Ch 19

Kaneki settled into his seat more comfortably as the lights dimmed and a screen rolled down at the far side of the room. Near the ceiling, above him, he heard the soft hum of a projector flipping on.

Detective Amon stood to the side as an image of a snarling man appeared on screen. The man's pupils were a deep crimson and the eyes were pitch black around them. Kaneki restrained himself from fingering his eyepatch self-consciously. There was no point giving them any tells, even if the investigators would never suspect a ghoul wandering in and going on a tour. The concept sounded like a bad joke, to be honest. And the opening line would be, 'One human boy and a ghoul walk into a CCG building…' Hopefully, they wouldn't stay in the building long enough to find out the punch line.

Detective Amon gestured to the screen, he had one of those laser pointers that Hide's dog liked so much, and began speaking. "What you see before you is the enemy of mankind, our only true predator, a ghoul."

"That's a little rude," muttered Hide. Kaneki hushed him softly. His opinions would be a little bit…. out of place here.

Amon continued, oblivious, "A ghoul is an entirely different species from humans. Often times, the news or tabloids well refer to them as a subspecies of human or perhaps even as a form of vampire or undead. That is wrong. As I said before ghouls are an entirely different species, not related to humans, and not similar at all. I ask that any preconceptions you may have picked up outside this lecture, you forget them now. Ghouls are unlike anything you have ever encountered. They do not have emotions, they do not hold morals, and most of all, they cannot be reasoned with. They are not human."

Amon paused to ensure he had everyone's attention, before continuing. "Ghouls are a predator species of vertebrate animals. They are driven by instinct and the base need to survive- solely at the expense of their prey species, humans. They are our enemies. They walk in our streets, playing at being like us, waiting to take advantage of our unknowing ignorance or naivety and take all that we hold dear."

"Ghouls have a varied life span. Most ghouls do not die of natural causes, so as of yet, their exact average life span has not been determined. Ghouls kept for research purposes have lived up to 80 years in captivity, but this is in abnormal conditions compared to a wild ghoul, and even these ghouls do not die of natural causes."

Kaneki felt his blood turn to ice at the underlying concepts. No matter what, he thought, he would never be coming back to this building, filled with people who would, if given the choice, lock him in a room for 80 years and experiment on him. Beside Kaneki, Hide had gone still. Out of the corner of Kaneki's eyes, he could see Hide's cheeks turning a slight pink. Hide was frowning now, his eyes burning with anger. Apparently, he didn't agree with the doves either.

"That being said, the life cycle of a ghoul is similar to that of a human's. They bear live young, which they then raise until the young is old enough to hunt for itself. We believe adulthood- the ability to hunt alone semi successfully- is considered around 15 years of age. Infancy- the time when the young cannot walk or speak- for a ghoul is considered around 6 to 8 months, developing more quickly than most humans."

Now, arrows flowing in a circle, pointing to different diagrams of ghouls came on screen. It depicted an infant, child, teen, and adult in a circle. It reminded Kaneki of the tadpole life cycle illustrations in an elementary text book. Frankly, it made him uncomfortable.

Amon continued, oblivious. "Ghouls have several key differences in their physiology. The first is in their skin. Their skin contains special cells- absorbed up into the basal layer of the skin through the capillaries- called RC cells that when kertinized by keratinocytes become impervious to most damage. A ghoul also has a different digestive tract than humans. Unlike humans, who have five different senses of taste, caused by specific types of taste buds, ghouls have only two kinds of taste buds, one of which is not truly a taste bud. The first kind, the true taste bud, is specific to only ghouls."

" Instead of being sensitive and receptive to particles commonly found in human food- the way human taste buds are designed- they are receptive to RC cells and particles, which are found in copious amounts in human flesh. This signaling is perceived as the taste of umami, or meat. It can also taste slightly sweet to a ghoul. The second taste bud cell, as mentioned, is not truly a taste bud at all, but rather a modified pressure sensor. Upon a foreign particle entering the ghoul's mouth, the second cell releases signaling to the brain to stimulate a distressing taste. Studies show that the specific taste varies from ghoul to ghoul and particle to particle, not necessarily having a pattern. This response occurs upon the presence of any kind of food within the mouth. The only reason that the ghoul can feed at all is because when the first true cell is stimulated by the RC cells and particles, it activates a neurotransmitter that inhibits the reaction of the second taste bud variant."

