B) 'Bruin'. Experimental. Traces of transformation, resistance, size, aggression, fear.
The subject is an adult bull of the species. It is not exceptional in any significant way. The pursuits of eating and mating consume much of its life. It roams the wilds, living a solitary life. In time, it will either die to hunters or predators, or claim a mate for itself to carry on its genetic legacy. Old wounds to the rear legs still slightly trouble it in movement, but it lacks the intelligence to even remember where they came from. It shows a somewhat higher degree of caution and defensive aggression than the species baseline, but that's the extent of a recognizable personality. That's alright. Non-sapients offer an entirely different playground than sapients - and whatever personality it might have is likely to get twisted or overwritten by the gift anyway.
***
[MANIFESTATION: 9, STRONG, MIGHTY ABILITY WITH SIGNIFICANT DRAWBACK]The injector drone finds the target grazing on a desolate plain and without any ceremony shoots the serum right into its spine. The creature barely even notices. The changes only begin later, in the night. The creature of flesh and blood that was is eviscerated in a earth-sundering blast of alien energies. Its mortal life is swept away in a flood of superpower and psi-dimensional resonance. What stands in its place is a being transformed - a beast of
fear and
wrath to haunt the dreams of these humans for centuries to come. You're a little bit in love.
The creature awakens with the scent of fear in its nostrils. Fear is everywhere, clinging to the cold wind, rich in the grass beneath its hooves, echoing in the voices that carry across the plain. Humans lurk nearby, hunting its kind. Within them, terror is a dormant seed, a stunted growth. There's too little, far too little. Fury consumes its little mind. They are little things, but they think to fell the great herds. They know not that they should be in awe. They know not that they should cower before it.
These thoughts are new, strange. It has dreamed of little but feeding and rutting in the years before. But it
knows things now, things that were beyond its beastly mind. More than anything, it knows a hunger it has never known before. It is no longer anything mortal. Grass and root will not satisfy this need. It has
transformed. Not only in the physical - though it has grown twice its old size into a massive bull - but at its very core. It exists in a manner that leaves it only half-way here, half-way existing in the minds of others, far detached from the logic of a physical existence.
The Horned Nightmare rises and follows the scent of fear. The hunters soon become the hunted. The natives think it a fine prize when they first sight it. Arrows are loosed, but their arrowheads shatter against the beast's skin. Spears are launched, but they are trampled under its hooves. Rifles go off, but the bullets deflect off and go wailing into the sky. The hunters are stunned, then afraid. The bison bellows, beating the earth, preparing for a charge. It could kill these creatures without much effort, but it doesn't go for the kill. Their deaths would please it, but they would not feed it. It wants them to fear. They will know true terror before it is done.
The hunters soon realize they are being played with. They try to flee, but the beast is always there, blocking off the escape. It is relentless and tireless. They cannot outrun it or tire it out; they cannot harm it, not with the fear in their hearts. The thing is not invincible, by any means, but it has become a thing of spirit more than flesh. Their fear gives it strength. The greater their terror, the smaller their chances of survival become. If they knew this, perhaps they could make a stand. You have no intention of telling them, though. It's much more entertaining this way.
The hunters die, one by one. Some are gored to death or trampled under the creature's hooves, left slow and paralyzed by the horror. Some go by way of their hearts giving out. There's only so much fear the human mind can hold before it gives out. The Beast feeds well on their terror. For a moment, it is sated - but it can smell the fear of other men and beasts in every direction under the sun. These few souls made a paltry meal, in the end. Out there, beyond the horizon, true feasts await.
You continue observing for a while yet. This fear-beast has been truly blessed by the serum. You didn't expect such a radical transformation - from a thing of flesh and blood into a living nightmare that feeds on the terrors of others. Its mortal fury has swollen into monstrous proportions in this new existence. It knows nothing but wrath for the 'lesser creatures' that think to hunt it. It cannot be killed by those who fear. Yet such gifts have not come without their cost. Any hope of a mortal existence has been stripped from it. Other bison fear it as much as men. It feels nothing but the pleasure of the kill and senses little but the presence of fear. Without devouring the fear of others, it weakens, withers and starves. The hunger never goes away for good. Isolation would kill it better than any weapon.
All in all, it'll be entertaining to watch. The tales of this creature will haunt the good people of this frontier for generations... assuming it doesn't simply kill everyone and turn this place into a land of nightmare. Once it learns to let some people go to spread fear onwards, well... that's when the true terror can begin.
