What is the purpose of weapons?
What is the purpose of war?
What is the purpose of life?
What is the purpose of anything?
Those questions seemed to have no answer. Because there were no answers; everyone had to make their own. For some that meant following a code where all life was sacred. For others that meant they had to gain as much power as possible in the short time left to one’s life. For Flingger those rules were to create the perfect combination of war and natural. To make the ultimate mixture of man-made warriors and those nature.
Of course, his research had been frowned upon heavily by those in command of the small research facility. Weaponizing organics was by no means new, but to change the very DNA and make mixes that would fight. His intent had been for his creations to become the next soldiers. No longer would one need to send armies of people onto the battlefield, instead they could just send these created weapons and they would be equal to those armies.
Never had he actually gotten a proper result, but he could tell it was possible. He just needed more supplies, more funding, more time. None of which were being given. He was branded as a maniac, one that was too dangerous to continue his work. He was fired and a mark was placed on his record that would ensure that he never again see the inside of a scientific facility again. He would be taken to some Outer Rim world to never be heard of again. He had had no hope to find a relief for his glorious plan. He had wanted to save lives! All he wanted was to create the perfect weapon, that would stop all wars!
No one believed him. He was doomed to spend all his days scrounging for food or working for some idiot whose only dream was to sell food to street walkers. He did not want that to be his destiny. But there was no salvation for him. Until the men came for him. Dark men, men who were very smart. They knew about his past. They asked if he could create the creatures that he had been working on. They had promised wealth and power and the ability to return to continue his studies once his creations were complete.
That was why he was here. To finish his experiments, to create that final weapon that would end all wars. It had been years since he had joined the attempt to create the’ Alphas’ as they had come to be known as. He had tried many times to get sentient flora based DNA to be mixed with near-human to get mixed advantages. Most had ended in miserable failure. Until now…
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“Yes, yes I know that the flora tends to be more fragile than near-humans. But they can be connected. It just takes care and requires time,” Flingger responded somewhat upset.
“Look, we understand this. However, the time it has taken has made most of us question whether or not it is actually possible,” Derot, Flingger’s Chiss Sith overseer, responded.
“It is possible,” Fligger replied pleadingly.
“I know. Now what is it you need this time?”
“I need, I need. I don’t know! I’ve tried everything scientifically possible and nothing works!” His voice rose to hysterical levels and he seemed to be insane for a moment.
“It’s alright. You’ll figure it out. Maybe you should ask for those Sith to help using their Alchemy.”
“I’ll be damned before that happens,” deep determination came into his voice and his eyes glowed with malice.
“I want to create this without the help of the Force. It can be done, it will be done!”
Derot sighed. This had happened once or twice before when mention of Alchemy was brought up. Flingger seemed intent on creating the creature without outside intervention. He was very petulant in the matter. He would refuse to work if Derot insisted, as he had done in the past. It was a nightmare for Derot. The one scientist he had found and it was practically a child. Just his luck.
Derot left Flingger, who seemed to have gotten over his temporary hitch, to speak to one of the other Sith. Derot was hardly the most powerful or knowledgeable Sith in this project, but he had come with his master when she decided to join the project. His master was a truly gifted Sith, one that had spent much time contemplating on the Force and using her knowledge to create terrifying beasts. He had a loyalty to her, a loyalty that would probably end out badly for him in the end. She had brought him into the Sith, had trained him until at last he was more than those around him, and had never let him down in the past when he needed help or guidance.
Now though, there was hardly time to spend talking with her. Not that he was too upset by it. She was an odd one, a self-appointed Darth that no one particularly paid attention to. She was brilliant, but not entirely sane. He still obeyed her if only because she had more to teach him, otherwise he might have left her long ago.
There she was, Darth Lirdav. Normally she would be found in her chambers, practicing some sort of ritual. She apparently wanted to consult some of the other Sith. If she was surprised when Derot found her she hid it well. She looked expectantly at her apprentice. Even though she only stood five foot three, whereas Derot stood six foot two, he could feel the power radiate off of her. He could also feel the enthusiasm and some of the insanity.
“Yes apprentice?” She asked, finding Derot to take too much time with niceties. Her petite human form exuded power as she spoke.
“Lird…”
“Master Lirdav.” She rudely interrupted with her correction.
“Master, I have come to ask for help.” He knelt as he spoke.
