Ectocontamination

Ectocontamination is defined as the "fusion" between organic materials and ectoplasm. Generally, ectocontamination occurs due to prolonged contact, but there may be other causes, including forced ectocontamination.

Etiology

Ectocontamination in humans manifests itself in the form of a prolonged syndrome, which depending on the resistance of the subject's body can develop different symptoms.

Ectoplasm does not normally tend towards a natural connection with living tissues, being the solidification on the material plane of the body of spirits, and therefore being connected to them; however, there is some non-encoded ectoplasm (not part of a living spirit, long incapable of self-replicating and without information within it), usually leftovers from the meals of large spirits or simply material detached from the original creature through fault of mechanical damage: it is this non-codified ectoplasm that can "attach" to the bodies of living beings, accumulating in them and modifying their characteristics. In low-density tissues (such as adipose tissue), ectoplasm can accumulate in large quantities more easily, saturating the space between cells, while it is more difficult for it to accumulate in bones and cartilage. The brain (and in general the entire area inside the skull and filled with cerebrospinal fluid) is particularly sensitive to the accumulation of ectoplasm.

Ectocontamination is not contagious and only affects living beings that have been directly exposed to non-coded ectoplasm for a long time. Typically, it takes three to seven years to start showing symptoms of ectocontamination.

(So, yeah, this is the case for the Fenton family!)

Clinic

The exposure period necessary to develop ectocontamination varies from 3 to 7 years, provided that the amount of ectoplasm with which the body comes into contact exceeds an individual's natural tolerance threshold.

The tolerance threshold is different from person to person, and varies from a few micrograms per day up to almost half a kilo of ectoplasm. The most sensitive individuals develop the symptoms of ectocontamination just by regularly touching spirits with bare skin, absorbing the ectoplasm that these creatures sometimes lose naturally; however, this is an extremely rare occurrence: such sensitivity affects less than 0.3% of the population.

The syndrome normally begins with a maculopapular skin rash, accompanied by moderate fever, itching, general malaise, sometimes with headache, asthenia, loss of appetite. The main characteristic of the skin picture is the complete asynchrony of the lesions. In fact, several lesions are often found in various developmental stages, identifying the so-called "starry sky effect".

Although this is the most common onset of symptoms, they are not always present: sometimes contaminated people never develop a skin rash, itching or fever.

After the first phase of ectocontamination, the one in which effects similar to a skin disease are visible, the body seems to recover from the latter, but begins to show a series of symptoms that are often defined as "supernatural".

Signs and symptoms

An adult ectocontaminated individual, in whom ectoplasm has become established within the body, will exhibit a variety of symptoms unique to the individual, which may include:

• Superior physical strength: the presence of ectoplasm between the fibers increases its performance, two to seven times compared to that of a normal human being. The density of the muscle, thanks to the infracellular presence of the ectoplasmic material, appears to be much higher than the occupied mass.
• Obsession: due to the neo-coding (or para-coding) of the ectoplasm, which interacts directly with the nervous system of the host body, the ectocontaminated individual develops a typical characteristic of lemurs and other spirits, namely specific obsession or "purpose". The obsession becomes the first and most important thought of the individual, who focuses on it and tends to get bored easily when the topic is not being talked about. Humans with superior willpower can tone down this symptom, but the thought of obsession still remains with them always.
• Resistance to Spirit Possession: Since the body of ectocontaminated individuals is already partially saturated with ectoplasm, it is much more difficult for a spirit to possess it.
• Resistance to Mind Control: The brains of ectocontaminated people are modified by neo-coding and often work synergically with ectoplasm; Because of this, a normal psychic attack cannot hit him, because it targets a normal human brain, which has completely different neural connections.
• Sensitivity to light: The retina of ectocontaminated individuals is particularly sensitive to sunlight. Often, these individuals wear sunglasses (or other protective devices) even when they are inside buildings. If their eyes are subjected to sunlight during the brightest hours of the day, ectocontaminated people tend to behave in a confused manner, like nocturnal animals awakened by a headlight. Although it is less common, it is possible to develop a skin sensitivity to light, which leads the person to cover themselves completely, from the neck to the shoes.
• Depigmentation: The skin, mucous membranes and irises of an ectocontaminated individual may lose melanin, leaving the individual with a "ghostly" and washed-out appearance. This can unfortunately lead to a number of medical complications, such as reduced visual acuity.