|| The Edge of Hell ||
Prologue
"And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo- that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power to make of us not simply victims, as nature and accident do, but active accomplices." ― Joyce Carol Oates
The development of STEM had spanned throughout the course of several years, with a man bearing an unparalleled genius toiling away at it. The invention was ingenious, the concept unmatched.
Ruvik, formerly known as Ruben Victoriano, was the mastermind behind the invention of STEM. The ability to link one's mind to another was an unprecedented advancement in the field of science, and Dr. Jimenez, a man who spent several years carefully monitoring Ruvik's intellectual ascension, eagerly welcomed the development that the marred man produced. And thus, the doctor and the man cloaked in the white, tattered hooded coat worked closely for a long while, supplying each other with materials and results.
But as the years wore away, their partnership began to grow unstable. Jimenez began publishing his partner's research and findings under his own name, denying his colleague the chance at recognition. But this was a minor setback in Ruvik's eyes, one that he could always remedy after the completion of his masterpiece. STEM was nearing its finalization, and his only concern was further engrossing himself in his creation.
A mistake he should have known better than to make.
It wasn't long before Dr. Jimenez turned on him, calling upon the aid of other doctors to corner him by force. Against his will, Ruvik was forced into his own creation as the main test subject. His body was prodded and dissected, pieces of flesh were torn away bit by bit, leaving nothing but a brain to sustain his life.
He was trapped within the walls of his own created world, forced to wander them in hateful spite as he mulled over his poor choice in deciding to trust Jimenez. His hunger for revenge was only fueled; the flame only fanned.
But Dr. Jimenez was nothing if not perceptive. He anticipated that Ruvik would be none too pleased with his deception and treachery, and had a plan to counteract any possible mishaps that threatened to transpire. With the mad scientist reduced to nothing more than a mere brain and wielding no body to return to, Jimenez felt fairly safe in his assumption that Ruvik would be of no further trouble.
After careful experimentation on Ruvik's brain and many failed attempts to send others into the world of STEM and have them return alive, Jimenez began to realize that Ruvik wasn't out of the picture just yet. Subjects were dying upon returning from the alternate world, if they even managed to make it out in the first place.
Those who were working with STEM began to slip into mysterious comas, and those who fancied fleeing found their efforts easily thwarted. Something was picking them off like prey, and the predator was not happy. His claws were out, teeth bared, and he was ready to bring retribution to the world for what it had done to him. For what it had stolen from him.
Ruvik was growing restless within the confinements of his own world, and Jimenez knew time was running out. The situation was growing more perilous by the day, and further involvement with the invention would surely spell his destruction. Desperate measures suddenly took precedence, and in a last ditch effort, the doctor devised a plan in an attempt to stabilize Ruvik's destructive mind and allow for the progression of STEM.
A. M. A.
Artificially Modified Accomplice. A life force engineered by he himself, she was human in appearance, soft-spoken in tone, and radiantly beautiful in features― all neatly wrapped up into a few cells. Injected into Ruvik's brain like an unwanted tumor of sorts, Jimenez forced unto his former collaborator an unshakable adversary that was to battle his unquenchable hunger for revenge. She was to quell his malice and keep him under control; but no one knew just how powerful Ruvik was. No one could have ever anticipated just how horrific his reign over STEM was, nor just how much terror he was capable of unleashing.
And even as things began to decline, leading up to the arrival of the KPCD, Dr. Jimenez held his breath and crossed his fingers. A. M. A. was directly instilled into Ruvik's brain, marking her― by all technicalities― as a part of him. This set the stage for potential pros and cons, for in A. M. A's ties to Ruvik, she could easily hinder him, or be converted by his unyielding malevolence.
She was meant to aid Jimenez; she was designed to prohibit Ruvik. And as the men of the local police department and doctors alike were all cast into Ruvik's domain, the traitorous doctor's only hope was that their lone guiding light would emerge. He could only hold his breath and pray that his plan worked.
He had to believe that she would be their saving grace as they tettered on the edge of this hell that Ruvik so cruelly ruled over.