Chapter 11: Homebound.
Eventually we found Murphy's Exports and was able to pay off Nora's debt without a hitch. The Credit Disk Nora had given me was now spent, all of it spent on covering her bill. Whilst in the store, I had to stop Holo from fiddling with anything inside. Like I had the money for anything that she broke. It wasn't as if she was accident prone or anything, but hey, mistakes happen. And those mistakes would cost me.
We exited the office, the clerk bidding us a friendly farewell as we left. Holo and I now stood on the fifth floor of the complex, the crowds starting to pick up as the midday trading session started.
"So, with that out of the way, shall we head back?" I asked, somewhat vacantly, not entirely paying attention to what was happening around me.
When I received no response, I turned round to see Holo pressed up against a glass window. Her eyes fixated on the contents inside.
"Holo?" I muttered, approaching the girl who paid me no attention. She just gawked at what was in the display window, her mouth hanging open as she stared.
I followed her gaze to see what was in the shop's display. Before us were three manikins, each dressed in stylish bright clothing, flaunting their dress sense by striking over exaggerated poses.
I slowly returned my gaze to Holo, giving her a skeptical look.
She eventually returned my gaze, a small embarrassed pout appearing on her lips.
"Is it wrong for one to desire something greater than these wretched clothes?" She snorted, tugging at the old nightgown she wore.
I rubbed the back of my neck. "I guess not… We're going to have to give those clothes back to Nora at some point…" I muttered, disliking where this conversation was headed.
Holo beamed. "So… since we'll be giving these old rags back to the silly shepherd, can we buy these!" She exclaimed, a shining twinkle in her eyes.
I simply rose a brow at her proposal. "Sorry, I don't have the money to toss around." I stated coldly as Holo's gleeful twinkle suddenly vanished, a forlorn look beginning to cross her face.
"But Lawrence! I don't know how long I can withstand the stench." She gagged, beginning to clutch her nose.
"They smell fine, stop being such a whimp." I retorted, walking on ahead.
Holo scowled at me, before catching up rather quickly. "To your dull senses maybe, you humans wouldn't know a foul stench until you trod in it!" She retorted.
I sighed, realizing that she wasn't going to let this go. "Even if I wanted to buy them for you, I don't have the money for it. I haven't got a credit on me." I griped.
"Typical." Holo muttered, folding her arms in a huff. "Could we at least go to this apartment of yours? I wish to acquire the information stored on your person. And I grow impatient." She continued, her attitude quickly turning sour.
I stroked my beard in thought. "I don't think that's a good idea. It's far too soon for us to go there…"
Holo gave me an incredulous look. "And what do you mean by that?" She muttered.
I glanced around at the crowd around us, before leaning in and speaking in a hushed voice. "While coming over here, I was checking the news for any developments on the investigation of Wheaten. It turns out Police have mentioned a possible break-in prior to the mech assault. They've thus far refused to comment any further until the investigation was resolved. I don't know if they've tied me into it… but it makes me nervous regardless. What if they've got a unit watching my apartment?'
Holo merely arched her brow at me. "However there is no confirmation that you are directly linked with what happened at Wheaten, correct?" She asked in a dry, sarcastic tone.
I glanced away. "Well… No…" I admitted.
"Then stop fretting over it, we'll be fine. As if a few humans could stop me." She snorted with a wave of her hand.
I grimaced at her attitude. "Fine… From memory, we can take the underground to sector nineteen. It may be longer than the Skyway, but it should get us there." I explained a little flatly.
"Good, then we shall take this underground-what-ever-it-is and travel to your apartment, after all, it is the least you can do." She replied with a wry grin.
"What are you talking about?" I exclaimed, my brow furrowing.
"For not treating me to anything while were out, you're a foolish man Lawrence." She teased with a snicker.
I gave her a look of bewilderment as I rubbed my head, before letting out a long exasperated groan.
'Weitz told me to watch out for girls like her.' I noted in my head, before noticing Holo running off without me.
"Hey! You don't even know where you're going!" I exclaimed, bolting to catch up with the sporadic wolf.
