u/Suspicious_Tap_6806

A.S. No AI was used in creation of this train of thought, thank you very much.

So, here am I, after a bit of surfing and not finding anyone who looks at the Neurax as I do.

So I will just post my thoughts on it here.

The thesis of my theory is that the "dark future as a slave species" line is... not quite true. I would even say that it's a blatant lie.

First, let me lay some ground rules:

1. For the sake of consistency, I will assume that the mutation chance is equal to zero and as such the final arrangement of transmissions, symptoms and abilities is rigid and will therefore change with nornal evolutionary speed for parasites and symbyotes (which is, as far as I am aware, very slow in comparison to other cladae of living beings)
2. I will assume that the Neurax worm is not sentient per se. I will revisit this statement later, but for now we will assume that the only drives that it has come from purely physiological reasons, in particular Sustenance and Reproduction.
3. I will assume that the Neurax has humans as main hosts and any avian species as possible intermediary hosts. In such, I will assume that the worm cannot exercise mind influence on any species other than Homo sapiens
4. I will assume, basing it off the brain studies, that the human brain will become more and more accustomed to new levels of hormones and other factors, building at least some level of tolerance.
5. I will assume the following transmissions, symptoms and abilities for this analysis:

Transmissions:

• Concertina & Undultary Locomotion;
• Air 1-3;
• Water 1-3;
• Eggs 1-2;
• Bird 1-2;
• Insect 1-2;
• Rodent 1-2.

Abilities:

• Cold & Heat Resistance 1-2;
• Environmental Hardening;
• Drug Resistance 1-2;
• Genetic Hardening 1;
• Trojan Planes 1.

Symptoms:

• Neural Breach;
• Cerebral Tendrils;
• Frontal Mesh;
• Occipital Mesh (yes, in-game it is not obtainable without the Perceptive Jolt. But from biological perspective it is not in any way different from the Frontal Mesh);
• Immaturity;
• Mania;
• Aggression;
• Adrenergic Constriction;
• Anxiolytic Infusion;
• Psychosis;
• Adoration;
• Devotion;
• Transcendence.

And here begins the most interesting part. Let's first look at the most popular interpretation of "what happens?". In crude strokes, it goes like this: "The humans are constantly worshiping the Neurax, technology degrades, civilization receedes back to the Dark Ages and all is bad".

But is it so? Let's take a look at the most "disturbing" symptoms and see what exactly are they doing:

1. Immaturity - "Hormone production altered which causes reduction in maturity. Lower levels of hygiene increase infection". Very vague, but I am assuming that the worm is heightening the production of hormones associated with "happiness" and impulsiveness. Also, probably, lesser levels of post-puberty hormones, but this is counteracted with another symptom. The game points only at "reduced levels of hygiene", but if it works as said, the first thing that you will notice is that the people enjoy their lives more. "Immaturity" implies some level of childish, therefore life will seem more bearable, less damning and straining.
2. Mania - "Excess serotonin production triggered. Manic episodes lead to increased contact with others and inability to focus". Frightening at first glance, nothing really special after all. In summary it can be summarized as "when you are happy, you are happy to full". Essentially it turns the notch up to eleven for positive emotions.
3. Aggression - "Hypothalamic tap causes irrational hatred and violence, especially towards authorities and uninfected". Very vague, so here I am theorizing a bit. What it probably does is essentially decrease the "patience gauge" and increase aggression a bit, simultaneously tweaking the social part of the brain to view all infected as part of the "ours". You are less patient, more aggressive, but nothing really major. There are people like this. But the part "towards authorities" will be crucial for later.
4. Psychosis - "Tendrils tweak dopamine receptors, inducing occasional states of psychosis and personality shifts to better accommodate worm". Here it becomes funny. What exactly "to better accommodate worm" even means? In the course of the game or would mean "don't let the cure finish". But after that? It is just "don't die". Neurax doesn't have any specific needs aside from having a host. Therefore, nothing really changes as we, humans, are usually not quite happy with dying either. There's also a net positive - suicide rates will drop drastically.
5. Adoration - "Surges of testosterone and estrogone hijack host emotions and create desire to spread infection". One of the most vague descriptions I've ever seen, great! Well, for the starters, this will lessen the effect of the Immaturity symptom. Second, I assume the theme here is about a heightened libido. Again, nothing really special.
6. Devotion - "Surges of Dopamine and Serotonin compel the host to constantly think about the worm and triggers intense rushes of pleasure". Now we have pleasure from thinking. The "constantly" part is, in fact, misleading. If the dopamin and serotonin are constantly in overdrive, the effect will wear off really quickly. So I assume it's more akin to religious devotion, where people experience positive feelings from praying and thinking about their deity. Again - nothing really special, just a mechanism we already saw.
7. Transcendence - "Overdose of oxytocin and vasopressin forces host into a permanent state of worship / acceptance - treating the Neurax Worm as an eternal god". And again - if it was "constant", the effect would wear off really fast. So I assume it is more of an episodic thing, which, however, greatly impacts life.

