Necromorph

Necromorphs were reanimated corpses and other dead tissue reshaped into horrific new forms by a recombinant infection derived from a genetic code carried in the Markers. The resulting creatures were extremely aggressive and attacked any living organism on sight. Their single purpose was to acquire more corpses to convert and to spread the infection, gathering biomass until a Marker could draw it together in a Convergence Event. Certain Unitologists and those suffering from Marker Dementia believed them to be the heralds of humanity's ascension, but in practice they were the unpredictable result of dead tissue exposed to the Markers' signal.

Infection and reanimation#

The making of a Necromorph began with a Marker and the concentrated electromagnetic signal it broadcast. When the signal pulsed, it could alter dead tissue within a certain radius at a cellular level, converting it into pure Necromorph tissue and reanimating the host's corpse into a deadly new shape. Every Necromorph cell was animated and sustained by the Marker's carrier wave; without that signal the creatures ceased to function and degenerated into an organic sludge of their former host's genetic material.

The same signal worked on living minds. In most people it manifested as a dementia that produced homicidal or suicidal behavior, in effect preparing the ground for an outbreak by creating fresh corpses. In more intelligent individuals the Marker's pulses could imprint a self-replicating set of blueprints, compelling them to build more Markers and continue the cycle.

The infection also spread directly through the pathogen itself, the reanimated cells that made up the creatures. This was usually passed on rapidly by specialized forms such as Infectors, which implanted concentrated genetic material into fresh or old corpses. Because the pathogen acted only on necrotic tissue, a living victim who touched it did not transform unless the material was inserted directly into the body, after which the person changed gradually as they died, their organs killed off and taken over one by one. The miner Brant Harris transformed in this way into a regenerating form known as the Hunter, and soldiers on Tau Volantis who consumed Necromorph flesh turned into a form called the Feeder.

Once a host was dead, the recombinant infection took hold almost instantly. Cellular functions went into self-destructive overdrive, producing reactive compounds that fueled further mutation. Bones broke and reassembled into new configurations, while organs were repurposed or broken down to suit the creature's role. The process generated tremendous heat, often boiling stagnant blood in the veins until the skin ruptured, and converted organs no longer needed into additional musculature, giving every Necromorph increased strength.

Forms and physiology#

While Slashers were the most common form, the creature produced during an infection depended heavily on location and circumstance. Lurkers were usually made from the infant-like organ banks used for medical transplants, from human infants, or from dogs. Guardians were created from corpses affixed to the growing Corruption, the fleshy biomass that served as the Necromorphs' habitat. Some forms, such as the Brute and the Tripod, were composed of several human bodies, a sign that some intelligence was allocating biomass for specific use.

All Necromorphs were extremely hardy and could survive lethal environments, including the vacuum of space. This implied a total lack of respiration and a reliance on vascular activity rather than blood pressure, which explained their resistance to wounds that would have caused fatal hemorrhaging in a living person. The most effective way to stop most forms was dismemberment; cutting away a creature's means of mobility caused it to collapse and fall seemingly inert, though the Marker signal continued to permeate the body and keep its cells alive. Many forms also carried luminescent tumor-like growths or bile-filled sacs that burst violently when ruptured.

Behavior and the swarm#

Necromorphs were relentlessly aggressive and attacked any living being on sight, regardless of species, for the sole purpose of creating corpses and spreading the infection. To hunt more effectively they shared a form of collective intelligence that let them act in coordination. This shared awareness originated with Nexus forms, or Hive Minds, large creatures that received the Markers' control signals and reinterpreted them into orders broadcast out to the smaller creatures.

The Markers did not directly guide individual Necromorphs beyond these general commands; left to themselves the creatures behaved as animals with an insatiable drive to hunt and gather biomass. As a result they attacked even individuals under the Marker's influence. To protect those it considered useful, the Marker created a zone of dormancy around itself, the so-called dead space at the eye of the storm, which forced Necromorph tissue into stillness and let the artifact draw potential architects close where it could work on their minds.

Even so, the creatures displayed real tactical behavior, especially under a Hive Mind. They hunted in mixed packs with semi-specific roles and used stealth, ambush, and lures to outmaneuver their prey, climbing through ventilation shafts, playing dead, and waiting until a victim's back was turned. Stalkers showed the strongest pack cohesion, peeking around corners to bait a target while another charged from a different direction, and were the only known form to communicate directly with one another. When Necromorphs were left idle for years, as aboard the derelict CMS Roanoke in orbit over Tau Volantis, they curled into hanging patches of Corruption to conserve energy, becoming mummified and fungus-like while they waited for prey.

Command and Convergence#

The Necromorphs' control signal could be traced from the Hive Minds up to the Markers and ultimately to the Brethren Moons, the colossal entities formed after a Convergence Event and capable of creating Necromorphs and manipulating living minds across enormous distances. The Moons were linked through a telepathic network spanning the stars, which they used to spread the Markers' influence to new species, trigger fresh outbreaks, and continue expanding the network through further Convergence Events.

When a Marker had gathered sufficient biomass, it could initiate Convergence, the birth of a new Brethren Moon. All able-bodied Necromorphs would answer a general signal and gather around the Marker's dead space, and the gathered dead tissue would be flung together to coalesce into the core of a new Moon. In this way each outbreak, however isolated it seemed, was one symptom of a much larger cycle, the same cycle that consumed the colony on Aegis VII, the crew of the USG Ishimura, and the inhabitants of Titan Station.