@kylo.ren

[warfares]

Tests on the biological samples gathered earlier this week have returned.

[ some of you might know what he's talking about, most of you probably don't. regardless, moving right along: ]

Blood and tissue samples contain genetic markers for crabs, canines and snails, in addition to markers the lab was unable to isolate and match.

Tests on the crab venom bear similarity to something called a black mamba and some kind of snail venom, but also included unidentifiable markers.

The tissue and blood samples showed signs of DNA degradation [ which he attributes to the carcass having been out in the sun for awhile, though it had seemed fresh at the time, ] while the separate markers themselves appear to be both linked and disparate in their presentation.

It was still evolving.

Comments

@rey.nolo

[forcevisions]

How can it be all of them?

[warfares]

It was engineered.

[forcevisions]

Who would engineer a monster?

[warfares]

Someone with the time and inclination to do so.

[ someone with a penchant for multidimensional abduction, perhaps? ]

Resources too, I imagine. Research like this would be costly.

@leo.fitz

[retravel]

[ !!! ]

The black mamba is one of the deadliest snakes (a reptile). A bite would be fatal without antivenom, under normal circumstances.
Seems as though these creatures were engineered to cause damage.

[ but not straight up instakill, maybe. ]

[warfares]

I'm familiar with reptiles but not this particular species.

[ thanks for enlightening him, bro. ]

And it would seem so. The question then becomes: who, why and whether or not the larger creature's release was deliberate.

[retravel]

[ no prob, space bro. ]

And if it was deliberate, was our intervention expected?

[ they're as anomalous as the hybrid creatures, aren't they? the conspiracy's a little grand for his tastes, but it's worth considering. no better way to draw out superpowered individuals than a crisis. ]

[forcevisions]

Clarke said the same of the drugs they used on us. They made something new to make us susceptible to influence.

@mei.zhou

[frostedplum]

Oh my gosh! There's no way it could have all those markers unless it was forced together through genetic modification.

@clarke.griffin

[strove]

You think it was engineered? Is it even possible to cross those different types of creatures?

[Clarke doesn't know, but they're working on a lot of "impossible things" right now, while trying to ground it in reality.]

@clarke.griffin

[strove]

Has anyone begun to look into what genetic advancements have been made by this point? We know cloning is illegal, but we might want to get a sense of where we are on this. Where ... humans are. I guess.

[warfares]

There's always the chance that the two aren't linked.

[ he doubts it, but. ]

[forcevisions]

Of course.

But there's also a chance they are.

[ He should look at the glass half full, for a change. ]

[warfares]

We certainly made it easier for them, if that's the case.

[ it's still a big if but nothing really is beyond the realm of possibility right now. questions piling upon questions with no answers in sight. ]

[warfares]

My thoughts, exactly.

[ a pity that they hadn't managed to gather samples for the other creatures, if only to see if there was any overlap. ]

[warfares]

Not to my knowledge.

[ though it feels like a good next step. reliance on implant-based technology could mean a number of things, but it doesn't seem like too big of a stretch to think that people would be looking at ways to tweak themselves on a genetic level. even if the research itself is still in its infancy. ]

Given the selection of markers present I would find it difficult to believe that this particular creature evolved naturally.

[warfares]

Of course.

Someone has suggested that the creatures were released to lure us out of hiding.

@loki.odinson

[selfimage]

Tell me this is from the larger beast.

[ he's not entirely sold on anthropocentric point of view, as "genetic marker" is a tad nebulous in terms of Earthly species, but he's listening. ]

[forcevisions]

If that's true, it worked.

But it doesn't explain why more people like us have been dropped off since.

[warfares]

Morningstar attacked our transport expecting weapons. Perhaps that's what they found.

[ which brings with it another worrying question, that of "if we escaped before we could be properly primed, what does that say of those who were released?" ]

[forcevisions]

Those drugs left us under their control. Entirely obedient.




It's still just speculation.

[ Unpleasant to consider, though. ]

[warfares]

No.

[ alas. going after the larger beast would certainly have been preferred. getting through the layers of security, however, would have been difficult. difficult enough that even Kylo Ren, king of reckless decision making on the fly, had been given pause.]

One of the crabs.

[ he'd gone after it for the venom, but hadn't managed to avoid notice. so, here he is, absent his venom and trying to field questions when this really isn't his area. ]

The smaller creatures grew from the larger, according to several of the earlier reports.

[warfares]

I remember.

[ intention doesn't change the fact that there's still an element of risk at play. ]

Right now all we have is speculation.

[forcevisions]

We need something sure. Something definite.

Maybe someone who knows where that transport we were in came from.

Or — we're probably not the only ones researching these creatures. The UNA may have found more than we did.

[strove]

No, but we have to be certain that it could have "evolved" via genetic engineering.