May 16, 4021 09:45 [Matriarch 07- Director’s Office]

Indra left the office still shaken over the revelation that had been dropped on his head like a ton of bricks. The Sirens… Indra thought back to a lecture on Uturian and Dvaitan history given by Ouma some time ago.

“...The Uturian Kingdom represented the precipice of human civilization seven thousand years ago. It was a flourishing ethnostate, a center of trade, commerce, military might, medicinal innovation, and technology. However, in an attempt to destroy the civilization, Asura the Destroyer created the Sirens, demonic formless beings that nearly brought about the destruction of humanity. Krishna, the avatar of Vishnu at the time, and the Devas, holy warriors of Dvaita, sister empire to Uturia, rallied together to defeat Asura and the Sirens. A violent, blood-soaked war spanning countless years ensued, decimating populations, spreading across countries, and even destroying pieces of our continents.

In the end, the Devas were victorious, but not without severe casualties of their own. Many of them died in battle with the remaining few retreating to Swarga Loka, the Heavenly Realm, to live in seclusion. The remains of humanity were left in tatters, many cities fell, and countries that had survived the war were removed from existence when plagues swept the lands, like the country of Dvaita. Humanity, left to pick up the pieces of this violent war, suffering incalculable losses and the destruction of centuries of progress, rebuilt our world once again into what it is now. To this day, Uturia is revered as hallowed ground where the Sirens were defeated, and where the Devas laid down their lives. Yet it remains uninhabitable due to the darkness that covers the country. The Uturian bloodline was survived by a single family, Sól.

Dvaita, devastated by a plague post-war, quarantined its citizens. Mass deaths within the country left few survivors. As such, Dvaitan refugees are classified as an endangered race of humans alongside the Sól family…” Heads in the classroom had turned towards him and Aisha. Indra brushed off those thoughts, the looks of pity in their eyes seared scorch marks in his mind, lingering like old wounds.

So I made a contract with a Siren. Supposedly I gave it a part of my mind and soul, but what exactly did I get in return? Jìguāng said that I received something equivalent in exchange but I’ve got about zero clues on what that is and how to use it. Does that even make sense? No, nothing about this makes any sense. I can’t tell Akula and the others, and not even Ouma can know.

He sighed in defeat. For the first time in his life, he felt truly alone. He could not divulge the contents of his contract to a Siren with anyone for fear of putting them at risk. At risk for what? This information was just too much to unpack for Indra all at once, and Jìguāng expected him to keep quiet about it. He had always relied on his friends, whether intentionally or not he couldn’t keep secrets from them, expressing his thoughts, desires, and personal information that he entrusted to them. The thought of keeping them in the dark twisted his stomach into a knot. I’m doing this for their own good. To keep them safe, he justified.

As he pondered about what to do next he found himself wandering the halls of Matriarch 07 aimlessly. He checked his HoloPad tablet for the time: 9:45. I should start heading to the Amphitheater. Indra put his fears aside, relegating Jìguāng’s comments to the back of his mind for now. Quickly pacing to the massive indoor auditorium aptly named the ‘Amphitheater’ he made a mental note to grab lunch as soon as the announcements were completed, seeing as this morning’s efforts proved fruitless in satiating his hunger.

Upon reaching the Amphitheater, Indra jostled his way through a sea of Homunculi as he searched for a way inside the massive domed arrangement. The closed-in amphitheater hosted hundreds of seats, all tiered higher and higher based on designation and rank. Indra joined the middle tiered row of seats fit snugly in-between the research staff seated above and the foot soldiers seated below. The crowd was abuzz with excitement as people gossiped amongst one another about what could have prompted the Lunar Gate Oligarchs to secede on their stern Homunculus segregation policies.

After what seemed like ages, with the boisterous chatter dying down to quiet murmurs, a man stepped out onto the stage. He was tall and well built, his neatly combed dark hair slicked back, providing an unadulterated view of his piercing granite eyes only matched in their severity by a thin French beard. His appearance was regal, adorning a black suit, laden with jade epithets written in Mandarin. The man regarded the audience with an unamused expression as if to say that his appearance on this stage was beneath him. Whatever the case, the expression only lasted for a millisecond before he addressed the watchful eyes of the crowd, staring intently with bated breath, eager to know how they too could become citizens of Yuèliàng.

