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Description
Entity TENGU (AKA MATANGO)
First Sighting: Matango Island, 1963
Size: n/a (varies by host)
Weight: n/a (varies by host)

History: It is sometimes said that nature will always seek to find equilibrium, that no single part of the whole can overwhelm the others, as in nature there will always be a power to restore balance when something disturbs this equilibrium. During the 20th century, this idea would be tested like never before as the technologies of mankind were advanced faster than ever before, including the development of nuclear weaponry which were beginning to awaken entities that had slumbered beneath the earth until now. By the time humanity would discover they themselves were unleashing their own destroyers, it would be too late to stop it.

Radioactive substances are imbued with the curse that they leave a great degree of toxic wastes that will continue to spew poison for many centuries, contaminating everything it touches. When the United States was attempting to inject this new innovative technology into everything would inevitably create large quantities of such waste. Not all of this poison was safely stored away, and in some cases, this waste would find its way into the environment, one way or another. In one case, it was discovered ironically, when military officials arrived upon the remote Pacific Matango Island to evacuate the native population in preparation for a future nuclear test at the site. When they arrived upon the seamount on August 11th, they found it unusually silent, as the island was well-known for its large colonies of seabirds, which always swarmed in rapturous cacophony, but now there were no birds in sight. Not even insects flitted through the tropical air. When personnel ventured inland, they discovered much of the flora and fauna of Matango Island had become infected by a fungus-like parasitoid, which now dominated the inland vegetation. This including the native population, who were found to have all been turned into grotesquely deformed aberrations, and were now in an advanced state of infection with large tumour-like growths covering their bodies and barely recognizable as once people. Killing the infected humans on sight, the ground personnel quickly evacuated to shore as waves of infected fauna began coming at them from the forest undergrowth.

With the survivors fleeing back on their ship, the Albatross, they transmitted a distress signal to naval forces, and assessing the situation, they quarantined the crew while studying the island from the air. Within a few days, several of the ship’s members began exhibiting worrying symptoms, while it was found that the infection on Matango Island was steadily advancing, with the greenery gradually being replaced by the mottled, flesh-toned hue of the growth. The US government made the decision to move the bombing up in response, commencing Operation Voice in the Night to purge the island to stem the infection. Less than two weeks after the first ship landed, the United States dropped a thermonuclear bomb that effectively sterilized the surface of Matango Island. Similarly, as some of the crew aboard the Albatross began to receive strange lumps and festering rashes, the boat was towed out to sea and torpedoed with everyone on board, infected or not, to prevent any chance this monstrous illness could spread. Some samples of the blight were collected from the island before it was wiped out, but after intense study, it was determined no good could come of its continued existence, and all remaining evidence was burned. Even as Matango Island sat in complete smouldering ruin, a small caravan of ships continued to circle the island for months in case the growths reappeared, and even after that, the island was considered a permanent no man’s land, and all trespassers to be shot on sight.

Description: A species of hyperfloral parasitoid, the Matango Blight (or just Matango for short) is an aggressive and virulent agent that has the capability of infecting any type of eukaryotic organism (and presumably kaijin/kaiju), although only larger ones survive to the later stages of infection. It may be an understatement to refer to Matango as an illness, for it is a much more complex organism than it at first appears. Spores of the organism enter a host through any mechanism, as it can spread by air, touch, by fluid exchange, or ingestion, however, the rate of infection by air or touch is much lower. An infected animal host will within a few days begin avoiding bright light, begin feeling hungry and thirsty very often, and sweating even when it is cold. Within several more days, large, blistering rashes begin appearing over the body, the stomach will start to engorge, and extremities like nails, hair, and teeth may begin to drop out. Within three or four weeks, the host begins to lose independent motor functions and the fruiting bodies of Matango begin erupting from within the flesh. Within several more weeks, the infection will advance to such a state that the victim collapses and melds with the ground, and the hyperflora simply continue sprouting from there as a sessile growth that periodically shoots more spores into the air.

Animals that are infected often grow large talon-like chitinous growths from their extremities, with which they use to claw at uninfected, as the infection spreads most easily when directly entering the bloodstream (such as through open wounds) and the mouth of the host usually becomes obscured by Matango’s fruiting bodies, preventing them from biting. In bird hosts, the wings became unsuitable for flight, but the feathers grew back in as needle-like blades which they used to frenziedly attack. Human infected may sometimes lose the ability to walk upright, regressing to a bestial quadrupedal shambling or ape-like posture to compensate. Muscle tissue and and bones are ingested by the infection and replaced with a pseudo-musculoskeletal organ system out of mycelium-like tissue, which makes it easier for the central infection to control the body, but makes them more fragile overall, with limbs that can be torn off with just some force. Birds infected had their entire bodies covered in balloon-like growths containing lighter-than-air gases which allowed them to float some distance off the ground in lieu of flapping flight (although this effect only lasts for a few days before the gases leak). Infected plants experience bark peeling and their leaves dropping off as fruiting bodies are pushed out in their place and hyphae erupting from the base and roots.

