by Grendel226 a.k.a. Arren Dracone
Phantasy Star II, Nei, and Neifirst are property of Sega of America and Sega of Japan. All rights reserved by their respective parties.
They came again this morning. You have no idea how odd they looked
so I'll try my best to describe it to
you. The faces of the men stared at me through the glass, which
distorted them initially. The rose colored
embyonic fluid that I float in completed the job, warping their visages
into wild and hysterical looking blobs
with extended eyes and strangely rounded mouths. Now I know what
a fish feels like – being gawked at
by passing humans as it tries to exist in a habitat alien to its own
with no attempt to make the artificial
surroundings at all like its home. They stared at me for a prolonged
period until one spoke, saying "Well
Ryas, I suppose you were right. Your genetic splicing project
is a success. It looks as if we may have a
tangible life form by the end of the month." The man whom had
been addressed nodded. "It's so
amusing...it almost looks human, wouldn't you say so gentlemen?"
A murmur of assent ran through the
assembled crowd and pleased smiles and handshakes were exchanged.
This is one of my earliest
memories.
The approach of these men became an anticipated occurrence in
my every day life. Although being
constrained in a capsule of embyonic fluid doesn't allow for much of
an active social career. So I watched
them with great interest. "It's definitely taken on a human shape,"
Ryas commented with intrigue. "Do you
suppose we should remove it from the tube?" "Now really, do you
think that would be wise, Ryas?"
asked a rather stuffy old man whose name I had never heard. "Think
of it would you really like something
like THAT getting loose in the laboratory? Appalling really.
Our funding would be cut for sure." With
that he turned on his heel and flounced out. I can only call
it flouncing because there was so much of the
man that I can't describe him in any other way except waddling, which
is hardly polite. "Don't take it on
the chin Ryas," chirped a female understudy. "I think it's a
marvelous project. It almost looks human."
Ryas approached the tube I was floating in and smiled strangely.
"Oh but it is Gen...it is. Look at her."
"Her sir?" "Yes, yes of course Gen. Look at, well, her!"
"I believe you're correct sir," Gen replied
flushing slightly. Imagine her flushing! I was the one
who's body they were staring at unabashedly. But at
the time I had no concept of nudity and found no reason to be disgraced.
So I merely turned my head
towards them as I floated in my watery suspension. "Gen, look.
I think she can hear us. I want to let her
out." "But Ryas..er..sir...didn't you hear what Poltan said?"
Ryas scowled, "Oh posh. I don't care about
Poltan. His heart is in his wallet with his blasted meseta.
I'm going to do it." With that he recklessly
grabbed the handle holding the lid to my containment and pulled.
There was a sudden sucking feeling and
I went skittering out onto the cold floor of the biosystem's lab.
The embyonic fluid slipped away into
drains on the floor and I sat dripping and naked in front of the man
who had evidently created me.
"Hello," Ryas said quietly leaning down near my face, "I'm Ryas.
Rhye-uhs" I didn't need the phonetic
pronunciation but I smiled meekly none the less. I had the sudden
urge to stand and greet this man
properly but my legs accustomed only to floating rather than standing
splayed out from under me in an
uncomfortable and graceless display. The pair looked startled
but I smiled dumbly up at them from the
floor, unsure of what to say. "You need a name...something fitting."
Ryas looked reflective and I stared
back at him. "How about Neifirst?" Neifirst. It sounded
like a name that would suit me. The human who
was not human. But why the first? Why not just Nei?
"Neifirst?" I repeated aloud letting it roll off my
tongue. Ryas and Gen blinked in surprise. Forcing my legs
to cooperate with the rest of me I edged my
way into a standing position and repeated, "Ryas...Neifirst."
