by stormbreath
Submitted by Stanislav Nikolaev, д.б.н., 1991
PROBLEM
The danger posed by the amount and magnitude of Large Scale Aggressors (LSAs) to normalcy and society is growing at an unprecedented scale [1], following the prominent attack upon Hy-Brasil in 1988. While there have not as of yet been any attacks of the scale of the incident on Hy-Brasil, various agencies within Prometheus Laboratories have found the presence of similar entities of extreme size around the world, all of which could pose serious threats to world civilization.
It is necessary to create a defense against these threats.
However, all evidence suggests that LSAs are extremely difficult to kill and terminate. Only two such entities have been killed. The first of these LSAs was the Crocoteuthis gigantis, which attacked and destroyed Hy-Brasil in 1988. This entity was only liquidated with the usage of a classified nuclear device used by the Global Occult Coalition, which several international nuclear regulations prohibit the usage of. This weapon cannot be reused by Prometheus for various legal reasons.
As many of the potential weapons which could terminate an LSA are subject to similar regulations and legal prohibitions, Prometheus must find a weapon which is not subject to such rules. The easiest way to do this is to create a new class of eigenweapon [2] which will be free from all international regulation.
SOLUTION
One potential new eigenweapon class which will be able to terminate an LSA is known. In this, the relevance of the second deceased LSA becomes clear. In 1990, the Cetacea beringei killed the Eubrachyura karkinos. [3] A second method of killing a large-scale aggressor becomes apparent from this incident: another large-scale aggressor, controlled by Prometheus.
This, however, presents a secondary problem. The ability of Prometheus Labs to create such an entity is extremely limited, to the point of being impractical. All attempts at growing new specimens of C. gigantis have been met with sudden, unforeseen difficulties and the death of all such entities prior to full maturation. Attempts to create a new LSA from scratch have similarly been unsuccessful.
An alternative solution would be to take control of an existing LSA. All methods at doing such require some measure of docility from the LSA, which is completely lacking in all known LSAs. Physical methods require subduing the LSA, which is as impossible as killing it. The mental function of all known LSAs are so drastically different from humanity that psionic control of any is impossible.
There does exist, however, one LSA that will be docile enough for Prometheus to modify and take control of it: the corpse of the C. gigantis itself. With appropriate cybernetic and thaumaturgic modifications to repair the damage caused to it by the Global Occult Coalition and to replace its neural framework with an easily controlled artificially intelligent conscript, the corpse of the C. gigantis will be ready for defense purposes.
BUSINESS CASE
The modified C. gigantis can be used as licensed security for a variety of established investment groups or for in-house security at Prometheus Labs. While the corpse will be specifically modified for combat against other LSAs, all such modifications will render it effective at fighting almost any other threat, with little chance of defeat.
As the entity will necessarily be under the control of Prometheus Labs and will be necromantically powered, maintenance will only be necessary upon the cybernetic enhancements. These enhancements will be placed within the body of the entity and protected by the flesh and bone of the C. gigantis, ensuring they shall be protected from environmental factors. As such, little cost will be necessary for the upkeep of the augmented entity.
Should the augmentation prove successful, additional copies may be created via the usage of Nälkä to hatch the eggs once contained within the entity, which will need to be purchased from Marshall, Carter and Dark. Research has indicated that the growth period of C. gigantis is long, but this may be accelerated through various means accessible to Prometheus Labs. [4] Ideally, all such copies will be weaker than the original, preventing the obsolescence of the original.
USE OF FUNDING
The primary use of the funding requested will be used to purchase the corpse of the C. gigantis from Marshall, Carter and Dark, LTD. While MC&D initially demanded 100,000,000 USD for the corpse, it has been unsold in the intervening ten years between that initial listing and now. Storage costs are prohibitive, indicating the price may be negotiable.
The augmentation of the corpse will be both cybernetic and thaumaturgic. Both of these will be performed in-house by Prometheus Labs, but will require additional outsourcing in order to meet demand in a reasonable time frame.
Cybernetic modification of the corpse will be done with the assistance of Anderson Robotics, who will be contracted to perform several of the necessary modifications in tandem with Prometheus Labs. The cost of this has already been established and planned with Anderson Robotics, and will be performed for a total cost of 10,000,000 USD.
The second form of modification which will be performed on the corpse is thaumaturgic. The modified C. gigantis will need to be able to be able to terminate other LSAs, and so small modifications will need to be added in order to ensure its efficiency in combat. These modifications will serve to strengthen the scales of the entity, increase intensity of its generated fire, and enlarge the entity. To perform this, Nälkä fleshcrafters will be contracted to perform the necessary rituals. This will cost 500,000 USD.
Funds for the employment of Prometheus employees, from such divisions as Prometheus Bioengeneering1, Orpheus Biomedical2, and Vulcan Engineering3, will also be necessary, as determined by the desired time frame for the project's completion and the previous pay of such employees.
KNOWN ISSUES
The actual process of restoring life to a long deceased entity is not simple. While the C. gigantis is a well-preserved specimen, it has been deceased for just over ten years. As such, it may prove stubborn to initial revivification techniques. Alternative necromancers may need to be contracted, or multiple may need to be used at once.
The interface between the control system and the neural network may not be configured properly, preventing full control. As a failsafe to control this problem, an emergency kill switch will be implanted into the brain of the entity, containing a large amount of cyanide. Should the C. gigantis not prove tractable, this cyanide will be released directly into the bloodstream, quickly terminating it.
The final issue with the project will be metaphysical. It is possible — although not suspected to be likely — that the revival of the C. gigantis will result in a global EVE cascade event that will awaken and/or rejuvenate various other Large Scale Aggressors. This is only weakly supported by current models, as the sympathetic bonds between C. gigantis and other organisms are not believed to be strong enough to have any physical ramifications.
