Hate Plague — Concepts — Encyclopedia Galactica

"Death was a virus. For a long time it had slept, surrounded by the special cells of an active-passive tissue. Only a specific radiation frequency had awakened it, had caused the protective tissue to detach, had allowed the tiny organism to become active."
-- Opening narration, Booklet 047

"Death had many names. One of them was Hate Plague..."
-- Booklet 047

The Hate Plague (German: Hasseuche, also Hassplage or Hasspest) is a genetically engineered biological weapon -- a virus designed to induce uncontrollable hatred, psychotic rage, and madness in its victims. Developed at the Kaiser Secret Station on the prison planet Sarym and deployed against the Terranauts between approximately 2501 and 2536 A.D., the Hate Plague represents one of the most devastating weapons ever used by Max von Valdec and the Council of Corporations in their war against the Driver resistance. Across six booklets (044-050), its creation, unleashing, and eventual cure form the central crisis of the mid-saga arc, testing the Terranauts to the breaking point and killing at least two dozen people before an antidote is finally secured.

The Hate Plague is significant not only as a weapon but as a moral statement within the saga: it is a tool of biological warfare that exploits the Terranauts' own courage and loyalty to deliver death to their doorstep.

Description

Physical Characteristics

Under electron microscopy, the Hate Plague virus appears as a five-pointed star -- a distinctive stellate shape that distinguishes it from any natural pathogen. It is extraordinarily small, capable of evading all standard bio-detectors and bacteriological alarms. The virus passes through spacecraft air filtration and reprocessing systems without triggering any warning. It is described as "tough, far too tough to be stopped by such obstacles" (Booklet 047).

The virus is classified as a strain from the Omega series -- a specialized line of engineered pathogens developed at Hermano Lotz's research station on Sarym (Booklet 044).

Protective Envelope: Active-Passive Cells

The virus is encased in a layer of Active-Passive Cells (Aktiv-Passiv-Zellen) -- a specialized protective tissue that renders it nearly invulnerable. These cells absorb energy directed at them, making the virus resistant to conventional sterilization, antibiotics, and immune system responses. The defensive bodies of any carbon-based organism cannot recognize the encapsulated virus as a foreign body and are therefore unable to attack it (Booklet 047).

The Active-Passive Cells dissolve only when exposed to temperatures above one thousand degrees -- a threshold that obviously cannot be applied to living hosts. This extreme resilience is what makes the Hate Plague so difficult to treat: the virus is effectively invisible to both technology and biology.

Trigger Mechanism

The Hate Plague was engineered with a specific activation trigger: it remains dormant within the carrier's body until the carrier comes into contact with the PSI and cellular oscillation frequency of the Riemenmann Llewellyn 709, also known as Mar-Estos. Hermano Lotz programmed the virus to respond to Llewellyn's unique psionic signature, reasoning that the Terranauts would inevitably return to their comrades -- and to Llewellyn -- upon reaching their base at Rorqual (Booklet 044).

This trigger design was deliberate: a time-based activation was rejected because the distance to Rorqual was unknown, and premature activation would have revealed the scheme before the carriers reached their target. The PSI-signature trigger guaranteed that the virus would activate precisely when it could cause maximum damage -- in the heart of the Terranaut stronghold (Booklet 044).

Once activated by Llewellyn's PSI frequency, the Active-Passive tissue detaches, and the virus begins explosive division and reproduction. It is carried by air molecules, seized by spacecraft climate systems, and spreads through every compartment of an enclosed environment within hours. On open planetary surfaces, wind and atmospheric currents carry it across entire continents (Booklets 046, 047).

Symptoms and Progression

The Hate Plague operates in surges (Schube) -- cyclical waves of escalating psychotic symptoms interspersed with brief periods of exhausted lucidity. The progression follows a recognizable pattern:

Initial infection: The virus enters the bloodstream and begins multiplying. Victims may not immediately realize they are infected.

Early surges: Victims experience waves of irrational hatred and violent rage. During these episodes, infected individuals attack anyone nearby, lash out with physical violence, and -- in the case of Drivers -- may involuntarily discharge their PSI abilities with devastating, uncontrolled force. Between surges, victims experience feverish exhaustion, parched mouths, and racing heartbeats.