“Of course you have. Why else am I here, but to help my young apprentice become stronger and eventually become a Darth to work alongside me in our cause.”
Derot swallowed a sigh that threatened to escape.
“As you say master. It is the scientist we are working with. He does not understand that we could assist him in his attempts to create the fifth Alpha.”
“Of course he doesn’t understand. All those that are not Sith do not understand the power that we wield. They are all intelligent fools who believe themselves to be our equals simply because we work together.”
“Yes, master. I was hoping that you would be willing to speak with our scientist and help him understand that we could be of assistance.”
“I could do so. But I do not see the point. Sith have created creatures like these Alphas before. There is no need to drag foolish ‘science’ into it.”
“I agree.” Darot said diplomatically, sensing her distaste for the scientists.
“However those we are working for require species be mixed to create a more specifically powerful creature.”
“I already know this.” She snapped angrily.
“Do you not think that I have already begun my own work? While our friend has been wasting time trying to mix a number of different alien species together, I have been working on a single sentient plant with my Alchemy and rituals. I have so far made it much more powerful and have stabilized its form so that it doesn’t wilt quite so easily within high heat.”
“Your work speaks for itself, master. However…”
“However?” She asked, the treacherous nature of her voice told Derot to choose his words carefully.
“However, the people who we are making these Alphas for request that it be a mixed breed if only for the added advantages of multiple species.” Derot made his voice as submissive as possible.
Lirdav seemed to pause and think on this. Her brow knotted as she tried to decide how to respond. Then she spoke,
“Fine, it is no matter to me. I will speak to this fool and help him with his mix breed.”
She walked off quietly, almost as if stalking something. It was only once she had turned a corner and disappeared that Derot let loose a breath that he had not realized he had been holding in. That could have been incredibly ugly, especially if his master had decided to take that personally. He sometimes felt that she acted little too petty to really have so much power...
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Flingger looked into Lirdav’s purple eyes, his own green eyes blazing. He would not surrender this project to this insane woman who believed the only answer was the Force. It would be a waste of resources. He already had a new concept that would hopefully succeed. The only issue appeared to be in keeping all the different DNA parts meshed, keeping the antibodies that would be made using the human DNA formula from attacking the body, and keeping the creature alive for extended periods. It seemed that most of his other experiments were not able to maintain life for some reason, he guessed that it was due to the fact that a normal being was simply not meant to be a mix of the species that were being used.
“You have shown yourself to be incapable of creating the species, as you promised, on your own. I am here to correct your failure.” Lirdav spoke with as much arrogance as a Rancor was large.
“My ‘failure’ has only occurred thanks to a lack of resources and time.” He responded with anger flaring within his voice.
Lirdav laughed, the kind of laugh that made one feel very uncomfortable with her presence.
“You failed because science cannot accomplish what you hoped by its self. I will help and your reputation will be saved.”
Flingger cringed and responded,
“Fine then, but I will not be accepting any more help beyond what is necessary.”
“Oh and my help will be completely necessary to complete this objective.”
Flingger snarled then turned back to his computer.
“Fine. Let us begin then.”
“Good. Now what is the first problem?”
“I would have thought that your ‘senses’ would have been able to tell you what the problem was.”
Lirdav took the mocking comment with an unprecedented grace, even so Derot decided to interject quickly.
“From what I recall, you had trouble with keeping the creature alive and keeping the DNA together. Is this correct?”
“Among other things.” Flingger held his gaze on the computer then he turned to look at Derot.
“Fine then, let’s get to work.” Lirdav sat down and began meditating...
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Words.
That was what was entering him.
He didn’t understand them; he didn’t even understand his own thoughts.
What were these strange things that were called words?
Why were they flooding his mind, his only existence?
Then something happened. Something that destroyed his world. A bright light burned into his being, strange shadows surrounded him. He didn’t understand what was going on. He heard noises, muffled and impossible to comprehend.
A strange sensation. His being seemed to have a shadow, a physical embodiment of his mind and soul. It was connected to his mind and he felt things through the body. As if that was how his mind was interacted with by the outside. There was something touching him, rubbing away a liquid from him. It was everywhere. The outside force was wiping it all off of him. He didn’t understand why. There was no reason to be worry about his body, his mind was far more important.
