Ethereals: Dossier
Amareoux, Creator of the Ethereal Collective, and Artist of Paradise
"My child, you will always be my Artist even long after the stars themselves die."
- The Bringer of Paradise
XCOM File 3367
Authorization Level: Internal Council
Subject: The Creators of the Ethereal Empire
Threat Level: None [Organization no longer exists]
Assessment Author: Aegis
Approved By: The Commander
SECTION 1: Overview
As this relates to the Creator herself, some additional information which might be useful would be the organization from which she came from, and would likely provide additional context in understanding her mindset and outlook. The Creators were an organization within the Empire, developed under Imperial Civil Command, who were in charge of all major genetic research projects, and the development of next generation Ethereals.
These were the Ethereals who determined what genetic aspects of each Ethereal template to keep, remove, alter, or add. While they produced the Ethereals of the modern Empire, it should be noted that they experimented to what was arguably a dangerous degree in the design of each Ethereal template. It wasn't unexpected for four to five hundred prototypes to die before the design was approved and sent for final review to Civil Command or the Military.
The Creators were arguably the most amoral Ethereals the Empire ever produced. It should be no surprise that they were designed this way.
SECTION 2: Function in the Ethereal Empire
The ultimate foundation of the Creators was to continuously improve and develop the Ethereal genome and utilize it to the fullest potential. The initial scientists behind the organization had grand dreams of producing the smartest, strongest, and most powerful Ethereals in one simple package. They soon figured out that it would not be that easy.
After several decades of experimentation they eventually determined that, in theory, they could reach their original goal. But the road to get there would be long and arduous. So they first established a baseline of what would be acceptable. High intelligence, moderate physical strength, basic psionic power, no smaller than seven feet (In your measurements), and baseline physical features (Eyesight, disease resistance, etc.).
Then each of these could be modified to produce different types of Ethereals.
The majority of experimentation played with these limits. Increasing strength and size at the cost of psionic power. Reducing physical attributes while significantly boosting psionic power. The genome was completely at their disposal and the Creators spent two decades designing the first Ethereal soldier template.
At the success of this template, they continued experimenting, always continuously gathering data from living Imperial citizens. Certain individuals who displayed unusual or atypical characteristics were paid visits by the Creators to gather physical samples and DNA, either to use in future iterations, or to scrap from the genome entirely.
Natural children were subjected to several extensive tests through their lives, usually once in childhood, and then once again as an adult, which may be repeated several times afterwards. As the genome of natural children is always more developed and better than any grown Ethereal, the Creators naturally wanted to incorporate their genome into the species.
Natural children were how the species itself primarily progressed, though that is not to say that the Creators accomplished nothing. Indeed, they were the foremost genetic experts in the galaxy, and alien genetics were almost triflingly simple compared to the complexities of the Ethereal genome. It is unfortunate that they reached their peak when the Synthesized attacked.
I do wonder what the Empire could have been like had the Imperators been developed even a century previous. I suppose that is something we will never know.
SECTION 3: Specializations and Breakthroughs
The Creators specialized in genetic manipulation, and the senior members were often experts in other fields of science, particularly biology and chemistry. In the galaxy there were none who were their equal, and even among Ethereals they were a class unto themselves. Although many of the Creators were designed (By themselves) differently in some aspects to other Ethereals.
They were more amoral than other Ethereals, they had different views on life, or at least what was considered such. Of the many experiments they ran, they did not consider them to be 'true' Ethereals, but experiments which they used and disposed of. This did extend to even successful test subjects, something which was sometimes raised as an issue, but the prevailing argument against it was that the prototype 'wasn't complete and was not fit to be released into society'. Since this was technically true, it was allowed.
Creators were also more…what I would describe as obsessive. They retained a laser focus on their work which could not be broken, and they would become irritated with any who interrupted this work. Many of them had their own sets of goals and objectives they would aggressively pursue until completion. All of them were among the most intelligent produced by the Empire, though that did come at the cost of them being slightly more difficult to interact with socially.
