Hello! i am in a bit of a situation, I thought I kind of completed my research of masters in molecular biology but I'm afraid I was wrong. okay coming straight to the point.
i am working on Agave sisalana and I have some transcripts, I designed primers (degenerate) for each of the transcript. i got gene amplification in two of the transcripts but I'm proceeding with just one lets call this transcript A. okay so after amplification I transformed this in E.coli Top10 cells and plated it on agar (tetra and amp selection). i got blue and white colonies, I picked the white one and performed colony PCR using M13 primers. i got bright bands at 1000bp then I used the colonies with the bright bands for plasmid extraction. then I sent two plasmids for sequencing, lets call the plasmids alpha and beta. at first I sent alpha with forward primer m13 and the beta with the reverse m13. i got the results, very high quality chromatograms but the alpha didn't have insert, on gel I saw a band at 500bp on restriction digestion with Ecor1. while the beta plasmid had a similarity of 98.52 percent with agave sisalana, that was a success. after this I sent these two plasmids again for sequencing this time with m13 forward and reverse. alpha plasmid still doesn't have any insert while the beta which had 98.52 similarity with agave is showing similarity with other plants. i am not getting this, and in the sequenced file of beta only forward primer is present I couldn't find the reverse primer. please tell me how is it possible???

Anyone done surgery while actively flaring?
I have a giant cell tumor that's been sitting on my pinky for a couple years. I've decided to finally remove it knowing that it might grow back. It doesn't hurt but I do feel like it does impede some function on my finger.
I've had SLE for 25 years now. Sometimes it gets better, however living in the moment, it's not easy these days. I've had really bad flares and now not so certain about going in for surgery in 10 days. Recovery suggested for 2-4 weeks.
Has anybody done a type of surgery while actively flaring up? Can you let me know how your story went?
The orthopedic doctor told me I would have to be put under for the surgery. In order to prepare, I can't take my multivitamins or plant oil.
There's a lot of high stress with work and also starting to experience depression again.

I'm working on a plant growing schedule and need a cell to change to which fertilizer is needed based on the week, and change color. For example, if cell J7 is "5" (week 5) then I need cell K7 to turn blue and say "Fertilizer #2", if cell J9 is "3" I need K9 to turn green and say "Fertilizer #1." There are 4 different fertilizers across 14 weeks.
Any help is appreciated! Thank you
shared spreadsheet

The house has been at the end of Thompson Road as long as anyone could remember yet there’s no one still alive who remembers anyone ever living in it. It was a remnant of an era, when the Victorian style architecture was still prevalent, yet it had been left in disrepair. Windows boarded over, paint fallen off, shingles missing here and there. Most people in the town declared there was something not quite right with the old building. Some rumors stated that of the few people who tried to move in left promptly afterwards seeking other residence.
I remember when I was a young boy there was an older gentleman who would care to the grounds, cutting the grass and making small mending’s to the surrounding fence. He was a kindly old man who wore a corduroy jacket and a flat cap. He almost had the appearance of a man from a different time and place. Most children avoided walking by Thompson road on their way home from school, yet the old house had a curious draw to me back then and I often liked to stare at it in the dying light of the autumn days. It was in these days I became acquainted with the old caretaker who told me his name happened to be, Mr. Thompson, just like the road.
Most of the town children had seen Mr. Thompson tending to the old house and naturally as is the past time of children, created stories and rumors about him. Many said he lived in the house waiting to trap any poor soul foolish to wander on the property by locking them in the cellar. Others said he was an escaped prisoner using the old place as a hideaway from the police. I didn’t believe the rumors going around about him for a second but the house drew my curiosity nonetheless.
My acquaintance with Mr. Thompson began with my troublesome self, committing the act of trespassing. My act of mischief had been inspired by one of the playground stories I had heard earlier that day from one of my classmates. He said that he had skulked about the property peering into cracks along the boarded-up windows. He told me and several other kids how it looked as if someone was still living there, and the peculiar fact that no pictures hung in the place save for one wall in the living room. Given I had taken an interest to the old place, I naturally decided that day to see for myself.
I climbed the fence that afternoon in October and had skulked ever so closely to the first window I saw. As I peered inside, I was shocked to notice that the interior looked very much like someone had been in fact living there. Furniture and décor, the Victorian style still so present, was set like the previous residents had just left and would return any minute. I decided that the room I was peering in to be the living room due to the fact when I looked across to the far edge, I found the wall mentioned on the playground. It was filled top to bottom with what appeared to be every picture in the house, the wall behind barely visible due to the number of picture frames. From where I was standing, I could not make out what was in any of the pictures.
It was at this time I was discovered upon by Mr. Thompson. No doubt he took me for some trouble making youth looking for a place to plant graffiti. Yet when I answered his initial question to what I was doing there, he began to soften realizing I was merely a curious wanderer exploring what appeared to be the forbidden. This begun my friendship with the old gentleman who I could tell was not a criminal or madman seeking to lock people in his cellar. He let me go and promised not to tell anyone I was trespassing on private property, if I promised him to continue to visit and talk to him as he worked. We struck a deal and I made it a purpose to continue my visiting’s to the old house after school to talk with Mr. Thompson.
I never saw anyone else spend much time around the place other than him and asked him if he lived in or in fact owned the old Victorian house, which I never saw him enter or come out of. He told me no and laughed dryly. His family he said had always taken care of the old place as long as he could remember. He told me stories of people trying to enter seeking something they could not find and of seeing strange things within the house though, things he would not or could not describe to me. He told me on one night of the year weird things would happen within the old building, things not natural was how he put it. I tried to pry out of him what exactly he meant. “I have to show you,” he said, “It cannot be described.” He told me in exactly one week he would find me and show me exactly what possessed the old house.
Exactly one week to the day was November 1^st. I was shocked that a day where the unexplained could happen would be a day after Halloween. Nevertheless, Mr. Thompson found my house, how I am still unsure and awoke me with a soft knock on my window.
“Hurry! We’ll be late!” he said in a hushed tone.
“For what?” was my reply.
“The answer to your question,” was all he answered as I dressed quickly.
We walked along the dark streets of the town from one light post to the next, which dimly illuminated the street. We came to Thompson Road and turned down it. It was dark, no street lamps traveled down the lonely lane. As we approached the old house it cast a dark shadow upon us in the low moonlight. Mr. Thompson easily glided past the rusted iron gate and up the rickety steps like a wraith. I followed him as fast as my short legs could follow him in the darkness.
From his coat pocket he removed a small ring with two rusted keys. One of these he inserted into the door lock, I could hear the old tumblers moving and click as he twisted the lock open. As I followed him into the entryway, I was met by a strong musty smell due to many years of no ventilation. We walked further into the house, I was surprised that Mr. Thompson hadn’t brought a flashlight with us though he moved through the hallways and rooms as if he knew his way from pure memory. I took keen notice as we walked that there remained no pictures or even fade marks of pictures once hanging on any of the walls.
We walked down a long hallway, the floorboards creaking beneath us. As we came closer to the door at the end, I perceived that a soft glow was emanating from around the doorframe. Mr. Thompson stopped at this point and spoke his first words to me since we entered the house. “What we are about to see might cause you to startle, the important thing is that you just observe and disturb nothing.”
I took his warning to heart and made a promise that no matter what I saw I would be as quiet as a church mouse. He reached out his hand and quietly opened the door. What lay behind I would never have imagined. It was the living room, or a parlor as it would have been referred to over a century ago. The one I no doubt had seen from my peering through the windowpanes. Within to my surprise however were people. I saw what appeared to be a party of twenty people or more dressed as if in a masquerade party straight out of Victorian England. I almost opened my mouth to speak had it not been for Mr. Thompson’s calloused hand stifling my mouth from uttering a peep. I stared at the scene in front of me and noticed that the people here didn’t seem right for some reason they all had a blank look in their eyes like they were sleep walking or drugged. They walked about not making a noise, several couples were dancing a silent waltz with no expression on their faces. In everything they did they took no notice of us. My attention was immediately caught by the wall of pictures on the opposite side of the room. I made my way quietly over to it being careful to not disturb anything in my path.
As I approached the wall, I anticipated seeing pictures of everyone who had either lived in the house and possibly relations to the past residents. What I did not expect to see in fact was empty pictures. Most of the pictures were of either empty rooms or nature. I scanned the wall more closely and to my horror found pictures with people in them, what I was not expecting to see was the people in these pictures to turn and look at me.
It took all my control to not cry out or faint at what I saw. I rubbed my eyes thinking they still had sleep in them, when I reopened them the people in the pictures were still moving and looking at me. They were not dressed in Victorian garb. Many wore the dress of more recent decades. The looks in their faces were as they were haunted with fear; it was as if they were trapped in the picture frames, the frames their prison cells.
I didn’t notice Mr. Thompson walk up behind me. I saw him begin to stare at a particular picture. There was a young lady in it, when she saw him, she began to peer at him intently pressing her hands against the glass as if trying to get out, looking at him longingly. It was in this brief moment that he forgot his own rule and touched the picture frame pressing his hand against her tiny one. The moment he did so everyone in the parlor stopped in his or her tracks looking at him, looking at us it felt. I had never felt my blood go cold as it did that night or ever since. How long they stared at us I do not know, only that eventually they began to slowly walk their way toward us.
“Run,” was all he could whisper to me as we tried to escape. We ran to the other end of the room yet the people in the room managed to pass through the furniture like ghosts to get to us. They left me alone, as I had made no disturbance yet they grabbed Mr. Thompson and dragged him to the wall. With his loose hand he dug in his pocket and threw me his rusty keys. “Look in the shed.” Was all he could get out as the now ghost like beings dragged him toward his end. The first ones to reach the wall turned almost into a vapor and dissipated before reforming into a frame unmoving, looking as if they belonged. I turned and ran down the hallway as I began to see Mr. Thompson to dissipate at the hands of his captors. What remained of his scream I heard as I fled the house running for what I believed to be my life.
The following day I awoke in my bed, the memory of the night before feeling like a nightmare. But was it true? I had to know. I ate a quick breakfast and walked down Thompson Road towards the house. When I reached it, it was quiet. The wind stirred blowing leaves all over the lawn, but Mr. Thompson was nowhere in sight. I stuck my hands in my pockets discovering the rusty key from my memory. Realizing I had not dreamed it entirely I made my way to the shed As I vaguely remembered his final words telling me to look before I fled. Inside the shed were tools and garden supplies typical of a gardener’s shed. On top of one of the barrels was a small leather book. Engraved on the cover was J.T., No doubt his initials. This was no doubt what he asked me to find.
I dared not enter the house again and instead grabbed a prybar and small flashlight from the shed. Ripping off the boards from the parlor window I managed to open the window a bit and stuck my flashlight in and look around. Everything looked the same, as if nothing had happened the night before with the exception of when my flashlight hit the wall of pictures, I saw Mr. Thompson looking back at me hauntingly. I ran back home and threw the book and keys in my dresser. To this day I still haven’t looked at them. I’m not sure I do.

A 22May24 article (https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/how-vaccinate-world-during-next-flu-pandemic )
"There's a reasonably significant outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in US cattle.. There's also no current evidence of significant cow-to-human transmission, although testing is limited. And there's no current evidence of human-to-human transmission."
"H5N1 is also not something the human population has been exposed to before, so we don't have pre-existing immunity. This means we are likely to need two doses of a traditional vaccine to get a decent immune response."
"H5N1 isn't something human populations have really been exposed to before, and at least with tests involving traditional vaccines, it takes a lot of vaccine to get a decent immune response. mRNA vaccines are already pretty reactogenic; they are associated with a bunch of mild, but common side effects. So, we don't know how mRNA will fare if big doses are needed."
..................
I posted an article on H5N1_AvianFlu which possibly might be of interest
https://new.reddit.com/H5N1_AvianFlu/comments/1d5kn05/the_chicken_and_egg_problem_of_fighting_anothe
As things stand, when it comes to flu vaccines there are 3 approaches (utilizing eggs, cell lines & mRNA) with pros & cons to them all.
The article I referenced was interesting, however I reckon the comments were probably more so. I'm very much lacking in scientific/medical knowledge, however cell line vaccines certainly appear to be the leading technology, with one knowledgeable poster (it's not me!!) making many excellent points.
All in all...... Assuming Moderna's mRNA gets a good immune response with the side effects not being too large (re the top article), I think there will be a place at the table for them.
..................................
Moderna's 31May24 Berstein webcast (https://investors.modernatx.com/events-and-presentations/events/default.aspx), Bancel talks about bird flu from @33.30-39.00. Taking a copy/paste from the transcript & then deleting bits..
​
"So let me talk about the virus for a minute. As you know, the medical and public health leaders have been worried for the 28 years I’ve been in infectious disease about avian flu... And so we, at Moderna started to be worried the first half of 2023 because we had to see in so many countries, in so many mammals species, including wild animals, farm animals, the H5 strain circulating everywhere. And as we know and for all of those that have spent whole carriers in infectious disease that people that are close to animals get infected. And I’m not worried in terms of avian flu that people are directly working close to animals getting infected like what is being reported like in the eye or whatever. I’m not worried about that. What I’m worried a lot about right now, and I have no data is do somebody working close to animals who is immunocompromised because they have HIV because they have cancer because they have some type of diseases has been growing the virus in their body, having a chance – the virus having a chance to mutate.. And the day I’m going to start to worry is if there are cases of somebody not working on the farm reporting flu like symptom of coughing and of fever because it would have come from a human-to-human transmission..
So because of the animal situation that I described, last year, in the first half, we decided with the team that it was wise to get an H5 vaccine into the clinic. We started a large Phase I/II study that has been since then on clinicaltrials.gov, nobody looked at it, we didn’t advertise it because there was no need to worry anybody for it. We were in a large Phase I/II study where we are looking at those because humans would be naive to a virus, so it is not surprising, you needed a higher dose than a seasonal flu booster, which as we know, we have Phase III data on, much higher dose. And so we need to figure out what is that dose with our mRNA platform, which is the goal of a Phase I. And with the Phase II inside the Phase I by giving a big enough [ n ] to participants for every dose, so that’s why we have enough safety database moves right into a Phase III, which we have done many times now with our platform..
because it’s flu the FDA believes that there is surrogate points for approval, which is the level of antibodies. That’s what they use every year. So the Phase III will be much shorter, basically 29 days post dosing. The study will be smaller. So could I see a 3 [month] Phase III studies start to finish, I do. So they’ve been reported and in HHS I made some comments that they’re in discussions with us. We potentially work together for a Phase III study of H5. That study, as I said, could be completed in as short as 3 months. So if we were to start it sooner, when we get the dose from Phase I/II, you could see the study completed late summeearly fall..
And so but now it’s very different. We have massive scale. We have a plant in Canada that I visited 2 months ago that is almost ready, we have a plant in the U.K. that is being built, we have plant in Australia. So we have big difference, it is not only in the how quickly we can get H5 vaccine approved by FDA, maybe a few months from start of problems versus a year, which was already amazing..
So now we could literally make 20 million doses in a month. So if you think about a few months, as you do your Phase III — indiscernible — risk if the government want to stop stockpiling. You could have 2 dose for every American by the time you launch your product, but a few months after you start to have first cases of trouble the thing about the world could look so different, we’ll be talking about an April launch of a vaccine, if I go back to the 2020 time line that we are all too familiar with, we have doses for everybody. We look quite different."

Record temperatures, starvation, zombie fires, Ukraine’s exhaustion, and bird flu mutations. ‘Tis the season—of Doom.
Last Week in Collapse: May 26-June 1, 2024
This is Last Week in Collapse, a weekly newsletter compiling some of the most important, timely, useful, soul-crushing, ironic, stunning, exhausting, or otherwise must-see/can’t-look-away moments in Collapse.
This is the 127th newsletter. You can find the May 19-25 edition here if you missed it last week. You can also receive these posts (with images) every Sunday in your email inbox with Substack.
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Cyclone Remal, which has killed 50+ people between India & Bangladesh, was one of the longest-lasting cyclones (36+ hours) to lash Bangladesh. 20M+ people were also left without electricity. Delhi broke its all-time temperature record last week, with 50.5 °C (123 °F). A state of emergency was declared, and 14+ people died in India from the heat so far.
A series of freak lightning strikes in Colorado killed one human and 34 cattle. Meteorologists were already looking at a few potential hurricanes days before the record season was expected to begin (1 June to 30 November).
Brazil’s savannah has suffered deforestation worse than much of the Amazon—and most of the clearing was done illegally. About 11,000 km2 of the Brazilian savannah was deforested last year (equivalent to the size of Jamaica), an increase of 68% compared to 2022.
A study in Science Direct looked into permafrost melt in Tibet, and concluded that alpine meadows are the most sensitive region to changing temperature patterns. Melting permafrost is more responsive to annual temperatures & wind speeds, while the upper soil levels respond more to month-to-month changes in temperature and precipitation. Another study from Biogeosciences examined the terrible effects of bottom-trawling stirring up carbon from the seafloor.
A small village in central Papua New Guinea was covered by a landslide, reportedly burying over 2,000 inhabitants. Estimates of the dead range from 100 to 670. Data from the U.S. say 2023 was the highest heat mortality year since records began, with 2,300+ Americans perishing. One heat expert said the encroaching heat “seems like it's coming faster….{and} more severe than we expected." The UN claims women are 14x more likely to die in a climate disaster, compared with men—and are affected by other negative effects are a far greater rate.
Record nighttime temperatures across Central America, around 29 °C (84 °F). Hundreds of cities in the American Deep South broke temperature records for spring with temperatures in the 80s °F (27-29 °C). Radical changes to our consumption patterns would be necessary to avert a large-scale catastrophe for our species. And a heat wave in Pakistan brought temperatures of 52 °C (126 °F).
Temperatures in northern Finland surged beyond 27 °C. A number of Saharan nations set new May records for day & night. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe (pop: 17M) is asking for emergency food aid for 9M people through March 2025 after El Niño ruined about 70% of their expected corn harvests. In nearby Zambia, a devastating Drought has resulted in severe hunger for millions of locals, as well as impacting its electrical production (95% of its electricity being hydropower). Scientists are reassessing the baseline temperature used for 1850-1900, and some believe that the pre-industrial temperatures may have actually been a quarter of a degree Celsius cooler than previously believed—meaning that our current global temperatures represent an even larger gain in the past ~150 years.
The COP29 slogan has been revealed ahead of the Azerbaijan climate conference: “In solidarity for a Green World.” The United States is delaying the retirement of coal plants in order to power the massive electrical demand fuelled by AI processing.
A paywalled study from the American Meteorological Study postulates that the January 2022 eruption of a Tonga volcano may have affected the climate of the entire decade, worsening local ozone problems and contributing to a wetter-than-average summer later this year. Another paywalled study from Science reports that human development has resulted in accelerating decomposition rates for organic matter in waterways—releasing carbon into the waters and atmosphere faster than expected.
A new theory has been developed to explain zombie fires and their fearsome spread—spontaneous combustion, triggered by atmospheric warming. Scientists believe that microbes may generate heat up to 80 °C (176 °F), and/or that rapid shifts into heat waves may also activate a heating process that soon combusts.
Mexico City is nearing its doomsday for water. Some 40% of water is allegedly lost through theft and leaky pipes before it even gets to households. Observers believe the “day zero” could come by June 26, and what will happen to the almost 22M people living in the metro area is anyone’s guess. About 60% of its water comes from underground aquifers which have been increasingly exploited and depleted. The rainy season starts at the end of June…but what if it isn’t enough? Meanwhile, South Korea’s groundwater is expected to run out by 2080.
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Brazil’s historic flooding has resulted in a dangerous side effect: the spread of disease, with 54 confirmed cases of leptospirosis and hundreds of others suspected. 169 people were confirmed killed by the flooding, many schools completely flooded,
The American Lung Association released its 2024 State of the Air in late April, and its 161 pages assess the safety of air across the United States. California remains particularly hard hit by ozone & particle pollution. People with asthma, COPD, cardiovascular disease, as well as pregnant women, are at especially high risk from air pollution.

“39% of Americans—131.2 million people—still live in places with failing grades for unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution. This is 11.7 million more people breathing unhealthy air compared to last year’s report….Extreme heat, drought and wildfires are contributing to a steady increase in deadly {particulate matter} pollution, especially in the western U.S….Bakersfield {California} also continued as the metropolitan area with the worst level of year-round particle pollution for the 5th year in a row. Los Angeles remains the city with the worst ozone pollution in the nation….

