Creation of a Shadow
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Some would say that it'd be too risky.
Some would say that it'd lead to disastrous consequences.
Some would even go so far as to proclaim that this would lead to the end of the world as we know it.
But I say that I've come too far... much too far...
I can't give up now.
I can't give up...
If I did, what would that be telling the spirits of those who I've had to sacrifice? Would their lives have been given in vain? Could nothing come of this?
To those who didn't believe... to those who thought I was a crazy old fool...
I scoff.
I've come too far.
The Chaos Emeralds sitting on the laboratory table... their surfaces gleam and sparkle in the bare light.
Just to obtain those jewels took too much effort to toss my dream away so carelessly...
For these Emeralds contains the power, the energy, dare I even say, the magic needed to create what I wish to create.
A shadow. A shadow of what lives in this world. A shadow of what once was.
A creature so mysterious, so perfect, that the only living thing that ever once came close to it was an earth-bound god, one who lived thousands of years ago, and, like what I am about to create, drew its powers from the energy of Chaos.
As I recall these old legends, a smile creeps across my face.
There are many people in this world. Some of them want to believe only in the facts that they see, others wish to live in dreams alone...
I am from both worlds. I want to use the science that this world has to offer to bring our dreams to life.
Although, I still believe, perhaps there are some dreams best left alone...
One of those dreams... immortality.
Humans are such foolish creatures, sometimes. Wishing for eternal life... wishing to live forever, to learn all of nature's secrets...
Bah. I don't believe that science should be wasted upon such a frivolous wish.
But even so...
My eyes slowly drift to the wall... to a small, framed photograph...
... I don't believe that man should pursue eternal life... that is why I turned down this project several years ago...
... but if this project can save a single life... if there are others out there who might benefit from this...
My mind turns back to my work.
Those Chaos Emeralds... the legends behind them...
As the story goes, the Chaos Emeralds, seven in all, though I only managed to obtain four, once created the end of a world. The world was destroyed by a great monster... the god.
That was where this all began...
According to the legend, this god of great power took on the form of a great tidal wave, its head shaped like that of a monstrous lizard... With the power of the Chaos Emeralds, it became strong enough to destroy much of a huge, ancient civilization. The few survivors then drew pictures and created murals depicting this horrific story.
When I heard of this legend, I became fascinated. Could this monster, this god, be scientifically resurrected? Could it hold the keys that I was desperately pursuing?
I returned to my space colony, once used for observation, now used to conduct my so-called "controversial" project.
It was simple at first. The body of a lizard... the power of the Emeralds. Just as the murals and legends told.
But the small creature did not react well to the energy. The little thing grew and grew, but its physical structure, recreated genetically, became very unstable without a proper source of energy.
This led to the creation of my Chaos Drives; likely the most useful thing I've created yet.
So simple... small objects, built from glass and plastic. I created four kinds, to see if perhaps a difference could be found in the energy of the Chaos Emeralds. I used the four I had; the yellow, the red, the green, and the purple. However, there didn't appear to be a difference between them...
No matter, though. What my problem was, was that my creature could never hold the secrets of immortality. Without its great life-support system, the huge creature could not survive.
And so, I was sent back to the drawing board...
What was the problem? Why could my BioLizard not sustain its own life?
I soon found the answer...
The Chaos Drives could supply only so much energy. Everything boiled down to two options. Either I could use a true Chaos Emerald for my project, or my prototype would have to be much more compact in order to use Chaos Energy, as I dubbed it, more efficiently.
I opted for the second. I didn't dare to give any creature the full use of a Chaos Emerald, for fear of what the ancient legend had shown had happened.
The story went that an echidna had once befriended the great god of Chaos. These creatures of another world... could they help me on my search?
However, the echidnas were now something of the past. In my desperation, I turned to the scientist's pets; the laboratory mice and rats. Unfortunately, their bodies proved too weak to hold up to the powers of Chaos, and each was eventually destroyed from the inside out.
Turning back to Earth for my answers, I sought out all of the cousins of the echidna. Monotremes were few and far between... rodentia didn't have what it took.
After much studying of what I knew of the echidnas, I finally decided on a common hedgehog, family insectivora. Different families, different appearances... but I had to start, and soon.
When I received my first hedgehog specimen, I began by taking samples of its genetic material, trying to unravel the mysteries behind it. Thankfully, with my advanced technology of the time, a map of its DNA was completed within a fair amount of time. Now, the difficult part began: the decision of where to alter the creature's genetics.
This was the highly controversial part. Many people did not believe in tampering with what had been placed on Earth, for fear of Man's presence being eclipsed by something newer, greater, something that would hold the power to exceed Man's greatness.
