lucetimods: (Masamune)
Luceti Mods ([personal profile] lucetimods) wrote2013-08-31 09:28 pm
Entry tags:

For Your Eyes Only

Today, the computer will finally crack the code for the door leading to the “Classified” section of the tunnels. The people running the decryption program will be alerted to this, assuming they set up any kind of alert for that. Otherwise they’ll have to drag themselves down there to look at it.

Easily the most mysterious of all the doors, it may hold some promising information or something useful against the Malnosso. And so, with the use of their keycard, they’ll open this door...

What they find is a mess. Another laboratory, this one was used right up until the end. The air is stale and stinks of death. There are areas where there looked to have once been important machinery, but it has been long ago removed. Filing cabinets have been completely emptied. All but one, anyway. This file cabinet seems to have been used to store the results of various test subjects. Their names and identities are varied, but all seem to have been new arrivals to the world. Many were subjected to experimentation through several crude means. Several of them were simply killed for the purposes of testing out death penalties.

More jarringly, some of these files may be people already in Luceti in past incarnations. If people have returned to Luceti several times in just the last five years, then why couldn’t they have done the same thing decades or centuries ago? If you want to have your characters be in one of these files, we’ll have a separate thread where you can fill out a form for your character’s information. Because if a character needsanything in Luceti, it’s going to be a history of trauma they don’t even remember.

However, in the far corner, there is another skeleton. In its hand is a journal. A normal journal filled with many entries. The entries are varied. Some simply are observations of the day to day life of a researcher named Sallis Kal. Seemingly female, this researcher opens talking about her first day on the assignment. Below, only entries that are of interest are included. The rest deal with her personal life. There’s mention of her romance and marriage to one of her co-workers as well as personal family drama.

Cycle: 1553.040
Finally the organization has recognized my talents and transferred me to the Luceti project. It’s a strange name, but it seems only fitting. Luceti began it all, it is only fitting Luceti ends it as well. Our goal is the most ambitious of them all. We will defeat the cycle of death and rebirth.

Cycle: 1553.046
We’ve received new test subjects for our experimentation. They have been tagged so that the first wave of executions begin. For the first group, we have chosen a group that are as similar as possible, all of them with small filial wings. The second group is a diverse set. All will be executed humanely via injection. They are expected to revive within seven days, at which point we will conduct tests to determine what loss they have gained.

Cycle: 1553.060
As we feared, no correlation between the individual’s original world, age, gender, wing size, cause of death or any other factor can be found to explain the types of losses received. We have discharged the test subjects. Perhaps refined procedures with the next two groups will prove more fortuitous.

Cycle: 1553.090
An entire month wasted. The head researcher becomes increasingly erratic in his decisions. I believe he is receiving pressure from the organization to show results, which only makes work harder for the rest of us.

Cycle: 1553.095
They sacked the entire upper staff. Illegal experimentation is what they called it. We all know its bullshit. We weren’t getting the results they wanted, so they call our work inhumane. Now we have to deal with a new lead researcher. Horace Brandt.

Cycle: 1553.122
New arrivals from Region Six are being brought down here daily now. Even it may mean I risk my mind to the madness of this world, I find myself grateful that I was born here instead of being spat out into this world to be herded like cattle. Kotar was sacked for complaining about their living conditions. Whatever problems we have with it, it’s far better to keep it to ourselves.

Cycle: 1553.129
Brandt claims the key to Shifting is in the Filial wings. It’s hardly surprising, but its always been the province of the insane.

Cycle: 1553.130
Brandt is insane. I can still hear the screaming, even in my own mind when I’ve left the facility. He won’t rest until he finds a way to give himself true Filial wings. No matter how many of the test subjects he has to kill to do it.

Cycle: 1553.160
He’s locked it all down until the test subjects are contained. The last I heard from the comms, the Commandant was on his way. Gods have mercy on us if he finds out what we’re doing.

Cycle: 1553.170
Imprisoned for ten life sentences for crimes against humanity. Good riddance to Brandt, but we all know it was only to pacify the Commandant’s fury. I can hardly blame them. I’d heard stories of him, but he’s even more incredible to see in person. Tyr the Hero. Afterwards, he smiled at me. I don’t think he would have if he ever got past the lobby of the facility.

Cycle: 1553.200
A new lead researcher, a new subject to study. So far, Doctor Zompano has proven to be far more humane than the last two. Though he has taken to calling our subjects his ‘little mice’, he treats them kindly enough. At least until one of them tried to attack. I thought the Commandant had been terrifying, but I watched Zompano break the man’s neck with only a flicker of his eyes.

Cycle: 1553.204
Doctor Zompano may be kinder to his test subjects, but it’s been worse for those working for him. Most of the senior staff has already been fired for ‘incompetence’. I’ve been promoted because of it. And to think, I actually used to want this position.

Cycle: 1553.210
Test subjects who have lost one of the five senses to a loss are the most beneficial for experimentation. A new group was brought in with these losses. I’ve been assigned to find the mathematical formula to emulate the sense of taste.

Cycle: 1553.330
After four grueling months, we finally did it. Our test subjects are claiming to experience a diminished form of taste. With more advancements, we may be able to begin producing implants to replace control over loss senses. In time, we should be able to do the same for other losses as well.

Cycle: 1554.010
This world mocks our efforts.

