Chapter 38: Report – Operation 86103-40-7775
Sumeragi's Institute of Human and Faunus Evolution
Operation 86103-40-7775
Codename: Silence [REDACTED]
Head Researcher: [REDACTED]
Assistant Researchers: N/A
Date: September 7th, 74 AGW
Location: [REDACTED], Atlas, Solitas
Foreword: The following document details general observations regarding Operation 86103-40-7775, codenamed Operation: Silence [REDACTED] and henceforth referred as the [Operation] in this document. Access to this document is confidential and the unauthorizedd redistribution or reproduction of this document or of the content presented in it will be considered a threat against the safety of the Kingdom of Atlas and an act of treason, punishable with the sentence such crime carries. Should you find yourself in the possession of this document without the proper authorization, please stop reading and deliver it to either the Sumeragi's Institute of Human and Faunus Evolution or to the closest Atlas Military Outpost.
For safety reasons, this document does not represent a full account of the [Operation] and merely includes observations regarding its execution; both the circumstances and observations leading to the [Operation] as well as the notes recollected during the observation period.
The document has been redacted to omit identifiers of the individuals involved in the [Operation], including but not limited to: Name, Date of Birth, Biological Gender, Nationality, identifying Aura Signatures, among others.
This document is not meant to be a full, rigorous scientific study. Rather, it is meant to compile the observations of [the Head Researcher] regarding the subject matter.
Synopsis
The [Operation] consist of three separate, invasive surgical procedures performed across the span of three years. The primary goal of the initial surgical procedures was to ascertain the feasibility of performing surgical procedures on the Aura of a person as a method to remove harmful elements from a person's Aura.
The primary goal of the second surgical procedure was to ascertain the feasibility of performing a surgical procedure to obtain the inverse result: add a beneficial element to a person's Aura.
The primary goal of the third surgical procedure aimed to implement the knowledge acquired from the last two procedures in order to stabilize a naturally occurring and extremely rare Aura-based anomality.
For the purpose of the [Operation], three patients were recruited. Information regarding each patient can be read in the next section. Preliminary results are encouraging; while the patient of the first surgical procedure succumbed to their disease shortly after, the progress and improvement of the other two have been nothing short of outstanding. Although the procedure was unable to completely cure the third patient, the improvement on the patient's quality of life are not only undeniable, but blatantly remarkable. Further research is required to fully understand the ramifications of this study in the field of Auralogy. However, due to both the ethical and safety implications regarding the research and its patients, a temporary hold has been imposed in further research by orders of [the Head Researcher]
Patients
Three distinct patients willingly served as the test subjects to the [Operation]: Patient no.1 6575, Patient no.2 8166, and Patient no.3 7775, henceforth referred to as P6575, P8166, and P7775, respectively.
-o-
P6575
Name: [REDACTED]
Date of Birth: [REDACTED]
Gender: [REDACTED]
Aura Color: Yellow
Semblance: [REDACTED]
Status: Deceased
Condition: P6575 suffered from severe damage to their Aura, the magnitude and nature far exceeding anything previously seen or recorded by experts on the field. It is believed that the damage was caused by a negative reaction to previously unknown Semblance. Ever since the incident, the patient has exhibited severe muscular atrophy, brittle Aura, and compromised immune system. Given the grave damage observed, doctors and experts, including [Head Researcher], have given P6575 a short life expectancy. While the patient managed to overcome several wrong diagnoses in regard to their life expectancy, at the time of the [Operation], the patient's condition deteriorated dramatically. Subsequently, they agreed to the [Operation] both as a last ditch effort and, most importantly, in the hope that the information gleamed from the procedure could be used towards resolving P7775's condition.
Results: P6575 surgery was a success. However, the damage done to their body was far beyond repair, leaving P6575 with a predicted one year to live. Follow-up observations report that the chronic pain that affected P6575 diminished. After rigorous testing, the extracted element of their Aura was labeled as benign for the purpose of transplant and Phase 2 was greenlighted.
-o-
P8166
Name: [REDACTED]
Date of Birth: [REDACTED]
Gender: [REDACTED]
Aura Color: Yellow (Previously Red)
Semblance: [REDACTED] ([REDACTED])
Status: Alive
Condition: P8166 is a perfectly healthy human with unlocked Aura that agreed to submit themselves to the surgical procedure for a, quite frankly, marginal benefit. While the patient, at face value, doesn't suffer from any negative medical condition that would require intervention, their Aura exhibited "a quirk" that, while well within the parameters of normality as far as Aura goes, resulted unpleasant.
