Chapter 20 Melker’s Journal
Spectacular. There are no other words to describe her.
I have designated the northern shifter an alpha team captured, Patient Zero. Her striking appearance is the least interesting thing about her. She exhibits numerous abnormalities that differentiate her from documented shifter populations.
First, she does not display the typical glowing yellow irises associated with most shifters. Second, her shifted form presents with an unusual copper-colored coat, a shade not previously recorded in any official documentation.
She may have gone unnoticed if the alpha team had not witnessed her shift during the raid on their party.
That night, they captured three shifters.
Two males agreed to take part in the Arca Reconditioning Program before enlistment.
The female, however, is an omega, and we have never secured an omega shifter specimen before.
She requires extensive study.
Her DNA may hold the answers to her deviations, and potentially to the anomalies we have long theorized.
Unfortunately, she remains uncooperative, resisting every attempt to secure samples.
There is also the matter of the pup. Dr. Russell estimates she is approximately three months pregnant, which presents a unique opportunity to examine shifter reproduction at its earliest stages.
If we are fortunate, this omega wolf may be the key to isolating and replicating the shifter genome.
Time will tell whether the secrets we seek lie in Patient Zero’s blood.
January 31st
The test confirmed it. Patient Zero’s pup carries shifter genetics as well. An amniocentesis test verified the same anomalous markers found in the mother. Patient zero still proves to be defiant, requiring full restraint and sedation for samples to be retrieved.
Traditionally, the shifter mutation is non-heritable, a spontaneous, non-genetic anomaly; no one can track, predict, or pass it down. However, our findings suggest that this is not the case for Patient Zero and her fetus.
Her shifter markers appear to affect an entirely different portion of her DNA, forming what seems to be a genetically inheritable strain of the shifter mutation, one never before documented. If this is accurate, then any offspring carried in her womb will inevitably inherit the shifter genome.
The implications are extraordinary.
Command is already reviewing potential alpha candidates to impregnate her once the pup is born. They believe Patient Zero may be the key to producing entire units of elite, genetically stable shifter soldiers.
Additionally, Command has requested that we investigate whether Patient Zero’s unique genome could be used to develop a serum capable of inducing controlled mutation, essentially creating shifters from alpha soldiers at will.
It is a compelling theory, and one I am eager to explore.
February 14th
Two weeks ago, Patient Zero sank her teeth into one of our research assistants. Within several days, the assistant was dead. Unfortunate for him, but fortunate for our research, as it allowed us to identify a venomous compound present in her saliva.
The venom appears to delete healthy segments of DNA, rapidly breaking them down.
When this venom combines with a sample of Patient Zero’s blood, an entirely different effect occurs.
Her saliva initiates degradation of the DNA, and her blood appears to rebuild and alter the sequence, creating early-stage shifter markers.
Fascinating.
We have been using a combination of her saliva venom and blood as the foundation for our experimental serum.
Unfortunately, progress has stalled. Every attempt to force the shifter mutation in alpha test subjects has ended catastrophically.
In controlled injections administered to prisoner alpha subjects, the serum begins working as expected: the saliva component breaks down the DNA, and the blood introduces the mutated shifter chains.
But the process never completes. Instead, the subject’s DNA collapses entirely.
They die before any transformation can take place.
There is a crucial piece in the process we are missing. Perhaps there is some stabilizing factor within Patient Zero’s genome that completes the “recipe.” Without it, the mutation cannot progress into a functional shift.
Command is growing impatient. They have begun to doubt whether a mutation serum is even possible.
In response, they are planning to breed Patient Zero indefinitely, relying on her inheritable shifter genetics to pass the mutation to future generations.
But such a strategy will take decades to produce the numbers they desire.
Turning trained alphas is far more efficient.
If only we could stabilize the mutation.
March 11th
Slick is the key.
A biological component essential to conception and mating appears also to be the answer to our stabilization issue.
After approximately thirty deceased Alpha test subjects, Command has restricted us from further human trials…
for now. We have continued testing on lab animals, and with the newest serum variation, we are finally observing stable DNA mutation patterns.
The animals cannot shift, of course, and all have died, but the mutations held significantly longer before cellular collapse.
This is promising enough to justify resuming human trials once authorization is reinstated.
We now face one remaining obstacle.
The slick produced during pregnancy differs from the slick produced during heat.
Omegas do not enter heat while pregnant, and I am convinced that heat-phase slick is the last component needed to complete the serum and achieve full genetic stabilization.
We will need to collect this sample once Patient Zero delivers her pup and cycles again.
Captain Green has been selected as the first alpha to mate with her. He is an excellent candidate. His genetic record is undeniable; his two sons are strong, exceptional alpha specimens. Captain Green's lineage is ideal for this stage of the project.
We are close. So close to achieving the answers we have been pursuing and completing a stable mutation serum at last.
April 16th
Patient Zero has become far more compliant, allowing us to collect samples and monitor the pup without resistance.
This shift in behavior occurred shortly after she was informed of her impending breeding with Captain Green.
She appears to detest him, which is unsurprising given her temperament, yet, strangely, she has developed a noticeable attachment to Dr. Russell.
He has been the only doctor able to calm her during procedures, and she responds to him with a level of trust that is… concerning.
In fact, I believe Dr. Russell has grown attached to her as well.
His interactions with her have taken on an unprofessional softness, a humanizing tone that could compromise his allegiance to the project.
I have already prepared a recommendation for his removal once the pup is born.
Sentimentality has no place in scientific progress, and his emotional entanglement poses an obvious risk to the integrity of our work.
Patient Zero is nearly full term now, and it appears she has finally resigned herself to her situation.
She will be the key, the key to one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs the world has ever known.
Not only will the shifter genome become an inheritable trait, but we will also be able to create shifters at will.
What was once controlled exclusively by nature will soon belong entirely to Arca.
Arca may have been the only functional society to survive after the genetic mutations reshaped the world, but new powers have risen, threatening our dominion.
Shifter colonies in the North are becoming organized and aggressive, attacking our alpha units during missions.
Meanwhile, Helix Territory in the South has begun constructing its own defensive wall, a direct challenge to Arca’s authority.
This research will end all doubt. It will secure our control, solidify our dominance, and claim power the world has never seen before.
Who would have imagined that the defiant omega shifter captured months ago would become the key to reshaping civilization?