Master Versyrs #1

Versyrs released his iron grip, and Kai dropped to the floor, massaging his bruised throat. The metallic taste of blood lingered in his mouth, a sharp reminder of how quickly his situation could deteriorate. 

Esteban approached, his synthetic features arranged in what might have been concern.

"I strongly advise against further... impulsive actions," Esteban said quietly. "Master Versyrs can be creative when it comes to punishment. Now, let's get you presentable for your meeting."

The Andromeda's corridors stretched before them like the inside of some vast mechanical leviathan. Polished obsidian walls curved overhead, intersected by pulsing blue lines of power conduits that thrummed with barely contained energy. Holographic displays flickered along the walls, showing ship diagnostics in constantly shifting patterns of light. The artificial gravity felt slightly too heavy, a subtle reminder that this was Venusian engineering, built to the specifications of a world with higher gravity than Earth.

Locked doors shifted and realigned as they passed, their security systems scanning and recognizing Esteban's presence. The air carried a distinct metallic tang, filtered and recycled through systems that could sustain life for decades without planetfall. Above them, maintenance drones skittered along ceiling tracks like mechanical spiders, their multiple appendages adjusting and repairing systems with precise efficiency.

They passed numerous work crews, and found his gaze drawn to the diverse array of homunculi. Some were clearly built for labor, he could tell at a glance at the broad-shouldered cogs with reinforced frames and utilitarian prosthetics, their skin a practical graphene-composite that could withstand extreme conditions. Others... Kai's jaw clenched as they passed a group of dolls, their ethereal beauty engineered to impossible perfection. Gossamer wings sprouted from some of their backs, iridescent membranes that caught and reflected light in hypnotic patterns. Others sported opalescent skin in shades of blue and green, their movements carrying an inhuman grace that was both alluring and disturbing.

This is what happens when you give scientists godlike power and no moral constraints, he thought bitterly. They create beauty just to prove they can own it.

But it was the chimeras that truly seized his attention. A hover-cage drifted past, containing what appeared to be a fusion of lion and serpent, its scales gleaming with bioluminescent patterns that pulsed in rhythm with its six-chambered heart. Another held something that defied conventional biology. A creature with crystalline limbs that branched and reformed continuously, its eyes pools of liquid mercury that seemed to drink in light rather than reflect it. A third housed what looked like a child's nightmare made flesh: a thing of tentacles and teeth that constantly shifted between different evolutionary forms. 

The sight made his stomach turn, yet he couldn't look away. Part of him, the part that remembered being Kai, that still clung to Earth's definitions of natural order, wanted to recoil in horror. It was one thing reading that homunculi and Chimera existed in the Jovan era, another entirely to see them in the flesh. But Cassian's memories provided context that made it worse: he knew these weren't just experiments. They were products, designed for wealthy patrons who wanted exotic pets or arena attractions.

Venus, he thought, the word tasting like acid in his mind. The planet had become the playground of the Ixaytl after Astra, the Sovereign's eldest daughter, had gifted them free rein. What had once been a triumph of terraforming science had devolved into a testament to genetic excess.

In his old life as Kai, he'd only heard read with disgust and morbid fascination about Venus's flesh markets. Now, with Cassian's memories, he understood their true scope. The markets of Nova Athena were infamous throughout the solar system. There, Palatine lords could purchase custom-engineered servants by the dozen, while wealthy humans sought genetic "improvements". A deluge of extended lifespans, enhanced beauty, new body parts, whatever their credits could buy. After centuries of research they'd cracked the genome. Now mythical creatures could be created and cultivated by mixing, splicing and tinkering around with DNA. Leviathans, griffiths and huge flying reptiles designated as wyverns could be grown in vats in labs at the ixaytl masters enclaves. These chimera, feats of genetic wizardry, were housed in observatory islands where millions flocked to Venus to view. The Ixaytl turned it all into spectacle, staging elaborate hunts of their more dangerous creations for public entertainment.

No wonder the Homunculi uprising is going to happen, Kai realized, pieces clicking together in his mind. How can it not, when beings with human consciousness are treated as products? The thought led him to an uncomfortable question: had the rebels been behind his own creation, this strange fusion of Kai and Cassian? The original Cassian's memories suggested connections to the uprising, but they grew hazy whenever he tried to focus on them, like trying to read text through frosted glass.

A group of clippers marched past, combat-optimized homunculi with matte-black skin that absorbed light, their movements precisely coordinated. Their eyes were solid chrome, reflecting Kai's image back at him in distorted fragments. He forced himself not to flinch, though every instinct screamed that he was surrounded by predators.

Esteban directed him to a preparation chamber. "Clean yourself up," the homunculus instructed. "Lord Versyrs expects promptness."

The chamber was a study in Venusian luxury. Surfaces of polished marble and chrome gleamed under soft amber lighting that seemed to emanate from the walls themselves. The air was perfumed with something probably pheromone-enhanced to promote relaxation, Kai thought cynically.

He stepped into the bathroom and froze. A female homunculus, a doll, stood by the sunken bath, her wings folded gracefully behind her. The translucent wrap she wore left little to the imagination, and her features were a masterwork of genetic artistry. His eyes traced her large eyes with pupils like cut gemstones, her hair that seemed to float as if underwater and her skin that produced its own subtle luminescence.

