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fanfiction Marcus Notes - [Extinction]


GenTech1000

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1  

Well, we’re home. The place is a mess. My creation rises high into the sky and has infected a lot of the wildlife. However, the creatures are much worse off than those on ARK Alpha A:1. These animals are completely overtaken by it. I saw a dilo the other day that was unrecognizable. I’ll have to look into this abnormality.  

Santiago’s running all sorts of tests to confirm that this is Earth. To be honest, I think he has come to the same conclusion as I have; however, he is hoping that this is some alien planet. But I can tell he knows the truth. We’re home.  

The daylight cycle is concerning, though. It’s as if we’re stuck in perpetual midday. Could the ARKs be the cause of this? Could they be creating an artificial sky like the ones on the ARKs? Possibly. Further study is required.  

The people have lost all trust with our old leaders. They blame them for the Rockwell incident. Luckily I was vocal enough about my distrust of the man, so I’ve not been blamed. However, there seems to be some resentment towards me.  

As for our new leader, all have pointed to Santiago. He was Diana’s right hand man, so they believe that a Terran weapons scientist will continue the ways of a URE pilot. Hilarious. I should walk up and take the power myself. I’d make Santiago look like a janitor compared to my resume. He’d stand no chance. However, the people don’t support me enough for me to do so.  

I’d have to build my popularity, but the only way to do that is by letting Santiago win. I’d then have all the time to create support and take power later on. I’m can’t just take control by force. I don’t have anyone to back me up. I’d be gunned down instantly if I tried to use Titus. I could kill Santiago now, but he’s too useful to me. Plus, I’d never get the chance to expose him for his theft. The only option is for Santiago to become our leader. Fine, so be it. He’ll meet his fate eventually. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

2  

We’ve just started setting up Camp Omega and things are going smoothly. Santiago has taken charge. He still seems very uncomfortable as a leader, annoyed by the basic concerns of the people. He’ll adapt in due time. The worm always does.  

Santiago quickly realized that he’d need help to set up camp. So, he made himself a council of the best men and women he could find. Due to my previous work on the ARK, I immediately earned my place as head of scientific development and research. The remainder is a conglomeration of generals, scholars, and the like.

Each of us was assigned a specific task to monitor around Camp. I was assigned with monitoring the construction of our laboratories and warehouses. I accepted gladly. I got one of our architects and got to work on the designs for the new structures. They should be finished within the next few weeks.  

I’m presenting my cryopods this afternoon. Soon, we’ll need only a small room to store several barns’-worth of animals. It should be a downright success. I’m really going to piss off the guy in charge of livestock, though. This is going to be interesting.  

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  • 4 weeks later...

3  

We’ll I wasn’t wrong. I really pissed of that guy. He gave me some dirty glares from the back of the room. I’ll have to watch out for him in the future. Politicians are a dangerous bunch. They’ll find the smallest bit of incriminating evidence and they’ll ruin you. Let him try, he won’t be the first.  

I’ve been studying some of the infected creatures we’ve killed. My creation goes deep within their bodies, attaching to the spine and brain, no doubt to gain control of the organism. This was about how far my creation infected those on ARK Alpha. However, due to the abundance of life, it has continued to grow on the animals here. It seems to absorb tissue from the organism and converts it to into bioelement. This permanently bonds the two together at the cellular level, so once you’re infected, there is little hope for a cure.  

However, the bond is both a strength and a weakness. Not only can my creation have the control to alter the organism as it wishes, it becomes extremely reliant on that organism for survival. Meaning, if you kill the host, you kill it as well. This seems to happen almost instantly. My guess is that it recognizes wounds that are beyond repair, so it ends both the host and its own life simultaneously. Efficient and painless... hopefully.

I’ve also discovered small nodules on and in the dead infected organisms. They have proven to be a great substitute for the synthetic polymers used in our technology. We’re killing them by the dozen, so we now have a steady supply of polymer. Things are starting to look up for us. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

4  

I had a talk with Santiago today. Not one of science and formalities, but talk among friends. We aren’t so different, Santiago and I. I still want the man dead, but I respect him. It’ll be a shame to see him go.  

I also took Titus out his first steps on Earth today. It took him some getting used to, but he’s adapted quickly. Luckily, none of the wildlife uses any of the charge light from back on the ARK. Thus he, and by extension I, are near the top of the food chain.  

