Infected

This article is about the Terran term. For the song by Starset, see Infected (song).

In the world of Arknights, the term "Infected" is an epithet used to refer to individuals who are suffering from Oripathy. It may be used as a derogatory term in certain cases.

Overview

The Infected are marginalized by much of the Terrans

The Infected are very common in Terra, owing to the fact that Originium, the primary cause of Oripathy, plays an important role in Terran industry and technology.

The Terrans hold a deeply rooted hatred towards the Infected since ancient times, causing them to be systematically discriminated and marginalized by virtually all parts of the non-Infected Terran society. One of the earliest records of Infected mistreatment dates from 1500 years BCE, in the ruins of the ancient Sargonian city of Tal'sas. In the Terran year 1020, under sponsorship of the Duke of Gododdin, Gallian explorer Pierre Leroy and his team found a graveyard in the outer edge of the ruins, where it was determined that the people buried there were in different stages of infection. The causes of death, however, was execution.

This ire most likely stems from the widespread belief that Oripathy is virulent — although person-to-person Oripathy transmission is nearly to functionally impossible as proven by various studies, the belief that Oripathy is contagious has been deeply entrenched over many centuries that it is very difficult to convince most of the Terrans otherwise.

The treatment of the Infected varies between nations. Some are worse, while others are much better (or rather, not as bad):

• Ursus is infamous for its persecution of the Infected, being the worst among all nations. The government has enacted various pogroms, carried out the Imperial Army, which includes enslaving Infected in Originium mines, placing them in concentration camps, and exterminating them upon discovery. The Infected have become scapegoats, used by the government to distract the public from Ursus' military failures and the ongoing power struggle within the palace. Such persecution eventually led to the rise of Infected militant groups like Reunion, which used violence against the oppressive authorities.
  • Chernobog was one of many areas in Ursus that saw the worsening treatment of the Infected, with people even cheering amidst anti-Infected pogroms around the city.
• Yan's treatment of the Infected is, on the surface, lenient among both the populace and the officials. Talented Infected are even allowed to serve the imperial court. However, such treatment comes with the cost of limited freedom of movement, as the Infected are frequently required to report their activities and medical condition to mandarins serving the Ministry of Revenue. Chancellors and magistrates of each prefecture are also ordered to administrate the Infected's affairs on their own. Socially, the Infected are still frowned up and verbally discriminated against.
  • Because of the imbalance in supervision and monitoring among prefectures and cities, tragedies still befall the Infected community due to misjudgement from the authorities. For instance, the purge of Lungmen's slums during Reunion's invasion was caused by the Yanese envoy pressuring Wei Yenwu to get the situation in check quickly; and the Infected community was systematically targeted, as Reunion could possibly hide among their ranks.
• 

