Stalburg Mushroom Virus

The Stalburg Mushroom Virus (S.M.V), also known as Fungal Disease in the public knowledge, is a deadly virus that infects certain types of Green Mushrooms, causing them to be harmful to humans, that is present in INFRA and Obenseuer.

The virus was reportedly researched by S.N.W and was descripted as "A kind of disease that slowly kills the target", causing "Strong hallucinations and strange and violet behavior". The disease is spread by the spores released by the mushrooms when near it, causing heavy coughing.

Fungal Disease

Fungal disease can be caught as a consequence of Starting Choices or from consumption of Green Mushrooms. Once present, its development inside the body will progress, eventually resulting in lower maximum physical health, changed diet to enforce mushroom foods and Shroom Water and finally a death of the host.

Player can hold back the progression by drinking alcohols, Methanol, Ethanol or using a Fungicide that is available to buy at Skeida Pharmacy, Sauna is a good way of reducing the progression and the player can attempt an experimental surgery at Dr. Pena MD to cut out the fungus.

To benefit from positive aspects of the Green Mushrooms or satisfy the addiction need without contributing to the disease's progression, player may eat Pure Green Mushrooms that can be found from looting, bought at Svamppatrullen Mushroom Seller or purified yourself at a Chemical Lab from a recipe acquired from breaking into the Skeida Pharmacy.

After acquiring OsRat, player can connect with the Other Side and find Red Things, collecting them will decrease Fungal Disease and its progression.

Types of mushrooms

Green

Green mushroom cultivation in river.

The most commonly found type, green mushrooms are heavily overused by the citizens of Stalburg as hallucinogenics, especially in Turnip Hill, the primarly carrier of the virus. They are found in three potency levels—low, medium and high—with higher potency levels producing stronger effects when used. Being near the mushrooms induces heavy coughing and hurts one's physical health.

In Obenseuer, player can farm their own mushrooms, like any other plants, but with Moist modifier gotten in dark corners of Player's Tenement. When player is on shroom high, they get a boost to crafting, highly decreasing fail chances of crafted recipes. Player can find mushrooms from looting the Player's Tenement, buy at Shrooms vending machines or at Svamppatrullen Mushroom Seller.

There are various products containing green mushrooms, like the mushroom laced Winstead Cigarettes that can ease the need as well as a variety of mushroom food and a Shroom Water to adjust to the diet caused by Fungal Disease.

Upon acquiring a recipe from Skeida Pharmacy, player can purify green mushrooms with a Methanol and Charcoal to get rid of the virus, allowing them to safely benefit from mushroom high effects.

Orange

Cluster of orange shrooms in the coal mine.

A rarer type often found in mines, orange mushrooms are speculated to make people go crazy. In INFRA they are found only in a coal mine beneath coal-fired powerstation in West Stalburg; in Obenseuer they are found in small Caves where they can be gathered to be planted, and can also be bought at Svamppatrullen Mushroom Seller.

Consuming Orange Mushrooms has many negative health and mental effects, but the mushrooms themselves are highly valuable.

Blue

Tank of blue shrooms in Kevin Herts's apartment.

The only places in INFRA where blue shrooms can be found are around UGU in the stormdrains and in Kevin J. Herts's apartment in Turnip Hill in a tank, where Kevin notes that the blue shrooms have healing powers and can in fact cure people of S.M.V However, he also notes that it is unknown if there are any side effects from them.

In Obenseuer they are currently not acquirable; player can only spawn them using a console commands.

Red

Red shrooms among green shrooms at the site of Xeander and Eric's death.

The only place in INFRA where red shrooms are found are in tiny amounts on the ground where Xeander Berg and Eric Kleinmann died. It's theorized these shrooms are a byproduct of the green shrooms (S.M.V) consuming a human body.

It's also worth noting the "special coffee tin" that provides the Mörkö effect at the Mulex CoPan Coffee Machine has a red lid, which suggests red shrooms have a much different hallucinogenic effect to even summon Mörkö, and the special coffee itself is red.

Properties

Green Mushrooms combine several traits of real mushrooms, the green bioluminescence found in Agaricales order, hallucinogenic substances found in Psilocybe genus, and the carnivory of the Pleurotus ostreatus. Spores of Green Mushrooms are highly toxic.

As described by experiments performed by Mushroom Co., the Green Mushrooms seem to be killed by cold temperatures, causing the green glowing part to fade out. Applying anti-freeze on Green Mushrooms causes them to grow bigger, however they do not gain cold resistance. A selective breeding of the most resistant mushrooms shows marginal effects of withstanding lower temperatures. It is said in the Stalburg Mushroom Book that Stalburg is the only place where the Green Mushrooms can grow.

Green Mushrooms containing the S.M.V will aggressively attack a human body they started to grow on, eventually consuming it fully. A body goes under following stages:

• 1st day: Green Mushrooms are growing on the body
• 18th day: Green Mushrooms are growing through the skin
• 25th day: Weakness, inability to walk, memory loss
• 33rd day: Complete infestation
• 36th day: Death of the human body

History

The Green Mushrooms been first found while building the main Bergmann Water Tunnel connecting Hammer Valley with the city, and been document since in the Stalburg Mushroom Book.

The origin of the virus itself seems to predate the S.N.W bunker, since the document says that "They found something" while building the bunker. It mentions everyone had left the bunker because of some kind of leak that caused immediate evacuation. All the S.M.V information was sold at some point to an unknown party.

Because the mushrooms were already overused by residents of Stalburg, the virus has spread all over the city, starting with the Turnip Hill which was the epicenter for the pandemic. The government has planned to clean the city from mushrooms and relocate every person diagnosed with S.M.V to a quarantined area in Obenseuer. Most of city has been cleaned since, causing a major overpopulation in Obenseuer on top of other problems the district suffered from.

Documents

• I just found our green mushrooms in a book!
• MUSHROOM CO. RESEARCH & DEVELOPMET DEPT.
• That Mushroom Co. fella is still doing that science thing.
• I found a green mushroom growing on my hand this morning.
• S.N.W PROJECT INVESTIGATION

Gallery

Documents

• 

  Erik's letter about green mushrooms

• 

  Mushroom Co. research project

• 

  Discovery of blue mushrooms

• 

  Xeander Berg's diary

• 

  A folder by S.N.W describing S.M.V

Other

• 

  Kevin J. Herts, a person in the late stages of S.M.V

• 

  A painting from Obenseuer showing three cats grown over with green, red and blue mushrooms.

References

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