《Tabula Rasa》Chapter 21: Enigmatic
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The Abnormal Aptitude Test consisted of vigorous physical and mental stimulation. The idea behind it was to gauge how far beyond the human limit those who were designated as abnormals had gone. It was safe to say that is would be dangerous for non-abnormals to participate in it.
Lyn, the one who administered the test was shocked by Visette’s durability and willpower. She went through each test without a single complaint, though she did suffer a terrible nosebleed by the end of it.
“That damn girl is something.” Lyn looked at the final results of the test before she turned them into Commander Wakefield.
She was inside of a small office that she used for “official” work but with her personality doing any work out of her own volition could be considered a rare thing. Stacks of papers and reports that needed to be finished filled the room but she didn’t show any sign of starting on them. No, her sole focus was Visette’s status as an abnormal.
The level of Visette’s physical traits was as follows:
Type-3 Strength.
Type-3 Agility.
Type-3 Reflexes.
Type-4 Endurance
Type-3 Dexterity.
In summary, Visette Thales would be the perfect soldier for an Abnormal Unit. Her wide-range of traits would allow her to take on any role from recon to assault. I recommend introducing field training as soon as possible to develop her natural abilities even faster.
To test her physical limits, Visette was forced to lift weight around four times her own body weight. Agility was, of course, a test of how fast she could run between two points. Endurance was a test of stamina which also involved running. Agility dealt with Visette’s ability to jump and maneuver. Reflexes and dexterity were tests administered at the same time and by far the easiest. All Visette had to do was stare at a screen and when a symbol flashed she would have to press the corresponding button. It made it easy to track how fast she could react and move.
The traits that didn't make the list were intelligence, vision, and hearing. Intelligence wasn't something so easily measured. Her vision was estimated to be around type two or three. Enhanced hearing was a rare trait for abnormals and not one often talked about because it was considered more or less a useless thing to have. There was no way hearing would be useful in a firefight against a horde of Corrupted and there detection equipment far more effective than the human ear could ever be.
“I wonder how she would fare in that city to the west?” Lyn mused as she reached for a cigarette only to remember she cut down on smoking. “Damn it.”
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Suddenly, a phone next to Lyn’s table began to ring and she picked it up.
“What?” Lyn rolled her eyes.
“There’s trouble.” Someone on the opposite end of the receiver said.
“What the hell does that have to do with me?” Lyn asked with an eyeroll.
“It’s about Visette Thales. The Commander has asked that you personally go to the detention center. Visette’s physician has some news that she is hesitant to speak about over the phone.”
Lyn’s forehead wrinkled slightly. “She wouldn’t do anything stupid, right?”
“Excuse me?”
“No, it’s nothing. I’ll go.” Lyn hung up the receiver and then sighed deeply. “Damn it.”
…
Lyn made it to the detention facility and went to the see the doctor immediately. But to her surprise, there was no one killed and nothing destroyed when she arrived. A nervous female doctor who paced back and forth while biting her nails seemed to be the only thing out of place.
“What is it?” Lyn asked calmly.
The Doctor looked around the empty halls of the detention center’s medical ward before grabbing Lyn by the forearm and pulling her into a medical storage room.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Lyn snatched her arm away.
“Sorry...Sorry, It’s just that you said that material relating to Visette was to be kept classified so I-”
“Just get to the point.” Lyn urged her on.
“So, you should remember that a month ago I collected a blood sample from Visette and discovered her abnormal resistance to any invasive or foreign material introduced to it, viruses, diseases, and even medicine.”
“Yeah, go on.”
“Well, after you told me that everything about her was to be classified, I ran a few more tests before putting the sample in cold storage. Until today, I hadn’t looked at it at all and that’s when I discovered something shocking.” As the Doctor finished, she turned toward a small refrigeration unit and punched a keycode in before opening it. A cold fog came billowing out and when it was clear a shattered glass vial could be seen. The liquid inside the vial had not only turned from red to a dull grey color but it crystalized and protruded from the vial that was meant to hold it.