It was the best I could do at introducing
myself, though it felt inadequate at best and childish. The custom
of shaking hands was completely foreign
to me so I could think of no other way to greet the man who had given
me life. Just then Poltan came
trouncing back into the room. "Ryas I...good...Rya...WHAT is
going on in here?" he roared staring at me
with venom in his eyes and fear in his heart. "I let her out
Poltan. She's fully cognizant! Look, tell Poltan
what your name is." Taking staggering steps I made my way to
Poltan and said, "Neifirst." The man
looked shocked but the hatred in his gaze never ebbed. "Ryas!
Recage your beast. I will speak to you in
my office at once." Ryas gently took my arm and pulled me back
towards my capsule. "Please...no.." I
spoke in hesitating words, wanting to make sure that they came out
properly. "It's all right," Ryas
reassured me. "You won't be there for long. I'll come to
you later."
"Ryas never in the history of the Biosystems lab have I ever
seen such insolence!" Poltan's veins were
throbbing through his temples and plainly visible through my distorted
glass world. I wondered at the fact
that he didn't know I could hear him. However, Poltan had demonstrated
his ignorance in ordering me
'recaged.' Contempt was an emotion unfelt till now but it was
beginning to stir in my breast. "You will
keep your creation in her tube where she belongs." Ryas appeared
crestfallen. I wished that I could
comfort him in some way but I was helplessly floating in my tube again.
Fresh embyonic fluid had been
piped in which in itself was a relief as they had previously neglected
to change it.
Later that night Ryas came to see me again. As before he
let me out but this time much less flamboyantly.
This time he introduced me to the concept of shaking hands, which I
was grateful for, now knowing how to
adequately greet a person of import. He wrapped a cloak around
my shoulders and I began a shaky
conversation with him. Most of my words were accurate, and when
I faltered he gently corrected me.
Many nights such as this took place. He showed me the computer
terminals where the functions of the lab
were run and monitored. He taught me the basics of conversing
and etiquette. Yet all this time he never
spoke of my image. I could not fathom why but conceitedness was
unheard of in my ears and therefore I
had no reason to be self-conscious about my image. My knowledge
expanded daily, and in time I learned
that I was the product of a genetic experiment in which normal genes
were ever so slightly altered to create
a self-perpetuating organism.
It was months since I first began conversing with Ryas.
The lights in the lab were off and only a steady
blue track lighting along the floor illuminated the room. Suddenly
a light was shined directly into my eyes.
Blinking repeatedly I saw a preposterously obtuse figure that I immediately
recognized as Poltan coming to
my tube. "Well, well, it's Ryas' spark of genius." He produced
a vial of sickly looking green liquid and
smiled inserting it into the injection slot for the embyonic fluid
in my tube. A strange burning sensation
overcame me and I twisted and writhed in my suspension. Emotions
that I had never encountered I now
grappled with: anger, fear, distrust, and unbidden angst. Chuckling,
the detestable little man waddled
away, as I seethed in my tube.
Morning came. The lights were turned on in the lab, and
the scientists and engineers shuffled in to work.
I stared out, my eyes darting nervously, looking for the despicable
creature that had made me suffer in the
agony of the previous night. Ryas and Poltan entered together.
A sneer crossed my face as I watched
them approach. "Yes, Ryas after reconsideration I would very
much like to see your, ahem, Neifirst
creature freed." The embyonic fluid was drained and I stood before
the two men, anger rising in the pit of
my stomach. "Now, I know you are a clever little monster.
Come to me." "Poltan, she's not a monster,
her name is Neifirst." "Come to me monster girl. Just look
at you...so hideous...what a beast." Things
seemed to happen through a hazy film then. Or perhaps reason
was clouded. I recall standing and staring
Poltan full in the face. And then I remember speaking the words
that would change my life. "I am NOT a
monster." Poltan was taken aback and fear crossed Ryas' face.
"Do you hear me you little...imbecile!" I
cried using a word I had picked up from one of the sanitation engineers.
"I am not a monster. I am not
yours to toy with. Life is not something that you dawdle with
for your pleasure!" Poltan shuddered, "The
creature is clearly mad. Put it away put it away." Defiance
had made me strong and my utter disgust for
the man before me drove me onwards, "I am not a creature to be commanded.