In advanced stages of infection animal hosts are rendered blind as the fruiting bodies erupt from their heads and instead navigate through detection of air vibrations and scent through their hyphae-like growths. Although possessing large eye-like growths, these are actually the spore-ejection pods from which they shoot spores into the air and play no part in vision. But they also appear to understand the presence of non-moving objects by another means. Through some unknown mechanism, Matango appears to be able to communicate with one another using sound, which is usually too high in frequency for humans to hear, but can sometimes be heard as a soft laughter-like noise which is increasing amplified with degree of infection in the region; in carpeted areas during late stages of infection, these calls can be quite booming. It can also adapt to the environment and presence of other Matango by modifying its degree of infection. Just before Matango Island was bombed, it was seen that the intensity of fruiting bodies growing on the trees and on the peak of the dormant volcano increased dramatically in size and speed the last few days, as if it realized that it needed some other means besides animal hosts to escape from the island. Worse than simply being an infectious parasitoid, Matango appears to be intelligent to some extent; while it can be hard to confirm, it appears Matango possesses a form of collective awareness and possibly sentience that is stronger the more infected bodies are in close proximity. The infection is rooted near the base of the neck and upper chest at the spinal cord, eventually developing into a pseudo-motor cortex to control movement of the body parts. Because the host has to be alive and kept as healthy as otherwise possible in order for Matango to use them for suitable spore carriers, the brain is left more or less untouched into the final stages of infection, but it is effectively “disconnected” from the rest of the body, leaving the host completely unable to control themselves.

From what little could be found out over the years, the hyperflora was probably released upon Matango Island by a volcanic eruption centuries ago, and laying dormant in the soil, it was reactivated when a ship carrying nuclear wastes illegally dumped its cargo offshore, and the leaking chemicals polluting the island’s soil allowed the spores to begin its life-cycle. Normally, pure kaiju illnesses should not be able to infect other types of biotic organisms, but it appears a mutation occurred after accumulating this radiation that allowed it to take on properties of parasitic fungi species native to the island, giving it the ability to infect eukaryotes in the absence of its usual hosts. The only reason it did not spread further appears to be twofold; partly due to Matango’s intolerance to saltwater; its cells appear unable to process sodium quickly before fatal osmotic imbalance, and the prompt glassing of the entire island before it find another way to spread. Once infected there does not appear to be any way to stem the infection besides killing of the host. And perhaps that is a mercy.

———

NEXT: The Wandering Planet

Description
Entity TENGU (AKA MATANGO)
First Sighting: Matango Island, 1963
Size: n/a (varies by host)
Weight: n/a (varies by host)

History: It is sometimes said that nature will always seek to find equilibrium, that no single part of the whole can overwhelm the others, as in nature there will always be a power to restore balance when something disturbs this equilibrium. During the 20th century, this idea would be tested like never before as the technologies of mankind were advanced faster than ever before, including the development of nuclear weaponry which were beginning to awaken entities that had slumbered beneath the earth until now. By the time humanity would discover they themselves were unleashing their own destroyers, it would be too late to stop it.

Radioactive substances are imbued with the curse that they leave a great degree of toxic wastes that will continue to spew poison for many centuries, contaminating everything it touches. When the United States was attempting to inject this new innovative technology into everything would inevitably create large quantities of such waste. Not all of this poison was safely stored away, and in some cases, this waste would find its way into the environment, one way or another. In one case, it was discovered ironically, when military officials arrived upon the remote Pacific Matango Island to evacuate the native population in preparation for a future nuclear test at the site. When they arrived upon the seamount on August 11th, they found it unusually silent, as the island was well-known for its large colonies of seabirds, which always swarmed in rapturous cacophony, but now there were no birds in sight. Not even insects flitted through the tropical air. When personnel ventured inland, they discovered much of the flora and fauna of Matango Island had become infected by a fungus-like parasitoid, which now dominated the inland vegetation. This including the native population, who were found to have all been turned into grotesquely deformed aberrations, and were now in an advanced state of infection with large tumour-like growths covering their bodies and barely recognizable as once people. Killing the infected humans on sight, the ground personnel quickly evacuated to shore as waves of infected fauna began coming at them from the forest undergrowth.

With the survivors fleeing back on their ship, the Albatross, they transmitted a distress signal to naval forces, and assessing the situation, they quarantined the crew while studying the island from the air. Within a few days, several of the ship’s members began exhibiting worrying symptoms, while it was found that the infection on Matango Island was steadily advancing, with the greenery gradually being replaced by the mottled, flesh-toned hue of the growth. The US government made the decision to move the bombing up in response, commencing Operation Voice in the Night to purge the island to stem the infection. Less than two weeks after the first ship landed, the United States dropped a thermonuclear bomb that effectively sterilized the surface of Matango Island. Similarly, as some of the crew aboard the Albatross began to receive strange lumps and festering rashes, the boat was towed out to sea and torpedoed with everyone on board, infected or not, to prevent any chance this monstrous illness could spread. Some samples of the blight were collected from the island before it was wiped out, but after intense study, it was determined no good could come of its continued existence, and all remaining evidence was burned. Even as Matango Island sat in complete smouldering ruin, a small caravan of ships continued to circle the island for months in case the growths reappeared, and even after that, the island was considered a permanent no man’s land, and all trespassers to be shot on sight.

