2156: Commodore E. Rammage Personal Log
A transcript from the personal logs of Commodore Earl Rammage, for the woefully uneducated Lt. Max Allard..“Biological Machines or Bio-Machs are gene-spliced machines which use bio-organic chemical chains and protein syntheses in lieu of mechanical servos. Unhackable units. Toasters which use fire instead of electric coils to make you toast... Cue the picture of a gen one bio-mach in an apron. Pause for giggles..." Phil recited his introductory lecture of the course in advanced bio-mach engineering he taught in the Symposium. His eyes filtered through the papers, paused at AD-001. The first truly independent bio-mach, which made all other high functioning Assets a possibility.
"... The beta, gamma and theta cases of bio-mach success were augmented canid fauna rearranged with useful protein sequences to heighten pack mentality, obedience, and lock-jaw to devastating tactical effect. But first came AD-001, built through a breakthrough in genetic engineering large enough to make the wooly mammoth look like a rat after a pebble sized wheel of cheese... What breakthrough, Dr. Rykstra? Well, curious B student...”
Biological Machines, or Bio Machs are carefully crafted machinery based off of genetic engineering & biological processes. The true tools of humanity's advancement, these artificial organisms are tailored for specific tasks within The Conglomerate of Gaia's resource acquisitions & military divisions.
The problem was complex: Haven was giving sanctuary to our military machines. Anything smarter than a microwave was packing up and answering the Mater Machine's call to come quote-unquote 'home'. If we wanted to take back our planet from Lieben and her unholy tin cans, we needed weapons. Tech wasn't working, so? We went Biological.
Little more than codes and subroutines, each Bio Mach is bespoke with 'instinct algorithms' built into their neural nets. Meat machines and quadrupedal tanks. Vines with colour shifting leaves to make troops aware of biochemical weapons, like canaries in mineshafts. A series of creatures limited by the talent and imagination of the geneticists, who clipped DNA strands together in a proprietary method developed from over 30 years of research.
Once the pilot project is complete, Bio Machs will be made available to the personal security forces & resources of the Board. They're just guns with flesh.
Date of Setting 2150
Summary
Bio Machs are bespoke genetically engineered machines, with limited higher processing & programmable 'instinct algorithms' to inform the machine on its tasks. Built loyal, they can be downed with a phrase and set in caskets until next use. A natural hibernation occurs once restrained, to aid in transport & resource maintenance.
Nothing more than creatively maintained & designed plants and biological machines.
I pray to whatever god we have left Lieben doesn't figure out the truth before we can use them to defeat her. She does not need to see we kept AD-001 Aderastos and his fellows in caskets below the water line of a sinkable ship.
The Asset had a name. Scrawled into the side of the casket, a series of letters Rykstra was probably foaming at the mouth to analyse. ‘Aderastos.'
Historical Basis
A clever lie based around the Assets Project, the development of Bio Machs is a calculated risk with clearance so tight only a couple members of The Board and the crew of my ship know of their true existence. At some point the project would be public. It was inevitable stock holders and higher per-diem members of the Conglomerate would know, before 8 ft tall behemoths started popping up protecting assets.
The marketing department was first up, after a proof of concept took place via clippings of the organism KA-007 Ka.
The truth, as Max Allard found out personally, when I sent him to retrieve AD-001 from that Ucluelet Haven in Canada, is clonal expansion and experimentation on human genomes of the deceased.
God help our souls if anyone figures out who. Not even I was read in that far.
Spread
Development of Bio Machs is a purely non-human process, according to the Conglom-based advertising from London to Rindahl.
The Conglomerate guarantees no genes from homo sapiens have been, nor will ever be utilized in the creation of Biological Machinery.
They are meat machines to serve, nothing more.
While I've seen some chatter in Syndicate circles about our genetic experimentation, few places prior to 2155 had evidence of Bio Machs. We keep it close to our chests, especially since my ship CGM Ithavoll is both development laboratory and training facility for the beasts.
Then one of the bastards learned how to swim. AD-001 made landfall after diving into the Pacific during a storm. Right into the waiting arms of the Mater Machine. As if cursed, I had no choice but to send the most harmless, most spineless member of my crew to coax the Asset out, before it sold its techno-soul to the Queen Machine.
You, Allard.
Asset: AD-001. Altered physiology. Psychometric Scanner. Cellular Reconstruction. Berserker.
Field Type: Medic. Insurgence.
Value: Omega+. Keep Dark.
Down-Phrase: Apollo follows Artemis at night.
Danger Coefficient: Alpha-Level. Extreme CautionAD-001’s massive hands slid across each patient’s skin. A woman in the oncology intensive care unit craned her head off the pillow. A hum stole the air, AD-001 cupped her cheek. Colour glistened from pallid grey to a hale glow. She gasped, palm flattened against the mattress. Dark circles drained from pale amber eyes.
Gigantic fingers ran along her skin down to the wrist, where he pulled out her IV. Pressed his thumb on the blood mark and bruised flesh. AD-001 watched her rise, eyes focused on her fingers as she slid them in his hand.
“Thank you… thank you….” Her nose collided with his sternum as she drew her arms around the Asset’s waist.
No.
AD-001 had a name. Aderastos.
Max's mouth tasted bitter at the thought that even yesterday, when he replaced CL-003's pump filter, the Asset was an it.
Cultural Reception
The unhackable Bio Machs are our ticket back to human supremacy! No more hazardous jobs for Debt Reclaim Contract: Naval's and low-wagers, Bio-Machs will take on all unpleasant things.
Let all the children come to me, and I shall give them rest. Aderastos, come home.
I know what I saw, and I know what I feel. AD-001 Aderastos and the others aren't machines, they're people! We're responsible for them and we can defend them. Give them rights, a better bed, something!
Wh-Sir that's ridiculous, who'd skuttle a ship the size of the CGM Ithavoll? It doesn't make... there are 4200 people on this ship. They can't... oh my God.
Comments