"Of course, failure was a possibility." Amir felt a lingering wave of fear.
During the excision of major organs—especially the heart—32's life force had dissipated rapidly. Fortunately, Amir had maintained his focus on Force perception, gathering and sustaining this slipping vitality. Had he not, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
He had to admit, 32's life force was truly tenacious. After the organ replacement was complete, he always managed to claw his way back to life on his own.
Yet, Amir was on edge throughout the entire process, terrified that 32 might suddenly lose the will to live, causing his life force to cease its recovery and dispersal. After all, Amir could only delay the inevitable dissipation; he couldn't cure the underlying damage.
"Without your skills, no amount of luck would have mattered," Amir said, genuinely impressed by Kahalman.
"Haha, as long as it's a success! Next up is the main event. The torso and limbs are the true stage to showcase the charm of mechanics!" Kahalman seemed to have fully recovered his energy and stood up enthusiastically.
"Of course." Amir stood up as well.
"For the next phase, we don't need to use finished products. Come, look at my design blueprints!"
The two huddled together again, smiling for some unknown reason, looking as if they were conducting some sort of cult ritual.
. . .
"It's your turn, Amir!" Kahalman shouted from inside.
"Aren't you going to rest for a bit?" Amir was sure Kahalman had to be tired, too.
"Rest? I'm waiting until he wakes up!" Kahalman shouted from within the room.
Fine, just as I'd expect from you.
Amir stood up and walked back into the medical room.
"I've read the data Hak sent me." Kahalman handed Amir a datapad. It undoubtedly contained his information. "According to this data, the fact that you survived and remain completely intact—or at least look intact—is even more bizarre than 32's case."
Amir glanced at Kahalman's demeanor. He seemed very calm, so Amir breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't look at me like that, Amir. Your problems are mainly genetic, not my area of expertise. And you won't let me modify you," Kahalman said resentfully.
"Okay, okay... What about my tracking problem?"
"That is a bit strange. You should know that, like 32, you both underwent gene fragment insertion. But your body wasn't ravaged like his. You have almost no visible traits, which is extremely odd. However, in your basic check-up, one trait did show up."
Amir was reading his own "file" as well, but it contained information from before his birth. It looked no different from 32's—very ordinary. Unable to spot anything specific, he just continued to listen to Kahalman's explanation.
"This trait, just like 32's, comes from a creature called a Purrgil. They live in space and are mostly bluish-purple. They possess four giant tentacles, a pair of side fins, and a dorsal fin. They are fantastical, legendary creatures capable of traveling through hyperspace. In fact, the invention of the hyperdrive was inspired by them."
"And the tracking issue that's been troubling you likely stems from one of the Purrgil's abilities. When they travel through space, they periodically emit a specific electromagnetic wave to call out to their companions. This wave is hard to detect as it's very close to your natural bio-waves. But with special equipment, it can be easily picked up and accurately triangulated."
"You're saying I have gene fragments from this creature? That sounds bizarre." Amir still found it hard to believe. It would be easier to believe Gideon or John Morley was Force-sensitive and had simply found him using the Force.
"It might be this creature, or another with a similar ability. I found it hard to believe when I first saw the report, too. However, my equipment indeed detected a similar signal. Usually, I'd dismiss it as meaningless cosmic noise, but..." Kahalman pointed to the datapad in Amir's hand.
"You could try to sense this ability, to receive signals from space, hehe. Maybe you can find the location of a 'fellow' Purrgil and see the legendary creature everyone dreams of!"
"Actually, you don't need to go that far. You can just sense 32's. He's right in front of you. You both have this ability!"
Both have this ability? Amir thought of 32 dragging his near-collapsed body across leagues of space to this hidden station to find him. He had originally thought it was some novel use of the Force. Now, it seemed it might be related to this.
"Alright." Amir accepted the explanation. But he didn't know how to try and receive this signal, or if he even possessed the function to do so. So he asked directly, "Then how do I solve it?"
"No idea," Kahalman said.
"Really, nothing? Can't I actively suppress it or something?" Amir pressed.
"Oh, you'll have to ask a Purrgil. These creatures are hard enough to find, let alone study. In the last few hundred years of public medical and biological data, there's only one recorded case. And the one who caught it was an idiot who knew nothing about research," Kahalman said indignantly.
Forget asking a Purrgil. Even if he found one, he couldn't communicate with it.
Since Kahalman had no solution, it was unlikely he'd find hope elsewhere.
Amir was getting a headache. He couldn't carry a signal jammer for the rest of his life. Wearing that thing for long periods was harmful to the body.
"Of course, you could simply destroy all the equipment that has your characteristic wave recorded. That would solve the problem, too," Kahalman joked.
"What a great idea," Amir replied sarcastically.
"At least it's simpler than finding a Purrgil and having it teach you hand-in-fin!"
Amir thought about it. The doctor had a point.
If this was really the case, Amir could only wait for news from Ahsoka and the others. Now that the data was decrypted, they could definitely locate the main base of this experiment. They would launch an attack and rescue all the children inside.
This operation would be covert. Amir's homemade hacking system would completely delete the access records. No one would know their information had been stolen by a captured test subject.
The Resistance would begin reconnaissance and formulate a comprehensive strategy. He just needed to go and help when the time came.
During these busy two days, Amir had felt his connection to the Force grow much stronger again. At least now he felt confident enough to participate in a battle.