Titus also went on a bit of a spree, killing several dozen creatures including some the infected, some Triceratops, half a dozen Pteranodons, five Scouts, and a pack Enforcers. On the bright side, we have plenty of polymer and parts from the machines. The downside is now I have to make up a story of how I killed so many creatures on my own. This’ll be fun. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

5  

Wow, and I thought those old URE mugs on the ARK were stupid. The new guys fell for my excuses instantly. Apparently, all they need to hear are the words “weapon testing” and they won’t question a thing. Santiago on the other hand, questioned me about my new “weapon”. The b*****d caught me off guard and, long story short, I now have to make gravity grenades. Perfect. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

6  

I saw the giants for the first time today. Their silhouettes towered above the horizon, each with a small group of the infected at their feet. The smallest must have been at least several hundred feet tall, with the largest being triple that. Their power is unmatched by any creature here or on the ARK, and that makes them a threat.  

We have nothing to overpower one of those things, let alone the three we saw today. Our defenses are weak, and even if they weren’t, we would still not stand a chance. We may be able to injure them, but by the time we did they’d already be upon us. We wouldn’t stand a chance. We need a means of defense.  

A meeting to discuss this matter is being held this afternoon. Apparently, Santiago has an idea he wants to share and I’m curious to see what it is. I vaguely remember the excitement of guessing his next creation. I would get close sometimes, but he would surprise me every time. Coming up with wild ideas of using Element to produce mass death. It’s a shame that he’s such an annoying, lying b***ard, because in another time I may have called this man a friend. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

7  

Santiago, a genius yet a fool, suggested a ludicrous idea at the meeting. His idea was a weapon, as expected, but not even close to what I, nor anyone, had imagined. I almost lost it when I heard the words “giant bipedal battlemechs” tumble out of his mouth. The man is growing desperate and it shows. Most of the Council gave him blank stares and nervous laughter. I can see the reason for their anxiety, but Santiago’s idea may have some weight behind it.  

During the Element Renaissance, several countries used mechs or walkers. Japan was chief among those with their “MechForce” of about three hundred units. They were successful for a time, but when put in serious combat the mechs’ weakness was shown. Artillery. Any shot from any artillery weapon (railguns, missiles, etc.) would criticality damage a mech, often incapacitating it with one or two shots.  

However, there isn’t any weaponry around that is strong enough to penetrate a well designed mech and if it is designed specifically for fighting these giants, we could eliminate this threat with ease. I still would suggest studying these creatures further so that we could prepare a better option, but no one other than me is willing to go within 20 miles of those things. Either way, the Council has decided. The development of Santiago’s “MEKs” begins immediately. 

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  • 2 months later...

8  

I’ve counted seventeen times that Santiago’s MEK prototypes have failed, and the next failure is in the works. For someone who is said to be a weapons genius, he sure has a hard time making a weapons. I have to give him some credit, getting a two-ton piece of metal to walk is a little difficult, but the solutions to some of these problems are so simple. Redirect some power here, add Element reinforcement here, or simply changing a few figures. As much as it pains me to see how easy his errors are to fix, I’m enjoying this. Serves him right.

At least I’m making better progress than Santiago. My gravity grenades are functioning accordingly and should be ready for field testing. My plan was to go to the site of Titus’ spree, but now some of the Council wants to observe the “testing”. Titus’ scratch marks are going to be a little difficult to explain. Some of them are in positions that make playing them off as being from something like the Defense drones little difficult. I’ll have to come up with an explanation. The more wild it sounds, the better. Santiago is going to be an issue, but a solid story, planted evidence, and a distraction should keep him off the trail. I’ll have to quarter off that area until my “testing preparations” are complete. Until then, I have a lot to do.  

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  • 2 weeks later...

9  

I’ve finished my preparations. I was able to conceal most of the scratch marks with some debris and Element paste. It took a while, but I think it was time well spent. I’ve tested a few grenades and found that all of it stays in place, so I should be fine to bring the Council to the test site. I made them a little bunker to hide in during the demonstration. I also put together some dummies to show them the grenades’ effect on an object. If all goes according to plan, no one should suspect a thing.  

Santiago has also made good progress with his MEKs. He finally has a stable prototype and is ready to continue with his plans for the project. I’ve looked over his plans and I’m impressed. His knowledge of the Enforcer teleportation technology is impeccable, and his designs for a modular weapons system shows promise. Hopefully, he doesn’t take too long to develop these. After a few days of watching him fail, it really started to bore me. In addition, him working far into the night drove me crazy. I had to get my quarters moved so I could actually get some sleep.

Regardless, I’m excited to see where this project leads. As for Santiago, I’m thinking of a way to break him. He’s starting to grow complacent, and for now I’ll let him have his peace. All will come in due time. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

10  

The demonstration went relatively smoothly. There was a moment where I overshot one of my grenades and had a shard of glass shoot at the viewing area, but the only thing that suffered was the pants of one of the older Council members. I swear I smelt urine has he shook my hand, and stain forming on his right leg confirmed it. Good. If he scares easily, then I might be able to use that to my advantage.  