The man cleared his throat and spoke in a booming authoritarian voice. “Homunculi of Matriarch 07! I’m sure you have all heard or read about the recent changes in segregation policies regarding citizenship within this organization. I would like to take a moment to confirm that this development is true. I am Kǔ Shén, head of Yuèliàng Domestic Affairs and lead researcher of the Matriarch 04 branch in Manzhouli. Now, you may be wondering why Lunar Gate has changed its views on the integration of Homunculus soldiers such as yourself into the civilian population. Suffice to say, in the past our fears with this assimilation laid in the fact that Homunculi are beings with surgically enhanced abilities; those that if used improperly could potentially result in devastating casualties, which is why your designation is that of a ‘biological weapon’ rather than ‘organic entity’. With that being said, we have seen a growing trend in mission success, especially from Matriarch 07.” A wave of cheers erupted from the Homunculi tier. Indra glimpsed a momentary flicker of irritation on Kǔ Shén’s otherwise composed face.

“Ahem, as I was saying,” he continued. “Your prowess in carrying out border defense and subjugating revolutionary groups has earned you high regard in the eyes of our leaders. I must commend you all on your continued effort to serve such a noble cause. Our goal for Homunculi assimilation within the general populace begins with your citizenship exams. They will focus on aspects of local knowledge in addition to specific civilian-like conduct one must adhere to when present amongst the civilian population. In order to provide you all with the proper content needed to succeed in these examinations, study material will be emailed to all of you via your HoloPad, or you may request a physical copy at the Resource Center.

The testing areas to be used are the classrooms that you have been specifically assigned to in order to aid in your education. A reminder and confirmation will be sent via email to make sure you attend the correct testing center. The exams will be held Thursday, June 10th at 8:00 so make sure you use this time to prepare wisely. All Homunculi are eligible to take this examination given that they have completed their required courses for field readiness. Those that have been approved for field readiness or have already been deployed, please listen closely as this information is quite pertinent to you.

All approved Homunculi MUST partake in the citizenship examinations and MUST pass said examinations. Failure to pass the examination will require additional remedial courses and test retakes until the aforementioned party is able to sufficiently exhibit their knowledge and ability to transition into the civilian population. Failure to comply with these guidelines is grounds for immediate termination of your contract with Lunar Gate. If you have any questions or grievances, please direct them towards your Matriarch Director, Colonel Jìguāng. Thank you and good day,” he finished with a bow and promptly left the stage, leaving many of the Homunculi to talk amongst themselves excitedly.

Indra left the packed Amphitheater before others started to rise from their seats in an effort to avoid a stampede towards the Great Hall. He took a back door leading into an empty hallway seldom used by the majority of the Homunculi. The hallway was built specifically for staff use in order to traverse the expansive Matriarch and reach the classes they taught on time. Ouma had taught Indra about these routes; truly a blessing. His daily commute had been made infinitely more bearable when he was still partaking in field readiness courses.

Lost in thought, thinking about Ouma for the umpteenth time that day, Indra happily skipped to the Great Hall, unaware of his surroundings until—

“—Wha—!” he stumbled forward, tripping on seemingly nothing until he fell to the ground and turned around.

“Oh, dear! Young man, are you all right?” The man who had made the announcement just moments before, Kǔ Shén, appeared before Indra, reaching out to him.

“I’m alright,” Indra reassured, clasping the man’s outstretched arm.

As Indra rose to his feet, his sleeve fell back revealing the intricate tattoo on his forearm. He quickly attempted to conceal the marking that Jìguāng had so gravely warned him not to display, but Kǔ Shén was quicker, raising his arm to get a good look at the tattoo.

“Oh my! What an exquisite tattoo you have here!” he announced with surprise. “You know, I’m a collector of body art myself. I have some rather beautiful pieces of my own. Alas! They’re full sleeves that I cannot easily display without disrobing, which I’m sure your caretakers would not appreciate. Young man, where did you procure such fine art?” he asked inquisitively.

“U-um, I don’t particularly remember where I got this piece,” Indra answered shakily.

The man let out a sigh of disappointment. “Oh! How unfortunate. Please, young man, do let me know where you received this tattoo if you ever recollect it. I’ll give you my phone number to expedite the process,” Kǔ Shén stated gesturing for Indra’s HoloPad.

“I-I’m quite alright—”

“—Nonsense! Don’t worry about bothering me! Here—,” Kǔ Shén cut him off, grabbing his HoloPad and typing in his number. “—You now have my contact information so feel free to notify me when you get the chance.”