Advanced stage: The surges intensify. Victims experience vivid hallucinations -- horrifying visions so powerful that they produce psychosomatic effects, including phantom pain, bleeding, and physical injuries. Claude Farrell, one of the most dramatically affected victims, experienced hallucinations so intense that he believed he was dying (Booklet 049).

Final stage: The virus enters what Cosmoral Fay Gray describes as its "final stage," after which even the antidote will be of no further use. In this phase, the surges of hatred become nearly continuous, and the victim's body begins to fail. Victims lie in agony, their minds consumed entirely by rage, unable to distinguish reality from viral-induced psychosis. Death follows if the antidote is not administered in time (Booklet 049).

The former Gray Guard Mandorla, who understands the plague's mechanics, warns Asen-Ger that during active surges, infected individuals must separate from one another to prevent the cascading amplification of PSI-driven violence (Booklet 049).

Interaction with PSI Abilities

The Hate Plague has a particularly devastating interaction with Driver abilities. Infected Drivers do not merely experience rage -- they project it psionically, turning their minds into weapons that amplify the violence around them. On Rorqual, infected Drivers "lashed out blindly with their PSI abilities," causing widespread destruction to the planet's landscape and structures. The combination of viral rage and uncontrolled psionic discharge makes infected Drivers extraordinarily dangerous to everyone in their vicinity (Booklet 049).

Cross-Species Infection

The virus is not limited to humans. On the icy planet Quostan, the Hate Plague infects the native Ice Devils -- gentle, harmless creatures who are transformed into violent aggressors by the virus. This cross-species transmission demonstrates that the Hate Plague can affect any carbon-based organism, raising the specter of a galaxy-wide epidemic if the virus is not contained (Booklet 046).

Reaction to MEL Antibiotics

The virus exhibits a "strange reaction" to MEL Antibiotics. When exposed to MEL antibiotics under laboratory conditions, the five-pointed star begins to tremble and changes color from greenish to reddish hues. The virus then becomes agitated, and -- rather than being destroyed -- it begins to divide and reproduce in response to the antibiotic. This makes conventional antibiotic treatment not merely ineffective but actively counterproductive (Booklet 047).

Immunity

Two individuals prove to be immune to the Hate Plague: Lyda Mar and Llewellyn 709. Their immunity is likely connected to their extraordinary psionic natures -- Lyda's transformation into a Mediator through her integration with the PSI-aura of the Maritime Coral City, and Llewellyn's status as a Riemenmann whose PSI signature ironically serves as the virus's trigger but does not make him susceptible to its effects. Throughout the crisis aboard the CYGNI, the two immune Terranauts maintain control of the ship and coordinate efforts to find the antidote (Booklet 047).

Valhala 13, despite being a Riemenmann bred as Llewellyn's genetic double, is **not immune**. He is fully consumed by the Hate Plague in Booklet 048, demonstrating that immunity is not a simple function of Riemenmann physiology but is connected to specific individual qualities.

History

Creation (c. 2501)

The Hate Plague was developed at the Kaiser Secret Station on Sarym under the direction of Hermano Lotz, the station's commander. However, the saga reveals a critical irony: the idea to create the virus may not have originated with Lotz at all. The genetically engineered super-Driver Prometheus 93, one of the test subjects imprisoned at Lotz's own facility under the Alpha-Order program, secretly manipulated Lotz's mind and planted the virus scheme. Prometheus intended the plan to serve both parties: it would give Lotz a weapon to offer Max von Valdec, satisfying Valdec's demand for results, while simultaneously diverting attention from the super-Drivers' growing autonomy and preventing a premature confrontation with Valdec (Booklet 043).

Lotz, believing the plan to be his own brilliant invention, selected a virus strain from the Omega series and programmed it to respond to Llewellyn 709's PSI and cellular oscillation frequency. He filled an injection pistol with the specially engineered strain and prepared to infect the captured Terranauts (Booklet 044).

Infection of the Carriers (c. 2501)

Lotz's targets were three captured Terranauts held at his station: Lyda Mar, Ennerk Prime, and Onnegart Vangralen. All three had been captured on Sarym after a sabotage mission on Naria led to their exile to the prison planet. They had been subjected to psycho-interrogation to reveal the location of Rorqual, but the interrogation yielded nothing (Booklets 040-043).

