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Humanity is more than these narrow-minded small-timers who want to stop me. … They won’t stop me. … Hyperion will live on in Onyx.

The note from Dr. Jorrit that we had extracted from the Lazarus Complex took on a whole new significance in light of the message I had received from the Hockrow Agency.

“Your research on Onyx has paid off. I was able to confirm that Jorrit is operating an unofficial lab in Site-B of the facility to conduct an experiment called ‘Project Hyperion’. I’ll send his lab notes to your mobiGlas journal once you’re on your way, but in short: the bastard is trying to evolve humans or some such nonsense.
Lead Investigator – Arken Mallor”

That was the confirmation. Dr. Jorrit was conducting secret research under the pretext of doing something about the regeneration crisis. It reminded me of Project ENOS. They had tried to improve humans with bio-bots. Jorrit, on the other hand, was using Vanduul technology. ENOS – Hyperion – Why were humans doing this? Was it about power? Definitely in the case of ENOS, but what was driving Jorrit?

Jorrit had his own agenda, which did not align with that of the ASD. We had a deal with the ASD. They would drop the charges against us if we uncovered Jorrit’s activities. Although we had reached our limits in the investigation so far, we set off again for the Onyx facility. We had to obtain the data from Jorrit’s experiment. TYR was there with a reinforced squad to cover us.

First, we reactivated the cooling system in the engineering wing and stabilized the reactor. Then we made our way through the research wing to Site B.

We entered laboratories we hadn’t investigated before. In the animal lab, we found a bloodbath. Dead employees in pools of blood, a foul stench. No one knew what had wrought this destruction. Brubacker suspected that a Vanduul was on the loose. If that were the case, it would be a nightmare.

The animal lab resembled a chamber of horrors. Dead Kopions and Valakaars on dissection tables. Rats and tongues of Quasi-grassers in test tubes. Eggs from an unknown species. A recording from Jorrit explained that they had found biological material from a reptilian creature deep within the facility. What the hell was Jorrit doing here? We knew he was experimenting with Vanduul bio-fluid. Was he also conducting experiments with other biological material? Obviously. But for what purpose?

We reached the medical lab via the animal lab. Capsules that looked like cryo or rescue capsules lined our path. Our boots left footprints in the blood of the dead scientists. We were extremely tense. So far, not only scavengers but also irradiated kopions had made life difficult for us. Fortunately, TYR was able to ward off all dangers – so far.

Suddenly, Husky’s scream rang out.

“Shit! A madman! He’s attacking me!”

I spun around. A guy in a hospital gown was running between the lab tables. I tried to cut him off. He turned and ran straight towards Pike. Two shots rang out through the lab. The guy collapsed.

“Why did you shoot him?” Brubacker whispered.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to. It all happened so fast.”

The dead man looked disfigured. He was human, but his skin had changed. It had some dark spots that almost looked like—reptile skin? A cold shiver ran down my spine. Still, I couldn’t look away.

“I found a recording,” Husky called out.

It was a conversation between Jorrit and a person named Sam. Sam was supposed to be the first person whose consciousness would be transferred into a cloned body using Vanduul technology. Had we just shot Sam’s clone? Had something gone wrong during the cloning process? Jorrit wanted to evolve humans—I feared Sam’s transformation was no accident.

We continued on and reached Site B. A freight elevator led deep into a cave structure that we could look down into. We waited at the top while the advance team from TYR went down. Heavy fighting echoed up to us. My adrenaline level rose immeasurably. Through the scope, I could see TYR fighting against an entire army and slowly advancing. Then the go signal came and we went down as well.

A very bad feeling came over me as I examined one of the dead enemies.

“Guys, these aren’t scavengers. They’re too well equipped and they’re all wearing the same armor.”

“Maybe this is Jorrit’s private army,” Brubacker speculated. “Who knows what he’s trying to protect.”

“This isn’t a laboratory,” Alaska observed. “It looks more like a military camp.”

Alaska was correct. There were no test tubes, no microscopes, and no lab tables. Instead, there were weapon cabinets, ammunition boxes, and camp beds. What kind of facility was this at the Prophet’s?

