Bursting People

The Midnight Article "Bursting People in Venezuela" was written by u/Roblox838 and posted to r/MidnightPaper.

The text of the Article was as follows:

BURSTING PEOPLE IN VENEZUELA

The hunger in Venezuela has brought something even stranger with it. People in Táchira state are now bursting open despite not having eaten anything.

The condition happens to anyone that even steps a single mm into the state, with some tourists having bursted open in their homes.

Many governments have stepped up their level to "do not visit Venezuela", with many people refusing to go or even cancelling their plane flights to Venezuela.

A first-eye look from across the border, in Colombia, revealed just how bad the situation was. "There was guts and organs everywhere in each town in the state. I had to use a drone because I did not want to burst. There must be something going on", said Marcel Coutinho, who works with his friend Philippe Morategui.

The US government reinforced its Level 4 warning. "We absolutely do not recommend going to Táchira state."

It appears that it may have spread to Caracas, as 10 people were reported to have burst there.

Description:

"Bursting People" are people who literally burst with hunger created by an unknown Oddity. The Article states that "the hunger in Venezuela has brought something even stranger with it. People...are now bursting open despite not having eaten anything."

This seems to imply that the bursting has something to do with hunger. This bursting appears to be a more extreme and much more widespread form of what is known as "Spontaneous Human Combustion." However, instead of suddenly catching on fire, people afflicted by the "Bursting" suddenly, and fatally, explode. This could be caused by a massive buildup of gasses, possibly released by a state of constant hunger, but this is merely speculation.

Origin:

What, or who, has caused this condition to appear in the Táchira state of Venezuela is a mystery. However, the Article gives us some clues to narrow down the possible culprits. The Article states that "the condition happens to anyone that steps even a single mm into the state." This means that the Bursting condition only affects people who enter a designated geographical threshold. It's as if there's an invisible barrier surrounding the areas affected by the Bursting, and anyone who crosses it contracts the condition. This points to the Bursting condition being a Location-Type Oddity...but there may be another cause. It is possible that there's a Biological-Type Oddity, such as a virus or parasite, that has strict geographical limitations, down to a single millimeter. If so, this would be the only known virus or parasite that adheres strictly to invisible borders drawn by human beings. It is also possible, however, that there is one (or several) larger Biological or Entity-Type Oddity (or Oddities) watching both Táchira state and Caracas closely. This being would then know who enters the designated borders and inflict them with the Bursting condition.

Prognosis:

It appears that the Bursting condition is 100% fatal to anyone who enters the designated borders where it is currently present. However, the Article implies that time between contraction and fatal explosion varies from infected individual to infected individual. Once someone enters the borders, they are doomed, even if they leave. The Article states that "some tourists have burst open in their homes." This means that these tourists traveled back home, and took the condition with them.