So, after all this, it is clear that the consequences should be nothing near on the level of "society crumbles, the world plunges into the dark ages of degradation". In fact, it would be quite beneficial to humanity as a whole:

1. No wars. The worm doesn't need the decimation of the host' species population, especially by themselves. Also, the humans are more happy, they place the division "infected/uninfected" higher than the old divisions of nations and races, and we don't have the same government structure as before.
2. As said - the "government" system is very different. The Aggression symptom, as stated, reduced the patience and heightened the aggression, therefore making people more prone to taking matters in their own hands. The "aggression towards authorities" doesn't mean that people will just tear down everything. It means that people are more suspicious and are ready to react with force if the authority makes something they despise, therefore the governments become objectively better.
3. Everyone has more fulfilling lives. Maybe they didn't change so much objectively, but subjectively they enjoy living more. Also, overall happiness goes very high up - that also helps.
4. A leap in medicine. Longer life of the host is positive for the Neurax, therefore it will encourage medical research.
5. Religious syncretism. It isn't like the old religions will just disappear - they will transform and evolve. The Transcendence symptom will have different results in different people from different backgrounds - a Christian will treat the Neurax as a gift from God Almighty, a Muslim will attribute it to Allah, an atheist will treat it as just a very cool and helping symbiote. But due to (1), there won't be big wars - surely, some brawls and fighting, but not "wars".
6. Technological progress. As said earlier, in this case we have Trojan Planes evolved. As I understand it, this ability from the lore perspective boosts the desire to explore new places in people - the desire of exploration. The choosing of country is just a gameplay mechanic (because if it is not, it implies that the Neurax is, in fact, sentient or semi-sentient and that idea deserves its own in-depth exploration). Therefore, this desire will not really fade - people will feel the urge to travel. And when the Earth is all explored, the next place to travel is, well, space. And for that the progress level must remain quite high and preferably even growing by time.
7. Somewhat loosened social norms and taboos. Neurax needs procreation of the host species. The libido is already hightened. But humans are humans - they are not going to simply make Earth into a hentai movie. There will be new norms, new codes, the culture will shift and evolve, but it surely won't simply "crumble". Different cultures survived far worse than just a heightened libido and lessened patience.

So what do we have in the end?

A happy humanity at peace with itself, with high level of personal autonomy, with no "states" as we understand them today, politically leaning more to the left (in the sense of lesser control of the state over personal life), with high level of medicine, technology, a desire to explore, a personal connection to "God" (however it is called or perceived by any single individual) for everyone, and working together.

This was my interpretation of the consequences of the Neurax Worm disease, and with that I finish my first thesis on this theme. Next time, whenever it comes, I will explore the possibilities of sapience of the Neurax and its effect on these consequences.

Thank you for reading.