ataraxion | 001

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001 | video

[ ENCRYPTED 75% TO MEDICAL AND XENOBIOLOGY/GENETICS STAFF + BRUCE BANNER: ]
I took the liberty of checking out the blood samples we were able to get from the creatures at the end of the maze. Some of them seemed to have bacterial infections, which isn't surprising, but I also checked them against known DNA samples from Earth.

I don't want to alarm anyone, which is why I've encrypted this for now, but so far the results are all coming back in essentially the same manner. The DNA of these creatures is a mix between Earth creatures -- the lion is a large component, and there are also what appears to be genetic material from the Australian dingo and some sort of crocodile. However, at the present time it appears as though the largest genetic contribution comes from human beings.

Obviously the samples may have been compromised, as I've really only been able to work off their blood and some hair. I'm going to request a larger sample, preferably an entire specimen -- dead, obviously. Hopefully we can get more answers, and hopefully the human genetic material was just cross-contamination.

[ OPEN: ]
I've heard a few things about people returning to the end of the maze to clear out the rest of the creatures, in addition to a possible salvage operation. My name is Elizabeth Ross -- I'm a cellular biologist and university professor back home. If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to request a mostly intact -- though definitely dead -- specimen of the creatures. I'm sure there are a lot of people who are wondering just what they are and how they got here, not to mention how they've survived the jumps, and I'm hoping that an entire specimen might be able to give us some answers.

How is everyone feeling?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Their minds certainly do not feel human.

[Muttered to himself, he probably had not meant to say it aloud but exhaustion is taking its toll on his normal caution.]

Two clean samples and multiple partials is not the most optimum for drawing a conclusion. You say that Homo Sapien is the main genetic contributor, do you have a percentage break down?

Their minds?

I'm aware, but so far that's all we have. And no, not yet -- not anything I would feel comfortable stating, anyway. As you said, the samples so far are not the best for drawing conclusions.

[Damn he had said that outloud.]

Not important at the moment.

All right, I have already collected notebooks and papers that are still legible, I am unsure how much of this I can carry. [He was looking for a bag or some sort of transportation device.]

I will attempt to pull down more information from the consoles and check for any original sample or slides that may still be viable.

[ She begs to differ, but she'll let it go. For now. ]

I've heard that the computers have been completely wiped of anything from before we all started showing up here. Medical is the same way -- no medical records before those of us who are stuck here.

[ Wait-- ]

Are you there now?

[He had really been hoping she wasn't going to say something like everything had been wiped. He was still hoping that he was just failing utterly at finding information and that was why he kept getting empty useless screens.]

Damn.

[The word is said in a distracted tone as he gives a key a frustrated punch with his finger]

Am I what? Yes, I stayed back with a few others. We've been attempting to sort through the mess here but I fear a complete review would require time and focus we simply do not possess. I have a feeling the window for being here is rapidly closing.

Have you been able to run a PCR to determine the level of contamination on your current sample block?

You're staying in there with those things? Are you crazy?

Equipment is limited; it's probably all there with you. We've had to work with what we can use in medical and some makeshift equipment.

Something happened here and we won't learn what if we do not leverage our current advantage.

There is the potential for an incredible amount of information here. I will not deny the danger but the gain will hopefully be worth it.

[Hopefully!]

The equipment here is a mess.

[Polite way of saying 'covered in dried blood and other gore'.]

Just stay safe, okay?

[ Doesn't even know your name and she's already getting feelings on you, Charles. ]

If it can be brought back, we might be able to change that.

[That catches him a bit of a double take but he responds with genuine appreciation for the thought.]

I'm not here alone and we will not be here much longer.

[He also suspected that quite a few of the creatures had been killed in the rush of various groups for the cure.]

I do not know how much we can carry, we still have to get back through the corridors. What, precisely, do we need?

Honestly? Everything. Autoclaves, a PCR machine... everything but microscopes and test tubes, really.

There's a salvage operation forming to clear the rest of the monsters and bring equipment back. We can run the more in-depth tests with what they bring back, maybe, if you can bring back equipment for some of the more initial ones.

[ There's a sigh. She's frustrated. ]

What I wouldn't give for my lab back home.

[What he wouldn't give for a hand truck.

Looking at the pile of papers he's already collected and at the piles to still try to sift through, Charles has to be realistic about his own capacities at the moment.]

If there is already a salvage operation in the works, I may have to leave the equipment to them. I have papers that could be irreparable and only so many ways to carry them.

That said, I will try to mark key pieces for the salvage team to try to recover?

That's better than I hoped for when I made this announcement. I would be really grateful.

I will be in contact as soon as I return and have a chance to sort through these papers.

Of course.

[ Pause. ]

You said their minds didn't seem human. I'm not sure what you meant by that, but from what I'm seeing... they might have been, once.

The presence of the homo sapien genetic material, uniform across the samples does make one question.

[He's been thinking about it since you mentioned it, Dr. Ross.]

Give me a moment.

[For the next minute or so, there is silence broken only by the sound of breathing and then a slight hiss at the end.]

No, nothing. I'm sorry, the anger and drive to feed is so entangled with pure violence and mental conflict that it is difficult to discern any sentient reasoning.

If the records were still here, I'd try and check it against them. Unfortunately, everything about the previous crew is gone.

[ Well, that's... interesting. ]

At least one person has talked about trying to revert them to their previous human state. I don't know if that's possible, but from the sound of things, from what you're telling me of their mental condition... it sounds inadvisable.

Very inadvisable!

[Sorry if he sounds a little sharp but he can not even imagine such a thing.]

Without a full understanding of just how the homo sapien material works into the creation of the whole, without the proper equipment to do a thorough breakdown and identification on the genetic markers.

Even not taking their degraded mental state into consideration from a theoretical and physiological standpoint alone it would be irresponsibly reckless.

Even with that equipment, with that understanding, the mental state is exactly what I was worrying about. For all we know, making them completely human from a genetic standpoint wouldn't change anything mental. Even if we were able to get their minds back to the way they once might have been...

[ She thinks of Bruce, of how he asks if he hurt anyone. ]

The mental trauma would likely be unbearable.

To try and undo something that we do not fully understand how it came to be in the first place?

[Even his curiosity can not fathom such a thing.]

Nothing good could come of the attempt.

I don't want to understand how it happened. People shouldn't try to play God.

I could use your help explaining that, if it's brought up further.

Let us not jump to conclusions one way or the other, Dr... I'm sorry I do not believe we have been introduced? My name is Charles Xavier.

Elizabeth Ross. Or Betty, if you'd prefer. It's nice to meet you.

Unfortunately, my experiences tend to lean toward people trying to play God. I'll try not to assume, though.

A pleasure, Dr. Ross.

[He's just being polite.]

And I am certainly not discounting the theory, as abhorrent as I find the possibility, I am merely saying we should not attach all value to one theory to the discount of the rest.

[There is a thoughtful pause and then in a slightly softer tone.]

Do these devices have a record feature on them?

It's likely that we won't know what they were actually doing, not with all the records gone.

I believe they do, though I haven't checked myself -- I have a camera with me from home.

[Charles is looking at the papers but as he has not had a chance to really go over them, he doesn't want to raise false hope in that direction.]

If I was to attempt to send you an image over this device, could you record it on your end?

[He hasn't had enough experience with these exact devices yet to be certain of his own ability to record onto his own.]

001 | video

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