Private Biogenetic Curiosities

[Liin "Tera" Terallo]

To say that I was curious about Mister Usher is an understatement. A part of me feels a bit apalled, yet the scientist in me is fascinated.

Studying the little "parting gift" he gave me recently, I found myself watching it very closely as it squirmed around the little domed enclosure that I had put it in. The bit of plantlife and insects seemed to satiate it for the most part and yet I wonder how quickly it might grow. I do plan on acquiring a sample of it's DNA for further study; one that may hopefully give me plenty of answers.

"Look at you, without a care in the world. Mister Usher and I will have plenty to discuss soon enough. And you, my little curiosity are a part of it."

Being alone in my laboratory gives me the freedom to drop all decorum and become almost like the lifeforms that I get to study from time to time; a lady without a care in the world. Work is where I feel the most comfortable, afterall. It is what I dedicate my life to. Such devotion is probably partly why I am not yet married or have a family of my own. But I am not bothered by that too much. It is only when my parents bring it up that it comes to mind. Yet that causes me to delve into my work even further.

Earlier I had sent word to Mister Usher to meet with me at the N&Z Laboratories on New Cov. And until his arrival, I spend my time working.

Tag: Mr. Usher

 

[Mr. Usher]

A PROMISE KEPT
TAGS: Liin "Tera" Terallo​

---

"Look at you, without a care in the world. Mister Usher and I will have plenty to discuss soon enough. And you, my little curiosity are a part of it."

The miniscule husk had grown as it ate. The critter digested and incorporated organic compounds at an incredible pace; the mass transfer was not 1:1, however. Flora generated more waste heat, but insects retained almost triple the ratio of mass than that of plant life.

By now the critter was about the size of a full hand, skittering about on variable sets of insect-like legs - perhaps easier to produce due to the diet it had been fed. It had displayed signs of intelligence, particularly when hunting insects. It relied on a set of feelers to locate it's prey - a courtesy of Mr. Usher to avoid eavesdropping on the scientist - he might be a hive-mind shapeshifter but he still had manners.

The critter began to tap up on the glass, directly before the speeder arrived outside the Laboratory. With a leg it waved as if to draw attention even before the semi-dense husk in humanoid form - complete with gloves, suit and hat to hide the amorphous and uncanny features, departed the speeder and headed towards the doors of the N&Z Laboratories.

Despite the hiccup on Dantooine, business has been good to Mr Usher. Sure, he's had a few run ins with some vigilantes and a scrapper had gotten dangerously close to finding the freighter with the host of the Hive-mind, but all in all he's been netting positive for biomass the last month.

"Alright pal, let's try not to blow it in the third loop, just keep the face steady yeah?" Mr. Usher spoke to himself, reviewing the husk's appearance in the glass of the window. It was so hard to get the skin to remain opaque, but foundation and other cosmetics irritated the flesh too much. With a last-minute fix of the tie and adjustment of the hat, Mr. Usher pressed on the buzzer, ready to meet with the esteemed Negotiator.

---

 

[Liin "Tera" Terallo]

Did it just....?

I did a double-take before squinting my eyes at the housed creature. The tapping on the glass alerted me before it started waving? Now some insects waved like that to taste the air or to get a better feel of it's surroundings by the air currents, or even to attract a mate. But surely none of that was happening here?

Mere moments later, one of my holoscrrens on the wall turns on. I see one of the lobby secretaries' faces appear. "Director, I'm sorry to distrurb you, but your appointment has arrived."

"It's quite all right. I was finishing up. Send him to my office and I will be there promptly. Are the refreshments prepared?"

"Yes, Director."

"Wonderful. Thank you." I take my notes and open the hidden wall panel before slipping them inside and sealing it shut. I then walk towards the door, removing my lab coat as I do so, and promptly hang it on the coat rack. The door slides open and I am once again in my office. I do love this short cut that I have. It allows me to jump onto my ideas all the quicker.

With a quick glance in a mirror to be sure that I am fully presentable, I wait patiently for Mister Usher to approach my office.

Never would I have thought that I would be having this type of meeting after my first encounter with him on Dantooine not so long ago.

