Human history has always been dictated by inventions. Fire, the wheel, gunpowder, electricity, the lightbulb, the assembly line, nuclear power; each has ushered in a dramatic new era in the course of human events. None, however, have unified and changed us as a species. It would take an unbelievable invention, one which would alter the future of human society and human genetics, to create the ideal world. This is the singular vision of Stephan Apex, to create the perfect being. The combined power of both the peak of evolution and science, the creation he would call the BioSuit.

"Eliminate the frailties of the human body. Equalize the whole of humanity under a single boot. We are a colony of worthlessness, picking at the edges of ourselves and fearing the inevitable. For this we deserve to die. I will create a new world, in my own image under my own power, and bring forth the next stage of evolution for our unevolved species. I will engineer it myself. From that point on we will live in Eden. But for that to happen, we must shed our frail bodies and our flawed society. We will not do this for ourself, so I will do it for everyone. I will take the burden of the sins of starting a new world, in exchange for perfection."

-Stephan Apex : May 31, 1986

****

Red.

Red hair.

Red clothes.

Red hands.

Red lips.

Her socks were pink, not red. This is because they were white, and then they were stained. They reached up to just below her knees.

Sara blinked and a red tear worked its way down her face.

She sniffled, and wiped at her face. Beneath the pallid skin of her arms her veins pumped angrily. An entire system of what could pass for an elaborate tattoo was splayed across her body.

"I'm a monster."

She was a monster.

Her personality might not convey it, nor would her appearance, but that is what she was. She was built to be a monster, and when called upon an even greater monster would emerge.

She had just killed thirty people. These people were her friends, and colleagues. They were her handlers.

Maybe it wasn't her who killed them. They had put the Virus inside of her, and the Virus had killed them. If she used that logic, they had really just killed themselves.

She realized that this was just a comfort to herself, but standing there, in her tattered clothes and wounded body, it was all she could do to keep herself from breaking.

What had changed? She was built to kill, and yet this hurt her somehow.

"If it's my choice.... then it's a valid one, regardless of what it may be."

The Virus removed the ability to choose. That was not by design. Inherently, it was wilder than what one would like for a weapon, but an uncontrollable thing it was not intended to be.

Four metal claws had grown from her back and strangled and ripped men to pieces. Spikes had torn their way through her skin and clothes. Both of her hands had transformed into hideous tools of destruction.

Where a beautiful, intelligent young woman once stood was a beast of death and heartlessness.

With that event, she was the next in the line of a series of failures.

The first one had fallen apart. The second had killed itself. The third had destroyed himself and everyone around him. The forth, a young girl, had lived happy, but was turned off, her purpose served.

These were the first four prototypes for an army that would one day be built by an organization called the Apath Underground.

These creations were called BioSuits. They were the product of years of research and the efforts of thousands. The melding of man and machine. Completely artificial beings grown from the ground up.

Sara was the fifth, the ProtoType 5 BioSuit.

She appeared to be about twenty years old, but had really only been alive for a month or so. Her intelligence was greater than that of most people living people, so too was her strength. While it is a subjective thing to measure, one could qualify her beauty as being beyond that of a normal human's as well.

She had long red hair, to her waist. Her eyes could be piercing, and disturbing sometimes, but were usually soft and caring. Before the test, she had been wearing a cute skirt and a slim dressy short sleeved skirt.

What was this monster they put inside the monster? The Virus System was a weapon designed for the BioSuit. The system itself actually attached to the heart and injected a virus into the body. It changed them, physically. There was a mental change, too, but it was one that had to take place before the system could be activated. Their appearance became that of the monsters that they hide so well.

"How do you feel, Sara?"

"I'm a bit nervous..."

"Don't worry, everything will be fine."

That was a lie. At least, it was a lie insofar as it was not fulfilled.

In order to work, the subject needed to be distressed. And hurt.

You needed to fear death.

Then, 'it' would pump through your body and give you strength beyond the grasp of death.

The problem was, they needed to test the system out. Sara was the most promising candidate they had ever had. She would one day lead the Underground BioSuit Army to victory. She was their only choice.

They stimulated the the system using an injection into the heart. It activated immediately.

Whether or not it was the injection or a flaw in the system itself that caused the accident is up for debate, but either way, the result was the same.

Walking barefoot along the wet streets of NeoSeattle, Sara gave a thought to her brother. She would likely never meet him. He was just like her, or at least, he would have been if he was ever activated. For that reason alone they would probably never give him a second glance. They would move on... build the Type 7. Sara's other half would simply fade into the collective memories of the Underground.

That would have been the case, if not for Mother.







Glitched Book 1:
Bypass Boyhood, Be a Man at Birth