Chapter One

…..

Vivori Angeles, also known as Vivori for short sighs tiredly as she lets her eyes drift towards the open window of her office. As usual, the view is nothing great. Gales of snow buffets on the outside almost making the invisibility near to zero. Not that the view is something to see on the other hand. Here on the fringes of cold Antarctica, the world is a desolate wasteland filled with nothing but grey and white. Barely anything lives here due to the extreme temperatures of the end of the world. It is a depressing place where even the staunchest of souls can be worn down.

On the other hand it is a perfect place in conducting research and experiments away from prying eyes. Experiments that we might say perhaps are a bit amoral when it comes into coming into the ethical view of the world.

Vivori Angeles, twenty-six years old is a Filipino by nationality. She is a graduate from the University of the Philippines, a savant, one of a lifetime genius that manages to pass the halls of the prestigious University. Graduating earlier than the rest of her peers, she effortlessly aces her doctorate degree at the age of twenty-three with a focus on Anatomy.

Beautiful, successful, and intelligent, it is not a surprise for the rest of her family that Vivori becomes one of Adams Insitute of Technology's employee. The Institute at the year of 2015 is one of the leading companies researching Pharmaceuticals and ground breaking cloning of organs in an effort to cure cancer which is slowly becoming a prevalent problem everywhere. Here it is where Vivori flourishes as one of the Institute's leading researcher and doctor in the field of Organ Cloning.

Thus here her story starts.

Cloning is highly disapproved by humanity as a whole. Ranging from religious to sceptical people, the field of Cloning has never got a good rep. Even though these coming years, cloning of organs is being used on the field of medicine to replace damaged organs on people; the simple fact remains that the field is still highly mistrusted.

So here she is at the world's arsehole where ice and cold are her constant companions alongside those of her team that are experts on the same field. Apparently the radicals and the protests against Adams Insitute of Technology for promoting Cloning as a medicinal alternative have finally reached breaking point prompting the Board of Directors to distance their lead researchers for their own safety against the more fanatical and the radicals who might do something drastic. On the other hand it also caused the movement against them to lessen a bit seeing the head honchos of the Institute apparently "promoting less" the continuation of the Cloning field.

For Vivori, she could care less. While intelligent, beautiful and brilliant in many ways, the young researcher have always been anti-social….most of the time. Sure she has friends and peers, however she loves her solitude most of the time and her version of relaxing is mostly playing sci-fi games, watching movies or reading a book. The solitude on this place while heavy does not affect her that much.

Away from prying eyes and judgemental views, she and her colleagues after all have made leaps and bounds in the field of Cloning. Once the cloning of a singular tissue is labelled as ground breaking; now the simple fact that they can clone organs is nothing more than miniscule due to the mastery of repetition. None of that whatsoever matter for Vivori; she is a researcher, not a developer. Learning new things is her trade along with the know-how to improve said things.

That is the reason why Vivori has a more positive vibe here on this out of the way research laboratory. The basics of cloning tend to ruffle even the most considerate of humanity in this time and age. To push the boundaries of those basics, she would not be surprised if they would stampede and rip her to shreds.

Suffice it to say the least, what she is doing is not only pushing the boundaries of basics, barely….no. What she is doing is pushing the boundaries of the basics to its limit. Frankly, if she's going to be honest with herself; what her almost completed research would achieve would cause not only a stampede but uproar.

Humanity might tolerate (with great restrictions) the cloning of organic body parts. What they would never tolerate and might cause even the most liberal human being to pause and think before deciding…is the cloning of a human being; something that she is almost in reach to accomplish.

"Hey Viv, you okay down there?" Steven Pons, the Swedish scientist and three time leading researcher of DNA splicing calls down from his lab. "Its past twelve and the guys and I are having lunch soon at the top floor. Do you want to come?"

"I'm alright here sir," Vivori calls out back retaining her eyes on the electronic microscope watching each intracellular microorganism wriggle on their own specific boundaries under her gaze.

For the young Filipino researcher, the human body has always fascinated her. How it works, the reason as to why it works, when it works when it does. It is a question whose answer seems impossible to grasp. For all her three years of advance cloning, the one thing that she never manages to accomplish is the replication of a consciousness. The human body is easy to replicate. What is the body after all but a giant interconnected sequence of tissues with the design to form a system that correlates with each other through nerves that serves as pathways. To simplify it, it is more like a city that connects with one another. The hard part on cloning the human body is not the body itself, no. The hard part is cloning the consciousness…..the soul. It is something that she and the team with her through thousands of debates never manage to find an answer. Frankly, it is what separates a human from an animal; it is easy to clone knee jerk reactions on the body that can be referred to as instincts, consciousness is another matter. The big question if there is a higher power that makes consciousness, and the ability to reason in the first place. A thousand generations of debate and the answer is no closer than day one when one ape slaps another.