Mr. Usher

 

[Mr. Usher]

NEW COV
TAGS: Liin "Tera" Terallo​

---

Mr. Usher's 'presentable' husk followed the N&Z secretary to the office. While he had little reason to mistrust the meeting, he left a spare sac of biomass sealed and webbed in the trunk of the speeder - could never be too careful.

The laboratory was pristine by Mr. Usher's standards. Then again, by the time he gained awareness the Sith's alchemical labratory onboard the freighter was thrashed, a scene of primal violence that emerged from a tube, so it wasn't a very high bar to pass.

Spoiler: Mr. Usher's Memories

It wasn't until the minds of the sith alchemist and his servants joined that of the victim test subject in the biomass that Mr. Usher gained awareness, or picked a name for itself.

The sith kept no records of the previous life of the subject, but had extensive memory of the painful methods and tests that the subject endured. The ego of the original host had always been absent, replaced by the primal hunger that was ever present, the constant need to absorb and grow.

The sith and crew of the ship's memories provided context. The original host was a 65 year old man, human, originally. The 'original' mind had offered itself up to the Nether-Devil the sith tried to lure and enslave, after successfully making a subservient self-replicating shapeshifter from the test subject.

The devil would provide the final link to the recreation of an enslave Mnggal-Mnggal. The conditions were set and the pact was ready to be made - but I'm the sith was not who the Nether Devil was dealing with.

In exchange for a release from the pain, the test subject willingly gave up their body for the Nether Devil, a proposition much more appealing than servitude to some power-hungry darkside. The mind and memories of the subject was wiped clean, ego freed from all pain and worldly concern, and the Nether Devil had full control from a willing host. The Devil did not intend to remain a test subject.

The sith was the first "memory" of Mr Usher. Their horrifying last moments were like a long distant dream to the collective mind of the Biomass now. It understood much, though was not a genius for it, only as intelligent as the memories it held and the grey matter it delivered intact to the host body.

Now it was an amalgamation of personalities who have found it easier to accept their death and join the collective as their memories blend together. Mr. Usher, the ego, is not necessarily the biomass itself, but the mind that ushers the bodies into new forms, and ushers the memories into the collective identity.

The Nether Devil is but one of these personalities, but its force connection through the nether is what granted the simultaneous and instantaneous connection of each body - as if each individual form was a single muscle moving in tandem with the rest of the body. Imprecise on the scale it operated at times, but perfectly in sync.

It is for this purpose the ravenous hunger and rage quelled with each new mind consumed, each new identity tipping the scales from the nether devil's sole monopoly of the body. They were not separate, but blended together, diluting the presence but never eliminating it. That Mr. Usher act like a humanlod was only thanks to the sheer quantity of humanoids consumed. Animals, insects plants, well, you are what you eat, after all.

The door finally opened and Mr. Usher bade the husk to remove its hat and bow, careful with much effort to thicken the skin and melanin to appear less translucent than typical, almost passing as human, even.

"My apologies for the delay, Mrs. Terello. Thank you for the invitation."

---

 

[Liin "Tera" Terallo]

As soon as I hear the door open, I turn towards it. Mister Usher passes through and bows his head. I dutifully return the gesture with a bow of my own.

"It is quite all right, Mister Usher. I have not been waiting for long. In fact I have just stepped in from my lab after observing the specimen that you had left for me. I must say that I find it to be very intriguing."

I gesture towards the side table where a variety of refreshments await. "Can I offer you a refreshment? And I do hope that your journey here was uneventful. Being surrounded by neutral space does have it's advantages, I must say."

I do not get myself a glass of wine just yet. A proper host must await their guest first. Yet if he declines the offer, then I shall refrain from partaking in the refreshments too. It is rude to eat or drink in front of a guest, afterall.

Tag: Mr. Usher

 

[Mr. Usher]

NEW COV
HUSK POINTS (HP) = 2
TAGS: Liin "Tera" Terallo​

---

"It is quite all right, Mister Usher. I have not been waiting for long. In fact I have just stepped in from my lab after observing the specimen that you had left for me. I must say that I find it to be very intriguing."

"Intriguing eh? Well, that's a first for me, so I'll take that as a compliment" Mr. Usher's representative husk said as he removed his hat.