"Shall I assist you with your ablutions, sir?" she asked, her voice melodic and practiced. Each word was perfectly formed, designed to be both seductive and servile.

Kai felt the heat rise to his face, followed immediately by shame and anger at his body's reaction, at the system that created such beings for others' pleasure, at himself for momentarily forgetting what she was. And Mia's morbid fate. The worst part was knowing that her attraction to him wasn't real but engineered, programmed into her genetics as surely as her wings.

"Get out," he snapped, harsher than intended. When she hesitated, he raised his voice. "Now!"

She fled, wings trembling, and Kai's anger immediately transformed into self-disgust. She was as much a victim of this system as he was, more so, really. He'd lashed out at her for doing exactly what she'd been created to do, punishing her for existing in a way she hadn't chosen.

Once alone, he activated the shower and sank to the floor, letting the hot water drum against his skin. Reality crashed over him like a wave. He was trapped in a cloned body, at the mercy of people who viewed sentient beings as property. Somewhere, someone held his barisan device, his weakness, the key to controlling him through specific frequencies transmitted to a microchip embedded in his brain.

The water pooled around him, and he studied his reflection in its surface. This face that was his but wasn't, this body that carried memories of a life he hadn't lived. What was he now? A shade? A copy? Some hybrid consciousness born from forbidden science?

But there might be a way out, he thought, analyzing his options with cold precision. Escape was impossible while the barisan device existed, but if he could become a Palatine knight... The process was rigorous, which began with screening at age thirteen for atto molecule compatibility, followed by years of preparation for the ascension trials.

The atto molecule was the single most important technological advancement in the Jovan era. Discovered in the ruins of old earth by the Sovereign himself, it had been the key to his revolution against the android titans and the artificial intelligences of the dark era of earth. It had the ability to radically alter life forms and integrate, adapt to and utilize biomass. It was also a major component of an imperium knight's arsenal, providing an interface an a system that catalogued their abilities, weapons and skills. And when coupled up with Vyshadium metal, it was able to generate highly powerful personalized weapons. Suffice to say, it was the god particle of the palatines. However not every human was compatible with it.

Synchronicity rates measured how much one was compatible with the molecule, the higher the better. Those with higher rates were guaranteed to rise through the ranks. 50-60% synchronicity was the average, 60-70% were the talented and would rise to be prominent knights in their units. 70-90%? Rare. Very rare. These were legitimate prodigies who went on to be legendary knights in the imperium. Cassian-the original had been tested and possessed an synchronicity of 67%. But Kai was unsure whether his shade body retained the same synchronicity. He needed to be tested again, if he wanted to take the ascension trials and enter the institute.

Only those with synchronicity ratings above 50% were even considered for the trials. After passing, they'd be sent to the secluded institute where they'd be trained in harsh conditions. Finally after a harsh 18 months of hell in the institute, they'd be vetted for the apotheosis ritual to become fully fledged knights donning the powerful suits of mechanized armor that elevated them to an equal footing with the aliens they had been fighting for a century or two. The apotheosis ritual itself permanently transformed successful candidates, integrating the atto molecule into their bodies and granting them powers that bordered on supernatural.

If I could achieve that, the barisan's control would be meaningless, he reasoned. The atto molecule would override any external control systems. But first, I need to survive whatever Versyrs has planned.

Rising, he studied his reflection in the mirror – this borrowed face that was now his own. I'm not Kai anymore, he decided. That life is gone. I'm Cassian now, and I'll use whatever resources I have to survive. No matter the cost.

The cog that led him to Versyrs's laboratory was different from Esteban. He was tall, pale, and utterly silent despite Kai- now referring to himself as Cassian's attempts at conversation. Its skin had a translucent quality that revealed the artificial organs beneath.

As they walked, he counted security checkpoints and guard patrols, building a mental map of the Andromeda's defenses. The ship was a fortress, staffed primarily by clippers whose chrome eyes tracked his every movement. Locked barriers separated different sections, and he noted how the power lines grew denser near critical areas.

The laboratory's blast doors parted with a pneumatic hiss, revealing a cathedral to twisted science. The ceiling soared overhead, lost in shadows broken by floating orbs of blue vyshardium light. Ancient surgical tools shared space with cutting-edge biotech arrays, their purposes equally horrific. Specimen tanks lined the walls, their contents casting sickly green reflections across polished floors.

Some tanks held organs suspended in preservation fluid, pulsing with artificial life. Others contained partially formed homunculi, their development arrested at various stages to study their creation process. 

Versyrs stood with his back turned, studying a massive central tank. His figure cut a stark silhouette, immensely tall and unnaturally thin, draped in a greatcoat that seemed to absorb light. One mechanical hand traced patterns on the glass as he observed whatever horror floated within. The fingers were articulated like a spider's legs, each joint moving with precise, inhuman grace.

"Sit," he commanded without turning, and a chair materialized from the floor beside Cassian. When he hesitated, Versyrs's head turned slightly, light glinting off his mask. "I insist."

Remembering Esteban's warning, Cassian complied. Restraints immediately snapped around his wrists and ankles, the metal cold against his skin. His heart rate spiked as Versyrs placed a familiar oblong device on a nearby table , a barisan unit, its surface etched with circuits that would channel pain directly into his nervous system.

"Now," Versyrs said, finally turning to face him fully, the mask's eyepieces reflecting Cassian's terrified expression back at him, "shall we begin?"