It is not surprising that they were even more picky about their mates than other Ethereals. It was not uncommon for them to, instead of finding a living Ethereal, put in a request for the design of a personal project, and then design their own ideal mate with the entirety of the Ethereal genome at their disposal.
It was sometimes humorous when these perfect mates awoke and were not interested in this relationship. Sometimes it worked, but there were other instances where it didn't.
The Creators in question were…displeased to say the least.
If there is something else the Creators specialized in, it was in the manipulation of genetic traits. Aggression, temperance, patience, curiosity, they managed to harness the innate characteristics of the genome and manipulate them to various degrees. This was how they were able to temper the emotions of our species, and deaden themselves to feeling empathy or sorrow.
More abstract concepts like loyalty, and likes or dislikes, they continued to struggle with, and there was speculation that some things were not genetic. The Creators never truly gave up on the idea of predicting and designing the personality of every single Ethereal, but they recognized that it was perhaps something even they had no control over.
They did find it continuously irritating that almost all natural children, especially twins (rare as they were), were less emotionally restricted, implying that greater emotional capacity was superior to the opposite. They never quite accepted this as a valid theory until they were faced with the Synthesized and they were exploring every possibility.
The Synthesized War was the shot in the arm needed to kick the Creators into a rapid improvement of the genome. Developments which would have previously took years or decades took months. Fear was a powerful motivator, and their first major breakthrough was the development of the Reaper template, which they grew in massive numbers, and culminated in the Imperator template, their last hope and culmination of the entirety of the organizations experience and experimentation.
I am not sure what the Creators would have done if we had emerged victorious.
But I suspect even they would have believed they could improve on the Imperators.
They were never ones to settle for anything less than perfection, and I can easily say that perfection is something that in their eyes, would never be achieved.
THREAT ANALYSIS: 100111100101
TARGET OF INTEREST: ETHEREAL 09 ("THE CREATOR")
KNOWN ALIASES: "CREATOR", "THE ARTIST"
CURRENT POSITION: ETHEREAL BLACKSITE IDENTIFIED AS "PARADISE"
SPECIES: ETHEREAL
INFORMATION OF NOTE: HIGHLY SECLUDED
INFORMATION OF NOTE: SUSPECTED SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND
INFORMATION OF NOTE: REPEATED SHIPMENTS OF ALIENS SENT TO HER BLACKSITE FOR UNKNOWN PURPOSES
INFORMATION OF NOTE: ACCESS TO BLACKSITE HEAVILY RESTRICTED AND ONE-WAY
INFORMATION OF NOTE: CONTROLS LARGEST KNOWN BLACKSITE
INFORMATION OF NOTE: PENETRATION OF BLACKSITE NEAR IMPOSSIBLE
INFORMATION OF NOTE: THIRTEEN ATTEMPTED PENETRATIONS. LIMITED INTEL ACQUIRED
PSIONIC SPECIALIZATION: UNKNOWN – SUSPECTED WEAK PSION DUE TO APPARENT SCIENTIFIC FOCUS
THREAT LEVEL TO ANDROMEDON FEDERATION (ALLIED): UNKNOWN – ESTIMATED LOW
THREAT LEVEL TO ANDROMEDON FEDERATION (ENEMY): UNKNOWN – ESTIMATED LOW TO MEDIUM
ADDITIONAL MANUAL COMMENT: The Ethereal who has been tentatively identified as the "Creator" is an enigmatic figure within the Collective who has yet to make any public appearance. To date we do not even know if she has met with the leadership of any other species, or is even in contact with other Ethereals.
We have some means of keeping track of her due to her Blacksite being heavily restricted, with scans revealing the singular Gateway leading to the space rigged to detonate and no fewer than two Ethereal Dreadnought segments guarding it in a remote area of space well outside normal investigation lanes. It should also be noted that this system can only be accessed through another singular Gateway protected by Vitakarian Carriers.
We have yet to determine if this is to keep threats to the Creator out – or keep her in.
From what we have learned it could be either.