“Oh, uh, o-okay,” Indra replied, flustered.

Kǔ Shén took his leave waving at Indra with his back turned.

Indra stood for a couple of moments in the now empty hallway, utterly baffled at his encounter with the lead researcher of Matriarch 04. Despite his jovial demeanor, Indra felt on edge, unable to shake the creeping feeling of intrigue behind Kǔ Shén’s piercing gaze, as if he were a specimen of unusual interest. A sudden glare caught Indra’s eye. The hallway light rebounded off of an object embedded deep within the floor nearer to where he had fallen. Indra bent down to pick up the object pausing to examine its peculiar color. It was a shard of milky green, big enough to elevate a piece of the floor and perhaps what had snagged his foot. Jade? Kǔ Shén must have dropped it when I was walking by. Should I return it? After a little bit of thought, he shrugged, pocketing the jade shard. Indra skipped lunch, the uneasy feeling from his encounter with Kǔ Shén left him unable to stomach much of anything again, a twisted knot presently resting in his abdomen. He hurried over to Ouma’s lab on the far side of the Matriarch's complex, intentionally placed there so that the fallout of her usually volatile experiments remained well removed from others.

***

Indra pressed his thumb to a sensor attached to the titanium door marking the entrance to Ouma’s lab. A latch opened up revealing another scanner at eye level. He placed his retinas as close as he dared to the scanner, letting it wash green light over his pupils. A pleasant ding! indicated that his identification had been successful, followed by a series of whirs and clicks as the gears of the door turned to allow Indra inside. The lab was an expansive warehouse littered with various machines, tubes, vials, and chemicals. A mix of technology and synthesized experiments lined the densely packed shelves of Dr. Ouma’s lab. Gaping at the sheer quantity of items in the lab, Indra paced himself as he traversed closer to the workbench that Ouma would inevitably be hunched over, pouring every ounce of concentration she had into her latest creation. In the likely event that anything were to go wrong with Ouma’s creation, Indra would most definitely be within the range of its fallout. He tried not to let the thought bother him too much.

Just as he had suspected, upon reaching Ouma’s workbench, he could see a figure in a pristine lab coat, muttering to herself a frenzy of calculations and measurements as she carefully wired what looked to be a glove of some sort. Ouma’s ears twitched as Indra’s steps became more audible. She turned around, lifting the protective goggles she had been wearing, revealing deep suction marks around her eyes.

“Indra! You’re just in time to see my latest and greatest creation. I think you’ll find this particular invention very interesting,” she gushed excitedly.

“You say that every time. Most of the time the invention explodes and I’m caught in the crossfire,” he shrugged.

“Y-yes, that’s true but this time is different! I meticulously crafted this device using calculations and data acquired from Jìguāng. It’s data particular to Homunculi attributes and Traits, making use of the specific cellular structure they possess,” Ouma continued.

This piqued Indra’s interest. “Why’d you need Homunculus data for this glove? What’s the purpose of it?”

“I’ll show you,” Ouma answered with a smug smile.

She ducked behind a shelf.

Indra glanced over to Ouma’s workbench spotting another contraption, although it looked quite damaged.

“What’s with the broken machine?” he called out.

“Oh, that’s a drone I built. I accidentally flew it into the wall while testing its speed. I modeled it after an owl. It’s sort of like my pet,” Ouma answered from behind the shelf.

“Does it have a name then?” Indra asked.

“Yeah, its name is Uluka!” she yelled as she traveled further away.

“Uluka?”

“Yeah, it's another name for the Hindu God, Indra, your namesake!” she chuckled.

Indra chose to ignore the fact that Ouma had decided to name her artificial pet after him. Ouma returned to her workbench shortly after, carrying with her a small cage containing a single albino rat inside.

“Meet Bartholomew, our test subject for today’s experiment. This rat has been subjected to the Homunculus treatment, just like you—”

“—They figured out how to give Traits to animals?”

“Well, no, the Homunculus Trait Accelerant formula or HTA still requires a subject of the Genus Homo to allow transcriptional activators to bind to the proteins injected, but Bart over here has the cellular make-up of a Homunculus despite having no recognizable Trait manifestation,” Ouma looked at Indra with what could only be described as pure giddiness.

“Well that makes two of us,” said Indra unamused that he had now been denoted from non-functional Homunculus to that of a rat.

