Frederick The Virus

This is a Character from my forth coming artbook, ESKATON.

Fredricks flesh is lumpen with cancerous fecundity. Where he walks the smell of soured flesh and spoiled meat follow accompanied by the ever present slop of organs rearranging themselves. Rather than the swelling growths, tentacles and bladed appendages common to most deferments Fredrick possesses a, so far, unique mutation. Rather than mutating into new forms his reaction to EM1 is that his body constantly seeks to replicated itself. Like a sick parody of natural birth, within his tumerific body cancers gain consciousness, swell and fight their way free from their fleshy confine. The doppelgängers erupt in a shower of gore and anguished screams, already ripe with growths that will in turn emerge and divide.

Among the soldiery of Neo-plasia there are stories of skirmishes in the dark metallic bowels of Mitick Cities involving unending floods of skinless monsters all bearing the same face. Such rumours are quickly squashed by the Compliance Engineers as enemy propaganda decimated to undermine moral but the reality is closer than authority would care to admit.

Although not exhibiting strength grossly above that of a normal man Fredrick is a significant threat to establishment on Neo-plasia. On a world where lives are expended like munitions Fredrick represents a deep reserve of expendable manpower for the Deformant uprising, something that the Magna Forces cant allow to continue. Alexandra, the Master of Compliance has taken it as a personal duty to ride the cosmos of this affront to the human form and Mitick existence. On many occasions her Gavel has broken the rancid bodies of Fredrick in battle but like a tide that waxes there are always more.

Each copy of Fredrick shares the memories of its ‘birthing’ host but not those of the clones birthed from other hosts. This means that all Fredricks share the same core memories of pre-ascension existence, allegiance to the Deformant cause and experiences of Neo-plasia but as time has passed and some lines have proliferated more than others different ‘strains’ of Fredrick have emerged exhibiting differing experiences and quirks of personality. Nearly all share a smouldering hatred for Alexandra, something they mockingly reminder her of in every encounter, that even as she obliterates the cells before her other it is futile in face of the larger cancer.

Fredricks self replication comes at a cost however. Besides the constant agony of ever splitting flesh his forms are short lived. It is not known exactly how long but it is speculated that a particular body might have days to weeks before it degrades, slumping to a lumpy slurry of fowl smelling meat. In that time he must absorb nutrients from Neo-plasias’ chemical cocktail of an atmosphere enough to fuel his next Mitosis. In this way Fredrick has truly become a virus, needing to reproduce and proliferate to continue his existence.

Thomas elliott