Lotz injected the three prisoners with the virus while they were unconscious during one of their interrogation sessions. The virus settled into their bodies in its dormant state, encased in Active-Passive Cells, undetectable by any medical scanner or biological defense (Booklet 044).

The Staged Prison Break (c. 2501)

To ensure the virus reached Rorqual, Lotz orchestrated a staged prison break -- one of the saga's most coldly effective villain schemes. Working with his cyborg assistant Dor Masali, he arranged conditions that would allow the Terranauts to fight their way out of the station, making the escape appear genuine and hard-won. The breakout was brutal: guards and prisoners were killed in the fighting, and -- most devastatingly -- Damon Credock, Lyda Mar's partner and the father of her unborn child Aura Damona Mar, was killed during the escape (Booklet 044).

Credock's death was the cruelest element of the scheme. By ensuring that the escape cost real lives and real grief, Lotz guaranteed that the surviving Terranauts would never suspect they were being deliberately released. Their courage and sacrifice became the delivery mechanism for the weapon aimed at their own people.

The survivors -- Lyda Mar, Ennerk Prime, and Onnegart Vangralen -- commandeered a Ringo shuttle, evaded a pursuing vessel from OUTPOST by hiding in an asteroid field, and contacted the Seeker-controlled courier ship BERLIN, which carried them through Space II toward Rorqual. Lotz reported the success of his operation to Max von Valdec, who approved and anticipated the Terranauts' imminent surrender once the virus activated (Booklet 044).

Activation on Rorqual and Quostan (c. 2501)

When the three carriers returned to Rorqual aboard the BERLIN, navigating through a Black Hole gateway, the virus activated upon contact with Llewellyn 709's PSI presence. The Active-Passive Cells detached, and the Hate Plague began its explosive spread through the Terranaut base (Booklet 046).

Simultaneously, on the icy planet Quostan -- where Ruben Carcones and Llewellyn 709 (the real one, recently freed from Queen Ishiya's captivity) were present -- the virus also activated, carried by the psionic shockwave of Llewellyn's proximity. The plague spread across Quostan's surface, infecting the native Ice Devils and transforming them from gentle creatures into violent aggressors (Booklet 046).

The Terranauts aboard the CYGNI -- which had been at Quostan to rescue Llewellyn -- realized the terrible truth: they had been weaponized. Their escape from Sarym had been a trap, and their bodies had served as delivery systems for a galaxy-threatening bioweapon (Booklet 046).

The Crisis Aboard the CYGNI (Booklet 047)

With the Hate Plague spreading aboard the CYGNI, the situation deteriorated rapidly. Lyda Mar and Llewellyn 709, the only immune individuals, struggled to maintain control of the ship while their crewmates succumbed to surges of psychotic rage. Claude Farrell and Ruben Carcones, both infected, fought to retain their sanity during lucid intervals.

Meanwhile, Queen Ishiya and her Gray Guard prisoners escaped their confinement and attempted to seize control of the CYGNI, intending to deliver Valhala 13 -- the Riemenmann doppelganger held in deep sleep -- to Max von Valdec on Earth. Farrell and Carcones, despite their infection, intervened and stopped Ishiya from awakening Valhala in a tense confrontation in the deep-sleep chambers (Booklet 047).

The ship's physicians, Janyne Valanth and Karmah Madras (both trained on Aqua), attempted to study the virus. They isolated larger cultures and identified the five-pointed star shape under electron microscopy. They discovered the Active-Passive Cell envelope and its energy-absorbing properties, confirmed that conventional antibiotics were useless (and that MEL Antibiotics actually stimulated viral reproduction), and established that only extreme heat above 1,000 degrees could destroy the protective tissue. They were unable to develop a cure (Booklet 047).

As the CYGNI approached Earth, Llewellyn 709 contacted Max von Valdec, offering to exchange the captured Gray Guards -- including Queen Ishiya -- for the antidote. Valdec refused, demanding unconditional surrender. He understood that the Hate Plague was his most powerful leverage: with the Terranauts' people dying, time was on his side. Cosmoral Fay Gray noted that "in a few days the hate plague will enter its final stage, and then even the antidote will be of no further use to them" (Booklet 049).

