Human Studies Project

The Human Studies Project, also known by its codename RPCII or acronym HSP, was a series of illegal human experimentation programs designed and undertaken by the Gen II Corporation in partnership with unnamed sectors of the Aurlûnor-Ryzani and Ashuran governments between 968 & 991 ACA. The experiments were designed to 'unlock the untouched & untamed areas of the civilised psyche' and use new abilities garnered by this to power weapons and be used for other, more nefarious means. The Human Studies Project utilised methods of isolation from birth, mental, physical & psychological torture, sensory deprivation, and even recorded abuse of psychoactive drugs including cocaine.
The HSP was the first major human experimentation program in Rathnir history, however previous experiments were known to have been undertaken. The program did include illegal activities, including, at one point, murder. The project itself was conducted all in one facility, the Aurlûnor-Ryzani National Laboratory in Hampo. It is believed to mostly be a privatised project conducted by the Gen II Corporation, however there are numerous pieces of evidence which connect the HSP to major government figures & departments, who knew about what was taking place.
The first public knowledge of the Human Studies Project was in 980 ACA, when Lisse Tencandis, former lover of Gen II CEO Muinon Gilmore sued the company in connection to the HSP, however the case was suddenly called off 3 years later after Tencandis reportedly killed herself in her home. A small batch of documents relating to the HSP was released in Maureawe, 990 ACA, and an investigation by the RNBC Bulletin Investigative Commission would reveal in 993 ACA the full extent of the HSP to the world, alongside confirmation that all of the partakers in the Human Studies Project were deceased.
== Background ==
=== Origin ===
The Human Studies Project is believed to be 'the brainchild of Muinon Gilmore' as described by the RNBC Investigative Commission. The origins of the methods used could be traced back to Bardonian POW camps during the occupational Westreach government, where information of Free Ryzan (IRGC) movements could be coaxed out of prisoners by use of psychoactive drugs & torture before the victim was executed. These connections were strong, especially with the presence of Gilmore's Bardonian alias & his connections to the descendants of Bardonian 'torturemasters'. However, the HSP had a much different agenda, and used these methods to 'keep the subjects brainwashed, from the moment of sentience'.
=== Names ===
The term 'Human Studies Project' was never officially used in any capacity until 975 ACA, whereas before then it was simply referred to by the codename RPCII. The introduction of the term & the acronym HSP came following the confusion between RPCII & another Gen II program, RPII. After mass hysteria was triggered by a spelling mistakes in a few memos, the name change became formalised in files the same year.
=== Aims ===
The aims of the HSP, as described by the RNBC Investigative Commission, was to "unlock the other 50-90% of the untouched & untamed areas of the civilised psyche by means of isolation and other methods resembling that of phycological warfare." It was believed by members of Gen II and wider society at the time that the civilised being only used between 10-50% of their brain, and the other 50-90% contained telekinetic abilities and other powers of the mind. Gen II, specifically Muinon Gilmore, believed that training form birth could result in the subject reaching this level of 'so-called enlightenment' before they were a teenager.
Later on, however, in the 980s, a cold war sparked between [Aurlûnor-Ryzan and Bardonia resulted in a change of direction for the project; it became centred around using the potential of the subjects to be used as weapons of war and/or to power newly developed weapons, as well as use the subjects for the testing of 'truth serums'.
== Experiments ==
=== Genetic Manufacturing ===
Throughout the course of the project, Gen II utilised different form of genetically engineering/altering the genomes of its subjects prior to birth. This process, known as 'genetic manufacturing', could cause serious defects, and was one of the main reasons why most experiments did not survive until birth. The project varied in different birthing methods, but most notably the 'test tube method' (better known as IVF). Gen II formally halted all forms of genetic manufacturing in 980 ACA.
=== Subject Production Series ===
the project divided up its subjects into 'series' based off of what batch they were born from. A short summary of the series, pulled from the RNBC Investigative Commission, reads as follows:
* First Series, aka 'the Noughties Series' (969 ACA) - 9 Human Foetus experiments. Very few survived to birth, and garnered very lacklustre results initially, however further experiments provided excellent turnout. It is rumoured that Gilmore's adopted son, Brett Gilmore, was from one of the experiments from the Noughties Series that produced no results (Number 003).
