Super Science
Ch 77: Experiment Log, Resurrection Fragment. Top Secret!
This is Doctor Albert Wily reporting from the….do I have to say it?!
UCK! FINE! From the Neo Icon Phoenix Research Facility, okay we seriously need a new name!
What do you mean, non-negotiable!? That's bull crap and of course, I'm going to bring it up with Egon!
As I was saying: I am Doctor Wily performing a top-secret experiment with Doctor Izuku, my teenage superior. Together we will be testing all the ins and outs regarding the, um...Resurrection Fragment? Wait, what the hell is a fragment?
Bottom text? Oh, here it is. A Fragment is what happens when a direct piece of the Singularity Soul, and not a Splinter containing its energy, absorbs something. But not just a part of it, something in its whole entirety. For instance, when a quirk is placed into it, it can copy a quirk so perfectly that it can replicate it on a 1:1 scale or awaken it to a point where it has already been perfected.
For example, if we were to have a Splinter and a Fragment with the same quirk, a fire-based one, then the Splinters could allow a person to shoot fireballs while the Fragment could allow a person to control fire to any magnitude they desire. That is the difference.
The Fragment we are working with contains the Quirk known as Resurrection, and as the name implies it can bring anyone or thing back from the dead with a single touch and heal them back to perfect condition as if they never got hurt at all. However, this effect doesn't happen on things that are still alive.
We shall now begin the first round of experiments. In this test, we will be using plants. One-third are dead while the second third are wilted and the third one-third is alive. We will be back with the results.
Upon testing, we came to the obvious conclusion on all of them. As I had stated before, if something is alive, no matter the state of "alive" it is in, the Fragment does not affect it whatsoever. So the first two-thirds of experimental plants remain the same. The dead ones, unsurprisingly, revived as if nothing had happened to them. They show no adverse signs from being brought back and even after extensive dissection, the plants appear completely normal to those who were brought back. Perhaps it is time to use more advanced life forms to get actual data. I will return when things are set up.
We have finally set up the next round of control tests, but this time we are using something much more complex and just as manageable in case of a containment breach. This next year will be done on Japanese ants. We will test the Fragments power on four separate groups. Each of these groups has died in different manners so we can actively observe what different conditions may bring.
The first group died simply due to their minuscule lifespan. The second group died of starvation. The third was exposed to pesticides. The final group died due to a parasitic fungus. We will revive all four and see how they act. I will return when all avenues have been thoroughly observed.
I must say that was perhaps the most unusual turn of events I had seen unfold in the natural world and I'm a robotic major for peat's sake. Anyway, after bringing all four groups of ants back from the dead, the following had been observed: the ones who died of old age didn't come back from the dead, leading us to speculate that if a creature has died due to its natural body being unable to keep up with mandatory functionality, it will not revive.
The second group that died of malnutrition revived with ease but acted strangely. Almost as if they were a car with no one behind the wheel. When a queen was introduced, the ants acted as they normally did. However, unlike their natural kin, they didn't stop to rest, drink, or eat. They worked and worked until they died again. It's almost as if there was nothing in their bodies to keep them from stopping besides the queen's pheromones. But she's not gonna completely dictate a few amongst the many.
The third group that died of pesticides could release the same chemical compound from their bodies. Unlike the others, they didn't display any secondary control and moved on their own, yet aimlessly. It's strange. They still listen to the queen's orders but we're much more aggressive. Perhaps they can be used as sleeper agents in infestation to kill the nest or even be used to exterminate nests of fire ants. The most striking thing observed is their lifespan or lack of it. They only live a few hours upon revival.
The fourth group that died from the parasitic fungus, became what I could only describe as zombies. The ants weren't the only ones revived, but so too were the fungi that killed them. The two organisms merged and from it came a monster! A tiny monster but a monster no less. They don't listen to any queen or any external pheromonal signal. They just find whatever isn't affected and spread the spores. Luckily they can still be killed through the use of force or fire. Fire is preferable. I guess I broke the one rule Egon gave me. No zombies. Luckily they're small and manageable.