Santiago has fallen under a horrid spell of creative block. For the past few days, he would barely make any progress, often staring at his formulas on his data pad for hours on end. Finally, he came to me and asked for some aid. I could tell he didn’t want the help, he literally grimaced as he asked for it, but I accepted. It felt good to see the man squirm like the leech he is.  

He wanted me to help him by creating a simulation program for his newer experiments. He was also very clear to point out that, if he was to perform real life experiments, “the smallest of errors could yield catastrophic results.” An idea blossomed within the depths of my mind, and I lead him on, reassuring him that I’d see what I could do and whatnot. After he left, I spent the rest of the afternoon gathering some programmers and started the planning for Santiago’s “simulation program”.

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11

I have to thank Santiago for the idea, for It was his failure that inspired it. I had him turn in his designs to my team so we could see what we needed to do, and yet again I’m impressed by his work. His latest designs suggest using the Enforcer teleportation tech as his way to merge the MEKs. This, while being a huge leap in atomic manipulation, is extremely dangerous if done incorrectly. No wonder he wants to use simulations, if he makes a mistake he turns his MEKs into atomic bombs. The process was slower than I would have liked, but we finished the project in three days.  

Now, you might be wondering what I planned for poor Santiago. Santiago is driven by failure, like gasoline poured onto a fire, he will work until he burns out. So, I planted a bug to where I can access his work and edit or control the program. I’ll edit a few figures, letting him slowly get closer to his goal, and then I’ll trap him in an endless loop of failure. With every test, all he will see is an error screen.  

Sure, it’s a little petty, but after a week of peace, it’s time for a little anarchy. Soon, he’ll work himself to death over it, probably having a meltdown later on, and then I’ll let him solve it. If he truly breaks, I could take the lead of the MEK project, but at the moment it wouldn’t be the most advantageous thing to do. The people have placed their allegiance with him, but after a few weeks of Santiago tearing himself apart, they may shift support. Then I will be able to take control.

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  • 2 weeks later...

12

A week into the simulation testing, and Santiago is still going strong. It’s only a matter of time before he burns out. He’s already starting to make mistakes, albeit minor ones, but it’s a start. I set the error message and with his next test, he’ll be greeted by a screen that he’ll need to get aquatinted with.  

On another note, I’ve been studying the behavior of the infected and discovered their attraction to the Orbital Supply Drops (OSDs) and Element nodes. The OSDs are of unknown origin to me. Maybe they were designed for the humans to have a continuous supply of materials from the ARKs? Either way, the infected swarm around these, coming in hordes. This behavior is also shown with the Element nodes. The only similarity between both instances is that large quantities of Element are present, leading me to believe that the infected are attracted to the Element for some reason. I’ll have to get some crews to look into this.  

Helena invited me to go with her to explore some structure and I accepted gladly. For once in my life, I’m tired of being cooped up in a lab. I was hoping that they thought my expertise would be better than Santiago. However, when I asked them why I was chosen, I was bitterly disappointed to find out I was the second option. That Mei-Yin is brutally honest.  

Anyway, now I have to prepare for the journey. I would bring Titus, but he’s far too large. At least I now have a reason to work with my TEK armor. After the gravity grenades, I need to work on something that I want to work on. Maybe I could add a personal shield or try implementing some of that teleportation tech from the Enforcers?

Note- Experiment with Enforcer tele. tech integration into TEK armor. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

13  

I must admit, I was expecting more. Sure, the structure is magnificent and a sight to behold, but it is nothing compared to the halls of the ARKs. There’s rust all over the place. Did the old humans revert to using regular steel or an Element-steel alloy? Odd, I remember there being plenty of Element in stockpiles, enough to build hundreds of cities like the one on the surface. What made it all disappear? Regardless, there’s one thing I seek in this place, information.    

There must be centuries of it here, a lot of which concerning Earth in her final days. Information of the last of the old humans and how I caused their downfall. I must use extreme caution. If anyone was to find any information about my creation, I’d be executed at the worst, exiled or jailed at the least.  

Mei-Yin is stalking around. I can tell she is bored out of her mind. Helena probably coerced her into coming. Helena is very interested in all of this, asking dozens of questions, with a lot of my answers being speculation. It’s interesting how they both get along. I guess opposites really do attract. Now that I think about the two of them, Mei-Yin is staying awful close to Helena, like a lion to her cub. Is she protecting her? Interesting...  

Anyway, I digress. I will begin searching and update whenever I find any data of value. 

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14  

I’ve been here for two hours, and it’s starting to annoy me. There’s millions upon millions of files stored here, but it is not the amount of files that bothers me, it’s the content. Most of the records are in some hexagonal-ish, hieroglyph type s*** and I can’t make heads or tails of it. I brought some of the other guys over to have a crack at it and they did no better than I did. Should have expected such.