* Second Series, aka 'the Teens Series' (971 ACA) - 10 Human Foetus experiments. Many more survivors, first use of the 'test tube method' during foetus development. Much greater results at a much faster rate, with subjects being able to successfully lift & move objects weighing up to 410kg with their mind at age 14.
* Third Series, aka 'the Twenties Series' (973 ACA) - 10 Human Foetus experiments. Highest survival rate out of all series, however similar results to the previous series. This gave Gilmore the theory that there were natural limitations to the human abilities. He would do one more test to prove this, and if proven correct he would attempt Celestial Elven test subjects instead.
* Fourth Series, aka 'the Thirty Series' (976 ACA) - 10 Human Foetus experiments. Almost exact same results as the Twenties Series, and was a huge loss of money for Gen II. Despite this, it cemented the ideas that Gilmore had in his mind regarding human psyche limitations.
* Final Series, aka 'the Fourty Series' (978 ACA) - 5 Celestial Elven Foetus experiments. Only one specimen survived until birth, Number 0042, yet produced unimaginable results. However, the Final Series was littered with controversy as it is believed that the only surviving specimen was the technical daughter of Lisse Tencandis, a woman that Gilmore was in an intimate relationship with at the time. Following the termination of the Human Studies Project in 980 ACA, Gilmore promptly cut off all relations with Tencandis, who, following an inquiry between 981 & 983 ACA, reportedly killed herself.
=== Permanent Isolation ===
All subjects of the HSP, from birth, had no contact or connection to the outside world, and were made to believe that the rooms & white hallways on the upper floor of the Gen II laboratory was the world. No one except Gilmore and a few specially-trained & whitelisted officials were allowed to visit the subjects, however the rest of the Gen II scientists could use private rooms blocked by one-way mirrors to monitor them. This was due to the belief that possible distractions or expanded knowledge hindered the process, and as a result items such as toys were only allowed in certain rooms and allowed to be used at certain hours.
=== Other Experiments ===
Many other, more minor procedures & experiments were undertaken in the project, including:
* Light Transference - Subjects would transfer light from one lightbulb to another using the power of their mind. Subjects would transfer from bulb to bulb for as long as possible. Test were rumoured to take between 2-12 hours.
* Sensory Deprivation - Subjects would be lowered into a vat of heavily salted water attached to breathing apparatus. Sensory Deprivation could be applied to many experiments, however was also used for sleeping.
* 'Rotation' - Subjects would be lowered into a sensory deprivation tank and made to make a metal wheel spin as fast as possible for as long as possible with the power of their mind. One of the most gruelling tests, subjects would be made to rotate the wheel until they passed out or, in later cases, died. This experiment was later reutilised to power weapons. This change was never made apparent to the subjects.
* Darts - One of the earliest tests, subjects would be made to lift a dart and shoot a bullseye on a dartboard using telekinesis. Subjects would undergo this process as young as 4 years old.
* Dumbbells - Subjects would be made to lift dumbbells that progressively increased in weight using telekinesis. This was said to be the most straining test, as some subjects as young as 8 would have to lift weights of up to 720kg.
* 'Acid Trips' - Subjects would be placed under the heavy influence of psychoactive drugs such as cocaine and then undergo some of the experiments listed above. This was to record the effect that drugs had on the minds of the subjects and hence their abilities.
Many other experiments were believed to have been undertaken by the HSP, however there is currently no proper proof of any other procedures.
== Deaths ==
The project suffered heavy casualties from the beginning, with only around 20-25 of the 45 subjects being successfully born. The tests were brutal and detrimental to the correct growth of the subject's bodies as children, and as a result many more passed as a result of or during experimentation. Documents uncovered by the RNBC Investigative Commission revealed that by 990 ACA of the initial 20-25 surviving subjects only 3 remained. Outside of the laboratory there are multiple conspiracies connecting the deaths (mainly by suicides) of people related to the project to the HSP, believing that Gen II intentionally killed these people in order to keep the project under wraps.
Category:Lore
Category:Traveler's Era