Bird flu has recently spread across dairy farms, but experts say this is only “the tip of the iceberg.” Seals, sea lions, pigs, and other creatures are worryingly infected, too. Now alpacas at an American farm have tested positive for H5N1, in addition to feral cats in New Mexico. An experiment done by feeding infected raw milk to mice found that they exhibited the signs of avian flu and tested positive for high levels of the virus. An egg farm in Iowa is culling 4.2M hens after a number of birds tested positive. The strain of bird flu in a recent case of a Michigan man found slight mutations “associated with viral adaptation to mammalian hosts.” At least scientists are optimistic regarding new mRNA vaccines under development & testing.
A study from China about microplastics found the tiny particles in blood clots in human hearts and brains, elevating the risk of stroke or heart attacks. Chile’s Atacama Desert has become a dumping ground for clothes of the world. And about a third of Americans know someone who died from a drug overdose.
A look into major corporate carbon offsets found that a great deal of their offsets are worthless junk offsets. A 36-page report on Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCMs) in 2024 claims that the overall market actually declined for two years in a row, and the sum paid for each ton of CO2 was down from 2022.
A study on Long COVID effects over the course of three years found that some effects fade over time—and others may persist. Airways and the nervous system appear particularly impacted. “Altogether, our findings show reduction of risks over time, but the burden of mortality and health loss remains in the third year among hospitalized individuals,” the study concludes. Meanwhile, forecasters predict AI will impact the job market as much as COVID did.
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Myanmar’s border with Thailand is becoming a more active warzone, as rebels, and junta forces, contend for territory. Thousands of people have fled across the Thai border.
A 69-page annual report on violence to local officials across the world came out two weeks ago, pointing to Myanmar, India, and Mexico as particularly dangerous sites for political violence. France saw a particularly high spike from 2022 (1,170%, according to the report), though Latin America & the Caribbean was the only region where overall attacks increased.
Sudan’s government made a deal with Russia: Sudanese soldiers receive weapons in exchange for allowing Russia to build a “military fueling station” on the Red Sea. The “noose of War” is tightening around El Fasher, in Darfur, where humanitarian facilities have been attacked and militants are trying to block exiting humans. If the RSF take full control of the embattled city, observers fear large-scale ethnic reprisals unto civilians. Egypt is trying to broker a peace but many armed groups currently prefer the contest of arms.
Across the world, particularly in Europe, spying is surging. Observers warn about the theft of secrets, particularly from Russia & China—and all countries are trying to crack down. A number of Russian sleeper cells are also allegedly coming online, part of a wider effort to add political, economic, and psychological friction to Western nations.
Ukraine is reaching a crisis point in its War. Russia is outproducing weapons, and sourcing others from its allies, and leveraging its greater manpower to grind Ukraine’s army down. Another 300,000 soldiers are expected to take the field for Russia during their coming summer offensive. Russia even raised income taxes on its wealthier population to fund the War. It is not economically viable for the West to shoot down every Russian missile, and a serious manpower shortage has left the front lines stretched, demoralized, and exhausted.
A staredown between Putin and European/American leaders is emerging after a number of leaders have granted Ukraine permission to strike targets within Russia. Putin’s forces launched another strike in Kharkiv, killing three; Ukraine reported large numbers of Russian soldiers taken out in the same day, if you believe it.
Thousands protested in Armenia, demanding the resignation of the PM who conceded territory to Azerbaijan. Thousands protested on Spanish islands over opposition to unsustainable mass tourism. North Korea’s latest attempt to launch a military satellite failed when it exploded in the air. Burkina Faso extended its junta rule by 5 years, against earlier declarations to hold elections this July.
Though Israel’s population still demands the total destruction of Hamas, a majority also believe the War has become unwinnable. Divisions within the country have become bolder over controversies about the warwaging. A strike on a tent camp killed at least 37 people, but did not impact the resolve of PM Netanyahu to continue the War.
Shooting between Israel and Egypt killed one Egyptian soldier. Houthi attacks in the Red Sea continue, even against ships bringing cargo to Iran; US/UK retaliations continue. Aid being brought to Gaza’s new floating pier will be delayed after the pier was damaged as a result of extreme weather. People are beginning to die of starvation in Gaza. One of Israel’s presidential aides claimed that the War could last through the end of the year.
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Things to watch for next week include:
↠ EU member states vote for the EU Parliament starting on 6 June, and polls indicate fairly small gains for conservatives across the continent. The most important issues appear to be the Ukraine War, the economy, migration/asylum, and climate change. Voting ends on 9 June.
↠ Mexico votes today for its new President, who will take office in September. At least 20 candidates have been killed this election season, Mexico’s deadliest. Hundreds of others were subjected to threats. Meanwhile, India’s PM is expected to win another term as President; results will be announced on Tuesday.
Select comments/threads from the subreddit last week suggest:
-It’s gonna get really, really bad, if this thread, a cross-post of a thread in climatechange is to be believed. This resourced comment lays out a beginner’s guide to our carbon emissions catastrophe.
-The Thwaites is toast—judging by this temperature anomaly comment by u/FYATWB on an article about the rapidly melting Antarctic glacier. “When it collapses, it could raise oceans worldwide by 65 centimeters, or just over 2 feet.”
-Central Germany is suffering from inflation, stronger storms, a Collapsing animal population, and a desperate surge in elder care, according to this weekly observation. And the insects are vanishing, leaving behind a quiet, dying land.
-Tough times have come to China if this rare weekly observation from inside China is to believed. Economic difficulties, discrimination, rumors of WWIII, heat waves, rising police activity, and increasing food prices.
Got any feedback, questions, comments, complaints, upvotes, hate mail, free COVID tests, doomy geocaches, drought-resistant seeds, etc.? Check out the Last Week in Collapse SubStack if you don’t want to check collapse every Sunday, you can receive this newsletter sent to your (or someone else’s) email inbox every weekend. What did I forget this week?

Having luscious hair and strong, healthy nails is not only a sign of beauty but also an indicator of overall well-being. While genetics play a significant role in the condition of your hair and nails, the right vitamins and minerals can contribute to their vitality. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore the essential nutrients that support hair and nail health, the role they play, and how you can incorporate them into your diet for optimal results.
Understanding Hair and Nail Structure
Before delving into the specific nutrients, it's crucial to understand the structure of hair and nails.
Hair Structure:
Hair is composed of a protein called keratin, which forms the hair shaft. The hair follicle, located in the skin, produces hair through a process of cell division and keratinization. Hair health is influenced by factors such as blood circulation, hormonal balance, and nutrient availability.
Nail Structure:
Nails are also primarily made of keratin, and their health is closely linked to the health of the nail matrix, the tissue under the nail that produces new cells. Proper blood flow, hydration, and nutrient supply are essential for strong and healthy nails.

Essential Nutrients for Hair and Nail Health
1. Biotin (Vitamin B7):
Biotin is often referred to as the "hair and nail vitamin" for its role in promoting keratin structure. It supports the production of fatty acids that can nourish hair follicles and improve the infrastructure of the hair shaft.
2. Vitamin E:
Vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps protect hair and nails from oxidative stress. It promotes blood circulation, ensuring that the hair follicles receive adequate oxygen and nutrients for optimal growth.
3. Vitamin A:
Vitamin A is crucial for the production of sebum, an oily substance that moisturizes the scalp and keeps hair healthy. It also plays a role in the development of keratinocytes, the cells that make up the hair shaft .
4. Vitamin D:
Vitamin D is involved in the hair growth cycle and can help prevent hair loss. It also plays a role in maintaining the health of the hair follicles.
5. Vitamin C:
Vitamin C is essential for collagen production, a protein that supports the structure of hair and nails. It also aids in the absorption of non-heme iron, which is crucial for preventing hair loss due to iron deficiency.
6. Iron:
Iron is vital for the proper growth of hair cells. Iron deficiency can lead to hair shedding and slow the growth of both hair and nails.
7. Zinc:
Zinc supports the health of the hair follicles and helps prevent hair loss. It also plays a role in maintaining the integrity of the nail matrix.
8. Omega-3 Fatty Acids:
Omega-3 fatty acids contribute to scalp health, promoting hair density and thickness. They also moisturize the nails, preventing them from becoming brittle and prone to breakage.
Incorporating Nutrients into Your Diet
1. Biotin-Rich Foods:
Include biotin-rich foods such as eggs, nuts, seeds, and sweet potatoes in your diet. These foods provide the necessary building blocks for strong hair and nails .
2. Vitamin E Sources:
Incorporate vitamin E-rich foods like almonds, sunflower seeds, spinach, and avocados. These foods can contribute to antioxidant protection and promote blood circulation .
3. Vitamin A-Rich Foods:
Consume foods high in vitamin A, such as sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, and kale. These foods support sebum production and contribute to vibrant hair and nails .
4. Vitamin D Sources:
Get vitamin D from sunlight exposure, fatty fish (e.g., salmon, mackerel), and fortified foods. Sunlight is a natural source of vitamin D and is crucial for overall health .
5. Vitamin C-Rich Foods:
Include vitamin C-rich foods like citrus fruits, strawberries, bell peppers, and broccoli in your diet. These foods support collagen production and enhance iron absorption .
6. Iron-Rich Foods:
Incorporate iron-rich foods such as lean meats, beans, lentils, and leafy green vegetables. Combining these with vitamin C-rich foods enhances iron absorption .
7. Zinc Sources:
Get zinc from foods like meat, dairy products, nuts, and seeds. These foods support the health of hair follicles and the nail matrix .
8. Omega-3 Fatty Acid Foods:
Include fatty fish (e.g., salmon, mackerel), flaxseeds, chia seeds, and walnuts in your diet to ensure an adequate intake of omega-3 fatty acids .
Dietary Considerations for Hair and Nail Health
1. Hydration:
Stay hydrated to maintain the moisture balance in both your hair and nails. Dehydration can lead to brittle nails and dry, frizzy hair.
2. Protein Intake:
Ensure an adequate intake of protein, as hair and nails are primarily made of protein. Include sources such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and plant-based proteins like beans and legumes .
3. Avoid Excessive Heat and Chemicals:
Limit the use of heated styling tools and exposure to harsh chemicals, as these can damage hair and nails. Opt for protective hairstyles and gentle nail care routines.
4. Manage Stress:
Chronic stress can contribute to hair loss and nail problems. Practice stress management techniques such as meditation, yoga, or deep breathing to promote overall well-being .
Conclusion
Achieving and maintaining healthy hair and nails involves a combination of proper care, a balanced diet, and attention to essential nutrients. By incorporating a variety of nutrient-rich foods into your diet and adopting healthy lifestyle practices, you can support the structure and vitality of your hair and nails. Remember, consistency is key, and the benefits of a nutrient-rich diet will reflect not only in your appearance but also in your overall health and well-being.

At first, Joann Fouquette’s son, Ezra, was hitting all the milestones. It’s what every new mom hopes for: a happy, healthy baby.
But around 17 months, things started to change. He stopped speaking. He started covering his ears and hitting his head on the floor like something was bothering him.
Fouquette remembers her mom telling her, “I think we need to get him tested. There’s something definitely going on there.”
Five months later, in 2012, Ezra was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
“It’s devastating,” she told CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. “I’ve heard people compare it to like losing a child. You lose the idea of the child that you were gonna have, the life that you were gonna have, the life that he’s gonna have.”
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects 1 in 44 children in the United States, according to the CDC. It begins early in life, and the core symptoms are social and communication issues as well as repetitive behaviors and rigidity.
Children and adults with autism tend to have difficulties with verbal and nonverbal communication and social interactions, depending on the severity.
“These are people who have difficulty communicating – in particular socially. They may speak very well, but they can’t carry on a conversation. Then you have the opposite end of the spectrum, where you have children and adults who are entirely nonverbal,” said Dr. Doris Trauner, a pediatric neurologist and distinguished professor of neurosciences and pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego.
“They have a certain routine. They like to do things over and over again,” she told Gupta. “They have repetitive behaviors, the most typical of which are things like hand-flapping or spinning in circles.”
But autism can also lead to more troubling issues like severe disruptive behavior and self-harm.
“Aggression and self-injurious behaviors are unfortunately very common, especially in children with severe autism,” Trauner said. “Anything from repetitively banging their head against a wall to hitting their head with their hands to pinching themselves or biting their hands.”
Behavioral therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy can help, but there are no US Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments for the core symptoms of autism.
There are two FDA-approved antipsychotic medications, used to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, that are approved to treat children with autism, but only if they show severe aggression or self-injury.
“These medicines are effective for those symptoms but unfortunately are associated with significant side effects,” said Dr. Eric Hollander, director of the Autism and Obsessive Compulsive Spectrum Program at Montefiore Health System in New York. “It can predispose them to the development of things like diabetes or cardiovascular-type problems.”
“There’s an important need to develop new treatments, both to treat the core symptoms of autism … and to have less of a side effect burden,” he added.

Searching for answers

When it came to her son Ezra, Fouquette tried everything she could think of to help him.
“We tried gluten-free, casein-free, dairy-free. We’ve tried homeopathic remedies. We’ve tried every therapy out there,” she told Gupta.
But she didn’t want to give him psychotropic drugs when he started becoming more aggressive.
“I didn’t want to try any of those just because there were so many side effects,” she said. “But, at one point, I had a lot of bruises on me because he was getting more violent.”
Fouquette was desperate to find help. That’s when she saw a story on the local news about a clinical trial involving children with autism and CBD, the non-psychoactive part of the cannabis plant, at the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at UC-San Diego.
“He was 9 then,” she said. “What am I gonna do in the future as he continues to grow if I’m already having a hard time with his aggression now?”
Fouquette had no hesitations when it came to trying medical cannabis for her son.
“I’ve seen CBD used for kids with epilepsy,” she said. “I saw how much it helped other people, and I thought, ‘it’s all-natural. There may not be any real side effects with it. Why not try it?’ “
So she enrolled Ezra in the clinical trial.

Medical cannabis, autism and the brain

Trauner is the lead researcher for the UCSD trial, a double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study, which means the participants don’t know when they are receiving the placebo or the medicine, and neither do the doctors. Researchers are examining how CBD could affect the brains of children with autism.
“We know that in autism, there are some differences in brain chemistry. There are some changes in neurotransmitter systems, both in the dopamine system and in the serotonin system, that may contribute to some of the symptoms,” she told Gupta.
Serotonin and dopamine are neurotransmitters that carry signals, or information, from one nerve cell to another. Serotonin is thought to regulate mood and has a big effect on early brain development. Dopamine can reinforce behavior when we receive a reward.
Several studies have shown that dopamine levels that are either too low or too high in children with autism can cause certain areas of the brain to malfunction, resulting in high levels of repetitive behaviors and reduced levels of social interaction, Trauner said.
In animal models studying autism, serotonin levels in the brain may be lower than expected, and adding serotonin improves social functioning in mice, she said.
“And CBD, among many other things, does have effects on the serotonin system with increasing the availability of serotonin,” she added. “And that may be helping in terms of social interactions in particular.”
Across the country in New York, a similar trial, involving children and adolescents with autism and the cannabinoid cannabidivarin (CBDV), is also underway at Montefiore Health System.
“We know that autism is a developmental disorder that begins early on as the brain is being shaped,” said Hollander, the lead researcher on this double-blind placebo-controlled study.
“I think CBDV can play an important role in autism,” he said. “It can decrease excitation in neurons and increase inhibition.”
When children with autism are too excited or don’t have enough inhibition, it can lead to explosive behaviors, temper tantrums, rage or self-injury, and they can display repetitive behaviors, Hollander said.
“So it changes the ratio of excitation to inhibition in different neurons,” he said.
While both studies are still ongoing and the blinds have not been broken, early feedback has been positive.
“Some of the patients have had a really substantial benefit,” Hollander said. “We’ve seen what we had hoped, which was a significant decrease in the irritability symptoms, temper tantrums or explosive episodes. We have had patients who have had improvement in their repetitive behaviors, as well.”
In California, similar reports have come in from parents.
“We’re seeing some pretty impressive changes,” Trauner said. “Children whose aggressive behavior was daily, it’s gone away. I mean, gone away. … Children whose self-injurious behavior is better, and they’re to the point where the calluses on their wrists are starting to heal,” she said. “A lot of the kids are more social.”
But Trauner cautions that more research needs to be done.
“It’s too soon to get excited about it. I think there’s some reason for hope, but it’s not a good idea to run out and buy it and just try to use it on your own,” she said.
“There are several reasons for that. One is that it can be toxic. It can cause liver dysfunction,” she added. “It’s also not clear what dose is the best dose if it does work, and whether what you’re buying really has what you think it does, because it’s unregulated.”

‘I’m getting my boy back’

During the trial, Fouquette’s son Ezra received the placebo at one point and CBD at one point, but Fouquette and the doctors still don’t know when he was getting it.
Ezra was mostly nonverbal going into the trial, she said. But in the first few weeks, something remarkable happened.
“One day, I was at the grocery store, and my husband sent me a video. And it’s Ezra laying on the floor wrapped in a blanket, and he’s singing,” she said. “He had never sung before … and he’s singing the entire song.”
Fouquette told Gupta what was going through her mind at the time. “I’m getting my baby back. I’m getting my boy back,” she said, fighting back tears.
“I’m able to communicate with him. He’s talking to me. He’s happy. He’s not aggressive anymore. He’s singing,” she said. “What more could I ask for?”
Since Ezra finished the study a year ago, he has not shown any aggression and has continued to communicate.
“He has had no regression whatsoever,” she said. “It helped him … whatever is going on in his brain, make those connections that he needed to make. And once those connections were made, he never lost them.”
It’s not clear what role the treatment may have played in Ezra’s progress. The study hasn’t been published, and it wasn’t looking at whether cannabis or CBD could be neuroregenerative to the brain. More research is needed in this area.
“Some of the kids who’ve shown an effect … show it for several weeks after the study drug is taken away. And some seem to maintain some improvement,” Trauner said. “But I don’t know why that would be.”
Regardless of why it happened for Ezra, who is now 11, Fouquette is grateful.
“I don’t think it’s a cure. It gave him an ability to speak. It gave him an ability to communicate more. I think that’s why the aggression left,” she said. “It’s just going to make it easier for him – easier for him to live, easier for him to be himself.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/12/19/health/autism-medical-marijuana-cbd-weed-documentary/index.html