The CYGNI was attacked by Gray Guard space fighters and forced to flee into Space II, eventually emerging near Rorqual. When David terGorden and Narda approached the CYGNI in a Ringo to investigate, a Gray Guard loyal to Ishiya launched a plague-infected Ringo toward Rorqual in an attempt to spread the virus to the planet's general population. Lyda Mar and Llewellyn 709 destroyed the infected Ringo before it could reach the surface (Booklet 047).

The Ravaging of Rorqual (Booklets 047-049)

On Rorqual itself, the Hate Plague was already causing catastrophic damage. Asen-Ger, the founder of the Terranauts and Lodge Master, was among the infected. He experienced agonizing cycles of feverish lucidity and uncontrollable rage. Between surges, he found destruction everywhere: the defensive positions around "David's Burg" (David's Castle) had been smoldered, and infected Drivers had "lashed out blindly with their PSI abilities," devastating the landscape and structures (Booklet 049).

The former Gray Guard Mandorla, who had joined the Terranauts, warned Asen-Ger that the infected must separate to reduce the cascading amplification of PSI-driven violence. But she knew, as he did, that "as long as the hate plague raged, they were helpless" (Booklet 049).

At least two dozen Drivers died on Rorqual during the Hate Plague. Their graves were marked with plastic stakes bearing their Triadic Monochord necklaces. One of them, Quarder Jell, was among the Drivers liberated from the Council's punishment planets -- only to die at the hands of a weapon devised by the very regime that had imprisoned him. A non-Driver named Lavski also died, his grave distinguished by the absence of a Triadic Monochord (Booklet 050).

Valhala 13 and the Attempted Spread (Booklet 048)

In the crisis's most dangerous escalation, Valhala 13 -- the Riemenmann doppelganger -- fully awakened aboard the CYGNI. Queen Ishiya forced him to help her land on Rorqual and spread the Hate Plague across the Terranaut stronghold. Unlike the immune Llewellyn 709, Valhala proved vulnerable to the virus and was fully consumed by it, transforming from a reluctant tool into an agent of pure destruction (Booklet 048).

Claude Farrell and Ruben Carcones, both still fighting the plague themselves, attempted to stop Ishiya and Valhala but were captured. Valhala learned of the Terranauts' plan to trap Valdec at a Black Hole and attempted to sabotage it. The crisis was resolved only when David terGorden, Lyda Mar, and Llewellyn 709 -- who had been pulled through a dimensional rift -- combined their efforts to **sacrifice Valhala 13 to close the rift** and prevent a cosmic catastrophe (Booklet 048).

The Antidote (Booklet 049)

Securing the antidote became the Terranauts' single overriding objective. Max von Valdec held the only supply of antiserum in a "special vault" at the Kaiser Headquarters in Berlin, accessible exclusively to the current General Manager. He used this as leverage in a cynical negotiation:

David terGorden offered Valdec an exchange: the forty-nine ships of Valdec's captured fleet in return for the antiserum.
Valdec agreed -- but planned to betray the Terranauts. He revealed that the antidote required his personal presence in Berlin to access the vault.
Claude Farrell, driven to the edge of insanity by the plague, threatened to bomb Berlin from the GARIBALDI if the antidote was not delivered -- a desperate act from a man described throughout the saga as fundamentally decent and loyal.
The sentient Ebberdyk computers, which had seized control of the Gray Guard fleet, issued their own ultimatum: release Patrick Ebberdyk's family and deliver the antidote, or steer the fleet into Earth's core.

Valdec attempted a final betrayal. He ordered Patrick Ebberdyk to deliver six ampules of the antiserum to the BERLIN while simultaneously rigging Ebberdyk's family with an explosive device. The bomb detonated, killing Ebberdyk's family and fusing their consciousnesses with the Ebberdyk computer -- but the antidote delivery succeeded.

The antiserum worked instantaneously: "As soon as it entered the bloodstream, the viruses of the hate plague died off" (Booklet 049). Ennerk Prime and Onnegart Vangralen delivered the antidote to the plague-stricken Claude Farrell and others aboard the GARIBALDI, and the Terranauts arrived on Rorqual with sufficient antiserum to save Asen-Ger and the remaining survivors.

