#the biochem department were BASED

[celestie0]

hello ellie <3 why did you choose to study biology in college?

hiii my love <3 aww :”) sooo i’ve known since i was in hs i wanted to go to med school n so i chose the most basic premed major ever 🤣 i think i just really love sciences bc its always been a challenge for me, like learning math n memorizing concepts has always been more difficult than i think any humanities stuffs, and i guess i kinda like that feeling of wanting something that pushes me to get better at it!! i also volunteered at a women’s clinic in hs and that made me interested in medicine sooo here we aree :”) i have to say tho i rly wanted to switch my major to biochem like halfway thru college cuz i fell in love w it but was too lazy in the end haha i wish i had been a biochem major instead but thats ok i got to take some fun biochem electives my senior year of college so i got my fix 🧚‍♀️✨ ty for the question bb!!

[clareguilty]

Ghost/Soap/Reader | Sex Pollen, Breeding kink

This fic was written for Kinktober 2024! Let me know what you think <3

Ghost/Soap/F!Reader | Sex Pollen, Breeding kink, strength kink, dacryphilia Rating: Explicit | WARNINGS: EXTREMELY DUBIOUS CONSENT Word Count: ~3400

The last thing you expected when you answered the knock on your office door was the sight of two uniformed soldiers, both broad enough to fill the entire doorway each, expressions grave. You ushered them inside your small, cluttered office tucked away in the biochemistry wing of the university building. Being the head of the pharmacology department did not come with a sprawling mahogany desk and glorious window views. You were lucky to have a desk and a window at all.

Still, you were the best in your field, and that had granted you tenure and funding to continue your research as well as a small team of graduate students and postdocs to boss around as you pleased.

One of the soldiers introduced himself as Captain Price, the other a corporal under his command. You cleared off space on your desk as the corporal opened a locked case and pulled out a laptop.

“Anything you are about to see is highly classified information,” the captain warned you. “Our intel pertains to ongoing operations to stop a dangerous organized terrorist group.”

You nodded along, but your focus was on the footage being played on the laptop. The drone shots and shaky handheld cameras, clips of lab workers handling samples while suited head to toe in protective equipment. There was footage of soldiers experiencing a variety of symptoms: aggression, paralysis, psychosis.

The corporal opened a file for you to scroll through. Pages and pages of reports.

“Biochemical weapons,” you murmured to yourself. “Inhalants?”

“Gas,” the captain confirmed. “Your security clearance is still in the system from your field work on that operation in Andorra. Our people are using your research as the blueprint.”

You were the leading expert on biochemical weaponry, much of your research was centered around synthesizing field antidotes. It had been a few years since you were last out in the field, taking samples from warzones and the sites of attacks.

“You need me out there?” You asked. But you already knew the answer. They wouldn’t be here in your office otherwise.

“You’ll be working with our top tactical operations team. The best men we’ve got. Whatever they’re making in these labs, we need to put a stop to it, and then we need to figure out how they’re doing it.”

You looked at the footage again - civilians this time - and felt your stomach turn at the sight.

“When’s the earliest we can leave?” You asked, closing the laptop to hide the horrifying images.

-

The body armor on your last field operation had been simple: a bullet proof vest with a mask and helmet. You had worn your civilian clothes and brought along everything else yourself.

“Alright, Dove, arms up,” the special forces sergeant, Soap, grinned as he dropped a heavy vest over your head. You dutifully raised your arms so he could fasten the tangle of buckles until you were secured.

“Thanks,” you glanced down at the overwhelming amount of gear that was now covering your front.

“You’ve got your radio,” he tapped the top left pocket, “Compass, shears, three mags of extra ammunition, scopes, batteries, and torch.” You watched him point out each item. “On your belt here you’ve got your pistol, knife, and canteen.”

Soap put his own gear on much faster than it had taken to kit you out. He carried even more equipment, but he somehow made it look easier.

You had been staying at the temporary base with Captain Price’s 141 task force for days now. Without access to quality lab equipment, you were working tirelessly to find answers about the biochemical weaponry using whatever was available. As impressive as your makeshift setup was, it wasn’t near precise or thorough enough to save lives.

It felt a little ridiculous. A researcher surrounded by a bunch of special forces giants. They were welcoming and friendly - except for the terrifying lieutenant with the skull mask, but you knew you were out of your depth surrounded by cases full of rifles and grenades. Sleeping on a cot and eating rations cooked off a gas burner.

Captain Price had done whatever he could to make you more comfortable. The encampment was a few secured buildings and several large tents. And while you were accustomed to the conditions after your previous field research, they had afforded you as much privacy as possible. 

Underneath the teasing and jokes, Soap was kind and friendly. He’d nicknamed you their ‘peace dove’ on the first day, and you hadn’t been able to shake the moniker since.

Even Lieutenant Ghost had been considerate as you tried to keep up with the heavy military jargon and unfamiliar protocols. He slipped you candy bars that were definitely against regulations and sat with you after the countless briefings to explain all of the commands that had flown over your head rapid-fire. He was still scary.

The last military squadron you had worked alongside had mostly ignored you, frustrated with your inexperience and occasionally downright cruel. They hadn’t respected your expertise or your research despite your attempts to explain how vital it was to their safety.

There was none of that here.

After several days of monitoring intel and surveillance, Price had finally made the call to infiltrate the terrorist labs. The only way to stop these weapons would be to secure the materials themselves.

Soap and Ghost were assigned to clear out any hostiles, and your mission was to gather anything in the labs that would help to stop production of the weapons and synthesize antidotes.

It was difficult to keep up with them as they closed in on the lab. You had been instructed to hang back a ways while they engaged, but even then you were struggling to match their pace.

You had never known anyone who could make an assault rifle look small until these men. Like they were holding a toy. Despite their size, both the sergeant and the lieutenant were exceptionally fast even with all their gear.

As you approached the location of the terrorists’ labs, Ghost signaled for all of you to halt. He grabbed you by the shoulders and pressed you into a crouch inside a copse of brush where you would be able to keep cover.

“Stay here. We’ll engage the hostiles and bring you in as soon as the site is secure,” he ordered.

Both he and Soap immediately made to move in, but you managed to catch Soap by the hand. “Be careful,” you warned. “We have no clue what kind of shit they’re cooking up in there.”

“Don’t worry, Dove. We’ll do just fine,” Soap promised with a grin.

And then they were gone.

The silence that filled in after their retreating boot steps was excruciating. The sharp cracks of gunfire that rang out in short bursts were somehow even worse. You couldn’t radio in without risking the operation - the noise could give away their position - so you were left waiting until Ghost signaled the all clear. As the minutes dragged on since the last round of shots, you prayed you wouldn’t have to fall back on your contingency extraction: if you didn’t hear from either Soap or Ghost after two hours, you were to make your way to a designated pickup spot.

Your radio crackled.

“You there, Dovie?” Soap’s voice came through. He sounded uninjured.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good girl.” That was Ghost this time. “We’ve eliminated all hostiles. Give us ten more minutes to secure the site, and then I’ll send Soap to come get you.”

“Copy that.” An unbelievable amount of tension seemed to melt out of you at that, and you let out a heavy sigh.

Not even a minute later you heard a distant bang. Not gunfire. A small explosion.

“Lieutenant?” You immediately called over the radio. “What was that?”

“Fucking hell!” Soap shouted. “The lab was rigged!”

“Lieutenant?” You were already pushing to your feet, rushing out of the safety of your cover and towards the labs.

“We tripped something,” Ghost finally responded. “They had canisters set to burst if the lab was tampered with.”

“You mean you got dosed?” Your fingers were numb with fear as you fumbled with your radio. “Are you experiencing any symptoms? I’m on my way now!”

The radio was silent for a few moments, but you were sprinting as fast as you could toward the site. If you could get there quick enough, maybe you could find an antidote somewhere in the labs. They wouldn’t know what to look for, but if you could find out what was in those canisters, surely you could fix this.

“Wait, Dovie,” Soap’s voice was rough, breathy. “Stay where you are. Don’t come near here.”

“I’m the only chance you have at finding an antidote,” you shouted into the radio.

“Hold your position. Do not approach. That is an order,” Ghost snarled, but you were already at the entrance, flying through the path of carnage Soap and Ghost had left. The satellite images in the briefing had given you a rough idea of where you needed to go, and the trail of bodies confirmed you were on the right track.

As you came up on the entrance to the labs, someone tackled you into the wall, pinning you in place. You screamed, but a gloved hand covered your mouth.

“It’s just me,” Soap assured you. “But you shouldn’t have run in here without your weapon drawn. Shouldn’t have come in here at all.” He pulled his hand away so you could gulp down a breath.

“Whatever you were hit with, they might have an antidote. If I can get to it before it’s too late-“

Soap cut you off. “You’re worse than me at following orders.”

”Let me go.” You tried to squirm out of his hold.

Soap made a choked off sound in your ear. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Fuck, I’m sorry. It’s the gas. I swear. We didn’t know the lab was rigged.”

“What the hell is going on?”

“Jesus, Dove, you have to forgive me. Promise? I can’t fight it.”

“Whatever it is, you’ll be okay. Just let me go, Soap.”

He was pinning you in place with his entire body weight, panting against the back of your neck as he easily kept you still despite your attempts to break free.

Thankfully, you heard the sound of heavy boots approaching. That had to be Ghost.

He rounded the corner and you cried out. “Lieutenant! Please, sir!”

Ghost snarled when he saw you trapped beneath Soap. He crossed the room in three easy strides and ripped the sergeant off of you. Soap hit the floor with a groan, and you tried to back away.

Except the Ghost was closing in on you, knife drawn. He cornered you easily, and the fear had you freezing in place. You weren't a trained soldier. You weren't equipped to handle these kinds of situations.

You flinched as Ghost grabbed for you, squeezing your eyes shut and preparing for the worst, but there wasn't any pain - just the sound of tearing fabric and the sensation of your body armor falling away to a heap on the floor.

“Gotta get these off you,” he growled, crowding even closer against you. His voice wasn’t nearly as rough or as breathless as Soap’s. When you finally worked up the courage to open your eyes, Ghost was leant over you with his face in your neck taking deep inhales. Was he… smelling you?

They’d both been dosed. You had never seen symptoms like these before, but it wasn’t a typical toxin. Surely you could find an antidote if they just let you go.

And then Soap was back, pawing at the space between your bodies. “Please, Ghost,” he was begging, “feels like I’m about to die. Fuck. Need it so bad.”

Ghost pulled away from your neck, reached out to grab Soap by the jaw, holding him still. There was a moment of quiet save for both yours and Soap’s panicked breathing. “Alright, Johnny.” He finally assented. “You gotta go easy, you hear? Don’t wanna break her.”

You didn’t like the sound of that one bit, but struggling was absolutely useless when Ghost was holding a knife. You knew what he was capable of.

It was too quick for you to even register. Soap was fast. He snatched the knife from Ghost and cut your clothes away, taking you down to the ground with some sort of wrestling maneuver you were never going to escape from.

“I’m so sorry, Dove,” Soap was apologizing again. “Can’t fucking help it.”

He shoved his own gloves and gear away, fumbling to open his trousers before freeing his cock. He was achingly hard, and dripping. He was also fucking huge. His eyes fluttered shut in relief as he wrapped his hands around the length and gave a few lazy strokes, but you weren’t naive enough to believe that would be all it took.

“Please,” you begged, tears streaming down your cheeks.

“Don’t fuss,” Soap placed a finger over your lips to quiet you, then he shoved it inside your mouth. You weren’t sure if biting him would end well for you. He grabbed your legs by the knees, raising your hips until your pussy was on display for him. “That’s a good girl.” He spit on his fingertips and began rubbing at your entrance, as if that would be enough lube.

He pressed two fingers inside of you, but you were so terrified that it didn’t feel right at all. It hurt. You screamed, and suddenly Ghost was there.

“This is the only way to help,” he said, and you noticed he had a silver canister in his hands. “I promise this will make it easier.”

You didn’t have enough time to react before he crushed the canister with just his gloved hands. A deafening hiss drowned out the sounds of your own sobs and your vision went white as the contents of the canister filled the air. You couldn’t hold your breath at all, not when you were sobbing with gasps of pain. The gas settled over your skin, inside your mouth and nose. You instinctively swiped your tongue against your teeth and cheeks. It tasted powdery and sour.

“Give her a second, Johnny,” Ghost ordered.

You were almost glad they had cut your clothes away because your skin was suddenly too warm. Too clammy. Your mouth went from bitter and dry to watering with saliva in a matter of seconds. Every sensation felt sharper, and the pain disappeared. Soap was just as warm where you were pressed against him, and his fingers inside you were now drenched in slick wetness.

How were they even able to think like this? They’d been dealing with these symptoms for longer than you and somehow still had control of themselves. You had been exposed to the gas for less than a minute and all rational thought had left you.

“That’s a good girl,” Ghost’s voice reached you through the drunken haze and you whined. “Spread yourself nice and open on Johnny’s fingers.”

Oh. You were fucking your hips against Soaps’ hand. He was watching the sight with his pupils blown wide as he pressed a third finger inside of you. The stretch felt amazing, but it wasn’t enough.

“Please,” you begged. “More. Please.”

Soap curled his fingers inside you and you cried out. He held your hips still with his free hand so he could fuck you harder on his fingers. He knew exactly what he was doing, and he had you gushing over his wrist in a matter of seconds.

“Gonna fuck you now.” He settled between your thighs. All you could do was beg because his finger hadn’t been enough. “Gonna breed you full, alright, Dove?”

“Yes. Yes, please,” you panted.

You would never have been able to take his cock if Ghost hadn’t dosed you with the gas. Even after the rough fingerfucking you still cried out at the stretch. But it didn’t hurt this time. You loved the way he filled you, the sensation of him sinking deeper inside.

He was too impatient at this point. Had been holding himself back for too long. The moment his cock bottomed out inside you it was like his final thread of control snapped. You were long past him, having never once stood a chance after Ghost crushed that canister.

