A, A soldier/warrior from one of the not yet oppressed but technologically behind people's (Think Ethiopia, Japan, ect.)
A, Something that should be interesting but wont lead to our inevitable karmic demise just yet.
These dominant empires have yet to touch much of the world. Much of their species still lives in traditional agrarian societies, barely making a mark on their environments. Their simpler structures of state cannot stand up to the more complex nations-states industrializing at a rapid pace. The great powers will take them eventually, unless they adapt and resist. Unless you intervene. The empires are so confident in their superiority, so certain their way of life and their military might will see them rulers of the world. They have no idea how fragile their hegemony really is. This could get
very entertaining.
Your drones get to work. The criteria is simple - members of local warrior classes in societies still outside the dominance of the great empires. You're not expecting a detailed survey of every single warrior type from one of these societies. Finding the perfect subject isn't your goal. You're just getting started here - that kind of thing can surely wait. You wait for the first reports to come in and start thinking over your choice. The drones have found individuals from around this little world, all of them interesting in their own way. You narrow things down to three promising, fairly young, healthy individuals.
A) A masterless ronin, the member of some subservient warrior class in the land of Japan. B) A warrior woman of the Mino, the 'Dahomey Amazons', some kind of elite all-female military unit in the south-west of the vast African continent.C) A young warrior of the Apache tribe in the Americas, living a life of raiding and fighting for his people.***
Machine delivers the first batch of Serums for you. It's late and incompetent as usual, but just this once, you give this iteration a stay of execution. You're in too good of a mood to be bothered by the little things right now.
You go over the reports. They're in the familiar old format. There's a description listing the serum's guaranteed
Effects - the ways their power can function, though the exact details of how it does so differ. The different possible
Manifestations are listed as well; whether the serum grants powers of flame and fire, physical changes, mental changes, gravity manipulation, radiation, or whatever. Last comes the range of likely
Power Level, telling you just how powerful the powers are likely going to be. Control over electricity, for example, might manifest as the ability to lightly zap others from your fingertips or throw around lances of lightning that sunder walls and fry multitudes, after all.
The options this time around are...A) '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.
B) '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.
C) '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.
D) '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.
E) '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.
You'll want to start with just one subject and serum. Multiple serums are... tricky, and you'll want a controlled first injection to see just how human bodies react to this gunk.
Author
Topic: Caveman's Arsenal [SG] (1820, Injection #5: The Tree of Desires) (Read 13995 times)