Relic

Chapter 8: Preparation

Eight years ago, Archimedes finishes his lecture in a Peacekeeper lecture hall. The fresh recruits listen intently to his words.

"In summary, the Relic is a naturally forming crystal that can be found both out in space and in our planets crust. These crystals have the unique phenomena of vibrating at a frequency capable of interacting with Rels on a genetic scale, activating the latent abilities that they are known for. The only way to prevent these waves from causing further problems is to bury it under the ground, or to wear special, protective suits. Now then, any questions?" He asks, opening the floor to the recruits. He's happy to see a few hands go up. "Yes?" He points to a recruit.

"You said that a way to prevent these frequencies from affecting more Rels is to bury it underground. If I recall, that large Relic that fell from space thirty years ago has been contained underground. Yet Rel awakening cases are still rising. Why?"

"I believe there to be a number of factors responsible. One is that the impact of the Relic meteorite has caused a lot of this frequency to explode out from it. Even after burying it, most of those frequencies from thirty years ago still linger. Another factor is that Rels tend to have a delayed activation of their abilities. They most likely got affected a while ago and only now are we seeing their effects." Archimedes prompts another student to ask a question.

"Are there any cures to the condition?"

"At this moment, no. We have medicine to control the violent outbursts and loss of power inherit to their condition, but a cure to their condition has yet to be found."

Another student asks a question. "Shouldn't we be helping Rels? They are still humans, humans who simply have this unfortunate condition. Does it not make more sense to research ways to cure their condition instead of segregating them into small Rel only districts?"

"Excellent question, I'm glad someone asked this. The answer is simple. No. And it would behoove you to remember this key fact about them. Rels are not humans. We can see this at the genetic level. Only Rels have the genes necessary to resonate with the Relic frequency. It is in their DNA to be a pure evil that threatens to bring about the end of humanity." Archimedes walks to a window and points towards a large, orange flower in the distance. Its petals flow gently on the breeze.

"If you need proof, you need only look outside. To this day, no human has ever stepped foot in Fontana since that day. Nothing we have is able to prevent the corruption of that flower. The barriers we put up is a façade made to keep the public from panicking. In reality, it's only luck that its rot has not overtaken the entire city. The thousands of civilians caught in that attack can only be officially marked as missing, since we may never truly know what happened in Fontana. I reiterate, those things, those abominations we named Rels are far from human and do not deserve your sympathy." The student sits back down. "Any other questions." After no more hands go up, he dismisses the class.

Archimedes makes his way back to the labs under the Peacekeepers headquarters. As always, he takes a moment to peer through the observation window where the meteorite Relic is contained. Teams of scientists in hazmat suits buzz about the massive observation floor, running experiments or extracting pieces of it to turn into Relium.

As his first order of business, he heads to the west wing of the facility. There, he walks down a long hall of testing chambers. Inside them are test subjects. All Rels that have been either captured or manufactured. A colleague of his walks up, holding a clipboard. "Josiah! Is that the report for this round of tests?" Archimedes points.

"It is." The man says, his voice muffled by the hazmat suit. "Please follow me." Josiah takes Archimedes lower into the facility and the two approach one of the three testing chambers. On the other side of the glass, Ram is tied down to a chair. Dried and fresh blood pour down her fingers and toes. "First, our regenerative limit testing for subject Alpha. The results are inconsistent. We ran ten trials, cutting the skin of her extremities each time. Some trials, she'd regenerate from the wounds at the rate of a human, other times it would be faster. Currently, no pattern has emerged. What should be our next steps?"