Nova 6


 * For the multiplayer tactical grenade and the gas left after a Gas Zombie dies, see Nova Gas.

Codename "Nova 6" is an experimental, chemical gas developed by Russian scientists in Call of Duty: Black Ops. Nova 6 was originally developed by Nazi Germany during the course of World War II by Steiner and intended for use in V-2 rockets targeted at major capital cities such as Washington, D.C. and Moscow. It was later seized, refined, and used by the Soviets, as shown in Call of Duty: Black Ops.

History


Development began in 1943 under the leadership of Friedrich Steiner, and by 1945 weaponized samples had been produced in sufficient numbers to arm at least a battery of V2 and the experimental V3 rockets. It is likely that the chemical weapon was developed in concentration camp laboratories and tested on detainees.

According to reports made by MI6 at that time, the original Nova 6 test site located outside the municipality of Poland was destroyed by heavy bombing. Subsequently the compounds were transported along the Elbe River to a freighter in the North Sea. Officially, MI6 claimed the freighter was sunk under the direct order of attack and the shipwreck was locked in the Arctic ice. In actuality, the survivors tried to salvage what they could from the ship and rigged the ship with scuttling charges to prevent capture by the Allies. By the time this work was completed, the war had ended, making the Allied attack inevitable.

In October 1945, after Kravchenko and Dragovich learnt of the project's existence from Dragovich's interrogation of German POWs, they begin to search for the freighter. The mission was successful in capturing Steiner (who had contacted Dragovich to cut a deal for his own life) and the stockpile of the gas on board. Due to a longstanding grudge, Dragovich had the members of Reznov's squad used as test subjects for the gas to witness its power. While Dimitri Petrenko, Viharev and Belov were gassed to death, Reznov, Nevski, and Tvelin managed to escape the gas chamber with the arrival of the British Commandos dispatched to secure the Nova 6 for the British. Dragovich, Kravchenko, and Steiner fled, while Reznov and what was left of his men managed to escape the attack and activate scuttling charges to destroy the ship and the Nova 6 along with it.

Although the original sample of the gas was destroyed, Steiner, Dragovich, and Kravchenko escaped with small samples of the gas; with Steiner alive, the Russians were able to re-synthesize the gas. According to CIA intelligence, in 1959 Dragovich finally obtained the party's approval on the use of Nova-6 as a first strike weapon in the event of World War III.

In 1964, a British chemical engineer, Daniel Clarke, defected and joined the Nova 6 research team to help stabilize certain "volatile compounds," but in 1968 he escaped to Kowloon City in Hong Kong. Dragovich sent the Spetsnaz to kill him, but CIA agents Jason Hudson and Grigori Weaver were able to get to him first and obtain information about the Yamantau complex where Nova 6 was being weaponized, as well as the number sequence that would be used to activate the gas. Clarke was killed before he could be safely extracted, however, and his Kowloon lab was destroyed.

The Russian version was developed in the secret facility at Mount Yamantau. Compared to the original version, the Russian version of Nova 6 was more stable in transport yet far more lethal when in use. It was a component gas, mixing two different chemicals to form the final product. First lab-tested in Rebirth Island and then field-tested in Laos, it saw use in the fighting at Rebirth Island. Both sides, who were anticipating its use, continued the fight in Hazmat suits.

In Dragovich's plan to "strike at the heart of the west," sleeper agents all across the United States, logistically supported by front company GKM, would release Nova 6 after receiving the broadcast from the Rusalka, a broadcast station disguised as a Russian freighter. This was to be done as a crippling first-strike in the event of Soviet invasion against the US. However, after Mason remembered the location of the broadcast station, the U.S. Navy bombarded the ship and destroyed the relay, stopping Nova 6 from being unleashed.

Appearance and effects
In the form the Nazis developed, Nova 6 appears as a dark green gas. Upon inhalation, it causes vomiting, violent coughing, muscle convulsions, bleeding from the eyes, and blackening of the skin (necrosis), followed by an agonizing death within 10–20 seconds.

In the more refined Soviet form, Nova 6 retains its green color, albeit with a slight yellow tint, and has a much more instantaneous effect. Once inhaled, the victim suffers violent coughing, nausea, vomiting, suffocation, bleeding from the eyes, and scaling, burning skin, with death occurring before the body can even hit the ground. This version always has a 100% fatality rate, as noted by Dr. Clarke in Numbers. According to Kravchenko in Victor Charlie, the gas was tested on infants, causing death within 30–40 seconds. It is easily noticeable and can be avoided by using gas masks and MOPP-4 hazmat suits, but its extreme potency, lethality, and lack of an available antidote still makes it an extremely horrific weapon when used against a civilian target.

Only direct contact with the gas is fatal. If one manages to get away from the area where the gas is deployed without inhaling any of it, they will be able to survive. This is demonstrated in Numbers, when the canisters Clarke had in his makeshift lab were ruptured by gunfire, releasing the gas. However, Hudson, Weaver, and Clarke were able to escape unharmed via a hatch in the ceiling before the dense gas could diffuse through the room.

Trivia

 * The achievement "No Leaks" is featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops for surviving the entirety of "Rebirth" without succumbing to Nova 6.
 * On the Wii version of Black Ops, the necrotic effects of Nova 6 are not displayed.
 * Canisters of Nova 6 can be found Zombies levels "Five" in the labs section and Kino der Toten near the teleporter.