infection developped, the couple had talked their friends and servents into swinging, and the infection had progressed swiftly into stage five over the weekend. Amnestics were provided and a cover story circulated that they had fallen ill from a foreign disease while embarking on a vacation, and that the Foundation personnel were conducting a welfare check on them. The origin of the infection, and why it remained so isolated, was investigated. Conclusion pending.

Date: [REDACTED]
Location: Ponyville
Severity: Extreme
Description: During the investigation of of the Canterlot outbreak, a lead pointed towards Ponyville. Agents present in the town launched a probe to identify any possible risks, and discovered the presence of ESCP-009 in the lake, as well as a number of ponies within the town displaying symptoms of stage 3 and stage 4 of infection. Site CD-81-V was contacted for assistance, and while plans were drawn up with the Cloudsdale Weather Corporation, agents were posted on routes into Ponyville to mislead any visitors away. Within a day, a storm was scheduled, and local residents were manipulated into aiding in its hasty construction. Disinfectant agents were added to the clouds, and when the rain began and residents had returned to their homes, agents were dispatched to the town to identify the infected townsponies. The lake was disinfected, distilled, and purified until it was clear of contamination and disinfectant compounds. The infected ponies were treated over the course of the night, and were provided with amnestics. The cover story of a scheduled storm raised no significant questions, and the town remains unaware of the Foundation presence during the storm.
Outcome: Outbreak fully contained, collateral damage to Golden Oaks Library as a result of the storm. Outcome deemed acceptable.