A surgical procedure was performed to substitute the offensive element of their Aura with the extracted element from P6575.
Results: Comparatively, the procedure of P8166 was a short and simple affair of less than three hours. The patient exhibited no ill effects beyond what's expected of any operation and initial observations indicate that the procedure was a resounding success.
With the success of this medical procedure, we have proven the feasibility of taking a foreign Aura element and introducing it into a new host. We have also verified some assumptions and hypotheses regarding the nature of Aura. This can be read further down below.
With P8166's procedure complete, we move to the most challenging part of the [Operation] yet.
Addendum: Some side effects were observed on P8166 months after the procedure. However, these were primarily phenotypic in nature and those that weren't were considered minimal. It was concluded that the benefits P7775 stood to gain far outweighed the subjective negatives. For more information on the side effects, please refer to the corresponding section further into the document.
-o-
P7775
Name: [REDACTED]
Date of Birth: [REDACTED]
Gender: [REDACTED]
Aura Color: Blue (Previously Orange)
Semblance: [REDACTED]
Status: Alive
Condition: P7775 suffers from severe Aura Over-Stressing Symptoms (AO-SS), a set of symptoms associated with the negative physiological reaction to one's own unlocked Aura. The two most common causes of AO-SS are (1) negative feedback to straining the limits of one's own Semblance and (2) unlocking the Aura of a children before their body is capable of enduring the natural strain associated with it. Since cause (2) is rare due to the regulations and rules in place to control the unlocking of Aura and (1) varies on a case-by-case basis, the term AO-SS is considered informal. Scientific research on the subject is limited due to the ethical and moral implications of studying such a condition.
P7775 exhibited AO-SS from a very young age due to unfortunate circumstances. As a result, the patient primarily suffered from severe muscular atrophy that forced the patient to remain bedridden for most of their life and effectively turn them into a mute due to underdeveloped vocal cords. P7775 also suffered from several chemical imbalances that forced them to follow a strict diet accompanied with several dietary supplement and medicines to bolster the immune system and manage chemical imbalances. During the worst episodes of AO-SS, P7775 exhibited internal hemorrhage and lost of consciousness that required swift medical intervention.
Through these efforts, P7775 managed to live a relatively stable, if fragile, life.
Luckily, the physical damage the Aura caused was healed by the Aura itself in a vicious cycle, preventing permanent damage; assuming a cure to the patient's condition is found.
Reasoning: Unlike P6575 – who accepted to undergo surgery primarily for the continuous advancement of science and medicine – and P8166 – who accepted to undergo the procedure due to the low risks involved and the marginal benefits – P7775 was the primary beneficiary of the [Operation]. Written consent was retrieved from P7775 before the beginning of the [Operation]. The first two surgical procedures performed served to (1) better understand how Aura relates to the body on a medical level and (2) serve as practice for the more complicated procedure P7775 requires.
Broadly speaking, the P7775's surgical procedure consisted of partially removing the part of her Aura causing the most strain and substituting it with sample D86103. Given the nature of sample D86103, it was decided that fully recreating the surgery performed on P6575 was not entirely viable and needlessly risky for a multitude of reasons, not all of them medical in nature. The primary reason was that previous attempts to interfere with P7775's [REDACTED] have resulted in harm to the patient. A possible explanation being the unnatural circumstances that led to P7775 unlocking their Aura.
Results: Following the procedure, initial examinations show no major improvement on P7775. However, once rehabilitation started, the patient physical condition improved dramatically – at an abnormal rate, in fact. Years of atrophy and sickness overcome in months. These results suggest there is a direct relationship between Aura and the physical health of the user. This is to be expected, given Aura's capabilities to heal physical injuries and the overall good health enjoyed by most people with their Aura unlocked (albeit the last point has been debated whether Aura is the cause or merely a correlation given that people with Aura tend to keep themselves in top physical condition as required by their job).
Tests show that despite the many benefits of the surgery, [REDACTED] still proved prohibitively expensive to use, temporarily recessing P7775 upon manifestation. Further inquiry into the matter is needed, but ultimately the procedure has been catalogued as a success.
Conclusion
While not the primary purpose of the [Operation], from a purely scientific standpoint the significance of this [Operation] cannot be overstated. Transfer of Aura has been observed in a few Semblances throughout history and Hunters channel their Aura through their weapon to achieve superhuman feats. However, Aura has been shrouded in a veil of mysticism since its inception and, given the commonly accepted belief that Aura is a projection of the soul, any scientific endeavor has been left mostly to the realm of theorizing, in fear of breaching ethical and moral lines.
