(Blog for a TF2verse Engineer. Art by endrae.)
“A’course y’do.”
There’s a nice bit of sourness to his expression. He’s already regretting helping with this project- the Medic’s already far too invested in those things. He’s got half a mind to sabotage those tanks, but he knows he couldn’t really get away with it. Best to wait and see. Maybe Marius’d settle down about the whole thing once the shiny newness of the project wore off.“Tell y’what, ah’ll set t’ work then. Might take me a bit t’ get it jes’ right but ah’ll let y’know when the prototype’s ready fer testin’. Glad y’approve of the idea.”
That soothes the bitterness a bit. That was how he liked it best. Just himself, Marius, and Science. The perfect three-way relationship. There was no room in his mind for intrusions on that triad- the little Commie brat was pushing it as it was.
He’d keep a watchful eye on how things developed. And if need be, come up with a blameless way to take out his frustrations. This new tweak to the Theatre might come in handy for his purposes…Marius smiles and gives the fellow a grateful look.
“Thank you, Chase. If you need any help with it, let me know. I’ll have to go about the business of procuring a few subjects. It’s always rather tedious and quite a selection will have to be gone through. Ah, well.”
He waves a hand dismissively. His ‘subjects’ would be culled, if he could manage it, chiefly from the streets or institutions that did not very much care where their young wards eventually ended up. The Russian child had been appropriated with incredible ease. Perhaps he would harvest from that field again, but others, too, would be needed. As diverse a crowd as possible. And, who knew? More than a few of them would doubtlessly become valuable in some way to the Company. Even if most of them ended up jibbering messes, a good number would become excellent field operatives if properly groomed.
But these two he wanted pristine. He had built them up from nothing and he would see them to perfection.
“You got it, Doc.”
Giving a nod, the Engineer sets right to work on his preliminary research- what colors and patterns drew and held the most attention, audio that would lull the mind while being easy to implant subliminals- he was starting this program from scratch and he wanted it to be perfect.
After all, there really wasn’t any shame in wanting perfection in one’s projects, especially when they could be put to your own personal uses later. Perfection was just another form of power, and oh, how the Engineer loved power.
Wouldn’ think ya would. Don’t come out this way much, y’see. *gives his hard hat a tilt, his goggles covering his eyes*“Ehe…that would explain it,” Russell admitted. Well, at least he didn’t seem rude then, “Um…” he didn’t know what to actually say. It seemed a bit odd, talking to someone while unable to make some kind of eye contact.
“What brings you around here, Sir?”
“Well ain’t you jes’ the most polite lil’ bunny? Heh, wish all’a y’all had th’ same manners.”
He gives an easy chuckle.
“Jes’ moseyin’ about. Gettin’ some fresh air outside’a the workshop. Ain’t no crime, now, is it?”
That’s some damn pretty art.
“Now, Doc, yer puttin’ me at war with m’self here.”
He chuckles a bit in spite of himself. On one hand, more kids- not something that sat well with him, but that bitter medicine came with a nice spoonful of sugar- the prospect of a nice scattering of sleeper agents at their command should they ever be needed.
He never desired to work with another Medic either. Marius’ near perverse level of curiosity over morals gelled very well with his own. They had no regard for anyone outside of each other- or at least that’s what Chase believed. The Medic had even shared a wonderful secret invention with him- a side effect from a previous experiment, he’d said, isolated and refined. A serum that granted extremely slowed aging.
The Engineer was certain they’d be together forever, or at least somewhere close to it. And that was fine with him- if he felt anything close to romantic love for any living thing, it was Marius Lang.
“Anyhow. Now I think, th’ standard video feed might not be effective fer kids- after all,some’a the film blips involve things kids don’t know nothin’ about an’ if’n they don’t understand what they’re seein’ at least on a subconscious level it might diminish the effects. Ahm’ thinkin’, if we’re dealin’ with kids, simple might work more- flashes of color, patterns, swirling shapes, that sort’a thing. What do you think?”
He woudn’t accept anyone else’s feedback either.Marius nods, continuing his observation of the two growing subjects.
“I think you may have a good idea, there. It may, also, have a less deleterious effect upon the subject; less traumatizing and more subtle.”
