Saunter's Syndrome

Causes

More than ten thousand people, largely descendants of those who lived near the Saunterville area, suffer from Saunters. While no new first generation cases have appeared since the area was remediated in 2015, the subsequent generations all exhibited the syndrome and have been shown to pass it on the future generations.

Symptoms

Those exhibiting symptoms of Saunters tend to have a lifespan of around thirty years. Saunters expresses itself via neurological decay, causing blindness and loss of motorfunction. This eventually leads to respratory failure. In some victims, Saunters also causes something similar to hemophilia, resulting in random brusing around the body, especially around the eyes. Those suffering from Saunters are often identified by these persistant black eyes, and socially ostrasized.

Treatment

The victims of Saunters are largely a forgotten set. Several treatments have been theorized over the years, but given the relatively small numbers of people suffering from it no significant funding has ever been put towards it.

Prevention

As Saunters is a passed on genetically, victims are discouraged from procreating.

History

In 2011, a major railway incident near a town called Saunterville caused a chemical spill which fed into a local water supply, resulting in the abandonment of three towns and the majority of an indian reservation. While the chemicals seemed to have few short time side effects, they resulted in the deaths of hundreds and produced severe genetic mutations in a whole generation which were passed on. Most of these mutations resulted in a long lingering death. The company responsible for the lax safety and mysterious chemicals, RexPenCo, but largely managed to dismiss the various lawsuits that arose over the years.

Cultural Reception

RexPenCo was particularly effective at silencing the victims of Saunters. Legally they managed to set precidence by winning several questionable cases which cast doubt that there was any coorelation between the spill and the disease. Journalists and activists were discredited and sued. Inviduals were silently paid off, signing away their descendants rights to pursue any legal action. Over time, few remember that the disease was linked to the former town at all.

Type

Genetic

Origin

Engineered

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired & Congenital

Rarity

Rare