I am Neifirst. I am as
human as you or Ryas or any other man here." The lab had fallen
silent. The ever present clinking of test
tubes had ceased. Even the whir of machinery seemed more stilled
than usual. "You are not human, you
are a mistake. Look for yourself!" With that Poltan seized
a nearby test tube tray, scattering shards of
glass everywhere. I didn't heed a few small slivers of it lodging
themselves in my pale legs. Staring into
the reflection on the tray I found why they called me monster.
I saw white skin like the snow Ryas had
described to me on native Dezolis. I saw long purple hair, streaming
embyonic fluid down a slender
frame. I saw pale eyes staring blankly, with no iris of color,
merely white. And ears pointed ears like
those of a beast. "Be reminded that it is you who created me.
You have no right to call me monster when
it was your folly in attempting to control nature that spawned me!"
I hissed the words like steel being
drawn at Poltan who stood with a triumphant smirk on his face.
"You have toyed in a domain not your
own!" I shrieked in anger, making a swipe at Poltan. Strong arms
grabbed me and I felt myself being
dragged away. "Contain the monster!" Poltan shouted. "Ryas,
your project has been discontinued. This
Neifirst creature is flawed. A mistake, plain and simple."
Time passed so slowly for me after that day. The only eventful
occurrence was when an engineer I had
not seen before came and grafted a piece of skin from me. After
that I was aware that the scientists had
begun to gaze into a tube next to mine. During this time I could
also feel a connection growing with my
own mind. It was indescribable yet undeniably there. Some
other creature shared my mind; and felt the
hatred for these humans who had so selfishly played with life and cast
aside a maimed subject like a child
with a flawed toy. "We will call it Nei. Neifirst was merely
a prototype. This is what we desired although
the physical appearance is still not perfect. She shows no signs
of aggression." At last one day I heard the
rush of embyonic fluid being released from the tube adjacent to mine
and I saw myself. No. A mirror of a
mirror of myself. The creature that shared my mind: my fears,
frustrations, and anger. I beheld Nei for the
first time. A clone of me with minor physical imperfections corrected,
save for the ears which were
apparently a lost cause. She stared at me with a submissive shyness
that I could not comprehend. Why
did she not hate the humans as well? Could she not see what they
were doing?
It was ages until I was Ryas again. Half of forever you
could say. He was sitting at a computer terminal
near me, monitoring what had happened to me and how I fared.
Unlike the others he took no interest in
Nei and remained faithful to his original project. Looks of occasional
concern crossed his face as he
muttered, "How did she get the steroid? This isn't right at all.
That's what was in use when we were
working on the war drone project. Why does she have such high
amounts of it in her blood? That much
could be permanently dama?" He turned to look at me and I stared
into his eyes. He knew what was to
happen. He knew all too well. Without a word he rose from
his console and left. I never saw him again.
That night Poltan was in the laboratory with random scientists
bustling in and out. As usual he came to
gloat before my tube. "Have you seen your sister, monster?
The one called Nei is much more feasible
than you will ever be. As you were such a mistake I have decided
to do you the favor of terminating your
existence. Ryas has abandoned you I am sure you know."
But I knew in my heart Ryas had not
abandoned me. He had fled, and wisely. There was a rush
and I was released from my captivity. "I am
NOT a monster!" I cried savagely. I grabbed the closest thing
to me I could find: a broken piece of metal
sharpened at one end from some recent construction to level 8 of the
lab. And I swiped. I made an
unimpaired cut to Poltan's throat and watched as he lay seeping blood
on the floor. Then I turned to Nei.
Without a second thought I brought the steel bar crashing against the
wall of her tube. Sliding deftly to the
floor she fled as I cried after her, "Go! Run fool! You
will never escape! You are part of me!" The other
scientists had apparently run, their cowardice overcoming them.
Stepping over Poltan to the computer
console I flipped rapidly through the files that Ryas had read till
I reached the steroid file. "Poltan you
fool. You brought this on yourself...you..."
