User:Thejadefalcon/Rage (fictional virus)

The Rage Virus is a fictional disease portrayed in the films 28 Days Later, its sequel, 28 Weeks Later, and the graphic novel 28 Days Later: The Aftermath.

Characteristics

The Rage Virus began as a genetically engineered strain of the Ebola virus designed to carry an unspecified treatment to inhibit violent impulses. However, it was revealed to have the opposite effect, leading to violent behavior. After entering the bloodstream, the virus is usually very quick to manifest itself in the victim's behavior (see below), usually only 10 or 20 seconds is required for the virus symptoms to become noticeable. However, accurate infection time is purely determined by the amount of infected blood that has gotten into the bloodstream and the overall mass of the person in question. The virus is passed through bodily fluids and has an almost 100% communicability rate, though it may be noted that some people posses a hereditary immunity, allowing them to become infected with the virus without exhibit any of its usual symptoms (save the bloodshot eyes). However, such persons remain carriers of the infection, and can transmit it through saliva and blood transmission.

Danny Boyle has stated that only primates can carry the virus (a fact that is further touched upon in the second film in the series).

Symptoms

The Rage virus does not directly cause the death of its host, but because the host is solely focused on infecting or killing the non-Infected, it causes those infected to become disinterested in self-nourishment which will eventually cause death by starvation. Since the virus causes those infected to act with no regard for self-preservation, they will not act to evade mortal danger, such as fire or chemical gas.

The Infected experience spasms in the extremities, and their pupils become wide and blood red. They also vomit copious amounts of infected blood.

It has also been shown that The Infected use their sense of smell to find the uninfected and that trace amounts of products such as perfume or soap will attract them to the source.

Immunity

Template:Spoiler 28 Weeks Later explores the discovery that there may be some people that possess a natural immunity to the Rage virus. This was displayed when Alice was discovered hiding in her family's old home. At the same time she is still capable of spreading the infection, despite her own immunity. In essence, Alice is a carrier of the Rage virus. Nevertheless, Scarlett suggests that research be conducted on Alice's blood sample to study and ultimately locate a possible vaccine. Unfortunately, Alice spreads the infection before any research can be conducted.

In the film, attention is given to the fact that Alice and her son Andy possess heterochromic eye color. While nothing is directly stated which links this with an immunity to the virus, when Andy is attacked by his Infected father at the film's climax, he displays no symptoms of the Rage virus. Despite this apparent immunity, he could also have become a carrier himself and the only hope for a cure. This leads to a somewhat ambiguous ending, as the helicopter which Andy and his sister escaped in is shown crashed and abandoned in France, with The Infected now loose in the country.

The Infected

The Infected may or may not be considered zombies. Zombies are usually characterized as slow-moving creatures of very low intelligence, having the simplest of motor functions. The Infected still have the same level of mobility as they did before becoming Infected. Both films have also demonstrated that they do possess a rudimentary sense of spatial awareness. Though hard to hear on any version of 28 Days Later, it is shown that in the scene where Jim explores a seemingly uninhabited room, an infected boy can be heard shouting "I hate you!" just before the scene ends and Jim emerges from the room, thus demonstrating speech from the infected.

Additionally, the adrenal gland of an Infected person continually dumps adrenaline in to their system, allowing them to display extraordinary feats of strength, agility, and endurance and also to ignore wounds such as explosive amputation of limbs and immolation. They are also cannibals and develop a taste for human flesh and blood.

Another key difference is that the Rage-infected victims are still living human beings and as such can be killed using standard weapons such as bullets, RPGs, landmines, fire, CBRN technologies, and so forth.