“Jesus, Dove, you’re so tight. Feel so good on my cock,” Soap was panting against your skin as he fucked you. You were much less coherent beneath him, just a stream of sobbing and begging. You understood what Soap had said earlier: you felt like you were going to die if they didn’t fuck you. If they didn’t ruin you on their cocks. 

“I’m already close.”

You were surprised Soap had lasted this long, considering how quickly you had come on his fingers. It was definitely the toxins in your system, but you needed him to claim you. Needed to be bred full. You must have begged for it, because Soap was soothing you as he picked up the pace.

“You’re okay. I’m gonna give you what you need. Just take it like a good girl, right Dovie?”

He forced his cock as deep as he could when he came, rocking against your hips to make sure it would take. You could feel it, so hot and sticky inside you, dripping out around his cock as he rode out the aftershocks of his orgasm.

You barely had a moment to catch your breath before a huge shadow filled your vision. Ghost. He shoved Soap aside, taking in the sight of you beneath him.

“Johnny made a mess of you didn’t he?” A gloved hand trailed over your tear stained cheeks, through the string of drool hanging from your lips. He forced your thighs apart to see Soap’s come dripping out of your used pussy. “Look at you, pretty girl,” he teased.

“Please,” you whined. The strange panic was taking hold of you again. You were scared what would happen if Ghost didn’t fuck you. “Please, sir. I need it.”

“Jesus, fuck,” Ghost swore under his breath. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you. Should’ve known you wouldn’t be able to fight it off. Poor thing.”

He tossed his gloves aside, running warm, calloused hands over your sticky, sweaty skin. “I’m bigger than Johnny,” he warned. “But something tells me you’ll like that.”

All you could do was beg. How did Ghost have so much control? It was almost like he wasn’t affected at all.

He took mercy on you, dragging his cock against your pussy to slick the length of it before pressing inside. He was slower than Soap, more careful. And even under the effects of the gas, you needed it. Fuck. He was huge.

“You’re fucking noisy,” Ghost grumbled. And then there were two fingers pushing past your lips. You swirled your tongue around the digits to chase the salt and the sweat, and the relative quiet seemed to appease the lieutenant as he finally bottomed out inside you.

You had never been so full in your life, split open on the lieutenant’s cock like this. He groaned beneath the mask as he fucked you, rhythm faltering as you squeezed tight around his cock.

Even with his fingers in your mouth, you must have picked up your whining again because he leaned in to shush you. “Don’t worry, I’ll fill you up again. Breed you just like you need. We won’t let you go until you’re full of us.”

It should have sounded threatening, but all you could focus on was the promise that they would take care of you. That they would leave you dripping with their come.

The initial rush of the toxins had given way to a sort of timeless haze. You couldn’t focus on anything except the feeling of Ghost fucking you and his fingers in your mouth. It could have been hours. You just needed to be full.

“Here it comes, Little Dove,” Ghost warned you. “Better take every last drop.”

He pulled you so far onto his cock that a glance of pain managed to reach you in the haze, but it only left you craving more. You could feel his cock twitching inside you as he came, filling you even more than Soap had.

“Such a good girl.” He only pulled out after he was sure he had fucked his come into you as deep as possible. And when a few drops began to spill out, he swiped them up with the fingers he had just pulled from your mouth and forced them back inside your pussy again.

“Hey, LT,” Soap grinned where he was slowly stroking his cock. “Does this mean it’s my turn again?”

[texasdreamer01]

Atlantis Expedition: Science Division Departments - Applied Sciences Department

The last of the science departments! Previously were the medical, life, and field sciences.

Below are the original notes, with one (1) revision:

Applied Sciences Department

> Head: Rodney McKay Radek Zelenka > Contains: Electrical/technical engineering, nuclear physics, civil engineering, astrophysics, laser/optical, chemical engineering > Function: Study, synthesis, and adaptations of Ancient technology > Examples of function: ZPM analysis with intent to duplicate, experimental duplications of Ancient technology materials, study of gate physics and construction with intent to duplicate, study and experimental duplication of other Ancient technologies (i.e. hyperdrives, cloaks, weapons, etc) > Personnel quantity: 1 (Head) + 3 (electreng) + 6 (techeng/gate techs) + 1 (nucphys) + 1 (astrophy) + 1 (LZ/opt) +  3 (chemeng) = 16 > A/N: The people Rodney are yelling at most often, because mistakes mean kablooey. Also a lot of the people running around in an emergency. 1 nuclear physicist because Rodney pulls a lot of intellectual weight, and same with the astrophysicist and laser/optical person (mostly they're there as on-paper hires and back-ups/assistants for him for his own research).

Revision because I do believe Radek would be in charge of a department, and this neatly explains why Radek is so often Rodney's functional second-in-command as well as the way they interact on a professional level.

Excepting the physicists (nuclear and astro), everyone here is an engineer or engineering-adjacent (see: gate techs).

Here's the breakdown, commentary included:

> Electrical Engineering  » 3x of these  » Specialties   ⇛ Computer engineering    ⟹ Hardware, software, computer architecture, computer design, robotics    ⟹ Makes the databases, and also things like MALPs   ⇛ Microelectronics    ⟹ Study of and fabrication of microelectronics     ⭆ The bits and bobs that make electronics    ⟹ Semiconductor-adjacent work   ⇛ Electronic engineering    ⟹ Designs communication and instrumentation devices     ⭆ Database architecture, signals between devices, etc  » Outline of electrical engineering > Technical Engineering/Gate Technicians  » SGC imports  » 6x of these   ⇛ Duties    ⟹ Drafting of technical drawings    ⟹ Gate address memorization and log maintenance    ⟹ Mission log maintenance    ⟹ Gate repair and maintenance > Nuclear Physics  » Studies nuclear material and electron movements   ⇛ AKA power source analytics  » Also provides radiocarbon dating support to the Field Sciences team > Civil Engineering  » Job of idiot-proofing  » Studies the built world (infrastructure)  » Useful for planning things like sewage systems, bridges, etc  » Assists Field Sciences department with infrastructure design based on their feedback > Astrophysics  » Does labwork and goes ooh at the telescope(s)  » Analyzes data from telescopes and constructs planetary profiles and other celestial data  » Assists with compilation of data from Field Sciences department > Laser/Optical  » Creates, maintains, and compiles information from laser-based optical devices  » Works with electrical engineers for development of new tools  » Assists astrophysicist(s) with developing specialized tools for planetary analysis > Chemical Engineering  » 3x of these  » Slightly different role than the biochemical engineers in the Life Sciences department  » Specialties   ⇛ Materials science/Polymer engineering    ⟹ Research and creation of new materials     ⭆ Plastic-type and other malleable materials that aren't petrochemical-based   ⇛ Semiconductors    ⟹ Makes the semiconductors the other engineers are using    ⟹ Also researches new ways to make semiconductors from new materials   ⇛ Chemical process modeling    ⟹ Computer modelling of new production processes    ⟹ Primarily non-biologic chemicals and chemically-based outputs    ⟹ Assists civil engineer in production processes for infrastructure modelling    ⟹ The "fuck around and find out" person  » Outline of chemical engineering

These are the people that, except for the head of the expedition, are the ones that make an expedition possible. Studying Ancient technology? This is the department. Setting up all the technology that everyone will be using, down to having a copy of Solitaire saved and inventorying down to the amount of solder? Once again, these people. Outside of the military factor - of which I presume there will naturally be quite a bit of overlap - the Applied Sciences are the ones to, well, apply the science.

Electric engineers are... I suppose a popular preconception of them is programming, if not a mental image of soldering pieces onto a motherboard. Neither is entirely incorrect, but it misses the broader scope of their training, and that is the design and construction of computers and their accompanying software. Whether a computer be a database system (think a cloud, or a company's digital storage) or a microprocessor that allows a robot to be a robot, these are also the people that generally end up in charge of the security of all electronics (see: hacking). Rodney McKay, as the CSO, will likely be one of two people (the other being the head of the expedition) holding the ultimate keys to this, but they'll likely be some sort of system administrators to handle the day-to-day work.

Gate technicians, while trained on the operation and maintenance of the gate and gate system - not an easy task in the slightest, and requiring a degree of fluency in Ancient and Goa'uld! - also handle a lot of the miscellaneous work that this department needs. Another shout-out to @spurious for prompting this idea, because there does need to be a group of people who do technical drafting, and the logic follows that they would also maintain records related to the usage of the gate, such as gate addresses (places visited, no-go addresses), mission details (liaison with the Field Sciences on managing pre- and post-mission information on planets and inter-planetary relations), and in general keeping track of what's going on regarding the gate.

Nuclear physics is here as an applied, rather than theoretical, position, keeping in line with the goals of this department. Primarily they would do power source analytics, being well-equipped to study radiation and electron movements, and parse such information for review. They would be doing a lot of labwork, and running lots of simulations on things like decay rates and energy throughputs of radioactive materials and different types of nuclear-type energy productions/storage containers (for the purposes of this headcanon, ZPMs are being lumped into this category despite being a solid state energy that functionally is not radioactive - there is a reason why Rodney's considered a ZPM expert).

Civil engineering is there, quite literally, to idiot-proof. This is useful around a crowd of engineers, and they also act as a useful translator for military parlance if a completely civilian engineer or scientist is in this or another science department. If you need a toilet, or a bridge, or putting up electric lines, this is your go-to person.

An astrophysicist on hand to study things like star charts (figuring out where you are in the new galaxy, especially in relation to the old one) and where other stargate would actually, literally be based on the constellations used as chevrons. They would be making the new maps, as well as assisting the Field Sciences department in the analysis of planetary physics from a distanced perspective. Their work will also put them in close relation to the gate technicians because of the amount of overlap in duties.

Laser and optical engineering is going to be immensely useful for this expedition, because not only will they help with making sure the electronics work, they can help with maintaining that, as well the operation and analysis of light-based scientific equipment. Think spectrometers, electron microscopes, and the like. A lot of Ancient and Goa'uld-adapted technology is likely to be laser- and optical-based, so this type of engineer will be useful for reverse-engineering and general dummy-testing.

Chemical engineers will, indeed, fuck around and find out. They're a little different than the biochemical engineers in the Life Sciences department, in that they wouldn't be dealing with the formulation of biologics and the tools to create such materials. Rather, they would be figuring out ways to make the things that everything is made out of - primarily plastic alternatives and other petrochemical alternatives. This would include everything from computer housings to wire insulation to, probably, the wires themselves (think fiber optics). If you're looking for an archetypal mad scientist, here's where you'll find them.

Given how closely aligned this department is with not only the IOA's goals for the expedition, but also the SGC's, it would be safe to assume that the members of this department will have some sway over the other departments. This would, of course, fluctuate based on the need of the given subject, but everyone in this department would quickly adapt to becoming the main people to assist the CSO in figuring out, repairing, and maintaining Atlantis as a whole.

Total Applied Sciences Department Personnel

Head of department: 1

Engineers: 7

Gate technicians: 6

Physicists: 2

Total total: 16

I'll be going over canonical personnel like Radek Zelenka and Miko Kusanagi in their own posts, but for now this is a general accounting of the expedition’s applied sciences department.

[lboogie1906]

Dr. Julian Herman Lewis (May 26, 1891 – March 6, 1989) was a pathologist. The son of a freed enslaved, he became the first African-American associate professor at the University of Chicago and spent the next 20 years studying racial differences in medicine. He researched immunology, for which he earned a Guggenheim Fellowship.

His research on race culminated in the 1942 publication of The Biology of the Negro, a lengthy text summarizing the scientific literature on the demographic, anatomical, physiological, and biochemical characteristics of the African American population. He was interested in biological differences between the races, and he argued against the view that African Americans were biologically inferior. The book, though well-reviewed, sold poorly.

He graduated from the University of Illinois with a BA in Biology and Physiology. He received an MS from the University of Illinois and attended the University of Chicago, where he completed his Ph.D. He won the Ricketts Prize for his dissertation on Lipids and Immunity. He graduated from Rush Medical College with an MD, earning the Benjamin Rush Medal for academic achievement.

He was appointed to the University of Chicago’s Department of Pathology. He was hired as a Pathologist at the African-American Provident Hospital, where he became Chief Pathologist. He worked with H. Gideon Wells and Ludvig Hektoen. Wells served as a mentor and advocate throughout his career, and Hektoen’s research on blood groups informed his studies of Medicine and Race.

He published a paper on the frequency of ABO blood types in African-Americans in the Journal of the American Medical Association. He noted that the distribution of blood types differed between white and African Americans and that it was inaccurate to define what was “normal” based only on white subjects.

His paper was published, and he became an Associate Professor of Pathology at Chicago. The first African-American to hold such a position at the university, he served in this role until The Sprague Institute awarded him a grant to research “Pathology among Negroes in all countries”. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence #alphaphialpha

[dzthenerd490]

File: Splice

SCP-#: ACQ

Codename: Nature vs Nurture vs Artificial

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-ACQ has been sent to Site-AE where it is under the control of the Department of Anomalous Evolution. It is contained within an 8x8 meter containment cell filled with medical research tools and machines. One in particular is a Zartion Hominid Replicator to ensure that every time SCP-ACQ dies it can be remade again. The entity is connected to a Pygmalion Bio Editor Station. With the device SCP-ACQ-1 is harvested, maintaining SCP-ACQ's health, keeping it within a coma, and updating Foundation staff on its status.  

SCP-ACQ-1 consists of SCP-ACQ's blood, skin samples, bone marrow, muscle tissue, and spinal fluid. SCP-ACQ-1 is to be harvested only on a monthly basis; any sooner would kill the entity. Even with the ZHR it is advised to prevent this as much as possible. Foundation staff are to ensure that once the SCP-ACQ-1 is harvested they are to use the PBES to help SCP-ACQ recover any nutrients its body is lacking to prevent death. Besides medical staff, SCP-ACQ's containment cell is to have 4 armed guards all armed with Foundation Assault Rifles loaded with tranquilizer darts but also specialized PV darts on the off-chance SCP-ACQ should ever wake up. Any testing with SCP-ACQ but be done with a clone created by the ZHR and must be approved by at least one Level 3 Clearance Foundation staff member. 

