Overview
Sanguinis Lux is a retrovirus: it carries its genes as RNA, copies them into DNA once it is inside a cell, and splices that DNA permanently into the host’s own genome. From there it rewrites how the body’s cells behave. The result is the vampire: the pale, red-eyed, long-lived predator on which the entire Empire is built.
Vampires come to the virus in two ways. Those born to vampire parents carry it from birth. Everyone else was once human and was infected by a vampire, their Sire. These are known as Converts, or less politely Turnedbloods.
In the Empire, turning a human is a controlled act. New Converts pass through processing at intake cities such as Purgatory, where the change is carried through under medical supervision and pain relief. Bringing unprocessed humans into the Underworld is illegal.
The virus
| Type | Enveloped single-stranded RNA retrovirus |
|---|---|
| Family | Sanguiniviridae (proposed) |
| Genus | Sanguinilux |
| Designated strain | Sanguinis Lux (SGLV) |
| Common names | The Vampire Virus; the Eternal Blood Virus |
| Genome | About 9.7 kb, two copies per virion |
| Host range | Broad. Infection is documented in mammals and fish, and most animals are thought to be susceptible |
| Stability | Degrades rapidly outside a host; not viable in dried blood |
Each particle is a sphere of about a tenth of a micrometer. Its outer lipid envelope is borrowed from the membrane of the last cell it left, and it is studded with the envelope protein SGLV-Env, which locks onto receptors on a new cell and fuses the two membranes. Inside sit two copies of the RNA genome and the three enzymes the virus needs to take a cell over: reverse transcriptase, integrase and protease.
What it targets
The virus goes after the body’s long-lived, self-renewing cells, so that once they are rewritten, everything they produce is rewritten too:
- Blood-forming stem cells in the bone marrow
- Lymphocytes, the white cells of the immune system
- Endothelial cells lining the blood vessels
- Tissue stem cells in organs throughout the body
The genome
| Gene | Role |
|---|---|
| gag | Capsid and structural proteins |
| pol | Reverse transcriptase, integrase and protease |
| regA | Controls host transcription and switches genes on and off |
| regB | Hides infected cells from the immune system and drives cellular reprogramming |
| mel | Shuts down melanin production |
| met | Rebuilds metabolism and the digestive system |
| rep | Cell regeneration and telomere maintenance |
| sen | Sensory adaptation: vision and light sensitivity |
| env | Envelope proteins for entering host cells |
| LTR | Long terminal repeats at both ends, which control integration and regulation |
How it spreads
Sanguinis Lux is fragile outside the body. Its envelope breaks down quickly once it leaves living blood, so infection needs direct, fresh blood-to-blood contact: infected blood from a vampire entering another person’s bloodstream or open tissue.
| Route | Transmits the virus? |
|---|---|
| A vampire’s living blood entering a person’s bloodstream or an open wound | Yes |
| From vampire parents to their children | Yes, the virus is inherited (see Born vampires) |
| Breath, coughing or shared air | No |
| Touch or skin-to-skin contact | No |
| Dried blood, surfaces and objects | No |
The change
Every infection follows the same broad course. As with any virus, the timing and severity vary from one person to the next; the stages below are typical, not fixed.
- 0 to 24 hoursLatent phase
No visible symptoms. The virus multiplies and spreads through the bloodstream, entering its target cells and writing itself into their DNA.
- Typically 1 to 7 daysAcute conversion
The change itself. Once enough of the body is infected, the virus begins rewriting it all at once. Converts describe it as burning alive from the inside. Organs are remodeled, the canines lengthen through bleeding gums, and the eyes turn crimson. Vomiting dark blood, fever, tremor and severe exhaustion are common. The virus is at its highest level in the blood.
- Days to weeksStabilization
The new body settles into its final form and the Convert adapts to it: new hunger, new senses, new strength.
What it does to the body
| System | Change | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Skin | Melanin production stops completely | Extreme pallor, and no natural protection from ultraviolet light |
| Eyes | Pigment is lost from the eye and the pupils open wider | The iris looks red. Night vision is excellent, but glare is painful. Most vampires wear dark glasses in the light. |
| Teeth | The canines lengthen and sharpen | Fangs, grown through the gums during the change |
| Digestion | Rebuilt for obligate carnivory, with more stomach acid and more protein- and fat-digesting enzymes | Vampires live on blood and flesh |
| Muscle | Protein synthesis rises and muscle density increases by about 10% | Stronger and faster than a human, but not superhuman |
| Repair | Damaged cells are replaced quickly and accurately | A wound that takes a human a week to heal closes in about half that time |
| Aging | Telomeres are maintained and cells stop wearing out | Vampires do not age. They can still be killed. |
Sunlight
Melanin is the body’s own sunscreen. Sanguinis Lux turns it off permanently, and nothing else in a vampire’s skin takes its place. Ultraviolet light goes straight into unprotected tissue. That is the real reason the Houses live underground.
- Overcast or indirect light
Glare and discomfort. With full cover and dark glasses, a vampire can move under heavy cloud, though it is never comfortable.
- Direct sun, seconds
Exposed skin burns within seconds: reddening, then blistering.
- Direct sun, minutes
The burns deepen and spread faster than even vampire healing can close them. The eyes are damaged.
- Prolonged exposure
A form of radiation sickness sets in: weakness, vomiting, collapse and widespread damage to cells throughout the body. It is often fatal. Those who survive are at risk of runaway malignant growth later.
Vampires do not burst into flames under direct sun exposure, but it is very dangerous to them and can be lethal.
Hunger and going feral
The virus rebuilds the body to run on blood and flesh, and that body cannot go without them. A vampire starved for too long loses its mind before it dies. This is called going feral. A feral vampire is little more than a crazed animal that attacks anything it finds. Thousands go hungry in the Underworld every day, and ferals haunt the utility tunnels beneath the cities.
A feral bite can carry a dangerous infection. Apothecaries sell anti-feral treatment, at prices many cannot pay.
Born vampires
The virus writes itself permanently into the genome, and is thus passed on from parent to offspring. Vampire children are born carrying the virus and never go through the change that Converts do.
Animals
Sanguinis Lux is not limited to humans. Most animals can be infected, and they show the same signature changes: hairless or depigmented skin, glowing red eyes, heavier muscle and a predator’s teeth.
Treatment
There is no cure. Once the virus has integrated into the genome it cannot be removed, and no one knows how to return a vampire’s body to its human state. Care during the change is supportive: pain relief, monitoring and rest. House Veisik continues to study the virus for medical use.
Common misconceptions
- “Vampires burst into flames in the sun.”
- They burn, badly and fast, and long exposure brings a radiation sickness that often kills. There is no fire.
- “Vampires cast no reflection.”
- They do. A vampire sees their own crimson eyes in any mirror.
- “Vampires only come out at night.”
- Vampires avoid sunlight, not daytime. Under heavy cloud, well covered, they can move by day.
- “Vampirism is a curse.”
- It is a virus. In the words of one who knew both worlds:
The vampires use science, not sorcery.
The Veisik plate
The Pathogen Research Division’s full summary of the virus: structure, genome, target cells, infection cycle, effects on the body and the clinical course of the change. Tap the plate to enlarge it, or open the full-size image to zoom in on a phone.
