ADVENT: History

The Smallpox Epidemic

"If this is an accident, it is one of the worst outbreaks in Human history on par with the Black Plague. If it was intentional, there is no death slow enough for whoever unleashed this disease upon our species."

- Chinese President Qin Yijung

ADVENT Health Report 3341

Subject: Smallpox Outbreak

Author: Gloria Xin, Minister of the ADVENT Department of Public Health

I will begin by reviewing what is already known about this outbreak and what specifically we are dealing with. What is known is that cases of what is now confirmed to be the smallpox virus were initially reported in China at staggering numbers around the same time period. This was initially kept quiet and was restricted from receiving state media attention until the Communist Party could make a decision.

As we are aware, President Qin reached out to ADVENT when it was apparent that this situation has likely far-reaching ramifications for the rest of the planet and ADVENT specifically, as well as to ask for assistance in containing this outbreak. As a result, we have been providing medical supplies, scientists and researchers, soldiers, and miscellaneous items for Chinese citizens such as clean clothing, food, and vaccines.

China, upon our recommendation (Though I suspect they would have done similar) has begun aggressive quarantining of individuals and areas which have victims. All incoming and outgoing traffic is closed in a ten-mile radius while Chinese officials methodically go through the residents and clear and vaccinate them, or move them to quarantine or dispose of the corpses.

This, understandably, is slow and despite the significant numbers the Chinese can pull from, it is enough to stretch their numbers thin, especially as neither the government nor military have emerged unscathed from this outbreak. ADVENT personnel are working to supplement Chinese soldiers and will remain in the country until such time as the epidemic has been contained.

China initially and intelligently prioritized individuals responsible for management, military matters, and government. First vaccinating all personnel against smallpox and performing screenings to ensure that individuals weren't affected. However, it does appear that it was only partially successful in preventing extensive damage to the government. Because while what have been classified as 'major' government officials have largely emerged healthy, many lower ranking personnel have been infected, and nearly twenty percent of government employees are either dead or infected.

The military is also more of a precarious situation, as it is still unknown how far the disease spread, but what is known so far is that significant portions of the Liberation Army are infected and there have been a notable number of deaths. The Chinese have responded to this by both transferring infected individuals away from military bases of importance, and aggressive vaccination of all military personnel. Due to military personnel having on average a healthier physique, this has reduced the likelihood of death significantly, though there will be thousands of Chinese soldiers who will be heavily scarred and out of commission for weeks at least, and will ultimately lead to them being discharged and weakening the military capabilities of China.

The issue is that we have yet to actually determine who subject zero of this epidemic is, and there is currently no theory as to where they had come from, where they are now, or where they are going. This is not an epidemic which is going to simply go away when it is contained, China and the rest of the world is, in all likelihood, going to be dealing with outbreaks of smallpox over the coming years. Nowhere near as extensively as this, but it will happen.

The numbers so far regarding the casualties continue to rise within China. The latest estimates put the death tolls near one hundred thousand – mostly elderly, children, and the malnourished, the poor working class of China for the most part – and the number of inflected are close to near half a million. Considering China is a country of one billion, these numbers are comparatively good. But they are not final, and it is important to realize that this number will grow before the situation is contained.

If there is one piece of good news regarding this situation, it is that the epidemic is largely contained to China and there have not been outbreaks of such magnitude within ADVENT. Upon hearing of the situation, vaccination teams and medical officials were deployed first to cities which had airports within or around them which had connecting flights to China. The populations were vaccinated (with the exception of a few holdouts, but no children, obviously) and the situations were largely contained.

With that said, there were a few incidents which have popped up that we've fortunately been able to contain quickly from spreading. Individuals infected have been helpful in providing information as to where they went, who they interacted with, and where they came from. This has given our teams further areas of priority and thanks to the cooperation of our citizens, we have been able to prevent multiple epidemics.