"Can I offer you a refreshment? And I do hope that your journey here was uneventful. Being surrounded by neutral space does have it's advantages, I must say."

"Why, absolutely," the husk replied. Sure, the juices of fermented fruits could damage the liver and other tissues - but most creatures didn't have the luxury of creating a new lover to swap out the old one. Regardless he didn't make a habit of it, anyway, unlike cigarettes, but expelling tar from the lungs was a much more unpleasant process.

"Perfectly uneventful, I . . . caught a ride and had lunch on the way here." It was a pleasant way to word stowing away on a cargo freighter as a small rodent and sneaking off into the jungle to build to consume and grow.

Mr. Usher was briefly amused by the thought of technically being an invasive species, though he had the self-control to avoid drawing attention to himself.

"Certainly is easier to chat when there aren't explosives waiting for the wrong words to come out or Pazaak games making a racket. Speaking of which, how is the little fella doing?"
Mr. Usher asked, technically aware of the physiological status of the 'gift' but having intentionally left it without eyes or east to avoid a breach in privacy.

---

Spoiler: Forms and Biomass Table

1 Husk, (+1HP cost for realistic appearance) = 2 HP

Name​	HP threshold​	Difficulty​	Notes​
Husk​	1​	Easy​	Covert,​
Warrior​	4​	Standard​	Offense,​
Prowler​	24​	Threatening​	Agile, stealthy,​
Hulk​	48​	Dangerous​	Defense, transport,​
Heart​	1000​	N/A​	Immobile, digestion​

 

[Liin "Tera" Terallo]

It was a compliment indeed. Yet he should be aware that although I have in a direct sense; lived in a bubble; I am not timid when it comes to biology. For when I don my lab coat, I am not afraid to get my hands dirty, so to speak.

As he accepts the refreshments, I smile and wait for him to choose something for himself before I would pour myself a glass of wine. I listen to his responses to my inquiries and acknowledge them with a nod of my head, followed by a smile.

Yet it is when Mister Usher asks about the specimen in my possession that my smile broadens. "Oh it is doing very well. So much so that it has grown and seems to take on the characteristics of it's diet. I keep it isolated in my lab so there is no danger to it. I am unsure of how large it will become, but perhaps in a month or two I can begin a more indepth study and experimentation. Have you by chance heard of biomolecules and their uses?"

Tag: Mr. Usher

 

[Mr. Usher]

Director Terallo's Office
New Cov
TAGS: Liin "Tera" Terallo​

---

"Oh it is doing very well. So much so that it has grown and seems to take on the characteristics of it's diet. I keep it isolated in my lab so there is no danger to it. I am unsure of how large it will become, but perhaps in a month or two I can begin a more indepth study and experimentation. Have you by chance heard of biomolecules and their uses?"

Mr. Usher grabbed the first bottle within reach, mostly accepting refreshment to blend in better.

"Well, as far as I can tell, there isn't a true upper limit to the biomass, just inconveniences with mobility and practicality as it grows heavier. That and... well, it is also me in a literal sense. Not to be grotesque, but if you grow it to a certain size, It might wander from home and seek out some formalwear for itself!" Mr. Usher jokes with throatier-than-natural chuckle. "I of course wouldn't do that. It's like an extension of my body, a muscle I can move if I need to, but I agreed for it to be studied and I'll keep that word." Mr. Usher took a sip, storing the liquid in an internal pouch-like organ to avoid the effects of intoxication and damage from digesting it. "It's not like I get many chances to socialize without weapons pointed at me."

The husk leaned on a counter in the room, holding the glass with one arm, the other folded underneath the first.

"'I'm curious myself, to be honest. I don't actually know how to cut my consciousness away from one of my husks - I wasn't really created with an instruction manual." Again, the uncanny chuckle returned, though not intended to intimidate, just an unfortunate affect of physiology.

"As for biomolecules, I can't say that I have. One of those noggins in me has heard the term but not much besides. Tell me about them and their uses?"

---

 

[Liin "Tera" Terallo]

I take a sip of my wine as he responds. However I raise my eyebrows in surprise as he spoke of the specimen being an extension of him. Like a hive mind, perhaps? How very interesting. And here I thought that it was it's own seperate self for it surely acted that way. Although that could explain some of it's behavior.