The Blacksite of the Creator is of considerable interest, as it is unlike nearly every known Blacksite – and after multiple attempts, is somehow immune to penetration. We have acquired full scans of the exterior – a moon-shaped space station orbiting a barren planet (Also make special note to investigate this planet at a future date – three Operatives were somehow lost while investigating it with no explanation), and appears to be composed of a hardened black alloy.
Penetrating scans are useless. Data received is inconclusive, showing anything from biological lifesigns in the trillions, and insisting that entire portions of the station are organic. It's impossible to map, and data continuously fluctuates between the number of lifesigns, psionic sensitivity, and literally everything else.
The Blacksite is rather infamous, at least among the Ethereals. There are rumors that the Creator uses the test subjects for bizarre and cruel experiments, and sets the abominations loose as her personal army who butcher anyone they see. While most of the rumors are undoubtedly fake, there is something happening there.
The Blacksite was unnamed for a long time, and was given the name "Sash Etharian" by Quisilia, which roughly translates to "A place where you want to die". In the past decade the Creator has given the Blacksite the designation of "Paradise". There is no information on why this word was chosen, though speculation is that it is either intended to be a mockery or parody of the true meaning of the word.
What we have learned of the Creator herself is also incomplete, due to her not interacting with anyone outside her Blacksite. However, rumors and intercepted audio paint the picture of an Ethereal who is slowly going insane. We do not know how biased this is, but there have been multiple references to the Creator's deteriorating mental state, and coming from Ethereals, it cannot be ignored.
How this is being caused is unknown, nor why it cannot be stopped. The Creator does appear to be highly intelligent and proficient in her field of study, which appears to be related to genetics and biology, but not necessarily a powerful psion. In this instance she is close to the Ethereal Revelean, though with her own interests not necessarily known.
In our attempts to penetrate Paradise, there was data that was able to be extracted. The Creator does appear to use aliens as a personal guard of sorts, though these aliens appear to be highly degraded and wear robes. Combat capabilities are likely limited, and due to their designations as "Caretakers" it is suspected they maintain the facilities themselves.
The architecture was noted to be a significant deviation from standard Ethereal designs, though this does not necessarily mean much. Triangles and angles appeared prominently, and all facilities were up to modern standards. Blurry images of holding cells appear to be of similar quality, and we have confirmation that the Creator indeed experiments on them.
What exactly she does is still unknown, as every single Operator was somehow terminated within ten minutes after penetrating the Blacksite.
The Chosen appear to have been created by her, and are highly unique specimens who do appear to have characteristic of multiple species. However the small number implies she has had limited success at best.
With that said, penetration of Paradise appears to be near-impossible. Multiple vectors of entrance have been attempted, from infiltration of supply ships, exterior penetration, nano infestation, frontal assault, to remote observation. Every single one has provided limited intelligence at best, and only on what is likely the first floor.
Whatever is happening on Paradise is likely not good, and is a mystery which should be solved sooner rather than later, as Andromedons are always among the victims. It is unknown if the Creator is acquiring them from other Unions or growing them herself in another location (Possibly overseen by another Ethereal). The good news is that she is likely a minor player in the Collective, and her influence and power is limited at best.
She is one to watch, and a mystery to solve, but she does not appear to pose a significant threat. This will be updated should it change.
RECOMMENDATION: INVESTIGATION OF WORLD PARADISE ORBITS; INVESTIGATE CONTENTS OF TEST SUBJECTS FOR CORRELATIONS IN GENETIC STRUCTURE; ABDUCT "CARETAKER" FOR ANALYSIS, EXPERIMENTATION, AND INTERROGATION; DETERMINE EXTENT AS TO CREATOR'S MENTAL DETERIORATION; DETERMINE POSITION WITHIN ETHEREAL HIERARCHY; DETERMINE GOALS OF CREATOR; POSSIBLY UTILIZE BUGGED ANDROMEDONS FOR INFILTRATION OF PARADISE
REPORT COMPILER: SPECIAL OPERATOR 20; ANDROMEDON FEDERATION; [ERROR! DATA NOT FOUND!]