First Previous Patreon Royal Road is up to chapter 30! Next
“Crap indeed” Mark said with yet another sigh
Noah looked at his cousin add one more sigh to the tally today when he got an idea “Wait can’t I just…” He activated his skill [Water Manipulation] and immediately conjured a waterball roughly 18cm in diameter, he then, like with the fireball, willed more mana into the spell but he noticed that this time, it was significantly easier and less mana-greedy than the fireball spell.
**You have acquired the spell [Waterball]**
And just like that he got the spell, he checked his total mana and sure enough it only shaved off five points. What’s more is that, the waterball was actually big enough to fill a small bucket up to the brim. “Looks like 5 mana is the minimum for these ball spells and yet they differ in volume, I wonder why.” Noah wondered for a second before noticing that he was actually burning through mana while the spell was idle, it was a small, almost negligible amount of mana but it was noteworthy nonetheless. “Hey Mark! I think I just solved our water problem!” Noah called out to his cousin from outside the bathroom “Open the door and grab a bucket!”
“Okay!” Mark opened the door with a bucket in hand and marveled at the bucket sized waterball floating in midair.
“Cool huh? Anyway, put the bucket on the floor. I’m not really sure if I can aim right yet” Noah slowly floated the ball over to the bucket which took well over 30 seconds and finally cut the mana flow to the spell, the waterball abruptly dropped into the bucket which caused a splash and still ended up soaking Mark “Oops…” Noah said with a wry smile
“Well, I was going to wash up anyway” Mark chuckled “With that problem solved, we can finally go on with our lives.”
“Yeah now go and wash up, I’ll get your luggage up here while you do.”
“Okay, thanks.”
After that, Noah and Mark washed up and went to bed hopeful for the new day, one of them at least. The other was on the top bunk busy thinking about what could have been if the apocalypse hadn’t arrived and could only sigh.
The next day, Noah woke up to the light of the sun shining directly on his face “It’s going to be a great day, I just know it.” He sat up in his bed and thought about what he should do while Mark was still asleep ”Hmmm… Now is as good a time as any to tinker with some spells.” And tinker he did.
He first completed the ball spells and then went on to the other basic spell he saw when he was first choosing his class. “Bullets huh, how do I even make a bullet. The obvious element to use would be earth but, with how there were differing mana requirements for the ball spells, I’m guessing it’ll be the same story with the bullet spells”
Noah first tried out earth but found that he couldn’t even make the concrete floor budge. “Is it because it’s concrete and not technically earth? Maybe I need more levels in [Earth Manipulation]?... At any rate, guess earth is gonna have to wait till we go outside or at least find a potted plant somewhere in the building.” Noah put earth aside for now and tried out [Air Manipulation]. He first started out with the simple airball spell but this time, tried to condense it into the shape of a bullet which was easier said than done. He was 5 minutes in to trying to condense the air when he got the idea to toggle his innate skill [Mana Sense] on and closed his eyes so that he could focus without any visual stimuli to distract him. This went on for 3 more minutes when…
**You have acquired the spell [Air Bullet]**
Noah did a fist pump but, because of that he lost control of the spell and the air bullet launched off into the wall opposite to him and made a loud “TACK” sound as it impacted the wall.
“WHERE IS IT. WHERE IS IT.” Mark said as he fell from the top bunk and was abruptly woken from his sleep.
“Uhhh, sorry about that. I lost control of a spell because of a notification and well, dented that wall over there.” Noah said shyly
“So there’s no monster?” Mark asked still quite in doubt
“Nope, just me playing around with spells.” Noah said as he grinned
Mark sighed in relief and sat down beside Noah “So, what’s on our agenda today oh captain my captain?” he said “Oh, and may I remind you that even though there was supposed to be a convenience store on the first floor, it wasn’t stocked yet since there weren’t any tenants to sell to yet so we don’t really have any food right now.”
“Food it is then!” Noah said while rubbing his hands “I needed some target practice for my spells anyway”
With that, Noah and Mark went down nine flights of stairs to the ground floor, they were a little winded but fortunately neither of them was that out of shape and unbeknownst to them, they were already more than humans. With mana suffusing the world, from the air they breathed, down to the very ground they walked on, their bodies were gradually, cell by cell, atom by atom, adapting to mana and making what was once a daunting task like, going down nine flights of stairs become nothing but a light sweat.
As they approached the main entrance to the building they noticed that there were scratch marks on the glass doors “I’m not exactly sure how sharp something needs to be to scratch tempered glass but it was definitely the right idea to sleep on the top floor” Mark said with a grim expression on his face.
“Yeah, imagine if those beasts caught a whiff of our sent. Glass doors probably won’t protect us for long against beasts that have leveled up a few times.” Noah replied with a bit of gloom in his voice.
“We need to level up too if we don’t want to fall behind and die.” Mark said with conviction and resolutely stepped forward to open the doors.
“Wait” Noah stopped his cousin and said “I’ll go first, since we don’t have a melee fighter with us, me going first is the next best thing besides, you know what they say, the best offense is sometimes the best defense.”
“You’ve got that backwards but I get what you’re saying, I’ll stay in the back and heal you in case you get injured.” Mark smiled and patted his chest “Leave the healing to me, you go get injured”
Noah just smirked at that last bit and continued on outside into the parking lot. As he looked and examined his surroundings, he saw nothing of note and called out “Coast is clear so far.” Mark came running and they both started heading cautiously in the direction of the surrounding forest.
A few minutes later they finally happened upon some fairly obvious tracks, they were deep and a fair bit of distance away from each other so they deduced that it was big and heavy. They followed the trail for a few more minutes until they heard some deep grunts coming from a few meters ahead of them. Noah stopped marching forward and crouched behind a tree.
They peeked around it and saw two massive boars butting heads while another smaller boar stood off to the side with its head held high as if it wasn’t involved in the fight when it was obviously the prize that the two male boars were fighting for. “I don’t think we’ll be able to take them all on” said Mark in a worried tone.
“You’re probably right, let’s go look for something else, something much smaller to start with.” Noah sighed and turned his back on the boars. Although he felt that it was a waste to just leave such premium meat behind, the fact of the matter is that those boars would probably be the ones eating today if they hadn’t retreated.
So, with heavy hearts, they trudged on and tried to find easier prey that could fill their empty stomachs until two hours later when they finally found some food in the form of a berry bush but, before Noah could pick one and put it in his mouth, he remembered that some berries were poisonous. “How could I forget!” he focused on the dark purple berry in his hands and said “Analyze!”
Berry
“Uhhh, I guess a lvl 1 skill can’t give me much information” then, in a bid to imitate what he did with his spells, he willed more mana into the skill until 15 whole points were burned away which left him a little lightheaded.
Elderberry
“Hey Mark, you used to be a boy scout right? Any idea if an Elderberry is edible or not?”
“I was barely one but sure I’ve heard of them, should be good to eat without any problems.” Mark said with a hint of recognition.
With that, he popped the berry in his mouth and savored the flavor, it was a bit bitter but beggars couldn’t be choosers. He and Mark ate their fill and picked the bush clean while using their shirts as makeshift containers for the berries. As they were walking back to the apartment building something occurred to Mark “Hey Noah, just a thought, can’t you theoretically put all these berries in that planet of yours? Maybe you could even plant some seeds?”
Noah abruptly stopped “Mark you are a genius! I was so busy tinkering with my spells that I completely disregarded everything else. I really need to do better, we need to use everything at our disposal in order to survive, like that analyze spell earlier. I should be using it on everything so that I can level it up, speaking of…” Noah focused on his cousin and said “Analyze”
Human - lvl 1
“What does it say?” Mark asked curiously
“It just says that you’re a lvl 1 human, nothing we didn’t know before. But I can imagine where this skill is heading, maybe some time in the near future I can look at the statuses of beasts and people alike without their knowledge.
“Yup and that would both help us choose prey and help is deal with strangers, anyway let’s get back to hunting, I still haven’t seen you get beat up by some lvl 5 rabbit yet” Mark teased as he watched the berries disappear into the little blue marble.
“Yeah, yeah, now let’s go kill some shit!” Noah did a fist pump and said excitedly
They walked on, further into the forest for close to an hour when they heard the sound of a stick breaking and suddenly, a massive figure came charging towards them. Noah immediately used “Analyze” and quickly shouted “Get out of the way!”
Boar – lvl 3
“SHIT SHIT SHIT, do something Noah!” Mark hurriedly got out of the way and said helplessly as he could only heal and not really do any damage, at least not yet.
“FIREBALL” Noah threw a fire ball at the boar that just skidded to a stop after its charge, successfully lighting its fur on fire but, that didn’t stop the beast as it turned around and prepared for another charge. Noah switched over to his most damaging spell [Air Bullet] since fireball just made it mad and waited. He only had two shots of the spell before he ran out of mana so he had to make it count so, he got the bright idea to use himself as bait.
He moved around as much as possible in order to keep the boar’s attention on him and it worked. The boar charged at him while he prepared an [Air Bullet] and once the beast was close enough that he was sure he wouldn’t miss, he fired and aimed for the space between its eyes, his goal was to knock the beast out and it worked! But Noah didn’t completely get away in time and the boar fucked his foot up, he could’ve sworn that he felt the bone crack.
“GOD FUCKING DAMNIT THAT HURTS” Noah screamed in pain
Mark hurriedly tried to heal his cousin but Noah stopped him and said “I’m okay, ugh, just get a rock and smash its brains in until you get the notification”
“Are you sure?” Mark said in askance
“Yes! We don’t know how long it’ll be knocked out so this is our chance.” Noah said while hissing through the pain
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Mark looked for a big enough rock for a minute and proceeded to smash the boar’s head in three times, six times, and finally on the tenth time he got the kill notification along with another one right below it.
**You have leveled up! You have six status points to spend!**

Hello,
I need help with part of my code.
Yes, I am a newb to this so if you can make it more efficient please do so.
This issue I am having is adding HEX numbers together.
First, lets set up the scenario
The code I am trying to execute should only go off 2 time (done)
The code should go through the For....Next loop 320 times the first time (done)
And it should add the HEX (not done correctly by my math - heck the first one is wrong it's adding 2 bytes when it should add 0 and just display the original).
The 2nd one should be 2 bytes later. The 3rd on 4 bytes later, etc.
Here's the complete code for the Sub. (Look for 'THIS IS THE SECTION I NEED HELP WITH for the section I need help with)

Private Sub CreateTheTextFile() Dim sh As Worksheet Dim Rw As Integer Dim ColB As Integer Dim ColC As Integer Dim ColD As Integer Dim MyText As String Dim intID1 As Integer Dim intID2 As Integer Dim intPos1 As Integer Dim intPos2 As Integer Dim Slots As String Dim Bytes As String Dim MyText2 As String Dim intC As Integer Dim StartAddy As String Set sh = ActiveSheet Rw = 0 ColB = sh.Columns("B").Column ColC = ColB + 1 ColD = ColC + 1 MyText = "" intID1 = 0 intID2 = 0 intPos1 = 0 intPos2 = 0 Slots = "" Bytes = "" MyText2 = "" intC = 0 StartAddy = "" For Rw = 2 To 1000 If sh.Cells(Rw, ColD).Value <> "Array of byte" _ And sh.Cells(Rw, ColB).Value <> "" Then MyText = MyText & _ " " & intID1 & "" & vbNewLine & _ " " & CStr(sh.Cells(Rw, ColB).Value) & "" & vbNewLine & _ " " & CStr(sh.Cells(Rw, ColD).Value) & "" & vbNewLine & _ " 
+" & CStr(sh.Cells(Rw, ColC).Value) & "
" & vbNewLine intID1 = intID1 + 1 ElseIf sh.Cells(Rw, ColD).Value = "Array of byte" _ And sh.Cells(Rw, ColB).Value <> "" Then 'THIS IS THE SECTION I NEED HELP WITH 'THIS IS THE SECTION I NEED HELP WITH 'THIS IS THE SECTION I NEED HELP WITH 'THIS IS THE SECTION I NEED HELP WITH intPos1 = InStr(sh.Cells(Rw, ColB).Value, " slots") intPos2 = InStr(sh.Cells(Rw, ColB).Value, " byte") If intPos1 > 0 And intPos2 > 0 Then Slots = Mid(sh.Cells(Rw, ColB).Value, intPos1 - 3, 3) If Not IsNumeric(Slots) Then Slots = Mid(sh.Cells(Rw, ColB).Value, intPos1 - 2, 2) If Not IsNumeric(Slots) Then Slots = Mid(sh.Cells(Rw, ColB).Value, intPos1 - 1, 1) Bytes = Mid(sh.Cells(Rw, ColB).Value, intPos2 - 1, 1) StartAddy = "&H" & CStr(sh.Cells(Rw, ColC).Value) For intC = 0 To (CInt(Slots) - 1) MyText2 = MyText2 & _ " " & intC & "" & vbNewLine & _ " Item Slot " & (intC + 1) & "" & vbNewLine & _ " Array of Byte" & vbNewLine & _ " 
+" & Hex(CDec(StartAddy) + CDec("&H" & (Bytes * (intC + 1)))) & "
" & vbNewLine intID2 = intID2 + 1 Next End If Else 'Do Nothing End If Next Rw Set sh = Nothing WriteItToTheFile MyText, MyText2 End Sub 

Under terms of the $22 million contract, awarded by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), CSL Seqirus will complete the fill-and-finish process for about 4.8 million doses of pre-pandemic vaccine that is well-matched to H5N1, the currently circulating strain of bird flu virus.
“We have started the manufacturing process and will complete the work throughout the summer,” Jon Kegerise, vice president of manufacturing and Holly Springs site head, told the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. “We are bringing on some additional contract workers to support both our seasonal influenza vaccine production as well as this award from the U.S. government.”
Snip
CSL Seqirus’ manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, built through a long-term partnership with BARDA, is the largest cell-based influenza vaccine producer in the world and is the first such facility in the United States. Following a $156 million expansion in 2022 that added a second fill-finish line and warehouse space, the facility encompasses almost half a million square feet of space – larger than eight football fields – and supports about 1,000 jobs.
The plant uses a highly scalable method of production and is currently positioned to deliver up to 150 million influenza vaccine doses to support an influenza pandemic response within six months of a pandemic declaration. A second wave of manufacturing could be enabled to provide further pandemic vaccine as needed.
In addition, seasonal vaccine manufacturing provides an essential “warm base” alongside ongoing R&D activity with influenza strains of pandemic potential, component and raw material stockpiles, seed libraries and technological know-how to be pandemic ready and manufacture at scale, according to the company.

I'm talking about finger mail clippings cut up and those dead skin cells you can get from trimming hang nails. I want my plants to have a taste of human

Have you ever thought about snacking on grapes before bed? It might sound unusual, but recent studies suggest that this simple habit could be a key to enhancing sleep quality. Let’s see in more detail how it may be beneficial!
😌 Full of melatonin
Grapes, especially when eaten at night, are not just a healthy snack option but also a potential natural sleep aid, thanks to their melatonin content (1430243-7)). Melatonin, a hormone crucial in regulating our sleep cycles, is naturally present in grapes and helps signal to our body that it's time to wind down and prepare for sleep.
💡Packed with vitamins
Grapes are a versatile and beneficial fruit, offering more than just a good night's sleep. They are packed with nutrients such as vitamin C (8), which is essential for the immune system, and antioxidants that may protect against various diseases (19).
The presence of resveratrol in red grapes is particularly interesting for those concerned with cardiovascular health (20, 25). This compound has been studied for its effects on heart health and its potential to reduce blood pressure. Moreover, the potassium found in grapes supports these cardiovascular benefits by helping manage blood pressure levels.
🍇Red or white — it’s your choice!
One might wonder if there is a specific type of grape that is best for sleep—fortunately, the melatonin content does not vary significantly between different grape colors, so your choice can come down to personal preference. Whether you opt for red, green, or black grapes, incorporating them into your evening routine could help you not only satisfy your late-night snack cravings but also improve the quality of your sleep (28)
😔Doesn’t suit everyone
Individuals with allergies to grapes or sensitivities to salicylates, which are found in many fruits, should avoid them (24). Additionally, eating grapes—or any food—right before bed isn't advisable for everyone, as it can lead to discomfort and disrupt sleep for some (12).
In conclusion, if you're considering adding grapes to your diet, it might be worth trying them out as an evening snack to see if you notice improvements in your sleep patterns. Just remember, the key is moderation, and it's always best to consult with a healthcare provider if you have specific dietary restrictions or health concerns.
Have any of you tried eating grapes or other foods to improve your sleep? Did you notice any changes? Drop a comment below, we wanna know!

Lorelai is helping Babette carry potted plants for the bedroom jungle. Lorelai is ignoring her cell phone and her landline Lorelai finally answers her cell and it's Rory to tell her about Richard's heart attack Rory is sitting in the hospital not hearing her cell phone. It is Lorelai she is trying to find Rory in the hospital. Rory gives her the update on they are running tests to see how much damage the heart attack did but it was definitely a heart attack Lorelai leaves a message for Chris. Rory has a ton of snacks, Lorelai is impressed.but they aren't hungry. They discuss it seems like a bad dream but Lorelai knows it's real because her nightmares she never has shoes. The doctor comes and updates them to see if he will need surgery.
Emily arrives in exercise clothes. She wants to see her husband and snaps at the nurse for her cheery personality. Emily complains about the people that work at the club. It took them forty minutes to find her at the club but she can't keep her cell phone on. She wants to ban grunters. The club bans cell phones but drug deals are going on. Emily is upset that the club doesn't serve fish. Richard agreed to eat fish but not for dinner. Logan arrives to support Rory. He offers to get Emily tea. Emily is pleased that Logan is there and wonders about Christopher. The doctor arrives and the blockage is worse, he needs open heart surgery. Emily asks the surgeon where he went to school. Yale and Harvard so she is satisifed. They all go in to see Richard. He is trying to comfort Emily and Rory. He says he would rather be in Philadelphia. quoting W.C. Fields. Emily and Lorelai fight over a pillow that doesn't have two pillowcases. Richard ends the fight by saying he would rather be in Tucson
Zach is covering for Lane at the diner. Zach talks about how he could do anything with the food he is serving. Babette comes into the diner to tell Luke that Richard had a heart attack. She thought he would want to know. Lorelai is calling Christopher. What makes me mad about this isn't that he doesn't pick up but that he doesn't even listen to the message. Sookie calls Lorelai to find out what she can do. Michel makes some polite comments and then asks about a difficult couple. Lorelai has the answer for him about a rolloaway bed.
Emily is cancelling her dinner reservation. She says that Richard had a last minute business trip. Rory is telling Logan about Paris' plans for lead up to graduation. Logan is avoiding his phone to be present for her.
Luke shows up at the hospital to offer his support. Emily asks Luke to pick up Richard's car and to fill the tank Lorelai tells her she can't make him do that. She offers him money, which he refuses. Emily gets a phone call about fish. Luke is happy to help. Rory says she and Logan can get a check for the fishman. Emily gives him all the instruction for the fish.
Babette calls Lorelai to check in and also find out why the dog won't walk down the stairs. She compares Richard to Sean Connery and Henry Kissinger. Paul Anka is afraid of the steps he needs something to cover them up
Logan is giving the fishman directions and he and the fishman are going to bring back Vaudeville. Logan flew in on a loaned helicopter. Rory wants to be distracted, Logan wants to buy a media platform. Logan wants to do this deal and is willing to back it with his trust fund. Mitchum doesn't like the deal. Logan is impressed that Rory is speaking business. Rory talks about Richard's class. She says next week they are going to be like The Apprentice and realizes that she doesn't know what they will do next week.
Emily is complaing about the hospital food. Then they are talking about overused sayings and cliches. The lawyer calls and she needs to see Richard's will and the living will. Lorelai is horrified. She thinks Emily wants to make sure she got everything and she storms off.
Logan deals with the fishman while Rory found some records for Richard but is having difficulty finding the song with Bing Crosby and his son that Richard sings along with Logan politely laughed at the fishman's COD joke. Rory brought clothes for Emily and backgammon and chess. It is too hard to dress Emily.
Emily follows Lorelai and is asking for her social security number. Lorelai wants to ignore reality. Emily explains that the last time Richard was in the hospital they were unprepared and never want to do that again. Lorelai is upset that Richard could be dying. Emily counters she has been his wife for forty years and she says all the things she does for him and he is her whole life. Lorelai finally gets it and steals tissues for her mother who is crying. She says she will pay for them later.
Lorelai is feeding Emily Milk Duds, they are wondering why they are called Duds. The doctor comes out and lets Emily in to see Richard. She is telling him everything she did that she took care of everything he needed and she bought a ton of fish. Lorelai calls Chris again and is upset that he hasn't called her back. Lorelai does a better job of communicatng what she needs than ever before. Rory and Lorelai visit Richard and play Bing Crosby, Rory tells him the records and book she brought. Lorelai asks if he'd rather be here or Philadelphia. He says New Haven but he is tired and needs to rest.
Lorelai is impressed that Rory is doing so well with Logan. Rory asks if she knows where Chris is, she says no maybe Philadelphia. Luke shows up with a ton of food he made. Lorelai goes over to thank him. She tells him that Richard is doing well. This is the moment Christopher chooses to show up. Chris wants Luke to leave. Lorelai says to Chris I didn't think you were coming. Rory and Emily see him and Rory brings him in to see Richard and Emily tells Lorelai that blood is thicker than water and every cloud has a silver lining.
This is one of my all time favorite episodes of Season 7. Every character rings true and Logan shows how fantastic he is as a boyfriend.

