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Infection Of Interest
Infection Type: Viral
Influence on Mind: 10/10
Hostility to Others: 9/10
Cult: Yes
Description[]
The Tear Mold, or Lacrymipathos sordidus, is an anomalous viral pathogen found within Backrooms[1]. It flourishes abundantly in mold-ridden, humid environments[2]. Tear mold grows in hanging slimy growths, blackish-green clumps from ceilings or walls, which look like tears. The incubation period is short, showing possible symptoms after between 12-24 hours, but at the onset, they are often mistaken as environmental irritants. Under the microscope, the virus looks similar to a mold cluster, which, unlike any pathogen, is presumably why researchers think it is an aberration. The design of the virus may enhance the facilitation of the hivemind connections late in infection, but the mechanism is still unclear.
The infected organisms look like skinny, thin figures with faces streaked with tears and skin blemished by oozing, greenish sores. Their eyes are often swollen and leaking a viscous, greenish fluid. The odd qualities of this virus produce changes in behavior that are more or less constant in those who join The Nucleus, the cult worshiping the virus as a divinity. Researchers hypothesize that Lacrymipathos sordidus possesses some psychogenic properties, possibly having a connection to the hivemind at later stages, which will compel its victims to perform uniform actions.
Stages[]
Stage 1[]
The initial stage is obscure, oftentimes unnoticed, having characteristics like mild fever, greenish discharge from the tear ducts, and burning sensations in the eyes and throat. A Wanderer describes an allergic or fatigued feeling accompanied by slight discomfort. Those affected usually progress to Stage Two before realizing they have been infected.
Stage 2[]
It’s almost impossible to recover once you are in Stage 2. It starts with the thick and viscous tears of the infection, blistered skin pouring greenish pus, and a cough with a hoarse gurgle. It is the confusion, paranoia, and hallucinations associated with the hearing of cries or whispers that bid the victims to “seek the Core” that characterize mental decline. Isolation from contaminated surfaces, such as slimy walls or puddles, can slow progression, making awareness critical. Victims are afflicted with acute melancholy and an irresistible urge to drink water, slime, or inedible objects like cloth or debris, which they later vomit up. Such behavior further spreads the infection and establishes Stage 3.
Stage 3[]
Stage 3 starts once the mind gets overtaken by the virus, leaving sufferers with the necessity to smear others with tears and pus to spread Tear Mold. The physical symptoms worsen; eyes swell and leak unceasingly while the lungs gradually fill with fluid, producing a rattling cough that spreads the virus. The skin appears as though crusted over by mold and is scratched painfully. Suffering is very much under-grounded with feelings of hopelessness and derealization. Early hivemind connections start emerging, coordinating actions loosely, especially among those drawn to The Nucleus’s rituals.
Stage 4[]
Mental and physical death and decay characterize Stage Four, where victims lose all higher cognition to a hivemind and become empty shells. They are rotting away, thin husks with moldy sores, eyes either blind or nearly so, and oozing infectious fluid. The Weepers shape dark green tragedy masks[3] from the material expelled by their consumption-regurgitation of food scraps, fabrics, or organic debris into sorrowful-theatrical shapes. Inside The Nucleus, the Weepers chant in slimy chambers and ardently spread the virus like a cult. In rare “Mold Husk[4]” cases, the victims desiccate into brittle cadavers that disintegrate into clouds of viral spores, contaminating their surroundings.
The Nucleus[]
The Nucleus is a cult of Weepers who idolize Tear Mold as the divine way to the Weeping Core[5], a mystical level wherein lies the transcendental promise. The members spread the virus through shared contaminated water or wiping tears over one another, keeping rituals in slime-dripping rooms where they chant and devour oozing juices. Led by “Tearbearers,” blind, frail Stage Four Weepers who strongly connect to the hivemind. They believe their tragedy masks channel the Core’s supposed will. Some wanderers end up join in despair, thinking that infection is unavoidable.
Discovery[]
The Tear Mold’s existence was first documented in the late 1990s. However, it appeared in the Backrooms in stages, possibly suggesting that it was living in forgotten areas of some mold-infested levels long before that. The first encounter is nominally credited to a drifter identified only as “K,” whose aged journal was found by an M.E.G. expedition 2001 within Level 6. The journal, marked with greenish fluid and only partially readable, recounted his suffering in a level that had not been explored, which was reminiscent of a submerged basement, and his subsequent torment in which walls “wept black tears” while shadowy specters lamented in sorrowful voices. K experienced burning pain in their eyes as they crossed what seemed to be a maelstrom of filth, only to be pursued by dreams of a “green heart” that beckoned them ever deeper into the Backrooms. His journal abruptly concludes, “The Core weeps for us all.”
M.E.G. researchers at first overlooked the journal as the ramblings of a mad wanderer who the Backrooms psychologically broke. However, a virus caught M.E.G.’s attention in 2003 after several events in Level 2 triggered an outbreak. A remote settlement of wanderers reported an alarming rise in illness where patients presented with fever, greenish secretion, and a compulsion to drink from fetid straws. Soon, the settlement became deserted, and its inhabitants either died or were transformed into said Weepers, who painted infectious fluid on the walls while murmuring things about the “Weeping core.” M.E.G. scouts sent to the location reported rooms filled with a blackish-green substance that resembled mold and was clumped like tears. Samples gathered under hazmat protocols contained some viral construct with no stereotype in baseline reality and hence was named Lacrymipathos sordidus.
Footnotes[]
Footnotes
- ↑ The earliest known reference to Tear Mold appears in a journal recovered from Level 6, dated approximately 1998, describing ‘weeping walls’ and a cult of ‘sorrowful figures.’ Source: M.E.G. Archive #J-088.
- ↑ Tear Mold thrives in levels with humidity above 80% and temperatures between 15-25°C. Source: M.E.G. Field Report #K-112
- ↑ The Nucleus’s tragedy masks are often crafted from organic debris mixed with infected fluids. Analysis of a recovered mask revealed traces of human tissue, suggesting Weepers incorporate their flesh in rituals. Do not handle without protective gear. Source: B.I.F. Field Report #T-524.
- ↑ Mold Husks are rare but catastrophic. A documented incident in Level 1 saw a Husk’s disintegration release spores that infected an entire outpost within hours. Incineration is recommended, but fire may spread spores if not contained. Source: M.E.G. Incident Log #L-027
- ↑ The Weeping Core’s existence is unconfirmed; it is suspected it is a projection of the virus’s hivemind. Source: M.E.G. Report #L-059.
Author:
N.P. Summers, with assistance from Outrageous holiday in the creation of the virus. Infected wanderer sketch by Lemon.
Please do not update the page without contacting N.P. Summers, Thank you!.