Well, at least some records are in English, most of which being copied from ARK Alpha A:1. Guess this was some communications station between the those who stayed behind and those up on the ARKs. I downloaded all I could to an element chip. I’d have to decipher this myself.

The upgrades to my armor were useless. The only time it really helped was when a chunk of the ceiling fell on me. I’m fine, but it still smarts though. Anyway, we’ll continue our exploration. Hopefully we can find something better than these god forsaken files. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

15  

I made no discoveries of note, only finding basic machinery and dust. Helena, however, found something quite interesting. A small, glowing object. I barely got to see it before she quickly stashed it. I’ll have to find a way to get a better look at it. We returned to Camp within the hour.

The moment we returned, Santiago started pilot testing for the MEKs. Guess he got frustrated by the simulations and is trying to focus on something else. I was tested pretty late, being about the sixtieth to be called. Santiago ran a few scans and whatnot, gave a quick brief about the controls, and then I was helped into the MEK. (of course, not by Santiago) I tried my hand at his “Beta Level piloting” and found it confusing. The neural link seemed to be the easiest part, many of my old creations used such a link, but the rest of the interface was off. The motion sensors tracked my movement, however, there was a delay between my movements and the machinery. I collapsed after taking a mere three steps.  

Santiago was confused by my performance. Apparently, my scans showed that I was a promising candidate for the MEKs. I told him my criticisms of the interface and was surprised to learn that the sensors worked fine; it was my brain. It seems that my brain functions interfered with the link, causing an information overload. He said that my mind just “can’t focus enough for me to be pilot.” I was cut from the project, given a feeble promise that I could try again in the future.  

Can’t focus enough? If it wasn’t for my focus, you wouldn’t be here Santiago. I made you?!? Interesting, why does this anger me? Do I really want to pilot the MEKs? No, that isn’t it. Frustration? Yes, I’m tired of being useless. I want to do something more, to find a way to fix my mistakes. To fix our home. I may not be able to pilot the MEKs, but I can do something else.

This failure, while being an annoyance, can be turned into something better. Now I’m free to focus on other projects, specifically the decryption of these files. In them I will find answers, for we need some solutions and my memory is still incomplete. I’d think I’d remember everything by now, but some events still are not adding up in my head. The records I left for myself only partially helped, and I recently discovered that a large portion of them are corrupted or deleted. At least a few key files survived.

I’m going to need a team. I’m no linguist, and I’ve never messed with this type of decryption. All will have to swear to secrecy, and with my current standing with the people, I cannot trust anyone that much. Guess I’m alone in this venture. Great. 

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  • 2 months later...

16

I have made little to no progress in the past few days, nearing a week at this point. So, I decided to seek out help, finding it working in the refinery. Trevor used to work as an archeologist back in the day, and specialized in linguistics and the translation of ancient languages. Sadly, he he understood it no better than I. He did attempt to translate it, but due to the nature of the text, he was lost. I gave him copies of some of the records in order to see what he could do, but haven’t heard from him in quite some time. I put a word in to put him on paid leave in order to force him into the work. For all I know, he’s just taking advantage my kindness. I’ll check on him soon, but for now I have other matters to attend to.  

While most of files from the ARK a Station were in this code, I was able to find records in English, most of which charts and data pertaining to the ARKs’ functions at the time, yet many of which mentioned something called a “Reseed Protocol.” I do not remember such a thing. Luckily, I have  thousands of files and all the time in the world too find out. 

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  • 1 month later...

17

Bastards, all of them. Those conceited s**ts are trying to destroy all of my hard work, my legacy! Who do they think they are? What convoluted b******t formed in their puny minds that led them to this? Those—

[section deleted]

Allow me to explain my frustration. From what I read, the Reseed Protocol is what the name entails, the return of the ARKs to Earth and the restart of humanity. What it fails to mention is the complete destruction of all Element on Earth.  

The idea alone is insane. Regardless of my connection to Element and the time I put into it, why deprive the survivors of such a gift? There is only a few reasons for this:

- A) Anti-Element sentiment made it to ARK Alpha A:1.
- B) Something has rendered Element unsafe.  
- C) An unknown cause.  

I’ve searched all the files for answers, but everything is in that code. The English files stop a few hundred years after my punishment, so I’m thinking whoever started this code was trying to cover their tracks. As for the translation effort, minor progress has been made. I checked in with Trevor the other day. He has done well, however, he is nowhere close to a clear answer. Luckily, what he has deciphered is meaningless, just regular records. I’ll have to keep an eye on him.  

Santiago’s still working on my MEK bug. As expected, his responses have gotten more and more physical. He’s broken four data pads in the past week alone... make that five.  

At least with Trevor working on the code I have a bit more free time. It just makes watching Santiago suffer all the sweeter. 

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