"You really need to lessen work and spend more time with the rest of the team Viv," the wizened voice of the project lead, Doctor Michael sounds behind her making the young Filipino researcher sigh as she turns off the electronic microscope, making sure that her sample is safely secured before turning to the seventy- eight year old man who is smiling sagely at her. For an old man, Michael is spry, using only a cane when the weather is extremely bad and the cold seeps to his bones.

"And you need to spend more time working instead of talking to us sir," replies Vivori looking at the man who is the head of their entire department. He is not a researcher or a doctor like the most of the team, but he is a good manager of people and the ones with the money above trusts him, thus he is the project head.

To his credit, the old man just shrugged, brushing off her words as he always does. "Someone needs to be there to remind you bright ones to come out and eat every once in a while. Come above with the rest of us. While I do appreciate you guys putting all your effort into your work, take some downtime. Dinner is about to start soon and a healthy body results to a healthy mind," says Michael standing up with a little groan before walking back to the stairs leaving Vivori behind watching him exit her office.

Sighing more to herself, Vivori turns once more back to her station at the table making sure to save her most recent files at the computer. As much as a nuisance it is mingling when she could be exploring, Vivori has to admit that Michael has a point on making sure that she and everyone else remains on tip top shape.

The human body is one of the most complex of structures with a basic layout. It is like a machine, and like machines it needs maintenance, repair and fuel to keep on going. That is maybe the reason why Vivori retains her figure and looks in nothing more less than excellent. Normally any bookworm or researcher would have been fat already due to their interests on the physical side of life. Not her though. Vivori understands that despite her innate born intelligence. Everything is a balance. Body and mind of a human is what makes a human more diverse than any intelligent being in the planet. The two working in congruence is a must. Thus Vivori maintains her physical health with a steady gym regimen and correct diet that would have made a professional model green with envy. In fact in ways she does not know, she is a beauty miles above in body and in face (thank you Filipino genes which is so diverse) compared to the rest of the females working in the Institute.

That is why Vivori for the life of her is unable to understand the secret of understanding how consciousness could be born from a brain.

Turning her eyes to the twirling x-ray of the brain which is the wallpaper of her station, Vivori once more frowns as she tries to understand the issue that is currently bugging her. Nearly every being that shows innate intelligent form in the planet comes from something. They have ancestors, sources to come from; basic imprints of nature through evolution that serves as the framework of something better than before through the next generation. It's what makes humans so diverse. Being anatomically weak, humans turn to tools to serve as backup for what they lack in gift of nature. Fear of death forces the human brain to adapt, to think of ways better than before to make survivability available in a world where everyone is planning to make a meal out of you.

And that itself is the problem.

Cloning in a sense is a photocopy of what already is. However for the life of her, Vivori still has not unlocked the secrets of how to photocopy human consciousness. Tissues and cells can be cloned and replicated but the imprint of what makes a human simply cannot be replicated. How can you photocopy what is there but you cannot see?

Her musings however is broken when a loud beep from the intercom on her room makes the young researcher nearly fly out of her chair. "Once more this is Director Michael to doctor Vivori down there who I guess would have been thinking about work again. Dinner is about to start soon and I suggest that you join us before the food gets all cold in here. This is an order not a suggestion, so could you please not make us wait half an hour. The rest of us are getting hungry. Michael, out,"

Rolling her eyes at the rather stern reminder, Vivori stands up making sure to look one more time at her turning brain wallpaper before heading to the stairs that would take her above. A yawn immediately leaves her lips as the sound of her heels echo on the glass floor. Maybe she has been a bit overzealous in her work and Michael is right. She does need some chow and down time. Taking the stairs one by one heading up, the young researcher never expects her heels to misstep in her fatigue forcing her to stumble.

The last thought of Vivori other than surprise as she fell headfirst is utter fear and sudden pain before everything that she ever knows stops and immediately engulfs by blackness.

…

Curious…..

About….?...

New… idea …

Who?...

Human….female….soul…..pass….

Thoughts….?...

Experiment…..Seee…..curious…..

Different….?...How?...

Mind…..thoughts…dreams….interesting….machines….replication…..clones….curious….

Worth….?...

Intelligence…maybe….curious…..Revive….plan…

Aid….?...