An "ultimate life."
But sometimes, morals must be shoved aside to make room for advancement.
First, we experimented with how strong a hedgehog could grow... then, how long it would live...
But no matter how we tried, the project was trapped within the natural limits. Man's limits, hedgehog's limits.
And I was forced to resort to the magic.
Though I had no idea what would happen when the energy of Chaos was the life-force behind a creature, I was driven to do it. Was I wondering what it would accomplish? Was I just desperate to complete my project? Was my curiosity urging me to do the unthinkable?
The first tries were less than ideal. The Chaos Energy was far too strong to use all four Emeralds at once, I soon learned. The poor creatures... their bodies simply weren't made of the right stuff.
But thankfully, these mammals accepted the powers of Chaos much better than the reptilian family ever could. Perhaps it was not the hedgehog itself... could other animals have learned to take this energy and use it, too?
No time to experiment with others, though. My project's final form was certain to be a hedgehog, and so I continued.
Over the long course of cloning and manipulating their genes, my hedgehogs slowly changed from small, brown creatures with short prickles to larger, more intelligent beings, colored brightly, with long, dagger-like spines on their backs. Their colors intrigued me; who would have thought that a hedgehog's DNA opened so many possibilities?
Eventually, the hedgehogs began to build up a resistance to Chaos Energy, and they were able to absorb more at a time. During these periods, their colors would change to almost metallic shades, and I wondered if perhaps the Chaos Energy was changing their living, genetic structure. Alas, no more could be done after this stage, for few survived it. The power stole their souls away.
But slowly, slowly, I came to the point where I am now. I believe that I have found the correct genetic map to use, and the right amount of Chaos Energy...
Just as I have done for many months now, I pull out my tools. A Petri dish, a test tube, a microscope...
Carefully, I retrieve a special creation. It is an empty, artificial cell, devoid of any life or genetic material. They are of a precious few number, and dreadfully hard to create.
This time, however, I am sure that it will not be a waste. In fact, there has never been a time when I regretted this.
If this will ever pay off... someday, when she will finally be able to see that planet below us...
... this will all be worth it.
Into the artificial cell, with a tiny needle, I insert a drop of DNA. This is a delicate, careful process... should I make a single mistake, my hedgehog will not survive...
But I have never failed yet.
I carefully lay the single cell into a test tube. I place the tube onto a small stand, hooked up to a set of wires...
And now, the most essential part of it all...
A Chaos Emerald is hooked up to the wires. The yellow one.
A single flip of a switch...
... and it is done.
A tiny, electric shock is sent to the cell.
This is its life-force.
This is the power that it will use to grow and divide.
This is the energy that will let it someday become something.
And soon, someday, this single cell will begin to grow. When it reaches the limits of its tiny world, it will be placed into a large, glass capsule, where it can continue to develop.
Someday, this little life will become the ultimate.
This is the one.
I know it.
While it sleeps within its artificial womb, Chaos Energy will slowly circulate through its environment, and it will be surrounded by a special liquid, designed to provide it with all of its needed nutrients.
When it awakes, it will be subjected to a series of tests... the tests that its predecessors have failed...
I sigh. I never risked becoming too close to my projects.
I have lost too many... and I cannot bear to see any more go.
But this one will surely be the one...
So much rides on the life of this little hedgehog.
When it awakens, I will be able to discover if it holds the keys...
... to immortality.
Eternal life is not something that I seek. Indeed, as I have said, I detest the idea.
But I seek the hidden powers of immortality for a different reason.
If the genes that grant immortality were isolated, if these "super genes" could be found, then could any injury... or illness be cured?
Even one that they claim to be incurable...?
"Immunodeficiency syndrome"...
I shudder at the words.
Those words that they spoke to me, the day she was born...
The words that her family and I wish had never been devised...
But when this hedgehog is ready to be "born"...
... and it tells me its secrets...
Then...
My gaze slowly shifts to that photograph...
Perhaps, someday...
Even though her immune system is so weak, the genes will be found to repair her fragile body...
... and she will be able to see Earth.
And, of course, we will bring along the little hedgehog who helped it all happen.
My little "Project Shadow."
They all call it "Shadow." It was named in a sense of ridicule, that we are trying to create what is not born into this world. We are creating a shadow that must live in the shadows...
But when it is born and my granddaughter cured...
Someday, I will take them both to Earth.
Someday, I will prove that they both belong.
And someday, I will be able to help everyone on Earth find happiness...
Someday...
I promise...
Maria...