Bleed-over
Bleed-over is the name for a condition which affects FERALs who have acquired this status from exposure to interstitial space, as opposed to species which evolved their abilities.
The name of this condition comes from the belief that FERAL individuals may be causing interstitial space to "bleed" into normal reality. As of current understanding, no evidence has been found to confirm or refute these beliefs.
Causes
Bleed-over is thought to eventually occur in every non-natural FERAL at some point, though it typically occurs earlier in those who use their abilities often or overexert themselves.
Symptoms
Symptoms of bleed-over typically begin with weakness, nausea, and headaches, which are often overlooked as the same symptoms typically occur after a FERAL individual uses their abilities. However, these symptoms tend to be longer lasting or more intense. If the individual continues to use their abilities, their symptoms will be further exacerbated and may lead to the beginnings of the neuron destabilization stage.
Once a FERAL individual has overused their abilities, a change may begin in their brain. Specifically, groups of neurons associated with the use of FERAL abilities may begin to destabilize or fluctuate on the cellular level. For individuals who reach this stage, the condition has a 100% mortality rate. This symptom, dubbed cascading neuron destabilization, is defined by the erratic behavior of affected neurons in the brain of the individual. Affected neurons begin to fluctuate in strange ways, sporadically changing in form and sending seemingly random signals to other neurons. These fluctuations will eventually begin to spread through the individual's brain, resulting in death.
Treatment
As FERALs are still currently poorly understood, no long-term treatments for bleed-over have been discovered. As such, the best option is the education of FERAL individuals and the prevention of the condition. Recently, however, it has been discovered that individuals at the furthest stage of the condition see a reduction in symptoms or complete halting of cascading neuron destabilization process while traveling through interstitial space.
Prognosis
All FERAL individuals are thought to eventually suffer from bleed-through, but individuals that are careful not to overexert themselves or overuse their abilities typically have a higher life expectancy. However, individuals reaching the neuron destabilization stage have a mortality rate of 100% and a dramatically reduced life expectancy.
Comments