The nearest underground station was merely a short walk away. As we walked I had to explain to Holo what a subway system was, repeating myself a few times in order to get the concept across. We walked through the bustling crowds, Holo started clinging to me again. Despite my looming uncertainty, I couldn't help but be amused by the various jealous glances in my direction.
'If only they knew what a pain in the ass she was.' I joked in my head.
Before too long, we were descending down the steps into the underground station. The station was well maintained and lit, shiny steel walls and polished floors ran the length of the station, a surprisingly jarring contrast to the mucky streets above ground. After some deliberation we managed to find the correct line and platform number. As it was nearing midday, the platform was less crowded than usual, and so Holo and I stood practically alone upon the platform.
"So this Underground network travels to all Sectors throughout Lower LA?" Holo asked, her crimson eyes peering down through the darkness of the tunnel ahead of us.
"That's right, this line should take us on a direct route to Sector Nineteen." I affirmed, nodding slightly.
"Good. The faster we remove this lock on your arm the better." Holo muttered, now staring straight ahead.
I glanced in her direction. "It's not a lock, file encryption is a way of protecting data and information from unauthorized users. It scrambles data into an unrecognizable form, making it impossible to read or access without the proper decryption software needed. Think of it like a coded message and using a cypher to break that code. Without the correct cypher, you're pretty much dead in the water…" I explained, as the echoes of steel against steel emanated from down the tunnel leading into the station.
"I see…" Holo muttered, not particularly interested, turning to look down the tunnel. A large gleaming silver train shot into the station with a roar. Holo jumped back in alarm at the sudden over stimulation of her keen senses, nearly falling backwards onto the platform. However, I quickly shot out a hand and caught her by the wrist.
"Whoa, you alright?" I asked in surprise.
Holo quickly managed to recover herself and tear her wrist out of my grip.
"Fine. I don't need you to look after me." She griped, a small pink flush upon her cheeks.
I glowered at her, slowly turning away.
'Thanks Lawrence, you didn't have to trouble yourself on my account.'
'Don't mention it Holo, it was nothing really.'
'But coming out all this way for me, it really means a lot.'
'Heh, like I said, don't mention it…'
'Snarky wolf…' I spat in my head as the train came to a halt before us.
The sleek steel doors opened wide, before I strolled towards the opening, while a large group of passengers departed the train. Holo hesitated for a moment, before I turned back to look at her.
"Well, are you coming? You're the one who wanted to go to Sector Nineteen right?" I griped, tiring of her antics.
Holo glanced at the shiny steel train. "Are you sure this thing is… safe?" Holo muttered, twiddling her fingers together.
I felt my eyes involuntarily glaze over. "Yes… it's fine." I replied flatly.
Holo swallowed before taking two shaky steps towards the train.
"You know, there's another one in fifteen minutes, why don't we-" Holo babbled before I scowled at her.
"Get. On. Now." I growled harshly.
Holo made a frowning pout as she stiffly stormed over to my side.
Muttering some kind of obscenity at me under her breath.
The interior of the train had cheap plastic and felt seats, all lined in a row either side of the train. Holo and I chose one of the seats, I took out Zheren's palmtop computer, seeing if there were any updates on the Wheaten incident. Holo on the other hand was completely distracted by the various advertisements that were scattered around the carriage.
I felt the soft lurch as the train started to move, shooting away from the platform. Holo turned round, watching the platform speed away behind us, her hood rustling softly as she stared out of the nearby window. In a flash of darkness, the platform was gone, obscured by the blackness of the tunnel. I focused on the small computer screen in front of me, reading another recent article speculating on the disaster at Wheaten. Further down the carriage I heard the doors open, assuming it was merely a passenger switching carriages, I ignored it. However, I felt a gentle tugging against my jacket. I tore my gaze from the screen to see Holo's hand pulling on my sleeve, I looked up at her to see what was wrong. Holo's once curious playful eyes had turned much darker, a cautious expression marring her features. She wasn't looking directly at me… but at something over my shoulder.
The alarm bells went off in my head and without a word I turned my attention to look at the carriage door. Entering through the now opened doors stood three burly men, dressed in blue shirts and vibrant fluero vests that read 'TRANSIT SECURITY', all in bold high-vis letters. Their steely eyes, shadowed by peaked caps, scanned the carriage for anything remotely suspicious. Eventually one of the burly men's gaze flicked to Holo and I. He leaned over to whisper something to the others.
