Type-V mutant is a term used in the Universal Centruy to refer to humans who are infected with a retrovirus called the V-virus. The virus causes mutations in the DNA which result in the carriers exhibiting vampire-like characteristics, most notably pronounced canines and a thirst for blood. The origins of the V-virus have not been made clear, but Type-V mutants have existed throughout human history. Only in the late 22nd century did advances in biology reveal that vampires were humans who had been infected with the V-virus.
1. Characteristics
Type-V mutants suck human blood, are resistant to injury, and possess eternal youth, but have many characteristics that defy the common perceptions of what a vampire is. Among these are the abilities to go about in daylight, eat regular foods (even garlic, depending on their personal tastes), and cast reflections in reflective surfaces. Type-V mutants cannot transform themselves into creatures such as bats, do not need to rest in coffins or be surrounded by their native soil at night, and are not immortal, as they can die or be killed.
Interestingly, Type-V mutants can get sunburned or form stigmata if they are devout Christians when confronted with a crucifix. They gain additional abilities in the forms of physical strength and heightened senses, and depending on the individual, may also gain unique powers, referred to as "Satan's Honor", particularly if they live long lives. This is because they experience additional states of "Altered Shock" that grant them these additional abilities if they survive them. Because they lose their reproductive abilities, the only means of creating new Type-V mutants is to infect more humans. Nano-infused antidotes can prevent infection.
While infection can be achieved through bites, the chances of an individual surviving the transmission of the V-Virus are extremely low. The body goes into a state of what the Cognate (see below) term "Altered Shock" for 70 hours, during which the victim experiences hallucinations, agonizing pain, a drop in blood pressure, convulsions, muscle rigidity, and stupor. The survival rate is 1% among healthy individuals (between 19 and 25 years of age), and almost all children and the elderly die. A factor that may impact the survival rates is the temperature, as it decreases if this rises above 25°C during the onset of symptoms. The levels of growth and sex hormones are also thought to play a factor.
2. Means of death
After having survived Altered Shock, there are only three means left by which a Type-V mutant can die.
2. 1. Suicide
The suicide rate within ten years of infection can be as high as 60%. Because their thirst for blood (“carnivorous aggression”) becomes marked, infected victims are afflicted with psychological anguish as they are faced with the need to fill this thirst. If they were unwillingly infected, they turn to moral or religious reasons as a means of suppressing it, and the change that has come over them may prove unacceptable. Unless they are willing to think nothing of taking lives, they cannot continue to exist as Type-V mutants.
2. 2. Disease
Type-V mutants are prone to disease, in particular cancer, and cancer rates are 30 times normal within the first 50 years of infection. This particular susceptibility is likely due to the ageless cell division that their bodies undergo. The cancer rates however, drop 100 years after infection. A Society (see below) superstition held that once an individual reached 200 years of age, their likelihood of death was practically nil, barring conflict with other Type-V mutants.
2. 3. Murder
The Society will take necessary action against Type-V mutants who enjoy killing too much if they are unable to confine or shelter such individuals, usually by terminating them. Conflict with other Type-V mutants can also result in death once an individual is experienced and skilled enough to kill proficiently and not draw too much attention to themselves.
3. The Society
The Society was formed in the 17th century by Type-V mutant elders in response to Christian persecution throughout Europe during the Middle Ages. It served to organize Type-V mutants worldwide, teaching them how to integrate themselves into human society and not draw attention to themselves with excessive violence.
Members of the Society referred to themselves as “the Cognate,” as the term “vampire” was considered derisive. The Society became influential enough to wield political influence, primarily in Europe. It also attempted to gain power in Asia, but this was short-lived, as it was destroyed by the Catastrophe in U.C. 0055, when a giant meteorite impacted Japan and wiped out civilization, causing a prolonged impact winter.
Victor Byron, the Society’s last known leader, survived, along with a handful of other Type-V mutants. Subsequent events over the next 40 years or so resulted in the truth about Type-V mutants having been lost to legend, and they have again become the vampires of folkore.
