17-09-2003, 09:36
The Scientist sat back, rather pleased with himself. The new nanobot cultures were stabilizing under the containment field nicely. It was a welcome change from yesterday, when he was afraid the entire batch would have to be sterilized, to prevent them from violating security protocols and safety measures. But, after an all-nighter, full of caffeine and sugar, he'd managed to stumble across a simple variation on a leryon-impregnated EM field that "convinced" them to restrict their building activities to their current host, and not attempt to propagate via airborne and other means.
This was a Good Thing, as the radical mutagenic properties of this new strain were particularly...
...and then the door exploded. Armed "freedom fighters" stormed in, shouting epithets such as "let our people go!" and "nanos are people, too!". Unfortunately, like most well-meaning green terrorists, they failed to account for the potential damage any act of violence can spur. A fragment of the blasted door embedded itself into the control system of the containment field, after passing neatly through the forehead of the aforementioned Scientist. This had two side-effects, the first of which was the immediate cessation of life-functions within the Scientist (silly man- should have tried the new culture on himself, like any self-respecting Mad Scientist would have, already- he might have survived...). The second was the loosing of the captive nanobots from their directive to stay confined to one host. They immediately spread to the building's AC system (having already developed protocols for just such an opportunity), and also took the opportunity to coopt the invaders' biosystems thoroughly. Some died immediately and gruesomely. Others fell to the floor writhing in pain, only to awaken later grossly disfigured. Some of them even had the appendages required to terminate themselves. Others just pooled on the floor and quivered, or slithered off into the jungle. Others appeared affected, and ran, panicked, from the remnants of the lab.
Thus, a New Era was born.
OOC: Nanobot research is generally strictly regulated in the Federation, with full documentation and governmental oversight. In this case, this facility was operating far outside its assigned boundaries. On the outside, it appeared to be a simple development lab for immunity-boosting nanobots, with full governmental permits and oversight. However, corporate greed being what it is, this was actually Yet Another Supersoldier Project, financed by a consortium of international corporations (you folks pick the ones involved- none of the ones native to the Federation are involved- the government oversight contacts were thoroughly bribed to allow this). The nanobots have a random effect on the new host, exploiting whatever natural genomic advantages they may find. Occasionally, they will enhance the host's immune system first, then attempt to influence the rest of the genome- these are the monstrous variants noted above. Occasionally, the nanobots will totally ignore the host's own genome, preferring to use it was a quiet carrier. But the most often seen result is what the media are reporting as a "plague of super-powered freaks". Of course, the term "superpowers" is subjective. Your mileage may vary. And only those with a lust for power would be appropriately termed "madmen". "One bad apple", you know. This incident should provide for ample opportunities for good RP all over. The nanobots are Very Tough, and tend to enjoy the effects of most energy weapons directed toward their destruction, similar to The Andromeda Strain. The containment method above will have to be discovered by others, as the lab itself was totally wrecked, and the only person who knew how to stop them was killed in the "liberation" of the test subjects. Socially, this issue could get very interesting, as it creates a new class of residents- whatever they may be called in your native region (ubers, supers, monsters, demons, gods, The Blessed, etc). Feel free, of course, to ignore this development, if it doesn't jibe with your plans for world domination, whatever flavor they may be.
This was a Good Thing, as the radical mutagenic properties of this new strain were particularly...
...and then the door exploded. Armed "freedom fighters" stormed in, shouting epithets such as "let our people go!" and "nanos are people, too!". Unfortunately, like most well-meaning green terrorists, they failed to account for the potential damage any act of violence can spur. A fragment of the blasted door embedded itself into the control system of the containment field, after passing neatly through the forehead of the aforementioned Scientist. This had two side-effects, the first of which was the immediate cessation of life-functions within the Scientist (silly man- should have tried the new culture on himself, like any self-respecting Mad Scientist would have, already- he might have survived...). The second was the loosing of the captive nanobots from their directive to stay confined to one host. They immediately spread to the building's AC system (having already developed protocols for just such an opportunity), and also took the opportunity to coopt the invaders' biosystems thoroughly. Some died immediately and gruesomely. Others fell to the floor writhing in pain, only to awaken later grossly disfigured. Some of them even had the appendages required to terminate themselves. Others just pooled on the floor and quivered, or slithered off into the jungle. Others appeared affected, and ran, panicked, from the remnants of the lab.
Thus, a New Era was born.
OOC: Nanobot research is generally strictly regulated in the Federation, with full documentation and governmental oversight. In this case, this facility was operating far outside its assigned boundaries. On the outside, it appeared to be a simple development lab for immunity-boosting nanobots, with full governmental permits and oversight. However, corporate greed being what it is, this was actually Yet Another Supersoldier Project, financed by a consortium of international corporations (you folks pick the ones involved- none of the ones native to the Federation are involved- the government oversight contacts were thoroughly bribed to allow this). The nanobots have a random effect on the new host, exploiting whatever natural genomic advantages they may find. Occasionally, they will enhance the host's immune system first, then attempt to influence the rest of the genome- these are the monstrous variants noted above. Occasionally, the nanobots will totally ignore the host's own genome, preferring to use it was a quiet carrier. But the most often seen result is what the media are reporting as a "plague of super-powered freaks". Of course, the term "superpowers" is subjective. Your mileage may vary. And only those with a lust for power would be appropriately termed "madmen". "One bad apple", you know. This incident should provide for ample opportunities for good RP all over. The nanobots are Very Tough, and tend to enjoy the effects of most energy weapons directed toward their destruction, similar to The Andromeda Strain. The containment method above will have to be discovered by others, as the lab itself was totally wrecked, and the only person who knew how to stop them was killed in the "liberation" of the test subjects. Socially, this issue could get very interesting, as it creates a new class of residents- whatever they may be called in your native region (ubers, supers, monsters, demons, gods, The Blessed, etc). Feel free, of course, to ignore this development, if it doesn't jibe with your plans for world domination, whatever flavor they may be.