Holo slowly moved her hand down to touch mine and gave it a gentle squeeze, her hood rustling as she slowly glanced away from the transit officers. Soon the three men all turned their eyes towards us and I quickly averted my gaze in turn.
'Calm down Lawrence, this is just a routine inspection of some kind. They're not after you, don't get worked up. You'll be fine…' I thought, before shooting another glance at them and realized that they were all armed.
'You'll be fine… You'll be fine.' I repeated in my head glancing away again.
Soon the three men nodded and began marching down the carriage, puffing their barrel chests out as they approached the two of us. The other passengers shot nervous glances to each other, wondering if they were going to be the ones who were approached. Soon the three officers grouped around us, they were so much bigger up close. A hard lump formed in my throat as I glanced at the officers armaments while they loomed all around us. Other passengers were getting ready for trouble, some even going so far as to change seats that were closer to the exits.
"Sorry to bother you sir, we just need to perform a random security check on the two of you." The officer closest to us explained in a calm steady voice.
I exhaled slightly, regaining my nerve. This was no time to freeze up now.
I made direct eye contact with the officer's lightning blue eyes and spoke.
"Of course, it'll be no trouble." I said curtly as the officer removed a small cylindrical device from his utility belt.
He held out the small cylindrical device towards me, a hole present at the base.
"Just slide your finger inside please." The officer asked, now looking down at a screen he held in the palm of his hand.
I did so without hesitation, knowing if I faltered, it would only be worse for me. Holo sat calmly and watched in silence, her red eyes glancing between me and the guards.
The guard stared at the screen for a moment, his brow arched in surprise.
"Hmmm… it says here that you've been blacklisted…." He grumbled flatly and the remaining officers closed in even further.
I nodded. "Yes, and you will also see that I've been cleared from any further charges" I muttered, feeling somewhat numb as I said those words. Realizing that I must've been repeating that same line over and over again for the past three years.
The officer stared down at the screen for a moment more, his shadowed eyes relaxing before returning his gaze to me.
"I see... my apologies." He muttered, taking a small step to stand before Holo. He presented the small cylinder to her.
"Insert your finger when ready." The officer stated, his eyes returning to the screen. Holo shot me a glance and I started to sweat when I realized that Holo had no kind of personal record. If they attempted to arrest her, she would fight back, revealing her for what she was. I had to act.
"Well?" The officer griped, growing impatient and suspicious.
Holo slowly rose her finger and placed it inside the cylinder. The officer suddenly looked flummoxed at the result.
"No record found?!" He exclaimed, looking up from the screen.
I decided it was time to make my move. I coughed loudly, drawing the attention of the officers.
"Oh? Sorry, I should have mentioned. This is my girlfriend, Holo, her record data was corrupted during a system malfunction, we're actually on our way to Sector Nineteen to have it replaced." I explained evenly, putting on an innocent smile.
The officer walked back over to me, his eyes as cold as ice. "Personal records are backed up and stored on several hundred servers across the city, the loss of a personnel record is near impossible." He remarked, evidently sharper than your average transit officer.
I gave a meek shrug. "And yet it's happened, you can see it for yourself. Unless you mean to say that your equipment is faulty." I stated, maintaining a friendly demeanor.
The officer glanced down at the cylinder in his hand, considering the possibility. Holo glanced between us, not entirely following the banter.
"I'm sorry officer, but we both wish to have this issue resolved as quickly as possible. My girlfriend won't even be able to access her accounts because of this problem." I said, faking the best concern I could manage.
The officer sighed, seeing no other alternative. "Very well. Since your… companion's record is missing, I'll have to log this particular issue directly with your record. As well as your intended destination. Just so we can keep tabs, I'm sure you understand." The officer explained.
I nodded. "Yes, of course. We'll be heading to Sector Nineteen's internal personal affairs office." I said still smiling.
The Officer pressed down on the screen and gave me a small smile. "Thank you for your cooperation, I hope you can resolve this issue soon." He said, placing the screen and cylinder back into his belt.