Description: SCP-ACQ is an anomalous artificially created lifeform with the base of its DNA being human. Small genes within the genome of SCP-ACQ contains several different animals including amphibian, insectoid, bird, and several mammals; most of which unfortunately can't be directly identified. Surprisingly because SCP-ACQ is made up of different animals, its antibodies and natural proteins fused together to create new proteins and biochemicals that have massive health benefits when synthesized correctly. 

However, this is not to say that SCP-ACQ is benevolent in any way, if anything SCP-ACQ can be quite ferocious and manipulative. SCP-ACQ herself has a basic humanoid body but has digitigrade type legs with her toes resembling fingers and having a long thumb as a hind toe. She has a long and slender tail that moves incredibly fast and is filled with a deadly venom capable of killing a human in a matter of seconds. The rest of her body is seemingly human until you get to her head. Her scalp naturally does not grow hair, she has a strange line pushing down on her skin going completely symmetrically vertical on her head. Finally, her eyes are seemingly normal from a distance but upon closer look her pupil is shaped not like a circle but like a rounded cross. 

SCP-ACQ is essentially an Apex predator as she can smell things from miles away, strong enough to drag humans and throw them into the air, has retractable fleshy wings capable of great flight, her deadly tail, the ability to swim and breath underwater, incredible speed, flexible body, and heightened senses. SCP-ACQ is even able to sense and see frequencies that are impossible for others to notice. She can even see people who are looking at her through a camera. Most notably, she is also mentally unstable and is prone to violent outbursts when her desires are not met. Those desires being unbound curiosity and more disturbingly the desire to mate. 

SCP-ACQ was discovered in 2009 when Global Occult Coalition agents within the Nucleic Exchange Research and Development found that the company had somehow managed to create genetically advanced spliced hybrids. These first spiced hybrids were made of several animals resulting in strange worm-like creatures. They displayed anomalous properties almost immediately leading to the GOC tearing down the company and killing the spliced hybrids. During the slow and "legal" destruction of the company Foundation agents infiltrated the building in hopes of finding more anomalous assets before the GOC could apprehend and destroy them. Their findings revealed the existence of another spliced hybrid, this one with human DNA created by two rogue scientists that got away when the GOC started dismantling the company. They were later found at an old barn along with SCP-ACQ.

Foundation agents tried to apprehend them, but SCP-ACQ quickly got violent and started attacking, leading to multiple casualties including the accidental death of both scientists. It was then deemed too dangerous to continue so all remaining agents were forced to retreat. Later Mobile Task Force Artemis-6 "Wild Hunt" was sent in and managed to trap and contain SCP-ACM within the local forest without suffering any casualties. 

Afterwards SCP-ACQ was sent to Site-AA where she was sedated and placed within a Kaur Stasis Pod. Once it was learned her body was filled with natural proteins and biochemicals that could greatly benefit the Foundation she was then sent to Site-AE and given the current Containment Procedures. Usage of the PBES as well as the ZHR has been approved by the Ethics Committee as they do not consider SCP-ACM a creature worthy of human empathy. Furthermore, the Anomalous Employment Division does not view SCP-ACQ as an anomaly that can be safely socially conditioned into a proper society or even Foundation staff. Therefore, the entity is under no Foundation Protocol or ethical protection. As such the harsh and often cruel experiments on her will continue. 

Update 2010 - It has been recorded that with some of the SCP-ACQ clones that for whatever reason they start to deteriorate over a period of time and suddenly change gender afterwards. The male version of SCP-ACM is much stronger, more aggressive, and has a larger desire to mate with the human of the opposite sex. Testing is ongoing to see why this happens. Furthermore, testing is also being conducted to see if SCP-ACM clones or DNA can be utilized for Project: Last Legion.

.

SCP: Horror Movie Files Hub

[lupine-publishers-ctbm]

Sepsis Due to Co-Infection with Human Papillomavirus and Acinetobacter Schindleri after Surgery for Uterine Fibroids

Case

A 33-year-old woman underwent a physical examination at the Department of Gynecology and was found to have uterine fibroids. She was admitted for laparoscopic removal of the uterine fibroids under general anesthesia. During the operation, there was a small amount of dark red ascites in the pelvic cavity, a part of the intestine was densely adhered to the right pelvic wall, and the uterus was enlarged to the size of 10 weeks gestation, with an uneven surface. There was a fibroid tumor measuring approximately 7 × 8 × 8 cm on the posterior wall of the uterus, which was hard with clear boundaries. Two vesicular clear-fluid cysts with a diameter of 1-1.5 cm were seen on each fallopian tube. Due to the large posterior wall myoma and difficulty in suturing, the patient was considered barren; hence, abdominal myomectomy and pelvic adhesiolysis were selected, followed by indwelling catheterization. On the first day after surgery, the patient felt cold and was shivering, with a temperature of 38.5°C and lower abdominal pain. There was no sign of infection in the abdominal incision. When the indwelling catheter was removed, there was no urethral inflammation observed and the patient was able to urinate without difficulty. Blood was immediately drawn for culture and biochemical tests, which revealed low levels of sodium, calcium, and magnesium, and abnormal coagulation function. The level of original calcitonin was normal. The blood culture was positive after 15.3 hours in a nutrient solution for gram-negative bacilli. A diagnosis of sepsis was made based on the clinical features and laboratory values. Gram staining revealed short Gram-negative bacilli (Figure 1A). The blood culture plate showed gray and white colonies with good growth (Figure 1B). The chocolate culture plate showed poor growth (Figure 1C), while the MacConkey plate did not show any organism growth. (Figure 1D).

Read more about this article: https://lupinepublishers.com/biotechnology-microbiology/fulltext/sepsis-due-to-co-infection-with-human-papillomavirus-and-acinetobacter-schindleri-after-surgery-for-uterine-fibroids.ID.000142.php

Read more Lupine publishers Goggle Scholar Articles: https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=X4tPijcAAAAJ&citation_for_view=X4tPijcAAAAJ:4OULZ7Gr8RgC

[bearsinpotatosacks]

Hello! Sorry for any interruptions, but I was wondering if you had an opinion on what kind of subjects the Enterprise crew would teach if they were teachers in a modern au?

It just randomly popped in my mind, I just couldn't help but ask..

Ooooo this is a great idea (and not interrupting me at all!)

Jim would either be a PE/Phys Ed Teacher for AOS or an English Teacher for TOS (Didn't he say at one point he wanted to be a librarian?)

Spock is also an English teacher, probably does a bit of drama too for good measure. Most of the students start rumours about them being married (which they are) but they just fuel the fire by almost getting caught doing light couple things.

Then again he would more realistically be some form of science teacher? Probably specialises in Chemistry but also teaches Biology and Physics. He could also be a Maths Teacher? Spock's far too talented, maybe he's just a science teacher who used to do maths and has a passion for literature?

Bones, he's a pickle. Could be a health teacher (apparently there's those in the US and Star Trek is US based?) maybe a supply teacher that everyone really wants to get? Maybe more likely to be a Science teacher, specialising in Biology. He'd make the lessons just interesting enough to keep the students engaged but not so interesting that he'll get sanctioned because of lab safety. Probably sprinkles in some doctor tales (the things he can tell because of doctor-patient confidentiality)

We know Uhura's going to be the languages teacher who's super enthusiastic. But unlike most languages teachers she makes you want to learn the language for the language rather than to get a qualification like most do.

Scotty is aphysics teacher but is chaotic. He'll get you your qualifications but makes it uber fun along the way. He's always talking about his projects on the go and finds interesting ways in showing the stuff you learn

Sulu's another biology teacher but he definitely begged the funding department for a greenhouse for ages and celebrated all year when he got one. He's probably a bit biased towards botany and plants but reluctantly understands that you have to bring humans in there too.

Chekov is definitely a young supply teacher. He's doing a separate qualification in geography but still wanted to teach. He's one of the ones who works for the school, not an agency one, so the students know him and like him because he's chilled. Probably districts the lesson with talk of Russia

(I'll 2 extra people in here too)

Christine is either the school nurse or a Chemistry teacher. She does have biochemical qualifications I think so this could fit. She's a bit more stern than the others, not to the point where you're scared of her but there's less messing around in her lessons.

Pike is probably the headteacher/principal. He was a PE/Phys Ed guy and continued on after his accident where he lost ability to walk but eventually he got tired of that life and went on to more managerial positions.

I hope these were good! I kept them mostly ship free just so there's more freedom in the idea. I do like this idea too, there's a bit of room for changes when it comes to some of them. Spock could probably do anything, English, Languages, Religious Education, PE/Phys Ed, Drama, Sciences, he's too good!

[koreaunderground]

(2019/04/15) Fear of biological agent strikes Busan as US troops continue bio-surveillance project

[warisboring.com][1]

  [1]: <https://warisboring.com/fear-of-biological-agent-strikes-busan-as-us-troops-continue-bio-surveillance-project/>

# Fear of biological agent strikes Busan as US troops continue bio-surveillance project

Jo He-Rim

10-13 minutes

* * *

Jo He-Rim Asia News Network Busan, the second-largest city in South Korea, is once again living in terror of biological warfare experiments in the... ![Fear of biological agent strikes Busan as US troops continue bio-surveillance project][2]

  [2]: https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/warisboring.com/images/bio-warfare-640x300.jpg

Jo He-Rim Asia News Network

Busan, the second-largest city in South Korea, is once again living in terror of biological warfare experiments in the aftermath of renewed allegations that US troops stationed in South Korea are conducting such tests at the city’s seaport.

Every morning, dozens of residents and activists gather to block the entrance to the Pier 8 military storage centre for US Forces Korea in Busan’s Nam district, to stop the US soldiers from going to work.

At night they hold candlelight vigils, carrying signs that read, “Nam district residents are not test subjects for viruses” and “Abolish the biological weapons test lab.”

Busan Port’s Pier 8 is among the military facilities in South Korea and the US where the US operates a biosurveillance project, dubbed JUPITR ATD for “Joint United States Forces Korea Portal and Integrated Threat Recognition Advanced Technology Demonstration.”

While JUPITR’s stated aim is the development of early-warning detection capabilities to protect the USFK and South Korea from biological and chemical threats, it has been the subject of constant criticism since 2015.

In May 2015, the Pentagon confirmed that its laboratory in Utah had “inadvertently” sent live anthrax samples to one of its military bases in South Korea, rather than the inactivated samples that were meant to be delivered for the project.

The USFK has denied allegations that it is conducting biological tests using hazardous materials such as live agents or toxins, but the debate still rages on.

“Why don’t they (the United States) just conduct the tests inside their country? Why in S. Korea?” Kim Suk-heun, the leader of a regional civic task force calling for an end to the “biological weapons lab,” told The Korea Herald.

“We want the facility and the project to be withdrawn, altogether.”

Lack of trust deepens fear

The controversy over the biosurveillance project resurfaced in March when a local daily ran a report citing the US Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Estimates, under which more than $3.5 million was allocated for JUPITR at Pier 8 — showing that the project is still ongoing.

The budget estimates, which set aside funds for live agent tests, fanned public suspicion about the project.

“They say they only have detection devices (for biological agents) and that they do not run tests, but last year’s budget clearly shows that their program includes experiments using live agents,” Kim said.

The fear also spread to Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, where the USFK’s Camp Humphreys is located, prompting the city to request USFK’s clarification on the issue. The US military base also operates laboratory facilities and allocates part of its budget for the JUPITR ATD project.

On April 2, the USFK released a statement explaining that it has not conducted any experiments involving biological or chemical agents.

“It is a defense system to issue an early alert to the USFK and S. Korean government in case of chemical or biological threats,” said the USFK response, quoted by the ministry in Korean. “The ‘live agent testing’ stipulated in the budget estimate is only conducted in the United States and not in South Korea.”

The USFK also told The Korea Herald that the funding specified in the budget estimates for the JUPITR program had been realigned to other chemical and biological early-warning programs in the United States.

“Improvements and upgrades to the JUPITR program formally ended in 2018, but the passive defensive early warning capability remains,” the USFK said, www.asianewsnet.netadding that there are no firm decisions in place on any potential new programs in South Korea associated with the threats.

Defending against biological threats

The JUPITR ATD project was launched in April 2013 in support of US policies recognizing the importance of detection capabilities to guard against biological and chemical threats.

Led by the US Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense and the US Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, the project was touted as the Pentagon’s flagship project for “how biosurveillance would manifest itself,” said Peter Emanuel, the leader of JUPITR ATD at the time in 2013, in a December 2014 interview with CBRNePortal.com.

The project consists of four parts: Early Warning, Biological Identification Capabilities Sets, Assessment of Environmental Detectors and a Biosurveillance Portal. Together, they are designed to form a comprehensive surveillance and reaction system to guard against biological and chemical threats.

The lack of any explanation about the project and what is happening in South Korea has amplified people’s fears.

North Korea stepped up its rhetoric against the US program via its news outlet in March, saying the United States was preparing for biochemical warfare to “control the entire Korean Peninsula” in a “barbaric manner.” It also stressed that the North does not possess any biological or chemical weapons.

The 2015 anthrax incident led to some changes. In the joint panel investigation conducted following the incident, the USFK admitted that it had carried out biological equipment testing and proficiency training after importing inactivated biological agent test samples from the US.

The investigation report revealed that the USFK had brought in and tested dead anthrax samples 15 times at Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul between 2009 and 2014. In 2015, 1 milliliter of inactive Yersinia pestis (bubonic plague) samples were delivered to the Osan Air Base for JUPITR — along with the live anthrax sample, rather than the intended inactivated anthrax sample.

Following the incident, the S. Korea-US Status of Forces Agreement was revised to mandate that the USFK file a report with the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention when importing any biological agent, including inactivated biological agents. The Defense Ministry said it recently confirmed with the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that no cases have been reported by US troops since the revision of the SOFA.

“USFK works very closely with the S. Korean government by reporting scheduled shipments of any JUPITR-related resources within the SOFA Disease Prevention and Control Subcommittee,” the USFK told The Korea Herald.