"Come here. I'll give you a more detailed test."
The two returned to the medical room where 32 had been operated on and repeated the procedure.
After finishing, Kahalman stared at the results and fell silent.
Amir's heart tightened. Does my body really have a problem? Do I only have a few years left to live?
Kahalman looked up, somewhat puzzled. "Did you know? 32's genetic similarity to you is extremely high."
Amir's eyes widened. What?! Genetic similarity? He suddenly recalled what Tulio had revealed. They had only selected one hundred Force-sensitive gene samples. He was secretly cultivated by Boris, the 101st. Where did that extra gene come from?
"Are you saying... I'm 32's clone?" Amir asked.
"Or, 32 is your clone. Okay, that's not important. I'm saying... yes!" Kahalman was also a bit incoherent.
Although Amir didn't care about his so-called origins, this situation was still hard for him to digest instantly. Did I just suddenly gain a brother?
At this, Amir uncontrollably recalled the emotions he first sensed from 32 on the cruiser. The pain and despair—wasn't that a cry for help directed at him? The moment 32 walked out of the hangar, when he stood on the space slug's head... he was looking right at him.
Perhaps he had already sensed something.
Then Amir thought about 32's appearance. Other than having no hair and ulcerated skin, looking at his bone structure alone, he was quite handsome.
Just like himself. Mm.
. . .
"He... he's awake!" Milisen and BD-4 ran over.
Hearing the news, the two rushed out.
32 sat up in the medical tank. The bacta fluid inside had promoted the self-repair of his remaining biological tissues, allowing them to integrate more seamlessly with the machinery.
32 looked around in confusion, then shifted his gaze to his mechanical arm. The hollow design made the silver-white alloy "muscles" clearly visible beneath the black exoskeleton. A slight movement of his arm revealed the complex internal structures at work.
Nano-level neural interfacing allowed him to perceive the machinery as his own body.
32 raised his palm and touched his face. By now, most of his face—or rather, his entire head—was no longer original. The exterior had been replaced with an alloy skull and synthetic skin. One of his eyeballs, having been nearly necrotic, was replaced with a cybernetic eye. The other was intact and had been preserved. Aside from that, there was his shiny, bald head.
It didn't seem like 32 cared about these cosmetic details. He slowly closed his eyes, tilting his head back slightly as if sensing something.
To Amir's eyes, the Force within 32's body was no longer dark and decaying; instead, it radiated a harmonious vitality.
Only then did Amir remember that from 32's birth until now, he had been constantly plagued by physical and mental agony. He likely had no concept of what a normal person felt like. Now that his broken body had been replaced by machinery, the pain that had always accompanied him was drastically reduced. This sensation was unprecedented for him. He was earnestly savoring this hard-won relief.
After a long moment, under the gaze of Amir, Kahalman, Milisen, BD-4, and Euphemia, 32 slowly opened his eyes. He parted his lips slowly, seeming to want to say something. Residual bacta fluid flowed from his mouth.
"Go on, lad! I installed my proudest creation—electronic vocal cords—in you!" Kahalman looked like a father watching his child say 'Dada' for the first time.
32 looked at Amir. As if he had finally found the method to speak, he rasped, "Thank you."
Amir shook his head, indicating it was nothing. He and Kahalman stepped forward to help him out of the tank.
"Hey! You can talk! I thought you were a mute," Milisen said in shock.
"Milisen..." Amir felt it was time for Milisen to mind her manners.
32 looked a little embarrassed hearing Milisen's words.
"My name is Milisen! You heard me! Also, Amir and I saved you!"
"Thank you..." 32 replied, a bit stiffly.
"You're welcome!" Milisen was very happy.
"Alright, alright. Come down and try your new body," Kahalman said eagerly.
After those two "thank yous," 32 didn't speak again. It seemed talking was a very unfamiliar concept to him. Or perhaps he only knew a few phrases. After all, the data showed 32 had spent most of his time in a medical tank, unable to study or live with the other children.
So, the room was filled with the chatter of a happy Milisen. She found it fascinating that this person, who was half-dead yesterday, had not only revived but had also completely transformed.
32 could understand her, but he just nodded frequently in response.
Before long, Milisen got tired, sat down in a chair, and fell asleep, a smile still on her lips.
"How did you find me?" Amir asked him as he sat down, noting how quickly 32 was adapting to his new body.
32 pointed to Amir's backpack, took out the signal jammer, and turned it off. It didn't matter right now; the walls of Kahalman's medical rooms all had signal-blocking functions, originally intended to eliminate outside interference with the instruments, which happened to work in Amir's favor.
After doing this, 32 pointed to his own head. Suddenly, Amir felt an inexplicable flow of information come to him, and he accurately sensed the source of this information—right in front of him!
The same locating ability as a Purrgil! I wasn't wrong!
Amir felt a surge of joy and quickly asked, "How did you do that?"
32's lips began to move. After brewing the thought for a long time, he finally said, "Focus."
"Focus... on the brain?" Amir guessed his meaning.
32 shook his head and gestured with his finger from his head, moving outward.
"Focus... and radiate outward?"
32 lowered his eyes, thought for a moment, and nodded. As if to say, "Right, right, right."
Amir knew his understanding might not be precise, but the general meaning was correct.
So, Amir closed his eyes and focused his attention on his brain.
The flow of the Force instantly became clear.
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