I let out a laugh. "You and me both." I replied.
The officer ignored me and the three of them headed down through the car and out into the next. I let out a sigh of relief as the doors slid shut, thankful that I'd managed to convince them.
Soon the train pulled into Sector Nineteen's station and when the doors opened, Holo strode out of the steel car in tears, clutching her stomach as she laughed. I soon followed, grimacing as the wolf continued to poke fun of me.
"Girlfriend?!" She howled, laughing once again.
"It was the only thing I could think of!" I snapped back, flushing red from embarrassment.
Holo shook her head. "Oh of course, could you imagine what would have happened if I was left alone in the hands of those brutes?" Holo teased, pressing her hands against her cheeks as if she were a damsel in distress.
"Thank goodness my gallant hero was here to protect me!" She cooed in a whimsical voice before she laughed once again.
I sighed, raising my hand to my head in frustration. "Look, can we just forget about the whole thing?" I muttered inconsolably.
Holo grinned at me. "No. I'll be sure to remind you of this for some time to come."
"Why am I not surprised." I sighed, rolling my eyes.
The two of us began walking off the platform and into the station itself, continuing to talk as we set a quick pace.
"Still, you handled yourself fairly well back there. I suppose you should be commended for at least that." Holo said with a smirk.
I rubbed the back of my neck. "It could've gone a lot smoother."
Holo gave me a reassuring smile. "I wouldn't worry, those men actually wanted to get a closer look at me."
My brow rose in surprise. "E-excuse me?" I stammered.
Holo rose her dainty hands to stroke the side of her hood. "These ears do not lie. I heard them musing about how cute the hooded girl was." She said with a small satisfied smile. "I suppose the hood adds to my mystery, don't you think?" She grinned with a wink.
I eyed her up and down for a moment, most of her lean muscular figure covered by the clothing she wore.
"I guess..." I muttered, not particularly interested.
Holo pouted. "You're not indulging me at all, are you?" She muttered.
"I've got no time for bloated egos" I retorted with a wry smirk.
Holo scowled at me, before lightly slapping the back of my head.
"Idiot." She muttered.
The station where we walked lead up to the surface through an underground arcade, where various shops were open for business. I noticed that Holo would often glance through the shop windows, particularly to look at clothes. Despite her endless window shopping, we maintained our pace, leaving the underground arcade before walking out onto the streets of Sector Nineteen.
The street was split into two roads, one stacked on top of the other. The upper, narrower road was supported by large concrete pillars that held traffic aloft as they flowed along the elevated surface. The lower proportion was much broader and compact. Shops and retail outlets hugged the pavements, while people crossed to and fro throughout the street. It was far more crowded then Sector Five. I felt Holo draw closer to me as the crowds grew nearer.
"It's no better here…" Holo mumbled with a frown.
I let out a dry chuckle. "All the streets of Lower LA are like this, it's pretty much unavoidable." I explained.
"Aren't there less crowded routes to take?" Holo asked.
I thought for a moment, before spotting a back alley and pointed over to it. "There are always the back alleys. If you ever find yourself in a tight spot, you can use them to make a quick escape. They're usually safe, but…" I trailed off as I noticed three thuggish men in the alley, glaring in our direction. I broke eye contact and fixed my stare straight ahead.
"… sometimes they're best avoided." I mumbled somewhat uneasily.
Holo gave a thoughtful nod as we walked through the street, keeping our eyes from wandering any further. We walked for a short while, trying to stick to the shortest possible route available. Eventually we began walking down a residential street, grossly tall skyscrapers and apartment blocks pressed on either side of the ever narrowing roads.
"So how far to your apartment now?" Holo asked, trying to start another conversation.
"Not too far, just down the end of this street. I live alone, so you don't have to worry about your ears and tail when we arrive." I explained pointing over to a large square tower block, situated on the corner of a crossroad.
A large flickering neon sign buzzed upon the building's exterior. It read 'Sunrise Housing' in big bright yellow letters. Shortly we reached the heavy steel doors of the tower block. Opening the door with some effort, Holo and I were greeted with the dingy cramped lobby of the tower. There was a set of filthy concrete stairs that shot up the tower on a sharp incline, as well as two elevators either side of the barren lobby.
