Technically the vampire is still a human, but for sake of discussion we think of viral vampires as non-human or as the next step up in human evolution. This is difficult to believe because many of the attributes of a vampire are, well, considered to be better and more developed than humans'. The strength, speed, enhanced mental and/or psychic abilities, the ability to digest human and other blood more efficiently are but a few of the differences. The reason this happens is the basic human DNA is altered by the virus. The virus, we call it V5 is NOT the same virus as HIV5. To simplify, it is transmitted through a simple infection. This infection is gained either through birth or infection from one who has the virus and passes it on. The child inherits the infection, passed on from the mother or father. The parent may have picked up the virus from some other member of their family such as a cousin, aunt, brother, etc., and thus the infection is passed on to the newborn child. Rarely are both parents infected, i.e., vampires themselves. More often, they are carriers of the virus, in a similar manner to the way a red haired child is born to a family who, for several generations, have been all blond. The passing of the virus to the child from the parent produces an Inheritor Vampire child. The V5 is passed on to the newborn much the same way the AIDS virus is passed from mother to child. In such a child, the virus remains dormant until the catalyst of the onset of puberty. The release of hormones is believed to activate the virus system. The effects of the V5 virus then takes a number of years as the child develops to be completely effective, i.e., active in the system from its previously dormant state in the child's body. As in any infection, the child's immune system tries to fight off the infection, and in many cases, if not most, it succeeds. It is also believed that the blood chemical make up of the individual is also responsible in determining if the child will be fully affected by the virus and thus DNA altered. Not all infected people develop the vampire virus, V5, and thus not everyone born with it becomes a vampire. That is why we are not hip deep in real Inheritor vampires. The only other way to become a vampire is to be given the infection by someone already infected. This would make the person, the subject, a Classical. As with Inheritors, it takes Classicals quite a long time to develop the full blown virus once infected due to the same reasons; blood chemistry make up and the immune system. Also, not everyone who is exposed to the virus by a Classical will be a viable host for the virus. There is also a theory that a person has to be genetically predisposed to V5.
