Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Double Helix (Aditya Amadis)

Jar'Kai | Imperial Command Building​
@[member="Aditya Amadis"]​
On the ground floor of the main Imperial command building were literally hundreds of holo terminals, free for use by any Defense personnel. Sure, Satoshi had access to the officer-only terminals upstairs, but he actually preferred the ground floor. More people, more noise ... he liked experiencing the world around him. Because after all, life was a game and these people were other players. Players that he had to beat in order to rise up the social ladder and take power. For that was the name of the game. Power. Others had the illusion that money was power, or knowledge was power. But really, power was power. Might was power. In time, Satoshi would let them know.

But for now, something else had caught his interest. He was running a simulation on one of the terminals, which focused on a specific strand of DNA. Some sections of the DNA were removed and replaced with others (this was a falsification, but one done only for simplification, Satoshi knew enough about DNA to tell the difference), and as they were running through the simulation explanations popped up of what exactly was going on. DNA manipulation and biotech could bring a lot of of opportunities for the Empire, and Satoshi himself.

So the young officer watched, engrossed by the sim, occasionally moving the sim around and zooming in for a closer look.

OOC: Finally got some time to do this. Sorry!
 
OOC: Thanks! :D Happy RPing!

Aditya Amadis was barely able to remember what floor her new shiny office was on, she rushed around to and fro with all the courtly dapperness of a penguin on stim-caf, a parcel of flimsies under her arm. "That's the report for. . . and the. . . and that meeting with the person, am I supposed to be there for thaa--aah!"

One of the flimsies fell under her heeled foot and Aditya crashed to the floor in the splits, still gripping the rest of the stack in a death grip. "OhgoshIcan'tbelieveIdidthatyeahsmartmoveAd..." Dusting herself off, she pushed the flimsies at her assistant, who was gawking around desperately trying to minimize the embarrassment of her new CEO.

Aditya tugged her clothing back in place and stepped gingerly to where @[member="Rodrigo Satoshi"] was watching the double helix of DNA dance across a screen. Was it rude? Probably, was it necessary? Her curiosity would not be quenched until she figured out what the man was up to.

"Oh, hello. Interesting take there." She nodded to the DNA strands.
 
"Oh, hello. Interesting take there." Of course, primarily, Satoshi felt a brief flicker of annoyance at the interruption. As a man who knew that he was probably the smartest man in the room, whichever room he actually stepped into, he found most inter-human interaction pointless. Unless they could get him something he wanted or needed it was like talking to some sort of primordial being like a chimp. Satoshi felt ostracised by his brilliant mind. But he also knew the merits of play-acting, of charming others and creating a good impression. He had also learned not to underestimate people on face value, and he had learned the hard way. The young Lieutenant looked up at @[member="Aditya Amadis"] for the first time and smiled. At first glance she looked flustered and disorganised, but what the heck? Maybe she would actually understand what Satoshi was doing. Or maybe not. It didn't really matter. He had time.

"Interesting is one word, revolutionary another." The young officer smiled again, warmly if a touch insincerely, and held out his hand to shake. "Lt. Rodrigo Satoshi, Fleet."

The young man looked back to the holo and indicated the display as the genetic re-arrangement was complete, showing a genetic structure that was much, much more resistant to disease than the original DNA strand. The possibilities of this were endless.

"It's amazing how reliant we are on droid tech, when the possibilities of this are so much more incredible.."
 
@[member="Rodrigo Satoshi"] "Mmm, yeah, but that peptide strain'll give half the recipients cancer. Or. . . um. . . hyperthyroidism. Are you starting with a near-human or human zygotic primordial structure?" Aditya gave the Lieutenant a bright and beaming smile, nearly ear to ear as she took his hand.

"Senior Prefect Aditya Amadis, Imperial Shipworks." She snapped her fingers and the assistant with her grabbed her stuff and found her a chair. The petite Epicanthix mashed her fingers together and pouted. "Droids can be hacked. Takes a bit more to hack a genome but it can be done. Thankfully according to my people there's not many getting into that kind of work. Not many we'd have to be concerned for. . . what're you working on?"
 
"Human, for now. This is not exactly my area of expertise. More of a new interest." Okay, clearly she was of excellent intelligence. This conversation had now piqued Satoshi's interest, and when she dropped her rank and name, his eyebrows may have moved upwards a touch. A Senior Prefect in the Shipworks wasn't a high-ranking position, but it was interesting. The Imperial Shipworks were renowned for their efficiency and revolutionary designs. So clearly, her position was one of some prestige and could be considered very meritorious. Anyway, he brought the peptide that @[member="Aditya Amadis"] had indicated into a zoom view, so she could see the sequence in belonged to in detail.