"I live on the thirty-second floor, so we'll take the elevator." I explained, hitting the button to call the elevator.
Holo gave me a queasy look. "Oh no, not more moving stairs." She muttered.
"That's an escalator…" I sighed, as the lift made a high-pitched 'DING', causing Holo's ears to twitch.
The doors opened and I promptly stepped inside. "Come on." I muttered, tapping my foot.
Holo gave me a skeptical look. "I do not wish to enter such a confining closet with you." Holo muttered, looking me up and down.
"It's not a closet, it's an elevator!" I grumbled impatiently.
Holo cocked her head. "That doesn't look like any form of stairs I've seen…" She muttered.
"For the last time! That's an esca- You know what? Just get in the damn lift." I growled.
"I thought you said it was an elevator…" She snickered with a grin.
'Fuck you.' I thought, glaring at her irritably.
Eventually Holo grew bored and joined me in the elevator, I pressed the button to the thirty-second floor. The doors closed leaving the two of us in the small metal box, there was a lurch as we began our ascent upwards. Holo jumped at the sudden movement, clinging to my arm before glancing around the lift worriedly.
"W-were moving!" Holo exclaimed.
"Great deduction genius." I muttered with a roll of my eyes.
Holo pouted, deliberately looking away from me as an embarrassed flush creeped across her face.
"It merely took me by surprise." She exclaimed in defense.
"Ch-yeah, a lot of things do." I blurted, without really thinking.
Holo let go of my arm and gave me a sharp shove. I tripped and landed nose first into the metal side of the lift. I felt a sharp pain shoot through my face, before there was a high-pitched 'DING' and the doors opened.
"Ha! Let that be a lesson to you!" Holo exclaimed triumphantly.
I silently got to my feet, before turning round glowering at her, silently seething with anger. I watched Holo's ridiculously gleeful smile turn to a look of horrified worry as she saw the thick trickle of blood that ran from my nose.
"L-Lawrence, I-I-" Holo stammered, mortified at what she'd done.
"Not. Another. Word." I grunted evenly, pinching my nose as I left the elevator.
Holo cautiously followed behind me, as if she was some kind of little lost puppy. I stormed over to my apartment door, unlocking it by placing my palm against the biometric lock, before entering and slamming the door shut behind me.
I heard Holo knock against the door.
"Lawrence?" She asked, still concerned.
She tried the door, no good.
"Lawrence, please let me in…" She pleaded, her voice muffled by the heavy apartment door.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that. Lawrence, please don't leave me alone." She wailed banging pathetically against the door.
I rolled my eyes as I reopened the door to my apartment, two white tissues now stuffed up my nose. I stared down at the wolf girl and was shocked to find the wolf had begun to tear up.
"H-hey, are you ok?!' I exclaimed, somewhat worried by the fact that she had been close to crying.
Holo's face turned bright red as she wiped her eyes away of any evidence. "Don't do that to m-me again" She snapped in a shaky voice, continuing to wipe her eyes with a sniffle.
I solemnly furrowed my brow. "Sorry…" I muttered softly.
Holo got a grip on herself as she stiffened her lip. "So you should be." She griped, trying to recover from the embarrassment she felt.
I stepped to the side to let the girl in. She did so gracefully, before I shut the door behind us. We stood in the rectangular room of my twin roomed apartment, it was cluttered with electronics and half-finished projects that were scattered along the soldering benches. All of which placed along the left side of the room. On the other side was a soft brown couch, as well as a pantry and fridge in the near right corner. A single set of sliding doors lead out onto a small balcony. In the far left corner, were several desktop computers and notebooks, each with their own particular purpose.
"Welcome to my home." I mumbled, moving over to boot up one of the PC's.
Holo wandered around the room, removing her hood to let her ears flex as she gazed at the various parts and electronics upon the heat proof soldering tables.
"What is all this?" Holo murmured, as I sluggishly sat down at the main desktop of the ensemble of computers.
"Just some pet projects of mine, none of them finished… now, let's get this decryption underway." I mumbled, typing away on a keyboard.