END REPORT
CONTINUING OBSERVATION
XCOM Profile 267
Authorization Level: Internal Council
Subject: Amareoux – "The Creator"
Threat Level: Low
Assessment Author: Aegis
Approved by: The Commander of XCOM
SECTION 1: Physical Characteristics
Hair color: None (Ethereal)
Eye color: Solid Orange
Skin color: Purple
Height: 8'10"
Weight: 201 lbs. (Estimated)
Distinguishing Features: She has more recently begun wearing robes which I assume she wears when not pursuing her scientific interests. She does not dress for combat, and does not possess a helmet.
Physical Condition: Moderately fit for an Ethereal. She is not a fighter, nor designed for sustained combat or physical activity. The physical threat she poses is minimal, but she would be considered healthy.
SECTION 2: Assessment
The Creator. Amaeroux. As with many in the Collective who are the last of their position, she has adopted the title as her own name and as such I will refer to her as it for the duration of this document. Truthfully, I believe that whatever part of the Creator that was Amaeroux has long since been killed or banished. The Ethereal that exists today is not the one the Imperator recruited.
The Creator was originally one of the foremost experts in genetic engineering, and personally worked on both the Reaper and Imperator templates, and if the Imperator is to be believed, was instrumental in their success. Not even Revelean can claim to have as much proficiency in genetic engineering as the Creator.
She was always someone who considered herself superior and arrogant, even for an Ethereal. Her skills allowed her some leniency, and it took surprisingly little to convince her to work with the Imperator, who I believe promised her unlimited restrictions on her own experiments and the promise of designing the next generation of Ethereals.
A tempting offer for the Creator, and one she took.
She was…not one I would consider unpleasant. She was no psion, but in the beginning I was able to hold a cordial conversation with her. However, she did suffer from the same perspective issues as other Ethereals. The belief in the superiority of Ethereals and the inferiority of all other alien species. With that said, the Creator was unique in that she was one of the few to take a direct interest in alien genetics.
It was likely another lure the Imperator used. Obviously the Empire could not be connected to the kidnapping and experimentation of alien species, so she had to become creative in how she pursued this hobby. Much of her work regarding alien genomes was theory, instead of actual and practical experiments. This immediately changed when she was allowed to do as she wished.
And once her Blacksite was established, she essentially ceased contact with everyone. The Imperator has likely kept a watch on her, but to everyone else she is almost non-existent. But that did not stop us from hearing about what she was reportedly doing. Creators are amoral, but even they had professional standards.
From the rumors it seemed like the Creator was somehow losing her mind. Test subjects were shipped to her in bulk, the Imperator established two cloning facilities for Sectoids and Andromedons just to send a steady supply to her. Vitakara troublemakers and captives were kidnapped and sent to her, and now with Humanity a significant portion are being shipped to her.
The stories that emerge are almost unbelievable. Crossing genetics between species, strange ritual combat, and sacrifices. Ceremonies of executions of test subjects to brainwashed followers, forced cannibalism, live vivisections. It is a hell I have little incentive to question, especially when the primary source of these rumors is Quisilia.
He is known to embellish, and all he said to me was "I do quite hope the Imperator knows what he is doing."
While Revelean considers aliens inferior, and Fectorian cannot be said to treat them with gentleness, there is a certain professional standard they hold themselves to. They use what they have access to, make it efficient, and no more than necessary. None of them would even consider doing what the Creator has.
Revelean himself has grown more and more hostile towards her, especially since she refused to let him enter her Blacksite. Sana similarly despises her and refuses to communicate whatsoever. The Imperator has likely allowed her too much freedom in her actions, and I suspect that he will not curb it unless absolutely necessary.
I do not know what has happened to the Creator. She was, and clearly still is, brilliant. But the tempered Ethereal recruited by the Imperator is not the mad being which exists today.
SECTION 3: Psychological Profile
Now? I suspect she is obsessed with…something. Creators were always obsessed with certain goals or subjects, and I suspect she is no different. At one point she was somewhat reasonable, and held her positions well. Now though she apparently only cares about her own subjects at the exclusion of all else.