“What happened to it?” Lyn asked while leaning close to it. “Is it frozen?”
“No, that’s the thing. This was only meant to keep it at a suitable temperature, not freeze it.” The Doctor continued while removing the blood sample with a pair of metal tongs. “Her blood has somehow crystalized and I can’t even scrape off a sample small enough for me to examine closely.”
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After placing the grey crystal onto a table, the doctor picked up a motorized surgical saw and turned it on before pressing it against the vial. The glass vial was broken but the crystal remained untouched even as sparks flew. Eventually, she stopped revealing a dull saw-blade and a peculiar crystal without a single blemish.
“...What the fuck?” Lyn could only stare blankly without a single shred of understanding as to what was happening.
The Cronus Gene implanted inside of Visette’s DNA essentially made her immortal. It would only activate under two circumstances.
The first one was if Visette reached an age where her biological functions were adversely affected. The nanites in her body would then trigger a reaction which would render her comatose as her body underwent a state of renewal. During that time she would be covered by a crystalline substance formed by her own body to protect her from harm.
The second circumstance was if Visette’s body was put under a large amount of stress due to injury or some other factor. Once that occured, her nanites would force her body to shut down in order to recover.
The nanites within her blood sample that were left stagnant were apart of the second category. They designated the current condition inside of a cold storage as unsuitable for long term survival and issued a response to preserve her cells.
Another benefit that could be seen from her blood cells becoming impossible to study was the fact no organization or powerful entity would be able to gleam any secrets or replicate Visette’s biology. Though it was nearly impossible in the first place as Minerva had many failsafes in place for such events.
Lyn tried to get the Doctor’s input on the cause of the weird phenomenon but after getting nowhere, she was forced to report to the Commander without a single answer.
…
Visette remained unknowing of what occurred. Sitting in a plain set of detention clothes, the doll-eyed, white-haired, girl was face to face with Dr. Eliza Brendan, the psychoanalyst who was tasked with decoding Visette’s mental state.
“Please, fill out the questionnaire with whatever comes to mind. And remember, there is no right or wrong answer.” Dr. Eliza flashed a beautiful smile.
If there was one fault she had it was herover-eagernesss to do her job. Visette was a murderer, that was a plain fact. She killed a man in broad daylight, even if his crimes came to light after his death it didn’t mean she was any less of a murderer. Treating her without care was dangerous but if Eliza was nervous she surely didn’t let it show.
Visette nodded with her usual empty expression and began reading the questions.
-You are walking down the street one afternoon and stumble upon a man in need of help. What do you do and why?
It was a simple question with a basic premise. Most people would answer like good samaritans regardless of whether or not they really meant it but Visette didn’t count as “most people.”
I do not assist him. I have no reason to offer help to an individual with unknown motives.
-Think of a place that makes you feel positive emotions. What or where is that place and why?
After taking time to consider, Visette could only come up with one answer. Prior to receiving her artificial memories, the stillness of the Minerva lab only induced fear inside of her. So that couldn’t count but there was one place where she felt comfortable.
The small home that Rachel and Charlie occupied was a place that met the conditions given by the question.
As for the “why” part of the question, Visette had no answer. She couldn’t say what about staying with Rachel and Charlie brought on the strange emotional response.
-Have you ever hurt someone? If so, list the reason why you did it.
Visette looked at what was by far the easiest question and responded accordingly.
I eliminated a man who was designated as an enemy. It was not logical to let a potential enemy escape when the opportunity to dispatch him was present.
The question continued on.
If given a second chance, would you take the same actions again?
Visette didn’t even have to think as she wrote her response.
Yes.
“If you’re finished I’ll take that.” Dr. Eliza asked after seeing Visette put her pen down.
Visette handed the test over to Dr.Eliza who place it into a folder very carefully.
“Don’t worry about the test, as I’ve said before, there is no wrong answer,” Dr.Eliza said without thinking.
She smiled again before shaking Vis’ hand and leaving the room.
Visette was then escorted to her small glass cell and her day ended.
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