Idea for a new possibly evolving faction - Neurax

[kenshin156]

The Neurax Worm is a special parasite which has been awakened from its millennia-long slumber by human activity. Its defining trait is the ability to burrow into the host's brain and exercise inner mind control.
The "Neurax" is a small worm with the head of what somewhat resembles a snake, developing neural branches around the host's brain. As the severity of the disease increases, the neural branches will keep spreading across the brain, until it has entirely encompassed the brain and gained complete control of the host.

Many of you guys already know this thing from the game "Plague Inc. Evolved". It is quite simple to explain. It is a parasite that attaches itself to the host's brain, slowly but steadily taking control over the host. What I now want to ask you people is, if this could potentially be a nice new antagonist faction in Sirius. Overall, diseases are only existant in slight forms, unless RPd by a hardcore Roleplayer (mostly Pen and Paper people. Holler at ya, dudes)
What I thought was, that given the already set up skilltree, implementing it into a faction - and most importantly the afflicted host's RP - could prove interesting. Just as a short thought, there could be various "classes" of late stages, such as the "Preacher", who goes around, trying to talk people into letting them infect themselves, as they themselves are made to think of the parasite as a God and the infection as a gift, the "Hunters" - agressive and brash hosts - trying to acquire people by force to turn them into "Feeders". These "Feeders" (Brain Haemorrhage in the skilltree below) serve as hosts for the parasite's eggs to ensure the survival of the species (These would not really be very playable, but an inRP explanation for the survival of the species). Also, how about the "Martyr" class, full of self-doubt, depression and lack of enthusiasm, ready to throw themselves into the most dangerous situations to potentially reach an advantage for the parasite.
As I said, for now it is only an idea, and I already tried to do it solo, and I got to say, it is incredible how subtle it still is, despite my character showing quite obvious signs of a severe disease. In the space of Sirius, there is so much abnormalities, with the nomads, cardamine, cybernetics, electronics, and so on and so forth, that such things are kind of overlooked, making this idea actually an option that won't be immediately terminated.
I've added a Poll on top, and I'd ask you guys to give your feedback about it and answer the poll options, as well as possible additions/changes to the idea, as this might actually turn out to be quite diverse and entertaining. Without further ado, I hope you like this idea, if not tell me why and I'll answer questions, although it's still just a rough concept. Thanks for reading.

Neural Breach
Breach the blood/brain barrier to allow access to the host brain. Causes dystonia - rapid eye blinking

Cerebral Tendrils
Tendril production in the cerebral cavities begins. Enables increased control over host brain

Frontal Mesh
Tendrils mesh with frontal lobe - the conscious thought centre - and gain ability to mentally manipulate host

Perceptive Jolt
Tendrils increase brain pressure, resulting in fever which disrupts host priorities and decision making

Perceptive Shift
Worm grows to significantly increase intracranial pressure, severely disrupting host risk/reward analysis, resulting in risky, unsafe and impulsive decisions

Cognitive Scrambling
Electrical activity from tendrils causes mild seizures which completely scramble host decision making abilities

Occipital Mesh
Tendrils mesh with occipital lobe - the visual processing centre. Hosts less likely to notice worm infections

Akinetopsia
Host struggles to perceive motion making them more likely to collide with others / objects

Hallucinations
Occipital lesions created, causing severe hallucinations. Lack of awareness increases transmission chance as well as risk of injury

Schizophrenia
Inflamed dopamine receptors fragment mental processes and increase infectivity. Can cause fatal fevers

Blindness
Primary visual cortex disconnected causing blindness. Significantly reduces awareness.

Immaturity
Hormone production altered which causes reduction in maturity. Lower levels of hygiene increase infection

Mania
Excess serotonin production triggered. Manic episodes lead to increased contact with others and inability to focus

Aggression
Hypothalamic tap causes irrational hatred and violence, especially towards authorities and uninfected

Obsession
Severe damage to orbital cortex triggers OCD - forcing host to obsess over a specific worm related task

Insanity
Neuropathic manipulation causes severe emotional and behavioral abnormalities, increasing infectivity.