As far as historical and public records go, these surgical procedures are each one of the few attempts at actively altering Aura through primarily scientific methods (i.e. without the need of a Semblance to perform the bulk of the Aura alteration). Other studies on the subject either don't exist, are highly confidential, or kept themselves strictly to the realm of rumination.
The success suggests that it is possible to manipulate the soul through science and that said soul is a quantifiable entity that can be dissected and modified. This prospect is equally tantalizing and terrifying. While this operation itself is proof of the good that can be achieved, it is easy to see how such technology, if successfully developed, could be used for heinous ends.
But at the end of the day, the results must be reproducible in order to hold any validity and even these experiments use a few key Semblances to set up the stage. It is the belief of [Head Researcher] that, provided with the proper allocation of funds, these challenges can be overcome, and the results of this project can advance Aura research by decades. As such, the details and discoveries regarding this project have been curated and transferred to the Atlas Council and Atlas Military, in order to secure the funds necessary to build upon it. However, to ensure the safety of the patients involved, the human details of the [Operation] have been omitted in these proposals and any paper trail beyond this document summarily disposed.
As for the human aspect of this research, both P8166 and P7775 will be kept under observation throughout the following years. This document will be updated with observations and interviews of interest, edited as appropriate and detailed in the section below.
Follow-up Interviews
Interview #1 with P8166 (One month after procedure)
[Head Researcher] (Henceforth H6875): Glad you can join me today, [P8166]. How was your flight?
P8166: Starting with small talk? Already better than most doctor's appointment.
H6875: I like to think of our relationship as that of business associates. I needed a service from you, and I provided a payment.
P8166: So rough.
H6875: (Hesitation) Pragmatic. I did not do this out of the kindness of my heart, and I believe it important for you understand this.
P8166: Of course. I would be lying if I said I would have accepted if there wasn't some self-interest involved.
H6875: Let's start. The results of the tests you took upon entering the facility indicate everything is well within expectations. No abnormality has been found as far as we can tell with traditional medical tests. It has been thirty-five days since your surgery. Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary during this period?
P8166: (Patient reached for surgery location on their back) Depends on what you define as 'ordinary'. I've been following your instructions and took a vacation from work. [REDACTED] hasn't been acting up, which feels odd since I'm not used to it, but that was the whole point of the surgery, right?
H6875: As far as you as a patient is concerned, yes.
P8166: The pain and fatigue I feel… I'm guessing that's just from the surgery and the few days in bed as I recovered. Other than those, nothing comes to mind.
H6875: Absolutely nothing? No changes to your Aura or anything?
P8166: Oh! I stubbed my toe once. Saw my Aura flash. Originally the color was red, but it has switched to a more yellow color.
H6875: Orange?
P8166: Not quite. I would say it's more yellow than red now, but you can still see flashes of red occasionally or intermingled with the yellow. Hope that's not something to worry about.
H6875: It's one of our hypothesized side-effects. We need to keep an eye for any changes, but so far everything seems to be going ok.
P8166: Good to hear, doc. I'll make sure to keep you updated if anything changes.
(Rest of conversation cut for lack of relevancy)
-o-
Interview #3 with P8166 (Three month after procedure)
P8166: (Patient barges into office) Doc! What the hell is this!
H6875: …That's hair, [P8166].
P8166: Don't play cute with me!
H6875: Please take a sit. Your test results still show everything is ok. But we can clearly see it is not… unless… are you sure it's not age? People's hair color can change with age.
P8166: I'm neither young enough for changes to show now nor old enough for age to be a factor.
H6875: Your hair is still mostly [original color], so we can easily write this up to age.
P8166: You really think I'm buying into that?
H6875: No. But I think you can appreciate the need to be discreet about such a blatant visual change.
P8166: (Silence) How are you going to explain my eyes? It started as a small glint, but now look at them!
H6875: That is admittedly harder. I'm just going to pray people don't look too closely into it. On the plus side, the results do seem to indicate these changes are purely phenotypic in nature, so you shouldn't worry too much about them unless you like fashion. Even then, a good pair of contacts and hair dye will solve all your problems.
P8166: Great…
H6875: Nonetheless, I'll prescribe another set of tests and ask you to keep me updated in any further development.
