Gats (Planet)

Life on Gats would be pretty normal for a TL4 world if it weren't for its strangest feature. Although it isn't really a feature of the planet, so much as life on it. Gats is home to a series of "viral tics".

The viral tics take on many forms and affect many people in different ways, although they all usually involve some form of muscle spasm. How exactly the tics spread from person to person is unknown, but those without tics, when left in isolation, do not develop them until they come into contact with other forms of life that exhibit a tic. The tics have been found in all forms of wildlife on Gats, expressed in numerous forms.

Tics vary in nature, some can be as simple as excessive blinking or muscle spasms, but some can be far more intricate and complex, seeming to almost bridge the gap to high level behaviors. Some of them cause those "infected" by the tics to hurt themselves or others, although such tics are rare, they often can spread quickly, wiping out most civilization and life on Gats, only for it to begin anew.

It is known that the tics are not caused by any form of virus or bacterial infection, and they are widely believed to be psionic in nature, or caused by something specific to Gats, as they still effect people who have left Gats's surface, but no longer spread to others.