A Record in Regards to Number 7 --

In the year 2236 CE, the timeline of the Earth ended. That is, the Earth ceased to exist. The events that lead up to such an unfortunate conclusion all hinged on the existence of Alicia Whitehill, the daughter of the 17th president of the Confederate of North America.

Born an albino with certain health defects caused by mutations in several of her genes, she had caught the interest of a certain secret scientific research organization, Pandora, which had a long standing association with the United Social-Communist Union. The USCU, after WWIV, had entered into a cold war and arms race with the CNA and its allies. This situation was very reminiscent of the events after WWII.

Read more...Quite by accident, Pandora came across Alicia's medical records on the black market, and due to the unique nature of her genetic mutations, they kidnapped her for their research in enhanced abilities. As such, this action lead to the beginning of WWV and the rise of the photon bomb.

The photon bomb was a bomb 10,000,000 times the radioactive power of the atom bomb with none of the destructive capabilities.That meant it could wipe out the population of an entire country the size of England without destroying any buildings. This bomb had begun development two months after the end of WWIII, when scientist Evan Allen Stinoch had a major breakthrough in splitting a high-energy photon.

As a national scientific researcher of the neutral country of New Poland, and due to the stipulations of retaining neutral status as stated in the International Relations Code of Conduct, Stinoch was required to release any and all scientific research he may have conducted to the Interweb. However, to prevent the consequences if such research was known worldwide, Stinoch wrote his research finds in such a way that he was the only one able to decipher them. As a result, he was the target of many nations when WWIV broke out. After several months of being pursued, he accepted asylum from the CNA where he continued his research. He completed it only months before WWV.

The abduction of Alicia Whitehill did not have a graceful conclusion. While President Whitehill spared no effort in finding her, no results were to be had. Pandora had covered their tracks to perfection. No trace of her was to be found. Nine years were spent in a fruitless search for her before finally, at the end of the ninth year, Alicia reappeared dead on the President's doorstep almost unrecognizable if not for her white hair. Along with her body was a short note:

"Thanks for the gift, but we're done playing with it. You can have it back now." - Pandora

Enraged, President Whitehill demanded that the USCU hand over the members of Pandora to be tried. The United Social-Communist Union refused, and President Whitehill, in return, declared war.

WWV lasted for a surprisingly short amount of time, around two months, but the war had devastating and unexpected consequences. By its end, 68% of the world's population had been decimated. The photon bomb had been heavily utilized, and now, both countries were on the verge of collapse.

In the nine years that Alicia went missing, Pandora performed a myriad of experiments on her. However, to Pandora, the experiments they were able to perform were not nearly enough. Due to her weak constitution, Pandora spent more time trying to keep her alive than experimenting on her. As such, they were only able to use her as a basic reference. Her health defects, when combined with the research they were able to conduct, shortened her lifespan by a massive degree.

Pandora was forced to turn to another source utilizing the culmination of their research on Alicia's DNA. A clone with various modifications was created from her genes, a test tube baby that they hoped to be able to experiment with to their pleasure.

Born five years after Alicia had been kidnapped, Number 7 was the only successful clone of the batch. By this time, Alicia had been dead for almost two years, She had been preserved for the sake of her genes, only for Pandora to later use her corpse to incite a war.

Six other clones had been attempted, but none had survived past the six month mark. Initially, females were created, the thought process being that the same gender as Alicia would produce similar results. Strangely enough, they discovered that males that had a higher success rate.

Number 1 and 2, both females, lived only weeks before dying of genetic instability. Number 3, also female, lived for a month before dying of the same reasons. Number 4, the last female, slowly went insane due to her limited mental capacity being overloaded and dying of stroke two months later. With Number 5, the first male, they had greater success as he was able to handle greater mental loads. However, after five months, he also died of stroke. Number 6 lived three months before his brain shut down into a vegetative state. Five months later, his heart stopped even with the various advanced medical technology that had so long kept him alive. Number 7 was the last.

There was substantial pent up frustration, anxiety, and desperation within Pandora at his birth. If Number 7 died, that was it, the end of everything they had worked for. There wasn't enough time or money. The CNA's investigations were getting too close for comfort, and the USCU wasn't willing to provide funding any longer if they weren't producing results.

The most important factor, however, was that Alicia's DNA had gradually broken down over the years and was no longer able to be utilized in the cloning process. She, after all, had been dead for quite some time now.

Number 7 was, in all reality, their last scrap of hope in the bottom of the box. The six month mark was the critical point where Number 7's ability to live was decided. Only after Number 7 had lived past those six months did Pandora dare let out their breaths.