"Well that surely changes things somewhat. In knowing that it is you, I will surely be hesitant to cause any harm. I do not know who created you, nor how or why, but I can certainly say that I am glad that we are not enemies." I do not have any that I could name. Anyone that could be deemed a threat was sure to just be an opportunist looking to hold me ransom. But nothing like that has ever happened to me. I have never once been held against my will by someone, and thankfully so! And it was a good thing to know that if I ever came into some kind of trouble at my lab that at least I could call for Mister Usher's help without the need to use any electronic means.

I take another sip of my wine before responding to his question. "Biomolecules are the rarest resource in the Galaxy. They are only found here on New Cov. They cannot be synthesized in any way, which as you can tell does wonders for our economy given their high market value. It is unclear at the moment of how they form among the flora and fauna here, but one day that truth will be discovered. Their uses are vast, ranging from medicinal, to agriculture to military. And I am curious as to how the specimen or rather you; would react to them being injected into the tissue."

Tag: Mr. Usher

 

[Mr. Usher]

New Cov, Director's Office
TAGS: Liin "Tera" Terallo​

---

"Well that surely changes things somewhat. In knowing that it is you, I will surely be hesitant to cause any harm. I do not know who created you, nor how or why, but I can certainly say that I am glad that we are not enemies."

"Oh, you need not fear my creator." Was this a good idea to share? The myriad memories seemed to agree that honesty was best with academic types.

"I am also them - In a way. They were among the first people I had consumed."

Sugarcoating it would be an insult to the Director's intelligence. She was willing enough to speak to him, euphemisms for what was consumption and assimilation of the dead would only give room for miscommunication.

"The memories of the creator are within my 'mind', but they are outweighed by the others that I've consumed." The myriad consciousness blended together has accepted it's status as a monstrosity, but at least it could be honest about it.

Intellectual curiosity had overcome revulsion thus far with the director, perhaps that trend would continue.

"Biomolecules are the rarest resource in the Galaxy. They are only found here on New Cov. They cannot be synthesized in any way, which as you can tell does wonders for our economy given their high market value. It is unclear at the moment of how they form among the flora and fauna here, but one day that truth will be discovered. Their uses are vast, ranging from medicinal, to agriculture to military. And I am curious as to how the specimen or rather you; would react to them being injected into the tissue."

"I too am curious - I've only had the displeasure learning about myself in uncontrolled environments, by mistake or survival. I am unaffected by many dangerous things, but basic things for others, such as an Antisepsis field, can be devastating for me."

In that particular case, attempting to shift forms while withing an Antisepsis field results in rapid cell death of any biomass transformation.

"If the myriad effects of Biomolecules can be tested in a lab environment, I would be happy to participate - much better than being surprised in a more hazardous situation."

Mr. Usher's husk sipped, tasting but not digesting the wine.

"I do appreciate the honesty and direct nature of your request. Many others would try to trap and study me. Thank you."

---

 

[Liin "Tera" Terallo]

I give a slow nod before sipping my wine after hearing that his creators were consumed. I know what he means by that. However it does not take away from the strangeness of it. In a sense they had all gained a sort of immortality, rather than death.

I do not believe that that is something that I could ever want. Going through my day to day was hard enough at times.

"You need not worry about an antisepsis field here, Mister Usher. We do not have them. And I thank you kindly for volunteering your assistance. I would not dream of doing so without your permission. Even with the specimen that you have left me, I had been treating it well and have only been awaiting it to reach an appropriate size before I plan to do some testing. Now can it shed a small piece of itself like one would with their hair or part of a fingernail?" I could cut off a small sliver of piece with a scalpel to observe through a microscope if need be. But if a piece can be so readily available, then all the better.

Tag: Mr. Usher

 

[Mr. Usher]

NEW COV, DIRECTOR'S OFFICE
TAGS: Liin "Tera" Terallo​

---

[...]Now can it shed a small piece of itself like one would with their hair or part of a fingernail?"

Both in the lab and in the office, each husk shed a small part of itself, thin and flat, like slice of cured meat, about the size of a coin.