Kaneki doesn't see the slide that comes on screen next, he's too busy scribbling furiously to look up. All this information was a gold mine. It would have taken weeks and weeks of witness accounts, conspiracy theories, massive textbooks and more to find out what was so neatly summed up in just a few paragraphs. Why was this information so difficult for the public to peruse? Literally, the only way to find any concrete, proven information was to take it from the hands of the CCG.

Hide is also writing down notes as the investigator continues speaking. "While this is the initial cause for ghoul diet, it is not the only part of a ghoul's digestive system that is simply incompatible with a human diet. Ghouls often ingest human cuisine as a means of camouflage, however, even once the food is swallowed, it is not digested. When a ghoul ingests a meal which is composed of RC cells, the stimulated taste bud in the tongue also stimulates a parasympathetic response, signaling the stomach to release the enzymes needed to digest the food. However, when eating human food, the first true taste bud is not activated, therefore, the digesting enzymes are not released into the lumen of the stomach. The food therefore cannot be digested and the ghoul eventually voids it within a few hours."

That was why Kaneki could no longer eat hamburgers. He must have lost his human taste receptor cells. He wondered, vaguely, if there was anyway he could get them back one day. It was a nice thought as he continued to take notes.

Amon switched the slide again, revealing a figure of the back of a torso, several different areas highlighted red. Along each area, a name was printed. Amon gestured to the top area. "This," he said, "is a ghoul's kagune. It is their weapon which they use to hunt and defend themselves. It is lethal and made of the strongest substance known to man- activated RC cells. The weapon is versatile and usually highly mobile, able to pierce anything and unbreakable except to another kagune."

"There are four different types of kagune, determined by the placement of the kakuhou- the organ that processes the nutrients harvested by the stomach and forms additional RC cells, as well as storing the RC cells not in use of circulating the body."

Across the room, Hide could hear other pens or pencils scribbling out the information. He supposed that the CCG didn't give out this much information often.

"The first type of kagune is the ukaku, where the kakuhou is stationed in the upper back, near the top of the shoulders. In this type of kagune, the weapon generally takes a feathery appearance and increases the user's speed greatly. However, as a counter to that, while this ghoul has the ability to whip out attacks very aggressively and quick, they lack in stamina- not being able to keep up the swift pace from the beginning of the battle."

Hide made a note besides his notes- haha- about whether Kaneki could be an ukaku type. It would be cool if he grew kagune that looked like wings- then he could tease his little brother about how he was an extra from the manga Hide had been reading, DNAngel.

"Their common attack is sending high speed projectiles hurtling through the air towards their victims by crystallizing their RC cells. During this condition, the kagune is stiff and unsuited for short range combat. Due to this weakness, the technique for subduing this type of ghoul is to stall and evade in order to outlast them or, if that is not an option, to swiftly move from distanced combat to close combat, catching the ghoul off guard with their kagune still in a crystallized state."

"The second kind of kagune is a koukaku. It emerges from beneath the shoulder blades. It is a heavy kagune with a higher density of RC cells. Typically, they appear shaped as heavy shields or melee wee weapons acting as a third arm. This kagune specializes in an impenetrable defense. However, due to the massive weight of the kagune, this ghoul is the slowest type and the least agile."

It would make sense if Kaneki was a koukaku type… he was such a scaredy book worm. He would probably love to hide behind a shield the whole time.

"Techniques for dealing with this ghoul are to outmaneuver it and surround it, attacking it from weak, unguarded areas. This ghoul, due to its high defense has a natural advantage against the previously mentioned ukaku type. It can defend against the long range attacks of the ukaku and move in close when the ukaku exhausts itself."

"The third species of kagune is the rinkaku. It has a scaly appearance, forming from the waist area in signature tentacle-like limbs. The amount of tentacles seems to vary from ghoul to ghoul. Another notable trait of this kind of ghoul is a significantly higher than normal regenerative ability, granting many rinkaku ghouls much shorter recovery periods from injuries, turning the mending of days into mere hours or less. Kagune of this type grant the ghoul wielding it overwhelming and adaptive attack power."

Hide glance over at Kaneki when he noticed that his pencil had stopped moving. His bud had gone pale and was staring at the image projected up front. Hide glanced up, to see that detective Amon had long moved on to new images. Now, it showed the blurry form of a bipedal shape, long dark limbs protruding from it's mid back, Hide could see four of them, but there may have been more hidden in the blurry image.

