Historical Divergence Point

In 1871 the Paris Commune came into power after the fall of Napoleon III’s empire. Instead of lasting only a few weeks, this Commune managed to survive the following siege and spread its influence nationally, developing more of a socialist democracy over the course of the next 7 years.

The Memorial System

The memorial system is the third level of the immune system. Whereas the adaptive and innate immune systems deal with memories of pathogens, the memorial system encompasses the memory of the entire individual to the cellular level, with a higher presentation in the central nervous system, This system also exists between individuals, creating a local network that includes any organism with innate and adaptive immune systems (chordates). Magic is the manipulation of this network, on an individual or more systemic level. The memorial system provides defense against many magical pathogens that may affect memory or normal body plan and function, though there are viruses capable of breaching this defense and causing large-scale changes to the host.

Though many people are aware to some degree that magic exists, they are often unwilling to believe the extent to which it might affect their lives. And the cultural blend of superstition and reality only muddies perceptions further. Many people may attend a séance, but few ever actually see a ghost appear in front of them.

Lycanthropy

Lycanthropy is caused by a magical virus transmitted through a bite on the full moon, and despite the name carries no actual wolf genetic material. Typically a period of flu-like illness occurs afterwards, and then a transitional period of about 6 months during which transformations on the full moon become increasingly drastic. At the end of this period the form changes stabilize and typically symptoms do not change. These shifts are characterized by an energy demand far beyond what is normally possible, causing the transformed werewolf to fixate on hunting and consuming prey.

Different strains of the lycanthropy virus can cause differences in symptom sets, such as a permanent change to color vision, or variation in the length of the transitional period after infection.

Vampirism

Vampirism, similar to lycanthropy, is caused directly by a virus, though coinfection with a secondary pathogen is required for long term survival. Aging ceases immediately, and a new set of teeth begins to grow within the first 6 months, after which a new set grows in every 50 years or so. These new sets of teeth include modifications to the canines to allow easier puncturing of the victim’s skin; and the saliva takes on sedative and anesthetic effects to aid hunting. The digestive system becomes intolerant of most material that is not blood, though some red meats may only cause mild reactions, and plants of the Allium genus cause especially violent reactions. Similarly, exposure to sunlight causes rapid and drastic inflammation, damaging the skin within minutes. Exposure longer than an hour is typically fatal.

Again, similar to the virus that causes lycanthropy, different strains of the virus exist and cause variation in symptoms such as digestive sensitivity to Allium plants or saliva efficacy on prey.

Ghosts

Undead organisms are facultative ectoparasites that “survive” by latching onto the local memorial system network, manifesting from dead organisms. Ghosts are more likely to form after violent deaths. Recent and complex dead organisms are able to manifest with more clarity, some of them capable of manipulating physical objects. Typical ghosts appear as dim forms of the individual with moderately more visible central nervous systems.

Haunting of individuals is more common than objects. Haunting symptoms include fatigue, persistent headaches, nightmares, and brain fog. Ghosts can also possess individuals by overwriting the host memorial system with their own, which is more likely to happen after chronic haunting. Symptoms include encephalitis, though long term possession may lead to a reduction in that inflammation, and other neurological issues as memories between the host and parasite bleed together. Though it is technically possible for cross-species possession it is atypical. Additionaly, ghosts may cause allergic reactions to occur in certain individuals, as their memorial system rejects the foreign presence. Symptoms typically include moderate respiratory inflammation, mild fevers, and headaches.

Witches

A fatal neurodegenerative disorder, those with the mutation to allow magic ability rarely live beyond the age of 60. Typically abilities begin to manifest during early adulthood, most commonly in the witch’s early to mid 20s. There are two main types of expression: memory based and physical based, though witches can often manifest abilities of both types. Memory magic has to do with the ability to sense and sometimes summon ghosts, as well as altering and reading the memories of living organisms. Physical magic tends to be more straightforward, though it has the tendency to cause more fatalities, and involves the transformation of living organisms.

As neurodegeneration progresses, abilities are able to affect organisms at a greater distance, and the link between personal perception and ease of changing reality becomes stronger. Loved ones, and others with close personal ties to the magic individual, are typically affected first. Personality changes are not uncommon, as the witch remaps their memories to fit their perception of the individual. Symptoms affecting the witch begin to grow more severe, with memory loss and other neurological issues presenting similarly to Alzheimer’s or other related pathologies.

Memory Flu

Memory flu is caused by a viral infection, and cases are rarely severe. Symptoms normally include a fever, headache, respiratory distress, and memory bleed from previous hosts of the disease. Typically the memories that bleed are those important to the originator, such as weddings, graduations, birthday celebrations, funerals, or traumatic incidents. Memory bleed is strongest from the people directly infecting the current host, and weakest from the host furthest in the past. This means stronger, non-native memories caused by the disease may often be dismissed as simply misremembered, and older memories as are commonly disregarded as fever dreams. Though the flu is almost never fatal, it does cause permanent alteration to the infected individual’s memories which can be fairly disorienting. Many strains exist, each carrying a varying continuation of memories.