[ WP ] People revive for 3 days after death and receive superhuman strength , agility , endurance , coordination and intelligence before truly passing away .

*Corpse Corps* was a concept that was originally circulated on the internet in 2003, only a few months after the first experimental'treatment' was deemed a success. The subculture that birthed the term was, not surprisingly, the same one that was disturbingly obsessed with zombies and post-apocalyptic scenarios. The name stuck. *Corpse Corps* was idea of a hypothetical combat force utilizing the recently undead as combatants. Within a few years it had become a reality. It was a major game changer. The problem, quite obviously, was that these soldiers had a disappointingly short *sell-by date*. The advantages far outweighed the disadvantages. 
 
 Young men and women from around the world, and especially in areas of high crime and poverty, would sign up to join the Corps for both the payment supplied to them during their service and the substantial reward that their beneficiaries would receive upon their'activation'. The reward, of course, was based upon the amount of destruction they brought to the enemy during their undeath. Life was hell for those who'd even consider enlistment in the Corps, but it was a better option than simply laying in the gutter and letting the reaper come to you. 
 
 LT Sara Jones had enlisted with the Corpse Corps when she was 16 years old.'Built tough, like a ford... except you do n't drive me. I drive *you*.', she'd say. Destined for leadership, she rose the ranks rapidly. The *treatment* was a simple injection into the base of her skull, received on her first day of enlistment. She had not yet been activated, of course, but she still enjoyed the sub-advantages of the treatment - Increased healing speed of bones and flesh alike, slightly increased reflexes, and the uncanny ability to *detect* other Corpses. Normal civilians would not accept such a treatment despite the advantages, for being a Corpse would eventually result in being forced to fight in a corpsewar. The treatment was only for those few people who were happy to die, but just had n't gotten around to it yet. 
 
 The role of a non-activated Corpseman was not much different than a traditional soldier. They focused on training, leadership, and general combat abilities. On the battlefield, they wore a particular bandanna instead of a helmet like a normal soldier. This bandanna, originally white, was dark red and brown due to the blood it had been soaked in during previous engagements. No normal soldier would dare fire upon a Corpse and thus the bandanna was both a psychological deterrent and a dire warning:'Fire upon me and you will be the first person I slaughter when I inevitably rise again'. 
 
 Any Corpse killed in battle almost immediately became a powerful weapon in their own right. Upon *death*, the *undeath* phase would begin. The Corpse would, quite simply, wake up as a superhuman. Their reflexes were so fast as to alter their perception to believe that the entire world had fallen into slow motion. Healing factor would become so robust that anything short of a massive explosion would only inconvenience the activated Corpse for only a few moments. Even the mental and intellectual abilities of the activated Corpse would increase exponentially - Math, logic, tactical awareness, and reasoning would all be so rapidly advanced that even the most famous of untreated humans would seem infant-like in comparison -- The activated Corpse was able to manipulate it's enemy in ways that would seem so unbelievable as to have been magic. NP-Hard problems would be solved in minutes and it has been said that an activated Corpse was able to innately understand and *control* chaotic systems at will. There was a factor that determined the abilities of the *undead* though. The circumstances of their activation would determine the scope of their abilities - Whereas a Corpse downed in combat would become a near immortal fighting machine, it would not be able to redirect these energies towards purely intellectual pursuits for instance: encryption breaking. A Corpse activated in a lab would not have the sheer combat prowess of one who'dies' under gunfire. Thus the usage of Corpse activation was strongly controlled by all governments who had acquired Corpsetech. After three days of *undeath* the Corpse would fall unceremoniously to the ground to die for the last time. 
 
 The activated Corpse was such a fearsome thing that many enemy combatants would immediately choose to shoot themselves in the head the moment a Corpse was reported as *fallen*. 
 
 LT Jones flashed her teeth at herself in the mirror as she wrapped the stiff, blood covered bandanna over her head. The soldier holding the mirror before her looked nervous, and for good reason. There was a power associated with the donning of the *deathcap*, even friendly untreated soldiers would shy away from her when she had entered this state of mind. A Corpse was a Corpse, friend or foe. They'd follow her into battle regardless, knowing that her presence alone was the only thing preventing the enemy from simply dropping Rods on the whole area from orbit. Despite being a Corpse, Sara Jones was a capable and level-headed leader. Many Corpses would simply charge into battle, knowing that the mere threat of their death practically secured their safety, but LT Jones took time to make sure that the untreated soldiers at her side would also have, at least, a chance to survive. She did this, not out of some human-remnant product of sentimentalism, but because a higher rate of survival for her squad meant that the leadership in NYC were more likely to assign her the most elite of soldiers. And thus, her squad had become the posterchild for the Corpse Corps - the elite of the elite. 
 
 Jones sat in the back of the APC ( Armored Personnel Carrier ) with perfect posture, her eyes closed. The sound of the speeding APC was a strange comfort, representing her chance to taste destiny in the upcoming engagement. Across from her, in the opposing metal bench, sat SGT Kilterson, playing his chrome harmonica. His habit of playing the blues before combat was something of a squad tradition and the other soldiers have long given up on preventing him from performing this rite. To his left was SPC Kelley, a young man with blonde eyebrows and a shaved head, was picking his nails with the blade of a standard issue combat knife and rocking rhythmically to the combination of blues-and-APC noise. He was a heavy-arms specialist, but tended to be more interested in trying to stab things. SFC Brave, as he was not so aptly named, was nervously checking his equipment for position and correctness. He would determine that his weapon did indeed have ammo, and then check his armor straps for the fiftieth time. Brave was a paranoid man, meek in stature and personality, but his situational awareness was world-class - His high rank was merely a product of his repeated survival. The man was nearly useless in combat, but he'd spot a trap from a mile away and allow the entire squad to skirt past it unharmed. The other 6 occupants of the APC were new soldiers, nameless until they'd proven themselves in combat. LT Jones did not even bother trying to analyze the behavior of fresh additions to her squad - Their true nature would only become apparent during combat. Their name-tags were cut from their uniforms until they survived the first engagement. This was done to prevent any innate attachment or preconceptions by the rest of the team. Soldier One-Alpha taking a.60 caliber round to the face was much less distracting than if the same thing happened to'Dave', who was sharing the name of someone's childhood friend. 
 
 [ cont ]