It took her into the next day, but she did come up with a plan. She was arguably one of the more brilliant minds on the ship, yet her hours of toiling yielded a conflicting result. Captain Tarkey paced back and forth, watching the note she had written on the island.
“I didn't go too far…did I? No, it's not that bad. It's not like it's a real threat,” Captain Tarkey said to herself. “He won't even know I wrote it. It is harmless.”
She picked up the note to reread what she wrote out loud.
Captain Tarkey,
You will pay for your treachery. Blood for blood, on the land of your ancestors, I will have my revenge.
Sincerely,
Your Doombringer
She looked over it again, examining it closely to ensure no stroke of her pen resembled her actual handwriting, rather than questioning the strangely polite and formal letter. There were better ways to make a threatening letter for the intent of getting Cam to accompany her planetside. In fact, there were better ways to simply get Cam to accompany her at all. None of those were deemed realistic to her overworked brain, so this is what she came up with. A fake assassination threat seemed like a logical choice with minimal downside.
“Why do I still have a bad feeling about this?” Captain Tarkey mused to herself and the door slid open. She threw her hands behind her back and stood up straight. The sudden interruption flustered her all the more when she realized it was Cam entering her place.
“Sorry I'm late,” Cam said. “I ran into Jack in the hallway.”
“Oh, it's alright. How are you feeling? When I found you sleeping on my couch, I was worried.”
That wasn't a dream? Shit. “I promise, that isn't normally like me.”
“You don't need to worry. I had no idea Parroon made humans sleepy. Vani told me when I called her to check on you.”
“Oh, that's good to know then.” His shoulders relaxed, relieved he hadn't developed narcolepsy. “Next time I want to knock myself out, I need to raid your refrigerator.”
“You're welcome anytime.” Captain Tarkey smiled, remembering the note still behind her back. “So, what were you and Jack talking about?”
“Just plans for when we get to Ohar. Jack can't leave until the second day after we hit orbit, but I see no reason to wait around for him. Just wish I knew what to do for a whole day.”
This was her moment. There would be no better time. She stowed the note in her waistband and took the shot she never thought would happen.
“Seeing as you're free, I was wondering if you would like to join me for the day? I'm visiting my parents and I'm sure they would love to meet you. They love hosting guests.”
Cam’s face elongated with intrigue. He wanted to see how locals lived and they would probably offer a place to stay for the night, which gave him more money to spend on silly souvenirs later. It sounded like a great idea, but he wanted to be careful not to impose.
“Would they mind on such short notice? I don't want to intrude or anything.”
“You won't be. You are my guest.”
“Okay then.” Cam nodded. “Is there anything I should be aware of, culturally? Like am I supposed to bring a gift or…”
“Nope. No gifts. The only thing I would say is don't wear your uniform. My mom thinks it makes our family seem more normal.”
Cam saluted her casually. “Can do. Wasn't planning on wearing it anyways.”
“Perfect,” Captain Tarkey said. “I have a lot to get done before we are cleared to land, so you can take the day off today.”
“Seriously? You don't mind?”
“Not at all. It will give you more time to plan the rest of your leave. Seeing as it's your first time, you will want to make it count.”
“Thanks, Banyani! I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
“See you soon.” Captain Tarkey called back as Cam left. As per usual, once the door closed, she let out her true emotions. She punched the air and danced around her room. “Yes! He said yes!” He’s going to meet my family!”
Captain Tarkey pulled the letter out of her waistband, wadded it up into a ball, and drained the shot into the trashcan. The plan she spent hours on was nothing more than history. She was happy to rid herself of it. In hindsight, she knew the letter would only cause more problems than solutions long term. With it out of the way, she was free to relax and tell her parents the good news.
She went into her room and came back out with a slate, which she propped up on the island. Navigating through the contacts, she clicked on the one labeled ‘Home.’ The loading screen spun and a fun jingle played. Captain Tarkey was all smiles when the screen changed to her mom showing up on the screen.
Her mother, Gwendolyn, would pass as an older sister in the right light. Her cheeks were a tad plumper and her braid was thicker than both of her daughters’. Gwendolyn’s blue eyes sparkled upon seeing her daughter for the first time in far too long.
“Banyani, my beautiful girl, I was wondering when you were going to call. It is good to see you.”
“It is good to see you too, Mom.”
“Kenny, come over here. Banyani is calling,” Gwendolyn said to her husband, Kenton, in the other room before returning her focus back on her daughter. “How are you? When are you coming home?”
“I'm going to be there soon,” Captain Tarkey said, spotting her dad coming into frame. There was no mistaking his trim, salt and pepper beard or proud smile. She always felt his warmth radiate from a simple look, no matter how far away she was. “Hey Dad.”
“There's my little captain. You working hard up there?”
Gwendolyn slapped her husband's hand that rested gently on her shoulders. “Oh stop it. No talking about work you two. I haven't heard from you in ages. What is new in your life? Meet any cute boys?”
Captain Tarkey blushed. “Actually Mom, I was calling to let you know we will have one more joining us tomorrow.”
“Eeee! I knew you would find someone! What's his name? What does he do? How long have you been seeing him?” Gwendolyn rapidly fired off, unwilling to hide her excitement. Her dad was less enthused, keeping his poker face until more was said.
“Easy mom. We aren't dating, but I would hope after he gets to know me better, he might see me as more than just his boss.”
“His boss? He’s enlisted?” Kenton asked.
“Oh shhh you.” Gwendolyn waved him off. “Come on girl, details. Momma needs to know.”
Captain Tarkey smiled. “His name is Cameron, although he lets me call him Cam. And…he’s my personal security officer.”
“Oooh, what is that?” Gwendolyn asked, looking up and back at her husband who wore a disapproving gowl.
“Why does my daughter need a bodyguard?” Kenton asked plainly.
“She doesn't. It just gives her a reason for a late night booty call,” Vani said, coming into frame, leaning on her dad, while nibbling on something resembling celery.
“Vani? What are you doing there? We haven't gotten clearance yet.”
It wasn't entirely true. Captain Tarkey hadn't given the crew the approval to disembark. Clearance was given sometime in the early morning. She couldn't remember when exactly, since she was mostly focused on her trashed note.
Kenton turned his frustration toward the daughter on his shoulder. “You said she let you go early.”
“She didn't stop me. That's basically the same thing.” Vani took another bite of her crunchy vegetable. “So, you got the hot human to come to dinner. Please tell me you didn't order him to. That's tacky.”
“He’s a human!” Gwendolyn gasped and clapped her hands. “I have always wanted to meet a human!”
“First off, I didn't order him to. I asked him and he wanted to see you all. And second, Vani, which shuttle did you steal?”
“I’ll never tell.” Vani waved goodbye. “I’ll see you when you get here sis. Tell Cam I said hi.”
Captain Tarkey wanted to be mad at her sister for breaking several protocols, but she was too excited about bringing Cam tomorrow. She saw her mom happy as can be, but her dad was a different story.
“Banyani, this is a bad idea,” Kenton said. “You’re the captain.”
“And I think our daughter is responsible enough to make her own decisions.” Gwendolyn defended. “Don't listen to your father. If you like him, I say go for it. When are you two coming in?”
She was about to answer when another call came in. It was one she always dreaded to see. High Command.
Captain Tarkey sighed. “I'm getting another call I need to take. We’ll be there in the afternoon sometime tomorrow.”
“I can’t wait to see you tomorrow! Don't work too hard,” Gwendolyn said.
“I won't, Mom. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Captain Tarkey signed off and her finger floated over the screen to answer the next one. High Command was the last group she wanted to talk to, but she had a feeling this would happen. Making a new position is a rather irregular situation, which likely needed more explanation beyond the boilerplate form. Was she ready to give a plausible explanation for needing a bodyguard? No, but if she wanted Cam a little closer to her, she would need to be creative.
***
A bang came from below Lisa's cubicle desk as she hit her head on the countertop. Lisa let out the usual explicative and climbed back in her chair. The device on her desk was beginning to be far more than she bargained for. Cables ran under and over her desk, all going to other instruments of the trade. Many of the devices she was using were completely foreign to her months ago. Lisa caught on quick, but when it came to this, she felt frustratedly inadequate.
“Why won't you decrypt and make my life easier?”
A red light blinked on the device at a consistent pace. It was the most she was getting from it. No answer or, if it was an answer, it was speaking the wrong language. A blinking light wasn't exactly a language for any discernible person, alien or not.
“If you weren't the key to stopping this hacker, I would smash you. You understand me!”
Again, the device did not. The blinking continued as if it was mocking her, enjoying the sound of its own soulless and soundless voice. Computers were weird like that.
“I'm insane. I'm talking to a computer.” Lisa threw up her hands and stood up from her chair. “I need a break.”
Lisa left everything where it was and went for a walk around the ship. Normally, her go to brain cleanser was playing video games, but this was different. She didn't need a distraction. She needed to think. Her travels along the halls led her to one person she did not expect to find.
“Cam? What are you doing here?” Lisa asked, although happy to see a friendly face.
“I got the rest of the day off.”
“How did you swing that?”
“I guess she had a lot of work to do before we get into orbit. I don't blame her. I'm already going to be spending the next day with her. I’d want some time away from me too.”
Lisa smirked. “Sounds to me like she is preparing for more than our arrival.”
“What do you mean? Her parents are the ones hosting me.” Cam cocked his head. He truly was the epitome of clueless.
“You’re dense, you know that, right?”
Cam flexed his average looking bicep. “I mean, I have been working out lately. I wouldn't say dense. Built would be more like it–”
“You never thought for one second that she might like you?”
“Banyani? Like me? Come on, Lisa. Let's be realistic.”
“You’re right, you're not six one. Everyone knows women only want tall guys.”
“You calling me short?”
“I'm calling you dumb. Big difference, genius.”
“First you call me dumb, then you say I'm smart. Pick a lane.” He shoulder bumped her and she bumped him back.
Their friendly little razzing session ended up knocking loose some ideas for both of them, albeit about wildly different topics. Lisa was the first to verbalize her sudden epiphany.
“I think you are a genius,” Lisa said and began walking back to the IT office. “Follow me.”
“Where are we going?”
“To crack open the device.”
Cam lengthen his stride to keep up with her. “Device? What device?”
“The one Jack took. Or have you already forgot?”
“No, I didn't forget…” I have no idea what she's talking about. Was I even there? Dang, that parrot meat really did a number on me.
Lisa opened the door and rushed to her cubicle, excited to try out her new theory. At her desk, she unplugged different cables and plugged in new ones with the urgency of a surgeon losing their patient. She switched over to her keyboard typing with the same speed and intensity. It was a lot for Cam to take in.
“What exactly are you doing?” Cam asked, hoping her explanation will fill in a lot of gaps.
“I am reversing the modular polarity, fixing the capacitor output, and injecting a revised version of code for decrypting. How did I not think of it sooner.”
Cam was fairly certain half of what she said was complete nonsense. It still didn't stop his amazement when the device light turned from red to green. Lisa kicked her seat back and jumped in the air.
“Yes! I was close all along!”
“You did it?” Cam said, inching closer with his pointer finger to poke the device.
Lisa swatted his hand. “Don't touch it. I don't want you screwing it up.”
“How can touching it screw it up?”
“Ever heard of static electricity?”
“Nope,” Cam said, shocking Lisa when he turned his finger on her.
“Hey,” Lisa said. “See what I mean. You could've fried it.”
“How do you know all this stuff?”
“I'm just gifted, I guess.”
“I wish I was gifted at my job.”
“You must not be doing too bad. The captain is still alive.”
Cam shrugged. “She did most of the fighting. All I did was help her up when she fell.”
“You make a good point. Better start filling out your registration paperwork,” Lisa mocked.
“No way. It pays too well,” Cam said.
“Then you're buying us drinks when we get to the beach.”
“Only for you. If I know Jack, he’ll pick the most expensive bottle.”
“Don't you owe him money though?”
“Exactly why I'm not paying for his. He’ll end up owing me money. And we both know he won't pay that back,” Cam said and made his way to the door.
“Where are you going?”
“It looks like you got your hands full. I'm going to get ready for tomorrow.”
Lisa waved. “Make sure you dress up nice for the in-laws.”
“Not my in-laws.”
“Not yet.”
Cam shook his head, but it didn't shake the thoughts already planted there. Banyani doesn't actually like me…does she? Naw, that's ridiculous. She's the captain and my boss. Lisa's just teasing me. Yeah, that's it…
***
Lisa had made some progress, but like all solutions in IT, sometimes the hardest thing to do was to wait and see. Nothing had failed yet, which was a good sign in her eyes. The negative was it gave time for her annoying partner to return.
“Get any farther on your little project?” Lotan asked, fully expecting her to say no.
“Did you go through those logs yet?”
“I did. Last entry was you and then naturally me as I swiped in. Otherwise, the other entries were all around the normal times engineering would be doing expected work.”
Lisa looked back at her screen, seeing the progress bar inching forward at a snail's pace. With the logs being a bust, this was her last chance at finding out who was there. Lotan didn't need an answer to his question, nor would he get one from her as Captain Tarkey called. Lisa tapped on her slate to answer.
“Lisa, good, you're still awake.”
Lisa lifted her slate to show Lotan in frame as well. “Yes, ma'am. We’re both still at it.”
Captain Tarkey paused for a moment, thankful Lisa clued her in on who else was with her. What she wanted to discuss was far from professional in nature.
“How is the progress?”
“It's coming along. I had Lotan check the security logs for a different lead, but he came back with nothing. Now I'm just stuck waiting for this device to be decrypted.”
“So, you have some time to see me in my quarters?”
“Of course we do, ma’am,” Lotan said.
“Sorry, I was talking to Specialist Smots.”
“I guess so.”
“Good. Meet me here as soon as you can. And Specialist Lotan, if anything changes on the status of that device, you let me know right away.”
Lotan saluted. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good,” Captain Tarkey said. “Lisa, I’ll see you soon.”
The screen went blank and Lisa sprung up from her chair. She hoisted her bag over her shoulder and headed for the door. Lisa had not the slightest idea why she was needed, but it seemed important. It wasn't long before she found herself at Captain Tarkey‘s door. She knocked and heard a muffled, “Come in.”
Lisa swiped the door, not actually thinking it would open for her, but it did. “Wow, since when did I get access?”
She continued inside, where she heard clothes hangers rattling in the other room and plops of heavy cloth hitting the floor. Lisa stepped cautiously to the noise, worried something could be wrong.
“Captain? Is everything alright?”
“I think I need some help,” Captain Tarkey admitted. Lisa came into her room, where a tornado had hit.
Uniforms were tossed all over the bed and floor. Hangers were piled up and more casual clothes littered the floor. Captain Tarkey held two tops up, one purple with thin straps and the other, a blue blouse with a floral design.
“I don't know what I'm doing?”
“Neither do I,” Lisa said. “Care to explain?”
“I'm trying to figure out what to wear tomorrow. I can't remember the last time I wore anything other than my uniform.”
“I'm not really the best person to ask.”
“No, you are.” Captain Tarkey lowered her clothing choices and grabbed Lisa's shoulders. “Please, you're the only one I can turn to.”
Lisa was surprised by the sudden ambush, yet it wasn't unwelcomed. It beat staring at the slow progress bar and Captain Tarkey genuinely valued her opinion. She never got that vibe from other women she had known.
“Are you okay with me being brutally honest?” Lisa asked.
“I wouldn't ask if I didn't. Last thing I want is to screw this up. Tomorrow is my big opportunity to show Cam I'm more than a captain.”
“Okay, I'll–”
Captain Tarkey gave her a big hug. It wasn't like her to act so impulsive, but she felt Lisa agreeing would be huge for wooing Cam. She recoiled fast and held up the two outfits again, excited to hear Lisa's input.
“What are you two doing tomorrow?”
“I was planning on doing some sightseeing and then visiting my parents for dinner.”
“Is it warm in Ohar?”
“Where my parents live it's a bit cooler, but otherwise fairly comfortable. I think it is twenty one degrees.”
She must be talking celsius. I definitely wouldn't wear either in twenty one degrees fahrenheit.
“They both look cute. Are you planning on wearing leggings?”
“Yes…that isn't too sexual, is it? I don't want him to think I’m a slut.”
“Then go with the blouse. Or you could wear skinny jeans. I never saw them as overly sexual.”
Captain Tarkey went back to her bed and found a pair of white jeans that resembled her uniform pants. “Would these work?”
“I don't see why not?”
Captain Tarkey began putting on the clothes and Lisa sat down on the bed, looking at all the other sad unselected options on the floor. The shirts she had were all rather plain and wrinkled, while her uniforms were all pristine and eerily similar.
“Did you just dig all these clothes out of your dresser or something?” Lisa asked.
“I had to raid my sister's closet. She has much better clothes than me,” Captain Tarkey said, squeezing into her skinny jeans. “She didn't leave much behind to pick from.”
“Leave behind? Where did she go?”
“She stole a shuttle and is already at our parent's place. When I find out how she did it, then I'll consider returning her clothes.”
Lisa chuckled at the innocent level of retaliation. “Couldn't you just reprimand her or something?”
“Tried it. Doesn't work. I threw her in the brig once. Not making that mistake again.”
Lisa bounced on the bed closer to her, eager to hear more. “Okay, there is a story there. Spill it.”
“It was strange. One day, out of the blue, she decided to dress up in my uniform and go give orders on the bridge.”
“Why would she do that? Is she power hungry?” Lisa asked, not knowing anything about Vani.
Captain Tarkey shook her head. “No, she kept blaming it on ‘a Halloween’, whatever that is.”
Lisa burst out in laughter. How could she not? These aliens may have spoken English, but their understanding of human holidays was severely lacking.
“What did I say?”
“Sorry. Nothing. Please continue,” Lisa said, trying to get her composure back.
Captain Tarkey continued, despite the new questions forming in her head. “The problem was, it wasn't a punishment for her. She liked not having to work and somehow still found a way to have sex with guys.”
“No way, how is that possible? Don't you put men and women in different cells?”
“All I'm going to say is tentacles reach much farther than I thought.”
Vani sounds like a wild one. “Speaking of being pleasured, you need to tell me about your hair situation. How does that work exactly?”
Captain Tarkey scratched her head, unsure how to phrase it for her to understand when an idea popped in her head. She slapped the ends of Lisa's hair, getting a minimal response.
“You didn't feel anything did you?”
“Not really.”
“If I pulled on your hair, where do you feel it?”
“In my scalp.”
“See, that's where we are different. I feel it through my whole spine or in some cases my entire body. A simple slap that did nothing for you would tense my back muscles.”
“Really?” Lisa said, looking at Captain Tarkey’s braid.
“Our hair is very sensitive. Mine is less sensitive than most, but still.”
“So, do you like turn yourself on when brushing your hair in the morning?”
Captain Tarkey laughed. “Maybe Vani does. No, for me, the only way that is happening is if I pull on it really hard.”
“Or Cam touches you anywhere?” Lisa teased.
“Not anywhere…” Captain Tarkey blushed.
“You're right. From where I'm sitting, he doesn't even need to touch you.”
“I'm that obvious?” Her voice almost whined and fears entered her mind. Lisa was quick to offer some assurance.
“Unfortunately, Cam is oblivious. I did put in a good word for you.”
Captain Tarkey lit up. “You did?”
“I got him thinking, at least I think so. Hard to tell with him sometimes.” Lisa hadn't finished her sentence for longer than a millisecond before feeling Captain Tarkey’s arms wrap tightly around her.
“Thank you, Lisa. I'm so glad to have a friend like you.”
Lisa patted her on the back, finding it a little hard to breathe with the death grip around her ribs. Despite the minor discomfort, it was nice to feel a warm embrace for a change.
“Me too.”
***
[Previous] Next

CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL

Date: 01/01/2073

Author: Zalmoxis

For: God-King Iohannis, The Prophet Amir, Burebistan, Pleistoros, RD1 & RD2 of the Community & the Children of the Earth Mother

Introduction

This Report is to be considered the first of three founding documents for Eden’s domestic and international doctrine after the Expansion. I have the fortune of undertaking this first part, dealing with Eden’s internal matters, while Part Two will be written by God-King Iohannis about Eden’s external matters, and Part Three by Pleistoros about Eden’s military matters.
Having expanded into what was once our allies, the Polish and Belarussian regions of the Commonwealth, a major readjustment is required regarding the socio-cultural landscape of The Garden. As such, this report will not only detail the ongoing perversions, a persistent threat to the Community, but also present new divisions for Eden based on levels of assimilation. It will also state the measures to be undertaken to ensure holistic and comprehensive assimilation occurs in every part of the Garden.
Due to its nature, this part of the report cannot be circulated beyond those it has been sent to. Members of the Community below the stated levels can be provided information without access to the document as required. The same goes for members of the Warriors, and the general Eden military. Certain elements of the report will be designated as “Kr̥snós” ([M] meaning Black in Proto-Indo-European), meaning that they cannot be communicated beyond those with access to the document. Should any be found in violation of these measures, the punishment is death.

