Infector
The Reanimating Necromorph
The Infector was a winged Necromorph whose sole purpose was to convert corpses into new Necromorphs, stabbing a proboscis into the skull to inject infectious tissue. Often the first form created by a Marker signal, it acted as an accelerant that spread an outbreak across a population of the dead.
The Infector was a unique Necromorph whose sole purpose was to convert corpses into new Necromorphs, multiplying the forms that spread an outbreak. Often among the first creatures created by a Marker signal, it acted as an accelerant, turning a room full of the dead into a host of fresh threats within minutes. For survivors such as Isaac Clarke, an Infector at work among intact bodies was a priority to destroy, since every corpse it reached became another Slasher to fight.
Anatomy#
The Infector was formed from a human torso and legs. Its wings were made from a flap of skin taken from the chest, fused between the host's bent and broken legs. The jaw collapsed within the body, while the rest of the head broke and twisted into a proboscis and feelers, with the spine providing support and the attachment points for their movement. The proboscis, built from mutated bone, muscle, and spinal tissue, was the delivery mechanism for the pure Necromorph tissue used to infect new hosts.
To reanimate a corpse, the Infector enveloped it in its wings, extended the proboscis from its spinal cavity, and stabbed it into the skull, injecting a yellow fluid stored in an internal bladder. The creature seemed to prefer corpses that already bore head wounds, possibly because this spared it the work of cracking the skull. Aboard the Ishimura, Unitologists were seen to have prepared their bodies for the creatures by boring a hole in the center of their foreheads.
Role in the outbreak#
The Infector existed to spread the infestation. It generally appeared in areas where many of the dead were gathered, such as the morgue aboard the Ishimura and the Church of Unitology on the Sprawl, and worked to turn those bodies into Necromorphs as quickly as possible. The forms it produced depended on the outbreak and on the host. In the events on Aegis VII, Infectors generally produced Enhanced Slashers, while the corpses of Marines became Twitchers. During the outbreak on the Sprawl, Enhanced Infectors made Enhanced Slashers and ordinary Infectors made ordinary Slashers. The form was understood to be capable of creating other single-body types of Necromorph, though only Slashers and Twitchers were observed being made.
Several accounts described those becoming Infectors aspirating a yellowish bile from their mouths as one of the first signs of the transformation. The creature was itself fragile, with few parts to sever beyond the infection proboscis, which was only revealed while it was at work on a corpse. If no bodies were nearby, an Infector behaved like any other Necromorph and attacked directly, and it would sometimes rest by sticking to walls or windows when it ran out of corpses to convert.
Variants and later forms#
A very rare Enhanced Infector appeared, recorded only twice throughout the Sprawl outbreak, distinguished only by a slightly darker coloration. By the time of the events on Tau Volantis, the Infector no longer appeared in its winged form at all, its role of reanimating the dead taken over by the crab-like Swarm Infectors that the Guardians there ejected to spread the infestation.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the Infector in Dead Space?
- The Infector was a winged Necromorph whose sole purpose was to convert corpses into new Necromorphs. It was often among the first creatures created by a Marker signal, acting as an accelerant that turned rooms full of the dead into fresh threats within minutes.
- How does the Infector reanimate corpses?
- The Infector enveloped a corpse in its wings, extended a proboscis from its spinal cavity, and stabbed it into the skull, injecting a yellow fluid stored in an internal bladder. It seemed to prefer corpses that already bore head wounds, possibly because this spared it the work of cracking the skull.
- What is the Infector made from?
- The Infector was formed from a human torso and legs, with wings made from a flap of chest skin fused between the host's bent and broken legs. Its head broke and twisted into a proboscis and feelers, supported by the spine, and the jaw collapsed within the body.
- What kinds of Necromorphs do Infectors create?
- The forms an Infector produced depended on the outbreak and the host. On Aegis VII they generally produced Enhanced Slashers, while the corpses of Marines became Twitchers, and during the Sprawl outbreak ordinary Infectors made ordinary Slashers. The form was understood to be capable of creating other single-body types, though only Slashers and Twitchers were observed being made.
- What happened to the Infector by the time of Tau Volantis?
- By the events on Tau Volantis, the Infector no longer appeared in its winged form at all. Its role of reanimating the dead was taken over by the crab-like Swarm Infectors that the Guardians there ejected to spread the infestation.
Gallery
Images via Dead Space Wiki
Sources
- WikiInfector — Dead Space Wiki entry
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