Chapter 3 - Human tests

Following his instincts, Ryan began crawling toward the rabbit, under the watchful eyes of scientists observing him from outside the glass cubicle. However, Ryan couldn't care less about this attention, all he could think about at that moment was how to survive.

As he got close enough to the rabbit, Ryan jumped onto the animal, merging with it instinctively. Ryan felt strange as he fused with the rabbit. Interestingly, he could sense the emotions and thoughts of the animal, although they were mostly instinct-based thoughts.

Although the rabbit's thoughts were quite primitive, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It allowed Ryan to steer these thoughts in the direction he wanted, rather than control – the correct word would probably be guide. Despite understanding he was exerting influence, Ryan felt that the word "guide" made more sense to describe his relationship with the rabbit.

"Doctor Skirth, please provide me with the analysis details"

While absorbing the new sensations of his new "body" the man observing Ryan spoke. After his words, Dr. Skirth started working on a panel, and soon something appeared on the computer screen, visible to everyone.

"This is incredible! Haha, it's healed!"

Everyone was amazed at the result of the analysis. Originally, the rabbit given to Ryan was suffering from an incurable disease called myxomatosis. However, within seconds, the disease had been completely cured.

"Mr. Drake"

Dr. Skirth's words caught Drake's attention, who, with a smile on his face, looked at her. Both nodded in agreement.

"Do you see? With this symbiote, curing cancer will no longer be just a dream"

Applause began to echo in the room after Drake's words. In his mind, from that day on, everything would be different. Turning his gaze back to the rabbit, Drake continued his observation with a smile on his face.

"Doctor Skirth, were you able to collect the data?"

Hearing Drake's question, she nodded quickly, making Drake smile even more.

"So, why did it work? As far as we know, it should be something similar to an organ transplant, where the recipient needs to be compatible with the donor"

Hearing Drake's words, Skirth started typing something on the computer, and soon a new table appeared in front of him.

"As the data shows, theoretically, both these creatures and the hosts should be compatible, but..."

After a brief pause, Skirth typed on the computer again, displaying another chart.

"What is this? Why are the symbiote cells changing?"

Drake asked, fascinated, as he looked at the chart.

"It seems that instead of both, the symbiote and the host needing to be compatible, the symbiote itself alters its form to fit the host's"

Skirth explained while analyzing the chart. Hearing Dr. Skirth's words, Drake watched the rabbit even more attentively.

"So, in summary, it's unique?"

Drake asked, his gaze fixed on the small animal walking back and forth inside the glass cubicle.

"I suppose you could call it that"

The words of Dr. Skirth made Drake wonder what made that symbiote special. How could it alter its cells to match those of the host? The more Drake learned about these creatures, the more fascinated he became by them.

"Does this mean... if we can achieve perfect symbiosis... they could live here... and we could live there" 

Drake said with a smile on his face. Dr. Skirth, upon hearing these words, looked at Drake with doubt in her eyes.

"What do you mean by that?"

Still staring at the rabbit, Drake quickly and decisively answered Dr. Skirth's question.

"Human trials"

Drake's words made Skirth look at him in disbelief.

"What? It's still too early for us to start thinking about something like that" 

Skirth began, but her words were abruptly interrupted by Drake.

"Dr. Skirth, you are witnessing a scientific breakthrough. Control your emotions"

Dr. Skirth could only hear Drake's words with eyes of disbelief. At some point, Skirth had realized that Drake's ethics about what was truly important had changed.

A FEW DAYS LATER...

In a laboratory, Dr. Skirth and some other scientists were gathered in front of a glass cubicle. In front of the cubicle stood Drake, whose infectious smile and compelling words captured the attention of all the scientists present.

"I thank all of you for bringing us to this point. Our names will be remembered even after we turn to ashes... The story begins now. This will be the first day, this will be the first contact. Let's get to work"

Saying these words, Drake turned around and looked toward the cubicle, more precisely at the small cylinder with a slime moving from side to side.

Shortly after, a door inside the cubicle was opened, and a man in his twenties entered. His eyes scanned the environment as he tried to understand what exactly was happening. The man was a prisoner and was suddenly brought to that place without any explanation.

"You can open it" 

Drake said. Following his words, an employee operating the computer pressed a key, and soon after, the cylinder was opened. Slowly, the slime began to move toward the man, who could only look in terror at what was happening.

"What is this thing? Let me go, please! No, don't do this!" 

The man pleaded desperately as he tried to move away from the approaching slime. The man repeatedly cried for help, banging on the glass frantically. Meanwhile, Drake continued to watch the scene with analytical eyes.

Slowly, Drake watched as the slime approached the man, reaching his feet before gradually climbing up to his chest. Then, the slime seemed to analyze the man's face before merging with him, disappearing completely from sight. Drake calmly observed the results, his face displayed a mixture of excitement and curiosity.