The Perversions of the Garden of Eden

Kr̥snós

The Blood-Bathers

% Of Population

0.03%

Overview

As mentioned in Classified Report #58: Regarding the Perversion of the Earth Mother and Her Faithful the Blood-Bathers remains a perversion concentrated amongst the Proto-Indo-European Elites of the Garden. These individuals undertake their own ‘Blood-Bathing’ rituals, simulating the rituals the Earth Mother draws power from, but warping them in increasingly disturbed ways. Blood-Bathers believe that through these rituals, they can gain the powers and youthfulness that the Earth Mother does. However, top theologians of the Community have established that these rituals, done with either none, or an insignificant amount, of the devotion which the Earth Mother has, are functionally meaningless. This is barring a limited few, who, through what can only be described as either miracle or luck, have achieved furthered states of being. These include Josef of Kyiv, The Blood-Soaked One in Eden, and the Vampire king of Transylvania.

Current Standing

Despite the perversion existing amongst the highest tiers of Edenites, it has been unable to emerge beyond the precious few who engage in it. Either due to its lack of proven efficacy, or its deranged nature, Blood-Bathing has not grown in the Garden, and sparsely any new converts from Poland and Belarus have been drawn to it. As such, it is believed that the perversion may be dying a slow death of its own.
Recent surveillance of Blood-Bather ritual sites has shown that while some are able to gather the necessary human blood for the rituals, increasingly few are able to do so in significant quantities. This has led to some incredibly disturbing reports across the Garden, suggesting that desperate Blood-Bathers have begun utilising both animal and even synthetic blood in their rituals. While nothing disastrous has come of these botched rituals as of yet, theologians believe that they are facsimiles of the same rituals which brought down Eden in the ancient times. As such, any Blood-Bathers engaging in these unholy rituals must be immediately terminated, lest they transform themselves into something evil and twisted.
While I have just stated that the perversion may be dying its own death, this has and can be helped along. The recent destruction of the Vampire King of Transylvania has essentially removed the Blood-Bather stain from that region, and as such violent solutions have been presented as the most effective cure. Possible operations against other known Blood-Bather cells are being investigated, and as such, while the perversion does represent somewhat of a threat to the Garden, I would consider it contained for the time being.
Kr̥snós

The Mu Fanatics

% Of Population

2%

Overview

An exclusively theologically perversion, those who fit under the Mu Fanatics banner are heretics of the largest extreme. Mostly rural worshippers, the Mu Fanatics believe that humanity was born out of the sunken continent Mu , which was lost in a great war against the Atlanteans and the Lemurians. This belief is inherently heretical to the Community, as the Bible of the Earth Mother states that humanity’s first home was Eden. While they do not diverge elsewhere, this one belief is enough to see them established as a perversion.

Current Standing

Though in Report 58, the Mu Fanatics were labelled as having minimal threat to the Garden, recent events have seen such a label revised. While only extant in the two major clusters, one bound by Chernivtsi, Iasi, the Synevyr National Park, and the Parcul Natural parks, and the other reaching south to Chisinau and Tiraspol and as north as Yampil, their hold in these areas has become somewhat worrying. Specifically, reports have shown that Community Leaders throughout these regions have recently been infected by the perversion, and have started preaching this heresy. While this has not seen a spread of the perversion anywhere else in the Garden, it is not impossible that, having become more centralised, the perversion spreads. As such, I have recommended the Mu Fanatics be considered on the same level as the Roman Catholics and Russian Orthodox remainders, and scheduled them for intensive conversion.

The Cult of the Space Mother

% Of Population

9%

Overview

Similar to the Mu Fanatics, but far less divisive, the Cult of the Space Mother is a heresy and a growing one at that. Founded on the basis of a single line in the BEM's Genesis 1:28, "And on the seventh day, the Earth Mother traveled, and spread life and light across the universe", the Cult believes that not only is this proof of alien lifeforms, but that the Earth Mother is their God also. Some more extreme members of this perversion have gone so far as to state that this means the Earth Mother herself is an alien lifeform, but these are few and far between. Many of those infected with the perversion have become absolute in the idea that Eden must become a space-based power, and facilitate humanity's first contact with aliens, while others are adamant that aliens are already extant in the Garden and are worshipping in secret until the Earth Mother tells them they can come out from hiding.

Current Standing

The Expansion has caused this perversion to grow significantly. Originally centered in the Donbas region, the perversion was perhaps even more enticing to the Belrussian converts than the Community was. As such, the Cult is apparent all throughout that region, specifically in the areas which used to be known as the Vitebsk Oblast, the Mogilev Oblast, the Gomel Oblast, and the Minsk Oblast. Despite its large and growing presence, I have not seen it fit to designate the Cult as anything above a minimal threat level. The reason for this is twofold, firstly, the Cult's theological differences are reconcilable with mainstream Community beliefs (ignoring the more extreme side of the Cult). And secondly, it may be that adopting the Cult's beliefs will be beneficial to the Garden, giving us a significant push towards the Space Sector, which is woefully lacking. Whatever the case, I recommend little more than watching the perversion over time, and perhaps co-opting it in the future.
Kr̥snós

The Camp Followers of the Children/Warriors

% Of Population

4%

Overview

Simply put, the Camp Followers are a very straightforward perversion. They are those in the Garden who have stepped out of their normal lives to become camp followers of the Children and the Warriors. They represent the cooks, cleaners, entertainers, builders, and prostitutes of the Warrior and Children camps, to include but a few of their roles. Having devoted their lives entirely to the Children and Warriors, they are entirely destitute, living off whatever they can earn from these groups. Perhaps most worrying is the manner of their belief. While having no theological differences, they remained entirely devoted to their military masters, as opposed to the Earth Mother. As I mentioned in Report 58, these Followers have laid down their lives for Warriors and Children in the past, while also passing of their own kids to join either group if possible. With the development of the Brood, I would state that every single Camp Follower is also a Brood member.

Current Standing

Anywhere where Eden's military exists, it is likely you will find Camp Followers. While the Expansion did not alter their numbers significantly one way or the other, a recent change to the perversion has been noted. Members of the perversion have been identified with devoting themselves to a specific Warrior or Child, rather than these groups as a whole. While this is not an issue at the current moment, as these singular devotions have occurred on quite a small scale, if it is to become a trend it may be cause for concern. More specifically, should a Warrior or Child gather enough Camp Followers, they gain significant influence over the military units which they are attached to. In addition, Eden theologians believe that enough devotion to a singular source could result in a GʷerH-Kwen-Tos (Proto-Indo-European for 'Holy Elevation'), perhaps ascending such an individual to the status of a Demigod. Should this even seem a risk, violent means have been deemed acceptable against not only the individual but also their Followers.
The Followers have also shown themselves as an overall threat to society in another manner. Report 58 noted clashes between them and the Dryads near the Danube Delta, and while these are ongoing, the Expansion has presented another pressing matter. While this has been sparsely reported, any interaction between the Followers and the Remnants has ended in bloodshed. It is difficult to ascertain why at this current moment, but whatever the case, such an issue is completely unacceptable. The Remnants will be working alongside the Warriors and Children, and as such, bloodshed cannot be the norm. I have discussed this issue at length with Pleistoros, and the solution to this issue will be established in his report. Suffice it to say, should peaceful reconciliation be off the table, violence remains the option.
Kr̥snós

The Dryads

% Of Population

5%

Overview

The Dryads are another straightforward perversion, being the most extreme of the Earth Mother's Community. Amongst all, they believe all life, even non-social insects are sacred and that the only way to truly devote oneself to the Earth Mother is through a direct connection. As mentioned in Report 58, those practicing Dryadism are degenerates, undertaking permanent nudism, unnatural relations with animals and plants, and rituals which have no place in the Community's theology. Furthermore, Dryads do not live in normal housing, only existing throughout shelter which has been overtaken by plants, or in temporary shelters made without harm. This perversion is almost entirely based around the Dnieper, Danube, and Olt rivers and near-daily reports come in regarding the deaths of those infected by it from frostbite, animal injuries, and exposure.

Current Standing

The Dryads are a declining perversion in my eyes. They have not shown any ability to spread north, and their numbers dwindle every day. Despite this, they do remain a threat. Should a group of them get it in their minds, they could easily cause a diplomatic incident with the Second Roman Republic, which could quickly escalate. As previously mentioned, they often clash with the Followers due to the way both differ significantly in their lifestyles, though measures are being undertaken to rectify this. The most worrying news is quite new. Due to this apparent decline, reports have begun filtering in stating that Dryads have started massing along the more rural areas of the Dnieper. Even fewer reports say why, but those that do suggest that they are gathering under an individual known as the Gʰel-Gʰreh or Green-Grower. What this individuals goal is and who they really are remains a mystery, and far more work must be done. Tentatively, if this gathering becomes significant in size, I would recommend death to all.
Kr̥snós

Chernobyl Adherents

% Of Population

<0.001%

Overview

Living entirely in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, those infected with this perversion are beyond lost to humanity. They have been whispered to by the temptress of radiation, and have exposed themselves to its light. They believe, quite wrongly, that the Elephants Foot which lies deep within Chernobyl is a gift and a challenge from the Earth Mother, and willfully expose themselves to it for unknown periods of time. This demented ritual eventually kills most of them, however, reports mention others who have been mutated beyond recognition. Led by the supposed Radiation Emperor (who I am not convinced is not also the Green-Grower), these mutations have come to be known as Cyclopes and Hundred-Handed Men, amongst many other names. Sightings of these mutated individuals are woefully low, as the vast majority who have seen them are kidnapped Edenites forcefully exposed to the Elephants Foot, which nearly always has lead to their death.

Current Standing

I'm afraid I have little to say here. The Expansion seemingly allowed these Adherents to expand northward, yet no reports of such a phenomenon have come across my desk. Attempting to get Children or Warriors in there seems a hopeless task, and the levels of radiation have increased recently, meaning even machines have difficulty looking into the zone. Such an increase is terrifying in its own right, as it suggests something more... sinister might be occurring amongst the Adherents, but what this is, I cannot say. While it is obvious that lethal force is on the table, for this perversion I would suggest Contingency 3a to ensure its complete and utter destruction.
Kr̥snós

The Remnants

% Of Population

0.01%

Overview

Copied from The Report on the Expansion of Eden: "Though the Commonwealth Army who joined Eden quickly threw off their chains and began dedicated members of the Community, such a quick large-scale conversion never could be perfect. Many of these converts have joined a perversion known as the Remnants, and while it is early days, their main differences stem from the fact that they are dedicated to the idea of the Eastern European State. While this may initially seem harmless, it means that they put the Earth Mother below Eden, and as such may be liable to cause issue if they believe the state is being put at risk for the wants of the faith. Though, this does mean that they are as dedicated as any military unit to Eden. The Remnants are also incredibly anti-Alfr, to the extent that it may be unwise to station them on the border with any Alfr state. In addition, while these reports are incredibly recent, a small number of Remnants have been found to clash with Community soldiers, especially those who either are Children or Warriors, or who are part of the Camp Follower Perversion. All of this is to say, if the Remnants are not kept in check, they could represent a fracturing force which may destroy Eden"

Current Standing

The Remnants have shown that they are more than willing to kill those they come into disagreement with (as mentioned above with the Camp Followers). This is dangerous. They are also too valuable to destroy in any fashion, being a major part of Eden's armed forces. This makes them a lethal danger to the Garden. As such, I must recommend a new stratagem, the uniting of the concept of the Community with that of a United Eastern European State. This will placate the Remnants, but it must be done well. I will note that these Remnants are a minority of the converted Russian Armed Forces, and seem to work well alongside Eden's normal military as well as the Children and Warriors. It is only with the Camp Followers, and perhaps the Brood, where significant issues arise. But we cannot let these issues continue. Resolution must occur.

The Messianics

% Of Population

18%

Overview

The Messianics seem to have taken Pagan-Christian syncretism to the nth degree. They believe that while the Earth Mother is the true creator, Jesus is also real, as well as being the Earth Mother’s son and the first messiah. While their other beliefs align with the mainstream Community's, they believe that a second messiah is forthcoming, and while this was originally Pleistoros or Iohannis, recent news has changed this.

Current Standing

With news of the Earth Mother's pregnancy, the Messianic perversion has begun to explode in popularity. Many in the Garden believe that her child is the unborn Messiah, who will lead Eden to a new age of global dominance and have begun to devote themselves to this child as well. This can only be a good thing, however, there are many Messianics who remain stalwart in their belief that either Pleistoros or Iohannis is the true Messiah. If, after the Earth Mother's pregnancy ends, this does not change, these individuals must be removed, violently if required. A fractured belief in who the true Messiah is can only end in disunity and death.

Roman Catholics/ Russian Orthodox

% Of Population

22%

Overview

Copied from The Report on the Expansion of Eden: While not what we normally think when it comes to perversions, the recent expansion means that the Christian faith exists once more in Eden. Consisting largely in urban Belarus and rural Poland, the Christian faiths represent a heresy more than anything else. Intensive efforts are already occurring as to convert all who remain Christian, but lethal force is on the table should any holdout cities, towns, or villages not take to the Community. If they wish to meet their Lord so much, may their blood feed our Earth Mother.

Current Standing

There is not much to say here. Holdouts are centered around Western Belarus and Urban Poland, with conversion ongoing. Due to some of the more stalwart nature of these holdouts, I am activating intensive conversion measures, which should rapidly ensure conversion or removal of the stragglers.

The Divisions of Eden

Geographic divisions in the era of the Hyperstate were a useful, if limited, tool of government. Post-Hyperstate era, these divisions have outlived their usefulness, and must be reconsidered on a state-by-state basis. As such, the following part of this report will denote the new Socio-Cultural and Religious divisions of Eden. Split in twine, they will identify a person based on their cultural and religious assimilation into the Garden, as noted below.

Religious Divisions

The Religious Divisions of Eden essentially identify an individual’s assimilation into the Community, and furthermore their status as a practicing member if they are a part of it.

RD1:

Members in the Community who are RD1 or Religious Division 1 are known as the Garden’s (S)péḱers or Keepers. They retain the central Community churches in various regions and oversee the lesser leaders of the Community. Only individuals who are also SCD1 can be considered RD1 as well, and as such, these roles are exclusive to Proto-Indo-Europeans. RD1 members are able to contribute to theological and religious discussions within the Garden, and are expected to know how they should participate.

RD2:

Edenites who are considered RD2 are understood as the basic Community leaders. These can be the priests of Community centres/churches, or the leaders of Community outreach services. This position is open to those in the Garden who are SCD1 to SCD3, as RD2 individuals are expected to assist with cultural assimilation alongside religious assimilation. This is the level where ritual participation goes beyond simply chanting without knowing. These individuals know of blood rituals and some of the true nature of the Earth Mother.

RD3:

RD3 members of the Community are those Edenites who are active participants in their local Community church/centre. They attend all services if possible, and participate in the rituals which they are allowed. While RD3 members do not know the truth of Eden, they are first in line to be educated should vacancies in the higher tiers arrive. The vast majority of those in the Garden fit into the RD3 tier.

RD4:

Those in RD4 are practicing members of the Community, who may either be less active or hold somewhat negative beliefs. Members of the Space Mother and Messianic perversions are limited to this division due to their warped beliefs, and as such lose the privilege of engaging in rituals. RD4 members are not subject to widespread surveillance, but are kept under watch in case they seem to be at risk of falling prey to worse perversions.

RD5:

RD5 is the first of the prohibitive tiers. Those in the Garden who belong to their division include members of the Community who are found to be lacking in their faith or practice, or who are part of the prohibitive perversions. These perversions include the members of the Remnants, the Camp Followers, the Dryads, and the Mu Fanatics. Information is withheld from these individuals as much as possible unless active conversion is being undertaken for their specific part of the division, in which case effort will be made to uplift them to RD3.

RD6:

Any individual in RD6 is essentially a non-member of the Community. These include passive non-members such as Catholics, or members of perversions such as the Blood-Bathers and Chernobyl Adherents. Anyone in RD6 will constantly be expected to undergo conversion, and should they not see an uplift to atleast RD5 within a year, they will be positioned in RD7. RD6 prohibits those in the Garden from engaging in many activities, though they will be treated with similar rights as those above them.

RD7:

Those labelled as RD7 are either holdout heretics or members of perversions deemed to be active risks to the Garden. Anyone labelled with RD7 is scheduled for a violent conversion or destruction dependant on orders.

Socio-Cultural Divisions

These divisions identify an individual’s socio-cultural assimilation into the Garden and their restrictions based on that level of assimilation. It is a very simple list, going from Proto-Indo-Europeans all the way until the non-Pontics.

SCD1:

SCD1 or Socio-Cultural Division 1 is specifically for the Proto-Indo-Europeans of the Garden. These are the members of Eden’s society who have assimilated into perhaps the perfect Edenite, and are considered essentially the same as the original inhabitants of Eden. Those identifying as SCD1 have no restrictions on their movement and their expression of self, and though they are expected to be active members of the Community (RD3), they are not required to be anything but practicing (RD4). Members of the Warrior and Children belong here too, even if they are not specifically P.I.E.

SCD2:

Those in SCD2 are the individuals who have fully assimilated into the Pontic culture and ethnicity. Utilising the Pontic language and culture, they are amongst the majority of the individuals in the Garden. Some of these may be close to uplifting to SCD1. Members of SCD2 can enter the RD2 division and are expected to stay within the RD3 division at all times. Those who keep to these divisions will never be met with trouble in the Garden. Those in Eden’s military force are considered to be in this division, no matter their true culture.

SCD3:

SCD3 are those who identify as Pontic but whom are lacking in some area of their culture, society, and ethnicity. Despite their lacking nature, they can still reach the RD2 and are expected to maintain RD3. Through this, they retain full citizenship, but may find issues when their flaws are exposed. The vast majority of Edenites are labelled as SCD3.

SCD4:

Members of the Garden in SCD4 are those who have not been assimilated into the Pontic Culture but have shown good faith efforts to do so. They also include Romanians or Ukrainians who still exist but have shown that they are active members of the Community and otherwise may as well be considered Pontic. Due to their lack of Pontic Culture, they will find some opportunities missing, such as only being able to reach RD3 with great effort and never reaching RD2.

SCD5:

The lowest division of society and culture in the garden, those in SCD5 are the non-Pontics who show no engagement with the culture or Community, or worse, actively work against it. Individuals labelled as SCD5 must quickly assimilate, or risk worsening conditions. Those found working against the Pontic culture are considered perfect candidates for Blood Rituals.

Conversion across the Garden

The final part of this report will be brief, but explore how conversion should be undertaken throughout the Garden. There are three styles of conversion, Individual-Based, Community-Based, or Division-Based, with three intensities ranging from Passive to Active to Intensive. Individual-Based conversion simply sees specific persons targeted for uplifting, with this generally left up to the will of RD2 and RD1 members. Community-Based conversion occurs when entire neighbourhoods or towns are identified in need of conversion or uplifting, to be decided by either those in RD1 or myself and the Earth Mother. Finally, Division-Based conversion is for parts of, or entire divisions, and can only be undertaken on the word of myself or the God Mother.
Meanwhile, the levels of intensities are quite simple. Passive conversion simply seeks to encourage conversion through attending church/Community sermons, while Active conversion seeks to engage with every part of a person’s life. All Ads a person sees will engage with the Community in some manner, and the target will be constantly bombarded with pro-Community messages, alongside continual interactions with members of the Community. Intensive Conversion takes this to the extreme. Utilising ‘conversion booths’, individuals undergoing Intensive Conversion will be taken to Community Centres through the use of ads inlaid with subconscious controls. Once at the conversion booths, psychedelic drugs alongside violent and obscene imagery and noises are used to break a subject’s mind, before they are forcibly converted to the Community. Should initial conversion fail, this will be tried again and again until the individual accepts Eden or dies.

Conclusion

Though it may seem through this that the Garden is more divided than ever, it is only through our unity that these divisions can persist. The vast majority of Edenites exist within the mainstream or close enough, with only a select few engaging in truly troubling perversions. For the future, this report will serve as a guide to Eden’s internal affairs, and should be engaged with as decisions are made in regards to both individuals and divisions as a whole.

CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL

When I first took this job, I never could have predicted what would happen. After all the years of training and the experiences that I have had throughout my life, I am pretty good at being prepared for the worst. But before I begin this story, a little bit about myself.
I was a bit of a troubled child some might say. I lost both my parents to a car accident when I was 2. After that, I bounced from foster home to foster home. I blame it on the system. Almost every foster home I was put in was terrible. The parents were only doing it for the money and barely took care of the foster children. And when Social Services came, you think they listened to the children? No. But, I took on a personality that did help throughout this time. I decided that I wouldn't take shit from anyone. When some of the foster homes' actual children tried to bully me or other foster kids, they very quickly learned not to after several broken bones. In addition, I took this attitude to the public schools. Bullies would pick on the weak, and they would suddenly have broken noses and fingers. But, since it was the public school the bullies were not punished. Only me. However when the bullies would see me or get close to their victims while I was around they would quickly go the other way. This went on for the entirety of my youth. I never had a plan for my life. All I knew was that I was unwanted anywhere, and had nowhere to go. But one day, I was passing by the living room, and I saw a commercial on the tv that changed my life's course. It was an ad to join the United States Marine Corps. After this, I found a new purpose for my life. Unfortunately I was 15 at the time. But I immediately started training myself physically and mentally for this new course. I studied at the public library since I wasn't allowed to use the foster home's computer. I started working out at the high school's gym after class. And finally at 18 I joined the Corps. The next 8 years were the best of my life. After boot camp, MCT (Marine Combat Training), and SOI (School of Infantry) I soon learned about the Raiders. Which is Marine Corps special forces. I immediately put in for it and got selected. I was able to go to several foreign countries and fight many battles. All of my fellow Marines were the greatest family I ever had. Once I was at the end of my second enlistment I decided it was time for me to enter the civilian world again. At that time, we had a bad mission and I lost my closest friends. So I did what anybody in this situation does. I found a reasonably inexpensive apartment and drank excessively for the next month. Once I felt that my liver had been well punished, I began searching for a job. Now, money was not an issue for me at this time. I had plenty in savings to last most people a couple of years. While I was in the military, I never really bought anything since I knew I would be traveling all over. I also still had money saved from the insurance when my parents passed all those years ago that I refused to spend. So I tried finding a job that I would fit into given my skill sets. After some time I found what I was looking for. It was a position within a security company that provides its services to companies in both the private sector as well as government facilities. I immediately applied and got accepted. For the next year after this, I was able to complete some training required for the job and bought my own house in Nevada. I worked as a fill in guard for multiple high ranking officials here and there within my state. But one day, I was given a position that would alter my perception of reality forever.
“John!” my boss bellowed as he entered the locker room. I had been getting my gear, body armor, and rifle ready to head to the meeting room. I look up and see this mountain of a man standing in the doorway with a large jolly smile on his face. “Got a job for you” he continued, waving a file in his hand. “What's the Job?” I asked while doing my best to give back a friendly grin. I've been told I’m not great at expressing my emotions. But I’ve been trying. “Well, good news. It's a government facility that needs a pair of guards.” My ears perked up as he said this. “Where at?” I asked with some excitement in my voice. “A warehouse in the desert just outside of the town where you live.” My shoulders drop a little with disappointment. “What sort of warehouse is it?” I ask. “It is a government funded science facility. Something about monitoring seismic activity in the area. During the evening, you and one other guard will be posted there to watch over the equipment.” I thought for a moment and I remembered the place he was talking about. About 5 miles from my home on the outskirts of town, there is a fenced off plot of land that has one large building out in the middle. I had always driven past it on the way to a rifle range and saw the no trespassing signs on the fence and didn't think much of it. “What's the uniform situation?” I ask. “Standard Polo, slacks, and duty belt.” “Body armor and weapons?” I asked, already feeling the boredom seeping in. “None required. You can wear soft armor if it makes you feel better. But there will be a locker with shotguns as a last resort. Aside from that, just your nightstick.” It is at this point I let out a disappointed sigh. After a long moment I look up and ask, “why did you pick me specifically for this position?” He looks at me with that unwavering smile and says, “well, nobody wanted to volunteer for it. So I decided to volun-tell the first person I saw this morning.” He leans over and gives me a strong pat on the back and walks out. I sigh again, take off my usual gear and just dress in the uniform he told me. I do grab my soft armor though. With my duty belt and the file in hand, I head to my SUV. Opening the file, there was the basic information about the warehouse and a padlock key labeled “Front gate”. I shake my head and begin my drive to this warehouse. Luckily, this place was in between home and our headquarters. So once I started this job, at least I wouldn't have to drive as much.
I pulled up to the gate and pulled out the key that was provided with the file. After entering and securing the gate, I look toward the building and see two vehicles parked out front. One large gray sedan and a red prius. Once I pulled up, a round looking man alongside a woman that was wearing our security uniform stepped out of the building and headed toward me. “Welcome!” the man said with a blinding smile. Man, these morning people really are something else. The woman approached me with an equally bright smile holding out her hand. “You must be my new partner. I'm Stacy. Nice to meet you.” “Likewise.” I said, shaking her hand and trying to put on my friendliest smile. Stacy, on first impressions, has a very friendly personality. She had fairly light brown hair and emerald green eyes. She stood roughly a foot shorter than myself, and her physique is slender and well toned while still being curved in a very attractive way. What caught my attention was the fact that, despite her size and stature, she carried herself with a sense of confidence while not trying to be overly imposing. The man that was there I could only describe as plump. He was about 2 inches shorter than Stacy. He had a balding head with a very poor attempt at a comb over. “Well then, Mr. Miller.” He said. “Just John is fine.” I responded. “Alright John. You can call me Bill. Now that we are acquainted, let's begin the tour.” He turned around and headed to the main entrance. Upon entering, I quickly identified the four quadcons and large mobile research vehicle parked in the center. There were dirty tire tracks leading from the large double doors to the vehicle. “Here is the research equipment you will be guarding. Every evening, once the scientists put their equipment away, you will be responsible for verifying that all of the locks are secured. The keys will be given to you and placed in a lockbox that is kept in your office.” Glancing to the right, I saw what I assumed to be our office. It was a small shack built into the side of the main building. Beckoning us toward it, Bill said, “and over here is where you will likely be spending most of your time.” In the office, there was a long desk with large windows looking out to the interior of the warehouse. At the back there was a small restroom that was surprisingly clean. And, what I was looking for, at the back corner was a locked green weapons locker that housed two Mossberg 500 pump action shotguns. Next to that was a small table with walkie talkies on charging stations. Above the charging station were two flat screen TVs with the video feed of security cameras monitoring both the inside and outside of the building. On the desk was a land line telephone, coffee pot, and a microwave. Underneath was a minifridge and a locking filing cabinet. Bill motioned to the cabinet, “This is where the keys to the storage units and truck will be kept with at least one of you having the key to it nearby. All the amenities are available to use, the AC works, and the chairs are comfy.” He grinned proudly like a child that had just finished his chores. “And if you'll follow me,” he said exiting the office door. As we followed, he went around the office shack where a side by side ATV was parked. Attached to it was a spot light on the front and an extra fuel container in the back. “This will be your steed” Bill says with exaggerated grandeur. “You will be able to use this to go around the compound if needed. Just log your driving so we know when the fuel needs to be replenished. Now, over here,” turning on his heel, he walked toward the opposite end of the warehouse. In this direction was a door labeled Janitors closet. Opening it, there were shelves of cleaning supplies, a push broom, and a wheeled bucket with a mop in it. “You can use these if you need to. There are cleaners that take care of the whole building during the day.” Well, at least we won't be doubling as janitors. Bill clapped his hands together, “do you have any questions?” He began walking back toward the office. “Do you get much disturbance out here that requires guarding?” I asked. “Well, the equipment and research is funded by the government. So they want to be sure nothing gets taken. As far as the disturbances, there are the occasional teenagers that try to sneak onto the property at night to do whatever teens do these days.” “What sort of research is being done here?” Stacy asked. We got back to the office and Bill leaned on the wall sweating and out of breath. “I don't know all the details. But it has something to do with monitoring the seismic readings in order to predict earthquakes or something. But I'm sure they can explain it better.” He pulled out a white cloth and wiped his head. I guess he used all his energy for the introduction. At that moment, we heard the crunching of graven as more vehicles pulled up outside. “Speak of the devil” Bill put the cloth away and looked at his watch. Through the window of the office the clock on the wall read nine in the morning. “If you follow me, we can meet the researchers.” For the next several minutes, we were introduced to the lead researcher Mike and his four grad students. Once introductions were finished, they loaded up the large truck and headed out to the desert. “Allright,” Bill said again, clapping. “You will be on guard during the night. Be here at six this evening. for the start of your shift. At six in the morning we will have two other guards relieve you during the day.” He headed over to the red Prius. “If you have any other questions, my cell number is in your files. Good luck” He hopped in and drove off leaving the two of us standing in front of the building. “Well,” Stacy said after a moment of silence. “I look forward to working with you, and I guess I'll see you tonight.” I nodded at this. “See you then.” We both left the site for the day. It turned out that Stacy and I both lived in the same town not too far apart. At least the company chose guards that live close to the site to save on driving.
The next four weeks were fairly uneventful. On the first night, we were able to talk with the researchers. Their explanation was the same as Bill had said. They were monitoring the seismic reading to predict earthquakes. But when the lead researcher said that, I got the sense that there was more to it. After some interrogation tips that I got from a CIA member that was stationed in Syria with me, I began to get good at knowing when someone was lying or withholding information. But, I didn't press the issue. If this was something more serious, there would be alot more security than two guards at a time with minimal equipment. After some deliberation with Stacy, we came up with a routine for our shifts. Every hour, one of us would take a walk around the inside of the warehouse. And every four hours one of us would take the ATV and do a patrol around the perimeter of the fence. The whole drive takes about twenty minutes. As far as issues during this time, not much happened. Every once in a while a camera would go down and one of us would check on it. After either jiggling the cable or just resetting it, the feed would go back to normal. There was one night that we noticed some teens outside of the fence seemingly daring each other to climb over. After revving the ATV and hitting them with the spotlight, they decided to leave. But during our shifts I did get to learn more about Stacy. She is a near polar opposite to me. She is very cheerful and chatty. From what she told me, I learned that she was mostly raised by her grandfather who was a police officer for the majority of his life. She had great respect for him before his passing. She wanted to be just like him with his sense of justice and strength. However, she decided to become private security instead of a police officer. I did notice that she seemed to avoid the topic of her parents. From the different walks of life that I encountered within the military, I decided it was best not to press the topic. She also seemed to like the horror genre of stories and films. During our shifts we were allowed to bring things to pass the time. She would bring a wireless speaker and play music and something called creepypasta. I on the other hand would put in one ear bud with music and read a book when we were not chatting. During the first week, we did have to stand guard for the entire 7 days. But after that more guards were stationed at the warehouse for the weekend to give us time off. This did come with an issue. Stacy would ask to hang out during the weekend. She would want to go to the movie theater or get lunch somewhere. But when she asked, I would say that I had plans. Which isn't a lie, but it mostly consisted of meal prep, physical training, and going to a shooting range. The problem I had was this, I never had a girlfriend. While Stacy is both kind and beautiful, I have no idea how to proceed with this. I would only feel awkward. Despite this, she didn't seem to have any intention of giving up. She would still ask every Friday, and when I told her I was busy, she would say, “maybe next weekend then.”
It was Friday of the fifth week when it happened. Me and Stacy were five hours into our shift, and I had just gotten back from a patrol on the ATV. “See any of the Graboids that they are looking for?” Stacy asked, grinning. “I'm afraid not,” I said disappointedly. “Just the usual rodents and reptiles. Although maybe they turned to shriekers and left.” I grinned as well. After logging the patrol, I entered the office and picked up “The Art Of War” and continued reading where I left off. Stacy was listening to one of those creepypastas on her phone. It was about something called a Skinwalker hunting hikers in a national park. It seemed kind of interesting. Maybe I should start looking into these stories. “So,” Stacy said, pausing the video. “You wanna catch a movie this weekend?” Her emerald eyes glistened with anticipation. “Sorry. I have plans.” I responded. She sighed and slouched sadly. “Well. Maybe next weekend then.” I know if anyone saw me in this situation, they would be screaming at me. A beautiful woman is asking me if I want to spend time together outside of work. After this exchange we continued with our activities waiting for my alarm to go off signaling a patrol. It was at this moment when we felt a strong tremor beneath the warehouse. Feeling tremors wasnt that unusual for this area. Every once in a while we might feel a light one during our shifts. But this one was stronger than any other that we've felt. But before we could get under our desk expecting it to be an earthquake, it was already over. The whole thing had lasted less than a minute. We both sat back in our chairs and looked at each other with a sigh of relief. Soon our nerves were settled and we returned to our entertainment. Fifteen minutes later the alarm on my phone sounded. Stacy stood up stretching. “I'll take this one”, she said. I nodded in agreement and looked back at the camera feeds. The camera that overlooked the corner by the janitors closet was static. “Could you look at camera three when you walk by it?” I asked, pointing at the monitor. She nodded and gave a thumbs up. “Got it.” She grabbed a walkie off the charger and clipped it to her belt. Once she left the office, I returned to my book, occasionally glancing at the monitor. After a few minutes, I heard a click on my radio and then a door slam from the other side of the warehouse. I picked up the radio, “Stacy, you good?” I asked. From the way the office was positioned, the view of that closet is blocked by the truck and quadcons. I looked at the monitor and that camera was still out. “Stacy, you good?” I repeated. No answer. I grabbed my radio and a flashlight and headed out the office to check on her. My worry was that during that tremor, some of the cleaner spilled and she might have slipped on it hitting her head. I very quickly walked over to the closet. I didn't see Stacy anywhere, but her radio was on the floor by the door. I ran over and opened the door worried. But instead of seeing Stacy laying on the floor unconscious, there was a large hole on the concrete. I stood there for a moment trying to process what I was looking at. But remembering Stacy, I pulled out my flashlight carefully looking down the hole. Instead of going straight down, it went in at an angle almost like a tunnel. It was large enough for myself to crawl into if I needed to. “Stacy!” I yelled. “Are you down there?” No response. “Shit” I muttered to myself. I then got down and headed in.
The tunnel seemed to go down for at least twenty feet before leading into another much larger tunnel. Once there, I was surprisingly able to stand up with plenty of room. “I wonder if this is what those researchers were looking into.” I thought to myself. Looking left and right, this tunnel continued further than my flashlight could reach. “Stacy! Can you hear me?” I yelled. The only response I got was my own echo. Looking down, I tried to find any indication of the direction she might have gone. At first I didn't see anything. I did notice that there were drag marks in the dirt going left. No boot marks though. I made a mark in the dirt to indicate the tunnel back to the surface, and started down the left tunnel. For the next ten minutes, I was quickly walking my way through this dark tunnel, yelling Stacy's name all throughout. The tunnel kept going down and curving every now and then. But still no sign of Stacy. Eventually I came to a fork. It was here that the drag marks stopped. After calling Stacy's name a few more times, I knew I had to get to the surface and call for backup. As much as I hated the idea, I knew it was necessary. But right as I was about to turn and head back, I heard a scream. It was very faint, but it came from the right tunnel. Now that I had a direction, I decided to continue quicker than before. I traveled deeper and deeper into these unknown depths. It was at this point that I noticed a turn off up ahead going left. I knew that if there wasn't another sound at this intersection, that I would have to return. I got to the turn off and yelled for Stacy. After a few minutes I heard what sounded like footsteps coming toward me. “Stacy?” I yelled. I carefully walked forward. There was another sound. Heavy breathing. The tunnel turned right. As soon as I rounded the corner, I saw something straight out of a horror movie. It stood on all fours with short legs and long arms, head just about touching the ceiling at roughly eight feet in height. Its skin was an ashen gray color with small tufts of fur near the shoulders. The face and large ears reminded me of a bat. Its eyes were so white, they almost seemed to glow in the darkness. I got the sense that, while it couldn't see me, it knew I was there due to my yelling. As soon as I lock eyes with this creature, before I can do anything, it inhales and lets out an ear piercing shriek. I covered my ears, but it didn't do anything as my vision started to fade to black.
“Sergeant!” There was somebody yelling. “Sergeant Miller!” I opened my eyes and I was on the ground looking at the bright sky. Then a figure appeared reaching down to help me up. Corporal Johnson grabbed my hand and pulled me up. “You good sergeant?” He asked. “Yeah, I'm good!” I yelled back grabbing my rifle and getting back to the cover of the hummvee. As bullets riddled the opposite side of the vehicle, I went to the front and returned fire over the hood taking out two of the attackers. Johnson came up behind me doing the same. “The fifty is down, and Rodriguez is hit!” He yelled while reloading. I looked at the hummvee ahead of ours. The doors were open and I saw Corporal Smith messing with the radio while being covered by Private Williams. On the ground beside them was Rodriguez being treated by the Corpsman. I looked back to Johnson, “Cover me! I'm moving up”, I yelled to him. He nodded, racking his rifle. “Moving!” I yelled as I sprinted to the next vic. A couple of bullets hit near my feet. As soon as I got to the rear, I yelled, “set!” Johnson started running while I kept him covered. Once we were both there, we checked on Rodriguez. The corpsman looked up at me, “we need a medevac now!” He yelled holding a wound near the neck. I nodded quickly and got up to Smith who was yelling on the radio. I knelt down, “what's the ETA on those birds?” I asked. He shook his head angrily. “They are at least five minutes out!” He said cursing as a bullet hit the top of the door next to him. “We won't last that long! Just get on the 240 and fire back now!” I yelled in his ear. “Aye Sergeant!” Smith climbs into the hummvee and mounts the turret with the 240 machine gun firing back. I looked back at Johnson, “we need to get to the lead vic and mount the Mark 19!” I yelled back. Johnson gave me a devilish grin, “aye sergeant!” He yelled back. The lead hummvee was two vehicles ahead. With the help of Williams’ suppressing fire, we got to the second vic. “Just one more” I thought to myself. Johnson got ready to move to the next hummvee. I nod at him and get set for suppressing fire. “Moving!” He selled. Right as he started running there was a snap and he hit the dirt as blood started pooling by his head. “Sniper!” I yelled back to the others. But as soon as I looked back to where Smiths’ 240 was roaring, the entire hummvee exploded as an RPG detonated below it. A large piece of what I assume was the door, hit me in the helmet and I was back on the ground. I looked up with blurred vision seeing an attack helicopter unloading its payload toward the enemy placements. But as I blinked, there was a large face staring at me from across the street. An inhuman face. Almost like a bat. I start to remember what this thing is, just as my vision fades to black.
“Sergeant!” There was somebody yelling. “Sergeant Miller!” I opened my eyes and I was on the ground looking at the bright sky. Then a figure appeared reaching down to help me up. Corporal Johnson grabbed my hand and pulled me up. “You good sergeant?” He asked. “Yeah, I'm good!” I yelled back grabbing my rifle and getting back to the cover of the hummvee. As bullets riddled the opposite side of the vehicle, I went to the front and returned fire over the hood taking out two of the attackers. Johnson came up behind me doing the same. “The fifty is down, and Rodriguez is hit!” He yelled while reloading. I looked at the hummvee ahead of ours. The doors were open and I saw Corporal Smith messing with the radio while being covered by Private Williams. I looked back at Johnson. “Wait.” I thought to myself. “I-I was just here.” I watched as Johnson continued to make the same moves as he did in this memory. I stand up and look around as he runs to the next hummvee. I hear the corpsman yell about evac. Smith yelling about the ETA on the birds. “This,” I said to myself. “This was the last mission.” Then I remembered. A face. An inhuman face. I looked across the street where I saw it. I close my eyes and shake my head. When I opened my eyes, I was back in the darkness of a tunnel. The monster was now looming over me reaching out with its large clawed hand. I immediately jumped back out of its arms reach. The monster seemed surprised that its trance was broken. It began to inhale, readying another shriek. But before it could let out its scream, I drew the compact Sig pistol that I keep under my uniform and put two rounds between its eyes. Now when I asked the boss about having weapons, he said they weren't required. He didn't say I couldn't conceal one just in case. The creature slumped to the ground lifeless. Despite the ringing in my ears from the shot, I knew I had to continue forward to find Stacy. I looked down and was glad to see the footprints and drag marks were clear and continued forward. As I continued down the tunnels, the walls started to change. The texture went from the dirt and stone to a black and almost rubbery plastic. If I had to compare, it looked almost like the walls in that Aliens movie. That thought also unnerved me. Soon after noticing the changes, I started to hear a voice further down the tunnel. It was Stacy's voice. Faint, but there. I quickened my pace. The tunnel then seemed to open up into a large cavern. It was so large that my flashlight couldn't reach the opposite end. The walls had that same alien-like texture. I then noticed bulb-like growths attached to the walls. Walking to the nearest one I peered in. There was the remains of a human skeleton. From the looks of it, the bones were here for many years. The clothes, or what was left of them, looked similar to those I've seen in mining pictures from the 1800s. Moving forward, each bulb, or pod I guessed, had a similar sight. A human skeleton, no flesh remaining. They were all in a pose that suggested they all died screaming. At least, those that still had a jaw attached. After looking into the fifth one, I heard Stacy’s voice again from across the cavern. I immediately started walking in that direction. At that moment I looked up toward the ceiling and saw a nightmare. There were hundreds of those creatures attached and encased in similar pods. All seemingly asleep and ready to get out at a moment's notice. Off to the side, there were several of those bods that were empty. Immediately lowering my light, I hastened my pace as quietly as possible. At the end of the cavern, I saw the pale face of Stacy peeking out of what I now assumed were feeding pods. “No daddy, no.” She was muttering to herself quietly. “Don't hurt mommy.” I lifted her head up and her eyes were open but unfocused. “She must be in that trance” I thought to myself. Reaching to my belt, I pulled out a pocket knife and began cutting away at the pod. Luckily for me, whatever this was made of had not hardened yet. As soon as there was enough give, I pulled Stacy out and placed her on the ground. “Come on. Wake up Stacy.” I said quietly into her ear. After about a minute of speaking to her and giving a light sternum rub, her eyes finally came back into focus. “John?” She asked. I put my hand over her mouth and whispered into her ear, “Shh. We need to get out of here quietly.” I pointed the light up at the creature pods. Her eyes widened. Then she looked at me and nodded slowly. I removed my hand and helped her to her feet. She was a little wobbly. “Can you walk?” I asked. She nodded again and we began our track to the surface.
I took point and followed the tracks that led me here. Seeing me with my pistol aimed ahead Stacy asked, “are there more of them in the tunnels?” “Yeah.” I said gesturing up ahead at the carcass of the creature that I shot earlier. She nodded approvingly. She then pulled out her own Sig pistol from her waistband. I think I’m in love. We continued down the tunnels with haste. When we rounded one corner, another two more of the creatures were shuffling towards us. As soon as I saw them, I took a knee and put two rounds in the first one killing it. The second one climbed over the body and sped up taking a deep breath. But before I could fire at it, Stacy put three rounds into its head. I looked back at her and she was in a perfect shooter's stance the muzzle of her pistol still smoking. With our ears still ringing, I gave her a thumbs up and we continued. After some time, we finally reached the smaller tunnel leading up to the janitor's closet in the warehouse. We got out and looked around making sure that none of the creatures were waiting above. After clearing the building, we both sighed with relief. Stacy then started toward the office. “I'm going to call for backup,” she said. I shook my head. “No. We need to collapse that cavern before those things can get up here.” She looked at me with confusion. “And how do you expect us to do that? I doubt the researchers have explosives in their truck,” she said pointing at the vehicle. “Just follow me,” I said heading to the front door. Stacy hesitated and quickly followed. I immediately ran to my SUV and opened the rear. As soon as Stacy caught up, I opened the plastic cases and her eyes widened. “Take your pick,” I said gesturing toward the case full of guns and armor. After a moment, she grabbed a suppressed Honey Badger rifle, a glock 17, and a chest rig for spare magazines. I took my own Suppressed M4 rifle, glock 19, and my plate carrier. After we strapped on the gear, I handed her a pair of noise canceling headphones to help with the gunshots underground. “So, you usually carry this much gear?” Stacy asked, turning on the headphones. “Well,” I said. “You never know when you need it.” After putting on my own headphones, I pulled out a duffel bag from a much deeper compartment of the case. I set it on the ground and opened it. Stacy's eyes went even wider than before. “Is that?” she stammered. “Yep.” I said, looking down at the large bag full of plastic bricks marked as C4. “Where did you?” she started. “Let's just say I know a guy who knows a guy.” I responded, pulling out a detonator and making sure I had enough components. “Let's move.” I said, throwing the bag over my shoulder and loading my rifle. She nodded, loading her rifle.
Once we reentered the tunnel, the mics on the headphones were able to pick up the faint sounds of the creatures footsteps and distant shrieks. I looked back at Stacy, “ready.” I asked. “Let's go,” She responded. I placed a glow stick at the entrance and began the move forward. After only a few minutes of walking one of those creatures rounded a corner. As it did, it let out one of those ear piercing screams. But, fortunately for us, those headphones worked very well at canceling out the effect that it had. I grinned and promptly put two rounds between its eyes. After stepping over the body and rounded the corner, there were two more. “Shit,” I thought. “More of those pods must have opened.” Despite this revelation, we continued. Killing every creature along the way. Stacy did surprise me though. All of her moves were smooth and calculated. She clearly had more training than what the security company provided. Maybe I should ask her about it when we get out of here. She might make a good range buddy. It took twice as long to get to the cavern the second time. A couple of those creatures almost got the jump on us. They would wait around corners or try to attack from behind. I did get hit, but somehow it only damaged the armor plate. I did note that it went through the plate like butter. Definitely didn't want to get directly hit by that. Once we finally arrived at the cavern, there were more empty pods. And even more were starting to move. I dropped the duffel bag and gave Stacy some of the bricks and detonators. “You take that side and I'll take this one,” I told her. “Got it,” she said. I quickly showed her how to arm the device and we began planting. I put some of them in the empty food pods as well as sticking them to the wall. A couple of the pods burst open. I was quickly able to dispatch them. Once we finally finished planting the C4, we met back at the entrance of the cavern. I took out a timer and attached it to the wall. “We are going to have to run,” I said, punching in fifteen minutes. She took a deep breath and nodded. I nodded back and hit start. We bolted down the tunnels. The bodies of the creatures we killed on the way in, did slow us down. But I calculated that. A couple of them did try to ambush us, but we quickly put them down. Throughout this run, I was able to place a couple of the remaining C4 at key intersections in order to collapse the tunnels. We finally reached the last turn and saw the first glow stick up ahead. I glanced down at the timer on my watch. 5 minutes. “Perfect,” I thought, grinning to myself. I helped Stacy up the tunnel. “Keep going. I'll be right up.” I said. I knelt down and planted the last C4 charge at the base of the exit. I then began crawling up the tunnel. But just before my legs entered the hole, something grabbed my right foot and yanked me back down. It held me upside down and I was able to get a good look at my assailant. It was one of those creatures, but this one seemed bigger. There were scars all over its face and torso. “And you must be the leader,” I said. It snarled. My rifle was on my back so I couldn't grab it. It reared its other arm back and readied a slash. “I don't think so,” I said, drawing my pistol and dumping half the mag into its body. It let out one last scream dropping me and falling dead. I looked at my timer. 2 minutes. Shit. I dove into the tunnel and crawled up as fast as I could. When my head popped out, Stacy was there and she helped pull me out. I looked at her and quickly motioned to the door. “We need to haul ass!” I yelled. Without hesitation, she sprinted with me to the door. She passed me and slammed into the door opening it. I guess I'll need to work on my run time. As soon as I passed the threshold, I heard the beeping of my watch indicating the 5 second mark. We bolted toward the gate. Once we got there, the timer went off. There was a rumble underground as I knew the C4 had detonated. It was a moment later that the backside of the warehouse exploded, as the rest of it caved in. I noticed that a section of the desert seemed to sink slightly. That area was where the researchers seemed to spend the most time. I knew they were hiding something. I shook my head and looked back at our vehicles. Somehow, by some miracle, no debris had hit them. We glanced at each other and both let out a big sigh of relief. We began walking back to my SUV. “So,” I said. “What’s playing in the theater?” Stacy looked up at me, smiled and began laughing. I laughed too as she leaned on my shoulder. “Don't know. As long as it's not horror.” I put my arm around her shoulders. “I agree.”