Limits of the military project

While the US Army has been promoting the project as a way to cut costs and time and provide better performance results by introducing new instrumentation to upgrade biothreat detection capabilities, not much has been revealed to the South Korean public.

“It is a military issue, and it is difficult to inform the public of every detail about the project,” an official who refused to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter said when asked to confirm details of the project.

According to Emanuel, who led the project in 2013, the JUPITR project involves determining the equipment and process for biosurveillance. He described it as an “aggressive” attempt that “nobody has ever attempted to do so in such kind of a scale before.”

Emanuel, currently senior research scientist for bioengineering at the US Army’s Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, also said the alliance with South Korea had led to the biosurveillance project being conducted in the country, adding that the USFK had requested the capabilities.

“The reality of the situation is that the senior leadership in the USFK asked for capabilities, and they made themselves available to test these forward-leaning ideas,” he said in the 2014 interview with CBRNePortal.com.

Currently, only Pier 8 in Busan and Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek are officially confirmed as operating the JUPTR program. But the Osan and Gunsan air bases also appear to have been venues for the project.

In 2016, the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center managing the JUPITR ATD “did a complete make-over of two existing Air Force labs and also set up an Army lab from scratch,” Brady Redmond, the laboratory project lead, was quoted as saying in an article posted by the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center on April 15, 2016.

According to the article, Edgewood “increased the sample throughput of three US military laboratories in South Korea from two to three samples of suspected biological warfare agent per day to dozens per day with a 24-hour turn-around time for results.”

Able Response, a joint exercise by South Korea and the US against biological threats, also appears to have supported the biosurveillance project, according to the US Defense Ministry’s budget estimates for fiscal years up to 2016. The joint exercise, which was conducted from 2011 to 2016, was replaced by a tabletop training session called “Adaptive Shield.”

The biological agent test scare is ongoing. There are more allegations that the experiments may have involved other infectious diseases.

“They are said to be dealing with deadly biological agent samples such as plague and anthrax — weapons of mass destruction. Even if they do not intend it, accidents can happen and that would just be horrendous,” Kim said.

In addressing the residents’ concerns, the Nam district governor and Busan City officials criticized the project, while lawmakers across the aisle have proposed bills to prevent biological agents from entering the country.

“(The proposed bills) are unlikely to be passed because of the SOFA regulations. So I am currently negotiating with the Defense Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office to allow the residents to conduct on-site inspections,” said Rep. Park Jae-ho of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, representing Nam district’s B division, told The Korea Herald.

While the Defense Ministry is reluctant to speak about the JUPITR ATD project, saying it is a US military project, it reiterated that US troops are not conducting any biological tests at military bases here.

“We are making efforts together with the USFK to find ways to raise people’s understanding of the biosurveillance operation,” a ministry spokeswoman said.

USFK officials also said they are reviewing ways to address misunderstandings among the general public.

[dirtymindedwriting]

The Science TA

You were so excited that the teaching assistant for your biochem class wanted help. When he asked you to help with his lab work. The chance to spend time with the hottest grad student in your department. The chance to be his lab assistant, spend some time with the rising star, maybe even flirt a little. You were even more excited when he told you it was help in the off site lab where the trial meds and chemicals are made. No other people around on the weekend. The idea of him pulling you aside and kissing you deep, all while pressing you against the wall. You could feel your dirty thoughts rising, but you had to remind yourself not to get ahead of yourself. But you couldn't help be excited, and willing to help. You didn't even notice the odd taste of the bad coffee the lab coffee maker made. You didn't even leave when you started to feel strange. The difficulty focusing, the constant dirty thoughts. Your mind going more and more blank to everything but getting fucked. You barely heard him as he spoke.

"I'll be right back, I need to grab some tools"

You barely mutter out a meek "okay" as he heads out the door. The door closes and you start breathing heavy. Your hands instantly slide down your pants and pull your shirt over your tits. Your right hand, playing with your nipples. You can't believe how sensitive your nipples are, your tits feel like they are swelling, huge and firm. Your pussy is drenched, soaking the cute blue panties you chose. Your fingers teasing your pussy and clit hard and fast. Your mind going blank to everything but the idea of stuffing your wet hole. Looking around the lab for something, anything to stuff inside your tight pussy to get some relief.....

"I take it the new batch of meds are working...."

You turn around, fingers still inside your pussy. The dreamy TA watching you drive your fingers inside yourself. You should be embarrassed. But all that happens is you can't help but push your fingers deeper inside your pussy, dripping everywhere as he watches.

He begins to smirk and speak "the meds make your sex drive increase. The last version was an increase of 4 times. I'm curious how much this one has increased it." He begins digging in his bag, continuing to speak, even as your mind goes fuzzy again. "All science should be documented" he says. The camera begins recording. The sensation keeps growing as he walks closer.

"see it also undoes inhibition, releases all the blocks on whatever dirty, slutty fantasies you may have. And then there is the increased sensation from touch...."

The second his finger touches your nipple, a jolt shoots through your body. You collapse against the lab table. Your fingers fall away from your pussy, still spasming in orgasm as he picks you up and drops you on the lab table. You are still shaking as he drops to his knees and brings his hands to your tits as his tongue begins to flick over your clit.

The orgasms come instantly. Your pussy squirts all over his face, but he doesn't stop. Your mind goes blank, your base desires fully taking over. You barely hear the words you are moaning, even now sounding like a stranger. Begging him for more. You keep cumming. And with each orgasm he pushes you further. His tongue on your clit, then fingers inside your pussy. By the time he begins sliding his finger in your ass you not only need it, you need more. You beg for more. Beg for him to stretch your pussy. Beg him to fuck it raw. Begging for cum as you orgasm again and collapse to the floor.

As you lay there, gasping for breath, he looks down at you and issues a simple command.

"Strip. Now"

You begin tearing at your clothes, throwing them off, your panties clearly soaked as you slide them off. He simply watches, sitting in the teachers chair of the lab, as you expose your naked body to him completely.

"interesting. The obedience level is quite impressive in this batch. Now crawl over her."

You drop to your knees and hands and crawl to him. He says nothing as you come to a stop. You know what he wants, and your pussy is aching again in anticipation. Your hands fumble with the zipper and belt. You can see the outline of his hard cock in his pants. You want it. You need it. You pull at the pants and boxers.....

And it springs free from his pants. His cock is larger than you have ever seen. Thick and long and already harder than you could have imagined. The veins in it pulsing, the whole length it throbbing.

"you didn't think I just made meds to affect women did you? Increased length and width, multiple orgasms without stopping, and a 200% increase in load size for everytime I cum."

The words barely register in your brain as you admire the cock. You can't help but stroke it. As you run your tongue along it, your only concern is getting more. Your mind tells you that you exist to please this cock. Serve it. In whatever way it wants. Your mouth opens wide and you begin sucking his cock. Your mouth barely fits around its width. The more the cock fills your mouth the wetter your pussy gets. Dripping. Your right hand strokes the shaft of the cock as you take more and more of the cock inside your mouth and throat, your left hand sliding down to tease your clit and pussy. You are so focused on sucking the cock you almost miss the sounds of his moans as his hand finds your hair. His moans grow louder as he forces you completely down on his cock. Shoving it deep in your throat. You gag and drool but can't help but cum again as you feel his hot cum shoot down your throat and deep inside you. Filling your stomach with hot cum. You can barely breathe as the hot cum keeps flowing from his cock. Only after the last drops shoot out does he pull his still hard cock from your throat and mouth.

He wastes no time in lifting you up and bending you over the desk, grabbing your legs and spreading them wide. You feel the tip of the massive cock against your pussy, wet and tight. You beg and whimper as your hands reach behind you, grabbing your ass to spread your holes wide. The words coming from your mouth are beyond anything you could ever imagine yourself saying.

"please. Pound me. Fuck me raw, ruin my slutty cunt and flood it with cum. Use me, shove your huge cock inside me and fuck me deep and hard and fast. PLEASE FUCK ME!!"

As you finish screaming the last words his hands land on your hips and you can't help but moan louder and sluttier than any porn as he shoves that massive cock inside you. Your pussy stretches beyond anything you have ever experienced as you cum instantly. You can barely even focus on spreading your pussy as he begins to thrust. Pulling his cock out all the way to the head before pounding it back inside. Building up speed and force, until he is pounding your pussy like a jackhammer. Every slap of his balls against your clit sends shocks through your body, making you aware of every inch of his meaty cock inside you. Your mind loses the ability to count your orgasms. You don't hear his grunting grow more rapid or vocal. You don't feel the cold of the table on your nipples. You lose track of time. The only sensation is the feeling of that cock pounding your pussy. Your pussy tightens again, and you can feel his cock swell inside you. His moans break through the haze in your mind as you feel his cock erupt within you. Hot loads of cum, one shot after another, flood your pussy, squirting out and falling to the floor. He still is cumming even as you collapse to the floor and his thick ropes of cum shoot over your face and tits and ass. The last thing you notice before passing out is him aiming the video camera at you. And somehow you know that he is filming the look of slutty bliss on your face.

You didn't remember getting dressed, or getting back to your room. You almost believed it was maybe even a dream. Until the package came. A simple box. With a single DVD, a new thick dildo, and a note.

"Good morning,

Figured you might want a copy of your trial as our test subject. Start training your asshole for the next trial. The study will be the effect of multiple stimuli on the test subject.

...and don't forget to take your meds....

And as if on cue, a small pill falls from the envelope into your lap.

[informaticn]

as a reference   :   the interpretation of the red room / black widow ops program generally portrayed on this blog will be heavily headcanon-based,   with influence taken from what little is explored of it in the 1999,   2001,   &   pale little spider runs that center around natalia   &   yelena,   among various others less significantly.   i don’t take interpretation from the 2004,   2014,   2016,   or deadly origin runs into account.                                     PERSONAL BLOGS DO NOT INTERACT.

STATUS.   DEFUNCT   ;   EXISTENCE KNOWN TO INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES   &   WORLD AUTHORITIES,   BUT FEW DETAILS HAVE BEEN UNCOVERED   &   FEWER HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED OR DEBUNKED IN ANY OFFICIAL WAY.

INTRODUCTION.

put into consideration some time after the end of world war ii   &   into official operation during the cold war,   the black widow ops program   ( commonly referred to as   “ the red room ” )   was created for the purpose of training the perfect spy in order to gain an edge of the rest of the world in the field of intelligence.   it was placed under overall kgb authority within department x’s facilities   &   the program was subject to acting as an extension of the organization,   with the head of the program typically being a high-up officer in the soviet army.

RECRUITMENT.

the women of the black widow ops program are known for their extraordinary ability   &   fortitude   ;   they were often chosen from among the soviet army’s ranks following an exceptional display which showed a capacity for greater things,   as well as for their patriotism towards their country in their decision to enlist.

potential candidates were subject to extensive background checks in order to discover the best method of approach to ensure their acceptance of the offer to join the program.

upon acceptance,   both military   &   personal records of the trainees would be classified,   available only to training personnel   &   the program’s head.   widow trainees would,   for all intents   &   purposes,   cease to exist within the public light.

THE RED ROOM.

although the program as a whole is often called the red room,   there does exist a true red room   ——   the office out of which the head of the black widow ops program operated,   where widows would give their mission reports   &   receive their orders.   it was presumed that,   during it’s time in operation,   the red room was located in moscow,   russia.

UNKNOWN.   it is unknown who lead the black widow ops program during its initial time of operations,   though it is widely presumed that they are long-since dead due to their replacement in more recent operations.

STALYENKO,   YURI.   one of the modern heads of the black widow ops program,   who oversaw the training   &   orders given to black widow belova.   replaced following the widows’ uncovering of his plot to steal nuclear weapons hidden during the cold war   &   he was arrested.     /     STATUS.   alive,   in custody.

TISCHENKO.   the most recent,   presumed final, head of the black widow ops program,   who took over from stalyenko following the latter’s arrest.   presumed to have died following the fall of the red room after multiple defections from the black widow ranks,   though unconfirmed.     /     STATUS.   unknown,   presumed deceased.

THE WIDOWS.

the primary assets of the black widow ops program,   the black widows were women recruited   &   placed under extensive physical,   espionage,   &   mental fortitude training   &   tests in order to make them into the world’s greatest spies.   upon graduation of the program,   the women were given the title of the black widow.

although the number of years the program was in full operation or how many women began training is unclear,   there have been only two women to have ever graduated   &   obtained the title.

ROMANOVA,   NATALIA IVANOVNA.   the first to graduate   &   said to be the very best agent to be produced of the program.   presumed to have served through the cold war.   defected to the avengers following several skirmishes,   after which she would take on a role as a western superhero.     /     STATUS.   alive,   active.

BELOVA,   YELENA.   the second known graduate of the program.   involved in the incident with la frenesie immortel serum in rhapastan.   defected to her own interests sometime after initial contact with her predecessor,   details unknown.     /     STATUS.   alive,   active.

THE WOLF SPIDER PROGRAM.

following the success of the black widow ops,   an alternative program was created in order to train a second,   male,   operative to work alongside the black widow operative.   the program was deemed a failure,   however,   &   discontinued when it’s sole trainee proved to be impossible to control.

CONSTANTIN,   NIKO.   the sole trainee of the wolf spider ops program.   the program was shut down before he was able to claim the wolf spider title,   although he would later use the name for a gang he ran in a gulag where he was imprisoned.   charges unknown.     /     STATUS.   presumed alive,   imprisoned.

BIOCHEMICAL ENHANCEMENTS.

as part of the process of creating the perfect spies,   the black widow ops program employed biochemist dr. lyudmila antonovna kudrin to provide the widows with biochemical enhancements in order to aid them as spies in the field   &   improve their overall ability to function as such.

RESISTENCE TO AGING.   the serum given to the widows grant them a resistance to the aging process   &   the deterioration of the body that comes with it   ;   although they are not immortal,   they are capable of living considerably longer than the average human,   with the oldest widow being a woman in her 90′s who appears to still be in her late twenties / early thirties.

ENHANCED HEALING.   while far from instantaneous by any means,   the serum grants the widows the ability to heal at a rate reportedly five times faster than the average human does.   fatally inflicted injuries will likely still kill them,   however,   before they have a chance to heal from them.

