last of us setting info

The Last Of Us is a post-apocalyptic world. A mutation of something called Cordyceps, which is a fungus that grows on the brain of ants and arachnids and feeds off of them like a parasite before releasing spores to infect further, mutated from the crops of humanity in 2013 and spread quickly across the world, reaching a pandemic level in less than a week.

Infection can be transmitted through inhalation[and probably ingestion] of spores, bite or scratch from infected, and probably fluid transfer with one, too. Within 48 hours, the infected lose their humanity and become hyper-aggressive vessels, intent on spreading the infection and murdering all who gather their attention. Once infected, it progresses through four known stages. If infected are killed, the fungus merely grows onto any surface that it can reach instead of the body of the infected.

They're dangerous but they're also stupid as shit, not even able to determine that a flashlight is being used by a human. The most dangerous animal on earth is [i]still[/i] another human being, and people are dark and dangerous and routinely cruel. Major cities were turned into quarantine zones and are now ruled under martial law by the military in charge -- if they are even functioning. People survive inside the walls and outside them.

The world is a living hell, but humanity still persists. They always find a way to keep pushing, to keep carrying on. After all -- they're the last of us.