Memory Transcription Subject: Talyn, Extermination Guild Paramedic, Sivkit Grand Herd.
First/Previous/Next
I… I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out why a demon would go behind her superiors for some prey.
Variah hasn’t stopped visiting this cage… t-though, I try to limit exchanging words with the beast as her proximity gnaws at my nerves to no end. Her moving maw leaves an unobstructed view at a row of endless pointed teeth that could easily crush through Sivkit bones, if at any moment she deemed that her desire. However, after all this time… she hadn't mauled me yet.
Nor did any of the other, more openly wicked beasts let their instincts get the better of them either, so I suspect that these demons can reign in their bloodlust better than the Arxur can, a-at least for practical reasons, but I don't exactly want to put that to a test. D-Damnit, why is she doing this? It’s difficult to keep my mind off it when everything else was a failure.
I… I’ve been trying to find a way to break free ever since the predator keeping me company gave her warning about the rest of her kind. N-not that I needed any monster to clue me in on their malicious intent or more prompting to look for a way out of here, but so far, any avenue to escape seems completely futile, at least… f-for now. Can’t give up.
J-Just remember your training… t-though it’s not exactly useful here.
Most of my guild practice had me safely locked within a medical wagon, waiting around on standby in case a front line exterminator suffered a mauling. I- I don’t have enough personal experience with this sort of thing to keep myself level headed, t-to know what to do, b-but… but I’ve heard stories from my… f-from my now ex-colleagues, about retrieving escaped convicts back for treatment.
I- I could take a few pages out of their play book, copy how they got out of their facilities and avoid falling for the same pitfalls that got them found. E-Even if doing so would be more than unorthodox, but… I c-can’t just sit around forever.
Even if for now all I can do is watch out for opportunities, think and plan.
Occasionally, the scientists lead me out of this box to conduct new experiments. I was hoping to find something useful when taken from these confines but I'm always trailed by those towering guards who never take their vicious eyes off me, or let me step out of line… or even let the scientists come too close when not instructed to. The director's men, as I've heard the so-called doctors call them while whispering amongst themselves; e-evidently also afraid of the beastly soldiers.
T-There are cameras everywhere, in every hallway and almost in every room. The few that don’t have them always have a beast there present with me, rarely taking an eye off me, so I can’t bet on finding a blindspot outside this room.
Main doors are locked with codes and keycards, but that doesn't matter much because if I managed to get my paws on a set I'd need to carry around a damned stool to reach a security pad while standing on my hind toes because of these giant freaks. Not even knowing where any door leads since I can't read their scratchy script.
Worse yet, from what I could tell while eavesdropping…
This facility is built at least several levels underground, and it’s located near the outskirts of a m-major predator population center. Meaning that any exits going “topside” had to be intentionally dug out by design, and almost definitely surveyed by guards and cameras.
Only to be surrounded by a countless horde of sapient predators once I got out, a-and… given that I’m at the edge of a monster city and how untamed my crash area appeared, the zone marked for emergency landing for all falling vessels, I… I must have been taken far from any other Sivkit survivors on this planet.
C-Constantly watched, locked and isolated. E-Everything, everything is stacked up against me… D-Damnit, j-just, just move forward, k-keep thinking… I-Ironically, my best bet for escape might be in this very room.
A ventilation duct right behind the bed, t-the only one I could reach with pipes that look wide enough to squeeze into if I managed to get the grate off, c-climb up, if that’s p-possible, u- until I feel fresh air.
The glass screen is positioned on the other side of the bed, with the grate being obscured further by the counter at the bedside and I’ve noticed that the cameras start moving back and forth at night, or at least, when the lights shut off, possibly going into an automated mode when the beasts stop watching the cell… t- the demons have to sleep too at some point I suppose, n-no better time to try.
Every couple of minutes as the cameras move, the lenses line up away from the bed for a few seconds at a time, granting me one consistent blindspot where I could fiddle with the screws if I kept my paw hanging off the bed when pretending to sleep.
But the damned grate is bolted in too tight.
I tried using my claws as an improvised screwdriver, wedging them into the divots and twisting… but those attempts only cost me a few nails with nothing to show for it. So if I had kept it up eventually the predators could notice that all my claws were suddenly wearing away. The demons would scour every surface for the cause, not something I can risk if I want to hold onto the only possible escape route I could find.
I just need something metal… something that wasn’t initially in shortage before I figured out the truth and tried to defend myself, i-if only I managed to maintain a cooler head back than… D-damnit, still at square zero, f-for now, I- I just need to bide my time… h-however long I might have.
T-The predator scientists seem to be conducting more and more redundant tests now, w-with some beginning to whisper about getting started on more t-thorough research, especially when they think I’m out of ear shot. I… I might not have long left before they just decide to dissect me.
“You hanging in there, Talyn?” A long dull claw poked my cheek, sending sharp shivers through my core.
It jolted me back to reality and forced me to regain awareness of the silver predator looming by the bedside, w-whose presence slipped my mind after a-somehow allowing my guard down around her.
“Heh, doesn’t really look like you’ve taken a liking to the book… you’ve been staring at the wall for a while now.” Variah’s voice almost sounded dejected, her head pointed down at the bizarre novel while flipping through its yellowed pages in an apathetic manner.
All I could do was lay behind the covers, grasping onto them as if they could shield me if the demon had a shift in whims, poking my head out while unable to look away as fur all along my back raised with pins and needles shooting through my skin.
An uncomfortable silence swept the room when Variah's horrid eyes began staring down at me, t-though… t-they almost looked tired and unmotivated, like they were begging for something?
“Ah-I… I spaced out for a minute, ah- I’m s-sorry.” The predator raised a single ear at me, s-surprised that I actually answered her this time, and I… I'm not s-sure why I did it either.
Her ears perked up a little, while I briefly flinched away as she opened up her maw, but quickly found that she only did so to speak again. “You don’t have to apologize, I… I can stop reading if you don’t want to hear it?”
The question actually paused me for a minute, a part of me couldn’t stand having to bare a predator’s presence constantly while hearing her voice narrating some damned book that doesn’t make the slightest bit of sense, but I… partly hating myself for it, but I p-prefer hearing Variah’s voice over the quiet, e-even if it's wrong to be listening to a predator. “Y-you… you can c-contiunue… p-please.”
Variah huffed to herself, keeping her ears pinned back in an awkward manner while lingering a strange, unnerving gaze on me for an uncomfortable minute, before turning back to the book and raising her ears up a little. “Alright, alright… I’ll just start over with the chapter.”
“O-Okay…” I muttered, but it made no difference either way. It’s not like I was even able to listen fully while all those things are constantly prowling around me, my instincts getting the better of me… or, with every clashing thought swirling around my mind. About what happened, about what they are?
B-But I got bits and pieces here and there, just enough to roughly know what’s going on. It detracts from everything dire, but I… I can allow myself this one distraction from this place. Even if willingly indulging in some predator’s work just makes my core feel vile. Though, from what I’ve followed, it… it feels like listening to a lie, n-not like the type of fantasy a predator should either read or write about, but that thing looks far too old to be a forgery for my sake.
“For two years their engines roared, two years of steady descent as long white trails of plasma were cast forth into the inky void, decelerating the wanderer on their journey before the antimatter drives were cut and the great vessel came to a halt on its final destination, after centuries, settling into orbit around Aldiel star.
Awe and wonder resonated from the crew, the voyage was long, with countless wonders and detours on their journey through the Galaxy, but it has been twelve-hundred years since the 1st generation set them on this path, twelve-hundred years so that the 48th could bask in the light of the star that guided their ancestors since the days of wind and sails.
And, since it’s mysterious call beckoned them into the stars…”
Variah’s voice filled the room with considerable mirth in her tone despite her prior hints at treachery… doing a far too convincing job at masking that her prior warning ever happened. Though I- I might be going crazy… but there’s almost an air of stress o-or sadness behind her horrid eyes.
S-Somehow, I… I’m not sure what to think about that predator.
She doesn't fit in with the rest of the beasts roaming around this facility, and for a second… You could almost forget that she's a natural hunter, that the being sitting by my side didn’t evolve to kill and gorge on flesh like the rest of them because those facts clash against the image painted right before my eyes.
The same frightening figure doing something as innocuous as reading through a novel by my bedside, as- as if I was some lost child cooped up in a Zurulian nursery.
However, the beast herself went through apparent lengths to reaffirm my sense of danger here while displaying a clear aptitude towards deception, lying even to her own kind… i-it seems foolish to doubt their nature now.
Y-Yet… seeing her yapping about some fiction novel with such glee, I… I can’t exactly see a monster cut from the same cloth as the Arxur. No Grey in existence would ever try to help prey, nor would they ever produce a novel, much less the contents in this one.
P-Predator explorers traveling across the stars in so-called generation ships, i-it’s… r-rather dumb, honestly. The idea of anyone being crazy enough to cross the void without FTL is ridiculous, though, p-predators fantasizing about it is certainly terrifying. I-imagining what lengths they could go to breach their system… I should be happy that the primitive hunters apparently deluded themselves into believing that super luminal speeds are impossible… at least, until we came along, a-and broke that notion for them.
W-when Variah said the book was a story about their vision for space travel I thought I’d be faced with an early glimpse into the nightmarish future we just created. A ravenous horde of canide demons unleashed to murder their way across the stars, if they got their claws on our FTL tech. Bombing worlds, enslaving cultures and spilling blood before tearing into sapient flesh. Y-Yet, that wasn’t in the pages… t-the opposite was.
Wanderers going from system to system, discovering new life, new wonders, new people… and embracing them with open arms instead of clenching teeth, even if by their own perception that life seemed incomprehensible or monstrous… i- initially, at least.
I… I don’t know.
The predators must have been under the delusion that most sapient life would be just as flesh craving as they are before I spilled the truth, with only a few chapters depicting contact with herbivore species, this being portrayed as some unique encounters, a-and… p-peaceful, n-no hunting, no war. W-Why?
Comparably, there were just as little chapters depicting conflict altogether, n-nothing that would delve into their true nature, a-at least… n-not what their nature s-should be.
It's d-difficult to reconcile everything I’ve heard with what we know about predatory minds, with the confessed threat lurking within this facility, though I can’t exactly ignore it either… I-It doesn’t seem like hunger alone drives these monsters, not like the Greys… t-then what does?
T-There… There was a moment where I almost wanted to just ask, t-though I stopped myself before I could do something that stupid. D-Damnit… What am I even doing listening to that damned thing?
Those weren’t the only things that stuck out while listening, more peculiar passages here and there… from what I can tell these beasts hold a strong aversion towards foreign diseases.
With characters being weary of exposing themselves to alien atmospheres before developing cures and vaccines, or trying to prevent their own predator sicknesses from spreading onto other worlds. It explains the suits from earlier, and why some of the predators wear them even now, but not so much the reason for the alarm in the first place… I would have thought that carnivores should be accustomed to carrying pathogens?
Stranger is that they seem to expect to find life in almost every system, even among inhospitable worlds with characters being surprised to find a barren system, or that “there is only one habitable world around the star.”
Or when finding extinct civilizations… a- and mourning their loss.
I-It’s… it’s not like life is rare in the galaxy, but Grand Herd scouts would weep in joy if someone ever found a corner of space as fertile as envisioned. It's… odd, usually its the opposite for species that developed electricity on their own and found the universe quiet, e-except th-the Verin and Onkari… a pair species.
E-Earlier, it sounded like Variah mentioned some others, w-with some notable differences from her. C-Could there… Considering their views about herbivores, t-than it would be a… n-no, I- I don’t know. W-What are the c-chances, and p-predators would conquer any neighbors… r-right?
D-Damnit, I-I’m just going insane in this… this glorified cattle pen, t-trapped for who knows how long? J-Just questioning myself, w-with no one but horrid predators.
Argh! This book! It… i-it really isn’t something a predator should indulge in. Yet some sapient beast wrote it, w-while Variah seems enamored with that thing, the covers seemingly worn from use. What could a hunter like her see in a story almost void of violence?
Reading through the pages with perked up ears, while casting the occasional glance at me to make sure I’m not totally ignoring her, a w-weary look painted on her ugly face.
Sh- e-earlier she mentioned that… t-that she reads that thing during dark times, i-is… is now… No, w-why are you thinking about that now? How can I trust a single word coming out of that maw? I-It could all just be manipulation a-and you’d be falling right into it like s-some dumb, p-predator-brained Venlil?!
T-Though if… if she isn’t as… D-Damnit, my time might be running out, a-and I’m short of options. If there’s even a slim chance that she’s not lying, I… d-despite what she is, despite better judgment, I… I wish I could count her as an ally in this horrid place, w-without fearing any ulterior motives she could have for trying to help me earlier.
If they were the Greys, I could chuck it up to hunger for alien flesh, s-some ploy to get everything for herself… but that doesn’t seem so clear anymore, when their… agitation doesn’t seem focused on their cravings, and when Variah stands out further from the other demons… She must have had a reason.
This… t-this is incredibly foolish, b-but I clenched my shivering paws and cautiously turned my head towards the demon, taking a shaken breath and opening my mouth to speak. “V-variah…?”
The huntress paused some senseless tangent about dyson swarms and ring worlds, whatever that even was… before turning her horrid eyes on me in a quizzical manner and forcing me to gulp after managing to grab her full attention.
“W-Why… w-why are you not like t-the others?”
The silver demon stared at me for a moment with confusion, before taking a claw underneath her chin and scratching while glancing to the side as if looking for an answer. “Oh- erm… My mother hailed from a nation in the far, far south, the native people have similar coats on that continent. Why?”
Coat? “Wha- n-no, I-I mean, why a-are you here, w-why are you s-so interested in aliens? T-The others, t-they are… t-they are more h-hostile, c-cold, y-you aren’t?”
“Ohh, I see… There might be many reasons, Talyn, but I think most are just scared.” Variah looked away from me and pointed her eyes towards the ceiling before continuing on.
“Everything on Valh was turned on its head when you crashed, and no one knows what's going to happen, or what your people even want… but so far their actions haven’t made you seem very approachable, and your reaction to us hasn’t exactly reassured anyone here either.”
“S-Scared… O-Of us? Y-you can't be s-serious, p-predators c-can’t feel true f-fear, n-not because of p-prey, you- you c-cause fear…” She paused and stared at me for a few uncomfortable seconds, her ears pinned tight to her skull while ducking her head a little more at my comment.
“You have some… interesting views Talyn, I have to say. The things you say… they can be quite silly sometimes. Of Course we have fear, I… erm, people thought the world was ending because of the flashes, because of your ships meteoring through the damn sky… Do you really think no one was scared?”
T-There was a pleading glint within her exasperated eyes, paired with ears that stayed pinned to the back of her skull as a paw rose up to hide her face. This… t-this doesn't feel like a fake reaction.
I… d-don't know, m-maybe if… If they did misidentify our burning ships as hurling meteors then it would make sense even for predators to experience the same amount of dread as herbivores do, though I can’t see those instincts sticking once we hit the ground, f- fear of the unknown then? W-What c-could predators fear in the unknown, b-bigger predators?
“I-If they are acting out of f-fear… T-Then why are you so different? A-Are you not s-scared… i-is that w-why you are fascinated by aliens, m-more willing to be approached?”
“Gods, of course I'm scared, I just… have hope that things won't turn out for the worst… and no, it’s nothing to do with fear. I've been interested in this sort of thing since I was a teen, in large part due to this very book… I must have read it cover to cover just about a hundred times.”
“B-But why? W-why would a- a being like you care for something like that?”
“I… I'm not sure, it's nice to read something optimistic, no? I got it from my parents when the world didn't seem so hopeful, I’d read it all the time whenever they went away… I guess it was a nice distraction during the war… now it’s something I can remember them by.”
The predator's long ears slumped low as she closed the novel, slowly tracing clawed digits across its sealed pages while staring at the worn out cover, eventually putting it back into the bag. Are… are her progenitors dead? Y-You could imagine a predator cub feeling despair when losing a vital guardian that was keeping them alive, n-not a fully mature one.
“Y-You have families?”
