Las Plagas
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Las Plagas (from Spanish, meaning The Plagues) are a fictional breed of parasitic organisms and the central focus of Resident Evil 4's storyline.
Unlike the T-Virus, which turns its victims into mindless zombies, the hosts of Las Plagas (such as the Ganados) retain their intelligence and are capable of following complex instructions and working collectively to pursue their target. This makes them considerably more dangerous than the viral weapons, since they are more insidious and organized.
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[edit] History
Las Plagas were first discovered by a religious group in Europe known as "Los Iluminados" in an unknown region of Spain. The cult used Las Plagas as a mean of recruiting new members. However, the first castellan of the Salazar family opposed the cult and sealed off access to the parasites under his castle.
Centuries later, Osmund Saddler, the new leader of Los Illuminados, brainwashed Ramon Salazar, the eighth Salazar castellan, into joining Los Illuminados and opening the seal that concealed Las Plagas. The two hired the local villagers to excavate the tunnels beneath the castle.
Due to years of concealment, Las Plagas fossilized in the rock below Salazar's castle. However, Las Plagas were still alive at the microscopic level as spores within the fossils. The miners excavating the site accidentally inhaled the spores, which grew into full-fledged Plagas parasites within their bodies. Saddler cultivated the spores, growing them into eggs, and then injected his followers.
Albert Wesker, who is now apparently dedicated to rebuilding the Umbrella Corporation, had sent Jack Krauser to earn Saddler's trust enough to secure a sample of Las Plagas, but Saddler would not allow him that much free reign. He subsequently sent Ada Wong to complete the mission. She used Leon's presence to cover her own, secured five samples of Las Plagas, and gave them to her true employer, an unnamed organization, instead of Wesker.
[edit] Characteristics
Las Plagas is a type of parasite that alters its host's behaviour by attaching itself internally to the central nervous system. The undeveloped parasite is found between the lungs, beneath the heart, where it can tap into the host's spinal cord. Unlike other parasites, Las Plagas are social organisms, meaning that they work together for survival. Luis Sera postulates that they have a collective intelligence. It is also believed that the parasites can communicate with each other through a unique ultrasonic wave frequency, although this is purely hypothetical. Nevertheless, the Ganados appeared to be under the influence of Saddler, who carried a staff that seemed to be a large Plaga. The loyalty of a parasite depends on the host.
Besides influencing the actions of those they infect, infestation has several distinct symptoms. These include, but are not limited to: coughing up blood, convulsions, sudden unconsciousness, hallucinations or nightmares, veins and arteries show throughout skin and discoloration of the iris – usually to a reddish color.
The parasites also have a high adaptability rate, as they can possess other kinds of organisms besides humans (Ramon Salazar uses infested wolves as guard dogs in his castle). In addition to the Ganados, Saddler and his men also performed genetic experiments with the parasites and human specimens, producing El Gigante, Regenerators, Verdugos, and the U3. Novistadors are not infected with parasites, they are loyal to Salazar however.
All of the members of Los Illuminados, including Saddler himself, are hosts to Las Plagas. Saddler, Salazar, and Bitores Mendez, the village chief, host "queen Plagas," which act in concert with their hosts, allowing them to control the actions of the lesser parasites.
Except for manifesting when the host body experiences sufficient trauma, Las Plagas have no true mutagenic effect on the host's body. While Las Plagas infecting the Ganados and Colmillos can manifest and mutilate the body of their host, they do not actually induce any significant mutation or physiological change, like Umbrella's myriad viruses do (although certain feats by enemies in the game suggest that the parasites do increase the host's strength.) Other creatures, like the Novistadors and Garradors, do exhibit mutation, but this is the result of actual genetic manipulation, not an effect of casual infection. However, it is the fact that victims exhibit no outward signs of infestation, besides reddish-discolored irises, and the fact that their actions can be coordinated, which makes Las Plagas a very dangerous threat, since it is much more subtle and invasive than Umbrella's viruses.
Intriguingly, the most basic trait of Las Plagas - the ability of the parasite to exert influence over its host - is not unknown in reality. A memo written by Luis Sera gives three examples, Dicrocoelium dendriticum (which can alter its host's circadian rhythm), Galactosomum and Leucochloridium.
[edit] Countermeasures
If a person has been infested with the parasite, then it can still be neutralized with medication before the egg hatches. However, once Las Plagas has hatched, then the only way to get rid of the parasite is by undergoing a special kind of radiation treatment (specialized medication can be used to suppress growth of the parasites until then). This extremely painful procedure has the possibility of impairing the host's consciousness, and may kill the host if the Plaga has already matured into adulthood.
Luis Sera, a researcher who betrayed Saddler, built an operating machine - the Plaga Removal Laser - which produced this kind of radiation (in the PS2 version of the game a man-portable version of this device is available as a secret weapon) after extensive research regarding how Las Plagas might be removed.
Las Plagas are also very vulnerable to bright lights. They will only emerge from their hosts at night, and sudden exposure to very bright light causes the parasite to explode; flash grenades will instantly kill them.