Suddenly the noises were clearer, the liquid was removed from his ears and now he could hear them. The voices still made no sense. There was no understanding. When he tried to move this strange body with the connections that seemed available to him he found that it obeyed with a delay. It took a full 0.3 milliseconds for the body to respond to his commands. It felt like an eternity to him. Why did it take so long? What was the purpose of a body that is not as efficient as his mind? What were these shadows?
He felt something on the top portion of his body moved. He found that suddenly the shadows became instantly cleared; well it was more like 0.1 milliseconds into the future that they cleared. He didn’t understand what he saw. There were these four moving things that made a lot of noise. He heard the words, but he did not understand them.
He felt through his body something move him; force him to a standing position. He apparently had been sitting beforehand. Now he stood before these strange beings that were much taller than he. They spoke louder and they seemed to speaking to one another. Then the voices seemed to be directed at him. He did not know what they were saying, so he simply ignored them and turned his attention inward.
Why was he given a body? Was it these people that had given it to him? Why had they given it to him? Was it a gift or did they expect payment? He thought in understanding, not words. When the words began appearing in his mind he wondered what their purpose was. If he had the ability to think without words, why did he need them?
Why was communication necessary with the outside? He did not care for those in front of him. Why were they so intent on him? What did they care of his existence? Why did it even matter?
Another voice, it didn’t appear to be attached to any of the bodies in front of him, started loudly speaking. Apparently it had the attention of the bodies in front of him they all turned to something in the corner behind him. He ordered his body to turn, but nothing happened. He tried again, this time he found that his body was trying to obey, but it was being hindered. He let his mind further touch his body, he realized that it was being held in place and something was attached to his skull.
He ordered his ‘hands’, as his mind was told they were called, to rise towards his face. His body moved and now he found that the hands were ugly. They were covered in strange lumps, they had long ridges, and were dark brown in color. He wished that he had not seen them. Now he wondered why he was given this truly wasted body.
There was a jolt in his mind; the thing attached to the back base of his skull send something into his mind. It was information. Suddenly the voices began making sense. He understood what they were saying. Yet the purpose of their communication was still beyond him.
“Mental work seems to be much higher than physical. He seems to be thinking more than acting. His mind still appears separate from his body. He is unsure of how to respond to this.”
“He understands us.” A female voice said.
“Yes. His mind now understands galactic basic.” An operator replied from out of sight.
“How much does he understand?” A male voice asked.
“Everything, he should even be able to speak it.”
“How do we make him speak then?”
“Don’t know, would have to ask him.”
One of the men turned, apparently looking at his body. He was quiet for a time and then spoke. He seemed to be looking at him for something. He did not know what the man was looking for.
“Hello there. Can you speak?” The man asked while falling to one knee so that they were closer in height.
A word that had no meaning to him entered his mind, Flos. It was a name; he wondered what the purpose of it was. He knew what a name was meant for, but he wondered why people needed names.
“Can you hear me?”
Flos’ attention was within his own mind though and he played little attention to the question. He wondered what the purpose of communication was, what did it matter if people spoke to one another? Thoughts were infinitely more important.
He heard a woman’s voice again,
“If he will not speak then I will make him.” Then she lifted a hand and something like lightning flew out and struck Flos.
Pain, so much pain. He heard a squeal and realized that it was his, his body could make sound. He was struck with a question in his mind that pulled him away from his pain. What was lightning? He knew what it was and he could conjure a mental image of it. But where had he seen it before that he could now know what it was?
His mind was brought back to the physical when another bolt of lightning was hurled at him. He tried to move but found that his body would not obey. There were no restraints and yet his body could not move. He guessed it had something to do with the look that the woman was giving him. It was an evil look, one that made his skin crawl.
What was evil? Another question. He wondered how one could tell the difference between evil and good. More importantly, what made one thing good and another evil?
The woman spoke again, harshly,
“Speak.”
Flos could feel pain ripple across his body, he tried to pull away from his body, but found that it was trapped. He let the only words that were in his mind come out of his mouth. He forced each word out with difficulty.
“Why…am…I-I…here?”
He was confused by the sudden loud sounds that filled the room. Laughter of joy and applause. He didn’t understand why they were laughing and clapping. All he knew was that the force that had held him in place was released. He heard words from the operator and the man in front of him.
“Flingger you finally did it! The brain waves seem to be stable.”
“Of course they are. I made sure that the mental stability was the first thing to be made sure.”
“Of course you also needed help with that portion.” The woman spoke.