I shot away from the workstation, rolling along the chair to retrieve a rather long electrode cable from the cluttered benches. I rolled back to the desktop, plugging it into the PC, before fastening the other end to my Ink Circuit. I felt a jolt of electricity and balled my hand into a fist.
Holo walked over to me, before folding her arms upon the office chair at which I sat, her tail swishing gently with interest. Holo's crimson eyes watched the screen as I typed line after line of code, analyzing the encrypted data upon my arm.
I decided to copy the data over to a free drive, before splitting the workload among the various decryption programs I possessed. Between them, they nearly covered every encryption protocol ever written. So in theory, I'd be able to decrypt proportions of the data and compile the resulting information.
With a press of a button, I began the decryption process.
I leaned back, watching lines and lines of code dart across the screen. Holo hummed in thought as she tried to comprehend the flashing code.
"So… is it working?" Holo asked, her tail swishing softly.
I nodded. "Well the process has started, and judging from the speed it'll take some time…" I sighed, unhooking myself before switching over to a standby PC.
Holo leaned around my chair to look at me. "How long?" She asked curiously.
I shrugged, my eyes glued to the screen. "Couple hours, a day tops?" I muttered. "Really not sure."
Holo made a face. "Can't you make it go faster?" She pleaded.
I turned to look at her. "It'll take however long it takes…" I stated flatly.
"We don't have all day. I want the information now." Holo sighed, irritated.
I turned back to look at the screen. "Patience is a virtue." I replied, not particularly interested.
Holo groaned, as she walked over to the brown couch before flopping down onto it. She lay there for some time as the faint hum of cooling fans permeated the room. While she sprawled herself across my couch, I started to scour the Extranet, checking up with various news sites and forums for the latest issues and scandal. Not that I believed it, most un-sourced opinionated broadcasts were unreliable, so I was skeptical at best.
After a short while Holo approached me, tapping my shoulder to get my attention. I turned to look at the girl, who was clutching her stomach with a look of distress upon her face.
"Lawrence… something… something feels very wrong." Holo whimpered.
"Holo? W-what is it?!" I asked, getting to my feet.
"I… oooooh… it hurts." She panted, wrapping her two arms around her abdomen.
I moved around to place a hand on her shoulder, wondering if she was about to throw up.
"Holo talk to me, what's the matter with y-" I was cut off by a savage growl that erupted from Holo's stomach.
The poor wolf girl's faced flushed bright red and whined with embarrassment. My eyes widened in surprise, before coming to the realization that Holo had probably never experienced hunger pains.
I chuckled softly and the wolf shot me an accusing glare.
"Don't worry, I think I can help you out." I said heading over to the pantry in the corner of the room.
I rifled through it, taking out some bread and cheese. It wasn't long before I presented a light meal to Holo. She looked at the food in front of her, unsure of what she was supposed to do with it.
"Just stick it in your mouth and chew." I grunted before moving over to the fridge nearby to the pantry, opening the door to reveal it was filled with nothing but beer. I took one of the cans from the fridge and slammed it shut behind me.
Holo gazed at the food for a moment more, before cramming it into her cheeks with gusto. She chewed noisily, as I cracked open the aluminum canister before greedily sipping from it.
There was a small flash on the computer screen that caught my eye, I went over to investigate the monitor, and found that some of the data had been deciphered into a readable format. I sat down in my chair before quickly navigating to the directory where the readable files could be accessed.
Holo moved over to me still chewing noisily. "Dith wef guff soffing?" Holo asked with a stuffed mouth.
I glanced through the recently decrypted files. "Looks like a few text documents, research papers I think… they're titled by Professor Yoitsu."
Holo visibly stiffened at that name. She made a loud gulping sound before speaking. "What do they say?!" She queried in a stressed tone, leering over me to get a better look at the monitor herself.
I went to open the most recent file and a document appeared, Wheaten's logo located in the top left corner of the file. The document upon the monitor was indeed a series of lab notes, all extracted and condensed from a much larger report, it read as follows:
'0LO Strain Development Documentation Entry # 34
Date: 2056/08/27
Head of Research: Prof. N. Yoitsu
Summary:
-Successful replication of Canis Rufus protein.
-Batches 15-21 prepared for testing.
