A disease known as' Filth 'began to spread across the deserted island.
Black ash would appear on the limbs and body of those afflicted. The ash would spread along the skin and continue to infect new skin into the same ash.
What was even more terrifying was that the black ash could even spread to the interior of the body. Initially, the black ash only infected the surface of the skin but as time passed, not only did it spread to the surroundings, but it also continued to spread deeper into the skin.
Muscles, blood vessels, tendons, and even bones...
As more and more teams returned from successfully lighting up the signal towers, there was no longer any joy on their faces. This was because the volunteers responsible for lighting up the signal towers were all surrounded by this black ash.
Some of the volunteers had the black ash on their elbows. By now, it had spread to more than half of their arms. The black ash continued to fall off, leaving the volunteer's right arm with only a withered bone...
Some of the volunteers had the black ash on their ankles. After walking for a few hours, their ankles were completely broken and they had to be carried back by the others.
Some of the volunteers had the black ash on their faces. By now, they were completely blind. More than half of their faces had been corroded and the brain tissue in their cranium could almost be seen.
At this time, everyone in the safe zone was facing such a scene.
"These thirty or so people have basically lost the ability to take care of themselves."
Looking at the hellish scene on the screen, Yoru Kamidera turned around and looked at the group of stupefied researchers. "Everyone, this is what we're here to study...
"So, what is this' curse 'that you're talking about? Is it a type of bacteria? A virus? A biological weapon? "
Adenauer and Eriksson looked at Samuel. After all, in the entire team, Samuel was the only true biologist.
Of course, at this time, Samuel was also at a loss. He looked at the people who were looking at him and could only smile bitterly. "Consultant Yoru, don't keep us in suspense. I'm afraid that you're the only one in the entire laboratory who knows what this curse is."
"Everyone, please don't misunderstand. This curse has nothing to do with biological weapons. You can rest assured."
Yoru Kamidera said affirmatively, "After all, this curse is much more powerful than biological weapons. The lethality of biological weapons in front of it is like firecrackers in front of a nuclear bomb."
"What!"
When they heard Yoru Kamidera say that the curse had nothing to do with biochemical weapons, the expressions on everyone's faces eased a little, but when they heard the next sentence, they almost jumped up.
"I believe that all of you have heard of the term 'meme'."
Yoru Kamidera continued, "The term was originally derived from the book 'The Selfish Gene' written by the famous British scientist Richard Dawkins. Its meaning refers to 'something similar to the role that genes play in the process of biological evolution in the transmission of language, ideas, beliefs, behavior, and so on'. You can also think of it as a basic unit of information, just like genes, with the same heredity, variability, and selectivity."
"I know."
"I know."
Eriksson and Adenauer nodded in agreement. After all, they were professionals in the field of psychology and sociology. They had heard of the term meme before.
"Since you know, then it's easy to understand."
Yoru Kamidera nodded, then looked up and said, "X-112, you can print the information now. Make a few more copies."
"Understood!"
A woman's electronically synthesized voice came from the lab.
"Who are you talking to?"
"Was that the control computer in the lab? Where's her mainframe? "
"Heavens, can it understand such abstract language?"
Everyone was shocked again when they heard this.
"She's indeed the control computer in the lab, and her mainframe is something that all of you have seen before."
Yoru Kamidera pointed to the pitch-black, towering spire on the screen. "This is her mainframe. Her name is X-112, and I'm the only one who has the authorization."
"Are you kidding me?" Eriksson was in complete disbelief. "How can the mainframe be that gigantic black spire?"
"That's the truth."
Yoru Kamidera did not explain. Instead, he took out the printed information from the printer and distributed it to everyone.
Samuel took the information dubiously, only to find that the first page of the information turned out to be a strange picture.
This was a picture that would cause physiological discomfort in people. From Samuel's point of view, this picture seemed to use some kind of psychological suggestion to make the messy picture look like thousands of rotting corpses stacked on top of each other. It looked extremely bloody and cruel.
However, when he took a closer look, he found that this picture was nothing but meaningless graffiti composed of disorderly lines and color blocks.
Moreover, the four corners of this picture were smeared with something black. At first glance, Samuel seemed to feel a sense of regret, a regret that he could not see the complete picture.
"Alright, let's get back to the topic at hand."
At this time, Yoru Kamidera formally explained, "What you're seeing now is a meme called 'Filth'. It's a meme that uses a picture as a carrier and a transmission channel. As long as you see this picture, your body will turn into ashes within a day, just like these people."
Hearing that, the documents in the hands of the three professors and the group of assistants trembled. Even the calm Samuel was no exception.
"Professor Eriksson, didn't you ask me before how information kills?"
Yoru Kamidera turned his head and looked at the silent Eriksson. "Now I can tell you the answer. This message that uses this picture as a carrier can turn the viewer into ashes and die. This is how it kills!"
"You mean that this group of people became like this because they saw this picture? Then we... "
Among the crowd, some of the researchers could no longer sit still.
"Don't worry, this kind of picture will only trigger its effect when you see the complete version. You don't have to worry about it now."
Yoru Kamidera replied, "After all, the picture you've seen has been edited."
Only then did everyone secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
"But what's the reason for this..."
Eriksson was still a little hesitant. "Why would a picture cause this effect? A mental virus? "
"A meme is not a virus."
Yoru Kamidera shook his head. "If there's a transmission material and a transmission medium, it can indeed be considered a mental virus. The virus itself, air, blood, and other transmission media are certainly needed to transmit the virus. But what about the 'Filth' picture? There's nothing. "
"There's no transmission source, no transmission medium. If we must say, the picture itself is the transmission source, and the transmission medium is' sight 'and' gaze '. As long as it's seen by humans, it will be infected with' Filth '. This is its transmission medium!"
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