Day 15 - Equilibrium

"Luckily, the effect of the meteorites wasn't widespread. The radius was small. Once the meteorites were found, the effects could be contained easily."

To accompany her words, Caelus showed pictures of certain people that looked abnormal. She even went further to play videos of animals displaying superhuman abilities.

It gave Cain a feeling of deja-vu.

Oh yeah, he remembered.

He remembered applauding the quality of the video back then, thinking it was made up by someone who wanted the fame that came with it.

Oh, how ludicrous. It turned out to be real!

"The various nations of Terra seized the meteorites and experimented with them. To prevent public hysteria, they curbed any news concerning them. Whether it was the animals or the humans, themselves, they were all restrained once found. In Rerat, there were more than twenty meteor sites. However, a rough number of meteorites were hypothesized to still be unfound."

Theo raised his brows, "The Government hid this?"

"It should be expected that they would do this. It's the government we are talking about. That is always their perfect excuse," commented William.

Caelus continued, "Rerat distributed the meteorites for testing. They hired various research groups for that single purpose. This made them confirm the existence of a crystal inside every single meteorite. The crystal would later be called Omega Crystals."

"The Omega Crystals had an unknown origin. They radiated a pure form of energy called Omega energy. It was this energy responsible for any spontaneous mutations in the physiology of its carrier. This kind of energy was groundbreaking. If used well, it could cure impossible diseases like HIV, cancer, asthma. Rerat and all the other nations came to one single conclusion. It was a treasure!"

"Nonetheless, for the three years that followed afterward, it was hard to control this form of energy. The only thing they could do was observe the effects it made on the human and animal body."

Various pictures of dragon-like creatures appeared on the screen. At first, Cain taught one of them was a komodo dragon, but when it actually spewed fire, he had to second guess!

"Two years ago, the air quality of Terra increased overall, other signs began to be clear. It was unknown what led to this change but it was speculated that Terra also mutated after long exposure to omega energy. The air quality showed attributes that could only be found in omega energy. It was then a rumor started spreading through those that were aware of the truth. It was said that when Terra reaches a phase of mutation, it would breathe out omega energy and this would cause an apocalypse."

Theo revealed a quizzical smile after Caelus was done, "I don't get it. Is this omega energy the direct cause of the abominations?"

"No, it is more of an indirect cause. Omega energy is the only known energy that promotes the evolution of any living organism. Once you breathe in this energy, it brings out the best in you, forcing you to enter a better state. However, just like any kind of energy, there are different forms of omega energy."

"The type of omega energy exuded by omega crystals is the purest known to mankind. However, the one Terra breathes is different, it is not impure but it also doesn't bring the advantages the first form of omega energy does. Let me break it down for you."

On her screen, Caelus displayed two pictures of the same person. They appeared the same on first look but when studied scrutinously, one would find little special features in the second one. Features like the bright glow of the man's skin, or his set of healthier teeth.

"On first contact with omega energy, it balances the body on an average scale. Your eyesight becomes as good as the average man. Your speed becomes as good as the average man, yet again. Your little weaknesses like a weak left foot or soft bones are cured to an average state. That is what you see in the first picture."

Caelus dropped another picture of the same man and put it to the left of the first picture, showing the group which one to compare it with. Cain could see the difference between the homeless-looking man in the new picture and the stable-looking man in the first picture.

"This stage is called equilibrium. All of you have gone through days ago. Now, normally the success rate of the stage for every human is a hundred percent(100%). However, Terra's omega energy does not have this trait, its success rate is lower than seventy percent(70%). It could even be said to be thirty percent(30%)."

William couldn't help but ask, "....and this caused the abominations?"

"Not exactly, the abominations are defects. Individuals who failed the equilibrium stage but still tried to cross the stage after that, the First Wave Stage, otherwise called the F-rank. "

"The First Wave is a stage of blooming. The omega energy draws out all the latent potential in you. You become faster and stronger. Your physical abilities are pushed to Olympic status. However, those that fail the last stage would have a problem here. They would be unstable and any little emotional trigger might push them beyond control. Granted, this instability would allow them the ability to burst inhuman feats."

"The abominations are exactly these defects?" asked Theo.

He already knew the answers but he just wanted confirmation. Perhaps, it would feel better hearing it from someone else.

Macie brightened as she absorbed this information, "If what she says is true, then the abominations are products of the apocalypse. They didn't exist before that. Cain's guess about an emotional trigger was right. It suddenly makes sense. However, there is still one little issue….."

As if reading her mind, Theo guided her, "None of the abominations we have seen developed any special ability apart from their humongous size and brutish physical attributes. Frankly speaking, I don't wish for them to develop."

"The abominations have lost their regulator. We kept it and embarked on a gradual process but I suppose they will soon start jumping over the process," guessed Macie.

Caelus confirmed, "You are right, Miss Macie. These beings you call abominations will not adapt to the norms. Take a look at this. It was gotten yesterday night from a street camera."

She showed a dark video that Cain speculated to be taken from a building in Little Grove. It was the building where Cain liked buying his grocery!

At first, he wondered what he was meant to watch when he saw a liquid pool extending to the entrance of the building. The animate organism spat out acid goo that melted the door. Before the group could see any other thing, the camera was covered in flames, and the connection got cut.