Welcome to Gaia! ::

The clang echoed against a nearby wall, followed closely by a lot of yelling and a threat. Smoke closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "I'm afraid you may need to check your sources. Recently, I've lost a few... members, I suppose you would call them. One, a super-chimera, and before her a man by the name of Trent Galaway." He wasn't totally clueless where Hiccadu was concerned, but he wasn't going to spill all of his secrets to the powerful stranger Mr. Smith.

"Mr. Galaway took most of the chimerae with him when he fled the facility. As such, we've had little in the way of serious problems where they're concerned. Until today, it happens."

Yani took a step into the slaughterhouse, to confront the chimera. He wasn't particularly afraid of them, he simply found them fascinating. After all, he created them. He knew all of their weaknesses.

The room was large, with neat, identical metal desks placed at even intervals throughout the room. Computers sat on top, and papers were scattered here and there or were folded neatly and stacked. Cages were set against one end of the room, but most of them were empty. The few that weren't held chimerae.

At this moment, the room was in serious disarray--with a dented, mangled cage lying near them the least of it--due to the chimera that called himself Crusha. Yani knew of their names, but chose not to indulge in them.

"What is it, M22022?" His voice sounded weary. He wanted to get back to business.

Smith walked in behind Yani, assuming as he always had that any open door was an invitation to enter. "My apologies if my information is incorrect. I will need to check my informants again to ensure they are not becoming... lax. An interesting specimen, by the way. Might I inquire as to his genetics?"

Smith had slipped his hands beneath his jacket, ostensibly putting them in his pockets so he could relax a bit more. In reality, his hands had both slipped into hidden inner pockets of his pants, his index fingers grasping the thin .22s hidden within. They'd had extensions on the barrel so they were accurate to within a yard at thirty, so they were a bit unwieldy, but they were excellent for self-defense in a tight situation. If necessary Smith could shoot straight through his pants, though he'd need Eriksson to make some more material to sew up the hole, or maybe just get him another pair. His present set was getting more than a little worn with age. Ten years between sets just wasn't cutting it.

"I'm part human aren't I? I derseve some basic respect for that fact. You tell your white coats to experment and test us. Theyu instead torture and kill us. Or have you already forgotten about the abuse you put an older of the pack through. I believe he called himself Hound. I grew up in this place listening to his depraved screamed and beggings for blood, as if he needed it to live, but since he survived as long as he did without it I would guess that he needs to drink it to sustain safe levels of brain activity. You let him be tortured. You let all of us be tortured. And Don't even think of bringing up that you created us, I'm perfectly aware of the fact and am grateful for it, but being a creator doesn't make us dolls to do with as you please."

Then Crusha sighed and looked at Yani, "It makes you our father, but the way you've let us be treated, you don't deserve to have children. As for where I would go, outside."

((Anin, question. Since it never was really discussed, when was TAIS officially brought online in the slaughterhouse? How many years ago?))

TAIS was already aware of the weapons inside Smith's jacket. Upon entering the facility there had been a subtle scan as Smith had walked through the door, giving her the outline of his body, clothing, and even some large internal organs such as the heart, intestines, bones and brain. She also saw the outline of the guns on his person.

As such, it was mandatory that she inform at least Yani, and she did so via his pocket-communicator, which was simply a mini version of herself. It merely gave a single, simple beep when the message was downloaded.

"Weapons identified." The simple message stated, giving Yani both a side and frontal view of the weapons, along with the ammo used, the metal the guns were made of, and what they were generally used for. "Would you like a history of the weapon?"

No sounds, however, came out of the PA system. The mechanical guards stood by, ready to react instantaneously the instant the Chimera Yani was talking to gave the physical signs that it was about to attack.

TAIS, the mistress of multi-tasking, however, had the majority of her eyes on Smith, cross-referencing his image and name with newspapers, magazines, the internet, emails, and text messages that have been sent by anyone in the past twenty years. She also simply walked into other computer systems for different organizations such as car dealerships, stores, and auto centers. The entire world was subject to her hand, and no one else even knew.

Once that was complete, she took the information she had and complied it together, dismissing unimportant information and taking the rest to create a detailed biography of the visitor. This information also was transferred to Yani's mini-TAIS with another beep, ready to be read at his leisure. It would give a list of properties Smith owned, how long he had owned them, how he paid for them, any possible violations or criminal records, what cars he had bought, where, and when, their license plate numbers, and when maintenance had been done and for what. Same for weaponry, houses, etc, etc. Any papers that had the name Carlyle Smith, she had access to. If Yani should ask her to do a more detailed report to look for things possibly out of the ordinary (such as different identities, personas, or pseudos), she would do so. For now, this was a simple, routine check-up. Yani could also sort this information through keywords, generic search words, and dates.

((Since TAIS was created after Smith, does she have his Chimeric information on file, or did Yani never bother?))

((Whitface, don't take this the wrong way. But as much as I appreciate your eager leap to respond to my question, I believe I did ask Anin. If I wasn't okay with waiting for an answer from her, I would consider your answer good enough.

However, I will admit that I am curious about those few first successful Chimerae. :3 ))

((I want to say about fifteen years after Yani entered the business... Around when he was 35. And he's 51 now. So sixteen years ago, rough estimate.))

Yani looked at Smith after his words, gaze thoughtful but remaining close-mouthed. He would neither agree nor disagree with what Smith said, despite his own opinions. He returned his attentions back to Crusha.

"Actually, being part human is a reason for you not to be respected. You see, human beings by nature are selfish, greedy, cancerous. Being part animal is your only redeeming quality."

Without taking his eyes off of Crusha--wondering what his reaction would be--Yani pulled out his mini-TAIS from his pocket and looked on the screen. It was small enough that Smith wouldn't be able to read the text from where he was, but the .22s displayed on screen for the brief moment before Yani angled it differently. He shook his head imperceptibly to the question in her message. There was no need for a history, not unless Smith's weapons were involved in any kind of illegal activities.

"I make you human because it's much easier to communicate with an intelligent creature. Not to mention split-animal mutations have already occurred, with a much lower success-rate than human and split-animal."

A deal with the chimera. What exactly would Crusha stand to gain from that, besides the chance to escape? Even in cages, they'd had a problem staying in the slaughterhouse.

And if Yani accepted the deal? What exactly could Crusha provide? Not much, though it was evident the chimera had learned much on his own, including intelligent speech, though his vocabulary was settling.

"It's true you've learned some. But there is much about the world you don't understand," Yani stated bluntly. The truth in Crusha's eyes resonated in Yani's voice.

--

A chimera approached Smoke, cautiously, the epitome of anxious curiosity. In all the rushing about with Hiccadu and Smith, Pup had taken a backseat in the former scientist's mind. The closer he came, the stronger the want to tousle his hair. Smoke resisted the urge.

Instead, he picked up another cigarette and opened the balcony door, stepping out into the cool night, Pup following behind. At his voice, Trent glanced at the chimera from the corner of his eye before returning to gazing out over the sidewalks and street lamps. At last he exhaled. "I don't know," he sighed.