“Well let’s give this baby a whirl, shall we?” Ouma slipped on the silver glove laden with runes that spiraled across the metal. She flipped a switch on the table and observed with glee as the glove roared to life, lighting up the runes with a brilliant white glow.

“Woah, what’s with the inscriptions?!” clamored Indra.

“Ancient Sanskrit! It’s necessary for what I’m about to do!” Ouma answered against the deafening cries of her invention.

She aimed the glove at Bartholomew, the poor rat pressing up against the back of his cage in a vain attempt to escape the terrifying light aimed at him. Ouma flexed her fingers, releasing a white light that enveloped the albino rat. Once Bartholomew had been enveloped in light, Ouma clenched her hand into a fist. Indra let out an audible gasp as he witnessed the light dragging a silhouette of Bartholomew while leaving the shivering rat in his cage. Ouma directed the ball of light towards her desk, still carrying the silhouette of Bartholomew. Finally, with waning concentration, she released her fist, letting the silhouette sink to the table as the light grew dim and subsequently faded from her hand. A sudden fwoom! resounded as both the silhouette and Bartholomew exploded in a cloud of smoke. The two observers waved away the smoke, coughing profusely, only to see that Bartholomew now stood in his cage completely hairless. At the same time, his missing hair lay where the silhouette had been resting on the table just seconds before.

“For a second there I thought it was going to do something amazing, but I can definitely see the benefits of such a device. I could probably use this to shave my pub—”

“—That’s not what this glove is for!” retorted Ouma, blushing at Indra’s snide remarks. “Urgh, I made sure it was working before the presentation today, but it had to crap out now, of all times,” she complained.

“You mean it worked before?” Indra chuckled incredulously, dubious of the glove’s proficiency.

“Yes,” she huffed indignantly. “It managed to separate HTA proteins from Bartholomew for a couple of seconds. I was making progress!” She tore at her hair in frustration.

Indra’s eyes went wide. “This glove separated HTA proteins from a Homunculus?”

“Well Homunculi-like organism, but yes, yes it did. You wanted to know what I was working on? It’s this—” she shook the glove, flopping it back and forth. “—A glove that can separate particles; a possible cure for Homunculi cellular degeneration!”

“So with the particle separator, we could prolong our lives?” Indra responded surprised.

“Exactly,” Ouma answered with a look of superiority. “Once I get this working—”

“—If you get this working,” Indra interjected. “Then what? The effect would only be temporary. How could you ensure that HTA protein separation stays permanent and that the particles don’t fuse back with our cells?”

Ouma gave Indra a look of annoyance. “This is just the early stages of the experiment. You can’t expect perfect results immediately, dummy.”

Indra suppressed his disappointment, forcing a smile. “It’s definitely interesting, I’m looking forward to seeing it in action once you get it working.”

Ouma returned an elated grin. “Mhm, I’ll let you know.”

“Oh, before I forget, could you take a look at this? I meant to ask Jìguāng but I completely forgot.” Indra lifted up his shirt to reveal the partially healed scar along the ribs on his left side.

“You certainly are absent-minded,” Ouma nodded, moving closer to examine Indra’s scar tissue.

She ran her fingertips along the thin discolored line where Indra's wound had first opened up, gently brushing the skin, feeling for any tenderness or swelling. Indra looked away, aware of how close Ouma was to him, touching his bare skin. He tried not to think about it, but his mind wandered.

Ouma finished Indra’s check-up. “All done,” she stated, satisfied with his condition.

“Wha—o-oh, right, thanks. So do you know why the wound is healing so fast?”

Ouma scratched her head. “It’s not unheard of for stitches to dissolve or come out after a week, but the degree to which your wound healed in such a short amount of time is really puzzling. I would say, either it's related to your manifesting Trait or it has something to do with the tattoo on your forearm. Regardless, the effects so far seem to be positive. I’ll continue to monitor your condition as it progresses. Let me know if you experience any other noticeable changes in your physiology.”

“Right,” Indra affirmed.

“Speaking of progress, how far have you gotten with your studies?” Ouma asked.

“Studies? I’m done with field training and coursework already,” Indra answered confused.

“No, I mean for the citizenship exams. They should have sent emails already, you know. Yes, I know they just released material today, but you should still get a jump start, otherwise, you’re going to have a tough time cramming,” she stated as a matter of fact.

“But—,”

“—Every minute counts, Indra!” Ouma interrupted him.

