Granolas Plague

A species of alien virus that originated in the Granolas System, within the Unreachable Star Cluster of Arcturus.

This star system, being difficult to reach, was discovered several thousand years ago, but it was only until approximately 20 years ago (around the year 43980) that the Granolas plague was discovered. Most factions initially responded to it with minimal urgency especially since the healthcare systems of interstellar civilizations are typically very advanced and effective. However, it was only about 1 year after its discovery that its true potential became known, as it spread to many worlds over Arcturus. Initially, it could evade most attempts made by healthcare professionals to cure those infected by it. As it turned out, this virus was of an extremely rare genome that was difficult to cure by all known means. Even the Hyperion Federation has never encountered a similar virus.

It could infect most species with a carbon based makeup, so some factions would often send doctors of non-carbon species (such as Saelians, Suons and even robots) to attempt to cure people, but it took valuable time. Though the Anagon Technocracy was by far the best off in this situation, as their species are comprised of neutron star material, it spread to other factions, even the HF. It would be the hyperionites who would find effective cures first, making use of some of their incredibly powerful data centers with very energy intensive but strong Quantum Computers, to formulate the most effective ways to eliminate it without harming host cells, and large, powerful particle colliders to determine its exact makeup and structure, often down to the atom.

Though the virus was not notable in any way other than being coincidentally hard to cure, it sparked a variety of reactions with various people within many cultures, including HF ones. Some people blame other factions for inventing it as a bioweapon. In reality, the virus was present on Granolas long before it was discovered, just in a state that was at the time unable to infect humans and other sentient species as it quickly evolved to infect those species. To the many healthcare workers, this virus clearly exposed a gap in their methods. The HF in particular, being particularly vulnerable due to the sheer scale of their federation, spent a lot of resources and energy attempting to find other unknown vulnerabilities. These efforts still continue and now even the Matrioshka Brains are involved. 

Its symptoms often varied slightly depending on the species of host, but it would often cause headaches, sore throats and bad temperature regulation, particularly in humans. The virus still exists around the Arcturus galaxy and sometimes has small resurgences, but now the cures have also developed substantially so it is not a significant problem to the various Arcturus factions outside of the cultural fallout and efforts to fix other potential flaws in healthcare systems. It is thought that it would go extinct in roughly 15 years.