Chapter 6½
The Moira Project
Hojo's Log: Private Experiment 041
I have collected the specimen Moira Lenore, which I require for my experiment. If I am successful, I will merely have satisfied my curiosity. I will keep this experiment private and leave no record of it save for myself, so I will have to write this log in great detail. I will write every detail and every thought as it happens. I've really nothing else to do while I wait for my two missing specimens (both of which escaped around half an hour after this one was rendered unconscious) to be returned to me, so why let the "superiors" know about it? Therefore I have constructed this hidden room in my lab that will forever remain a secret.
When she came to the lab she brought with her a member of SOLDIER. I examined the young man and found his records in my archives. Allen Usher, whom many call "Raven", was stationed in the town of Nibelheim five years ago, just a few weeks before the town's destruction. He has Jenova's cells surging through his blood stream, Jenova being the Ancient being of great magical power. The cells yearn to return to the greater body, to become one again. The magic in these cells forces voices to echo in the boy's head that it must return to Jenova and go to the reunion.
In most cases, it causes the person to constantly repeat the words "Jenova" and "Reunion." But since his seperation from the young Moira, he's been repeating "Reunion" and "Moira." It seems that he is fighting against the influence of Jenova's cells. Poor fool. I set him loose somewhere in the Slums. He will eventually find his way to the reunion. Though he is not my primary concern. The young Miss Lenore is ready to begin her role in this experiment.
I have in my possession and in my hand a green stone that contains very powerful magic. I am sure it is not materia, for its glow is not that of mako, the energy from the Lifestream which, when compressed, makes materia. The only other possibility that I can think of is that this stone is a piece of ancient magecite, the primitive form of the Summon Materia. It is said that thousands of years ago, pieces of magecite fell into the Lifestream and eventually became the red Summon Materia used today. If this was so, then this one was obviously one of the stronger ones that fell in the Lifestream and somehow ended up in one of the mako reactors. It is indeed quite a rare find. If magecite weren't so rare, I probably would have presented my idea to the president long ago. I am not certain what unfortunate Esper may be contained in the magecite, but I have ways of finding out.
The specimen I have collected for the experiment is a young girl in her early twenties. She is said to be an excellent scythe-fighter and an excellent security guard, quite possibly the best in Midgar, though her skill was wasted guarding that fool of a president's meeting room. This is why I have chosen her to "guard" my lab, though for the moment there is nothing to guard, save the equipment and my specimens. She is an excellent specimen, one best not left to waste.
I have her in a special tank filled with liquid mako. For the moment, she is unconscious, but I gave her a breathing mask in the very likely case that she wakes up during the experiment. She is firmly restrained in a cross position. It only seemed fitting to me since this is her last hour of humanity, that is if she survives the experiment. Her body punctured with several tubes, connecting her to the outside of the tank. There is a screen to the right of the tank that shows me her current status and brainwaves. They are currently minimal, normal for one who is unconscious. The tank itself is an egg-shape, connected by tubes and wires to a large machine of my own design and making.
The machine is meant to extract the very essence of the magecite, then analyze and identify the Esper within. It then will inject the essence into the specimen and fuse it into her DNA. I also thought if injecting some of JENOVA's cells, but I did not think it necessary for this particular experiment. Mako and ancient magic seems enough.
The specimen awakes. The screen shows barely active brainwaves. She is still a bit drowsy from the tranquilizer I gave her. She looks at me a moment with a tired and angry look in her eyes. She tries to break free from her restraints, but to no avail. She seems to notice the magecite in my hand, but doesn't seem to recognize it. I walk up and show it to how and I tell her where it came from. I think I shall now give her a taste of what it is.
I walk over to the machine and place the magecite over it. Small grapplers grab it and hold it in place as a small tube attaches itself to the magecite and begins the extraction. I look up at the screen to see what I was working with. The image on the screen is a feline creature with long hair on its head. Its tail splits into three at the end, each with a different tip. One looks like a lightning bolt, the second looks like a flame, and the third looks like a piece of ice. Its front paws were more like hands, and its body structure shows that it was capable of walking on either two legs or all fours, depending on the desired movement. The screen also shows me the creature's name and status.
Name: HikoraiGender: Female
Element: Fire, Ice, Lightning
Height: 3.9 m
Weight: 680.4 kg
Age at Death: uncertain
Age at death? Oh yes, Espers were once a living breathing species, and when an esper died, they became magecite.
The screen shows a different message now, this time in flashing red letters on a green background.
Press the Red ButtonTo Begin the Injection
Excellent. It is ready to proceed. I reach over to the button to the left of the spot where I placed the magecite. I press it and the magecite begins to glow a bright green. I look over to the specimen wondering how she thought of this. It doesn't really matter what she thinks, but she looks frightened. I like it. It gives me all the more reason to proceed with the experiment.
The glow from the magecite is beginning to flow through the tubes and into the tank, and in turn to the specimen. She squirms a bit before blacking out and her screen begins showing the sign that she is once again unconscious. This is unfortunate, because I do so enjoy watching my specimens squirm. Nothing appears to be happening for the moment.
Now all of the essence from the magecite has been injected into the specimen and is being fused into her DNA, but there is still no sign of change. No wait, there does appear to be a change in her physical appearance. The screen doesn't show any change in her brainwaves, but she is beginning to take more of a feline form. I am not seeing a change in her body size or muscle mass.
This is quite interesting. While the shape of her body remains fairly human, her features resemble that of the Esper in the magecite. She now has fur covering her body and her ears are larger and cat-like. Her face is only a little like a feline. Her hands have grown claws, and her feet have grown out of the shoes they were in as they were turning into paws. She hasn't grown a tail that I can see, but now the changes have stopped. So this is it. This beautiful creation is what I have accomplished here. This was certainly an amusing little activity. But now I am being called for. Perhaps they have finally captured my specimens. I'm turning off the machine, except for the life support for my beautiful specimen. I now leave this room and will return when I have the time. This concludes my log... for now.
*** *** ***
(Several Weeks Later)
It has been a while since my last visit to this room. Sephiroth has used the legendary Black Materia and has summoned Meteor. According to legend, Meteor will come down from space and destroy the world unless an Ancient uses the legendary Holy Materia to protect the world from Meteor. Oddly enough, Sephiroth killed the only Ancient capable of it, and the Holy Materia was lost as well. Oh well. I figured I would see how my secret experiment is doing. After this, I will go to the Sister Ray, the gigantic mako-cannon from Junon that was recently installed into Midgar, connecting to all of Midgar's mako reactors. Once there, I will lend my helping hand to my finest creation and only son, Sephiroth.
There has not been any change in this specimen's status since I left. She is still alive, unconscious but alive. The screen shows a little bit of activity in her brainwaves, but I paid it no mind.
Looking back up at the specimen, I notice that her eyes are glowing. I don't know what to expect from this, but I watch to see what happens. She is changing again. After all this time, she has continued her transformation. Now her body is growing in size, and her features are becoming more cat-like than before. She's growing too large for her restraints, so I'll release them in a moment before going to the Sister Ray. Midgar is doomed anyway, so what is one more destructive force going to do?
I am finally at the Sister Ray. I am standing at the controls, looking down at the monitors. One of them shows a large creature almost identical to the Esper in the magecite, breaking through what used to be Sector Seven. She seems to be occupied trying to find her way through there, so I think I'll just leave her to that and concentrate on more important matters. I seem to have company now, and I do not wish to let my private thoughts get in the way of business. This concludes my log.