Antiviral

Syd March is employed by Lucas Clinic, a company that buys pathogens from celebrities and infects paying fans who crave a connection. The company enforces copy protection on its products, rendering the pathogens incommunicable once used. Hannah Geist is the exclusive, highly sought-after source of these pathogens, driving the whole operation.

Derek Lessing is Lucas Clinic's colleague responsible for harvesting Hannah Geist's pathogens directly from her. His role ensures a steady supply for the clinic's lucrative business. The close relationship between the clinic and Hannah's biology sets the stage for the fevered market.

To make extra money, Syd steals pathogens from the lab and bypasses the copy protection with a stolen console. He uses himself as an incubator, growing the pathogens before passing them to Arvid for sale on the black market. This act marks a dangerous escalation in the scheme.

Arvid works at Astral Bodies, a celebrity meat market selling meat grown from celebrities' cells. The clinic's stolen pathogens are funneled through Arvid to the black market, expanding the network beyond the clinic. The juxtaposition of entertainment and bioengineering drives the film's premise.

Derek is caught smuggling and arrested, triggering Syd's sudden takeover of Hannah's pathogen harvest. Syd is tasked to harvest a pathogen from Hannah Geist, who has recently fallen ill. This shifts the power dynamics and sets Syd on a collision course with the escalating crisis.

Syd takes a blood sample from Hannah and injects himself with some of her blood. He experiences fever and disorientation as the infection begins to spread. His attempts to bypass the virus' copy protection fail, and his console breaks during the process.

The next day, Syd learns that Hannah has died from the unknown disease. The products harvested from her tissue surge in popularity, driving demand and complicating accountability. The market response highlights the exploitative nature of the system.

Levine, leader of the piracy network, arranges to fix Syd's broken console by offering a deal in exchange for samples of Syd's blood. Syd refuses to give up his blood, prompting Levine to restrain him and forcibly take samples. The confrontation intensifies the stakes around the pathogen's value.

Two men drive a severely ill Syd to a secret location where Hannah Geist, now barely alive and bleeding from her mouth, is kept. Dr. Abendroth reveals the virus was engineered with a mechanism to prevent analysis and that it is a modified version of an illness Hannah had before. Abendroth expresses his obsession with Hannah and dismisses Syd as merely a fan.

Syd returns to the Lucas Clinic and traces the original virus strain back to Derek, who sold it to the rival company Vole & Tesser. Dr. Abendroth discovers that Vole & Tesser patented the modified strain, though their motives remain unclear. The discovery broadens the conflict to corporate rivals.

Before Syd can act, Levine abducts him and confines him so his deterioration and death will be broadcast on reality television for Hannah's fans. As symptoms worsen, Syd escapes by stabbing Levine in the mouth with a syringe and threatening a nurse using his infected blood. The exploitative voyeurism of the fans is a driving theme.

After escaping, Syd contacts Vole & Tesser and negotiates a deal, learning that they infected Hannah to harvest their own patented pathogen. This marks his move from a victim to an empowered participant in the pathogen market. The deal shifts the balance of power to the patent-holders.

Some time later, a virtual reality version of Hannah advertises the Afterlife product, produced by Vole & Tesser. Syd works for Vole & Tesser, where Hannah's cells are replicated to form a distorted cell garden using Astral Bodies' technology. Viruses injected into Hannah's system are sold as part of the venture.

During a demonstration, Syd injects a genetically created arm with a new virus. He later cuts the arm and drinks the flowing blood, revealing that the arm is Hannah's. The deformed Hannah figure appears in the Cell Garden chamber, revealing the true cost of the operation.

The film closes with the revelation that Hannah Geist's cells now form a grotesque cell garden, and the viral enterprise continues to exploit celebrity biology. The cycle of commodification and manipulation of living bodies persists beyond any single death. The system reveals its deeper horror.