SWA Beginnings: Francesca, by ElfenMagix
Gunslinger Girl and its characters are (c) Yu Aida.
SWA Beginnings: Francesca and its characters are (c) ElfenMagix.
I would like to continue to thank Boomer_Gonzales for his loan of his characters and assistance with dialog and plot development
Alpha is by his creator, Boomer_Gonzales.
Creation of Francesca.
Part 1: The Baron von Frankenstein
Francesca was born in Barcelona, Spain like any other girl; except for her red hair and green eyes, growing up in luxury and prestige of minor royalty. Though she was not in line for a seat of power, much of her life's comfort came from her father's connection to the House of the Knights Protectorate of the Royal Family; a position similar to the Vatican Swiss Guard. Rarely are girls given any power, usually living in their father's shadow in safety and comfort. Francesca on the other hand wanted to be her father's daughter in the worst way possible, and took on taking boys' training at an early age. Her success equal to that of most boys her age, very much like that of girls before her who took on the challenges of Knight Preparatory School. Unlike those girls, she was also excelling in her courses at the Queen Isabella de Castilian for Girls; in courses like: Spanish Communications and Dialog, Multiple Language Arts, The Sciences, and Mathematics. She, like those before her, wanted to break the gender barrier and become a Knight Protectorate like her father, in which only a few have been successful in doing so.
Though she started to have her first period at age 10, she started to develop like a normal girl until she became 12. Pain in her joints, unable to hold down food, and strange rashes were the first signs that there was something wrong. To her disappointment, she was removed from the Knight Preparatory School. As hospital stays lengthened, she told that she would also had to be removed from the Queen Isabella de Castilian For Girls for the time being until she was fit to re-attend school. Depression started to set in as her symptoms worsened, and medications did not seem to work for her. Medical tests kept coming up negative or inconclusive for things such as cancer, syndromes, infections, exposures, or diseases. Francesca seems to be falling apart ever more every time she went to see the medical staff of El Hospital de St. Ramon. They gave her less than 6 months to live.
Dr. Garcia-Baez told Francesca's parents of experimental treatments being conducted in Italy by the newly formed Social Work Agency Section Two, aka Research Department of Pediatric Medicine. With phone calls made, Francesca's doctors managed to get her signed up for observation and possible treatment for her ailments. Within a week, they were on their way to Italy.
Six months before, Dr. Frankenstein's Isle of Evel was raided by the Italian government for alleged criminal activities. Though little and minor wrong doings were occurring at the Isle of Evel, mostly in misplaced or expired paperwork, the interest of the Italian government was peaked when they found out what was actually going: Human Reconstruction Through Cybernetic Research. Charges of High Crimes and Misdemeanors were created to freeze all work at the Isle of Evel. Negotiations were put into play; for charges to be dropped, Dr. Frankenstein and his staff must move to Rome and continue their work for the SWA. Dr. Frankenstein approved the deal as long as he was able to continue the work he was doing with his patients. It took 3 weeks to move the operations from the Isle of Evel to a complex in Rome.
Along with his patients, he was given the chore of improving current cybernetic research for the SWA Section 1 Anti-Terrorist division. Using slightly augmented prosthetics, Section 1 was already experimenting with cyborg technologies with Persian and Iraqi War Amputee Veterans. Taking current designs, Frankenstein lightened the weight with Carbon-Fiber replacement of Titanium frames, through keeping Titanium along the joints. He also introduced his artificial skin to the program, making the cyborgs more realistic as possible in terms of a single body appearance and function. With each cyborg, he further honed his skills and advanced the technologies of human cybernetics and interface.
Though the advancement of the technology was a success, the Anti-Terrorist Cyborg Program of SWA Section One was a failure. Endowed with super strength and super speed, the cyborgs of Section 1 were given medications to alter the progression of Phantom Pain Syndrome, a side effect of cyborgs not being able to feel pain. In light of this situation, cyborgs were putting themselves into life-destructive situations during missions. The first of such events was when Cyborg/Agent Minnelli jumped in front of the path of a commuter train to stop it and capture the terrorist inside. Though the terrorist was captured, Minnelli was killed in the incident, along with 12 other train crew and passengers with many hurt and injured, and major damage done to the train station. Their numbers dwindled rapidly as cyborg agent upon cyborg agent completed missions by means of their irrational actions that leads to their self destruction. Chief Draghi decided to put an end to the Cyborg/Agent program in Section 1.
