The Clockwork

The Clockwork is a Hazardous contagion, class 1a. It must be destroyed as soon as possible.

Location
One clockwork section is stored in Hazard Zone One, in a concrete sphere 5m in diameter, buried 500m underground with four neutron bombs adjacent. The surrounding ground will be permanently saturated with salt water, and contained within another concrete sphere 100m in diameter.

Attributes
Any sample of The Clockwork is contagious. It is composed of tiny cogs, gears and other such units, aligned in a way to replicate the host's functions.

If an animal comes into contact with the contagion, it begins to convert slowly into it, natural elements being replaced by copper, tin, and so on. These develop initially within the host, replacing the internal organs in a way that prevents the infection from being noticed.

Depending on the host, the Clockwork can take from three hours to one month to begin converting the exterior. The brain is usually one of the last organs to be replaced.

Organisms which are fully converted have no intelligence, acting only on memories converted to rough programming. They also develop an urge to infect others.