Yes….three…..thoughts…..soul…..plan….galaxy….change….

Sure….?...

…Yes…..Curious…..Need…Seee….

Understood…..Revival…..agreed.

Galaxy…..affect…..change…curious….

Three….wishes….silly….granted…

…

They say Death is the end. Humans ever since the most archaic of times have always preached that life is only meant to be lived once. Religion, philosophies and teachings throughout the ages teaches that single truth. There is no such thing as second chances, second life. Death is the end. It is the first enemy and the last, the one that all humans fear and try to avoid as best as they can, as long as they can. Death always wins however in the end and all return to her embrace never leaving again.

That is the reason why you can't blame Vivori waking in a panic as she regains consciousness or the equivalent of one as she regains her senses trying her damnest not to hyperventilate.

She remembers it clearly….her death; the sudden pain of her head meeting solid rock, the feeling of being detached from her body; the utter fear as her very consciousness was pulled to the inky blackness forever falling, forever moving as the stars and the galaxies flew right past her in a rapid state blinding her; that hand reaching out pulling her from the eternity of shadow asking three questions of what she wants the most; the feeling of once more zoomed billions of years until a star crashed into her entire being and here she is.

Vivori's vision turns left and right taking into account her surroundings. It is a lab, or what was once a lab if the state of the dust lining the rows and rows of computers is any indication. It is also a lab styled in a way that she has ever seen before. Instead of the computers being solid, the computers are all made of hologram with the screen lacking glass and instead flickering green light as the consoles beeped and blipped. Ironically they almost look like human computers from before only with holograms to serve as keyboards and screens instead of the usual analog ones that she knows.

Savant, Vivori has always been and the scientist in her easily overrode the one who is still utterly confused and terrified inside. She has always been single minded in everything and that is what makes her one of the best before. First of priority of hers are things that she doesn't know.

Moving forward or correction, attempting to move forward makes Vivori immediately aware of three things. A.) She doesn't have a body and seems to be nothing more than a consciousness floating around like a ghost. B.) A green hologram appears without warning in front of her. C.) Said Hologram is not a form of a human but that of a standing person but a wolf instead of a human as a head.

"Presence confirmed, establishing runtimes. Lab access authorized. We welcome you home, Doctor," the hologram said in English in a robotic tone before Vivori screams internally as she feels some sort of plug seems to grip her head and pull her in. Pull her in to what, she does not know but it is pulling her in.

And just like that, Vivori wakes up in a gasp, eyes opening in a familiar way making her tumble forward, hands coming to rest on her forehead as the mother of all headaches throbs inside. Her nerves feel as if they are on fire and her body shivers as if it's been exposed to cold. Groaning she squints her eyes forward frankly glad on seeing the mug of coffee in front of her innocently. Tumbling inelegantly that she would have been caught dead before, Vivori grabs the mug and does not hesitate on downing the contents in just to stop the splitting headache.

"God above that is a pleasure," Vivori moans to herself as she feels the hot brew pass inside her throat. It is a right blend to; the best in fact that she has ever tasted….ever since forever. It is a good wakeup call from that horrible dream where she died and meeting that hologram. Leaning to the steel table, making sure that her lab coat is not spilled by any coffee drops, Vivori takes another drink again from the mug mumbling contently to herself as she relaxed not caring for the world around her as the headache slowly seeps away.

"It is pleasing to see that the body built for you are acclimatizing finely doctor,"

Vivori nearly chokes on her coffee as her eyes snap open at the direction of the robotic voice showing that green hologram from before. Now that she notices it, she is in fact in the same room with the dusty computers from before; only thing is she has a body this time instead of a floating orb of consciousness. And did that thing just said that the body she has now is built? Where is she? What is she doing here? What is that thing? Why are there holograms? What's going on? Is this afterlife? Why is she wearing the same clothes she wears then when she died?

Apparently the hologram thingy with the wolf head doesn't seem to take note on her distress for it begins to speak again in that robotic monologue tone.

"Welcome Doctor to the Center. I am glad to see that the body we have made for you are going at 98% peak efficiency,"

Vivori simply blinks at the hologram wolfy thing trying her damnest to digest what she is hearing. "B-body you made for me?"

"Indeed Doctor, it has been thirteen cycles since I start progress on building a cloned body for your consciousness to dwell in. This form you currently inhabit I admit is one of the best so far that I have made with the schematics I have received,"

"Schematics you have received?"