Notes: An old adage calls the eyes 'the windows to the soul'. The adage presumably was born from how expressive most people are in their eyes, allowing others to get an inkling to the temperament of a person just through eye-to-eye contact. However, the changes in the eyes of P8166 suggest that the adage might hold more truth to it than originally thought. That, coupled with changes to the color of part of his hair, as well as minute changes to his face's skeletal structure (changes that initially were attributed to measurement errors, but that now, with new information, might indicate to something more), provides evidence that 'the soul', if that's truly what Aura is, holds some degree of influence on the phenotypic characteristics of a person. Changes to a person's personality remain to be seen, although from my few interactions with P8166, I hypothesize that might be the case too.
Hopefully the changes aren't as drastic as the physical changes. And if they are as gradual as the physical changes, we might not notice them for a while.
-o-
Interview #12 with P8166 (Twelve months after procedure)
H6875: Happy surgery anniversary, [P8166].
P8166: Anniversary? Does that mean a dinner?
H6875: …What are you doing here? I didn't have you scheduled for a meeting.
P8166: Heard [P7775] will undergo [their] procedure soon.
H6875: And you're interested?
P8166: Wow, slow down. No need to look at me like that. I'm just curious to see my good deeds go rewarded. Feels good seeing some good come out of all of this.
H6875: I've been informed you've interacted with [P7775].
P8166: When you say it, you make me sound like a creep. I've just happened to be in the same room as [them] waiting for the same doctor.
H6875: Also heard you get along pretty well with [P7775].
P8166: I have [some family] myself, so I'm pretty good with [family]. Pretty interesting tyke, that [P7775]. Have big dreams I worry won't be possible.
H6875: A topic for another time. Hopefully soon. I am glad you have come. There was something about your case I wanted to discuss.
P8166: You're worrying me here, [H6875 nickname].
H6875: … (scribbles in paper) Here, read this.
P8166: (Read) What is it?
H6875: It's a list of several stimulus I've been exposing you to throughout the year… and the response you've given me to them.
P8166: I'm guessing this tells me something.
H6875: It… does. I want to preface what I'm about to say by pointing out that this latest development has been stable for the last six months and I don't believe it will evolve beyond that.
P8166: (Apprehensive) Ok…
H6875: I began this little stealth experiment after our first meeting. People tend to have recurrent quirks to certain stimuli. Catchphrases, way they act, inside jokes, that sort of things. Some conscious, some unconscious. I believe you yourself have a habit of calling your [family] terms of endearment like 'Pipsqueak' and 'Firecracker', right?
P8166: (Nods)
H6875: Each item in that list is how you have reacted to the stimuli I presented.
P8166: …And?
H6875: …Those are the same responses [P6575] had to those stimuli. The most recent ones your response when I brought up that today was an anniversary and your choice of words when expressing worry at me.
P8166: W-what?
H6875: You're acting like [P6575]. Not always and only when presented with a scenario [they] would respond too in a particular manner. Do it in front of anyone else and it's easily construed as the natural evolution of one's personality throughout our life. But given your medical history and… my knowledge regarding [P6575], I think it's a side effect of your surgery.
P8166: (Show slight symptoms of panic) I… I… I need a drink.
H6875: Way ahead of you. (Pass drink to P8166)
P8166: W-what now (stops before saying H6875 name), I mean, doc?
H6875: Breathe. I know the prospect is scary, but I truly believe this behavioral change is relatively insignificant. You are still you as far as I can tell. When not exposed to anything that might cause a response, you still act like you, if less cynical. And I don't think your feelings are any less genuine.
P8166: Sounds like you're trying to convince yourself.
H6875: Of course I'm trying to convince myself. [P7775] will undergo a similar procedure to yours. But I'm trying to convince myself with facts and the facts are that outside of specific scenarios, you still act like you. And even outside those scenarios, some traces of your behavioral changes persist, like your apparent fondness for [P7775] even when [they] are not present.
P8166: It's not like that!
H6875: Relax. Aren't you listening? I know there's nothing untoward happening. Given what I just explained, I'm convinced your interest in [them] is more… [familial] in nature, so to speak.
P8166: Oh.
H6875: It's still disconcerting, but given that it is a result of my mad experiment and that it might save [P7775] down the line? Honestly? It's an extremely low price to pay.
P8166: Deals like that have a tendency of accruing interests.
H6875: (Chuckle) Sometimes debt is worth it. I'm going to ask you to keep an eye on any development you find worrying on your end. Better safe than sorry. On that note, I'm going to have to ask you to continue your medical visits – at least every three months – to properly observe any unanticipated development.
P8166: Of course.
