Solution to Spotted Tower Meta

This is the Atlantis PESTILENCE meta.

Each of the five answers clues a transformation on words. For each transformation, one word is the result of said transformation applied to a disease.

Answer	Transformation	Disease	Word in grid
ANAL BLEEDING	Append A, B, AB, or O to the end.	FLU	FLUB
BLINDNESS	Remove all I’s	POLIO	POLO
DISLOCATED TAILBONE	Move last letter somewhere else.	AIDS	SAID
TRIPLE DECAPITATION	Remove the first three letters.	MALARIA	ARIA
VOICELESSNESS	Replace voiced consonants with their unvoiced counterparts.	COLD	COLT

The transformed word is “patient zero” for the transformation; the solver must apply that transformation to the adjacent words, and words adjacent to them, and so on, as far as it can spread. The below grid is the original puzzle, for reference:

JAR	DIME	VAIN	ARIA	SIGNATURE	BLUR	EXIST
NETWORK	COLT	CAKE	HITS	FRIEND	GAG	ALUMINUM
BLACK	GUARD	NEBULA	ISLAND	CLOTHING	COMB	FLUB
DIGGER	STARLET	OPERATING	COMMISSION	TRANQUIL	ELAPSE	SCAR
SUBLET	PALMS	REIGNS	DOME	IDIOT	BAIT	FLAMING
SAID	PROFILE	OUGHT	AMPLE	NOD	CHIEF	ANTIQUITY
META	CANDLE	EMPIRE	STORIES	DIARIES	POLO	ACHE

This grid shows all words transformed, with patient zero in bold.

CHAR	TIME	FEIGN	ARIA	NATURE	BLURB	EXIST
NETWORK	COLT	CAKE	HITS	END	GAGA	ALUMINUM
PLAQUE	CART	NEBULA	AND	THING	COMBO	FLUB
TICKER	STARTLE	RATING	MISSION	TRANQUIL	ELAPSE	SCARAB
SUBTLE	PSALM	RESIGN	DOME	DOT	BAT	FLAMINGO
SAID	PROFILE	TOUGH	AMPLE	NOD	CHEF	ANTIQUITY
MEAT	CANDLE	EMPIRE	STORES	DARES	POLO	ACHE

Note that in some cases a word is vulnerable to a transformation (for example, TRIPLE DECAPITATION could have affected PROFILE, leaving FILE) even though we do not show the word affected above. A word has to be adjacent to an infected word to become infected itself, as the transformation spreads like a disease. If the solver identifies all words vulnerable to a transformation, they will notice that most belong to one connected component.

There are sixteen “survivor” words which are unaffected. To see how they survived, metaphorically speaking, read off their first letters to get the answer, ENCHANTED PANACEA.