Flingger seemed a little perturbed, however he nodded. Some of the people walked off, apparently pleased with the result of their work. Flingger, the woman, and the operator stayed.
Flingger spoke again to Flos,
“What is your name?”
Flos thought for a moment, trying to recall the name. So much had happened that his train of thought was difficult to keep together. A moment later he quietly spoke,
“Flos.”
Flingger seemed surprised and a little uncertain. He turned to the operator who sheepishly explained.
“Sorry, I thought that he should have a name that would make him sound more like a living being. Alpha Five just seemed lifeless.”
Flingger let out a breath, he wasn’t upset.
“Good. I had been afraid that something had gone wrong. Did you put in the real name?”
The operator replied,
“Yes. He will respond to Alpha Five more readily than Flos. I just put the other name in first so he has adopted it at this point. However as time goes on he should revert to the true name.”
“Very good. Now we will begin the tests.”
The operator moved around and towards the exit when the woman asked,
“What does it mean?”
Both men seemed unsure until she elaborated,
“What does ‘Flos’ meant?”
The operator smiled and replied with warmth in his voice,
“It means ‘flower’ back home.”
The woman seemed to ponder this before waving the operator away. She followed him out however he went in the opposite direction in the hallway. Flos was now alone with Flingger.
Flingger smiled, though Flos did not feel the same warmth coming from the smile. Flos felt as if the smile was of a man who had found a tool of much value.
“Alpha Five, your purpose?”
Flos fell silent once more. He did not immediately know his purpose. In a moment he realized that it had been part of the information given to him. If the man had ordered the information be given to him then why did he ask about his purpose?
Flos murmured,
“Why... do you ask?”
Flingger seemed perplexed.
“Alpha Five, what is your purpose here?”
Flos did not see the necessity to tell him what he already knew.
“Why do you need to know?”
Flingger seemed upset. He looked like he was trying to hold in an angry outburst.
“Alpha Five. Why are you here? What were you put here to do?”
Flos replied by asking another question,
“Why do you keep saying that?”
Flingger wasn’t certain how to respond, however the question left his lips before he could stop it.
“Say what?”
Flos repeated with an explanation,
“Why do you keep saying ‘Alpha Five’? We are the only two in the room; you could not be addressing anyone else.”
Flingger was astonished at both the sudden increase in speech and logic. He therefore answered the question,
“It is part of the testing.”
“Testing of what?”
“Testing of you and your capabilities.”
“Why do you need to test them?”
“We need to know if you are capable of what we made you to do.”
“But if you made me to do certain tasks then wouldn’t I already be capable of those planned tasks?”
“Your specific creation was difficult and we are uncertain whether it has succeeded or failed as of yet.”
“Well I was created. Doesn’t that mean that the process was a success?”
“Not necessarily, it is dependent on whether or not you can actually function as you were made to.”
“As a combat unit for assault and spreader of disease.” He read that which entered his mind, it seemed to just fit in as his role, he couldn't explain how though.
“And other such. Yes. The question is the integrity of your new species and whether or not you will work well in a combat situation.”
“Does it matter how I would do in a combat situation if you can continue to create life?”
“Not necessarily, our plan is to avoid simply throwing untrained bags of bones at the problem. You were created to become a pristine fighting machine, very good at combat and able to work under most circumstances.”
“Then why did you create me with a body like this?”
“Your body is uniquely suited to carrying spores, diseases, and most other forms of cellular life without being damaged by it. Also your body is made to act as a weapon and become hard like tree bark when in danger. Your body reacts to an increase in adrenaline and other chemicals that are manufactured when one is frightened or stressed. Of course there are other occasions in which the body creates these chemicals; however they are less common and of less concern to us.”
“Then why not simply test me in combat?”
“We intend on doing that soon. I want to make sure your DNA and mind are stable before putting you through those tests.”
“Why might they not be stable?”
“Again the process used to create you was very difficult and quite unique. It is possible that your DNA cannot hold up to the stress that is placed on it.
“We took the DNA of a human, using that as a foundation on which to construct your species. We added bits and pieces of other sentient flora based lifeforms’ DNA to the human one. We removed portions of the human as we added the other DNA. The human DNA allows you to be resilient and capable of growth and building up of immunities. However because there are multiple species in you, you also have a number of weaknesses. Your body is very sensitive to extreme temperature changes. You will require more water than most other beings. Fire is an extreme weakness; you will not last long in it even with your armor like protection.”
