Star Force: Perquisition Read Free

know where the other 5 are, correct?”
    “Until now I didn’t know there even were 5 others. The
Shanplenix said they have no knowledge of Protovic beyond their own borders,
past or present. They’re not exactly close to the Veliquesh homeworlds ,
but it’s odd that they never heard of them pre-lizards.”
    “Actually it’s not,” Vortison said, adjusting the
hologram to another set of genetic codes that Clark only vaguely understood. He
wasn’t a newb as far as genetics were concerned, but
Vortison was operating on a level far beyond him and they both knew it. Trouble
was there had to be V’kit’no’sat even more knowledgeable than Star Force’s top
staff, and they were constantly trying to close that gap given the outdated
records they possessed, which were still more than they could fully grasp at
their young age.
    “Geographically speaking,” Clark clarified.
    Vortison raised a finger. “Behaviorally speaking,
there is an impulse to explore buried in their coding, similar to the sensation
of thirst when you’re low on water, but much more subtle. It is, however,
superseded by a stronger impulse to turtle up. A type of survival instinct, I
believe.”
    “No reckless expansion.”
    “Such things affect individuals rather than control
them. You’re evidence of that, for the sexuality programming in Humans is quite
strong, yet you ignore it.”
    “Such programming has a strong effect on the weak
minded, and I can assure you that we are not weak minded,” Clark said firmly,
though he knew the masses in Star Force, Humans and otherwise, unfortunately
were. Maturia training helped with that, giving people an opportunity to grow
stronger, but once they graduated they were on their own and if they didn’t
have the will to improve they would stagnate and their strength would wane,
making them more susceptible to genetic programming…a much weaker version than
what guided/controlled the lizards.
    “Obviously,” Vortison echoed. “But when you’re dealing
with an entire race even the smallest nudge can have visible effects. I think
these variants were tasted to survive first, seek each other out second, so
that this genetic playbook could be assembled and implemented.”
    “You think they did this themselves or someone did it
to them?”
    “Unknown.”
    Clark rubbed his forehead, imagining the variations of
disaster that this could turn into if it went south. “Is there a way to block
the puzzle pieces from coming together?”
    “Yes, but to do it properly and not some butcher job,
I’d need to rewrite the Protovic genetic code to remove their section of the
playbook entirely. A stopgap would be to rewrite a smaller portion to block the
combination. Both would require skills that I am not confident in yet. The
V’kit’no’sat could do it on their lunch break, but I haven’t had the experience
needed and there’s no one with greater experience to ask for help. I’m
confident I can do it eventually, but right now I’m wise enough to know not to
try, else I’d risk messing them up, which I won’t do.”
    “Let us know when you think you can. Make removal of
their playbook a priority.”
    “As an option or a goal? If the changes are beneficial
we won’t want to strip them out…and putting them back in is far harder to do.”
    “As our primary option. We’re going to find out what’s
going on, and when we do get all 8 pieces we’re going to put them together and
see what happens, either in a lab or with volunteers. If it goes badly, I want
the ability to inoculate our population in short order.”
    “I understand,” Vortison said gravely. “Do you know
where to look for the others?”
    “Not a clue. We’re going to have to go on a scavenger
hunt.”
    “I have no idea how you would even begin to do that on
a galactic scale.”
    “These three variants weren’t that far apart,” Clark
pointed out.
    “As far as genetic diversity and insuring that all
puzzle pieces survive,” Vortison