Seeing the program come to a sudden end, Dr. Frankenstein goes to the Director of Strategic Division to sell her the idea of continuing the Human Cybernetics Research and Reconstruction program while keeping more advanced technologies for government and law enforcement. He would wait 3 months for an answer.
He walks with the Director of Strategic Division down a long corridor of a newly created agency compound.
"Dr. Frankenstein, among your work on Human cybernetics, I understand that you did work on Auto-Immune Response as well," the Director of Strategic Division began to state.
"That was research done during my early years…" Dr. Frankenstein started to respond.
"Mainly for viability of human organ transplantation, that I already know; but tell me…what about other ailments that affect the human condition?" the Director of Strategic Division asked.
"One could rebuild an immune system from gathered stem cells from the host patient. Though this is still in its infancy, I am more than capable of understanding current research and implementing it into a working technology if given enough time. But what does this have to do with my request?" Dr. Frankenstein asks.
Director of Strategic Division continues to walk, opening a door to a private room. Dr. Frankenstein is led inside, walking over to a bed which has a patient on it, a red-haired girl, connected to many machines monitoring her life.
"Who is this young girl?" Dr. Frankenstein asks.
"She is your patient," Director of Strategic Division explains.
"…My patient?" Dr. Frankenstein continues to ask.
"She has some unknown Auto-Immune Disease which has been destroying her from the inside. Her doctors in Spain gave her 6 months, much of it to be in this condition you see- passed out on pain medication."
"What of her parents?"
"They gave us all rights and permissions to do what we can to save her."
"I need to thoroughly go through her records and examine her myself," Dr. Frankenstein replies.
"You got 96 hours to start on a cure," Director of Strategic Division almost demands.
"Why the urge on getting her well?"
"1- Most of the work you will do here, will be given to the public. 2- I have heard that you were doing nothing short of miracles back at the Isle of Evel- giving people new bodies and thus a new life. Though we have such a similar program running, our own success has been far from… successful," Director of Strategic Division explains.
"But, Madam… there is a difference between replacing body parts with cybernetics, and rebuilding an Autoimmune System!" Dr. Frankenstein says in near panic.
"That is why you are here," Director of Strategic Division continues to explain, "96 hours… create a miracle or else…"
The Director of Strategic Division leaves the room through another exit after dropping a thick folder of the patient's information on the bed by her feet. Dr. Frankenstein watches the director leave, leaving him with the girl.
'This cannot be done in 96 hours…' , Frankenstein thinks to himself, 'There is no way it can be done!'
He opens the folder, finding several electronic pass keys to the medical compound. He pockets the pass keys as he begins to read Francesca's file. After reading just a few pages, he puts the folder down and removes the blanket that was covering her body from the shoulders down, revealing her naked body underneath. Red splotches of rash covered her on random places, what was not covered had a pale green to tinge to it. She had several tubes going into her intravenously, and a portable dialysis machine running under the bed. She had a stench of death on her, even her breathe smelled of acetone. Dr. Frankenstein examined her from head to toe, front side and back, taking mental notes as he went alone her examination. He pressed and prodded upon certain area, checking for swollen glands. He checked her mouth for thrush; a kind of internal oral fungus, usually found in the late stages of AIDS patients. He checked her body hair and skin for macro-sized parasites, but found none. Once done with the examination, Dr. Frankenstein covers up Francesca with the blankets she had on. He says to himself, "Girl, somehow, someway, we will make you well again."
He picks up the folder from the bed and heads out the same way the Director of Strategic Division left. He notices that he had just walked into a large medical control room, already manned and staffed. Several men in lab coats stand in front of a console area that overlooked the patient room where Dr. Frankenstein had just examined Francesca.
"And who are you?" Dr. Frankenstein asks.
A young doctor approaches him. "Good afternoon, Dr. Frankenstein. I'm Dr. Bianchi. My colleagues are Dr. Gilliani and Dr. Belgonchi."
"And all three of you were in here gawking at my examination of the girl through this 2-way mirror as if it were an Amsterdam Peep Show? How dare you call yourselves doctors?" Dr. Frankenstein nearly yelled at him with a red face.
"Do not get us wrong, Dr. Frankenstein. We were reviewing your notes in Cybernetics…" Dr. Bianchi continues.
"Does this patient even qualify for a cybernetic transplant of her systems? I think not! Not until there is more research to be done, and her condition determined," Dr. Frankenstein states to them.