Indra groaned. Despite her teasing, Ouma was eight years his senior and she loved to use the age gap as an excuse to act like a mother when she pleased, lecturing him on the difficulties of life in lieu of his deceased parents. Not to mention, she happened to encompass a studious demeanor, as expected of a medical graduate. The intent was appreciated, but the execution delved into the patronizing side.

“You’re already eighteen! You need to start taking responsibility for your future! Follow Akula’s example, okay? He’s only a year older but he’s basically autonomous. If you don’t start taking your own initiative you’ll fall behind and that’s my biggest worry,” she pleaded.

“I got it,” Indra smiled reassuringly.

“Jeez, as long as the message got through that thick skull of yours,” Ouma laughed, knocking on her own skull.

Talking about Akula reminded Indra of their conversation earlier at the tavern. He collected his thoughts mustering up the courage to speak to Ouma directly without any detours in the conversation.

“Hey, when I pass the test—”

“—You mean if.”

“No, when I pass the test, I think…” Indra mustered up the courage to follow through on Akula’s advice. “I think…” C’mon, c’mon, c’mon. You already started talking, this is it. Your chance to express yourself. It doesn’t even have to be a full confession. Small steps, no need for a giant leap just yet. Indra composed himself, refraining from squirming or jittering, looking her dead in the eyes. “Vivi, I think you should come with us to the Duānwǔ Festival. You’re always buried in your work and the holidays are the only time we’re allowed into the city, but even then our options are usually restricted to areas prominently devoid of civilians. This year, with citizenship being available to all of us we can go explore a lot more places, participate as members of the community… and we can visit you more often…” he trailed off at the end.

“Hmm? You’re inviting me? My, my, where'd this confidence come from all of a sudden? Could it be? Are you asking me out on a date?” she teased.

I knew it! She’s teasing me again! No, no, no, you expected this. Don’t let her playful demeanor throw you off. Rejection is one thing but I won’t lose face. I’m throwing it all on the line, right? I listened to what Akula said. Steel yourself!

Indra grit his teeth, not allowing his face to betray his emotions. He smirked. “If that’s what you want I’d be happy to oblige, but we should at least start as a group and then branch out later on don’t you think?”

Vivian held her smile. “O-of course, it would be rude of us to just split off right away,” she wavered.

The inflection in her voice was slight, but Indra picked up the tremor it carried. Vivian’s peach-colored complexion started to redden, trickling from her cheeks up to her ears. Indra celebrated the victory internally. But he should have known that Vivian was a sore loser. She stepped towards him leaning in close to his ear. Indra could suddenly hear his heartbeat rapidly increasing as blood rushed to his head. His breathing became shallow, he could smell her perfume now; orchid. Her scent was intoxicating. There was mint on her breath wafting into his throat with each breath as she whispered in his ear. Electricity jolted throughout Indra’s body. His mind went blank. If he were a kettle, he would have burst by now. He answered with a weak grunt and a nod before escaping to the library. Her words filled his head, consuming every thought, drilling themselves into his memory, boring deep into his temporal lobe. Did the previous events just happen? Or had he merely hallucinated his encounter with Vivian? An alert sounded on his HoloPad. A single message. That confirmed it, Indra wasn’t crazy. He read the message again reassuring himself that it was real. Dopamine and serotonin fired on all cylinders as he reread the message over and over again: “Can’t wait for our first date! Make sure you study hard ;) You can do it! -Vivi.”

Indra silently contemplated the day's events. It was all just too much for him to comprehend at once. He needed to organize his thoughts and compartmentalize the scenes playing out in his mind. He sighed, fatigued by each subsequent revelation that had piled on top of him. He sought council, his intuition leading him to only one plausible avenue. He scanned the massive dome-shaped room, shelves stacked to the ceiling brimming with volumes of literature, spiraling staircases leading to the upper floors of the multi-level sanctuary of knowledge. There. He spotted his target, the one to relay his ambiguous difficulties to, his wispy white hair spilling onto the pages of the book he was hunched over reading, absorbing every last morsel of information in text form. Indra reached the table the man was sitting at, lightly tapping it to get his attention.

“I took your advice. It worked. Now tell me what to do next,” Indra spoke softly. Akula looked surprised for just a moment before flashing his trademark toothy grin, leaning forward to address Indra, clasping his palms together.

“Interesting… Tell me more.”