"Easily done - one from me and one from the specimen awaits, if comparison reveals anything unique." Mr. Usher set the sample on a tissue and handed it to the Ms. Terello. Already, an observation was made by the hive mind with a separation so small,
"The sample is technically alive for now, but I can already feel it fading. It's too small to sustain itself, starving out. I think the... hmm, 'mental' connection is taxing of energy on a cellular level."

Maybe that was another reason why gray matter and nerve tissue of more intelligent species were more valuable, more efficient for mass gain. To send directions to muscles created instead of directly communing with the host mind.

"I can provide more as necessary, my curiosity is certainly piqued as well."

---

 

[Liin "Tera" Terallo]

I am a little taken aback as a sliver of a piece of Mister Usher was suddenly shed. It was as though an invisible knife had removed it from him, yet there was no knife at all.

Yet however my surprise, I am not repulsed by it. So I take the tissued sample in hand and set down my glass with the other. "How much time does it have? My lab is quite close by if there is a need to be in a rush." A part of me wanted to just drop everything and undertake the testing straight away. But decorum dictates that I cannot be rude to my guest. Although there is always the chance that he would be inclined to observe the testing himself. Yet I do not quite know him well enough to be certain. I do not know anyone well enough to make such assumptions. Yet equally, they do not know enough about me either.

Tag: Mr. Usher

 

[Mr. Usher]

New Cov, Director's Office
TAGS: Liin "Tera" Terallo​

---

"How much time does it have? My lab is quite close by if there is a need to be in a rush."

Even as the director and Mr. Usher's presence spoke, the sliver perished into a lifeless sliver of meat. Mr. Usher had not considered fuel storage for a separate entity, perhaps giving it a layer of fat or...

"Don't worry too much about it, I have a better idea"

With a prod of his finger, the husk reabsorbed the dead mass, recouping some of the biomass, albeit energy consumption to 'reanimate' it would be lost - but the knowledge was well worth the tiny loss of energy.

Instead Mr. Usher formed the same sliver, but kept it connected with via a small arterial matrix from the index finger. Kept as part of the husks's form and attached to it's energy supply he ensured it would live but also be small enough to be examined by a microscope or any other scanner.

"I see no need to delay, I'm as curious as you are about this"

As a courtesy, Mr. Usher downed the rest of the wine, storing it like the rest.

Okay, he conceded, he digested some of it, as a celebration to newfound knowledge and curiosity of how inebriation of an individual may affect the hive mind, if at all.

---

 

[Liin "Tera" Terallo]

My eyebrows rise both in surprise and curiosity as Mister Usher seems to shift his proposal ever so slightly. It amazes me how he can both absorb and remove pieces of himself so easily, and I wonder if there is any pain in the process; for surely there would be a high amount of pain for me if I was to lose a part of my finger.

As he downs his wine, I take one final sip of mine before I set the glass aside. I am very pleased with his eagerness to get started, for it matches my own. And a proper host must cater to their guest, afterall.

With a smile I dip my head and cradle the specimen and napkin in my hand while I lead Mister Usher to one of the other doors in my office which leads to my own personal lab. On a coat stand hangs a few lab coats. I take mine and put it on, being careful not to drop the specimen. "Please slip on a coat, Mister Usher. It helps to keep my lab a little more sterile." It does do that, in a way. But not as much as one might expect. Still, it helps to set the tone for the environment and it puts me at ease.

I bring the speciment to my microscope and gently set it on the counter. With a pair of tweezers, I carefully pick the specimen up and set it on a small glass slate before sliding that in front of the lens. A holoscreen turns on, allowing Mister Usher to see what the lens magnifies. Little tiny microbes and cells move amongst themselves; some of them combining, some of them seperating. And yet they move in such a uniform and almost choreographed way. "I have never seen anything like this before. It is as though they are dancing. There seems to be no individuality among them. How very strange. It makes me wonder how they would react when biomolecules are introduced..."

I turn my head to gaze upon Mister Usher, reverting to taking his lead in this experiment. "Shall we?"