Dr. Belgonchi gets up and walks by Dr. Frankenstein, dropping a folder on the desk in front of them. On the cover is a label with large letters, 'SUBJECT: Francesca.' Dr. Frankenstein looks at the folder for a moment before opening it to a random page, which had diagrams of electronic circuitry, mechanical solenoids and relays and mechanical joints.
Dr. Frankenstein slams the folder shut and looks over to Dr. Belgonchi, with his hand holding the folder shut.
"What is your intention with the patient in the other room? With what I have just seen in just these few pages, you will have a corpse connected to electronic trash that ain't worth selling at a junk store!"
"This is top of the line, cutting edge prosthetic technology," Dr. Belgonchi explains.
"Prosthetics does not mean Cybernetics. These are not Artificial Systems, just Mechanical replacements! The girl you have in there is a Human Being, Not some cheap Fiat run-about lifted up into the air for you to check her undercarriage!" Dr. Frankenstein almost yells back at him.
"Then let's hear with what you have to say," Dr. Belgonchi challenges.
"I got nothing to say. You call yourself doctors yet you want to use silicone parts… What for? Silicone parts are made for toys!" Dr. Frankenstein exclaims excitedly.
"What do you have to offer?" Dr. Belgonchi again challenges.
"I offer you nothing. I offer her a new life! But it seems to me that you have already decided on her fate, and with that her fate is already sealed in a 1 by 1.75 meter coffin," Dr. Frankenstein explains.
"And what do you mean?" Dr. Bianchi asks.
"You start amputating limbs; she will not survive the shock of the operation. Why are you replacing her limbs anyway?" Dr Frankenstein asks.
"Nerve damage," Dr. Gilliani steps in.
"To what extent?" Dr Frankenstein asks.
"Her immune system has damaged her periphery motor and sensory nerves, and it is progressing to her higher nerve functions," Dr. Gilliani further explains.
"Have you figured out the cause of her immune hyper function?" Dr. Frankenstein.
"No…" all three stated.
"But yet, you want to cut her up, connect her to your erector set of parts, and send her back out to her little world like some mad doctor's experiment!" Dr. Frankenstein yells at them.
The three, along with their supporting staff look at him, for they all know of whom they were dealing with and of his family's infamous past.
"Weren't you arrested on experimenting on humans at your secret lab in the Isle of Evel?" Dr. Gilliani asks.
"Those were not experiments," Dr. Frankenstein explains.
"Then what were they?" Dr. Gilliani continues to asks.
"Artificial biological replacements of failed human systems," Dr. Frankenstein explains.
"Sounds like prosthetics to me.", Dr. Belgonchi comments.
"AND THAT IS WHERE YOU WOULD BE WRONG!", Dr. Frankenstein slams his fist on the desk. "Where You Use Solenoids, Electric Motor And Cable, I Use Synthetic Muscle! Where You Harnesses And Straps To Hold The Prosthesis Limbs In Place, I Connect Them Directly To The Body By Means Of Artificial Joints. Where You Use Sensors To Pick Up Nerve Impulses From Elsewhere, I Connect Artificial Nerves To Existing Connections So They Can Sense, Feel, And Move Like Their Former Limbs. Where You Use Batteries To Run These Electrical Systems That Will Run Out And Need To Be Replaced, My Systems Uses The Body's Own Electricity To Run. Not Only Do I Offer Cybernetic Limbs, I Also Offer Cybernetic Organs, Reconnect Damaged Nerves, And Regraft Skin With The Preciseness Of an Artist! All you can do is to make her look like some war refugee amputee…"
"But didn't you say that she would not survive the operation?", Dr. Belgonchi asks.
"I would not operate on her until after her condition has been improved.", Dr. Frankenstein answers.
"The patient has been on a steady decline ever since she has been diagnosed Back in Spain.", Dr. Belgonchi explains.
"Diagnosed with what?", Dr. Frankenstein asks.
"Unknown ailment with symptoms of other diseases, yet tests come back as negative or inconclusive for those diseases.", Dr. Belgonchi explains.
Dr. Frankenstein just sighs at the irrelevancy of it all. He turns away as to not face them, hunched over with hand to his chin and the other to support its elbow, taking a few steps in a circle of deep thought. He stops and straightens up, turning to face them all.
"LUPUS," Dr. Frankenstein says.
"Lupus? That's American Culture of Medical Quackery?" Dr. Belgonchi almost yells.
