[mod] GeoStigma / GSII The initial outbreak of the GeoStigma, as seen in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, was corrected by the LifeStream itself when Sephiroth's lifeforce was purged in a deluge of pure, clean energy. Along with Sephiroth and the triplet clones, the remains of the alien life form Jenova were destroyed.
The outbreak of GeoStigma I was limited to members of ShinRa's elite military class, SOLDIER, and their descendants. Public opinion is that GeoStigma I was the result of the Planet attempting to punish humankind for the depletion of the LifeStream; outside of ShinRa's scientists, few have made the connection to GeoStigma I and the presence of Jenova's DNA in a person's system. Unofficially, GeoStigma I is thought to be the Planet's attempt to remove this poison from its inhabitants. GeoStigma I was eliminated during a 'miracle' rainfall, which consisted of Mako Energy in its purest form. Whether or not this rainfall purged or supressed Jenova's DNA is unclear.
There are believed to be no strains of Jenova's DNA left on the plant — and yet, in the past year, another outbreak of GeoStigma, called GSII, has begun. Information about the current strain is limited: Though it is believed to have showed up earliest in SOLDIER, very few reports have filtered up the ShinRa corporate ladder regarding it. Instead, SOLDIERs who show signs of this new straing of GSII simply disappear from the record, often marked AWOL and/or deceased upon recapture. Citizens with GeoStigma are left to their own devices, and doctors not associated with ShinRa are often at a loss. Standard treatments, including the use of Cure Gray Materia, only seem to make the virus spread faster.
GSII does not affect every member of the population, and though outside of SOLDIER, it seems to be random, in truth it affects only those with some past blood-connection to SOLDIER/Jenova, and/or to the new Grey Mako Energy type. Specifically it shows up on members of SOLDIER who have been or were infused with Mako-based energy and their offspring. GSII starts out as a small, blackish-green rash on the skin. The rash is initially mild, dry, and flakes off a blackish powder. It is non-contagious, however this fact is not widely known. Many with GSII are treated as lepers by the greater community, out of fear of the disease spreading uncontrolled. GSII progresses very slowly, and has yet to kill any member of the general population; whether or not any SOLDIER with GSII have died as a result is unknown. There is speculation that it is lethal.
The closer a character is to having either Jenova's genes or Grey Mako Energy in their body — aka, members of SOLDIER that joined while Jenova's DNA and Pure Mako Energy was still being inoculated, or those that were inoculated with Grey Mako after its creation — the more severe the effects. Also, the more an infected character uses Gray Mako, the faster the virus will spread. Limiting ones Gray Maka use will not cure GSII, but it will slow the spread of the disease down.
Unfortunately, Gray Mako is everywhere in society, from Gray Materia to healing potions made from the runoff of Gray Mako energy. Most people have not made the connection between the severity of the disease and the most common of treatments — a simple Cure Potion — and so the disease spreads unchecked in the infected.
Growth will happen in these stages:
Cracking, itching, general irritation Gradual spreading to a larger area of the body Open wounds, bleeding, a slight greenish glow Death [speculated; it is believed that the GSII must cover the majority of the body for this to happen]
ShinRa's upper echelon, including President Rufus Shinra, are only now becoming aware of the spread of GSII in SOLDIER, as the military department has made an effort to keep this fact to itself. There are also rumors of experiments being performed without official consent, using Grey Mako Energy to combine the DNA of other creatures with humans in the continued quest for a 'super soldier'. The rumors have not been proved true, but there has been a significant increase in 'monster attacks' in recent years, and an influx of creatures not seen the LifeStream purged the Planet has increased significantly. Rumors also hold that Midgar, now mostly abandoned by the affluent and left to the underworld, houses secret laboratories responsible for the creation of these creatures — and that people in the worse sectors randomly disappear, never to be seen or heard from again.
And many claim that these hidden laboratories operate under the auspice of Rufus Shinra himself.
With GSII is now starting to appear in the public, specifically the descendants of SOLDIER, Shinra Corp is offering to treat some of the family members afflicted by the disease, many in the lower slum sectors of Midgar and other poor areas of the Planet go without aid. Further, some receiving treatment disappear without a trace.