ENHANCED IMMUNE SYSTEM.   the serum augments the widows’ immune system,   giving them a greater resistance to illness,   diseases,   poisons,   &   toxins,   to the extent that they rarely,   if ever,   get sick,   &   are able to recover significantly quicker from the effects than an average human.

LEGACY.

although the defection of black widow romanova,   &   the later revelation of the winter soldier’s attachment to the program,   thrust the existence of the black widow ops into the public light,   this is largely only on the surface   ;   specifics regarding operations undertaken,   training facilities,   &   personnel involved in the creation   &   deployment of the widows continues to be a mystery to all outside of the few directly involved.

it is,   however,   believed by most modern-day intelligence agencies that all primary personnel are deceased or out of the game following the defection of black widow belova,   some by natural causes,   other through internal termination or the various counter-activities by both rogue widows.

MISCELLANEOUS.

the winter soldier served as a partial trainer for the original program during the cold war,   although his involvement,   or lack thereof,   in the later established operations is not be confirmed.

[scifigeneration]

Living robots built using frog cells

A book is made of wood. But it is not a tree. The dead cells have been repurposed to serve another need.

Now a team of scientists has repurposed living cells -- scraped from frog embryos -- and assembled them into entirely new life-forms. These millimeter-wide "xenobots" can move toward a target, perhaps pick up a payload (like a medicine that needs to be carried to a specific place inside a patient) -- and heal themselves after being cut.

"These are novel living machines," says Joshua Bongard, a computer scientist and robotics expert at the University of Vermont who co-led the new research. "They're neither a traditional robot nor a known species of animal. It's a new class of artifact: a living, programmable organism."

The new creatures were designed on a supercomputer at UVM -- and then assembled and tested by biologists at Tufts University. "We can imagine many useful applications of these living robots that other machines can't do," says co-leader Michael Levin who directs the Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology at Tufts, "like searching out nasty compounds or radioactive contamination, gathering microplastic in the oceans, traveling in arteries to scrape out plaque."

The results of the new research were published January 13 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Bespoke Living Systems

People have been manipulating organisms for human benefit since at least the dawn of agriculture, genetic editing is becoming widespread, and a few artificial organisms have been manually assembled in the past few years -- copying the body forms of known animals.

But this research, for the first time ever, "designs completely biological machines from the ground up," the team writes in their new study.

With months of processing time on the Deep Green supercomputer cluster at UVM's Vermont Advanced Computing Core, the team -- including lead author and doctoral student Sam Kriegman -- used an evolutionary algorithm to create thousands of candidate designs for the new life-forms. Attempting to achieve a task assigned by the scientists -- like locomotion in one direction -- the computer would, over and over, reassemble a few hundred simulated cells into myriad forms and body shapes. As the programs ran -- driven by basic rules about the biophysics of what single frog skin and cardiac cells can do -- the more successful simulated organisms were kept and refined, while failed designs were tossed out. After a hundred independent runs of the algorithm, the most promising designs were selected for testing.

Then the team at Tufts, led by Levin and with key work by microsurgeon Douglas Blackiston -- transferred the in silico designs into life. First they gathered stem cells, harvested from the embryos of African frogs, the species Xenopus laevis. (Hence the name "xenobots.") These were separated into single cells and left to incubate. Then, using tiny forceps and an even tinier electrode, the cells were cut and joined under a microscope into a close approximation of the designs specified by the computer.

Assembled into body forms never seen in nature, the cells began to work together. The skin cells formed a more passive architecture, while the once-random contractions of heart muscle cells were put to work creating ordered forward motion as guided by the computer's design, and aided by spontaneous self-organizing patterns -- allowing the robots to move on their own.

These reconfigurable organisms were shown to be able move in a coherent fashion -- and explore their watery environment for days or weeks, powered by embryonic energy stores. Turned over, however, they failed, like beetles flipped on their backs.

Later tests showed that groups of xenobots would move around in circles, pushing pellets into a central location -- spontaneously and collectively. Others were built with a hole through the center to reduce drag. In simulated versions of these, the scientists were able to repurpose this hole as a pouch to successfully carry an object. "It's a step toward using computer-designed organisms for intelligent drug delivery," says Bongard, a professor in UVM's Department of Computer Science and Complex Systems Center.

Living Technologies

Many technologies are made of steel, concrete or plastic. That can make them strong or flexible. But they also can create ecological and human health problems, like the growing scourge of plastic pollution in the oceans and the toxicity of many synthetic materials and electronics. "The downside of living tissue is that it's weak and it degrades," say Bongard. "That's why we use steel. But organisms have 4.5 billion years of practice at regenerating themselves and going on for decades." And when they stop working -- death -- they usually fall apart harmlessly. "These xenobots are fully biodegradable," say Bongard, "when they're done with their job after seven days, they're just dead skin cells."

Your laptop is a powerful technology. But try cutting it in half. Doesn't work so well. In the new experiments, the scientists cut the xenobots and watched what happened. "We sliced the robot almost in half and it stitches itself back up and keeps going," says Bongard. "And this is something you can't do with typical machines."

Cracking the Code

Both Levin and Bongard say the potential of what they've been learning about how cells communicate and connect extends deep into both computational science and our understanding of life. "The big question in biology is to understand the algorithms that determine form and function," says Levin. "The genome encodes proteins, but transformative applications await our discovery of how that hardware enables cells to cooperate toward making functional anatomies under very different conditions."

To make an organism develop and function, there is a lot of information sharing and cooperation -- organic computation -- going on in and between cells all the time, not just within neurons. These emergent and geometric properties are shaped by bioelectric, biochemical, and biomechanical processes, "that run on DNA-specified hardware," Levin says, "and these processes are reconfigurable, enabling novel living forms."

The scientists see the work presented in their new PNAS study -- "A scalable pipeline for designing reconfigurable organisms," -- as one step in applying insights about this bioelectric code to both biology and computer science. "What actually determines the anatomy towards which cells cooperate?" Levin asks. "You look at the cells we've been building our xenobots with, and, genomically, they're frogs. It's 100% frog DNA -- but these are not frogs. Then you ask, well, what else are these cells capable of building?"

"As we've shown, these frog cells can be coaxed to make interesting living forms that are completely different from what their default anatomy would be," says Levin. He and the other scientists in the UVM and Tufts team -- with support from DARPA's Lifelong Learning Machines program and the National Science Foundation -- believe that building the xenobots is a small step toward cracking what he calls the "morphogenetic code," providing a deeper view of the overall way organisms are organized -- and how they compute and store information based on their histories and environment.

Future Shocks

Many people worry about the implications of rapid technological change and complex biological manipulations. "That fear is not unreasonable," Levin says. "When we start to mess around with complex systems that we don't understand, we're going to get unintended consequences." A lot of complex systems, like an ant colony, begin with a simple unit -- an ant -- from which it would be impossible to predict the shape of their colony or how they can build bridges over water with their interlinked bodies.

"If humanity is going to survive into the future, we need to better understand how complex properties, somehow, emerge from simple rules," says Levin. Much of science is focused on "controlling the low-level rules. We also need to understand the high-level rules," he says. "If you wanted an anthill with two chimneys instead of one, how do you modify the ants? We'd have no idea."

"I think it's an absolute necessity for society going forward to get a better handle on systems where the outcome is very complex," Levin says. "A first step towards doing that is to explore: how do living systems decide what an overall behavior should be and how do we manipulate the pieces to get the behaviors we want?"

In other words, "this study is a direct contribution to getting a handle on what people are afraid of, which is unintended consequences," Levin says -- whether in the rapid arrival of self-driving cars, changing gene drives to wipe out whole lineages of viruses, or the many other complex and autonomous systems that will increasingly shape the human experience.

[scribble-scrabbles]

Writing Prompt - “Wrong Timeline”

[WP] You’re doing research in an old library when a stranger comes running up to you. They go to give you a hug while saying, “My love.” You flinch away and their expression falls. Under their breath they say, “Fuck. Wrong timeline.”

...based on these findings, we can conclude that the enzymatic reaction is stable at physiological pH, and thus…

My eyelids drag coarsely across my weary eyes as I blink up at the time. I'd been waist deep in journal articles in the ancient half of the university library for hours, and everything was blurring together, getting me nowhere. Another day wasted. I sighed, gently closing the journal and placing it back in it's spot on the table, where dozens of books and journals littered the workspace. I closed my eyes and inhaled the musky scent of old books and old buildings, letting my thoughts drift as they wished, relinquishing control. 

I was 2 years into a PhD program, researching the biochemical processes of aging and going nowhere in the meantime. The whole field was chock full of pseudoscience and impossible to prove theoreticals, resulting in a metric fuck-ton of useless drivel that I needed to parse through while writing my thesis. Trying to be a “serious scientist” in a field of superficial commercial products was exhausting and disheartening. And yet, like all budding scientists, I felt my cause was righteous - that unlocking the mechanisms of aging would let us reverse senility and save those we held most dear. It was a pipe dream, and I knew it, but I clung to the hope that one day this would all mean something. I peered at the stacks on my table and sighed, rubbing my temples and feeling the headache starting there. 

Time for a change of scenery. I thought to myself, standing and stretching. I was deep in the stacks of the older section of the library building, where largely forgotten volumes of scientific journals and old medical texts were housed. The room was largely silent, minus the hum of the ventilation system and occasional creak of the floor above me. I liked it here, wrapped in solitude and blanketed in the smell of books and old wood, as opposed to the laboratory or classroom where I was constantly asked questions I couldn’t answer about where my project was heading and what, exactly, it was that I wanted to accomplish here. A female in academia isn’t exactly new, nowadays, but a female in academia studying biochemistry in a laboratory that also tested makeup and skin care products was treated as a joke. 

Slinging my purse over my shoulder, I turn to go back to the main library when I hear a faint “pop” somewhere in the stacks beside me. I know the odd pops and creaks this wing makes well enough, and I’m stuck with the sensation that I am no longer alone. I shift to see into the cluster of shelves and see a figure moving among the rows. How did someone get past me without me seeing them? 

“Hello?” I call, “Sorry, I have a whole bunch of journals over here on the table, so if you can’t find what you’re looking for you may want to…” I trail off as the figure moves into the open. He’s a tall, slender college student, and he looks at me with a sudden warmness and recognition that sends a flush of embarrassment through me. I’ve never seen this man before in my life, but he’s looking at me as though I am his oldest friend.

“Oh thank goodness! My love!” He rushes towards me, moving to embrace me. I flinch backwards, suddenly alarmed, running through every potential acquaintance in my memory and coming up blank. I am absolutely sure I have never seen this man before in my life. He stops, his warmness instantly replaced by despair. “Fuck!” He exclaims. “Wrong timeline. Again.” He drops his hands to his pockets and averts his gaze. “Sorry to bother you, ma’am.” I stand in stunned silence, gripping my purse. His green eyes flick back up to mine, briefly, and I see what seems like true sorrow there. 

“Does that line ever actually work on anybody?” He stares at me, confused. “Because, I mean, I have to admit it’s unique but a little bit over the top.” I smile at him, and after a moment, he returns it.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” He snorts out a short laugh, still obviously embarrassed. “You look just like someone I know.”

“Someone you love, you mean? She must be pretty special.” 

The stranger looks at his shoes. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.” 

“Why did you think she’d be here? I’m pretty much the only one who ever uses this section of the library - at least for the past few months.” 

“Ah, well..” he rocks back and forth on his heels, “She’s been working on this project for astrophysics and I thought I’d find her here.” 

“Well, there’s your problem.” I laugh. “This is the medical wing.” He looks up sharply. 

“Medical?” 

“Yeah, pretty sure it has been for at least 2 years or so now. Probably a whole lot longer than that.” 

“You’re in the medical field?”

“Well no, not exactly. I’m in a biochemistry program, but I’m studying the aging process and…”

“Oh, well,” he starts, then pauses, “that’s different.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I feel heat rising to my cheeks. “Because I’m a girl and I’m…” he holds his hand up soothingly.

“No, no! I just mean…” he trails off. I cock and eyebrow at him, waiting. He sighs. “I just mean, you’ve never done this before.”

“Well of course I’ve never done this before, it’s not like I have other PhD’s just lying around.”

He meets my eyes for a moment, seeming to weigh his options. Then he shrugs and says “I mean, in every alternative universe, I’ve never once seen you pursue medicine. It just...isn’t you. You’ve always been a physicist and a damn good one. I just have a hard time seeing you as anything else.”

“I….what?”

He sighs. “Your name is Rachel Turner. You grew up in Huntsville, Alabama where you were supposed to get interested in rocket science and physics. I don’t know what diverted that, but I know that in every other timeline, you still love books, terrible movies, and have a soft spot for old things and history.” I shift uncomfortably and he laughs softly. “And when you’re uncomfortable you push your hair back behind your ears like that, and shift your weight to your left foot.” I straighten, and consciously shift my weight back to my right. “You’re stubborn and fierce and have never encountered a puzzle you couldn’t tease apart.” The twinkle in his eyes falters, slightly, “Until you open the portal.”

“Was I your TA or something?” 

“What?” He looked confused.

“Is that how you know so much about me? Are you stalking me?” 

“What, no, I…”

“Because if you did you’re a terrible stalker. I only lived in Alabama until I was 3, we moved when my father died and my mother needed to go back to Ohio to find work and be closer to family.”

“Your dad died?”

“Yeah, early onset dementia.”

“...which is why you’re studying aging.” He nods, satisfied. ”Look, I’m sorry for scaring you and wasting your time. I’ll let you get back to your work.” He motions to the stack of books on the table.” He turned to go back into the stacks.

“Wait!” I exclaim, before I know what I’m saying. He looks back at me over his shoulder and smiles. 

“You may want to find Sam Albertson over in the physics department.” He says, turning back to walk away. “But he’s not going to remember any of this though.” 

