Cykopath- Birth

by Luca Braña

  “Indeed. But there is one thing that concerns me, however,” the scientist said, losing his smirk and once again turning to gaze at the empty capsule. “This was made because the subject was thought to be dying at the time, his body was filled with malignant tumors, well beyond any hope for a cure. It would be a great waste, but we were prepared to make a thorough autopsy and research in hopes of duplicating his hidden gene, but…”

  “But…?” Mr. Whale asked in apprehension, looking at the empty capsule, whose red liquid seemed to shine slightly against the lights of Dr. Gacha’s office.

  “When we told the subject as to what was causing his body to fall apart… something happened. It seemed as if reality itself flipped, and the next thing we knew, he was perfectly fine. Somehow, this particular subject found a way to completely erase all the tumors in his body, with pure force of will.” The scientist turned back towards Mr. Whale, who had a conflicted but thoughtful look on his face.

  “Erasing, but isn’t that part of a Creator’s power?” the businessman asked in contemplation. Perhaps it would be possible to—

  “Yes, but the subject showed no other characteristics of a Creator so far,” said the scientist, interrupting Mr. Whale’s wishful thinking. “As it stands however, his power of erasing things, coupled with his prodigy level of magical ability, will undoubtedly be the most powerful asset in our project, so far in any case. He is both our greatest asset, and our greatest danger. Currently he is kept in the maximum-security ward.”

  “I see. It is a shame that we cannot make artificial Creators then,” Mr. Whale said with a resigned tone. Alas, this was still great news for the project in general. “I guess this particular subject got his own label?”

  “Indeed.” The scientist nodded. “The category is called ‘Magical,’ for those subjects who are shown to either have gained prodigy levels of magical ability or are naturally able to use magic. So far, we only have one subject with that label.” Dr. Gacha walked towards the next capsule, one that had a vivid green color, with a young girl taking her eternal rest inside.

  “This one is an interesting case. She was amongst the first test subjects to be experimented on and receive the initial version of the treatment. However, unlike the Enhancer subject, this one didn’t die because of a retrovirus, no. She ascended.” He frowned as he spoke before turning to look at Mr. Whale. “Our magical specialists discovered she was in contact with a spirit before she passed. This subject’s apparent power used to be elemental channeling of the earth element, but instead, what she got was the ability to talk with natural spirits—beings from the world that are normally invisible to regular and sometimes even magical humans.”

  “Wouldn’t that classify her as a Magical then?” Mr. Whale questioned.

  “They are similar, but different. ‘Spiritual’ are subjects who are able to directly talk and work with spirits, spirits of nature and sometimes of beyond, although we still lack the latter. Through working with a spirit, someone can channel their powers into their body to achieve great feats and in fact, it’s not rare for a spiritualist to also be a magician, but not exclusive. In this particular subject, communicating with Earth Spirits allowed her to become stronger, and it’s theorized it also allowed her to gain extra senses, such as perceiving steps through the ground. Although rare, we still have several subjects who fit into this category,” Dr. Gacha explained with a contemplative look on his face.

  “I see. I can understand how useful they can be, if they can control those spirits, they might even match the power of deities, which would help greatly in stopping a Creator from attacking us,” Mr. Whale said while stroking his chin. Already, all of the categories had advantages that could be used to make humanity’s greatest defense, but he halted any further thought on this. There was still more to see.

  “Absolutely... As for this subject, she greatly disliked our… methods, so she made an agreement with her spirit of choice, and when we found her, she was already dead. Our magical specialists discovered confirmation that a pact had been made, and we feared a possible information leak would occur, but it seemed our worries were unfounded, as our mages managed to track down the spirit the subject made the promise with. She wished for a reincarnation.” He sighed, a frown forming on his face.

  “Obviously, we now take care to avoid such things from happening. The maximum-security ward is now equipped with special barriers that keeps spirits out, and whenever we need to conduct research on them, we make sure to have a team of highly specialized magicians to oversee the experiment. The number of subjects lost via pacts and deals has dropped down to zero, and thanks to this, we gained precious information regarding spirits and how they work. But, let us move on, we still have three categories of subjects to discuss,” the doctor said, dismissing the subject and moving on to the next capsule. It was larger than the others and it was filled with a dark brown liquid, however, the figure could easily be seen and…

  “Wait… What? What is that?” Mr. Whale asked in shock as he got a better look at the body inside. It seemed like a man, a fully-grown man, with the head of a lion and a muscled body covered in fur, his nails enlarged to sharp-looking claws. It seemed like it would break free of the capsule and slaughter them both at any moment.

  “Those, Mr. Whale, are the ‘Mutants.’ They are one of the most troublesome subjects we have, and not due to lack of cooperation, but because many times, the awakening of their genes also cause an animalistic side to emerge, turning them into hulking berserkers that had on one occasion required a whole team of ten heavily armed guards to take down. Four of those guards died, by the way,” the scientist explained with a casual air, not bothered at all by what he was saying.