"Indeed,"the hologram replies with what seems to be a grin which is terrifying for a wolf head if not for the robotic voice. "This station has been dormant for a hundred thousand years ever since my people, the Inusannon passed away. My name is Bleargthatalgaljgra in my creator's tongue. You can call me B-9, Artificial Intelligence in charge of the Center, the hub of Inusannon technology in this planet,"

If not for the fact that Vivori has a habit of prioritizing in her head, she would have fainted already from the overload of information. The things she's hearing, Inusannin, Artificial Intelligence, station and body creation….it all sounds like a story of some sci-fi movie. Vivori normally loves sci fi movies and watches them in her spare time. Only thing is, never in her thousands of vivid imaginations and fantasies does she expect that she would be dropped in one. Her brain simply seems unable to decide whether to be totally horrified or be extremely excited of the wonders of exploring a new experience. Vivori does love breaking and exploring the unknown. To be dropped into said unknown however without her permission is drawing the line.

As it is currently, Vivori projects an aura of nonlachance to prevent the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions currently twirling inside her head. No point to show this…..artificial intelligence that she is simply a hairsbreadth away from totally breaking down and running around in panic like a headless chicken.

"You said you made me B-9, please elaborate," says Vivori trying her best to clamp down the whirlwind of emotions from showing in her face. She's not exactly sure what is going on, but if projecting a façade of confidence prevents this machine from doing to her something unpleasant, she would be more than happy on maintaining said façade.

"Of course," chirps the hologram. "As I've said before schematics have been downloaded in my archives about you. Schematics specifically designed to create you, piece by piece down to the cellular level,"

"Wait….are you talking about organic creation of a body?" asks Vivori blinking as the scientist in her starts to emerge. Nervousness and terror gives way to curiosity and fascination making her former terrified eyes wanders over the entirety of the room she is currently in. Now that she notices it, it seems to be some kind of control room with darkened windows and lots of computers that still remains shut down except for the one flashing the light of the hologram of B-9.

"Affirmative," nods the machine. "This facility is once a scientific and research hub by my creators before they transformed it to an archive facility. In its prime, my creators did not only manage to create organic flesh, but also improve it, stronger and better in every way. I am the guardian and archiver of this facility. It contains every scrap of knowledge that the Inusannon possessed before they transformed the upper levels of the floor above to a military bunker. I hypothesize that this is the last iota of knowledge left of my Creators ever since the war,"

"The War?" Vivori simply blinks as the avatar it seems dims a bit, the greenish color it has becoming transparent for a few seconds before returning to its former lustre.

"Correct. It is the war that eliminates the civilization and the entirety of my creators. It is a war of bloodshed, of massacre. When the skies rain steel and fire as giant things made of cold and iron descends. It is not a war per say, no. It is a massacre. This archive facility only survives by a whim when the mountainside cracks and buries it, shielding it from the terrors of the sky. I and I alone am left here as I listen to every communication throughout the galaxy of my creators disappear. Now I am the guardian of their secrets and so are you,"

"Me?" Vivori squeaks, not even noticing the uneven sound that leaves her lips.

"Indeed. The schematics of my last command from my creators tells me to create you atom by atom, piece by piece with the best that this facility has to offer. It takes me at least three thousand years to build your body. My Creators have perfected the art of organic construction, where we can create a body in less than three years, you doctor have to be constructed in the most painstaking fully utmost detail in perfection each piece. For what reason you are made, I do not know, but you bear the legacy of the Inusannon doctor. You are the future of my people,"

Vivori simply stands there in shock. Once more the words of this….artificial intelligence have managed to catch her off guard. On one hand, one part of her is simply glad that it is not planning to kill her in any gruesome way possible. The other hand unfortunately seems unable to organize into place the weight of responsibility that is being thrust into her shoulders.

Don't mistake her, Vivori knows herself very well. She knows that she is a good organizer and can be trusted to do complex things. In fact she revels on it, doing things simply for the challenge on it. However even she seems unable to grasp the fact that an entire legacy is being thrust into her. Of course she considers the fact the hologram is speaking falsehood; however a part of her truly believes that what she is hearing is true and not lies. She does not even know this Inusannon people that the hologram keeps hearing about it. Who are they? What are they? Why did they leave this to her?

She has so many questions that need answering immediately.

"B-9, tell me about the Inusannon in three sentences," requests Vivori leaning on the side of one of the metal chairs which ironically seems to fit her snugly very well.

"The Inusannon are a humanoid race almost like yours doctor with only thin scales for flesh instead of the hair you all support. They control once the majority of the galaxy with their ships and their culture creating a conglomerate of other species they encounter. They are technologically advanced and created many outposts before their extinction on the war,"

"I see," Vivori simply nods as her mind goes into overdrive on the information that she has managed to glean from the Artificial Intelligence.