He smiles to his friend. Chase never fails to come up with some new and clever way of approaching an issue. This idea sounds like a good way of conditioning the children without some of the more annoying side-effects their previous subjects have displayed. If the work is good, no one will ever know it’s been done in the first place.
“I imagine we could acquire some feasible subjects upon whom to try this before we use it on our little Joe and Yvonne, here. I would not want them exposed to untested methods. I want them perfect.”
“A’course y’do.”
There’s a nice bit of sourness to his expression. He’s already regretting helping with this project- the Medic’s already far too invested in those things. He’s got half a mind to sabotage those tanks, but he knows he couldn’t really get away with it. Best to wait and see. Maybe Marius’d settle down about the whole thing once the shiny newness of the project wore off.
“Tell y’what, ah’ll set t’ work then. Might take me a bit t’ get it jes’ right but ah’ll let y’know when the prototype’s ready fer testin’. Glad y’approve of the idea.”
That soothes the bitterness a bit. That was how he liked it best. Just himself, Marius, and Science. The perfect three-way relationship. There was no room in his mind for intrusions on that triad- the little Commie brat was pushing it as it was.
He’d keep a watchful eye on how things developed. And if need be, come up with a blameless way to take out his frustrations. This new tweak to the Theatre might come in handy for his purposes…
The Engineer’s maroon eyes light up a bit at the prospect of putting his favorite toy to use in the future. It’d never been used on a child before. The results could be interesting.
The rest of it, on the other hand, gets a mildly interested but mostly grumbly ‘mmm’ from him. He doesn’t like kids much. On paper, good sweet obedient malleable little angels, but usually in practice, noisy chaotic little brats who liked to push buttons and get fingerprints on sensitive machine parts.“Ah hope all this counts fer somethin’, that you’ll enjoy it. One dang kid hangin’ around here’s one too many, if’n y’ask me. Dang Commie brat ate m’dang lunch. Hope he turns out good fer somethin’ other’n a vaccum cleaner.”
The growth acceleration on the boy may have been working well, but with increased growth, it seemed, came increased appetite. Sure, Chase could easily make himself another sandwich and thermos of coffee, but it was the principle. He didn’t like other people touching his things.
“Chase,” the Medic says with a little smile, “have patience with Grigori - he’s only a child, and his treatment makes tremendous demands upon his body which result in an increased appetite. I will be sure to speak to him about it so that it does not happen again.”
He gives Chase’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
The Medic notes the intrigue in Chase’s eyes at the possibility of utilizing the Theater. Considering how long ago it had been made, their creation had held up surprisingly well. It had been their first collaboration, and ever since the Theater’s completion, he had never had any desire to work with another Engineer. Chase was the perfect blend of brilliance, curiosity and lack of conscience. ‘Should’ never out-weighed ‘could’.
“We’ll create others, as well, and condition them appropriately. They’ll never know. These are merely some of our first.”
“Now, Doc, yer puttin’ me at war with m’self here.”
He chuckles a bit in spite of himself. On one hand, more kids- not something that sat well with him, but that bitter medicine came with a nice spoonful of sugar- the prospect of a nice scattering of sleeper agents at their command should they ever be needed.
He never desired to work with another Medic either. Marius’ near perverse level of curiosity over morals gelled very well with his own. They had no regard for anyone outside of each other- or at least that’s what Chase believed. The Medic had even shared a wonderful secret invention with him- a side effect from a previous experiment, he’d said, isolated and refined. A serum that granted extremely slowed aging.
The Engineer was certain they’d be together forever, or at least somewhere close to it. And that was fine with him- if he felt anything close to romantic love for any living thing, it was Marius Lang.
“Anyhow. Now I think, th’ standard video feed might not be effective fer kids- after all,some’a the film blips involve things kids don’t know nothin’ about an’ if’n they don’t understand what they’re seein’ at least on a subconscious level it might diminish the effects. Ahm’ thinkin’, if we’re dealin’ with kids, simple might work more- flashes of color, patterns, swirling shapes, that sort’a thing. What do you think?”
He woudn’t accept anyone else’s feedback either.
“They’ll be wonderful.”
Marius stands before a pair of life support chambers; artificial wombs holding within them a number of organs either created in the lab or harvested from others of questionable willingness to support the little subjects growing within. He touches the side of one chamber before turning to his co-worker with a smile.