***
Subject 1, on the other hand, has finally found the courage to take a more active role in things. Naiche ventures back to his home village and confesses his powers to a young woman - the drones don't pick up whether she's some kind of mate, relative or just a friend, but they seem very close. She comes up with a suitable religious-cultural explanation model for his abilities which seems to calm a growing anxiety over the matter for him. She also provides direction and purpose - which soon leads to Naiche joining a skirmish between the settlers down south and warriors from his band. He evidently intends to heroically intervene on behalf of his brethren. It doesn't go quite as he plans it.
It's a wonderful spectacle to be sure - Naiche bombards the settler ranks with lightning and drives them back, filling the night with light and screams. Unfortunately, his control is as bad as ever. Several of his would-be comrades are fried alongside the intended targets. This causes another crisis of faith for the subject, but the support of the woman encourages him to try again. He resolves to use his powers far away from innocents and limit their killing power from now on. That rather takes much of the fun from it in your opinion, but so it goes. He soon adopts a curious look with an elaborate eagle-styled headdress and crude talons on his arms. He understands the effect of a good first impression, at least. You wonder if they'll come up with an interesting name for him.
***
With another success in your pocket, you start the preparations for a third go. This is getting rather exciting.
Who or where do you wish to inject?A) Search for an individual fitting particular criteria. Specify the criteria - ie, 'a slave laborer', 'a scientist in Britain', 'a moral person exhibiting qualities of humility, courage and self-sacrifice', 'an amoral person of limited empathy', 'a young lion in Africa', etc.B) Inject the water supply in a small settlement or area. The effect will be spread among many in diluted form. You may specify a particular place or type of area, ie, 'in New York', 'a forest', 'an isolated village', etc..C) Pick a human at random. Should be entertaining!D) Pick an animal at random. Should be entertaining!What you want to see next are...A) Safe Serums. These Serums are tested and mass-produced, with well-known effects and power levels, though the exact details of how they manifest varies. You'll have Machine bring you a batch of them to choose from.B) Experimental Serums. These Serums are experimental and untested, with only the faintest hints of how they might manifest known. They tend to have a much wider range of possible power, and there is a danger of creating something that could be a problem to even you or something that might cause undue damage to the planet as a whole. You'll have Machine bring you a batch of them to choose from.C) Choose a known Serum. Machine has provided you with quite a few Serums already. You could use one of them before requesting new ones. Please choose from the list below.(Optional) There are further options you could consider...A) Request specific batch of serums. You could have Machine focus on particular kinds of serums - for example, serums which tend to grant growth or offensive powers, or which manifest in a specific way such as gravity or disease, or other similar criteria. Please specify one term to search for.B) Monitor an active individual more closely. Focus your monitoring on one subject you've injected. This yields more in-depth and detailed records and narratives of just what they get up to. Options: Naiche, the Horned Nightmare.
Safe
'Dowager Blue'. Safe. Effects: Grants a passive defensive power, a close-range offensive power, a sensory power, resistance powers, and severely enhances size. Manifestations: water, ice, mist. Power Level: Average-Strong.
'Patron Blue'. Safe. Effects: Grants a defensive power useable on others, a long-range offensive power, flight or speed, minor altered appearance. Manifestations: lightning, energy. Power Level: Middling-Average.
'Ghoul Red'. Safe. Effects: Grants a draining power, a mobility power and a resistance power. Powers are affected by user's emotions. Manifestations: physical. Power Level: Middling-Average.
'Beggar Black'. Safe. Effects: Grants a concealment power, an illusion power, and a sensory power. Powers harm the user, usually mentally. Manifestations: mental. Power Level: Middling-Average.
'Ranger Green'. Safe. Effects: Grants sensory powers, a concealment power and a mobility power. Powers are affected by user's surroundings. Manifestations: physical, earth, plant life. Power Level: Middling-Average.
Experimental
’Maestro’. Experimental. Traces of planning, intellect, music, sound, communication, ego.
'Bruin'. Experimental. Traces of transformation, resistance, size, aggression, fear.
'Nova'. Experimental. Traces of light, aggression, zeal, domination, vision.
'Revelation'. Experimental. Traces of time, service, consumption, possession, intellect.
'Umbra.' Experimental. Traces of grief, darkness, transformation, intellect, change.
Naiche: Subject 1. Mediocre. A young male of the Apache people. Injected with Patron Blue. Manifested ability to shoot lightning from eyes, create protective 'lightning cages' around an individual, and slightly superhuman speed. Active in the American Southwest.
The Horned Nightmare: Subject 2. Mighty with Drawback. A male American bison. Injected with Bruin. Transformed into partially non-physical entity fed and powered by the fear of others. Practically invincible in the presence of fear; however, also needs to consume fear to survive. Active in the American Midwest.
Author
Topic: Caveman's Arsenal [SG] (1820, Injection #5: The Tree of Desires) (Read 13570 times)