"Quackery or not, it exists, and it involves the immune system attacking its own host on various level for unknown reasons. Known treatments include Steroid Therapy and Bone Marrow Transplant," Dr. Frankenstein explains. "And in her current condition of being in its very late stages, she will not survive a bone marrow transplant unless she is stabilized first."
"We thought about a bone marrow transplant, and there are no matches for her on the world transplant registry," Dr. Bianchi stated.
"So you already had plans on killing her…" Dr. Frankenstein said.
"No, we were…" Dr. Bianchi started to explain.
Dr. Frankenstein interrupts him, "No, you listen here. You think you have the answers but second thoughts have you pegged against a wall because this girl is so important to somebody high up, that your jobs depends on her life and death. So, you are now willing to let responsibility fall onto some fool who may or may not know what is going on or of what he is doing. So let me tell you something- if this were to be my lab back in the Isle of Evel, you all would be tied to the slab, awaiting your turns to be punished while that girl would be my secretary and lab assistant in a new body with a new life, all because I cannot stand excuses, and I cannot stand incompetence even more!"
Dr. Belgonchi gets up out of his chair and steps up to Dr. Frankenstein, and points to the far door in the room. He then walks to it, signaling to Dr. Frankenstein to follow him. He does and both stop at the door.
"I believe you have a pass key to this room," Dr. Belgonchi explains.
Dr. Frankenstein gives him an unsure look as he pulls out a set of pass key cards from his pocket, fanning them out like a hand of card to Dr. Belgonchi. Dr. Belgonchi pulls out one of them, and swipes it against the card reader. The light on the lock switches from Red to Green as it unlocks. Dr. Belgonchi twists on the door handle, opening the door. They both step inside the room, which was only lit by the light of the other room of the doorway and a 2-way mirror. Dr. Belgonchi reaches to the wall and feels for a light switch. Soon the room was fully lit. Dr. Frankenstein stood there in awe.
"How is this possible?" Dr. Frankenstein asks.
"We simply moved your lab from the Isle of Evel to here," Dr. Belgonchi stated. Dr. Bianchi and the others walked in afterwards. "Everything should be as you last left it."
"I need my staff," Dr. Frankenstein stated.
"They will be here by morning," Dr. Bianchi added. "Although you already have us here, why use them?"
"You are not qualified, educated or competent to work for me. They are," Dr. Frankenstein tells him.
"A bunch of pre-med students and medical school drop outs? Don't make me laugh!" Dr. Gilliani challenges.
"They have worked with me; know of my procedures, and how to use the equipment I had invented for this realm of science. You as a group of so-called well-learned medical professionals are 12 years out of date, and still play about with what you think is cutting edge technologies in prosthetics. In here, though you may recognize but not fully understand is bleeding edge technology in which those who worked with my have learned by getting cut themselves numerous times. So until you drop that elitist 'I'm a Rhodes Scholar' attitude, you will not gain access to this lab and you will only achieve the level of chief prosthetics engineer in some General Hospital."
They all wanted to say something, but Dr. Belgonchi raises his hand to keep the others at bay for the moment he speaks.
"No, you are right. Who am I, but a chief Neuro Surgeon with 4 degrees and more than 12 years of experience in my field. Or of Bianchi who is chief psychiatrist who specializes in pain management and whole body awareness to amputee patients. Or of Gilliani, who has began work in prosthetics redesigns and into unifying such parts into the body- much along the lines of your work, Dr. Frankenstein. But in short Dr. Frankenstein, we could have taken your work, cracked your computer access codes, reversed engineered your experiments, and figured out your inventions while your carcass rots in jail. Instead, we wanted to best to work alongside us, and that means having you on our side. Now what shall it be?" Dr. Belgonchi said.
"Understand that I do not work for you, or for anyone else under some government agency and I do not work under threats of death, disappearance or arrests, but for my patients. That includes the girl in the other room. Now, if you do not mind- leave me to my lab- I have a lot of work to do.", Dr. Frankenstein started to say, pausing for a bit.
The three doctors started to walk to the door, as Dr. Frankenstein hoped that they would. He waited until they got to the door before making his comment known.
"And one more thing, gentlemen…" Dr. Frankenstein paused and waited for them to turn and face him. "I am not one you double cross… If you know anything of my past works and of my family's legacy, those who have, have found themselves in their graves."
Dr. Frankenstein walks to this desk, pulling out a notebook from its drawer, and starts writing as soon as he sits down. The others stand fixated at the man, or was it his treat?