The Virus

"It feeds on negative emotion the stronger the better"

- Roary describing the Virus

The Virus is a microscopic organism encountered in the Wicked book series by Morris Gleitzman and Paul Jennings and the TV series based on the books.

Infection
The Virus is capable of passing from victim to victim in a number of ways though its favourite and most effective method is through the salaiva of infected animals. Secondary infection through contaminated food is normally temporary.

Once the Virus infects a host organism it enhances aggression and begins to mutate its victim into a gross and monstrous parody of its true self. Smaller less complex creatures such has worms and frogs tend to mutate the quickest while larger creatures take longer for it to infect and alter. Once compleatly transformed the creature is little more than a violent beserker that will attack anything in sight.

Humans infected by the virus retain their intellect and much of their original personality though it to is warped and twisted to suit the virus's needs. Human hosts are capable of controlling the animal hosts of the virus and are predominantly focussed on spreading the disese. Those who have been infected and have managed to overcome the virus devlope a sought of low level telepathic link with the primary human host.

In the books the Virus has a strange affect of driving animal hosts to infect others in an infected human's direct family.

Cure
In both the book and the series the Virus can be cured by strong possative feelings wich dive it from its host and reverse the mutations. In the book it was discovered a certain blue fungus has the abbility to temporary alleviate the symptoms before the virus takes over again.

Weakness
While the virus enhancess the natural strengths of the host organism it also enhances the natural weaknesses of the host organism. For example infected frogs develope such a sensitivity to salt that it causes them to explode on contact.

Intelligence
Curiously for a virus it displays a certain level of intelligence both in the book and the series. In the book the virus attacks those in the immediate family of an infected human. All animal hosts are driven to attack family members on sight. In the series the virus appeares to posess a hive like intelligence with other hosts feeling intence pain when one of their own is cured of killed by Roary and Dawn.

Human hosts have noted an intence almost instinctive desire to spread the virus that they can not control and that the Virus clouds their thoughts. They can genrally think of nothing but spreading the infection and feeding off the mysey of others. Continues contact with loved ones tends to weaken the virus's hold on a human host and it such occurrences the Virus will instruct its other hoats to kill the weak link in the hive.

History
The origin of the Virus is largely unknown in the book and the series though it was first sighted in the tropics in a cargo container. At the end of the book it is therorised by scientists brough in to study it that is some kind of mutation of a normal fungus but even they arnt to sure.

The virus makes its appearance in Roary and Dawn's lives when Roary receives a package from his estranged father of an Appleman doll that upon futhur inspection is filled with strangly coloured worms. Thinking it is somekind of cruel joke from her ex-husband Roary's mother throws the doll out. That aftertoon the stepsibling watch in horror as the worms fully mutate into flesh sucking monstrocitys wich they name Slobberes. Working together they are able to defeat the monsters before they make it into town.

Has the series progresses the siblings work together to defeat more monsters and mutation of the virus that are led by the humanoid creature the pair call the Appleman. To minamal exposure to the virus Roary devolpes a weal telepathic link with the Appleman allowing him and hi sister to get ahead of the monster at certain points in the show.