_ _ _ _Carmen POV_ _ _ _
"Look here: these mutations around the fibula and tibia should not only have caused great discomfort, but probably also made the use of this leg rather difficult," I mused, tapping the hard surface of the autopsy table we were all standing around. "You can see the same growths on the rib cage, although in that case it may actually be somewhat beneficial, considering the increased protection for the vital organs."
"Indeed." Jonas muttered with a look of fascination as he sliced into the splicer's right arm with a scalpel.
"The ligaments have also been malformed from what I can see." Eno hummed with that all‑too‑familiar professionalism in her stance as she glanced over at me.
You know... if you had told me before that I would end up dissecting a horrifically mutated human, I'd probably have looked at you with disgust and asked what kind of crack you were on. And yet here I was, doing exactly that. I was currently working with Jonas, Roseanne, and Eno, along with several others from the research team, to dissect the corpse of a splicer.
I had arrived about a moment ago just as they were getting ready to begin the dissection and somehow got dragged into it. Now, sure, as a biologist I have dissected animals before on occasion, but I'd never dissected a human before, let alone a monstrous, tumour‑filled version of a human. The weirdest part, however, was the fact that since I found it hard to hold a scalpel with my xenomorph hands, I ended up using my tail instead.
I mean, yeah, I could have just possessed one of the researchers, but I oddly found it much easier to use the blade at the end of my tail. Still, the whole situation was bizarre and, worst of all, I felt absolutely nothing. I didn't feel sickened by the dissection or by participating in it; no, I actually found it oddly fascinating to explore the splicer's inner workings. That fact alone made me feel... uncomfortable, to say the least.
(Well, what can you do?) I thought with a sigh. (In this mad omniverse, it might be beneficial to be a little crazy.)
"I still don't believe you should be wasting your time with such trivial things, my queen." Roseanne huffed; she hadn't been happy about the fact that I'd be taking part, mainly because she believed this was beneath me.
"It's fine, Roseanne. I had nothing else to do until our teams finished securing the final few floors." I chuckled softly before turning my focus back to the task at hand.
(I should probably check out the maps my scouts have uploaded into the hive net.) I thought as I carefully removed several of the splicer's internal organs.
"I simply cannot wait to get my hands on some of this adam!" Jonas grinned like a lunatic as he removed one of the corpse's eyes. "To think a sea slug could produce such a magnificent substance."
"I must agree, although I cannot condone some of the horrendous uses the people of this 'Rapture' have found for it," Eno said with genuine revulsion.
Her words caused Jonas to nod. "Ah yes, recycling the adam from dead splicers is quite inefficient."
"I don't think that's what she meant by that." Roseanne sighed as Eno shook her head in agreement.
(These three have developed quite an... interesting dynamic.) I muttered internally.
Just then, one of the Kenara walked over, tapping me on the shoulder as they placed a tray holding a human brain on the table next to us. "Yes?"
Of course they couldn't actually speak my language to answer back, so instead of explaining verbally they handed me a note with a bunch of technical details and a picture of the brain in question with several areas circled. Reading through the information, it was a rather thorough report detailing all the anomalies within the various sections of the splicer's brain.
"I'm not exactly an expert, but these mutations around the limbic system and hypothalamus were probably not good for this individual's mental and emotional state," I muttered aloud, placing the note down so the others could see.
"I must agree with you, ma'am. It would definitely point toward extreme emotional instability. It would also explain why we found so much adrenaline in this particular specimen's bloodstream," Eno said, nodding as she looked over the information.
"I see, I see, fascinating!" Our resident mad scientist chuckled with glee. "We should do some proper brain scans once we get the chance. We won't be able to know the full extent of the alterations made by the adam until we can monitor live subjects after all."
Roseanne just shrugged thoughtfully at that. "Unfortunately, we've been a little busy, so it'll be some time before we can get the proper equipment set up."
For a moment there was silence between all of us, at least until Eno let out a long cold breath. "Honestly, though, the scientists here really were idiots in the skin of geniuses," she growled with genuine disdain and disgust in her voice. "Experimenting on children of all things..."
"While I do understand the necessity to use such methods, I must say that they were indeed lacking in imagination. They took the easiest and first route they found to achieve progress, and in my opinion that is the ultimate form of foolishness; after all, where's the enjoyment in taking the easy route to one's goals?" Jonas huffed as he continued to work, although it was clear that the whole child‑experimentation thing didn't bother him in the slightest.