It might be three sentences, but she has gleaned more than enough information to get a general background of her current situation.

First and foremost of all is about the Inusannon people that B-9 is speaking so lovingly about. It is painfully obvious that they are a highly technological race. If B-9's words are to be trusted, they are no slouch about it either. From where she came, it is highly speculated by many that there are other life forms out there in the universe other than the human race. It looks like that their theories are right after all. It can also be theorized that these Inusannon are no mighty conquerors if they are willing to interact with other species of the galaxy. In fact if Vivori is allowed to guess, she might believe that they are more of a federation type of species willing to uplift species that can be beneficial to them.

Secondly and one that interests her a lot; B-9 mentioned that the Inusannon are humanoid in appearance. It is a very curious thing for her. As a scientist and a researcher, Vivori does not simply believe in coincidence. Everything in the universe is a cause and effect reaction. Nothing is simply happening for the sake of happening, everything has an explanation and a story behind. It is just a matter of finding out the "how" and the "why" unfortunately. That's where people like her come in.

Thus hearing apparently how close the Inusannon are in appearance to humanity with only very few difference; it is a subject of great interest to her. She plans to explore more in that avenue later once she gets a grip of the current issue surrounding her.

Lastly, Vivori is aware that not everything in the mysteries hidden by the galaxy is bears and candy, no. B-9 mentions that the Inusannon were wiped out to the last being by someone or something. There's something out there, something powerful and evil. How so? It is not an easy task to subdue a race, much less a conglomerate of races to the last atom, it requires power, a lot of power in fact. Vivori would bet her brain that the Inusannon are no slouch. It takes a lot of effort and control to unite a galaxy; however B-9 said that the war is not even a battle but a massacre. Whoever wiped them out is powerful enough to not only wipe out a conglomerate of races that managed to stretch out to the far ends of the galaxy but also does it easily is something to be really wary of.

Why evil?

To kill someone tears something out of the soul. In the matter of war and battles, it is simply to be expected for a soldier to fight a soldier. That is what is expected and the end of it, period. To include civilians however, mothers, fathers, daughters, sons and little babies as a casualty of war takes something from the soul. If such a deed however can cause damage to the soul, wiping out an entire species on the entirety of the galaxy really takes the cake. What the Inusannon faced is either an enemy with no emotion whatsoever, or beings that takes the word "sadistic" to the highest levels. Not even the most fanatic of the religious murderers back home would be able to stomach that kind of level of killing.

As it is, Vivori's thoughts and premonitions is cut off early as a she feels a cool whiff of air brush her skin forcing her to instinctually turn to a slight crack on one of the windows coming from the abyss beyond.

"B-9, where is that air coming from? I thought that the entirety of this facility is buried?" asks Vivori trying and failing to pierce the gloom outside the windows. Beyond is not black, black. No, the blackness beyond the view of the facility is pitch black as if the gloom is dark beyond the usual emptiness of nothing.

"That air from the breach doctor must have come from the rest of the facility. When the ground covered this centre, I sent most of the drones to create new pathways to connect this command centre to the rest of the facility which is also buried. The air is caused by some wear and tear after so many, many years. One of the maintenance drones would soon repair it doctor,"

"Are you telling me there are other rooms other than this one?"

"Yes doctor," the hologram nods in affirmation. "Seven facilities in fact are buried that is controlled by the nodes of this command centre. All of them are interconnected by different pathways to one another. There is the medicinal facility, the facility for agriculture, for manufacture, simulation, recreation, housing areas, and one especially built in preparation for your coming doctor, cloning," and as if waiting for the cue; the lights outside the windows of the command centre flash on making Vivori's jaw drop as she espies below kilometre wide facilities, each of their own unique and intriguing design alien to her eyes.

Her eyes especially aggravated to one nearest to the command centre containing thousands of tanks containing greenish liquid lighting in a blue hue. She knows immediately that this is the facility that would make her dream come true.

"This facility is especially the last gift of my people to you," says B-9, his hologram floating at her side. "One of their last instructions in my code is to pass the expertise of the Inusannon in organic cloning to you doctor. I pray that this facility is more than enough on meeting your expectations,"

Vivori only looks at the hologram in a loss of words. This is her dream, her goal, and it just pops in front of her in a silver platter. If not for the fact that her current situation is both bizarre and terrifying; she would have burst into tears at the possibilities that is offered to her from this point on.

Author's Note

This is my first story. Please click that like button.