In addition to this, when the zombie ants broke into the pesticide ants enclosure, the two engaged in a quasi-war. Where the victor, surprisingly, was the zombie ants. When one of the other ants fell, the spores turned their new corpses into zombies, making them immune to the pesticide. I'd hate to see these things find a way to infect creatures larger than them. So the only sane thing to do is completely neutralize the room of any organic matter.
After me and Doctor Izuku compared notes, we both asked the same question. What would happen if we did it sooner? As in, what would happen if we revived the ants when they had been dead only a little while? Much like the other, er, subject brought back. All of them had been brought back within a few minutes to hours of death. And so that's what we did.
We set up the same experiment, this time without the ants that died of natural causes. When this happened neither of the ants infected with the parasitic fungus nor the ones killed by the pesticide showed the same results as the first. After comparing notes and brainstorming, the only conclusion we could come up with was the freshness of their bodies.
When something dies it has a spoil timer before, the body must be resurrected in that time frame before adverse effects take over. If not then whatever killed them in the first place may, for lack of better terms, marinate the body. Making it so that the healing properties don't take them away, but meld them with the body involved.
Leading to the fungi gaining more sentients and piloting the ant's bodies like a living mech for the sole purpose of spreading. It also explains the pesticide ants gaining a something equivalent quirk, even though it wasn't one. Our next step was finding out what the spoil timer was.
For this next round of experiments, we will be conducting a full-scale investigation on the spoil timer on a body before it becomes infused with what killed it. We have seven groups of ants, all of which have died from pesticides, and all of them on different days. We will return when we find out the results of the test.
As it turns out, the spoil timer for a dead body is no more than three days. After that, the ants from days four to eleven all turned into the pesticide drones. At least we know in case of emergency. I'm sure Egon will be glad to hear about this discovery. Our next round of tests will have to be bigger things.
With permission from Egon, we have pre-cured our next set of experiments and have been granted access to the underground portion of the facility for such experiments. Our next step in discovering the Resurrection Quirk is by using bone and bodies. Our first set of tests will be done using rats. Then we will be attempting to use the bones of dinosaurs to finish up to see the results on larger animals. I will be back when we have the results on the rats.
We have concluded our research on the resurrected rats and these are our findings. Much like the ants the rats also act like nothing is controlling them. They move, breathe, and stand, but need help with just about everything else. Eating, drinking, not running into or off something. In addition, they have no color behind their eyes, as if they are blind, and they sure do act like it. But we've concluded they can still see.
Just like the ants, if they aren't revived in three days they too will merge with whatever killed them and won't come back if it was from natural causes. However, something interesting did happen when testing different parts of the animals.
As it turns out, if you use something as small as a bone fragment or blood, something can be completely rebuilt and revived from it. The only downside, or should I say equalizer, is that when something from a dead body is rebuilt and brought back to life, the leftover body can't be brought back.
In simpler terms, if I were to die and take my rib out and use it on the fragment. An entire new body would be grown and brought back to life. But if the Fragment was used on my original body, nothing would happen and it would just be a dead body missing a rib. So I guess we can't just make an infinite number of clones. Any creatures brought back in this way turn out like the mindless other revivals.
This then brought up a theory from Doctor Izuku who said something so crazy that after much thought, I began to believe it myself. He theorizes that the reason these late revivals act mindless is because they lack a soul. In waiting so long we missed the window of opportunity to heal the body enough for the soul to re-inhabit it. He also pondered that maybe the Resurrection Fragment makes a false soul for the body when the time frame is up. That's why they might move but have no character.
This alone has confirmed the existence of the soul in a body. The only question is if a creature can truly live without its soul, can it be given a new one from an already existing creature or can a soul be created and placed into the soulless body?
What?
No, I'm not thinking ahead. Just out loud.