Tag: Mr. Usher

 

[Mr. Usher]

New Cov, Biomolecules Labs
TAGS: Liin "Tera" Terallo​

---

The Talker husk accepted the jacket and followed to the lab. When asked if ready, it simply nodded. The mass consciousness was feeling trepidation - the introduction of each new life consumed had potential to bring something to the psyche, not just the biomass.

A worry flickered - an acknowledgement that this could impact the collective ego that had diluted the Host consciousness, or introduce something else entirely.

Or it could simply affect this husk, which could be isolated and culled if it proved some greater threat to the greater consciousness of Mr. Usher.

He waited, ready to sever the connection as the titration of biomolecules was applied... Nothing immediately felt different, but the movements on the screen that the Director observed certainly responded, though Mr. Usher wasn't sure what it meant.

"Do those shifting squiggles on the screen mean something to you?"
He said, trying to hide his sudden anxiousness with a mask of humor.

What the Biomolecules were doing to the sample he could not even guess; he could only see the reaction spreading even beyond the applied area.

---

 

[Liin "Tera" Terallo]

I was given the go ahead to proceed, albeit in a subtle way. It was interesting to see someone so interested in such experiments on what was essentially themselves. And it made me wonder just how he became what he is. No doubt it was probably horrible and filled with much terror and pain. Inside I just shudder at the thought, for I had never been held against my will; let alone been transfigured into something else.

I move to one of the shelves and pick out a small glass tube. Inside lay a light liquid, it's hue I am told is pale green in color. The liquid is so light in density that one would think that it would evaporate. But thinking that only means that one does not understand the genetic make up of biomolecules. They never evaporate. At least not when they are by themselves.

Inside of a drawer I pull out a syringe and insert it's tip into the tube. With a gentle pull at the syringe's base, the precious biomolecules are collected. I only require a small amount, and so I set the glass tube onto it's shelf once the right amount was acquired.

I can see Mister Usher watching my every move out of the corner of my eye and yet it does not bother me. There have been other times when I have had an audience, and they were usually new hires for the company. So this is not very different.

Once I return to the microscope, I carefully insert the syringe into the specimen with a well practiced hand. And with a subtle touch, the biomolecules are introduced into the flesh. Instantly my eyes are drawn to the holoscreen to observe. The biomolecules are a different shade than the specimen's cells, so it is easy for me to pick them out. Plus their shapes are more pentigon in form. They move and mingle with some of the dancing cells, at times interrupting a dancing pair, only to dance with them. Yet when previously it had seemed as though all of the specimen's cells were moving in uniform with one another; this time there were some moving differently and at their own pace, resembling the cells from a normal tissue sample would do.

"This is remarkable. Those little round blobs are what makes up both you and I. However what makes you so unique is that they are all moving collectively instead of in random patterns. Yet when I brought the biomolecules into the equation; that uniformality seems to change and break up." I turn my focus from the holoscreen to Mister Usher now before I inquire, "You are connected to it still, are you not? Does it feel any different to you?"

Tag: Mr. Usher

 

[Mr. Usher]

New Cov, Biomolecular Labs
TAGS: Liin "Tera" Terallo​

---

"You are connected to it still, are you not? Does it feel any different to you?"

"I am, I think..." it was a tingling sensation, but it seems whatever information the cells carried flipped to others and spread almost infectiously, green tint spiralling through the veins of the specimen.

The tingling sensation grew, almost painful. He felt like it was still connected to him, like he could even move and manipulate the specimen... Only, he couldn't. The pins-and-needles feeling began to sting, like a phantom limb, like nerves expecting to be connecting only to stop abruptly. Where the ocean of egos that formed Mr. Usher congealed, a bubble was exercised by the biomolecules.

The Specimen, now marbled with green from the impact of the biomolecular shift that continued to spread, growing along the limbs and antennae as until it was fully affected - unbeknownst to Mr. Usher himself, too curious about the effects on the ego to notice the marbling in real-time. The Specimen had initially skittered and frantically paced the terrarium until it finished the transformation. Then, as suddenly as it began, the specimen began to roam its terrarium without a care, shifting itself to have eyes like the insects it consumed - against the will of the greater Ego, which no longer had any control over the smaller creature.