Description: A species of hyperfloral parasitoid, the Matango Blight (or just Matango for short) is an aggressive and virulent agent that has the capability of infecting any type of eukaryotic organism (and presumably kaijin/kaiju), although only larger ones survive to the later stages of infection. It may be an understatement to refer to Matango as an illness, for it is a much more complex organism than it at first appears. Spores of the organism enter a host through any mechanism, as it can spread by air, touch, by fluid exchange, or ingestion, however, the rate of infection by air or touch is much lower. An infected animal host will within a few days begin avoiding bright light, begin feeling hungry and thirsty very often, and sweating even when it is cold. Within several more days, large, blistering rashes begin appearing over the body, the stomach will start to engorge, and extremities like nails, hair, and teeth may begin to drop out. Within three or four weeks, the host begins to lose independent motor functions and the fruiting bodies of Matango begin erupting from within the flesh. Within several more weeks, the infection will advance to such a state that the victim collapses and melds with the ground, and the hyperflora simply continue sprouting from there as a sessile growth that periodically shoots more spores into the air.

Animals that are infected often grow large talon-like chitinous growths from their extremities, with which they use to claw at uninfected, as the infection spreads most easily when directly entering the bloodstream (such as through open wounds) and the mouth of the host usually becomes obscured by Matango’s fruiting bodies, preventing them from biting. In bird hosts, the wings became unsuitable for flight, but the feathers grew back in as needle-like blades which they used to frenziedly attack. Human infected may sometimes lose the ability to walk upright, regressing to a bestial quadrupedal shambling or ape-like posture to compensate. Muscle tissue and and bones are ingested by the infection and replaced with a pseudo-musculoskeletal organ system out of mycelium-like tissue, which makes it easier for the central infection to control the body, but makes them more fragile overall, with limbs that can be torn off with just some force. Birds infected had their entire bodies covered in balloon-like growths containing lighter-than-air gases which allowed them to float some distance off the ground in lieu of flapping flight (although this effect only lasts for a few days before the gases leak). Infected plants experience bark peeling and their leaves dropping off as fruiting bodies are pushed out in their place and hyphae erupting from the base and roots.

In advanced stages of infection animal hosts are rendered blind as the fruiting bodies erupt from their heads and instead navigate through detection of air vibrations and scent through their hyphae-like growths. Although possessing large eye-like growths, these are actually the spore-ejection pods from which they shoot spores into the air and play no part in vision. But they also appear to understand the presence of non-moving objects by another means. Through some unknown mechanism, Matango appears to be able to communicate with one another using sound, which is usually too high in frequency for humans to hear, but can sometimes be heard as a soft laughter-like noise which is increasing amplified with degree of infection in the region; in carpeted areas during late stages of infection, these calls can be quite booming. It can also adapt to the environment and presence of other Matango by modifying its degree of infection. Just before Matango Island was bombed, it was seen that the intensity of fruiting bodies growing on the trees and on the peak of the dormant volcano increased dramatically in size and speed the last few days, as if it realized that it needed some other means besides animal hosts to escape from the island. Worse than simply being an infectious parasitoid, Matango appears to be intelligent to some extent; while it can be hard to confirm, it appears Matango possesses a form of collective awareness and possibly sentience that is stronger the more infected bodies are in close proximity. The infection is rooted near the base of the neck and upper chest at the spinal cord, eventually developing into a pseudo-motor cortex to control movement of the body parts. Because the host has to be alive and kept as healthy as otherwise possible in order for Matango to use them for suitable spore carriers, the brain is left more or less untouched into the final stages of infection, but it is effectively “disconnected” from the rest of the body, leaving the host completely unable to control themselves.

From what little could be found out over the years, the hyperflora was probably released upon Matango Island by a volcanic eruption centuries ago, and laying dormant in the soil, it was reactivated when a ship carrying nuclear wastes illegally dumped its cargo offshore, and the leaking chemicals polluting the island’s soil allowed the spores to begin its life-cycle. Normally, pure kaiju illnesses should not be able to infect other types of biotic organisms, but it appears a mutation occurred after accumulating this radiation that allowed it to take on properties of parasitic fungi species native to the island, giving it the ability to infect eukaryotes in the absence of its usual hosts. The only reason it did not spread further appears to be twofold; partly due to Matango’s intolerance to saltwater; its cells appear unable to process sodium quickly before fatal osmotic imbalance, and the prompt glassing of the entire island before it find another way to spread. Once infected there does not appear to be any way to stem the infection besides killing of the host. And perhaps that is a mercy.

———

NEXT: The Wandering Planet