Of course, I'm not gonna try something like that. I couldn't even hide Mono from you. What makes you think I can hide creating a soul?
Anyway, from here we will be using the bone fragments of various extinct animals to see the results of something dead for a long long time.
We have begun the experiments on fossilized bones and I have to say that things took a strange yet familiar turn in our findings. Firstly we used the acquired fossilize of several extinct species from all eras of the time. We brought back a. Wooly mammoth, a Sabertooth cat, a giant Ground Sloth, a Wooly rhino, a Terror Bird, a velociraptor, a utahraptor, a triceratops, a stegosaurus, a tyrannosaurus, a Pteranodon, a Microraptor, and a Magyarosaurus.
Much like the other animals we were able to bring them all back to a full body from just a fossilized bone fragment. And just like the others they all came back without souls. The only difference is that none of them came back fused with whatever outside force killed them. Several of the creatures died of some kind of disease but none of them showed signs of it. Our only guess is that a body must be dead for long enough to the point that any outside force that harmed them, aka disease and the like, is rendered redundant. It also makes me think if we took a bone from an infected body, cleaned it up, and then brought it back. Would it still fuse with the cause or would it be just another soulless body? An experiment for another day.
After this, we did what we had to do and terminated all the revived animals. There was no way Egon would want to provide for animals that can't even eat on their own, let alone know exactly how to even begin trying to meet their dietary needs. The only ones we kept were the two velociraptors at the request of Doctor Genus, for which I have no clue.
When we were going to start another round of tests, we found something surprising amongst the fossilized bone fragments. One of them belonged to a Neanderthal. We only realize this when we revive it. Although Egon's instructions on reviving human bodies were clear, which was not to do it at all, we couldn't have foreseen that the bone fragment we acquired had a misplaced one. Though, in hindsight, I'm rather glad that it was misplaced there since it revealed something else about the Resurrection Quirk's abilities.
When the Neanderthal came back from the dead it didn't act like all the other animals did. It made sounds and was quite aware of its surroundings. It could act and respond to outside stimuli. Though it still had colorless eyes like the other soulless creatures. However, instead of acting like a primitive human, it acted more like an animal. This led us to want to study the creature's brain to find the source. So the neanderthal was terminated by one of our droids.
Once we extracted the brain, we saw how it had a far less developed brain than what was supposed to be normal. To put it into simpler terms, it had receded to monkey. It is most likely what happened to the other creature. Since they were so underdeveloped in their evolution, their minds had been reduced to a far more primitive state, one that lacked any higher function. Due to the Neanderthal's higher brain function, it only reduced to a more animalistic function. Perhaps if a soul was introduced into any soulless being, its normal brain functions would return.
Once again Doctor Izuku, thinking out loud! Just because I tried to take over the one once-
Oh, five times, doesn't mean I don't learn.
After this Doctor Genus told us what he wanted with the two velociraptors, and he asked us to try and breed them. A thought that never crossed our minds when testing. What would happen if we bred two soulless beings? So that's what we'll do next. Luckily for us, we have a male and a female. We will return with the results.
As it turns out, two soulless beings can breed and reproduce. Though with great effort from an outside force. After a successful egg laying from the female, we worried as to what would come out. Only to use one of Doctor Genus's many spices flourishing Splinters to speed the process up. Much to our surprise and great relief of everyone, the babies born did have souls and after much more like the wild animals, they were brought back. And to the surprise of no one besides Genus, they acted like wild predatory animals instead of flighty birds.
From here Genus took the new adult raptors for some kind of experiment that was green-lit by Egon, and we disposed of the two soulless parents. To that end, I believe I can safely say that we have exhausted any and every avenue in discovering how the Resurrection Quirks works. I sincerely hope everything Egon wants. But I have to admit I now see his sentiment about his begrudging attitude towards its use. Such power truly is tantalized and forbidden. In the wrong or untrained hands, it could surely remake or break the world. Especially about the….zombies. This is Doctor Albert Wily signing off.
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