While priority areas are still undergoing vaccinations, we are going to use this to further expand to the rest of ADVENT, and over the course of the next three months, work to ensure that each ADVENT citizen is vaccinated against smallpox – and other presumably 'eradicated' diseases – to ensure that something like this cannot affect use again.

It remains an open question as to if this was deliberately unleashed by the aliens, or if it was an accident and there is some corner of the world where smallpox still exists. Per our own research, we have yet to determine that the outbreak was artificial. The research facilities holding what was believed to be the last samples of smallpox are still there and intact. Reviews by both the PRIEST Division and Oversight Division have not found anything either, though there are possibly months to pour through – if this was the result of alien meddling, they could have been planning it for months.

With this said, it is also possible that it could have simply originated from travelers or explorers from less-developed continents or nations, particularly Africa. It would not necessarily be out of the question to believe that smallpox could have managed to survive in that environment. However, it is a stretch and the truth is that we have no answers right now, and likely will not until this situation is resolved.

The best thing we can do is be aggressive in our containment of the disease, and work to prevent something like this from happening again.

The number of infected continue to rise as both Chinese and ADVENT officials work to contain the situation which has continued to spread over recent weeks. In what was initially speculated to be an isolated incident, the infection has spread to epidemic levels especially within China, and only continues to grow.

ADVENT has openly expressed and demonstrated their willingness to support the Chinese in their efforts to contain the disease, as well as keep it from spreading within ADVENT nations. Minister Xin released a statement shortly after the announcement regarding it, saying "We have every intention of ensuring that this epidemic is contained as quickly and effectively as possible. Citizens are advised to visit our Health website and review symptoms of smallpox, and if you have experienced any of the symptoms, we strongly encourage you to seek medical attention immediately for your own health, and that of others."

She continued by addressing ADVENT citizens directly. "All individuals who have recently flown in from China, or been in contact with someone who arrived from there are strongly encouraged to visit your local ADVENT Clinic and be screened for infection. While we understand the majority will not be infected, this is simply too precarious a risk to dismiss. We are already working to quickly and effectively vaccinate the population against this disease, and appreciate the cooperation of our citizens."

In the past week ADVENT has indeed greatly expanded their medical presence, especially in major cities with international travel. Airports have had entire sections turned into vaccination areas, and thanks to an emergency executive order by Chancellor Vyandar, all individuals who are traveling via air are required to be vaccinated before being allowed to board. This executive order is currently being reviewed by Congress, and is expected to pass and will remain in effect for six months before expiring.

This has also appeared to lead to a resurgence in the prioritization of vaccination, even for supposedly eradicated diseases. While vaccination is required for children in schools, Congressmembers have confirmed they are considering more extensive measures, such as requiring vaccinations for employment, welfare benefits, and otherwise tying it to many of the benefits of ADVENT.

China has taken a similar response to the epidemic, and they are rapidly and aggressively vaccinating individuals by the thousands each day, regardless of consent or not. These measures both China and ADVENT have taken have been met with approval from medical professionals and experts, as well as public opinion. In particular the immediate response has been praised as suitably decisive and effective.

The ramifications of this outbreak are still unknown, and unfortunately will not be able to be quantified until far later. The Chinese in particular have been severely weakened, even as new cases keep appearing every day, which has led to concerns that they will be attacked by the Ethereal Collective to exploit their weakened state. Despite ADVENT assistance, it is unknown how deeply ADVENT would support China in such a situation.

Neither Chinese or ADVENT officials have commented on that particular situation.

What this means for ADVENT is that a similar outbreak is far more unlikely to happen inside of their nations, either by natural or artificial means. It appears to have been interpreted as a warning by ADVENT officials about the state of the health of their citizens and the importance of vaccination against these types of diseases, as well as vaccination research in general.

The Congress of Nations recently unveiled a piece of legislation which will fund and expand the current division responsible for vaccine research, which will be going into effect next week. This was signed into law by Chancellor Vyandar the same day, and was similarly met with near-universal approval. All this points to ADVENT not wanting to ever suffer the effects of an epidemic as the Chinese have.