Then I turned realizing what I had done. What had transpired
this evening was the greatest event of
hypocrisy in the history of Algo. I had killed a man to whom
I had so ardently professed I was not a
monster. Yet no greater act of monstrosity could ever be committed.
Closing the perimeter doors I
sagged to the floor and wept, knowing regret for the first time.
I could not continue to kill. It was not my
nature nor my design. Suddenly a virgin spark of brilliance entered
my mind. I approached a nearby cage
which appeared to hold common ants. Removing one of them I examined
their genetic makeup the way I
had seen Ryas do a thousand times at the terminal on the left hand
side of the room. Carefully injecting
them with the steroid I had received and a handy mixture of other chemicals
I anxiously awaited the
results...and within days the ant had doubled in size and carried the
animosity of a creature who had been
altered against its will. Settling myself comfortably at the
main console my eyes scanned the power source
from Mother Brain to our lab. And without a moment's hesitation
I glanced at the tubes full of embyonic
fluid, steroid, and my creatures who would assist me in avenging all
of us. They had been so wronged
before...what was to say now that this alteration would not be an improvement
of life for them? Flawed
logic would suggest that I was a hypocrite in what I did, yet the humans
had already done their damage on
these creatures. Now I would turn damage on damage, and wreak
havoc on the bringers of chaos. My
hand shaking momentarily, I entered a command to increase energy flow
and shut down the backup
generators. Power swelled within the turbines of the Biosystems
lab and went surging outwards from the
system. The track lighting shorted out, and gauges on the wall
spun out of their casing. And in the tubes of
fluid in which I had been created, new life spawned and altered for
the purpose that it must serve.
My army has multiplied by the thousands. I have experimented
on over fifty two species now, and each
has the aggression necessary to complete the task which I cannot do
myself. These creatures were
wronged as well in their captivity, and where there is only one of
me there are many of them. Their
reproduction is as that of normal animals, only these "Biomonsters"
reproduce creatures also intent on
destroying humans as their parents were. If this is the affect
of the steroid then I have no reason to doubt
that future generations will continue to destroy with the same contempt
for humans. I expanded outward
from the lab as it became too cramped and resituated my minions in
the climate control center for
Motavia. Here I sit in the center of Climatrol like an unholy
queen on a misbegotten throne, waiting to
wreak havoc. I have impaired the weather control systems and
my minions of monsters continue to terrify
the citizens of nearby towns. I can only hope that they have
destroyed the scientists who so carelessly
thought to destroy life that they had created and my 'sister' whom
was flawed by the emotion of human
kindness.
She came today. I could sense her the moment she set foot
in the building. My ears picked up the soft
sound of her sandal covered feet padding to the center of my domain
with her companions. She had
destroyed my collective of biomonsters and now she and I stood face
to face. Mirror images, one gazing
into a pure pond, the other staring into a shattered looking glass.
I vaguely heard her order me to stop
making monsters. I saw her charge me, her steel bars raised to
strike me down. I recall producing a laser
bar I had stolen from the corpse of a human and making one vicious
slash and seeing her lie dying on the
floor, her life's blood slipping away, and I could feel myself
begin to slip away too. The bond between us
was stronger than I could have ever imagined. One being, one
mind, one body. Her friends engage me
now, swearing to their deities to avenge the fallen one called Nei.
The humans whom I set out to destroy
are now my ultimate destruction. This is the way of things.
As Nei's companions cluster around her in her
final moments, I lie perishing forgotten and considered an enemy on
the cold floor of Climatrol. I feel the
structure of the building begin to shake and hear the strange hiss
of an escapipe being activated. I
remained conscious as the explosions began around me, tearing conduits
from the ceiling and rending the
floor beneath me. As blackness began to slip over me I heard a deafening
rush and felt myself being
carried outward on embyonic fluid...no...water...water gushing from
the uncontrolled Climatrol system.