What IS Geostigma?

[Channy]

Yes yes I know it's a disease that came about from the repercussions of Holy/Lifestream clashing with Meteor, but that's not what I'm asking. What sort of disease is it? What does it do? How does it affect people? Old AC showed us glimpses of Geostigma as this black smudge on people's body parts. After watching Case of Denzel, it's more thoroughly displayed as a liquidy like substance that sort of melts the affecting area. It's most obviously contracted by either being in the line of fire during the Holy/Meteor event, or by coming into physical contact with someone affected.

Now with that elaborated so people know what I already know about it what I'm asking is.... Is it more of a flesh eating disease? It doesn't really eat... skin it sort of degenerates them into a black liquid and from there, what happens? Most people don't die right away, but for some reason

Spoiler

the big hairy guy in CoD died fairly quickly, as well as that old woman who was taking care of him

. In AC Denzel sort of has a mild case of it, but doesn't seem all that sick compared to the other civilians who are lying in the street passing out.

What does it do?! Does it eat flesh, or melt flesh, has it been stated anywhere that it does stuff internally?

 

[Dark and Divine]

Geostigma is caused by the body's imunity system overworking itself by trying to purge Jenova cells.

That overworking causes the balck spots in the sufferer's skin.

As the imunity system overworked itself, i guess people would start to weaken gradually until an eventual death. Maybe a person's inner Lifestream is gradually corrupted by Jenova cells. When that Lifestream is completely corruped, a person dies.

I'm not sure about the black pus, but maybe is the result of the body trying to pruge J-cells out of it.

 

[BOEG]

Yeah, the pus issue could be explained by the fact that the body excretes over 70 % of its waste (or some high number) through the skin. That's why we sweat, and that's why it smells offensive. The pus is probably a result of the body trying to expel the Stigma in portions through the skin of the infected spot, and the Stigma instead sticking and clogging the pores, leading to bruising, oozing, and further infection.

To further, I guess eventually the buildup would get so bad that the toxins would literally spill out of anywhere and everywhere (See: Geo-Dude in the alley). At that point, the infected would be close to death from infection anyway, so the pus would be the after-effect, not the killer.

 

[Masamune]

Sephiroth's influence within the cells attacks the host, putting the immune system on red alert. But all that does is exhaust the body and kill the host; their tainted spirit energy is then incorporated into the Neg Lifestream.

 

[Super Mario]

Basically, it's skin disease, skin cancer and AIDs fitted into one and slowly kills you.

 

[Channy]

Ahh, all very informative, thank you. Another question comes to mind then.

You're mentioning Jenova cells... from where did the Jenova cells come from? Were there Jenova cells on Meteor when it crashed into Holy? Cause we don't necessarily see Sephiroth come into contact with the disease or the people itself. How did the Jenova cells get into the body, when people were confronted with a bring green light of the Lifestream/Holy/Meteor?

 

[Tetsujin]

The cells were in the Lifestream. Remains of Jenova fell into it when Ckoud etc defeated her in the crater and then there's also the Seph copies that fell into it.

When the Lifestream then burst out of the earth to fight back Meteor, the cells were also spread across the globe.

 

[Munatik]

So, I guess it's essentially extreme inflammation, with a side of necrosis. We'll need to run a series of visual tests on ACC to confirm.

Where's House when we need him?

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Computer generated aids.

 

[BloodyCloud]

Ok, one question remains answered...by what I've read in this thread. Is Geostimga contagious or not and by which means? Direct Lifestream exposure? Direct contact with a person who has Geostigma? Or that the person just happens to contract the stigma somehow?

The reason I'm asking is because Denzel contracts Geostimga through either touching the lady who had the Geostigma or because he had direct exposure to the Lifestream when it bursts out of the ground.

In the case of Yuffie, it appears to be that the Geostigma isn't contagious because although everyone who had the Geostigma first (in Wutai) was quarantined, people still kept getting sick. But then again, after her friend Yuri came from back from Midgar, his mother got sick.

Also, did Cloud contract the Geostigma from Denzel or just from the fact that he had Jenova cells injected into him...or cause he fell into the Lifestream? Tifa also fell into the Lifestream but didn't get the Geostigma.

Personally I think it's contagious and maybe some people just may the immunity that saves them from the Geostigma (like Tifa, Yuffie, Marlene, Barret). I just looking for a solid answer though. Thanks.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Geostigma isn't contagious. Denzel never contracted Geostigma from touching Ruvie or the boy. He got it from the exposure to the Lifestream.

They say in every On the Way to a Smile story Geostigma isn't contagious. You don't catch it from other people. Cloud didn't contract Geostigma from Denzel either. They even talk about how its just rumor, regarding Geostigma's contagious nature.

You only get it from exposure to corrupted lifestream.

 

[ForceStealer]

/you already had Jenova cells before Meteorfall (i.e. how Cloud got it)

 

[Makoeyes987]

I really want to know what people were actually drinking water that had been contaminated with the negative lifestream. I mean that's just fucking hilarious and stupid. Just drinking up Sephiroth's ethereal, spiritual spooge. Real smart.

 

[Dark and Divine]

Maybe people didn't notice, at leat in the Wutai case, since, apparently, whenever an earthquake would occur, the water's taste would change.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Don't you notice the BLACK in the water? I mean, really

It's like taking a chunk of Jenova and just putting it between two slices of bread and having lunch.

 

[Max Payne]

I don't think it was easily noticeable. It was probably very small bits in the water that were hardly noticeable and dismissed as dirt or some shit in the water.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Do you drink water with dirt in it?

Still seems really sad and stupid.

...But now I am wondering what Jenova would taste like? I imagine it'd be something akin to raw, slightly spoiled fish.

 

[Dark and Divine]

I bet she would taste like chicken!

 

[BloodyCloud]

Thanks for clearing that up for me.

 

[Makoeyes987]

No problem ^^

 

[Max Payne]

Do you drink water with dirt in it?

Still seems really sad and stupid.

...But now I am wondering what Jenova would taste like? I imagine it'd be something akin to raw, slightly spoiled fish.

They're poor people in a broken down world. I'm sure some of them had no choice.

 

[Makoeyes987]

They're poor people in a broken down world. I'm sure some of them had no choice.

I'd rather eat dirt than drink dirty water.

 

[Max Payne]

You'd be surprised what you'd do if you had to, in order to survive.

 

[Smaddy]

It's like taking a chunk of Jenova and just putting it between two slices of bread and having lunch.

"My bologna has a first name, it's J-E-N-O-V-A~!"
"Comes in three delicious flavors: Death, Birth, and Synthesis!"

I thought you got Geostigma from exposure to the Lifestream. Midgar seems to be a source for it, although if that were the case, a lot more people would be infected.

 

[Dawnbreaker]

I can see how Cloud got infected, but why Denzel?