  “Oh, yes, I remember that particular report, but I didn’t think the subject that caused that incident looked like this! Frankly, he looks horrifying, how useful do you think those subjects would be?” Mr. Whale could already see it in his mind, an army of powerful and fearsome beasts, backed by all the powerful soldiers they could make with Project R.N.G. It would be the greatest defense against the Creators!

  “Certainly, the mutations tend to turn the subjects into powerful beasts, but more often than not, they must be heavily restrained due to transformation making them much more violent. Yes, there are some that retain their humanity, but most need to be trained like animals. With proper preparation, we believe they would make excellent heavy-hitters. As it is however, we have a better variation of the mutants currently,” Dr. Gacha said as he moved to the penultimate capsule, one filled with glowing white liquid. He seemed to look at it almost fondly, pressing his hand against the glass. Inside, the body of a girl rested peacefully.

  “This subject, upon receiving her treatment, gained the ability to transform into a falcon. An unnaturally white falcon of great speed and power, easily surpassing the speed of the sound barrier. As a human, she also received improved visibility of faraway objects. Unlike mutants, these subjects fully retain their original personality, sometimes gaining quirks related to the creature that they transform into. We call them ‘Shapeshifters,’ subjects who are able to transform into one or more creatures without losing their sanity, like mutants do. Some turn into birds, others into insects and a precious few into great creatures of myth.” The scientist mumbled something under his breath.

  “What was that, doctor?” Mr. Whale asked in confusion, unable to hear whatever it was that he had said. He turned towards his boss, his face expressionless.

  “The subjects that are of this category are implanted with special chips that allow us to track their location, because a number of them can turn into small insects or animals. The ones that can turn into stronger creatures are placed in wards with increased security.”

  “Hmm, they do seem like a better variation of the Mutant ones. I can see the ones that can turn into small creatures being great at spying or acquiring information from others,” the businessman contemplated out loud, earning a nod from the scientist.

  �
�Indeed, depending on the transformations, the subjects could have many great uses as soldiers or spies… with the proper training.” The doctor turned back towards the capsule. “As for this particular subject, she unfortunately got too careless in one of the experiments and hit a wall at full speed in her falcon form. It was interesting to note that upon her death, she returned to her human form, seemingly with no injuries, but completely lifeless. After a few experiments, we managed to confirm that the injuries acquired in the transformed state vanished when the subject returned to their original form and wouldn’t come back should they once again transform,” the doctor explained, nodding at the look of wonder and optimism in the businessman’s face, who had taken a greater interest in the capsule.

  “Completely? A full healing from simply transforming back into their original forms?” Mr. Whale asked in bewilderment. If that was true, those children would be a priceless addition to his army. He looked away from the capsule and back towards his head scientist, who nodded at him.

  “Correct, those of this particular category have access to a quick form of healing, making them much more durable than any normal human, soldier, or mage.” He shook his head.

  “However,” he continued, “if they have multiple forms, the injuries will persist should they then transform into something that is not their original form. This gives the Shapeshifters great advantage in combat as they just need to undo their transformation to heal themselves. However, their stamina is not recovered and, as you can see, death is permanent.”

  After finishing his explanation about the Shapeshifters, Dr. Gacha made his way to the last capsule—one filled with a glowing, golden liquid, and inside, the body of a young boy. Like before, he took a moment to look at the child inside before turning back towards Mr. Whale.

  “During the experiments, this subject awakened the ability to control electricity at will as well as sense any electronic equipment in the vicinity. Tests have shown that he could absorb and discharge electrons from machinery, as well as mold electricity to fit his needs, such as creating spheres of lightning that could be thrown like a bullet. Something interesting to note, is that he seemed immune to electricity himself, as any and all electrical attacks were simply absorbed with what the subject described as a ‘tickling’ sensation.” The doctor turned back towards the capsule.

  “Wouldn’t that make him a Magical then? Many mages in this world can use lightning, such as most of the ones in the Yellow Faction,” Mr. Whale questioned, taking his eyes off the capsule to look at the scientist who shook his head at the question.

  “We thought the same, too, but our magical researchers confirmed that no magical energy was being produced by his body, nothing beyond what a non-mage was. This means that the awakening of his hidden gene led to him gaining the power to control a facet of nature itself. Later, as more test subjects were brought in, we managed to acquire additional individuals with such powers, often limited to the magical elements of light, darkness, nature, fire, and water. However, it’s not rare for subjects who can manipulate something more unique, like a subcategory or a combination of elements.” The doctor then took his tablet out of his coat.

  “I see, they seem less effective than the Spirituals, but still useful nonetheless,” Mr. Whale observed.

  “Truly so—the ease at which they can control their elements is something that could be immensely useful as Spirituals need to make contact with spirits to make use of theirs. This category, the ‘Elementals,’ are those who have the power to directly control one or more elements without the use of magic or control of a spirit. Their control tends to be very instinctual, as if the element was a part of themselves, so, like Spirituals, they sometimes gain one or more senses related to the use of their powers.” He nodded to himself in thought. “As for this subject, he died due to a fatal heart condition that could not be cured in time. Ironic that one with power to control electricity would die of a heart attack.” He blinked slowly before turning back to Mr. Whale.