As we slowly advanced deeper into the facility, we encountered strong resistance again and again. Eventually, we stood in front of a large red door. “Project Hyperion” was written on it. Signs warned that this was a restricted area and that access was only permitted to laboratory personnel.

“The door is secured with a code,” said Brubacker.

“There’s a daily code on the monitor here in the security room,” Kjeld informed us.

“OK, then give it to us.”

Brubacker stood alone in front of the door. Everyone else kept their distance.

“Are you sure, Bru?” I asked nervously.

“No, but we have to get through here.”

He typed in the code. Each keystroke produced a beep. Then silence – for a long second – and with a bang, the door flew open. Nothing happened. Brubacker stood rooted to the spot in front of the doorway. Finally, the TYR fighters poured through the door like a tsunami.

We followed and stood in front of an armored glass pane. On the other side was a large room with a strange, large piece of equipment. In the middle was a slanted plate with something on it. We could only see it from behind and couldn’t make out what it was.

“What is that?”

“No idea, but I see an open head and brain.”

I stared at the scene in disbelief.

“That’s a Vanduul,” Husky exclaimed. “His skull has been sawed open. You can see it from the side from here.”

We went over to Husky and sure enough, a Vanduul was strapped to the slab. His arms and legs were fixed in place on the left and right, his chest was open, and tubes were coming out of him.

“My goodness,” Alaska said in horror. “I almost feel sorry for him.”

“Not me,” I said firmly. “I have no sympathy for the Vanduul. In Nyx, I saw what they do to us. Be glad he’s not running around free.”

“Come on, we have to get down there and collect all the data we can.”

After TYR cleared a path for us, we reached a dark room with large green-lit glass containers. Inside were strange creatures in a liquid. They were hybrids. In one container, we recognized fish fins on a strange body with human hands. I was too pumped up on adrenaline to be horrified. Maybe nothing shocked me anymore after what I had seen so far.

“These must be the first results of Jorrit’s experiments. He’s crossbreeding different species,” Alaska analyzed.

“Guys, you have to see this,” Raff called out.

He had found the door to the room where the Vanduul was stretched out. He hung dead in front of us like a large X. Crucified in the name of science.

“That’s terrible,” Alaska said.

“Better him than us,” I replied.

We found documentation of the experiment on a monitor.

HYPOTHESIS
Even though humanity has embraced the technological marvel of creating “imprints,” it has overlooked the most important lesson from the Vanduul, from whom we stole this technology: recombinant evolution. The Vanduul freely combine imprints and genetic information from their best warriors to create the next generation of fighters. I propose that humans, too, with a few minor genetic adjustments, could make an evolutionary leap by modifying imprints. Imagine: with each new imprint, we refine and evolve further.

EXPERIMENT
Using the unique properties of Vanduul biofluid, I will modify a human imprint by introducing a catalyst and a reagent. The result will be a viable recombinant that is not only capable of regeneration, but also improves on the original source material.

“No wonder we have nothing to counter the Vanduul,” I said thoughtfully after reading the information. “Maybe it’s not so wrong to optimize humans a little. Then we might have a chance against the Vanduul.”

“Do you want something like poor Sam, whom we found earlier?” Alaska asked in horror.

“No. I’m not saying that Jorrit’s way is the right one. But the people of Nyx are being slaughtered by the Vanduul. Every day. Maybe this is an opportunity. Maybe not. I don’t know. I’m confused—I don’t know myself.”

My thoughts were spinning in a wild roller coaster. Maybe it was wrong to alter our own species. Maybe it was our only chance against the Vanduul. Right and wrong – a matter of perspective. The Vanduul call it evolution, we call it madness. Why should the human perspective be the only correct one? I no longer knew where my perspective lay. The experiences in Onyx had thrown me off balance. I had to get out. Meditate. Find my center again.

After securing the data from the experiment, we flew back to Baijini Point. It didn’t take long before we received the dossier Hockrow had compiled on Jorrit and confirmation that the ASD would no longer be pursuing us. We were free, but what would happen now to Jorrit and his experiment? I remembered ENOS and the killer satellite scandal. We had uncovered both, and after some initial outrage, nothing else had happened. The UEE and the corporations had no interest in uncovering scandals and drawing conclusions. They were only interested in maintaining power and making profits.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)