(Conversation shifted to personal matter after his)
-o-
Interview #1 with P7775 (One week before surgery)
Notes: Given the communication limitations of P7775, their responses were written rather than spoken.
H6875: Good morning, P7775, how are you doing?
P7775: You're talking funny.
H6875: Well, I'm your doctor right now. And as your doctor, I need to talk funny to properly document everything I do.
P7775: Sounds hard.
H6875: Nothing worth doing is easy. Are you sure you want to do this by yourself? Doctors can be scary.
P7775: You're not scary. I'm a big [kid].
H6875: That you are. And your medical evaluations show you're feeling particularly well. Anything good happened recently?
P7775: Yes! I saw [P8166].
H6875: Oh? You like [them]?
P7775: [They're] like a funny drunk [family]! Or so [REDACTED] says.
H6875: Well, if [they] make you feel better, maybe [they] should stay for dinner.
P7775: Yay!
H6875: But back to our grown up topic. Your surgery is soon and there's some things I want to make sure you understand.
(P7775 was made aware of the risks of the surgery and what to expect in terms of side effects. However, the specific behavioral changes observed in P6875 were omitted to be explained at a later date, either in person or through this document depending on the needs and feasibility of informing them)
-o-
Interview #3 with P7775 (Three weeks after surgery)
Notes: Given the communication limitations of P7775, most their responses were gestured rather than spoken.
H6875: You're awake.
P7775: (Confusion visible on [their] face).
H6875: You've been asleep for the past three weeks. Your surgery seems to be a success!
P7775: (Eyes widened).
H6875: Yes! It was… difficult. That's why you've been asleep for so long. I… you're a big [kid], right? Nod if you understand.
P7775: (Nod)
H6875: Then I won't lie. I promise. We still need to put you through physical rehabilitation. That means exercise.
P7775: (Shows excitement and tries to stand up from [their] resting position)
H6875: You're still weak, so don't force yourself. We don't know if the exercise will work, but many of your other symptoms show improvement. I don't want to get your hopes up, but at the very least it seems you won't feel the weakness and pain you felt before. You understood everything I said, right?
P7775: (Nods).
H6875: Good [kid]. And smart. I need to get things ready to start you as soon as possible. But you should rest for now. I'll be back shortly. (Stand up and walk towards door)
P7775: (Whimper) D-d-da-
-o-
Mytyl immediately shut down the scroll, hand over mouth to prevent any involuntary sound that might wake up her team, and tears falling freely down her face.
She didn't need to read any more of the report. She was there for that interview. And for the two before that. And all the ones after.
"Dad," she whispered to herself. Her first word. Her first spoken word.
Her scroll lighted up.
CyberDivaXDmini: Lady Mytyl. Are you ok?
Her eyes drifted to the table besides her bed, where Lumen rested in apparent inactivity. Only that she wasn't inactive. Lumen had been keeping an eye on her the whole time. Mytyl didn't respond to the text, instead nodding shakily as the light of her scroll went out.
She knew the broad strokes of her operation: find what was wrong with her Aura; extirpate it; replace it. She knew about the change of hair color and eyes. Hard not to notice those changes on yourself. And any change in physical appearance beyond that she attributed to the changes in her lifestyle and the natural march of time. But now…
Find what's wrong, cut it out, and replace.
'Replace with what?'
She looked across the room at GV's sleeping form, only the silhouette of the sheets he didn't bother to take off him visible.
"You remind me so much of her…. you look so much like her. Same build, hair color, eye color, face…"
"You know, you remind me of a girl I once knew… it felt like talking to her again…"
Her eyes widened; a sense of horror dawned on her.
'Replace with what!?'
"…don't you consider it a bit… distasteful? Almost like a replacement guppy-"
Her breathing quickened.
"Careful, GV, a girl might get the wrong idea if you tell them they're distracting."
'Why did I tease him?' 'Because it felt natural.' 'Why did it feel natural?'
"I suppose she would kick my butt if I continue referring to her like that instead of what she actually was…"
~My dear love~
"She said it was supposed to be a love song… you got that right."
'He asked me to write a song. I wrote him a love song.'
His hand reached for the pendant. For some reason, it felt nostalgic.
'REPLACE WITH WHAT!?"
Her eyes flashed a fiery orange. And then everything stopped. Her panic, the horror. Everything.
She coughed; a wet, sickly cough.
"MYTYL!"
That synthetic – yet very human – scream was the last thing she heard before slumping off her bed, fainting as her body hit the floor.