I stood, stunned and watched him disappear into the stacks. I heard another faint “pop” a few seconds later and the sound snapped me out of my confusion. I rushed into the stacks after him, but found nothing. I searched and searched, feeling along the walls, looking for hidden openings, until the library lights flipped on and off flipped on and off three times, signaling that it was about to close. I returned to my table, looking all around for any clues of the stranger’s identity or where he could have gone. Had I really just met a time traveler? Could such a thing really be possible? 

I shook my head, thinking it was more likely that I had just fallen asleep while reading my articles. 

As I made my way back to my apartment, I remembered the name he had given me and decided to search for “Sam Albertson” on social media. I nearly dropped my phone when the stranger’s green eyes looked back at me from his profile picture. 

“That little fuck.” I whispered, heading towards the physics department. He was a graduate student, so maybe he would be there this late in the evening. He was published on a paper describing faster-than-light travel models, which gave me a place to start looking. My heart thundered in my chest, a mixture of rage and embarrassment, as I ran up the steps of the physics building. I looked briefly at the directory, then started making my way towards the quantum research labs. Halfway down the hall, my annoyance became tinged with terror. Why was I looking for my stalker in a mostly empty building at night? What if he was dangerous? My steps slowed as I came to the door. Did I really want to do this? I froze, suddenly acutely aware of the insanity of my undertaking. My thoughts whirled through a hundred possible scenarios, not one of them favorable. I turned, and started quickly back down the hallway. All of this could wait until morning, until after I had eaten and slept and had a clearer head. 

The door opened behind me, and I reflexively quickened my steps. 

“Can I help you?” A voice called after me. I stopped, chagrined, and slowly turned to face him. 

Behind me stood Sam Albertson, just as he had stood before me in the library a few hours ago. Except, not the same, I realized, as I took him in. In the library, his hair was longer and shaggier, and his face held a whisper of stubble that made him look older and more rugged. The Sam in front of me now was clean shaven, with short, but still unruly hair. His green eyes looked at me curiously.

“Sorry.” I muttered. “I was just…” He took a couple of hesitant steps towards me. My mind was racing, trying to make everything make sense. 

“Are you okay?” He said, curiosity shifting to concern. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” 

I shook myself, trying to fit the pieces together. You’ve never encountered a puzzle you couldn’t  tease apart, the stranger had said. The stranger. Not the man in front of me. I suddenly knew exactly what I was going to do. I straightened and extended my hand. “I’m Rachel,” I said. “I’m thinking about changing my major.”

  Sam grinned, taking my hand. “Oh yeah, what are you interested in?” 

I grinned back.  “Tell me about alternative universes.” 

[spilledinkstories]

One Level Down

(writing prompt: you board an elevator of strangers and someone says “thank you all for coming”— I just kind of ran with this one, didn’t take it too seriously... :P )

“So I bet you are wondering why I’ve asked you here,” said the woman in the red overcoat.

I had been planning this specific trip to my university’s library for about two weeks now. I had placed a hold on a rare copy of a book you could only read in-house, and I had been notified of the date of my viewing. It was in a temperature-controlled basement room, and to be honest, I had been feeling pretty great about the whole experience. Like this made me a Real Scholar, or something. 

It was a book on the archeological findings at a famous site in China. I was writing a paper on how a report provided by women versus men often offered different focal points of the ideas of the ancient society, or different perspectives on that society all together. For example, you might get a bigger focus in a report on home life rather than warfare. That was the department’s hope, anyway. This was of course a research question posed by the department, and I had been wondering what on earth could be so different in two reports filed on the finding of a hairbrush, but anyway. The temperature-controlled room sounded cool, and I was all about that academic aesthetic. I kind of felt like it was part of some Indiana Jones movie, doing research of relics and ancient peoples, being involved in the ongoing discourse around history, the relationship between a person digging up some ancient artifact in a remote land, and then tourists paying pocket change to stare at it for five seconds. 

So, you can imagine my surprise when, crammed on an old elevator with several other people in various states of exhaustion, digging for gum in my overflowing backpack to eradicate the taste of crappy cafeteria coffee on my breath, the woman spoke. 

No one said anything for a couple seconds. 

“Really, no one is curious?” She pressed. 

“We got your memo, ma’am,” said one of the young men in a baggy sweatshirt. 

“Didn’t think to question it,” said another.

“Headquarters told me yesterday, I flew out immediately,” said a girl in a voice simply dripping with a thirst to prove herself. It’s worth mentioning that we were six Americans standing in an elevator in London, England.

“Good,” said the woman in the red coat. 

“Why a library,” whined the first boy. “I thought joining up meant a life of excitement, not…books.”

I had to hide my grin, not wanting to be caught. I don’t know if they knew I didn’t know what was happening, but I’ll tell you: I didn’t. I was intrigued though, and figured it wouldn’t hurt to pretend I was one of them for a little while.

“Well, I assume you all brought your paperwork with you, so we won’t waste any time getting started. I’ve booked the main room down here for one hour, so let’s be sharp, got it?” The woman in red spoke with an authority that was positively presidential. We fell in line like soldiers as the elevator doors creaked open, and she marched down a carpeted hall to what looked like a conference room. 

I was beginning to question my new plan, realizing I’d miss my viewing of the book if I stayed too long with these strangers, when someone spoke in my ear. “I haven’t seen you before, but it’s nice to have another girl on the team. Wanna sit next to me?”

“Okay,” I whispered back. 

“I’m Anna,” she said, smiling.

“Ivy,” I whispered back. 

“Sit,” said the woman in the red coat, as we entered the conference room. She stood at the front and fired up her laptop, and had it projecting onto the screen in a couple of seconds. Images of old manuscripts and letters filled the screen, all too faint to read properly. 

“So, I want you to go around the room really quickly, tell me your names, and your departments,” she commanded, turning quickly to the young man sitting to her left.

“Brandon, fact checking,” he said.

“Adam, restoration,” said the one who had whined that it was a library job. 

“Jake, archeology.” This one shocked me, since he was dressed like a stoner that thought pop music would be the death of culture but was secretly in love with Taylor Swift. Maybe they were all disguised look like students, to blend on campus or something…

I gulped. I was sweating now, the skin behind my knees prickling inside my tights. Clearly this was some official thing – the power suit the boss lady had been hiding under her red coat was proof of that enough. The skater skirt I had on was okay, and my baggy green knit sweater hid the Captain America t-shirt underneath, and my combat boots hid my Dr. Who socks…but I still felt massively out of place. The space buns hairstyle really was the cherry on top. The epitome of e-girl wannabe, nerdy art student, who’d invited herself to this meeting. I gulped again. “Ivy, sociology,” I said, hoping my voice didn’t shake. 

“Anna, state department,” the other girl said directly after I’d spoken. She looked polished too, like an intern at a high end tech company or something. Wait. Did she say state department?

“Great, and I’m Dr. Grayson, here on behalf of, well, a few people. Important people. Okay. Let’s get started. The short version is that the manuscripts you see on this screen are actually fakes, and we have to prove it. The long version is that they were  pulled from a recent dig at a site said to house artifacts from the Byzantine empire, and they are to be displayed at the British Museum next month. It’s a political scheme. In essence, the scientists pushing these documents want to present them to the public as proof that an archaic and brutal form of biochemical warfare was commonly used before, in order to try to naturalize it into the minds of civilians, in hopes that if it’s used later they won’t deem it a warcrime that came out of nowhere.” With that, Dr. Grayson began handing out papers around the table, giving us a moment to digest.

Um. 

What the hell had I walked into? I needed to go. I had to get out of there. But how was I supposed to leave without them knowing I didn’t belong? On the other hand, how was I supposed to sit here and listen to the rest of this and then try to walk away, having heard all their plans? Either way I felt like I was done for. I could feel the sweat prickling my armpits and the backs of my knees, and my toes felt slick inside my shoes. My stomach felt acidic, and I could feel it churning and roiling. I was sure Jake and Anna on either side of me could hear my heart palpitating and my breath coming in short, uneven rasps.

“Your handouts outline the task ahead of us. Of course the lawyers are already trying to handle the scientists putting this research forward as legitimate, so we’re not really going to focus on the publicity angle ourselves. Our focus is to prove that this document is a fake. We’re going to analyze it, and we’ll have to dig up some research on warfare of the time, but we’ll also be dispatching our own team to the dig site. We want to see what other artifacts or things they supposedly dug up there. Anything we can do to discredit this.”

“Right, so Brandon and I can team up, if you want,” Adam said.

“I’d hoped so. You two can work on trying to disprove the authenticity of these artifacts. They’re here actually, in the other room. Being cared for. The staff here put them in the maps room.” 

Holy crap…what had I walked into. I had known choosing to go to university in London would be exiting - I’d always loved British culture, but I thought I’d be reading Shakespeare and arguing essays from Ophelia’s perspective…stuff like that. Saying that Lady Macbeth could be construed as a hero, given women’s issues of the times. Not…this.

“So, that leaves Jake, Anna, and Ivy,” Dr. Grayson was saying, “perfect. We’ll get on the jet, and we should be at the dig in about three hours. You’ll be fitted with the proper tools, of course.”

Oh my god. Oh my god. Why had I followed them off that elevator?

An hour later I was seated between Jake and Anna on a very small airplane, taking off from Heathrow. 

“So, state department, huh? Couldn’t stand to let actual scientists get some work done without a babysitter?” Jake tossed this scornfully at Anna, ignoring me who was awkwardly slumped in my seat and wishing I didn’t exist.

“Unsupervised scientists are exactly what created this mess, dumbo.” 

“Wow, I can’t believe you called me that. Dumbo. Ouch. How am I going to be able to focus on my work, with a wound so deep?” 

“Ugh,” Anna rolled her eyes, and turned to look out her window. And by god, I wish she hadn’t, because Jake turned to me instead.

“Cute hair, by the way. You blended in really well. Sociology, you said? What’s your area?” I gulped, my throat feeling like it was made of carpet. I was an introvert to begin with, so honest conversation with strangers posed enough of a challenge. But this was another beast entirely.

“Im interested in women’s suffrage,” I squeaked.

“Of course you are. No, I didn’t mean your disguise,” he said with a laugh. He must have mistaken my anxiety for anger, because he followed with “I mean, we’re all into women’s rights. Don’t get me wrong. I just meant…like…what’s your speciality, like, why’d you get put on this specific case?” 

I wracked my brains so hard I wondered if it was possible to inflict a concussion that way.

“I was in the middle of conducting research on how different teams of anthropologists or archeologists can influence the public image of ancient societies, based on publication and subsequent publicity.” 

“Oh, so you’re from the office of public affairs, basically,” he said in a bored voice. 

“Have you ever been to a dig before?” Anna asked, sounding politely interested. I simply shook my head. 

“Okay, no worries, Jake and I can handle the grunt work, and you can focus on your write-up. I’m sure you’ve got a tight deadline for this.” I smiled appreciatively, blown away that my answer had satisfied them and terrified of making things worse. 

“Wait, I thought Grayson said we weren’t covering the publicity, that they had lawyers on it,” Jake said.

“It’s more academics,” I said vaguely, and they nodded as though this meant something significant. 

Thank the lord we spent the rest of the flight in relative silence, reading through the documents Grayson had handed out. They really just outlined procedures for the dig site, and our capacity there, but Anna had assured me I could just linger to a side with a laptop if I wanted.

We touched down in Genoa around three in the afternoon. 

At least if it was my last day as a free citizen on this earth, I could say I’d gone to Italy with a frankly quite attractive scientist boy. Not a bad last day, as these things go. With mountains on one side and the sea on the other, it was absolutely breathtaking. If I hadn’t been in the middle of an hours-long panic attack, I think it would have been the best day of my life. 

Off the plane, we got into an SUV right there on the tarmac, and as I watched the scenery slip from urban to rural I wondered what had inspired these fake scientists or whatever to even want to do this. What kind of biochemical warfare were they suggesting? Dr. Grayson hadn’t said, and none of the paperwork had said it either. I suppose the others back in London would decode it from the manuscripts, if that’s what they were doing, but…

“So you’re here to report on us, Anna tells me. I was wondering who you were,” Grayson spoke in a quiet voice from the front seat. I said nothing, feeling like my throat was going to swell shut in panic. Was I busted? Would they tie rocks to my feet and toss me out to sea?

“I don’t blame you for not wanting to speak up until we were on our way. The bureaucrats never want the researchers involved, but then they get mad when the researchers say something they don’t like, so what’s the point? You may as well be here and get the proper intel.” She swivelled in the front seat to face me. “Don’t make me regret it, got it?” 

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I said in what I hoped was a winning voice. I saw a smirk tugging at the corners of Jake’s mouth, and tried to soothe the raging panic in my head and stomach. 

The dig site was honestly kind of disappointing. I had built it up in my head to look like a whole government facility built on a crater in the ground, with tents, scaffolding, desks, the works. But nope. This was just a crater in the ground, with a couple of ropes spanning the width of it here and there, I guess to mark the split between sections or something. That, and a couple of stools and ladders, and it was your run-of-the-mill pit.

“You’ll want this. Don’t forget the back of the neck,” Jake said, handing me a tube of sunscreen. 

“Oh, thanks,” I said, smirking as I took a bit and passed it on to Anna, who began vigorously rubbing some into her face and arms. 

“Tools are in the trunk,” Grayson said, “I’ll be in the car as I have to update the Upstairs. Private phone call, you get it. Get to work.” Anna sprung into action. It was like she was racing Jake to get the tools and pick a spot first, wanting to beat him at every turn. 

“You’re not even a real archeologist,” he grumbled, leaving my side to gather his equipment. 

“Tell that to the state department,” she called, and he looked pissed that she’d heard. 

“Which state, even?” He asked.

“Virginia.” 

“CIA then?” 

“Not necessarily.” 

I said nothing, letting them bicker. I went to the trunk and peered in, seeing a stack of coveralls. I picked on up to inspect it, thinking it might be nice to cover up my outfit that was feeling less and less professional by the second. 

“Good thinking,” Anna said, grabbing a pair herself. All suited up, she pulled a laptop out of a bag and passed it to me. 

“Here ya go, I guess you didn’t get a chance to bring yours.”

“Is there internet here?” I asked.

“Yep, car acts as a router. High tech,” she said. I took the computer from her silently.