-15-20 were unsuccessful.
-21 shows signs of immunity.
-Further research required.
Thesis:
Hybrid genome should provide sufficient immunity to LO strain, and still maintain its structure after subjection procedure is complete.
Procedure:
Previous tests have concluded that the basic replicated genome is still insufficient with combating the LO strain. However, the particular genome still provides the natural immunity required to repel the accelerated narcosis caused by the invading body. Extraction and replication of the Canis Rufus genome preformed by standard procedure. Several new batches produced, numbered 15 through to 21 respectively. Each batch catalyzed with the genes recovered from various species that possess natural immunity and longevity (See method on Entry #9 for further details). Batches will then be subjected to the LO strain and observed, and results recorded for later use.
Method:
1. Sterilize environment and personnel before starting experiment.
2. Follow DNA extraction and recreation procedure, detailed in entry #5.
3. Isolate batches, utilizing lab issued containment locks.
4. Creation of catalyst compounds, detailed in Entry #9.
5. Administer catalyst to isolated batches, taking care of precision splicing of alleles.
6. After successful stable fusion, apply contaminate 1-LO strain to isolated batches.
7. Observe.
8. After recording of observations and sensory readouts completed without error. All batches are to be immediately purged and all equipment and staff sterilized. Failure to comply will result in immediate termination.
Observations:
Batch #15: The natural immunity was weakened by the application of the catalyst. All elements of Batch #15 were unsuccessful in halting the 1-LO strain. Necrotic effects of invading strain destroyed elements of batch #15 within an hour. #15 rendered as failure.
Batch #16: Immunity was neutralized by catalyst. Necrotic effects were accelerated beyond predicted decay rates. Batch #16 destroyed within 15 minutes of exposure. Early purging of Batch #16 required to prevent risk of further infection. #16 rendered as failure.
Batch #17: Successful Immunity maintained after approximately 30 minutes of exposure, unable to combat and destroy 1-LO strain. Invading body proceeded to overpower afflicted elements with Necrotic effects. Batch destroyed within 2.5 hours. #17 rendered as failure.
Batch's #18-20: Successful immunity achieved. All batches successfully repelled and destroyed virus. Genetic compounds became unstable before rejecting itself. Batch's #18-20 destroyed within 5 hours of exposure. #18-20 rendered as failure.
Batch #21: All elements of Batch #21 successfully destroyed invading strain and maintained genetic stabilization well after subjection to the 1-LO strain. #21 rendered a plausible success.
Conclusion:
Genetic catalysts for batches #15-20 were rendered as failures.
Further research and testing into batch #21 will be required, before confirmation of successful replicated immunity. If batch #21 proves successful, human implementation will begin.'
Holo and I sat in the brief silence of the moment, both transfixed by the document on the monitor. My mind raced with questions, but what stuck out to me most was the date. It had been written almost twenty six years ago.
'How far does this go back?' I thought, furrowing my brow.
Holo shook her head. "I don't understand this. Is that it? There must be more." Holo muttered in confusion.
I went to check up on the decryption process, only to find nothing but error messages being spat out across the screen.
I widened my eyes in alarm.
"What the fuck?! How's that possible?" I exclaimed.
Holo switched her gaze over to me. "What is it, what's wrong?"
I ran my hand through my silver hair. "T-the encrypted data! It… it somehow altered its own protocol to something that none of my cyphers can recognize!" I explained in surprise, whoever had written this self-modifying code definitely had something to hide.
"Well, can you break it? That document didn't tell us anything!" Holo stressed, her voice straining slightly.
I rose my hand to my mouth in thought. "In theory, the older encryption protocols should still be there. If I piped the output through the cypher programs I might be able to isolate the modified code.
"How long will that take." Holo muttered, now looking away from me.
"Well, I've never done anything like this before. This could take days, weeks even," I griped and Holo grimaced.
"We don't have that much time…" She muttered, a wary edge to her voice that made me turn and look at her.
She was staring directly at my apartment door, her crimson eyes glowing fiercely in the light of my apartment. Her ears perking upright, twitching slightly, picking up some kind of noise that I was deaf to.
"…We've got guests… and they're armed." She growled menacingly.