  A drawing potraying Infected individuals dwelling in the Victorian city of Caladon
  The Infected in Victoria are promised "human rights" by the nobles in power, but in practice, they are heavily exploited, with some factories forcing them to work exceedingly long hours. They are also forcefully confined into quarantine zones, regardless of age and gender. Non-Infected who hide the Infected from the government face severe punishment.
  • The treatment of Infected varies within Victoria's different places as well. For instance, the city of Caladon announced to be planning to decrease its working hours to no more than fourteen hours, and welcomes Infected elsewhere to settle down and work there. This policy, however, was met by some of the non-Infected community as stealing work and opportunities away from them.
• In Kazimierz, Infected knights participating in the knight tourneys of the Kazimierz Major are segregated through an institution known as the "Infected Participation System," where they are forced to take part in bloodsport against gloompincers and often against one another. This system was implemented only after the grand victory of the Blood Knight. Other Infected are forced to live in underground ghettoes waiting to be exploited or purged by authorities such as the Armorless Union.
• Columbia, at first glance, is famous for its lack of discrimination towards the Infected, who are supposedly treated equally to the non-Infected. However, this is a facade meant to disguise the fact that Columbia exploits the Infected for its rising industries and expansionist goals.
  • Infected migrants have to earn Columbian citizenship through their contribution as workers, which means that the Infected are merely regarded as cheap labour in Columbia. It can be argued, however, that this is a mutually beneficial system for both sides.
  • Columbian companies exploit the Infected with the promises of emancipation and medical treatment, though in reality, these tend to be lies. The Columbian corporation Mama John's provides their Infected workers with "Oripathy suppressants," which are in reality placebo drugs that hide the symptoms of Oripathy but do nothing to actually cure or slow down the disease.
  • There are also "premium insurance policies" which offer the Infected health insurance and medication, though they are extremely expensive. As stated by the federal laws, every Infected citizen must enroll into these healthcare plans in order to reside in a nomadic city. However, if an Infected cannot afford insurance, they will be sent to a nearby Infected treatment zone which, much like other nations' quarantine zones, is part of the Columbia's system of segregation, where Infected are forced to live in restricted areas and slums. The insurrance policies also apply to any illegal resident within the country, and not paying them in due time is also considered a crime of tax evasion by the Columbian Tax Bureau.
  • As a matter of fact, most Columbian Infected prefer to live as frontier pioneers in the wastelands of Columbia, where their freedom is not restricted at the cost of their own safety; the wastelands are frequented by criminals and frequently threatened by natural disasters.
• Siracusa's treatment on the Infected is similar to Columbia's case since it adopts Columbian legal system. Infected citizens need to pay health insurance in order to keep working, which is collected by the court judges and their subordinates. If the payment falls below half of a designated amount, their right to work will be lost.
  • As for Infected famiglie members, the treatment varies between the famiglie whose final order dictates their fate. Often times, banishment or treating them as disposable pawns is the usual method to eradicate Infected soldato.
• For a long time, the Infected in Leithanien were treated as mere tributes for the Kurfürsten to maintain the nation's supremacy on Arts, and many of them ended up becoming test subjects for Arts. Even non-Infected were forced to contact Oripathy whenever supplies depleted. The situation worsened drastically during the tyrannical reign of the Witch King.
  • After the ascension of the Twin Empresses, many of these customs were seen as barbaric as the Witch King himself, so new laws were enacted to protect the Infected and improve their living conditions. Still, traces of the old regime can still be found everywhere; Infected are still forced to live quarantine zones, and it is mandatory for those whose Oripathy reaches a certain stage to be euthanized by the state.
• Due to the ongoing civil war, Bolívar is also one of the countries that experience persecutions upon the Infected populace, be it the Singas dynasty, the Coalition Government, and the True Bolívarians. Both the Singas and the Coalition jurisdictions implement similar policies with Leithanien and Columbia respectively, whereas the True Bolívarians often conduct purges in their "liberated zones" in the name of "executing treacherous fouls."
  • On the other hand, Dossoles, the de jure capital of Bolívar that remains neutral throughout the civil war, is one of the very few places in Bolívar where Infected are not heavily persecuted. Nevertheless, even though they are allowed to enter and live in the city, they are segregated from the population through specific bars, casinos, etc, that also only for the Infected.
• Infected Lateran will be banished from the country while retaining the Lateran citizenship and rights. Infected Laterans can even return to their homeland under certain extraordinary circumstances.
• Owing to its active Originium mining industry upon the rich Targangils Prime Vein, Rim Billiton is a major hotspot of Oripathy pandemic as these miners bravely face the disease without proper precautions in order to extract the deposits. Consequently, the number of Infected is on a skyrocketing surge since the industrial era.
  • Traditionally, Infected Billitoners do not face large-scale persecutions thanks to their large family culture. Rather, they usually leave from their job, be it volunteer resignation or forced dismissal, and are brought under the care of a specialist among their family members. If a family could not afford to take care of the Infected, the community is responsible to pour their resources to care for both the patient and their family members.
  • However, since the industrial era that led to a surge of Infected populace, the traditional method could no longer work on a larger scale in order to maintain the production line. Medical welfare upon the Infected decreases drastically, and they are forced to live in centralized quarantine zones. Because such a heavy burden is handed back to individual families once again, many Infected Billitoners choose to impose self-exile and spend their remaining lifespan in remote regions to prevent their disease from spreading to other family members. In severe cases, it also means that parents have to forcefully banish their children from their home out of desperation.
• The Infected in Minos are seemingly not discriminated against or being systematically segregated as they are allowed to live normally and receive healthcare. The only exception to this is the Minoan hero cult where the position within its clergy is only open to non-Infected because the Minoans believe that an Infected could not receive the sacred aura from the heroes, hence being automatically disqualified. If a priest or priestess of the hero cult were found to be Infected, they would face demotion.
• In Sargon, treatments of the Infected differ greatly depending on local lords and chieftains. The traditional methods are forced segregation and ostracization from society through violent means; many lords prefer to neglect the Infected and let them die slow, painful deaths. Nevertheless, not all of them do. Some like the Tulla family in Long Spring will quarantine the Infected in specifically designated "Infected quarters" and provide them with medical treatment.
  • The tribes in the jungles of eastern Sargon, however, have no knowledge about Oripathy whatsoever, and simply see it as a "stone disease." As a result, discrimination against the Infected withinn the jungle tribes is non-existent.
• Kjerag does not discriminate against the Infected as much thanks to its primitive society and religion. Infected Kjeragians are not quarantined or banished from the country, and are able to have normal lives. However, due the increasing industrialization of the country conducted by the Silverash family, there is fear that such peace may be broken by possible Originium pollution, leading to opposition from the conservative Browntails and Paleroches.

It is, however, an important theme of Arknights' storytelling that the countries that do not outright persecute the Infected are more than likely "whitewashing" their prejudice and concealing some other form of exploitation of the Infected. The harsh treatment faced by the Infected is the main contributor to the bleakness of Arknights' setting, although it is also frequently pointed out that strife and oppression does not stop at the Infected, and the specter of Oripathy is only one of Terra's many problems.

The majority of Infected who have suffered from such widespread discrimination and prejudice have become embittered towards the non-Infected. Some, like the members of Reunion, even seek vengeance for the suffering they have endured, which has led to civil strife, violence, and the destabilization of some nations. Some Infected, however, choose non-violent methods, with Rhodes Island being the most notable of them.