The three of us trudged back to the pit, where the other two lost no time hopping in and surveying their turf. 

“So,” I said awkwardly, “we’re supposed to see if we can find any other manuscripts? Or anything suggesting biochemical warfare?”

“Partly, yeah. I’m also going to be inspecting the dig site itself to try to disprove that they found any paper substances. Particles left behind, impressions in the ground, you know.” Jake was bobbing his head, hands on his hip, looking like my dad about to mow the lawn on Sunday morning.

“You can do that?” I asked. He laughed, seeming to think I was being facetious. I wasn’t. I was just clueless, but I guess I’m glad he didn’t see it.

“I’ll just watch you both work for a while, and then I’ll start my write-up. I need to observe to figure out my angle.” I tried to muster as much authority in my voice as possible, as though I’d done this kind of thing before. 

“Yeah, okay,” Anna said absently. A couple of minutes later and some awkward waiting with my hands in my pockets, laptop waiting on a stool, the others had picked work spots and gotten to it. 

The silence was broken only by the sound of shifting dirt, and the occasional ruffle or grunt from one of them. Subtle glances back to the car suggested that Grayson may not be joining us in the pit at all, which was a relief. I watched as Jake poked and prodded at the ground, a look of deep concentration on his face, compared to Anna’s digging with all the fervour of a child told to find treasure in a sandbox. 

There was nothing for it. I went over to the stool, opened the laptop, and started typing. I wrote of the bureaucratic nature of science, as Grayson had put it in the car, and how publication could really be a business. How people had to fight to get their ideas heard. How certain things were deemed more or less important to the government for example, versus the public sphere. 

Basically, I sat in coveralls, on a stool in a pit in Genoa, Italy, and wrote my term paper. 

I tried to spin it so that the finding of a hairbrush, or a kitchen tool, would be treated very differently than the finding of a weapon, and whether or not it was a man or woman who discovered it really made no difference. Both men and women work in bureaucratic systems and in academics in today’s world, and both have access to controlling information. I wrote something like that, hoping if Grayson checked what I’d been working on, she’d see it as a government report on academia, since that was my only thread of legitimacy to work with where these strangers were concerned. After I finished I quickly emailed it to myself, hoping no-one would notice, and then I could just email my professor saying I couldn’t see the book I was supposed to but I’d written a paper for the deadline anyway.

By the time I’d finished my write up it was nearing six o’clock. Jake pulled up a stool next to me, and braced his forearms on his knees. 

“I can’t see any evidence of a real dig here. I don’t get it,” he said.

“What do you mean?” I said slowly, closing the laptop, having quadruple checked that I’d sent the work to my school email and saved it.

“I mean there wasn’t a dig here. This isn’t a real archeological site.” 

“So where did the fake manuscripts come from then?” I asked, wondering how on earth he could tell.

“I don’t know. I also don’t know why Grayson wouldn’t have known that before we got out here.” 

“Well, someone had to be the first to check,” I offered, blushing a little for fear this was a stupid comment. He looked at me, real suspicion entering his eyes for the first time.

“There are scientists in Italy. We didn’t need to fly out here to check it. Something’s up.” In the setting sun, the green flecks in his brown eyes caught the light, and I realized he was younger than I had originally thought. He couldn’t have been out of school that long.

“Maybe Grayson is in on it?” But before Jake could reply to this, Anna joined us in our little corner of the pit.

“Anyone have any water?” Jake passed her some, and she gulped it down before saying, “I’ve been digging for almost three hours and haven’t found a single thing.” 

I felt the familiar surges of panic making their way through my veins, making my ears ring and my head feel stuffy, and making the other two feel oddly distant. 

“Maybe the site has already been cleared out?” I offered, my voice squeaky. Anna passed me the water bottle, mistaking my rasp for thirst.

“How’s it going down here?” The three of us froze, staring at each other. Grayson had gotten out of the car, and hopped into the pit, the heels of her shoes sinking an inch or two in the loose dirt. She shuffled over to us, maintaining her look of authority. 

“Yeah, good,” Jake said, “I think I’ve seen all I need to for a first look.” 

“You’re only getting one look,” she drawled.

“I haven’t found any other artifacts,” Anna said, “I think whoever was here before cleared everything out.” 

“And where would they have put it?” Grayson demanded. Anna fell silent, taken aback. 

“I don’t think anyone really was here before. I think this is a fabricated dig site.” While I didn’t know Jake very well, there was no mistaking the challenge in his voice. Grayson’s eyes narrowed a little, and she took a couple steps closer to where Jake was seated beside me, so she could tower over him. 

“And what are you suggesting, exactly, Jake?” 

“When I’m working I go by Dr. Miller. I’m suggesting that they gave you a fake location to send you on a goose chase, or that perhaps those manuscripts don’t exist at all.”

“Then what would you suggest is in the maps room back in London?” She said dangerously. 

“I couldn’t tell you, seeing as I never saw them in person.” A grin flickered on Grayson’s face. I caught Anna’s eye from where she was standing behind Grayson, and read the worry as a pretty bad sign. 

“Who would want to send me on a wild goose chase?”

“You’re the government official, not me. Who exactly do you work for, Dr. Grayson? And what are you a doctor of, exactly?”

“Political science, it’s just a title. I work for the secretary of defence.” At this, Jake laughed in her face. 

“The U.S. government is worried about some old scroll they dug up in the mountains that suggests some ancient civilization knew how to…what? Poison each other? This is a joke, right?” Jake stood up and strolled away from the group, shaking his head.

“Not poison,” she said quietly.

“Then what?” I asked, immediately realizing I’d broken my vow to myself to keep my stupid gob shut.

“Classified,” she said with an arched brow.

“So again, why fake the site?” Anna asked. 

“The scientists who produced the documents could have said it was here to buy time until the exhibition,” I offered, since Grayson was still staring at me. She flicked an eyebrow up again, and finally broke her stare to turn her eyes on Jake.

“Are any of you wearing microphones?” She asked. 

“No,” we all said unanimously. She exhaled wearily, rubbing a hand over her tired eyes.

“Alright. What I’m about to tell you doesn’t leave this pit. The scrolls outline a way of spreading a virus that was apparently employed all the way back then. Given the recent pandemic all over the world, that’s not the kind of thing the public needs to be seeing. But these scientists are convinced it needs to go public. You can see how that would strike fear into the hearts of everyone. They’d all be convinced they were the recent victims of a large-scale government attack.” 

“Who are these scientists? Archeologists, whoever?” Anna said, disgust colouring her words.

“We’re wasting time here, we can talk about this on the jet back to London. I want to see those manuscripts,” Jake said, and he strode to the edge of the pit and hauled himself out. I was shocked that Grayson didn’t counter his authority, and instead followed him. 

I slept most of the plane ride back to London. I’d listened to them bicker and swap theories while we ate our way through a couple of pizzas that were waiting for us on the tarmac, but they’d mostly talked in circles. The more they talked, the less Grayson really seemed to know, and Jake kept saying he needed to see these artifacts.

With the time change back, it was about nine when we landed, and ten pm when we reached the university. I felt better, having slept a bit, but my head was still pounding with exhaustion from the events of the day.

We loaded ourselves back into the same elevator in the university library, and headed one level down. Instead of going to the conference room we headed down another hallway, where the map room was tucked away.

“They said they were still here,” Grayson said, leading us. She opened the door, and I would have been impressed by the collection of old maps had I not flown to the northern coast of Italy and back that afternoon.

“Where are they?” Jake asked harshly. 

“I don’t know,” Grayson admitted. 

“Dr. Grayson, have you worked with either Brandon or Adam previously?” Anna asked. 

“No, I haven’t. I haven’t worked with any of you before.” 

“Do you know who they work for?” Anna pressed. 

“No.”

“They just said fact checking and restoration. That could be government, a university,” Anna was trailing off. 

“A museum, even,” Jake offered. 

“I mean now that I think of it, you didn’t check any of our credentials,” Anna said, glaring at Grayson. 

“Hang on a minute, I knew five people were supposed to be joining me in the map room. I don’t appreciate your suggestion that I’m incompetent. They’re probably out grabbing coffee.”

“But how do we know they weren’t just two random guys on the elevator?” Anna said, wringing her hands. I was beginning to think she was scared that her own butt was on the line here, but mine was too so…relatable. 

“Oh, you’re back, perfect,” said a voice as the door opened, and Brandon and Adam walked in. The room was cramped with all of us standing in there. 

“From what we can tell, they’re real,” Adam said.

“They can’t be, the dig site seemed fake,” Jake said. “Let me see it.”

“I mean, obviously more rigorous testing has to be done than what we can do in a day, but it seems pretty authentic to me,” Brandon was saying as he led Jake over to where they’d been examining a very old, gross looking scroll of paper.

“Who do you two work for?” Grayson asked them, and they looked at her in shock. 

“I work for the British Museum, in the restoration department,” Adam said a little uncertainly. 

“I work for the university here, but I was hired as a consultant by the government,” Brandon said a little pompously. 

“And who do you work for?” Grayson said, turning on me. 

My throat burned. My eyes stung. I felt my head swimming, my palms prickling and my knees shaking. My limbs felt weirdly weightless. They were all staring at me now, and I knew there was nothing for it. 

“It’s like Anna said…I was just a stranger on the elevator. I followed you guys to the conference room earlier half as a joke, and then I got too scared to leave cause I thought I’d get in trouble,” it was all just tumbling out of me, and I didn’t care that tears were tracking down my face. “I should never have gotten on the plane, I should have never even followed you down the hall off of the elevator. I was on my way to look at an old book for a sociology paper I’m supposed to submit this weekend.”

To my absolute shock, Jake started to laugh. Not just a chuckle, he really laughed. Despite myself, I laughed a little too.

“I really was supposed to write a paper on different perspectives on the publications in the archeology and anthropology world, but this took it to a whole new level. I did a write up at the dig site and emailed it to myself to submit for class, but I can delete it if you want.” I looked at Grayson, fear spiking in my gut again. 

“I’ll read it first, but you clearly know nothing so I’m sure it’s harmless,” she said with an eye roll. why had I laughed? Surely ‘apologetic’ and terrified was what I should be going for, not acting like I was gloating.

“Are you gonna lock me up?” I squeaked, fresh hot tears running into my mouth and off my chin.

“What for? So you came to Italy, big deal. If Jake is right and the site is fake, you basically flew with us to see a random hole in the ground. We’ll draft up a non-disclosure agreement, track your phone for a few days, keep an eye on you…to be honest, with something like this, it doesn’t really matter that one little girl knows.” I was a bit offended at being called a little girl, but I took her point. Even if I posted about today all over my social medias, I would be discounted pretty quickly by the public, especially since I had no photos to back it up. Kinda like that history channel guy convinced aliens were responsible for historical landmarks.

“So…” I started, unsure what I was attempting to say. 

Adam pulled a wad of cafeteria napkins out of his pocket. “It’s okay, no one thinks you meant anything by it. You got swept up in it. No big deal.” 

“It still doesn’t answer my question though,” Jake insisted. “Where did these come from? If they are real, why do they surface now? Who found them? And if they’re fake, still who?”

“All I know is my boss gave me the assignment,” Grayson shrugged. 

“What does that mean? You’re blaming the American government for this?” Anna said acidly. 

I sat down in a chair tucked in the corner, glad I didn’t have to pretend I knew what was going on, or that I had any roll in this. 

“Can I go?” I asked, suddenly desperate for silence and solitude. I’d had enough.

“Yeah. We know where to find you,” Grayson said, exhaustion dripping from her own voice. 

I left the room. I walked back down the hallway, boarded the elevator and left the university library. I walked back to my dorm, in a complete daze, unable to process the day I’d just experienced. I’d snuck into some top secret government meeting and flown to Italy to attempt to disprove evidence of an ancient virus spreading technique. 

At least I’d still managed to write my paper, and I’d tried pizza in Italy, so that was pretty cool. 

A week later, with an A on my paper that I’d turned in, headlines broke that people suspected foul play with the pandemic we’d just survived the year prior. People began to suspect that it was brought on by some government or other, but then other outlets said that was just paranoia. Others still said it was old news, and what were we supposed to do about it anyway.

I bought a ticket to the British Museum, and saw the manuscript on display for everyone to see. A little blurb was posted beside it, saying how its authenticity was severely questioned, but it was no doubt real. 

No one seemed to care. I never did find out where those manuscripts really came from.

[thebiblesalesman]

Hero of Numbani new canon brands, products, tech, concepts, etc.

*SPOILERS FOR The Hero of Numbani AHEAD*

This list does not include Yoruba or Afro-Brazilian food/clothing/cultural concepts, which probably deserve their own list.

344X-Azúcar - A wireless signal used by Sombra.

3-D Puzzle: Horizon Lunar Colony - Efi and her cousin Bisi spent 400 hours putting this together.

Alatise Parkway - Street in the Numbani Arts District where a gray market auction house can be found.

Bankolé’s Grocery - A neighborhood grocery store.

Bello tower - Tower where Efi’s cousin Dayo lives.

Bisi’s laptop - An extremely high-end laptop that Bisi tries to gift to Efi. Capable of 3D holoprojection. Can crush logic exercises that cause “the most advanced omnics” to struggle in seconds.

Blanchet771 - A literary icon beloved by Efi’s father.

Breaking Circuits trilogy - A Flash Brighton movie trilogy where Flash is a human pretending to be an omnic pretending to be a human.

Carnival Calabar - Real-life Nigerian festival that occurs December 1-31. Efi mentions that Unity Day rivals Carnival Calabar in size.

Chinua Achebe - Real-life Nigerian novelist (1930-2013). A literary icon beloved by Efi’s father.

Compass Point Insurance - An insurance company used by Efi’s family.

Court-appointed cybernetic surgeon - Employed by world governing organizations for removing cybernetic implants from war criminals. One such surgeon removed most of Doomfist’s implants after his trial, a procedure apparently broadcast out to the whole world.

CraftLife 5000 - Premium power tools including a hard-light screwdriver.

