Author's Note: Before we get to the actual new chapter update, I want to get something off of my chest to you, the readers. I am extremely sorry to you all for my drastically poor update schedule for any of my stories, not counting the sparse and random one-shots I post here and there. I've just hit an extremely bad creative slump and nothing has come out. No new Freak Fights for Project FREAK, no new battles for Heart of Steel in IDA Ultimate Tournament, not even more stupid sex jokes and gratuitous violence and swearing in Pimpin' Peace & Perversion, nothing! I can't come up with anything new, and I've even been debating with myself just to stop the stories here and now, clear the slate and just start over from scratch (keeping everything that's been updated here in Guide to the Multiverse, of course), but I won't do that just yet, because above all, I don't want to disappoint you guys. You wonderful readers out there are my driving force in putting up new stories and chapter updates, and without you, I wouldn't even have the strength to write this note to you all to express both my gratitude and my disappointment in myself for not providing something for you all to enjoy. Well, I don't know how many of you will actually read this note and just go right to the actual part of this update, but to those of you who do, thank you all for the continued support, even if my update schedule is about as common as an albino Jackalope on the moon. Hopefully, this new update will give me just the kick I need to keep moving, so read on, provide feedback, and above all, enjoy. And once again, thank you all.
~Mal Masque
GUIDE TO THE MULTIVERSE
Revitalization Technique: Gem Bodies
When it comes to recruiting members for their ranks, the Universal Powers sometimes hit a roadblock when certain people have already passed on from the mortal coil. Luckily, some of the Universal Powers have developed techniques to bring the dead back to life with relatively few drawbacks (with the exception of the Order of Purity, who believe that the dead should remain dead). The Army of Abominations either uses enhanced necromancy or collects the desired people from Parallel Universes where their desired target was still alive, the Shard uses cybernetics and technology to bring life back into dead corpses as the cost of identity, and (as we will discuss here) the Inter-Dimensional Agency uses Gem Bodies.
Developed by the IDA's coalition of arcane magics and technological advancements (see Magitech Corps.), Gem Bodies are revived beings that exist in an organic/artificial hybrid of a body. In rough definition, Gem Bodies are formerly deceased people who were brought back to life by having their souls be bound to catalysts and placed in 90% organic bodies, the catalysts being extremely potent and well-crafted Soul Gems. Gem Bodies were first implemented after the Shard and Order of Purity defects, the first Gem Bodies being four men currently known as the leaders of the Dynasty Warriors (and nearly every member of the group known as the 'Orochi Warriors' since). Currently, Gem Bodies are commonplace in the IDA, but Zedekiah Strong and the Upper Council urge against its Agents willingly putting themselves in death defying situations to become Gem Bodies, partially with the limited supply of stable Soul Gems needed to create Gem Bodies, and the concern that people would see it as 'death being an inconvenience'.
"I don't want people needlessly throwing themselves on swords thinking they'll come back to life with magic rocks in their bodies." Said Zedekiah Strong when interviewed on the subject of Agents becoming Gem Bodies of their own volition. He went on to say that there is a large margin for error of becoming a Gem Body, including risks should the process fail altogether. "We've lost too many people because they weren't aware of the dangers of playing with life and death." It is because of this reasoning that the Upper Council has decreed that the Gem Body Revitalization Process be only used as a last method alternative for recruitment.
The Gem Body Revitalization Process is comprised of two parts: Soul Selection and Body Creation. The Soul Selection process is primarily done by Zedekiah Strong and several high-ranking members of the IDA's magic users sect, the Way of the Magi, reaching into the spiritual realm of the desired soul. The soul of the deceased is placed inside a specially crafted Soul Gem* via a complicated magic ritual that cannot go awry. If the ritual is in any way disrupted or fails, the soul will be completely obliterated. After the soul is placed into the Soul Gem, the Soul Gem is taken to the IDA's Base Prime Science Facilities, where it falls into the hands on the Multiverse Think Tank to create a body for the soul. The process of creating a body is almost completely identical to cloning, with DNA of the original soul's body being used to create an exact duplicate, with the minor exception being the removal of the heart. In place of the heart, the Soul Gem will be inserted into the body and become a magically infused artificial heart and breathe life into the body. This process, like the Soul Selection process, is very risky, as the body must be prepared properly to accept the Soul Gem, otherwise it will react negatively and destroy the Soul Gem in the process. If the process is successful, the newly created Gem Body will awaken to life between 3-5 days, alive and actively fit for duty.
"While the creation process is incredibly stressful, we cannot feel proud of ourselves for what we have created here." Said Ansem, one of the leading members of the Multiverse Think Tank group known as the 'Geek Squad', when questioned on the Revitalization Process. "We brought back someone from the dead, and now they walk about as though that death never happened. Although some do not take it well." Occasionally, people who have been brought back as Gem Bodies have shown extremely negative reactions, due to them retaining all their memories, including that of their own death. One instance, during the creation of the Gem Body for current Assembly of Evil Councilor Handsome Jack, the recently awakened Gem Body man had slipped into a state of depression and anger for a prolonged period of time, with symptoms of severe PTSD.
"Well, how the hell was I supposed to react when I got told I died?" Said Handsome Jack when interviewed on the subject. "To find out that everything you worked for, all the effort you put into ended up with receiving a bullet in the brain. Of course I freaked out, didn't help that I still have the memory of the exact moment I died burned into my mind. I still see it… But it doesn't stop me from trucking forward to do my job." Many Gem Bodies have been diagnosed with PTSD, and have been required to be put on a psychological and therapeutic program until they were deemed fit for duty. Small cases have even been put on suicide watch for extreme cases. Luckily, nearly all cases of Gem Bodies have reinserted themselves into society and taken up active roles within the IDA. Contrary to belief, being a Gem Body doesn't make one immortal, as the body itself is still organic and can still die from natural causes, such as age, injury, and disease. Very few side-effects, aside from the previously mentioned memory retaining PTSD incidents, have been listed, aside from the unusual reaction of slowed aging process for all cases. According to top scientists, the cells in the Gem Bodies have slowed reproduction and aging exponentially, meaning that Gem Bodies themselves develop slower than normal beings. Study done by the Multiverse Think Tank between a normal human (starting study point of age 25) being and a Gem Body human (revived at the age 25) has shown that in the span of ten years, the Gem Body human did not develop at all in comparison to the human.
"Based on our studies," Said Multiverse Think Tank scientist Zojja. "An average Gem Body's life expectancy based on aging can reach well over 1000 years. Makes sense that most of the IDA's big veterans are all Gem Bodies." According to a census on active IDA Agents and Officials, approximately 30% are Gem Bodies. Despite their notable development hindrance, Gem Bodies are just as normal as you or me… as normal as the Inter-Dimensional Agency's wide roster can get.
*Soul Gems are a magical stone from the Realm of Nirn, specifically the plane of Oblivion known as the Soul Cairn. Soul Gems in Nirn are commonly used for enchanting objects, armor and weapons with magical effects, but the IDA has learned to refine larger Soul Gems to be made into Gem Bodies.