Stellan's Disease

Stellan's Disease is a disease that is hypothesized to be caused, but not spread by, contact with Formics (the large spider-like creatures that originated during the Solar Flares). Stellan’s is a virus that slowly eats away the brain, eventually turning its victims into crazed, bloodthirsty and irrational people. In its early stages, victims may lash out or feel restless. In its latest stages, victims of the disease turn to murder, torture, rape and cannibalism.

It is known to mutate rapidly. People who have Stellan's are commonly referred to as a “griever”, "formicked", or "bug-fucked". Every large remaining city has a special holding place for those who have fully succumbed to Stellan's Disease. They are colloquially called Reefs.

ACDIV's purpose is to find a cure for Stellan’s, while the Republic focuses more on the control of illegal Formic handling within the rest of the Continent.