"Cancer isn't the problem. DNA is a limited system with a definite life-span, especially in humans. Everyone has oxidative lesions in their DNA strands, cancer causing lesions. If you're human and you live long enough, you're going to get cancer. Hyperthyroidism though ... you may have a point. As I said, I'm new at this." The Lieutenant shrugged and revolved the DNA strand around so Amadis could see something else he had found. He wondered where Amadis had got the idea to talk about peptides, as they were way more prevalent in protein strands than nucleic acids such as DNA. DNA and RNA generally made use of hydrogen bonds ... however, he chose to ignore this for now. Maybe she knew something he didn't. In fact, that seemed likely. "Look at that, beta sheet ... Not only is this poor guy going to get hyperthyroidism and cancer, he's also going to get Alzheimer's. That's my main concern."

He zoomed out again, bringing the double helix structure into full view. It wasn't even a full chromosome yet, Satoshi still had some work to do.

"Not really working on much, just playing. Trying to create some sort of genetic structure that doesn't require vaccination during its life cycle. But really, I'm just messing around on a river without a paddle here. This is something best left to the experts." He grinned. "However, I'm sure contacting some experts who could do some work for the Empire couldn't hurt the war effort."
 
"New's okay! I'm new at my Commission. Just started, kind of finding my way around the place." So she didn't say exactly what that Commission was, Aditya was far more interested in the genetic engineering @[member="Rodrigo Satoshi"] was playing with. Leaning over with one hand on the console, she bit her bottom lip. "Have you tried compacting the DNA strands with a synthetic peptide to induce a condition where it's harder for the acids to degrade? The Chimeric structure of the borrowed chains could be bolstered in place without damaging the nature of the neural tissue, or giving them some kind of freaky deaky autism. There's a lot of tertiary structural maintenance that can be done exclusively with protein chains or synthetic Peptide-Nucleic-Acids."

Cancer, Hyperthyroidism, Alzheimers, little wonder most civilizations only did so much genetic engineering. The problems were too hideous to put on a living being. "Make that structure impervious to nerve gas and toxic agents, and I'll be in for a more thorough look." Her Assistant, a stern woman with raked back hair and a pristine military uniform snapped to attention beside the Epicanthix.

"Ma'am. Shall I begin the requisition process for initial resource expenditure?"

"Yeah, get me a potential budget and check with the Med Division to see if they've got any specialists who could aide the good Lieutenant here. Oh, and move my meeting with Moff Fa until 1000 tomorrow. I know he likes to sleep in. Well, Lieutenant, wanna come up to my office? I've got a holoprojector table that's a fair bit more pristine than this console. If you want to start on something for the experts, I'll throw you a bone."

If he decided all was for it, Aditya would take him up the Imperial Tower to . . . to the CEO's penthouse office suite?
 
"No, no, haven't tried that because I'm not working with synthetics. You could use a synthetic plastic chain that wouldn't degrade for over two-hundred years, true, but anything synthetic can be hacked. That's a weakness. We need to incubate genetic structures that are one hundred percent organic to counteract that." Satoshi smiled. "Unfortunately, I'm just a hobbyist with little experience at this. When I'm clocked on I'm the Executive Officer of a Yovshin-class frigate. Tactics and persuasive leadership are more my areas of expertise."

Rodrigo waved the sim away and stood, indicating that he would indeed like to come up to her office. He had taken a liking to Amadis in a very platonic way. She was sharp yet seemingly scattered ... a true individual. He had a feeling that he'd enjoy any conversation that they mutually encountered on the way up to her office, and besides, a Senior Prefect in the Shipworks could make a very good friend indeed. And in time, she might need a Fleet officer to swing her a favour. That was it, really. Satoshi waved a hand to stop her assistant briefly, still smiling.

"That would be a waste of time and resources, unfortunately. I have neither the time nor the expertise to take part in a research project of this importance. After all, I have my crew to think of, and I'm about two years of study off from having anywhere near the amount of knowledge necessary to build a functioning, perfect chromosome from scratch." He began walking to the lifts, falling into stride next to Amadis. "However, I've been researching firms that carry out this kind of research. There aren't many, but there is one that might suit our needs."
 
@[member="Rodrigo Satoshi"]

"So in avoiding the easier option, you're looking for the right set of naturalistic traits to modify the genome? Have you tried disaster survivors? Radiation disaster survivors, and keen family lines with high lasting intelligences might be a good place to search. Of course you'd need to get some DNA samples." Aditya wondered if there was a database for genetics in the Galactic Empire's reportoir. Maybe the medical system kept files she could glean for the right project.