“Heh, of course we do, big ones usually, is that not common?”
“I-It… it is.” My body shuddered knowing that these terrifying beings come in large groups, something that goes counter to the anti-social nature of the Arxur, however my reaction caused the silver predator to grow even more despondent.
“Ahh… monsters aren't meant to have families, no?” Her long snout pointed down at the floor while crossing her paws together. I-It was such a strange feeling seeing her like this, i-in such a passive state next to prey… o-only drawing her image further than the beasts we know.
“M-Monsters d-don’t… b-but you do… I- I don't r-really understand w-what you are.”
Variah raised one ear at me, slowly pointing her head half way in my direction before lingering a stare from a single eye. “You… can always ask, you know. I’ll answer anything you want to know, just like before. What do you want to hear?”
J-Just ask? H-Heh… i-it can’t exactly be the same once you know you’re talking to a flesh eater, though, I… I think these beasts have to be a tamer breed of monsters than the Arxur, c-closer to true sapience, a-at least compared to those cursed reptiles. D-Damn, what harm could finding out more about their nature really do?
“A-Alright… I- I don’t know, l-let me think…” My thoughts traced over our conversation, until they landed upon something that stood out, o-one of many things not fitting of a predator. “E-Earlier you mentioned gods, d-do you have a religion?”
“Many. I don’t believe in anything of the sort myself, not really anyway… but most of my family prays to the old gods. People all around Valh most commonly follow the new pantheon and the nomad faiths it originated from.”
“M-Many? Okay then… w-what do you p-predators believe in then?”
“It depends, I guess… Most gods are meant to embody a part of nature in some way, the popular ones usually correspond to some star or celestial object in the sky… like I said I don't really put much stock into the supernatural so I don’t know much, though it… can be uncanny how many things are close to being correct in the nomad myths.”
Nature? Not something I expected, but I suppose predators worshiping aspects of nature isn't inconceivable when it's their hunting grounds. Though, it was worrying to hear a predator getting nervous about their own belief systems. “T-The nomads? You… you mentioned them before, Teh… Tesh, yes? W-What’s so b-bizarre about their beliefs?”
“Oh… yes! You actually rem-” The predator's volume spiked along with terror within my chest, but she stopped herself the moment I flinched away.
“O-Oh, I… I didn't mean to shout, s-sorry. They just can be… curious. Really secretive and stubborn about sharing their lores with us but we had some of their legends written down from centuries back and they always just… seem to know things, or at least, are close to vaguely knowing things they really shouldn't until modern times.”
Not that I have much faith in anything she says to me, but my skepticism was certainly beginning to grow. “W-What do you mean, like what?”
“Where can I even start? From what we can tell they always had an obsession with the night sky, but what’s kinda scary is that they have star charts showing surprisingly correct models of our system, with planets that are invisible to the naked eye… a-and later proven real with the invention of telescopes. M-Most were anyway, except for the supposed distant ones.
They knew of new continents and their rough shapes before they were even discovered, they had vague beliefs about the world and basic biology that weren’t too far off from reality if you exclude all the mysticism. They say that their gods granted them knowledge, I… sometimes find it difficult to explain it any other way.”
I've heard of faiths from half the Galaxy, but never had anyone tell me about getting preordained knowledge about science before. “Centuries you say, erm… I-if I were to b-believe you… are you sure t-these nomads haven’t been contacted by other aliens before o-or something?”
“Hah, if you dig around the internet for long enough I’m sure you’d stumbled upon some conspiracy about the Tesh somehow coming from Tielen or something crazier, but I really doubt that.” She chuckled to herself, before abruptly stopping and looking at me with crooked ears. “W-Wait, you… y-you don't know tha- I… I'll tell you later.”
Something about that answer felt off, b-but I couldn’t pinpoint what. “T-These nomads… a- are they just as frightening as y-you…?”
“I'm not frightening, Talyn… but, I suppose if you need a comparison, erm… I guess you might be a tiny bit taller than your average Tesh if you stood on your back legs, take that however you like.”
That much of a difference, i-is she serious?! T-there really might be another species here… t-two predators species o-on the same world?! That… that just can’t be right, p-predators would see another race as competition, a-and she doesn't speak of them as an enemy… m-maybe it's some weaker subspecies that's tolerated enough to not be driven to extinction?
“A-Alright… e-enough about that, p-please.” Whatever the truth is, the last thing I want to hear about is how diverse in form the monsters I’m surrounded by are, n-not when the whole point of us leaving federation space was to evade a pair of hunters… j-just like herself.
It felt… wrong, just considering this question that came to my mind, but having contact with a speaking monster, willing to answer any question… it sowed a certain level of morbid curiosity that couldn’t be ignored. “W- w-what do you feel when you go on a hunt, when you c-catch prey? D-Do you… do you do it often?”
I took a gulp when those words left my lips, but Variah just tilted her head at me as if my query made less sense than warp drive engineering. “When I hunt? Talyn I… I don’t hunt, not anymore anyway. My uncle took me a few times when I was younger, but it’s not something that I, or most people, do on a regular basis… it's not really my thing either.”
“Yo- you don't go hunting?! Y-You’re a carnivore, h-how… how d-do you g-get flesh?!”
“At the market…” Her voice sounded exasperated, like the apparently non-hunting predator couldn’t believe I had to ask.
Having to Imagine these demons selling bodies at a store like they’re some commodities is nothing short of horror, likely coming from cattle farms if most of them really don’t hunt, b-but… it’s inconceivable that a predator would forgo their own personal blood drive and delegate hunting to someone else… n-not her thing?
“Y-You still hunted prey b-before, w-what did you feel when… w-when you k-killed them?”
The predator looked unsure what to say, looking to the side and rubbing her ear. “I… I only managed to shoot something once, I… I guess I felt a rush at the time, pride… along with some pity for the thing. Again, it’s not something I liked, but I don’t feel bad about it, Talyn… I’m sorry if that’s not something you want to hear from me.”
Despondence grew within my heart as she confessed to having no remorse for the life taken, y-yet, she understands enough compassion to attempt alleviating my feelings about it? With a meek voice I tried to speak up again. “B-But… c-couldn’t you just s-stop eating f-flesh? Y-You can eat r-roots and f-fruit, e-even if i-it needs to be b-burnt… t-there is no need for m-murder.”
“Murder?” Variah looked at me in confusion, lingering a concentrated gaze on me for some time. “Talyn… why do you think carnivores eat meat?”
“T-To sate your b-bloodlust… t-they say you c-can’t help yourself, i-it's in your instincts to k-kill.” Variah furrowed her eyes at me and pinned back her ears, though this time it didn’t come off as stress, rather… bewilderment?
“Listen, we eat meat because it’s a physical nutritional need. We can’t eat plant matter like you do because we lack the right enzymes to digest it properly, and regardless of that, meat has proteins my body can’t synthesize on its own so I would eventually starve to death if I ate nothing but plants, cooked or not.”
She grabbed both ears and started rubbing them in an anxious manner. “Sure, instincts do play a role in how predators behave… any creature with specific biological needs had to evolve a drive to fulfill those needs, but it’s about survival, not some… some constant mind consuming lust for carnage?”
“Y-You really expect me to b-believe that you won’t start drooling t-the moment you feel hungry?!”
Variah’s paws moved from her ears and down on her forehead, staring straight at the floor for a few seconds with a fatigued posture before sliding her paws down again to hide her snout as she started to… c-chuckling? “By the gods. I hope you won’t… but if you’re still worried that much my belly’s all full right now, so you have nothing to be concerned about.”
Is she… is she finding this funny!? The thought of her being fully sated with corpses just sent a shiver down my spine, I don’t even think she realizes how morbid the comment was but I could only feel bitter in the moment. “H- how l-lovely for y-you… t-that just makes me feel s-so much b-better.”
Variah narrowed her eyes and slowly looked in my direction, causing mine to widen in response. The silver predator raised a paw and extended it towards my face.
Dread shot through my heart, forcing me to flinch away and shut my eyes before the horrid demon made contact and I squealed in terror, b-but… instead of her claws flaying me alive, I only felt a harsh flick across my ear. “You must be feeling all great now after all if you’re willing to speak with so much spite.”
Cautiously, my eyes opened to see Variah leaning close, her increased proximity immediately sending off alarm bells in my head. However, the overgrown demon just sat there still with closed eyes and perked up ears, holding out a clenched paw in front of me, with only the pinky extended forward.
I just stared at her for a moment, unsure what she wanted me to do before finally recoiling my arm back with a mix of scorn and trepidation when I figured out her attempted gesture. Contemplating my actions here, then contemplating her’s…
B-before averting my gaze from the demon and lowering my arm, and… a-and deciding to cautiously raise my arm, hovering a shaking paw right before the demon’s digit a-and managing to grab on, n-not fully sure of every reason why I did it?
It felt… wrong, loathsome, holding onto a predator, b-but some part of me liked feeling her warmth. She didn’t react at first, but after a few seconds Variah’s digit curled in on itself and pressed my paw against her other knuckles… It surprised me, b-but, it didn’t feel like a grip I couldn’t get away from if I let go now, s-so I just sat there for a moment, taking in how surreal the situation had become.
“See…” Variah finally decided to speak up as I raised my gaze to meet the strange predator once again. “I’m not as terrifying as you think.”
An odd mix of emotions went through my head, b-before I finally let go of her. “Y-you are… y-you just… c-could be w-worse.”
The silver beast seemed disappointed for a moment, but her overall demeanor seemed more positive than before. “Heh, I guess that’s an improvement so I’ll take it, for now.”
For once, I’ve seen Variah’s ears pointed to full height, and she… she really didn’t seem as frightening, m-making my ear rise a little higher too, awkwardly sitting in a crooked manner. “H-heh… y-you… you are a s-strange being, Variah… n-not how I could have e-ever imagined. You… d-do you really not like hunting?”
“Not really, no, if you're willing to believe it… though I won’t lie, I do enjoy the outdoors aspects of it. The hiking, the camping… get to do it a ton for my main line of work.”
The most arduous parts of working in the wild? Why would a scientist have to work in the wilds anyway? “W-What do you actually d-do? A-and, w-why are you here now?”
“Many things, but primarily astronomy and anthropology work. We survey the night sky deep in nomad territory because their communities produce far less light pollution, so I tend to have a ton of contact with the tribals. These are usually joint ventures with archaeology and zoology teams, so we regularly assist with each other's work too.”
“As for why I’m here, the military swooped me up once the dust settled long enough to know that it wasn’t space debris that landed on our world. I… I wrote a paper about a hypothetical first contact with extraterrestrials, and how it could play out based on cultural interactions throughout history… turns out that was enough for the government when they were scrambling to find scientific personnel capable of contributing with an alien encounter.”
It was bizarre hearing that hunters would care about so many fields of study. At best I thought they would focus on utilitarian pursuits, not something as frivolous as archeology. Much less would I have expected that predators would be speculating about aliens. “H-Have you imagined f-first contact going like this?”
“I- I didn't even think we would ever have an actual first contact, n-not in my lifetime… with the distances involved the chances of an encounter were literally astronomical, at least, until we learnt about your physics-breaking technology. Realistically, the best I ever hoped for was living long enough to watch someone land on Tsn, or hell, even our other moon… When they told me what I was meant to do here and got rushed into this room with you, I… I thought I would faint.”
The last bit left a tinge of guilt within my heart, even though it’s for a beast that technically shouldn’t deserve it. My glare just lingered on Variah while listening to the giant predator spill her woes and dreams like any actual sapient being in the Galaxy. It feels… d-dreadful, l-like there was actually someone I could have liked had they not been trapped within that body.
S-Still… I found myself with a need to answer back, turning away from her direct sight. “I- I’m sorry about that, I guess.” I really am going crazy here, aren’t I?
My eyes found themselves staring off at the ceiling while the silver predator just tilted her creepy head at me in a puzzled manner, lingering her unnerving eyes before finally answering back. “You don't have to worry about it… but thanks.”
Nothing more was spoken between us for several seconds, the extended silence drawing more attention to the strangeness of the situation I found myself in, until the moment was cut short and without warning a buzzer sounded over the door.
An ominous voice came online from the speakers, announcing that guards were about to escort me for another set of experiments. Something that left off, and must have also taken Variah off guard judging by her shift in demeanor. “More tests? Strange… nothing else was scheduled for today.”
The door began to cycle through its opening sequence and my anxiety flaring back up to how it was before, shivering, as the sudden break in routine caused an impending sense of doom once I realized that something even more nefarious could be afoot.
It could be futile, but my eyes snapped around the room looking for something, anything that could keep me safe if the worst came to pass, until they landed upon Variah… and the silver predator glanced back at me. Scanning over my current state with concern in her eyes, y- yet again contradicting what her nature should be truly.
A- a desperate thought crossed my mind, s-something… completely unthinkable, but no alternative seems at all feasible, a-and my time is drawing short. I- I cannot do this alone…
“Va- V-variah…” I hissed, my voice so weak that it's a shock that the beast managed to hear it even with those long ears. “P-please… You- you godda k-keep me s-safe.”
Her creepy eyes widened with shock, almosting freezing on the spot, but the predator recovered quickly, likely trying to look inconspicuous before glancing side to side and turning her head back to me with perked up ears.
“I- I promise I’ll do what I can…” She spoke in a low tone while reaching a giant paw towards my head. The sight of claws nearing my face compounding instinctive dread, but despite flinching once her palm made contact with my head, I- I didn’t shy away as much as before.
“On my honour. I just… need to figure out what’s going on first.” Variah took her paw away as the door hissed open, a-and for a moment m-my… my muscles twitched to pull her back before I stopped myself, u-unsure what compelled that impulse.
Two large guards stepped in, sporting fur dark as pitch and looking far more imposing than Variah ever could. “Doctor…” The demon spoke with a low tone that made my claws vibrate while slightly bowing his head in some form of greeting.
“I-is something wrong, sir? I wasn’t aware of any changes in the roster?” The silver predator appeared far meeker than the two beasts in front of her, though her demeanor didn’t suggest an expectation of being harmed by the two, despite her earlier treachery or our interactions from today.
“Nothing’s wrong Doctor, the administrator got a green light for a new line of research, so we’ve been ordered to escort the subject to the lower levels, please step out of the room.”
For a moment, something the demon said shook the silver predator, causing her head to snap in my direction with concern as I shuddered from the sight. “T-the lower levels? I thought those were shu-” She paused once looking back at the giant guard who seemed to be running out of patience. “R-right, apologies, I’m on my way.”
The silver predator moved sheepishly towards the door, lingering at the threshold to look my way one final time, clear concern painted on her face, at least before perking up her ears in what looked like a vain attempt at reassuring me and ducking out of the room soon after.
I- I guess it was just a deranged fantasy ever considering that begging some carnivore for help would materialize into anything. Now I was left alone with two demonic shadows ordering me out of the bed. My muscles weakened when their voices called, with nauseating sickness almost making me vomit from overwhelming dread.
However, following their commands was preferable to these monsters dragging me off by force so I just climbed down the frame, disheartened, and almost collapsed on the floor before letting the demons lead me into deeper depths.
First/Previous/Next
Special thanks to u/TheWalrusResplendent and u/Killsode-slugcat for proof reading this chapter. The help is always greatly appreciated.
Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, been a while since we saw what Talyn. We'll be back with Kafny next chapter to see how she'll adapt to her new situation.

I’ve been hearing about a supplement called Acemannan on social media and I’m wondering if anyone else knows anything about it or thinks there’s any longevity validity to the claims.
The source said it is a miracle molecule found in the inner leaf of the aloe vera plant but the tricky part to reaping the benefits of this amazing polysaccharid is it’s only active for 24 hours once the leaf is broken. So that aloe vera juice from the grocery store shelves isn't doing you much good.
Acemannan has supposedly been clinically shown to do the following (according to the same source):

• active macrophages, t-cells and natural killer cells
• Support healthy inflammatory biomarkers
• Helps heal the gut lining
• Improve skin health
• Stimulate collagen production
• Aid in allergy responses
• Enhance immune response to viruses & bacteria
• Increase stem cell production 300% – 400%
• Has a 10-fold impact on immune activation
• Enhance the production of glutathione by 50%

The source also said “with over 700 studies (many of them peer-reviewed) and $200 million in research, it’s easy to see why those on the cutting edge of health are prioritizing acemannan in their wellness routine”