Aboard the GARIBALDI, however, the mutual combat between Queen Ishiya and Ruben Carcones resulted in both their deaths -- the final casualties of the Hate Plague crisis (Booklet 049).

Aftermath (Booklet 050 onward)

The physical aftermath of the Hate Plague was severe. On Rorqual, the devastation was visible everywhere: smoldering ruins, withered plants from the heat period, and the grave mounds of two dozen dead Drivers. Asen-Ger, though cured, bore the marks of his ordeal -- the lines and wrinkles in his face appeared even sharper than before. The Drivers, however, seemed to have "overcome the Hate Plague better than the ordinary people" -- non-Drivers like Morgenstern and Leande remained hospitalized longer (Booklet 050).

David terGorden reflected on the plague's toll with guilt: "If he had reached Rorqual earlier with the antidote..." -- a thought he forced himself to reject, recognizing that responsibility lay with Valdec, not with those who fought to obtain the cure (Booklet 050).

The deeper damage was psychological and strategic. Rorqual was "no longer safe" -- the planet's ecology had been disturbed by the uncontrolled PSI discharges of infected Drivers, and the Terranauts' sense of invulnerability within their hidden sanctuary had been shattered (Booklet 050).

Affected Characters

Carriers (Infected on Sarym, Unwitting Delivery)

Character	Infected	Outcome
Lyda Mar	Booklet 044	Immune -- likely due to her Mediator transformation and PSI-aura integration
Ennerk Prime	Booklet 044	Cured with antidote (Booklet 049)
Onnegart Vangralen	Booklet 044	Cured with antidote (Booklet 049)

Major Victims

Character	Infected	Outcome
Asen-Ger	Booklet 046 (on Rorqual)	Cured with antidote (Booklet 049); severe aftereffects
Claude Farrell	Booklet 046/047 (aboard CYGNI)	Cured with antidote (Booklet 049); threatened to bomb Berlin while delirious
Ruben Carcones	Booklet 046/047 (aboard CYGNI)	Killed in mutual combat with Queen Ishiya (Booklet 049)
Angila Fraim	Booklet 047 (aboard CYGNI/GARIBALDI)	Cured with antidote (Booklet 049)
Sirdina Giccomo	Booklet 047 (aboard CYGNI/GARIBALDI)	Cured with antidote (Booklet 049)
Valhala 13	Booklet 048	Consumed by the virus; sacrificed to close a dimensional rift
Mandorla	Booklet 049 (on Rorqual)	Cured with antidote
Quarder Jell	On Rorqual	Died -- one of ~24 Drivers killed
Lavski	On Rorqual	Died -- non-Driver victim

Immune

Character	Reason
Lyda Mar	Mediator transformation; PSI-aura integration
Llewellyn 709	Riemenmann; his PSI signature serves as the trigger but does not make him susceptible

Non-Human Victims

Species	Location	Notes
Ice Devils	Quostan	Gentle creatures transformed into violent aggressors by the virus (Booklet 046)

Key Figures

Creator

Hermano Lotz -- Commander of the Kaiser Secret Station on Sarym. Developed the virus from the Omega series, programmed its activation trigger, and orchestrated the staged prison break that delivered it to the Terranauts. However, the scheme was planted in his mind by Prometheus 93, making Lotz simultaneously the weapon's architect and its puppet (Booklets 043-044).

Commissioner

Max von Valdec -- Lord Colonel and Council Chairman. Approved Lotz's plan and held the only supply of antiserum as leverage against the Terranauts. Used the plague as a bargaining chip in negotiations, refusing to provide the cure without total surrender (Booklets 044, 047-049).

Medical Researchers

Karmah Madras and Janyne Valanth -- Physicians trained on Aqua who served aboard the CYGNI. They identified the virus's five-pointed star morphology, discovered the Active-Passive Cell protective envelope, tested its resistance to antibiotics and heat, and confirmed the impossibility of developing a shipboard cure (Booklet 047).