Small talk, chats, how was the weather, it was all good for the petite Epicanthix. She flickered on the holo projector table in her office and a yawning sound came when the door closed, indicating some moments of serenity built into the space. "First thing I did when Emperor Kahoshi gave me this job was to make the office more cohesive to planning. Sure, we've got board rooms for that but I like working where I feel I spend the most time. . . wow. An Executive Officer! That's quite the position! How do you like your frigate? Anything that doesn't function well?"

Any chance for learning some improvements to the system as it was. "You could consult couldn't you? Which firm would that be?"
 
"So in avoiding the easier option, you're looking for the right set of naturalistic traits to modify the genome? Have you tried disaster survivors? Radiation disaster survivors, and keen family lines with high lasting intelligences might be a good place to search. Of course you'd need to get some DNA samples." Satoshi grinned, the first genuine smile that had cracked his visage as yet.

"Exactly. Exactly. I'd need to gain access to Imperial Medical Database or have someone fetch what I need who does have the access. My clearance level is low, understandably." The young Lieutenant looked around Amadis' office, impressed. He noted the tasteful yet compact and functional layout of the room and approved. He particularly liked the desk and the curtains, which seemed to be of matching colours. Very nice. "Your office is ... spectacular, by the way." Oh, the frigate. "The Yovshins are good ships. Solid. A bit dated, but flexible. I love ships that can be multi-purposed. Last ship I worked on was a Gyon-class cruiser as a weapons officer. Now those ships ... they are beautiful. Yovshins are beautiful in a different kind of way."

Now to the matter at hand. The genetic engineering. To be honest, Satoshi hadn't expected this idea of his to take off quite like this, but he supposed that he was lucky that Amadis had been around. The Epicanthix was a real get-stuff-done kind of person. The Empire needed more like her in positions like hers.

"I could consult, definitely. This is the firm I found." Satoshi used the holoprojector to bring up the page of the firm in question. Auron Helix Corp ... the page was set out in a tasteful off-white, black and grey colour scheme that the young officer approved of. "Auron Helix, they're called. One of the only biotech firms in the galaxy. The work they did on Ankus caught my eye. Altered the genomes of an entire region of people via gas, and they say there were more than a dozen species of sentients within the region. All levo-amino acid based life forms, thankfully. Made an entire region immune to a plague that had killed a hundred thousand people up to that point. Very efficient work." He paused. "I've been trying to find out more about them but they're very secretive. Apparently, you can only really get in contact with them if you can prove that you're serious and have the capital to back them. However, I'm sure they can do more than I can with a team of doctors with little biotech experience. They might be work contacting."

@[member="Aditya Amadis"]
 
Mashing her lips together, Aditya made a note on a datapad and nodded. "Yeah, the easiest of course is looking for the traits without the DNA until we find the appropriate genomes. It's completely legal to walk up to someone and go 'wow, how did you survive that explosion?' or 'your family must all be incredible!' and let them talk until you get the appropriate leads. Besides, makes people feel good."

Leaning against the desk, the young CEO nodded and let the pride reign. A subordinate lit incense, and began bringing out the tea set. "Thanks, I'm pretty proud. . . Keep me posted on the Yoshvins, eh? If anything comes up that needs a re-fit, let me know."

The tea was served, and Aditya sipped it as they talked. "Auron Helix. Haven't heard of them, where is their HQ? Is it Imperial, or outside our Empire? What do you envision being the final product of these genetic experiments, Lieutenant @[member="Rodrigo Satoshi"]?"
 
Satoshi accepted the tea with a nod and sat back in his chair, sipping it. It was hot, and it was damn good. The incense was a nice touch, too. The paranoid megalomaniac in him made him think that the incense was perhaps a distraction tactic, but the rational part of his mind made him dismiss that thought. He and Amadis were working together for the benefit of the Empire, and though she was a smart woman she probably wouldn't be trying to get an advantage over him. At least, not yet.

"Auron Helix's HQ is actually in Republic space. Empress Teta, to be exact. Thankfully, the Tetan systems are somewhat of a black hole in terms of privacy laws. Unless what we're doing actually conflicts with Republic law, they do not have to cooperate with Republic authorities. And that's only if the Republic figure out we're using a company within their space, which due to AH's secrecy, I doubt they will. Also, their actual research facility, they assure, is on an uninhabited planet currently not garrisoned by any major galactic powers. Thus, no laws to infringe, and no eyes watching." Rodrigo sipped his tea. "Basically, Senior Prefect @[member="Aditya Amadis"], the possibilities are endless. A defence against biological warfare, public welfare projects against disease for our poorer citizens, and then there are the options for warfare. Morally muddy, I guess ... genetically enhanced soldiers and agents, regrown limbs and organs for our veterans. Anything you can think of."
 