Cycle: 1554.015
The simulations predicted a five percent chance of failure with the implants. But now all but two of the test subjects have suffered a complete overload of bodily functions, resulting in their death. We removed the implants from the remaining two, but it may be too late for them. And to think, we thought we could conquer these losses with science.

Cycle: 1554.060
I’ve seen pictures of ‘Shift Hunters’ in books before, but they are so much more hideous in person. Doctor Zompano has brought them in for testing with an ambitious new project. We’re going to splice them with people. The best of both worlds.

Cycle: 1554.075
Operation: Hunter. What kind of a ridiculous name is that?

Cycle: 1554.099
One of the Shift Hunters killed a researcher today, right in front of me. So much blood...

Cycle: 1554.140
Our first test seems like a success. It’s not perfect, but this ‘Hunter’ seems unstoppable. Doctor Zompano smiled when he saw the numbers. I should’ve been happy, but there was something chilling about his eyes.

Cycle: 1554.174
The organization is pleased with our work. It looks like Doctor Zompano is leaving us to head Project: Hunter under the scrutiny of the MSF. Good riddance to both him and those ugly beasts. Maybe we’ll have someone sane in charge of here now.

Cycle: 1554.183
The new boss is Cora. She seems nice enough, at least. Our new field of study is Shifts in relation to superhuman abilities. Apparently a cultist found a way to block the Commandant’s powers and kill him a few months ago. It will be nice doing honest work again.

Cycle: 154.305
I’m dreaming in numbers now. The boss is such a hard ass.

Cycle: 1555.025
The diggers have found an ancient city, but where did it come from? The organization has fallen and risen from the ashes before, but this does not seem to be the work of our predecessors. I find myself wishing I was working down there and instead of up here. At least they’re getting somewhere.

Cycle: 1555.032
I think I’m going crazy.

Cycle: 1555.033
I’m hearing something in my head. Is this what happens when people become cultists?

Cycle: 1555.051
I wonder if this is what Cora was really after? The remains of a lost world. I wish I could get out from under all this number crunching. All the interesting stuff is coming out of the city.

Cycle: 1555.106
I caught one of my coworkers lighting up a cigarette with a snap of his fingers. I knew other people were learning from them. That explains why Rebecca’s garden looks so good. I knew she was cheating, somehow.

Cycle: 1555.251
Joss is still locked up in his apartment and won’t come out into the light. He says it burns his skin. Well, that’s what you get for learning to create shadows. What on earth made him think that was a good idea?

Cycle: 1555.303
Maybe learning this ‘magic’ wasn’t such a good idea. Cora is making us test our new power dampening Shift on them. This would be so much less frustrating if it actually worked. Back to the number crunching...

Cycle: 1555.351
I swear, if I have to correct Jason’s formulas one more time...

Cycle: 1556.064
And now we can’t use our powers in the compound. As nice as it is to finally succeed at one of our projects, I can’t help but be disappointed. At least the facility will be safer now that no one can use special abilities in here.

Cycle: 1556.140
Finally recognized for my successes. Second in command. Who would have thought I’d make it this far after two years? I wish I could take all the credit, though. Doctor Zompano thinned the competition a lot.

Cycle: 1556.212
Cora has departed back to the organization. I’ve been handed down a new project. Project: Hybrid.

[At this point, everything from the journal has been ripped out, save for the very last page.]

Cycle: 1569.012
The things I have seen and the things I have done... if there are any monsters in this world, they are not the ones that wear leather and raid cities. It’s us, those of us who claim to be people of science. My dreams are plagued by the memories of the people I have cut open, whose wings I have severed, and their eyes. Always their eyes.

The knowledge that I can never escape this world haunts me. I used to take pride in being a so-called ‘Lucy’, but now I realize that I am without hope for the future. Two years ago, Horace Brandt avoided his life sentences by being sent back to his own world. Many of the people I experimented on were returned to their world even as their wounds were still being healed. But I won’t. I’ll be here forever.

Maybe that’s why the call of the General is so strong. Some say our only way to escape the futility of this world is through sacrifice. Life and death, life and death.

A month ago I saw my parents as infants. It will be years before they’ll be allowed to remember me.

I won’t be around for that. I refuse to be a part of this cycle any longer. If my science has gotten anywhere, it is that I have learned the secret of sacrifice for myself. I have placed this room into a Shifted field that will prevent my resurrection. I surrender myself to this planet. You won, you hideous demented rock.

If you are reading this and feel any pity for me at all, please let my bones remain where they are. I do not wish to be a part of this world again. If there is any justice at all, I can spend the rest of existence in oblivion.

- Doctor Sallis Kal


As it turns out, there is in fact some Shifting machinery in the room that is still operating off the power supply. It would be seem to be what’s keeping this woman from resurrecting. It’s a crude old machine that in part, is much like the old computers on the upper level of the tunnels. Attached to it is an odd machine with several gauges and gears. Without any notes or documentation, it will be difficult to figure out how it does anything. Of course, there’s also the risk that messing with it in any way will shut down the Shift that is keeping Sallis Kal from reviving. Consequently, it will be up to Lucetians to decide what to do with this machine.

As always, please keep your questions in the Mod Questions section. The next door will open in a month or two. Unless a new poll is held, we'll use the second highest result from the last poll: Archives.

Post a comment in response:

If you don't have an account you can create one now.
HTML doesn't work in the subject.
More info about formatting