"Wait, actually -" The husk began to respond, only to find that it was no longer able to detect the specimen any longer. "It's numb. It's alive but it's not 'me' any longer?" Mr. Usher speculated, now looking closer at the smaller specimen - now a simplistic and emancipated creature with intelligence reflected by its size.

"I wonder - is it a duplicate of myself? A new hive mind, or is it limited to itself now?"

Was it 'liberated' by the biomolecules, or has it been commandeered by the biomolecules? The latter seemed preposterous, if the biomolecules could carry some form of intelligence, it would have manifested in some other form before this, and Ms. Terello would have mentioned such before.

Right?

Mr. Usher was out of his depth, but found himself keeping a healthy distance from the husk and the specimen.

---

 

[Liin "Tera" Terallo]

What once was an aura of excited curiosity had now turned into something different. It was still curiosity, yes, but it was also laced with fear. I could see it in Mister Usher's expression, within his body language, and in how he now kept himself further back.

This is not what I intended to happen at all.

While the specimen on the glass slate was the control group, I now find myself moving towards the little containment chamber where the other specimen resided. I noticed that the shade of it was somewhat different from earlier. But is that all that is different?

"I do not have the answers to those questions as of yet. Let us introduce a food source and see. You absorb others in such a unique way and so did this specimen. But it is a different color now, is it not? I had not expected that to change." Carefully I grab a smaller container filled with a dozen small insects with wings that more or less help them to hop rather than to fly. I open the lid and catch one of them before slipping it into the specimen's chamber. I reapply the lid and set the smaller container aside to watch and observe. "We will know more after this. And then we will stop. I promise."

Tag: Mr. Usher

 

[Mr. Usher]

New Cov, Biomolecular Lab
TAGS: Liin "Tera" Terallo​

---

Mr. Usher agreed and assured Ms. Terello that there was no need to halt on his account, he needed to know more about this just as much as she did.

The husk stared at the green - veined specimen as it hunted, more animalistic in instinct than before.

"Something about the little fella is... Nostalgic. It's like I can relate to it, even if it's not me anymore."

The Specimen showed consistent rate of growth as before, although more immediate use of biomass to adopt features it fed upon, also using less energy to maintain itself, freed from the constant drain of Hive-mind connection. After only a few insects it kept small insectoid eyes and wings intact and used them, getting a first look at its surroundings and hopping around, almost curious at the environment. It paused and stared at both the director, the hand that feeds — and the Husk.

The Husk drew mr. Usher's attentions away from the other forms across other worlds for a moment as it stared into the eyes of this green-tinged creature.

"I think it remembers being part of me," Mr. Usher speculated as he made eye contact with the Specimen. The phantom pain lessened as the ego accepted the loss of the biomass - but it was not dead, not to be mourned.

The original host, deep within Mr. Usher's psyche, the Nether Devil that had possessed it - it was unchanged, nothing taken from it, still a ravenous pit of malice held back by the egos of consumed minds.

"It's innocent, I think" Mr. Usher said. This new lifeform was disconnected from his hive mind, which was held together through the Nether according to the Sith Alchemist's plan. "Perhaps the biomolecules taught the biomass how to reject the influence of the host? Like a vaccine sharing information from cell to cell?"

If so then it was liberated from the Nether Devil - it was him, but free to be a creature of its own. An amalgamation of minds freed from responsibility and given a fresh start, disconnected from the terror that consumed them.

Deep within the ego, the original host seethed, but the swathes of consciousness around celebrated at the possibility - new life, albeit in a twisted way, freed from the anchor of its creation.

A realization came to Mr. Usher, dividing into conflicting emotions. If the biomolecules had liberated the specimen and spread so rapidly...

"I think it wants to end me... I am conflicted, part of me wants to bring the specimen to the mind-host and liberate each separate form, but that also goes against my base instinct for survival. Or... Perhaps it wants to claim the host mind for itself?"

"I think I need to learn more of these biomolecules. In exchange, I can speak of some of my creation, and... and the Nether. The intersection of the two is both what worries me and gives me hope"

This little thing, this experiment was either Mr. Usher's salvation, destruction, or a gateway for something much worse. He found himself bearing a responsibility to learn which - and determine if ridding the galaxy of his host was worth the cost of loss of his self.

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