> DECRYPTING SECURE FILES... COMPLETE.
> USER: DR. ARIS
> SUBJECT: 724 GENESIS
[FILE 001: PROJECT GEL-01]
DATE: 204X.03.15
SUBJECT: Initial Binding Trials
STATUS: CATASTROPHIC FAILURE
We tried to infuse the suspension fluid with basic algorithmic drives. Movement was achieved, but no intent. The biomass just... vibrated. Then we added the Crystal dust. The reaction was violent. The biomass screamed. Not with a mouth—it doesn't have lungs—but the air around it screamed. It was a psychic shockwave.
We flushed the failed batches into the lower maintenance tunnels (Sector 1). They are still down there. Mutating. Screaming.
[FILE 002: THE ANOMALY]
DATE: 204X.04.02
SUBJECT: Sample 724 (The "Orange" One)
STATUS: MONITORING
This one is different. We used the refined "Orange Strain" crystal shards. When we introduced the catalyst, Subject 724 didn't scream. It looked at me. It formed a pseudo-pod and touched the glass. It wasn't trying to break out; it was trying to understand the barrier.
The other samples are mindless, driven only by hunger and pain. 724 pauses. It observes. It shows fear. Fear implies a self.
[FILE 003: THE CRYSTAL]
DATE: 204X.04.10
NOTE: Dr. Aris Personal Log
We thought the Binding Crystal was an energy source. We were wrong. It's a bridge. It binds matter to consciousness. It's an exo-geological artifact found in the crater. When we put it in the slime, we didn't just animate it... we pulled *something* into it.
For the enemies in Sector 1, the binding failed—they are trapped between matter and energy, in constant pain. For 724, the binding is perfect. It is a new form of life. A silica-carbon hybrid with a soul.
[FILE 004: CONSCIOUSNESS]
DATE: 204X.04.22
SUBJECT: 724 Social Test
724 knows it is alone. We introduced a 'friend'—a clone from the same batch. 724 tried to communicate, flashing colors. The clone tried to consume it instantly. 724 had to terminate the clone to survive.
Since then, 724 sits in the corner of its cell, staring at the Crystal containment unit. It hears the song. The Song of the Source. It knows where the pieces are.
[FILE 005: THE BREACH]
DATE: TODAY
STATUS: CONTAINMENT DISABLED
I disabled the security grid in Sector 1. They think it's a glitch. It's not. I need to know. If 724 reaches the Master Crystal in Sector 3... will it destroy us? Or will it ascend?
The containment breach is active. Run, little slime. Run. Show me what you are.