Confusion
Dopamine production stimulated to cause bouts of confusion in host. Harder to concentrate on complex work

Memory Loss
Neuritic plaques deposited on grey matter significantly impact memory and learning. Very hard to cure

Apraxia
Bruised tissue causes inability to execute certain movements. Reduces infectiousness but is extremely hard to cure

Aphasia
Bruised tissue causes language impairment.

Brain Haemorrhage
Tendrils digest brain matter for nutrients causing complete degeneration and rupture of the cerebral tissue

Adrenergic Constriction
Beta-receptor blockers released, dampening anxiety in the host and lessening severity of allergic reactions to the worm

Anxiolytic Infusion
Mass synthesis of neurotransmitter, gamma-aminobutyric acid, significantly reduces anxiety in the host and minimises severity of reactions

Psychosis
Tendrils tweak dopamine receptors, inducing occasional states of psychosis and personality shifts to better accommodate worm

Despair
Altered serotonin levels impact mood regulation, induce feelings of despair in the host and lessen self preservation instinct

Suicide
Tendrils release neurotoxins which cause severe disorientation and suicidal impulses in the host, making them risk their own life for the parasite.

Adoration
Surges of testosterone and estrogone hijack host emotions and create desire to spread infection

Devotion
Surges of Dopamine and Serotonin compel the host to constantly think about the worm and triggers intense rushes of pleasure

Transcendence
Overdose of oxytocin and vasopressin forces host into a permanent state of worship / acceptance - treating the Neurax Worm as an eternal god

[Petitioner]

Please, for the love of god, stop introducing new species into Discovery. I'm begging you, and anyone else with similar ideas, to please just write your own sci-fi story about these sorts of things which are totally alien (haha) to the setting of Freelancer and instead make use of the dozens of awesome yet under-appreciated groups we already have in the game that desperately need much more love, or at least make something new using already-extant resources, like FL-ER or Auxesia did. Please, just no more species, thanks.

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[Emperor Tekagi]

Please, for the love of god, stop introducing new species into Discovery. I'm begging you, and anyone else with similar ideas, to please just write your own sci-fi story about these sorts of things which are totally alien (haha) to the setting of Freelancer instead of making use of the dozens of awesome yet under-appreciated groups we already have in the game that desperately need much more love, or at least make something new using already-extant resources, like FL-ER or Auxesia did. Please, just no more species, thanks.

+1
There is also the possibility to RP this parasite as something your char got infected with on one of the many barely not explored planets. But Petitioner is just right there. No actual need.

[Shelco]

Got to agree with the two above, although the effort is nice, good to see members trying to make everything they can out of disco, put your potential in a faction and you might come out big^^.

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[Corile]

http://discoverygc.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=137098

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Reflections on the Revolution in Gallia
Custodi // High City of Heraklion // The Cult of Archangels
Log Filter // Post Creator // Manhattan

[casualty]

Also, this, item 2.3 of community rules.

[kenshin156]

Also, this, item 2.3 of community rules.

To be honest, I don't think rule 2.3 is affected here. Yes, it is - in a way - an import from Plague Inc. Evolved, but it's a disease that exists, in some way, in real life. A worm-like parasite, afflicting the way the host thinks and acts. Almost the same as the Cordyceps, which is a parasite fungus, afflicting the host to do its bidding - in a way.

[casualty]

Two different kinds of alien mind-controlling parasites are little too much for any fictional setting, anyways.

[Sombs]

It is an interesting concept, and indeed based on real life parasites, as there are actually parasites that work like that - although not 'really' on humans, but insects and other animals that are mostly relying on instincts. There are zombie-bees, for example, and other parasites that control not only dead hosts but also living hosts. In general, I'd say it's a very interesting concept.

However, it has major similarities with the concept of the nomad incubus, which doesn't make this concept look very much original. It'd fit in other sci-fi environments, though. I like the idea of giving the RP environment some diseases that have a name, though. No, not Auxesia, I mean actual diseases. Like... the Corsair Flu, which causes people to eat themselves the not-fun way!

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[Unlucky_Soul]

Oh boy.. This sounds a lot like the Etherium RP we unsuccessfully tried to get into disco

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