Related Technology

Technology	Description
Active-Passive Cells	Specialized protective tissue that encases the virus, absorbing energy and rendering it invisible to biological immune systems and electronic detectors
MEL Antibiotics	Standard antibiotics that have an adverse reaction with the virus, stimulating rather than destroying it
Omega Series	The classified viral strain series from which the Hate Plague was engineered
Antiserum	The sole cure, developed by the Kaiser Corporation and held exclusively at Kaiser Headquarters in Berlin; works instantaneously upon entering the bloodstream

Thematic Significance

The Hate Plague embodies several of Die Terranauten's central themes:

The Weaponization of Trust. The virus's most insidious quality is not its lethality but its delivery mechanism. By turning the Terranauts' own courage and loyalty into the means of their destruction -- using a staged prison break to ensure they carry the weapon home themselves -- Lotz and Valdec exploit the very qualities that define the Terranaut resistance. The heroes' determination to escape and return to their comrades becomes the instrument of those comrades' suffering. This inversion of heroic agency is one of the saga's darkest narrative achievements.

Biological Warfare as Moral Absolute. The Hate Plague is consistently described in terms of moral horror. Even Valdec's own envoy, upon seeing its effects on the Terranauts, is shocked: "What this... hate plague has done to them. It's inhuman." That this reaction comes from one of Valdec's own servants underscores the saga's position that biological warfare represents an absolute moral boundary -- one that Valdec crosses without hesitation (Booklet 049).

The Puppet and the Puppeteer. The revelation that Prometheus 93 planted the virus plan in Hermano Lotz's mind creates a recursive chain of manipulation: the Council creates super-Drivers to serve its purposes; the super-Drivers manipulate their handler into creating a weapon that serves the super-Drivers' purposes; the weapon nearly destroys the resistance that opposes the Council. Every actor in this chain believes they are in control, and none of them fully are. This dynamic illustrates the saga's persistent argument that instruments of control inevitably escape the hands of those who wield them.

The Cost of the Antidote. Securing the cure requires the Terranauts to negotiate with the very tyrant who created the plague -- giving Valdec leverage he would not otherwise possess. The antidote becomes a tool of political extortion, forcing David terGorden to offer the captured fleet in exchange for medicine. That Valdec still attempts betrayal even in this exchange demonstrates that the Hate Plague's political damage extends far beyond its biological effects.

Appearances

#	Title	Role of the Hate Plague
043	Breeding Ground of the Hyperdrive	Prometheus 93 manipulates Hermano Lotz's mind, planting the idea of using a virus against the Terranauts.
044	The Escape Vessel	Lotz infects Lyda Mar, Ennerk Prime, and Onnegart Vangralen with the virus. Orchestrates the staged prison break; Damon Credock is killed. The infected Terranauts escape Sarym, unknowingly carrying the virus toward Rorqual.
046	The Ice Devils	The virus activates upon contact with Llewellyn 709's PSI signature. Spreads on Rorqual and Quostan. Infects the Ice Devils. The Terranauts realize they have been weaponized and decide to seek the antidote on Earth.
047	The Hate Plague	Central focus. The virus spreads aboard the CYGNI. Physicians Madras and Valanth study the virus and fail to find a cure. Queen Ishiya attempts to exploit the crisis. Valdec refuses to provide the antidote. A plague-infected Ringo is launched at Rorqual and destroyed.
048	Narda and the Sky Marshal	Valhala 13 is consumed by the virus. Queen Ishiya forces him to spread the plague on Rorqual. The Terranauts sacrifice Valhala to close a dimensional rift. Valdec reveals the antidote is on Earth.
049	The Computer's Ultimatum	The plague ravages Rorqual and those aboard the GARIBALDI. Farrell threatens to bomb Berlin. Negotiations for the antidote. Valdec attempts betrayal. The antiserum is delivered and works instantaneously. Asen-Ger and others are saved. Queen Ishiya and Ruben Carcones die in mutual combat.
050	World in Turmoil	Aftermath. The cured Terranauts survey the damage: two dozen dead Drivers, devastated landscape, a Rorqual that is "no longer safe."

Later References

The Hate Plague is recalled in later booklets as a defining trauma of the Terranaut movement. In Booklet 097, it is listed among the pivotal events of the saga's history alongside Sarym, Stonehenge II, and the Thingstones. In Booklet 050, Asen-Ger references the Hate Plague when assessing Rorqual's changed conditions, noting that "the conditions during the Hate Plague were far worse" than the current crisis -- a measure of how deeply the experience scarred the Terranaut consciousness.