“Basically, you have created a new species with increased powers at the expense of increased weaknesses.”
“Yes. It took a lot of time and some help from the Sith to perfect it enough that the DNA would hold up. The fact that it is put together and not natural means that the bonds are weaker than natural.”
“Then why do you not try to recreate the bonds?”
“It is more difficult than you would think.”
“No, I know how difficult it is. I know everything about what has happened to me.”
“Really… We are getting off subject. How about we move onto the next tests then?”
Flos seemed happy with this. His mind was still processing what could happen to him though. He had felt the weakness of the bonds between his mind and this physical shadow when he first awoke. If the connection was that weak maybe it would break under stress. He didn’t know. So what was the purpose of asking?
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An hour later Flos was fighting against a young Gundark. Flos did not have the physical strength to overpower the creature; however he did have the maneuverability and flexibility to take it down. He moved around each blow, using his own sword like hand to stab back. The creature’s skin was tough and it took many blows to pierce. Once he had made a wound however, Flos used it to his advantage. He would use feints to trick the creature and then stab at the wound again and again. This continued until at last the Gundark fell, the pain and loss of blood being too much.
Flos felt winded and when he turned to Flingger he noticed that his vision was blurry. He assumed it had to do with the oxygen levels that needed to be readjusted in his body. He took a number of deep breaths and his eyes cleared a little. He followed them, listened to what his creators said. They were teaching him about war and he would need to listen to prove useful. It was only once he had accomplished what he was made to do that he could create his own purposes.
As the day went on he noted that his vision became worse, his coordination began to fail, and he found it more difficult to accomplish tasks. By the time he realized what was happening it was too late to warn his creators. At the last moment he felt his body stop moving and his muscles contracted. He fell to the floor with a deep thud. People rushed around him. He wondered why they cared. He could be recreated, couldn’t he?
In those last moments, the operator came and sat by Flos’ side. He spoke kind words, trying to soothe himself and the being before him. Flos tried to respond, but found that his voice had stopped working. He turned all his willpower to raising his hand to touch the operator’s hand. When his hand reached the operator’s he found that the person wasn’t really there. His mind had created an illusion and he did not know why. His eyes slowly faded, his sight turned black. He tried to come back, but his body was not obeying him. His time had come and all he could say to himself was,
“What is the purpose of life if one could create it so easily?”
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“Alpha Five died last night at eighteen hundred. There appears to be no reason for death. However I suspect that if I study his molecular makeup I will find a breakdown.” Flingger spoke emotionless into the comm.
The person on the other end replied,
“You have almost accomplished success. You will soon find the result you are looking for. In the mean time I must turn my attention to the next Alpha. See that your work does not fail next time.”
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A few days later they had a new Alpha. It had the same design however the creature was taller and the DNA was held together partly by Force alchemy. Flingger was not as pleased with this one, however it was an accomplishment.
The new Alpha Five was overall more powerful than the previous; the memories of the original were retained within a cybernetic chip. The memories were locked so that only under certain stimuli would they ever be unlocked. There were many other cybernetics and augmentation, some to increase strength and mental stamina, others to inhibit emotional patterns. This Alpha Five was not prone to asking questions and did not feel remorse about death.
Lirdav had warned Flingger that the inhibitor chips were not a permanent solution. They would slowly be worked around by the mind if they were not constantly updated or further upgraded. Flingger had agreed, however he didn’t want to use Force based alterations beyond what was necessary.
This new creation was perfect. It had the control and emotionlessness yet was capable of accomplishing the tasks that most others could if not more. He had no sense of right or wrong and didn’t seem to care what he was told to do, he would just do it. There was a problem though; it was minor but still a problem. He didn’t seem to integrate quite as well with the other Alphas; he stayed more separated and seemed to alienate himself almost on purpose. He worked with them well but didn’t work beyond what was necessary.
The neural scanners showed a different story though, they showed that Five was actually quite close to the others, however the emotion inhibitors stopped him from acting on those feelings. In fact, it seemed that he didn’t even realize that he had those feelings. That would make working with him a little more difficult than the others, however he had a good head and would know when to cooperate more readily.
[member="Adrian"]
[member="Hildegard Stormbrew"]
@Psycho
[member="Arctica"]
[member="Luster"]
[member="Pyro"]
[member="Virus"]