She does not care about the opinions of others, even other Ethereals, as she has shunned contact and even barred certain Ethereals from entering her Blacksite, and at times has become openly hostile in her insults, once calling Revelean's work "That of an amateur striving towards something he can never achieve" and Fectorian "A failure of the species who relies on lifeless metal as he cannot comprehend the versatility of life".
Needless to say this did not go over well.
All social niceties appear to have been forgotten, and as a result no one speaks to her unless necessary. The Imperator probably still does, but no one else would willingly subject themselves to it. She is not acting normal, even for a Creator, and with the rumors surrounding her work, I fear that she will soon snap completely.
It would perhaps be a mercy.
SECTION 4: Concerns and Abilities
This is perhaps the one piece of good news here. The Creator is, as far as Ethereals go, easily beatable. She is a brilliant geneticist and scientist, but as a warrior and combatant, she is…lacking. Even a trained and powerful telepath would be able to overpower her.
Curiously, she has high psionic potential, and would classify as a telepath, but she has eschewed these abilities in favor of research. I suspect she would not be a difficult opponent, even if she utilized her telepathy. She simply lacks the experience and discipline required for sustained protection.
Your greater challenge will be penetrating her Blacksite, which undoubtedly has a small army inside, likely composed of her own abominations and perhaps some forces loaned by the Imperator. The vast majority of it is for research and experimentation. Even her Blacksite is likely a limited threat, as long as the ones assaulting it realize that they will be facing uncatalogued dangers.
At this point, I doubt even the Imperator would mourn the death of the Creator. She has forfeited her right to live, and I will not stop you from delivering the killing blow. It is for the good of all that she never be allowed to touch another living being again.
Log BP002 – CODEX Archive System
Category: Debriefing
Type: Audio Log
Participants: The Imperator of the Ethereal Collective; the Creator
Begin playback:
[The Imperator]: "I did not expect to speak to you for some time. I trust the facilities have proven adequate?"
[The Creator]: "They…are."
[I]: "You are disturbed. Shaken. Unusual for you."
[C]: "I've…found something. Something that should not be possible."
[I]: "Explain."
[C]: "I…contacted something. On the station, I was…investigating the Psionosphere around the Dead World. It is…strange. Atypical. I was curious. And then…it spoke to me."
[I]: "You must have made contact with another alien. Perhaps one in stasis on a nearby world."
[C]: "No! This came from beyond the curtain of the Psionosphere! It could not be anything else."
[I]: "You are certain? How?"
[C]: "It said to walk on the Dead World. I…obeyed it. The voice was fractured, broken; it was an overwhelming gestalt of minds. I could not let this opportunity pass!"
[I]: "I see. And yet you live and retain your mind."
[C]: "I…was able to speak more clearly. It should not be possible, but it is. It…or he…calls himself the Bringer. A bringer of paradise."
[I]: "An interesting choice of words. Especially from a being within the Psionosphere."
[C]: "He said he was…betrayed. Attacked as he tried to bring his vision to fruition. Destroyed and banished to the realm he inhabits. He wishes to cross back to reality…but needs help. But he knows everything. He sees everything. He showed me."
[I]: Long pause. "Allow me to see."
[C]: "I…I cannot do that. He said that sharing such was a risk and I am already going against it by telling you-"
[I]: "I do not care for the wishes of a creature such as this. If you will not allow me, I will take it."
[C]: Scream of pain.
Several minutes pass.
[I]: "Curious…and concerning. A creature trapped in a realm where none should exist. A splintered consciousness wishing to be reforged. Go back to this creature. Contact it again. Follow its…instructions."
[C]: "I…will…Imperator."
[I]: "And you will inform me of every step of the process. I will not take the risk of this creature posing a threat to us. Do not subvert me, or there will be consequences. Ensure this "Bringer" knows of this. Am I understood?"
[C]: "Yes…Imperator."
[I]: "Go then. I will be waiting for what you learn."