Researcher Diary

***Researcher Diary*** is a file in *Daymare: 1998*.

## Transcript

Archived File

This diary belonged to an Aegis researcher. Some of the dates are circled with red ink.

1995 Pollux, we can finally create the perfect soldier: strong, resilient, and self-repairing. And to think that most of the grunt work was done by none other than mother nature herself. For some reason, the local jellyfish, which are already capable of amazing regeneration, inhabited the sunken vessel, whereby they became exposed to the chemical agent. From there, they reproduced, generation after generation, growing stronger with each mutation that altered their DNA and birthed hybrids. We studied these new aquatic lifeforms, outwardly similar to Hydra Cnidaria, but far more aggressive and much more dangerous. In time, we'll use our study to create a new virus that can turn regular soldiers into genetically advanced war machines. But in the meantime, all we can do is wait for the government to fulfill its promise in order to begin human trials.

1997 If I think back to just a few years, it feels like a century ago. Although Castor is now the pinnacle of modern BC warfare, Pollux is also on track to fruition. The Hydra Cnidaria finally gifted us it's firstborn. We've had a major breakthrough, a passing of the torch of sorts... even if it would be foolhardy to hide the fact that we need more time, time is something that Army and Government officials just won't allow us. They've promised Pollux to their allies and Pollux they shall have. The only issue we haven't been able to solve, one that puts the entire program into jeopardy, is this: the perfect soldier we've prototyped is anything but perfect. We've injected the virus into hundreds of candidates with wide genetic variations, yet we're nowhere near a solution.

In fact, in just a few minutes, the virus begins to "strengthen" its host, although no visible external changes are apparent. In just 2-3 hours after infection, Pollux is able to regenerate cells and tissue, progressively increasing the power and resilience of its host. This is a truly remarkable accomplishment that will advance medical and military research by decades in just a few short years... if not for the grave side-effects that have afflicted almost every subject during experimentation. All the physical enhancements afforded by the Pollux virus are subordinate to a single, inescapable necessity: the host's assimilation of specific hormones that balance and regulate the body, which are otherwise produced by the hypothalamus. As long as large enough quantities of these hormones are assimilated in concentrated doses, due to the demand of accelerated metabolisms in enhanced organisms, the subject's psyche remains lucid and aware, while strength, resilience and regenerative powers remain under control. However, when these hormones become absent for prolonged periods, the first signs of mental deterioration appear, causing blackouts and gradually destroying all forms of conscious decision making. After that, in most cases, the body undergoes unpredictable physical changes that lead to its eventual total destruction. What we need to accomplish in the remaining months afforded to the study is to find a solution as the project as a whole is at stake.

1998 Government agents regularly visit the lab and help themselves to experimental data and samples from the most important studies. We've lost a lot of sleep in the past few months, but haven't been able to figure out the hormone dilemma that's been plaguing our research, other than administering a large amount of synthetic hormone to Pollux infectees.

The military and strategic purpose of viral weapons is to keep the host in an intermediate state whereby physical abilities are greatly enhanced, yet always under conscious control that responds lucidly to orders. The only way to achieve this is to force subjects to inject themselves with hormones. All of this, of course, is inevitably subject to a series of unknowns that the military doesn't seem to care about. I wonder what would happen if one of these subjects turned against its creator, intentionally or not able to take the synthetic hormones, among other things that are limited on the battlefield. Unless subjects are damaged beyond regenerative capabilities, these potentially unstoppable and lethal soldiers could just go on a killing spree with no one to stop them. That is, until the absence of the necessary hormones causes its own self-destruction. And this isn't really a solution as one test showed when a subject infected by Pollux, somehow gifted with increased intelligence, took a researcher captive inside the lab. After several hours of negotiations, the subject, obviously suffering from mental deterioration, tore open the researcher's head and devoured his hypothalamus in a grotesque feeding frenzy that afforded it the necessary hormones it was lacking. This extended its life by several hours and it regained some intelligence that was lost during the experiment.

Far as I'm concerned, despite however many years I've dedicated to this program, PL-X 731 is officially just another failed bio-weapon experiment. The reason for its failure lies in the inability to produce, even artificially, the necessary hormones to maintain life and sedate its host. Apparently, however, the higher-ups have their own ideas regarding this. All we can do now is narrow down the search and do what they tell us yet again.