"The limbs of the kagune are extremely versatile, easily the most agile of the other ghoul weapons. This is because the RC cells bond to one another like water, with a looser bond than in any other type of kagune. However, like water, the bonds can be disrupted if enough pressure is applied, making the rinkaku kagune the least durable of all the ghoul types."

Hide tapped his pencil on his notepad, worrying his lip as he kept sneaking glances at his little brother. This was unlike him. Kaneki always took good notes… was something wrong?

" If the ukaku specializes in speed, the koukaku in defense, then the rinkaku's power lies in it's ability to attack relentlessly with great force. Techniques for engaging this kind of ghoul are varied, generally decided on a case to case basis. One popular method is firing quinque steel bullets from long range into the base of the rinkaku's tentacle like kagune, breaking them off. Then, before the ghoul can regenerate, a S.W.A.T. team moves in to terminate the ghoul. This type of ghoul has an advantage against the much slower koukaku, able to power through their defense and strike them quickly."

Hide had been ready to start poking Kaneki, very annoyingly- as was his elder bro duty- when Kaneki seemed to snap out of whatever twilight zone he went to and continued writing.

"The last type of ghoul has what is called a bikaku kagune. This kagune forms most often as a tail, generally trailing down the ghoul's leg. This is the balance type ghoul. It is the perfect mix of all three kagune types, retaining average speed, defense, and attack power. This enables it to go toe to toe with the rinkaku type and using its speed and greater durability, break the kagune of a rinkaku ghoul. However, due to it's average stats, the superior speed of the ukaku ghoul can overwhelm the bikaku or the ukaku can attack the middle ranged bikaku from afar, taking it out. To deal with bikaku ghouls, soldiers work in strike units, quickly swapping out after attacking, to imitate the overwhelmingly swift attack style of the the ukaku."

Hide turned a page as he finished a section of notes. Well, that was interesting. Would figuring out which kagune Kaneki has, be like taking one of those sketchy online personality quizzes? Cool.

Detective Amon cleared his throat as he flipped forward to a new image on the projector.

"Moving on to more subtle differences between ghouls and humans, how Ghouls are able to perform all these functions. They possess an over abundance of something called an RC cell. RC cells are specialized cells called the Red Child Cell. They are specific to humans and ghouls only. Humans produce RC cells naturally as part of the immune system, they are leukocytes that only mature in the Thymus- which as humans grow older and the Thymus gland turns to fat, explains why the elderly or humans with defects in the thymus have a naturally lower amount of RC cells. RC cells in ghouls are produced in the liver and the red bone marrow, much like erythrocytes. Unlike in humans, the RC cells- while they can serve as immune cells to some degree- in ghouls are produced from the liver and red bone marrow fully mature and function closer to red blood cells."

"RC cells in ghouls are also 'activated.' In humans, RC cells are inhibited by CD39, the enzyme that is naturally secreted by endothelial cells of blood vessels to prevent unnecessary clotting. In Ghouls, which have a different form of clot inhibition, there is no such barrier. RC cells when activated are very versatile. Their mitochondria are massive and structured differently, allowing them to produce twice the amount of ATP on half the glucose molecule that humans do."

Kaneki felt his eyebrows rise. That was a lot of energy. He wondered where the key difference was. It must have something to do with the electron transport chain. He didn't think glycolysis or the krebs cycle could be changed that much and still be a viable function.

The investigator seemed to be finishing with his lecture as the screen was flipped to the CCG's logo.

"… and all this is what makes ghouls the greatest threat to mankind that we have ever faced. Any questions?"

Kaneki lowered his head, finishing up his notes. He heard a few people ask questions and offhandedly jotted down the answers when he heard Hide shift beside him. Hide had raised his hand.

Detective Amon smiled as he called on Hide, only to frown in bemusement when he heard Hide's question.

"What are they like?" Amon parroted, not sure what the college student was asking.

"Yeah," continued Hide. "You've been droning on and on about what they are and how they work, but you haven't actually said anything about them. What do they do? Do thye raise families? Can they get jobs?"

"These are predators we're talking about, young man. Not your run of the mill, 9 to 5, evening train home pedestrian. These ghouls are actively searching for their next victim. I doubt much more than survival crosses their mind. Next question?"

Beside Kaneki, Hide scribbled something down and frowned, glaring into his paper.