                               Concept : Plague

Plague  is  used  in  Empire to symbolize all forms of disease and is the only
health hazard associated with the Empire game, (ignoring it's effects  on  the
players).   The characteristics of plague are, therefore, a compromise of dis-
ease features (or bugs).

The Empire Plague takes between 96 and 189 time units to  run  its  course  on
land,  (i.e.,  2  to 4 days in any particular sector if an Empire time unit is
1/2 and hour), and twice as long on ships, (4 to 8 days).   In  so  doing  the
plague goes through three stages:

Stage  I  --  The  gestation  or incubation phase in which no symptoms appear.
   Sectors or ships that are in this stage of the plague are indistinguishable
   from healthy sectors or ships.  This stage lasts 32 to 63 time units, (less
   than a day and a half).

                               Concept : Plague

Stage II -- The infectious phase in which the symptoms first appear --  orange
   blotches  on  the  face and hands, sometimes accompanied by grey stripes on
   the genitalia, itching of the liver and spleen, an uncontrollable  fear  of
   ripe  tomatoes,  etc.  During this phase the plague is extremely communica-
   ble; for example, a simple delivery from an infectious sector  will  infect
   the destination sector.

Stage III -- The terminal phase in which people die, often in the act of flee-
   ing from (real or imagined) tomatoes.  The number of  people  that  die  is
   roughly  inversely  proportional to the research level of the country (plus
   100).

All three phases are of roughly equal average duration, (about 48 time periods
or 1 day).

Plague  usually  arises  in  countries with high technological development and
comparatively little medical research.  It arises specifically in sectors with
high population density and low efficiency.

Recently  archaeologists  have uncovered a treatise by a Dr. M. Welby entitled

                               Concept : Plague

Demographic considerations and the Empire Plague.  In part it states:

It appeared that our original hypothesis
based on the high percentage of Lumbagan Legionnaires
among the afflicted had led us down a blind alley
and that if we were to solve this complex puzzle
before the end of the series in the spring
a reference to the series of tests
leading to the mysterious Neilson Rating
we would have to turn to other disciplines for help.
It was only by the merest lucky coincidence
that as I drove home one evening ...
Dr. Welby relates an amusing anecdote
about a Brownie Scout and the director of a film
entitled Close Encounters of the Third Grade ...
leading us to the following amazing formulation
of the relationship between medical research,
technology, population, standard of living and the Empire Plague:

                               Concept : Plague

   likelihood    civ + mil + uw     t_level + (iron + oil) / 10 + 100
       of     =  --------------  *  ---------------------------------
     plague            999            r_level + effic + mobil + 100

Later formulations of this relationship show great similarity to his statement
(see info innards).

Many  researchers have commented on the surprising lack of correlation between
food supply and plague outbreak.

Fortunately the plague is not infectious during the gestation  stage  so  that
the most effective method for curing plague has been to isolate it by emptying
adjoining sectors during the gestation period.

See also : innards, research, sector-types, technology