@[member="Rodrigo Satoshi"]

Political advantageousness was a phenomenon which hadn't quite sunk in to the recent immigrant's bones. When it came to her Atrisian affairs, the spritely Epicanthix was treading the waters of Atrisian culture and business, gasping when she could for a breath of the familiar. Science? Engineering? Ships needing modifications? They made far more sense than how to properly hold a teacup or when to bow and which robe or uniform to wear for which Prefect/Noble/Daimyo.

"Auron Helix?" Aditya tapped a key on the holo projector and a small sub-projection cast upward with information on the company which, granted, wasn't much more than a name and a vicinity of interest. A research facility in neutral space could mean anything from biowarfare to the newest disease treatments, needless Aditya would have to tread lightly. Her footprints made firmer dents in the sand now, than her days of flitting around on miscellaneous ships doing who knew what for credits. What kind of call could she make? The Emperor had hinted at trust, but this?

Genetic engineering? "Worth a look see. We say we're undergoing projects to reduce disease and eliminate genetically based medical problems not many would fault it, and we could use the research on saving soldiers. Making more, that sort. I for one think we could benefit from putting engineered soldiers on the field, instead of someone's little boy. Yes, it's worth the check. Question is, what project do we approach them about first? Regrowth would seem a logical choice, if we can learn to regrow fatty tissues in the brain, we could eliminate that Alzheimer's you were looking at in your DNA sample."
 
"I'm with you on this. Regrowth is a logical first stepping stone, as well as creating a genetic resistance against disease. I've done some research and right now we're paying for every member of the Stormtrooper Corps to have his or her appendix and tonsils removed." Satoshi sipped his tea again. "That's two medical procedures for millions of troops. The cost we can handle, but after the procedures they're unable to be deployed for four to six weeks. Logistical nightmare. Reducing their susceptibility to disease via air-transmitted pathogens would protect against more than just appendicitis and tonsilitis, complete take away recovery time from their medical procedures, and in the long run might even be cheaper."

It was funny how things worked out. Fifteen minutes before he was just playing around with a complex computer program during his time off, but now it was leading to something much greater. And what they were discussing now was only a small development. Biotech had so much more room for growth. The sky was indeed the limit.

"We should contact Auron Helix and get them under contract before the Protectorate or the Republic realise that droid tech can only go so far."

@[member="Aditya Amadis"]
 
"Stronger soldiers, heck stronger citizens and we could save the Empire a lot. Think of how much more productive we could be if certain diseases were removed? I know some people'll think it's freaky all 'my disease made me who I am' but I've not met a person in the 'verse who wouldn't go for feeling less suffering from their loved ones. It's worth the look." Aditya sat down and sipped her tea, musing over the ethical repercussions of what she considered. "We keep it secret, we release only to a select few, and we build from there. Let's find a contact from AH we can start relations with. No one knows but us."

The Protectorate, the Republic, it was odd she had opponents now, real ones which threatened the fabric of what she built. Making waves, they didn't make things easier, did they? "No use letting them in on our secrets. I hope they stick with Droids. We'll go deeper. Any ideas on best way to send a message to AH, or is getting in a ship and knocking on the door the best policy?" @[member="Rodrigo Satoshi"]
 
"I'd message them before hopping on a ship. They'll need time to prepare for us, I'm sure." Satoshi looked over at @[member="Aditya Amadis"], watching her facial expressions closely. She caught onto things quickly and was more than happy to take a risk. He guessed he'd been lucky to meet the right person at exactly the right time, otherwise this might never have gotten off the ground. With Project Pantheon in full swing, this was a logical next step. Why save augmentations for only the elite?

"I'd send through a request for a meet to their HQ and then head to Cinnagar for a rendezvous. I'm available to consult, if you need me of course. We also might want to give Command a heads up."
 
"Thanks, Lieutenant. (@[member="Rodrigo Satoshi"])" Aditya continued to search out valuable tweaks and bits in the genomes present, clucking her tongue and moseying around the holo projections to get her perspectives straight.

There was a heavy weight on her shoulder, for all her lightness of being, a steady throb in her chest as if another heart had implanted between her lungs and taken bastion of her time. No doubt she held now that one point was true. The Emperor hadn't made the largest mistake of his career in choosing her.

"Command? Like, military command? Yeah, I can fill them in. . . You. . . you do know I'm CEO of the Shipworks, right? There is no one higher up but the Emperor and he is super. Stoic, assured, diligent and kinda scary when you don't know he's going to be walking into a room then poof! Emperor! But he's graciously given me a lot of leash on projects which will benefit the Empire, so I take orders and give updates direct. Gonna help us, eh?! I like that jazz. Ooo and tap. Naw, never did like tap. More of a ballet girl myself. Have you ever watched ballet? Takes a real athlete to pull yourself up by your toes. Don't think these guys will have a problem, though. Once the modifications are made."
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top Bottom