CIT Central Network Entries

**CIT Central Network Entries** are entries found on a terminal in CIT Concourse.

## Transcript

### Research Logs: HR-D Line

#### **Log: HR-D3 (4-A)**

"Subject HR-D3, Test 4-A: Genetic sequences extracted from Anolis Carolinensis and Hydra Linnaeus fully developed in Subject HR-D3.

Hypothesis: Subject HR-D3 will regenerate limbs after amputation.

Results: Faliure. While the subject was able to recover from the wound in remarkable time, full limb regeneration was unsuccessful."

#### **Log: HR-D4 (11-A)**

"Subject HR-D4, Test 11-A: Subject has been equipped with Class 6-C Photonic Resonance Generator sub-cranial implants.

Hypothesis: Resonance Generator will speed up cell recovery times and decrease decay (in the long term). While not expected to field as rapid recovery times as D3, PRG implants should result in significant improvements in comparison to non-implanted recovery times.

Results: Inconclusive. Some controversy over mental effects PRC implant has on Subject. Implants may leave subject more susceptible to auditory/visual  hallucinations, mania, and dissociative fugue events (amnesia). In order to appropriately study the effects of PRC implants, we'll need to transfer HR-D4 to our sister lab in Oslo for long-term research.

Lab Note: (UPDATE) Due to the tense international climate, Dr. Lerna believes it best for us to request that HR-D4 be returned immediately. Processing through customs will take far too long (and lead to far too many questions), so we'll be going with T.B. again for this job."

#### **Log: HR-D5 (1-A)**

"Subject HR-D5, Test 1-A: Subject implanted with Class 6-C PRG implants AND genetically ehanced with Anolis Carolinensis and Hydra Linnaeus extracts.

Hypothesis: Subject will be further resistant to cellular deterioration as well as exposure to radioactive elements.

Results: Inconclusive. Subject to be transferred to Parsons State Insane Asylum for further testing. Facilities at Parsons to be better suited for containment."

### Personal Logs: Lerna, R

#### **Of Immortality**

"Immortality, that Arthurian boon. The first and final quest of mankind: within our grasp, at last. House always bragged about his experiments in life-support, but staving off old age is only one piece of the puzzle. True immortality to brush off incredible injury and infection like the bite of a flea that is the true prize."

#### **Thoughts on the Singularity**

"The HR-D line presents an interesting question for us to ponder as we proceed. These subjects feature the most extensive cybernetic enhancements yet tested, so much so that a student of mine proclaimed subject D4 to be 'More machine that man'! So the question is, "Where do we draw the line?" Could we ever reach a point where we cannot distinguish where the man ends and the machine begins?"

#### **Internal Issues**

"Flemmel seems intent on blocking my research at every turn. He's simply caught up in the ethics of human experimentation and the politics of it all. It's very noble of him, but I would appreciate it if he would keep ethics out of my lab and in his classroom, where it belongs. I've got enough on my plate keeping the Dean happy and the school funded."

#### **Post-Experimental Reflections**

"Five years down the line and HR-D4 has never been recovered. The ship they were brought in on ultimately capsized and sank to the bottom of Boston Harbor during the events of October 23, 2077. Although I had heard whispers of Bishop's survival, nothing came of this.

Their loss was staggering at first but I've come to realize that it was ultimately for the best. Here, at the end of it all, I see my mistake in the HR-D line. I focused too much on salcaging the body Mother Nature provided me. I fitted D4 with enough cybernetics to stretch their lifespan beyond anything seen in pre-war medicine, but for what? They were still mortal.

It seems that even our most advanced subject, HR- radioactive and pathological infection (not to mention quite dramatically susceptible to mutation). In short, death and decay are inescapable for the human body. But that does not mean our efforts were in vain... Immortality is achievable still, if we let go of our flesh and bone in the place of plastic and chrome.

I speak of the Singularity: the wondrous moment when finally the gap between man and machine is closed forever, when the human mind is replicated in wires and code, when no feat of mankind or the imagined is beyond our grasp! We have access to the neural scanning equipment used at the college before the war. If I were to upload my consciousness to a computer, I could continue my work indefinitely. And if that computer could walk and talk, indistinguishable from any man... well that would be quite interesting, indeed."

## See Also

Letter from Janus

Lerna's Lab Coat