The Experiment
Field notes of Doctor Mercada of the Nereall, Day 241
A rather miffed looking Doctor Mercada was looking into the camera. Her long hair was pulled back and held in a pony. Her labcoat was buttoned up and looked impeccable.
"I have just learned from Captain Yvain that our next stop will be Katern Prime. Yet another dead world that only the archeology department and perhaps our resident exogeologist will be interested in. On top of that I just lost the last of the three labmen that were assigned to me at the beginning of this journey.
"I have complained several times to the Colonel that I needed more subjects and that I disagreed with the decision to assign most of the specimens we took on before departure to the chemical and biological warfare departments. The only result from venting my... frustration with her, besides improving my mood, was that I got her to agree my work was important and that I would get first pick of any acquisitions we make."
She theatrically exhaled. "But I can wait a long time before this ship even comes across another human, let alone a specimen I can use. Until now I could keep myself occupied with testing the 'improved' nanites I used as an excuse to get me a place on this ship.
"Ha," she mocked. "They don't even really deserve to be called improved. Just a few alterations in their programming which produces a stunning .03% increase in their cellular repair speed. What Amazona needs is a new breakthrough in nanotechnology and I am going to deliver. Once this ship actually encounters another living man that is.
She sighed and drummed the fingers of her left hand on the desk. "But until that happens, I can do little more then wait, study the Hix nanites I brought with me and refine the parameters of my true experiment."
Field notes, Day 0 of Hix experiment
Mercada's expression was carefully neutral, but her eyes were smiling. Even her tone was professional but enthusiastic. "The Erato arrived in orbit of Katern Prime yesterday and we immediately detected a shuttle near the ruins our onboard archeologists were interested in. Colonel Scorpia sent a capture team down to find the occupants which they did, but only after several hours of searching."
Despite her best efforts a small grin broke through. "They only found one man, but they captured him without using nanites and he has been assigned to my project. I have just completed my examination of the specimen and I am happy to say that he is perfect for my experiment."
She ticked off, "he isn't suffering from any genetic defects, doesn't have any physical deformities, is in good health and I am satisfied his constitution is sturdy enough to weather the experiment. If the Archeology departement is to be believed my subject also has above average mental faculties but these are irrelevant to my experiment. And even if it did matter I expect the experiment will do severe damage to his psyche anyway."
She didn't seem fazed by that at all as she continued. "Now for the experiment itself. In two hours I will inject one of the two Hix nanites I received into his spinal cord. There is a small chance this will cause partial paralysis but that is unimportant. The shock collar I have outfitted him with has been modified to not only give shocks of varying power but to also emit a constant, low-level charge through the subject's body. The first two days I will try to use electric shocks and minor physical trauma to elicit some activity from the nanite. If this proves as futile as in previous experiments I will use the collar to augment the subject's bioelectric field. I am now confident that this will prod the Hix nanite into activity. I am hopeful that this latter approach will work because my research on what little we know of the Hix shows that their bodies produced a lot more energy than a human one does."
Mercada gathered her thoughts for a moment before continuing. "I will keep my cover up that I am actually testing the 'improved' nanites on him in the event that my experiment does fail. Retrieving that single Hix nanite from his body in that event will not be easy but should be doable. I am however, confident that I will get the Hix nanite to replicate."
Field notes, Day 2
"As I expected," Mercada began in a professional tone that didn't betray any disappointment, "the electric shocks and physical trauma have not elicited any response from the nanite. I found no evidence of any nanites in the samples I took and the subject is not healing any faster than an unenhanced human would. Further evidence for the nanite's inactivity is the fact that the subject seems to have lost some of his memory. He no longer remembers who he is or the events that brought him aboard ship."
Mercada frowned slightly but it was a frown born out of concentration and not sympathy. "Indeed, the subject doesn't seem to remember much of anything of his personal history. Testing does show his knowledge and mental faculties in other areas were not compromised."
She shrugged, "I have ceased administering the shocks and switched the collar to emitting a constant charge. Since then the subject has lost control of much of his body and his breathing has become slightly irregular but he is still conscious. I have already made ready equipment to feed him intravenously should the subject prove unable to feed himself in this
state."
The blonde doctor nodded to herself as she continued, "so far the experiment is going as expected but the true test of my hypothesis has just begun. I will know if I am on the right track tomorrow, if all goes well."
Field notes, Day 3
"The subject has now been unresponsive to all stimuli for," Mercada looked at something besides the camera, "16 hours if measured from the moment he went to sleep. The scanner is registering brain activity that is inconsistent with a coma and at the moment I assume the cause is psychological rather than physical. I have come to this conclusion based primarily on the absence of any apparent, physical causes for the subject's current condition."
She nodded to herself. "Unfortunately the experiment isn't bearing fruit yet. I have not found any evidence of nanites in the tissue-samples I took today and as I have noted the subject's condition is actually deteriorating. Nonetheless, I remain hopeful that success is still possible. I will give it several more days before I am prepared to admit defeat."
Field notes, Day 4
Mercada looked very concerned but didn't let it infect her voice. "A nanite showed up in today's tests. I had expected to be ecstatic if I actually found evidence of replication but I had also expected to find more than one nanite. And that is not the case so I now I am worried that I may just have destroyed a precious Hix nanite."
Her tone lightened at her next words. "But there is cause for hope. The subject has recovered and has even regained muscular control. Although the cuts I inflicted upon the subject still heal at the normal rate I believe the subject's regain of consciousness is evidence the nanites are healing the him. I postulate that given their advanced nature the nanites have actually prioritized the various injuries and repaired the most serious first.
"This is of course mere speculation," she admitted. "And still the fear gnaws at me that I may just have destroyed a very precious resource. I will feel better after tomorrow's tests," she tried to convince herself.
Field notes, Day 5
"I've done it," Doctor Mercada exclaimed. Her eyes were shining with excitement and she was leaning over the desk. This showed a hint of cleavage as the top three buttons of her labcoat were undone. "I have enticed Hix nanites to replicate. Today's test prove this beyond a shadow of a doubt."
She took a deep breath and straightened her posture before continuing in a calmer voice. "I found 27 nanites in the samples I took today. I now have a factory from which I can harvest as many nanites as I need, as many as Amazona would want.
"There is also another change in the subject's status. Cuts I inflict upon him now are healed within seconds and I have noted that his physique is becoming more muscular. Nothing excessive and if I had to compare it to anything I would say the subject's build now resembles that of an athletic swimmer. This latter change is completely unexpected and I look forward to seeing how he will develop in the coming days. Unfortunately the nanites seem to be unable to restore the memories he has lost, a limitation that is not surprising given the fact that the memory loss stemmed from before activation."
She smiled. "All in all, I will be throwing a small celebration for myself tonight. It is unfortunate that I can't share this triumph with any of the crew yet but I need to present them with a finished and completely successful experiment to cover my improprieties."