“Danke for helping me wizh zhem, Chase. Little Yvonne und Joe.”
He chuckles dryly.
“Hiram named zhem.”
“A’course, Doc.”
Chase stands beside his partner, arms folded. He doesn’t have the glee that the German does. Frankly, he’s questionable about this whole thing.Life, after all, was something out of his area. Destroying life was great fun, as was controling it to your whims. Creating it? He’d stick to his machines. The Engineer did so love control, for things to go his way. With actual live people, that was never certain without lengths gone to make it so, and even then, the human will could be enduring.
Pesky thing, the human will.Still, he was willing to indulge Marius’ project and built the apparatus for him, and like most everything Chase made, the machine was working perfectly.
“He gonna be keepin’ both of ‘em, then?”Marius shook his head.
“No, just zhe girl. We’re doing some experimenting - contrasting and comparing how different elements in zheir creation and upbringing change how zhey mature. Yvonne will be raised by Hiram as if he were her father.”
The Medic pauses and a wry smile breaks out across his features.
“In a way, I suppose he is, but zhat’s neither here nor zhere. In any case, we’ll be keeping zhem both for a short while to ensure zhat they’re developing safely, zhen I’ll release the girl to her designated caregiver. I’ll be using zhe Theater to ensure she’ll behave and remember appropriately. Otherwise, once released, she’ll mature normally. Joe, on zhe ozher hand, vill continue to mature at an accelerated pace until he’s as I want him to be.”
He waves his hand.
“I learned things about that process from what I’m helping the Russian child with. He’s been taking well to his treatments.”
The Engineer’s maroon eyes light up a bit at the prospect of putting his favorite toy to use in the future. It’d never been used on a child before. The results could be interesting.
The rest of it, on the other hand, gets a mildly interested but mostly grumbly ‘mmm’ from him. He doesn’t like kids much. On paper, good sweet obedient malleable little angels, but usually in practice, noisy chaotic little brats who liked to push buttons and get fingerprints on sensitive machine parts.
“Ah hope all this counts fer somethin’, that you’ll enjoy it. One dang kid hangin’ around here’s one too many, if’n y’ask me. Dang Commie brat ate m’dang lunch. Hope he turns out good fer somethin’ other’n a vaccum cleaner.”
The growth acceleration on the boy may have been working well, but with increased growth, it seemed, came increased appetite. Sure, Chase could easily make himself another sandwich and thermos of coffee, but it was the principle. He didn’t like other people touching his things.
“They’ll be wonderful.”
Marius stands before a pair of life support chambers; artificial wombs holding within them a number of organs either created in the lab or harvested from others of questionable willingness to support the little subjects growing within. He touches the side of one chamber before turning to his co-worker with a smile.
“Danke for helping me wizh zhem, Chase. Little Yvonne und Joe.”
He chuckles dryly.
“Hiram named zhem.”
“A’course, Doc.”
Chase stands beside his partner, arms folded. He doesn’t have the glee that the German does. Frankly, he’s questionable about this whole thing.
Life, after all, was something out of his area. Destroying life was great fun, as was controling it to your whims. Creating it? He’d stick to his machines. The Engineer did so love control, for things to go his way. With actual live people, that was never certain without lengths gone to make it so, and even then, the human will could be enduring.
Pesky thing, the human will.
Still, he was willing to indulge Marius’ project and built the apparatus for him, and like most everything Chase made, the machine was working perfectly.
“He gonna be keepin’ both of ‘em, then?”
Bet you think you’ve done run off scot free.
Bet you think yer safe, mah lil’ rabbit.
You think whatever ya like.
While ya can.
Ah’m watchin’. Don’ think ah ain’t watchin’. An’ ah’d be right careful on who ah asked fer help. Cuz when th’ time comes, don’ you reckon y’might do anythin’ t’ get back t’ me?
Oh, you’ll come when ah call. An’ if ya don’t, don’t think ah won’t round y’ up mahself an’ do a lil’ more work on ya ‘till ya do.
Jes’ a matter of time.
“regardless of everything, i came to know you as a relic”
24x36” acrylic on cradled gessoboard
2009
