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Most of the monsters throughout the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Resident Evil series are created as a result of viruses or otherwiꦬse virulent organisms. The original zombies of the first game were a result of the Tyrant Virus, better known as the "t-virus," deliberately engineered by Umbrella in their pursuit of power and longevity. However, there are exceptions to this paradigm, and one of the biggest exceptions first appeared in Resident Evil 4.
Rather than mindless zombies, the primary threats of Resident Evil 4 are the Ganandos, seemingly normal village folk driven to madness and violence by an unseen force. This force, or at least the major component of it, is known as Las Plagas, a parasitic organism with terrifying mutagenic properties. Hope you're not squeamish because we're taking a deep dive into the history and biology of these bizarre creatures.
Please note that the following information is based on the established canon of the original Resident Evil 4, released in 2005. We'll also be getting into some spoilers for that game.
The History Of Las Plagas
Translated from Spanish, "Las Plagas" means "The Plagues," a simple yet apt descriptor. Back in the Bronze Age, roughly 2200 B.C., these parasitic creatures began to take root in small pockets around what would eventually become rural Spain. For centuries, the creatures infected locals, transforming them into Ganados, after which they would engage in bizarre pagan rituals, driven to erratic behavior by the parasites influencing them. This happen🅠ed on and off until the beginning of the Spanish Inquisition in the late 1400s.
A nobleman by the name of Salazar received word of the Ganados and their cultic tendencies and led a bloody crusade to put a stop to their activities. All the Ganados were killed, while the remaining Plaga parasites were driven into a network of caverns. To ensure that this mysterious plague couldn't happen again, Salazar commissioned the construction of a massive fortress above the caverns, ruling over it and the surrounding countryside as Castellan.
The Salazar line served this role until the 21st century, not long after the eighth Castellan, Ramon Salazar, took up the role. A bioweapons researcher 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:named Osmund Saddler discovered records of Las Plagas and realized the potential power-grabbing applications. He established a cult, Los Illuminados, and used his influence to charm Ramon Salazar into rel🅺easing the fossilized remains of the parasites from beneath the fortress, allowing Saddler to begin his dark research.
Basic Biology And Behaviors
A Plaga is a mid-sized parasitic arthropod, kind of like a cross between a crab and a deer tick. In their mature state, they can't do much beyond wiggling around on the ground. However, if a Plaga egg is injected into a human body, it will hatch and attach itself to the host's nervous system. While the host is still capable of speech and daily tasks, the Plaga in their system causes 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:erratic, violent behavior, as well as physical abnormalities like pale skin,🎀 reddened eyes, and periodic bleeding.
As the Plaga grows within the host, it will eventually work its way up to the chest cavity and head, officially rendering the process irreversible. In this state, the infected individual has become a Ganado, which roughly refers to livestock like cows or horses. In addition to the previous effects, Ganados also exhibit increased strength and durability, able to shrug off small injuries and keep moving. In the event that the host is mortally wounded, the adult Plaga may burst up out of the skull to defend itself with its whip-like appendages. Exposed Plaga can be killed with enough physical trauma, and they have a particular weakness to bright UV lights.
Plagas are pack animals, grouping up for safety. This is why groups of Ganado will usually congregate into communities, as the hosts are being influenced by the parasites' instincts. While the hosts may verbally communicate with one another, the Plagas within them are actually communicating through the use of high-frequency signals. It's in this way that Ganados can maintain something akin to a hive mind, warning each other of danger or intruders over long distances.
Mutation And Weaponization
Thanks to research conducted by Los Illuminados, followed by Tricell in Resident Evil 5, modern Plagas are even more dangerous than their ancient counterparts. All modern Plaga strains were bioengineered from the fossilized Plaga remains found beneath Salazar's fortress, not only making them more virulent but allowing them to create bigger and stranger creatures.
One of the most important creations from this research is the new dominant-strain Plaga. An individual infected with a dominant-strain Plaga not only maintains their sense of self but can use the high-frequency signals it produces to directly control Ganados, who are infected with the subordinate strain. In this way, the erratic behaviors of the Ganados can be focused into a frighteningly profici🉐ent squad of soldiers.
Further research into Plaga mutation yielded a variety of massive monsters. One such example is a species of massive Plaga mutant known locally as El Gigante. Gigante mutants are the result of specially-made Plaga variants implanted into a human host, resulting in unrestrained muscle mass development. Unfortunately, this particular breed of Plaga also causes severely-di෴minished mental activity, leaving the Gigantes as little more than gigantic beasts.
Another example is the Regenerador, a Plaga mutant resulting from the implantation of multiple Plaga parasites into a single human host. The presence of multiple Plagas in the body gives this creature 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:unparalleled durability and healing. The only way to efficiently dispose of them is to find the Plagas in their bodies with a thermal scope and destroy them directly, causing the Regenerador's body to break down instantly.
Use As A Bio Organic Weapon
Saddler and Los Illuminados originally developed the modern Plagas in a grand plan to conquer the world from the shadows, with the intent of infecting Ashley Graham, daughter of the President of the United States. While this plan ultimately fell through thanks to Leon S. Kennedy, a Plaga sample 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:retrieved by Ada Wong and brought to Albert Wesker led to a greater presence of Plagas around the world.
Thanks to development from pharmaceutical company Tricell, enhanced Plagas were created and used to infect residents near their research facility in Kijuju. These new Plagas did not need to be injected as eggs; their mature, arthropod bodies could be forcibly inserted into a host's mouth, where they would take hold almost immediately. Even after Wesker's defeat and Tricell's dismantlement, it would take several months of quarantine and combat to mop up the Plaga presence in the region.
Following Tricell's end, Las Plagas seemed to disappear from the public stage, as there were more dangerous B.O.W.s like the C-Virus to worry about. However, even if they are no longer in use, Las Plagas serves as a grim reminder that terrifying monsters can arise from even the smallest of nature's creatures.