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| “ | A malignant infectious disease. Patients will die soon after their bodies start to crystallize, and become new vectors of infection. | ” |
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Oripathy (Chinese: 矿石病; Pinyin: Kuàngshí Bìng; lit. "Ore Disease") is a progressive, terminal "disease" in the world of Arknights, caused by direct or prolonged exposure to Originium.
Individuals with Oripathy are referred to as the "Infected".
Description
- People have found that long-term exposure to Originium and its industrial derivatives makes it more likely to be infected by an incurable disease called Oripathy, whose patients are called "the Infected". Oripathy can increase the patient's Arts power in a dangerous way, but tapping into this power will hasten the deterioration process and eventually lead to death, at which point the body becomes a new source of infection. Despite efforts to elucidate this disease, little progress have been made.[1]
Overview[]
Oripathy usually starts within a few days after initial contact with Originium particles from raw (unprocessed) sources, such as Originium shards, ingots and Originium particles in the air. The Infected will begin to exhibit hardened skin on the site of contact, which will then turn dark and start to rise in elevation similar to a regular scab. After a few more days, the Infected will often experience internal burns and the blackened spot will continue to harden to the point of crystallization, resembling that of Originium crystals, which has become the tell-tale sign of Oripathy. It is typically preceded by lesions in the shape of radiating lines on their outer skin. As such, Oripathy is comparable to cancers in our world, at least superficially.
Further contact with Originium and overusing Originium Arts are the main factors which accelerate the progress of Oripathy.
A dying Infected's disintegrating body
The crystallization will continue to spread through the Infected's body, causing pain and discomfort and inhibiting their ability to respirate and properly intake and distribute nutrition, which eventually causes organ failure. Upon the Infected's death, their body will eventually disintegrate in a way similar to spontaneous combustion — the crystals on their body start to glow, leaving behind Originium particle dust that can cause secondary Oripathy infections if the Infected's body is not isolated properly.[2] In some cases, the Originium crystals inside the Infected can be destabilized upon death, causing an explosive chain reaction which turns the Infected into a "living bomb".[3]
It is commonly believed that Oripathy is infectious and can spread through physical contact with the Infected, although recent studies suggest that person-to-person Oripathy transmission is unlikely.[4] It is possible that Oripathy can be congenitally transmitted.[5] However, it is not known to be a consistent trait, and whether or not all children of Infected parents are both with Oripathy is unknown.
A common misconception is that Oripathy also improves the Infected's affinity towards Originium Arts, although this is generally not the case; most Infected individuals are incapable of using Arts, and Oripathy has no effect on one's Arts potential. Some Infected even have their Arts potential weakened instead of strengthened. The Infected, however, are able to use Arts without a catalyst (e.g. staves) at the cost of worsening their Oripathy.
Many Terran races are vulnerable to Oripathy. The Teekaz/Sarkaz races are exceptionally vulnerable to contracting it, to the point where they may even carry such illness since birth. Another race that is highly vulnerable to it are the Elves, who have their elongated life spans greatly decreased upon contracting Oripathy. There are races that are at least mostly immune to it, such as the divine Feranmuts and the Seaborn.
As Terran society has been highly dependent on Originium since ancient times,[6] Oripathy can be found in all Terran countries and territories, making it a pandemic.
Stages[]
The severity of one's Oripathy is measured through how much the Originium particles have assimilated with the Infected's cells (Cell-Originium Assimilation) and the density of Originium particles in every liter of the Infected's blood (Blood Originium-Crystal Density).
Using this method, Oripathy is divided into three stages: I (early), II (mid), and III (late). However, the characteristics of each stage often overlap with each other, as seen with Cliffheart and Franka, whose blood Originium-Crystal densities are 0.28 and 0.34 u/L respectively, but are both considered to be nearing stage II.
Some of the notable cases of Oripathy and their symptoms are:[7]
| Subject | COA | BOCD | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19% | 0.27u/L | Wears rings to suppress infection from progressing | |
| 9% | 0.31 u/L | Shows latent Originium Arts infused into her weaponry | |
| 16% | 0.31 u/L | Have horns, which is unnatural for her race of Archosauria | |
| 8% | 0.5 u/L | Shows progressive loss of vision and hearing | |
| 19% | 0.27 u/L | Exhibits chronic nervous pain at times | |
| 13% | 0.27 u/L | Exhibits above-average physical constitution | |
| 12% | 0.32 u/L | Able to use active camouflage | |
| 9% | 0.33 u/L |
| |
| 16% | 0.31 u/L | Suspected of being the cause of her DID | |
| 14% | 0.35 u/L | His voice notably can cause brain damage if he is not wearing inhibitors | |
| 18% | 0.3 u/L | Her tail is larger than average Lupus' | |
| 8% | 0.43 u/L |
| |
| 12% | 0.29 u/L | Shows certain personality disorder symptoms | |
| 9% | 0.23 u/L | Possibly the cause of her schizophrenia | |
| 6% | 0.24 u/L | Narcolepsy | |
| 14% | 0.31 u/L | Exhibits various disorders including amnesia and psychosis |
Treatment[]
So far there is no known cure for Oripathy, although Rhodes Island is actively trying to find one. This, however, appears to be an unlikely prospect as the Originium particles are assimilated into the Infected's cells and blood, making them impossible to filter out without endangering the Infected's life.
However, Rhodes Island has developed certain treatments which can slow the effects of an active (and only active) Oripathy. The damaged parts of the Infected's body can also be treated with conventional methods (i.e. removing the Originium crystals from the body).
Although a select few of the Infected manage to stall or even halt their Oripathy's progress, the condition itself remains terminal; in fact, Oripathy has a near-100% mortality rate.
Infection monitor[]
- Main article: Infection monitor
As part of Rhodes Island's requirement, the Infection monitor is installed onto every operator regardless of infection status. It acts as a device to trace the user's medical condition and as a limiter to stop excessive use of Arts.
Social effects[]
- Main article: Infected
The Infected are ostracized and persecuted by much of Terran society because they pose a health risk to the non-Infected. The risk itself has been highly exaggerated in many areas thanks to misinformation spread about Oripathy, which is usually politically motivated. This is especially prominent in countries such as Ursus, where the Infected are subject to forced labor in gulag-like Originium mines which only worsens their Oripathy, and in Leithanien where Infected whose Oripathy reaches a certain limit are euthanized.
As a result, a seemingly endless cycle of hatred between the Infected and the non-Infected has dominated Terra for centuries and continues to this day. Many have attempted to break the cycle through both peaceful and violent means. The most recent dichotomy of peaceful and violent activism has been between Rhodes Island, who seek a more rational, moderate approach to mitigating the Infected's suffering, and Reunion, who have adopted a more radical method: delivering retribution for the Infected's plight on the non-infected in Terran society instead.
Trivia[]
- Oripathy is similar to several diseases/medical conditions in various fictional media:
- The Apocalypse Virus in Guilty Crown. Unlike Oripathy which entirely involves Originium, however, Apocalypse Virus involves the namesake, a viral pathogen that crystallizes the infected's body.
- The Branches of Sin in Deadman Wonderland. Like Oripathy, it involves a crystalline substance and bestows the infected with special powers, but are not contagious.
- Oripathy is also similar to a real-life medical condition called Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva or "Stone Man Syndrome", although it is not contagious.
References[]
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