Cybernetic brain upgrades - According to Efi, Sojourn has these upgrades, which consist of “bionic neurons” injected into the brain

Cyborg African wild dogs - These are things that exist. Efi encounters two dogs with spinal implants and flickers of green light in their eyes.

Dagger Sect - Enemy agents in the Breaking Circuits movie trilogy

Declaration of Unity - A declaration read and signed by Gabrielle Adawe during the founding of Numbani.

Delivery drone - Used to deliver things. Some are powerful enough to carry an 11-year-old.

efi_was_here_v3-39x.aipm - The name of Orisa’s personality matrix.

eNaira - Electronic Nigerian currency.

FacePunch - Site where Efi finds a lot of jokes and memes, such as Marley the Dancing Coconut.

Fadeout/Fading out - An omnic condition induced by a malicious code that self-replicates and overwrites the omnic’s native functions one-by-one. The name comes from the lights on an omnic’s head fading out when it is affected by this condition. Omnics experience severe program malfunctions during fadeout. For example, an omnic forklift operator might keep driving the forklift into a wall over and over again, or an omnic artist might destroy her own work. Fadeout also causes an omnic’s private wireless port to become publicly accessible, and if the malicious code is allowed to operate for long enough the omnic can lose all original programming and memory. Fadeouts were induced in Numbani by Sombra for a time after Doomfist’s attack on the airport. Because fadeout causes omnics’ wireless ports to become publicly accessible, an “antidote” code can be administered to one omnic and will be automatically distributed to all other affected omnics in the area.

Flash Brighton - An action movie character with numerous franchise films such as...

Flash Brighton and the Omnic Crusaders: Forty-Four Hours Till Midnight - Movie where Flash Brighton abandons werewolf pups to go looking for his brother’s assassin with a time machine.

Flash Brighton and the Omnic Crusaders: The Duel to Infinity - Movie starring Kam Kalu, Thespion 4.0, and A.I. Schylus, among others.

Flexxon Pro Micro T1 reactor - Alternative to the miniature Tobelstein reactor. Cannot maintain a graviton charge for more than a few seconds.

Free Thinkers - A website where Efi gets most of the open source code for her robots.

Harmony Key - A symbolic key presented by Gabrielle Adawe to the leader of the Numbani Omnic Union during the founding of Numbani.

HollaGram (or Hollagram) - Social media service where users can make multimedia posts and other users can award likes, claps, or shares and leave comments.

International Baccalaureate - A real-life instructional programming standard based out of Geneva, Switzerland. Efi is taking senior-high level IB instruction in calculus and physics at age 11.

Ipanema - Real-life neighborhood in Rio. Efi planned to take surf lessons here, and Lúcio’s studio is here.

Junker reactor - A graviton reactor purchased by Orisa when a miniature Tobelstein reactor cannot be found. Cobbled together from mismatched parts, with some graffiti on the side. Efi notes that it is probably irradiated and likely to blow up in Orisa’s face.

Junie (Junior Assistant) - A robot stand-in for social and professional situations, capable of broadcasting holograms of people and recording video/audio with a 360-degree camera. Hologram features can be upgraded with hardlight conversion kits. Invented by Efi Oladele. Holograms produced by Junies are referred to as [name-of-the-person-being-shown]-Junior. For example, Naade-Junior for a hologram of Efi’s friend Naade.

Lagos - The largest real-life city in Nigeria, on the coast.

Maxwell Interpreter - Part of Efi’s robot creation kit. Used for creating simulations by autosorting “eight billion permutations into virtual hash matrices.”

Modulated Biochemical Currency (MBC) - DNA-coded cryptocurrency used on the dark web. About the size of a sand dollar, they wiggle in your hand and contain synthetic blood with unique biological codes in it. Also known as bio gold, wiggle notes, glam clams, scritch scratch...

Nollywood - Real-life slang for the Nigerian film industry

Numbani civic codes - For example, Code 34-342b - Driving a vehicle with an expired registration. Code 92-574j - Pedestrian cross-traffic. Etc.

Numbani Civic Defense Department - Numbani government security forces/police.

Numbani Credit Union - A credit union. Efi stores her grant money here.

Numbani museum exhibits - Historical artifacts, omnic art, a walking tour of Overwatch’s presence in Numbani, Numbani native plants, and a diorama of the Declaration of Unity, among others

Numbani Omnic Union - An omnic representative organization present during the founding of Numbani. The leader was presented the Harmony Key by Gabrielle Adawe.

OmnicCon - A con in Numbani with a costuming contest.

OmniWorx - Company that produces synthetic greases in designer tins with different scents like mint and citrus. The product is used by omnics as an indulgence, such as on Unity Day in Numbani. Efi buys OmniWorx tins for her omnic friends.

OR15 auction - An auction that took place after the defeat of the OR15s by Doomfist at Numbani airport. The Numbani Civic Defense Department sold off decommissioned OR15s in lots of 10 that cost around 20 million naira. Bidders were not informed of the OR15′s defeat at Doomfist’s hands.

Overwatch cartoons - Cartoons Efi describes as “old” that are based on the lives of real Overwatch members like Sojourn.

Overwatch coin bank - Owned by Efi. Features Reinhardt protecting the bank with his rocket hammer.

Overwatch pajamas - Efi owns a pair of these.

Paper notes - Used to avoid digital filters at Efi’s school.

Peace Park - A park in Numbani which had a statue of Gabrielle Adawe. The statue ended up being destroyed by Doomfist.

Precision Core reactor - Alternative to the miniature Tobelstein reactor. Unit is the size of a car.

Rapid-X heliotherapy - A type of therapy that heals broken bones in the span of a few days.

Sky Postal - Delivery company that uses drones. Capable of executing Lightning-Priority deliveries.

Steppe Wanderer - A model of car.

Super Fun Family Time - A “game” Efi’s parents taught her where they hide in the interior bathroom of their flat whenever the warning sirens go off indicating a Doomfist attack.

Tiawo Boulevard - Street in Numbani that intersects Heritage Avenue

Tin Can Island Port - Port where Numbani omnics held a dockworkers’ revolt several years back.

Tonal Abyss - Omnic pop band with 38 members. Broke up at one point due to disagreements about which quantum clock standard to use as a time measure for their music. Reunited at Lúcio’s concert in Numbani.

University of Ibadan, University of Lagos - Real-life Nigerian universities that Efi’s cousin Dayo received acceptances from in the story.

Valor Matrix distributed computing project - Project that rewards loans of processing power with currency.

Version 3.44 VAvmpCompiler - Part of Efi’s robot creation kit. An alternative to a dedicated Maxwell Interpreter box.

Virtual Physician protocol - Downloadable physician protocol accessible to any robot or omnic.

Yankari National Park - Largest national park in Nigeria.

Yoku Voyager - A low-end car model with weak levrims.

Zobo Bot - Robot that makes juice drinks at Efi’s school. Known to be ornery.

[newstfionline]

Sunday, November 29, 2020

The global recession in democracy (The Economist) [In the wake of the election, there has been] a further partisan deterioration in American democracy. It is also part of a global democratic recession. The collapse of the Soviet Union led to a flourishing in the number and quality of liberal democracies, but the trend has now gone into reverse. Hungary and Poland are blocking the European Union budget because their governments refuse to bow to the rule of law. In the world’s largest democracy the Bharatiya Janata Party (bjp) under Narendra Modi is capturing institutions, including the courts, the police and now, it is feared, the election commission. The Economist Intelligence Unit (eiu), our sister organisation, has been compiling a democracy index since 2006. Last year’s score was the worst ever. Covid-19 has accelerated the decline. The threat is not from military coups but governments in power. Given time, unscrupulous leaders can hollow out democracy completely. Two decades ago Venezuela held meaningful elections; today it is about to eliminate the last kernel of opposition. But even in countries where such a calamity is unthinkable, the erosion of norms and institutions leads to worse government.

Los Angeles orders more restrictions as coronavirus surges (AP) Los Angeles County announced a new stay-home order Friday as coronavirus cases surged out of control in the nation’s most populous county, banning most gatherings but stopping short of a full shutdown on retail stores and other non-essential businesses. The three-week “safer at home” order takes effect Monday. It came as the county of 10 million residents confirmed 24 new deaths and 4,544 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The order advises residents to stay home “as much as possible” and to wear a face covering when they go out. It bans people from gathering with others who aren’t in their households, whether publicly or privately. However, exceptions are made for church services and protests, “which are constitutionally protected rights,” the county Department of Public Health said in a statement.

El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala stage mass raids in crackdown on MS-13, Barrio 18 (AP) The Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have rounded up hundreds of suspected street gang members as part of a U.S.-backed effort known as “Operation Regional Shield.” The attorney general’s office in El Salvador has taken the lead, reporting that it obtained arrest warrants for 1,152 suspects, of whom 572 had been arrested by Friday. The weeklong effort particularly targeted members of the Barrio 18 and MS-13 gangs, which operate in all three countries. Most of those arrested face charges ranging from extortion and kidnapping to murder.

Belarus’ Lukashenko says he will leave his post, state media reports (NBC News) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he would step down after a new constitution is adopted, the state-owned BelTA news agency cited him as saying on Friday. “I am not going to shape the constitution to suit my needs,” he is quoted as saying. “I am not going to be the president once the new constitution is in place.” Belarus has been rocked by months of anti-government protests ever since Lukashenko—often referred to as “Europe’s last dictator”—claimed victory in an Aug. 9 presidential election that his opponents say was rigged, a charge he denies. It remained unclear whether Lukashenko’s comments were sincere or whether he was just paying lip service to the prospect of him stepping aside. In any case, it is the first time he has publicly reflected on how the country will be governed when he is no longer president. Lukashenko has maintained his grasp on power in the former Soviet nation for the last 26 years.

Queues at barber shops as France eases coronavirus lockdown (Reuters) People eager to get a haircut stood in line outside barber shops and department stores selling gifts and Christmas decorations were busy on Saturday as France partially reopened following a month-long lockdown. Shops selling non-essential goods such as shoes, clothes and toys reopened in the first easing of a nationwide lockdown that started on Oct. 30 and will remain in place until Dec. 15. Bars and restaurants remain closed till Jan. 20.

Pope installs new cardinals, including first African-American (Reuters) Pope Francis on Saturday installed 13 new cardinals, including the first African-American to hold the high rank. Nine of the 13 are under 80 and eligible under Church law to enter a secret conclave to choose the next pope from among themselves after Francis dies or resigns. It was Francis’ seventh consistory since his election in 2013. He has now appointed 57% of the 128 cardinal electors, most of whom share his vision of a more inclusive and outward-looking Church. Thus far, he has appointed 18 cardinals from mostly far-flung countries that never had one, nearly all of them from the developing world. In Saturday’s consistory, Brunei and Rwanda got their first cardinals. In his homily, Francis told the men to keep their eyes on God, avoid all forms of corruption, and not succumb to a “worldly spirit” that can accompany the prestige and power of their new rank.

Hong Kong leader says she has ‘piles of cash at home,’ no bank account, due to U.S. sanctions (Washington Post) Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam keeps “piles of cash” at home and is unable to open a bank account after being targeted by U.S. sanctions, according to an interview the top official gave on Friday evening. “Sitting in front of you is a chief executive of the Hong Kong SAR [Special Administrative Region] who has no banking services made available to her. I’m using cash for all the things,” Lam told HKIBC, an English-language news channel based in Hong Kong. “I have piles of cash at home, the government is paying me cash for my salary because I don’t have a bank account,” Lam added. Lam is paid around 5.21 million Hong Kong dollars, roughly $672,000, a year, making her among the highest paid public officials in the world. Despite her bravado, Lam’s remarks were widely welcomed by her critics. Some activists noted that it appeared to suggest that even Chinese banks were complying with American financial restrictions.

Iran’s supreme leader vows revenge over slain scientist (AP) Iran’s supreme leader on Saturday called for the “definitive punishment” of those behind the killing of a scientist linked to Tehran’s disbanded military nuclear program, a slaying the Islamic Republic has blamed on Israel. Israel, long suspected of killing scientists a decade ago amid tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program, has yet to comment on the killing Friday of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. However, the attack bore the hallmarks of a carefully planned, military-style ambush. The slaying threatens to renew tensions between the U.S. and Iran in the waning days of President Donald Trump’s term, just as President-elect Joe Biden has suggested his administration could return to Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers from which Trump earlier withdrew. The Pentagon announced early Saturday that it sent the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier back into the Mideast.

Ethiopia says its military now controls the Tigray capital (AP) Ethiopia’s military has gained full control of the capital of the defiant Tigray region, the army announced Saturday after Tigray TV reported that the city of a half-million people was being “heavily bombarded” in the final push to arrest the region’s leaders. The army chief of staff, Gen. Birhanu Jula, made the comment about the military’s control of Mekele while speaking on an Ethiopian state broadcast. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in a separate statement, “We have entered Mekele without innocent civilians being targets.” Neither mentioned the arrest of any of the leaders of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which runs the region. The Tigray leader could not be reached. With communications cut to the region of 6 million people, it is difficult to verify claims by the warring sides. Each government regards the other as illegal.

Dispel Lockdown Woes and Hectic Holidays With Simple Tips For Boosting Mood (Good News Network) Wintertime weather, holidays, and a pandemic lockdown can make routines difficult, but practicing mindfulness can offer a solution, and be done in very simple forms. The year has been a real humdinger for some and a tragedy for others, and using mindfulness—the direct mental effort to make yourself present in each passing moment, can help remind so many of us why the holidays are a favorite time of the year. Even though the thermometers are reading low, walking is not only a great way to practice mindfulness, but it gets you out of doors—which every psychologist worth their salt would explain is great for your mental health. 1. Reduced daylight hours lead to a reduction in the natural absorption of vitamin D from UV light. Vitamin D is one of the most important biochemicals for the immune system and fighting off viruses. 2. Exposure to cold increases the brain’s production of norepinephrine, a behavioral chemical that can make you feel elated and excited. 3. Exposure to trees, sky, the stars, and nature has been shown time and time again to help improve mental well-being. Studies have shown walking in forests or in close sight of trees has been shown to lower levels of stress and anxiety.