  “As you can see, Mr. Whale, those are the categories of subjects we have managed to acquire with this project. As of now, we have several hundred subjects in the wards on the last level, and if this project pays off well, many more will be brought in to receive the treatment,” Dr. Gacha spoke callously, although a smirk could be seen on his face, a sneer that Mr. Whale mirrored as well.

  “So far, I’ve left all the technical details up to you, so to know we have made this much progress… Before we move on to the next topic, tell me, can a subject show more than one attribute? Belong to multiple categories?” the businessman asked in curiosity, certain that such could be the case, considering the sheer possibility of powers the treatment could unlock across multiple subjects.

  “I’m glad you asked. For you see, it’s entirely possible for a subject to belong to multiple categories.” He started swiping his finger across his tablet, looking amongst the data, before holding it in his palm so the screen was facing upwards. From the device, the holographic projection of a little girl appeared.

  She was wearing an outfit that could only be described as a pair of rags; dirty and full of small slashes. The girl had colorful pinkish-purple hair, common to those born in the Purple Faction, and dull, unhappy red eyes. She was staring forward with a blank look on her face. On both of her arms, two purple colored bracelets could be seen, and on the parts of her skin that were visible, some small scratches and bruises were evident.

  Mr. Whale stared at the holographic image with stony eyes. This was one of the reasons he disliked going to the last levels. While he was not the most moral person in the world, even he knew that should this operation be for anything else, it would be wrong. However, for the sake of the future of his world, sacrifices had to be made, as many have been for the greatest advancements in medicine. That he would become famous and loved by all was, of course, a welcome bonus.

  “Subject Number: 47

  Name: Magy

  Age: 8

  Sex: Female

  Categories: Spiritual, Enhancer, Elemental

  Time in the facility: 1 year

  Phase of treatment: Experimentation, already awakened

  Description of powers: Can summon forth spiritual scythes from her body. The scythes themselves are the spirit she formed a pact with. Scythes can pass through physical matter to either strike at the soul or pass defenses to cut at the flesh. The weapon seems to be adaptable to her weight as a small increase in size and mass was noted in the previous year. The spirit she contacts is of a dark element, however, she is able to channel dark elemental energy independently from her spirit to enhance herself to be faster, stronger, and tougher. She is able to cloak herself in the shadows for stealth.

  Psychological Profile: As with many other children in the facility, she developed an unhappy disposition, which is part of the treatment to empower her hidden genes, however, when going through experiments, seems to enjoy pain. Was observed causing painful attacks on subjects she dislikes, seems to also enjoy giving out pain. Possibly a sadomasochist, but too young to determine.

  Value: High, her powers are unique and beneficial to the future phases.” The scientist read from her file in the hologram, looking towards Mr. Whale upon finishing.

  “This was a short summary of her profile in our database. As you can see, Mr. Whale, this is an incredibly valuable subject with unique powers. Due to the way her powers work, she was classified as Spiritual, Elemental, and Enhancer. She is an example of a subject that fits multiple categories, and we have many more. It’s rare for a subject to not be qualified for more than one category in fact, as some Spirituals can enhance their senses or physical power, while some Shapeshifter’s transformations can give them powers that can fit in the other categories as well,” the scientist explained, watching as Mr. Whale’s face shifted from curious to subtly excited.

  “This is most excellent; I can already see this project will be fruitful. I am going to make a detailed presentation of everything you told me to the
board, they’ll love it. We may even get a budget raise! But I am curious about something. What are those bracelets on her arms?” the rotund businessman asked, his eyebrows raised, looking at the girl’s wrists in the hologram.

  “Ah.” The scientist smirked slightly. “Those are one of our best safety and monitoring implements. The wards already have their own form of security and monitoring, such as the maximum security one, but the bracelets are an extra form of safety. A failsafe, if you will. They are created using both science and magic, then sealed on their wrists using the latter. It becomes part of their bodies and cannot be removed without intensive surgery.”

  “The proverbial handcuff then,” the businessman noted, earning a nod of approval from the scientist.

  “Exactly,” he answered, “many test subjects, such as the Mutants, are dangerous, so we need to have ways to keep them on a leash. As for the bracelets themselves, they provide real time monitoring of both their current location inside the facility and their vitals, such as heartbeats and levels of stamina. For security, the bracelets are able to form a magical chain that can lock into itself and then around the subject. If that doesn’t work, they are equipped with numerous magical wards, such as paralysis, poison, or gravity that will greatly aid in subduing the dangerous element,” Dr. Gacha explained, turning the hologram off as he finished.

  “I knew I was right to put you in charge, Doctor, you truly think of everything. With such security features, we should be able to proceed in peace,” Mr. Whale said with a pleased grin. The scientist smirked.

  “Yes, and on that note, let us move on to the ensuing topic of this meeting. The next phase of Project R.N.G. I already introduced it to you, but now it’s time we discuss the details. Let us take a seat, this might be a lengthy discussion,” the scientist said, moving back towards his desk, Mr. Whale following behind him.