[ Joel doesn't get offended by the callousness - if that's even what it is. He comes from a world where everyone - literally everyone - has suffered unimaginable losses. He's kind of numb to it all by now. There's only so much sorry you can feel for other people when you've lost it all, too. So it's pretty abstract. ]

A fungus. Cordyceps. It mutated, spread to humans, killed a whole bunch. And if you weren't infected, you might get shot anyway, just in case.

[ He, too, isn't really able to put much emotion into this recitation. It just is. ]