Prologue

"Hassan..." A male voice spoke faintly in a dark room. There were large glass windows, through which the obnoxious brightness of neon and flashing car lights was filtered. The night life of the city abounded in the brilliance of it all, the thunderstorm was of no consequence.

Recognizing the man's voice, the holographic computer came to life and, with it, the entire room brightened. The bright blue streaks revealed a man's frame, standing near a flat tabletop. There was something in his hand- a large capsule.

"Good night, Master. Do you wish to resume your most recent project, or start an entirely new process?"

"Resume, please."

"Very well. Resuming 'Unnamed 1.'

Above the tabletop, various screen and charts depicting varying images popped up. The man stepped closer to the table, revealing more of himself. His unkempt hair was tinted blue by the light of the screens, falling just over his eyebrows. His eyes reflected that light, but in them was a distinct trace of desperation.

"Hassan, adjust the tertiary nutrient levels by the following parameters: Proteins plus 200%, Water plus 400%, Glutamine plus 1000%, Potassium plus 200%, Sodium minus 100%, B12 plus 900%, Iron plus 700%, and activate the system's self-preservation protocol. Set to maximum efficiency."

"Right away, Master."

"Once those adjustments are made, begin production."

"Master, a trial of the drugs stability following these adjustments is recommended before proceeding. Do you wish to skip this?"

"Yes, Hassan. Begin production right away."

The screens and charts shifted around on their own. With each revolution, certain numbers on the display would change, and the charts would transform to indicate the adjustments being made. Once this was complete, a flashing warning screen appeared.

"Master, the program is informing me of a security protocol put in place by its manufacturer. The changes you have made are not typically permitted. You must provide some form of higher-level access code to continue."

The man sighed, and his eyes darted to the object in his hand. He brought it up and placed it on the table, revealing that it was an entirely metal object, shaped like a large pill. On the bottom there was a rectangular array of buttons along with a keypad.

He typed a series of numbers into the keypad, and one of the buttons glowed a neon green, indicating that the code was accepted. After he pushed that green button, the metal of the capsule receded, exposing the glass container and what it protected within.

This was a child, an embryo to be exact, still in a relatively early stage of development. There were built-in lights on the bottom, allowing him to get a perfect look at the embryo.

He looked at the child for a few moments, his eyes losing their desperation until he remembered himself. He found letters engraved on the bottom of the capsule.

"Enter code: Isiphelo. 'I,' 's,' 'i,' 'p,' 'h,' 'e,' 'l,' ''o.' See if that works."

A black screen appeared, with nothing on it but a text box. Hassan, the intelligence operating the system, entered the letters the man had given it. Each individual letter was represented by an '*' in the text box.

"The code was accepted. Beginning production."

The man walked off to the side, in a darker corner of the room, and rolled a chair over. He sat on it, half-focused on the screens and also the child within the capsule. In less than a minute, the production was complete, indicated by a bright yellow screen.

A compartment of that very tabletop opened, and a tiny pedestal rose from it. Atop that little pedestal was a single pill, shaped like a cube, and multicolored.

With one hand, the man grabbed the pill. With the other, he typed in another series of numbers into the keypad and pushed another button. With a pop, a circular cover opened up and a slight suction began. He hesitated for a while.

His eyes fell on the child again. He appeared to be weighing his options, and for a moment it seemed as though he was going to abandon his current course.

Alas, he could not. He remembered why he had been doing this in the first place, and used that to steel his resolve. He held the pill before that open tube and it was sucked in. The cover shut on its own, and then a new process began within the capsule.

"Hassan, locate all documents regarding the 'Neonatal Project' and destroy them. I don't want them to ever be recovered."

"Understood, Master."

One by one, screens began to close. While that was going on, the man leaned back in the chair, his eyes never leaving the capsule and the child within. The lights flashed a different color, indicating that the process had reached a climax.

The pill had apparently been processed, and was now being released into the water as some kind of thin, web-like thread. As it moved in the water, the thread continued to spread until it had separated into six identical 'limbs'.

Those limbs moved to the water, each of them arrived at a predetermined area. Two for the eyes, two more for the ears, and the final two for the nostrils. They entered the child's body, and tiny amounts of blood were released, turning to a faint mist before long.

All of the drug was pumped into the child, then everything returned to normal. The man sighed, then refocused on the screen. Only two windows were left open, one with a number of images, and the other with a bunch of text arranged into a list.

"Deletion completed."

"Good. Now there's only one thing left to do."

Giving the child one last look, the man pushed the button to close the metal covering. The child was hidden from view once more.

"Hassan."

"Yes, Master."

"Search 'Blacklisted Contacts' for Seph. When you find him, give him a message for me."

"What message shall I send?"

Finally, the desperation in the man's eyes was gone. Replacing it now was a plethora of indiscriminate emotions, some of which caused tears to well up in his eyes. In the end, he pounded the tabletop with his fist and muttered something under his breath.

"Tell him this: It is finished. When the time is right, you may make the matter known to the right people. Once you have done this, eliminate all trace of your involvement, and deactivate for a time period no shorter than a year. Whatever happens, happens."

"Understood. Will that be all?"

"Send the message, then erase everything. All files, all memory- everything. Go back to default."

"Are you sure, Master?"

"Yes, Hassan. The truth of this matter must be concealed. No one can know, and all who know will meet the same fate. This 'New World' bears the very taint it sought to snuff out with its revolutionary changes. Real change cannot come unless those with the means take action."

"Is that our mission, Master? Real change?"

"It never was. Our mission was the precursor, Hassan- the force that will set things in motion. To that end, we have done all that we can. We have accomplished our mission."

"We have achieved Isiphelo."

"A word from an ancient language, Master?"

"It means 'the end,' Hassan. It is the realization of our will to revolt. It will cause true change by bringing about an end to the madness of this world. The Eyeless Dictator shall meet 'the end.' The War Council shall meet 'the end' and, very soon, this New World shall meet 'the end.' Only then will the world be cleansed of that taint."

"That is a dream worth dying for."

There was a final flash of light, and a loud bang. With a thud, the man's body fell to the floor, creating a pool of blood where it lay.

The computer did as it was previously instructed and returned to its default. All memory of its master was gone. Nothing remained, but the coldness of steel and a precious capsule.