Speculation as to the origin of the outbreak is still being debated. ADVENT has on several occasions repeated that as far as they are aware, this is not connected to the Ethereal Collective or the result of an alien operation. This should not be taken as confirmation that the aliens are not the source of the outbreak – only that ADVENT does not believe there is enough proof to publicly accuse them.

Military experts however have expressed their belief that it would be an amazing coincidence if there was no alien activity whatsoever. China itself is extremely important geopolitically, and weakening it for a possible invasion is an extremely plausible scenario, especially as it is the one major nation which is not sufficiently protected by ADVENT or has access to their technology.

Regardless of the source, most are speculating that this means that the lull in the conflict is coming to an end. As one expert put it "Regardless of if the aliens were behind it or not, one thing is very clear – they are going to exploit it. The war is starting up again, and China will be the epicenter."

- Article: Smallpox Epidemic Update 14, by Dr. Tradus Usara

To the Battlemaster and Quisilia,

Now that the smallpox epidemic has been in motion for several weeks, we can more accurately appraise the results of the operation and the viability of future operations revolving around bioweapons in the future. I believe that we can unquestionably say that the utilization of smallpox against the population of China has been an unmitigated success.

While the Chinese – with ADVENT support – are continuing to find and contain cases as fast as they appear, the damage has already been done and it is likely that in the coming weeks even more of the population will be infected. We have essentially ensured that the country will be weakened for a significant amount of time, even with ADVENT support.

They are primed for an invasion, and if ADVENT comes to their defense, that will simply pull additional resources away from other battlegrounds. Projections of the likelihood of capturing China are within acceptable parameters, even taking into account intervention by Aegis.

Another positive development is that there is currently no proof which ties the outbreak to operatives or representatives of the Ethereal Collective, as is intended. Subject Zero has been removed and disposed of, and will be impossible to recover. Any Subject Zero that ADVENT 'discovers' will either be a mistake or propaganda. They will be unable to recover the source of the outbreak, and are most likely not going to be able to every convincingly tie this outbreak to us.

A minor detail, but every bit counts in these situations.

Unfortunately, ADVENT itself has not been significantly affected by the epidemic, as they were alerted to the situation by the Chinese almost immediately, and this allowed them to acquire a head start in containment. While this was expected, I will again point to the lost opportunity of introducing the smallpox virus in concentrated ADVENT populations as opposed to Chinese. While this has significantly weakened the Chinese, ADVENT continues to be our primary opposition.

Furthermore, ADVENT is taking measures which will make it difficult to replicate this method of attack in the future. This has spurred their vaccination and disease research, and forced them to aggressively pursue vaccinations of their citizens, which makes the likelihood of us introducing a similarly infectious disease which originates on Earth dubious in the future.

All data from this operation has been provided to the Greater Hive Commanders, who are exploring additional means of introducing slightly altered bioweapons. We have acquired samples of all modern vaccines, and science teams within the Greater Hive Commanders, Andromedon Federation, and Zararch are working to learn how to subvert, reverse-engineer, or negate them completely. Each of you will receive updates if there are any breakthroughs.

If nothing else, this has had a noticeable effect on morale of both ADVENT and Chinese personnel. Regardless of the efforts at containment, the fact remains that the death toll of the virus is growing and will continue to grow as time progresses. When the conflict starts again, the Chinese soldiers will already be mentally taxed and outbreaks on the front lines will almost certainly ensure our own victory.

Finally, the development of a treatment and placing it in the hands of the SAS will immediately engender some goodwill to them, as the outbreaks have only begun to manifest there, and they will gain immediate credibility and allies. While this somewhat relies on ADVENT being too distracted to instantly respond, it will be enough to allow Betos to make her statement and declare her intent.

The groundwork is set for the invasion of China. All that remains is to carry it out.

- Zar'Chon'ravarian'vitiary