(I really need to put more restrictions on what he can and can't do...) I sighed, deciding I'd need to have a private conversation with him later.
"By the way, my queen, I have a question for you, if I may?" Roseanne asked, suddenly catching my attention.
"Go ahead," was my simple response as I glanced over at her.
"Do we have any update on the first stage of the project?" she asked, causing Jonas's eyes to sparkle slightly with interest.
"Ah yes, how are things going with that?"
"Well..."
_ _ _ _Flashback_ _ _ _
(I don't know how they will react; however, I have no choice but to try.) I thought as I stood there.
For a moment I just breathed as I watched the scene before me. (All I can do is hope that this works without causing too many issues for them.)
There, laid out in a new row and separated from the rest of the ovomorphs, were three that were clearly different. They were slightly larger and visibly darker in colour; additionally, the surrounding xenomorph drones in the area seemed to be taking extra care and vigilance over these three in particular. If you haven't guessed by now, these were royal ovomorphs, and within them were facehuggers that held queen embryos.
The reason for their creation was simple, all things considered: expansion. I needed to spread my claim over Rapture if I wanted any chance of taking it for myself, and what better way to do that than by increasing the swarm and expanding the territory we had claimed over. Of course, I wasn't just going to release a bunch of queens, no no no, I was going to use this opportunity for a little test...
"Ma'am." Harper's voice brought me from my contemplation.
"Yeah?"
"The team I called for is here," I said while motioning to the door.
"Good. Tell them to bring everything in." I hummed without looking back at her.
"Understood."
A moment later a group of scientists stepped into the room, pushing a large cart along with them; the cart was used to transport three large cylindrical containment units. The surrounding drones shifted uncomfortably as the ovomorphs were systematically lifted and placed into the containers one after the other. Their instincts were screaming at them to attack and defend the royal ovomorphs; however, the connection to the hive mind left them confused.
They, of course, wouldn't actually attack the scientists, but their instincts were definitely not pleased with the team's current actions, to say the least. Thankfully I was able to soothe them easily, my mind brushing against theirs and slowly calming them down. And so, while I continued mentally quelling the enraged instincts of the drones, the scientists continued with their task.
Eventually all three ovomorphs were secured and sealed within the containers, the scientists quickly moving to the next step. With a nod of permission from me, they tapped away at various buttons on the lids of the containers before stepping back a moment later. It took a second, but suddenly several shut openings along the bottom of the containers clicked open, allowing a red gas to begin slowly filling the space inside.
"Have someone monitor them," I instructed as I watched the ovomorphs be engulfed by the crimson gas. "Once they've fully assimilated the pathogen, contact me."
"I understand. I'll keep you updated."
(If this works, then I can begin proper preparations for Project Chimera.) I thought, mapping out the further steps and tests I'll have to run in my head.
Just then the familiar voice of Navara echoed in my head. <
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For a moment after that she went quiet; I honestly thought that was the end of the conversation until her voice returned, sounding almost hesitant. <
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(I can't believe I'm saying this, but she's surprisingly cute for a xenomorph.) I smiled, my tail swishing slightly behind me. (I must be really going insane to think that, huh?)
<
"Let's go with these..." I mused, glancing at the three containers from left to right.
"Nevu. Nekcar. Nerash."
_ _ _ _Flashback Over_ _ _ _
And so that's what happened: the first part of Project Chimera was understanding how the pathogen would affect xenomorphs. I needed to know how the xenomorphs would be affected by the extreme mutagenic properties, without this knowledge I couldn't move forward with my plans. Would they even be able to adapt? or would they mutate out of control? I was starting with the royal ovomorphs for a reason, but I had every intention of checking the effects at every stage of the xenomorph life cycle; after all, you can never be too careful.
Of course, if things didn't go as I hoped, I wouldn't hesitate to call the whole thing off. Well, I'd call it off until at the very least we could figure out what went wrong and find a workaround. Anyway, it wasn't long before I finished explaining what happened, all while I continued with the dissection.
"I see..." Eno mumbled under her breath. "Well, we can only hope things go well for now."
Jonas shook his head disapprovingly at her words. "There's no need for that; hope is only for the foolish, after all."
"Every impossibility can become possible with a bit of trial and error." He laughed, grinning like a madman, something only made worse by how scarred his face and body were.
"Whatever you say." Eno rolled her eyes at him in response; she clearly couldn't be bothered dealing with his mad‑scientist antics.
(I should really keep a better eye on him. Maybe I should get him an assistant to help manage his more extreme ideas…)