In the room, a slight echo can be heard. Not the kind caused by tiles on the walls. This is no slaughterhouse. Perhaps it's some kind of conference hall. A modern space. The creaking of artificial leather and the thud of metal chair legs.
Four people are talking. But there seems to be more than four present. Someone coughs. Some voices sound familiar, others I know very well.
"What exactly do you want from us in this case?" asks a soft voice. A muffled sound of a phone hitting the table surface can be heard. It seems its owner has just started recording.
"An analysis of the situation. Expert evaluation. Ideally, a forecast... After all, they're your brainchild," replies an unfamiliar bass voice.
"Just one," remarks Valery Semyonovich.
"And what about this 'dragoness' of yours? Kali or whatever her name was..."
"The Snake Lady? Her name is Agnia," interjects Kiryusha-the-helicopter pilot with a recognizably joking tone.
"Or Angelina, for that matter... She also belongs to these phenomena..."
"Technically yes," Valery Semyonovich agrees hesitantly. "But we can only answer for the initial generation of shapeshifters. That is, for one. The first."
"They've already come up with a new name..." the bass voice sneers disdainfully.
"Well, now that there are two of them... They need to be generalized somehow."
"Valery Semyonovich is absolutely right," clarifies the soft voice. "Not only technically, but legally, the Holding is responsible only for the Phenomenon. The second individual appeared, so to speak, independently of us... Naturally..."
"It's called Agnia," Kirill suggests again.
"Please do... But because of her, we've had our first civilian casualties. A boy died..."
"We don't even know for sure whether it was a boy or a girl," sighs Valery Semyonovich.
"What do you mean?!"
"In the sense that the genetic material is so fragmented that it doesn't allow us to reliably determine the victim's gender."
"A boy. A boy," Kiryusha confirms knowledgeably once more. "They told me themselves."
"What they tell you is one thing... And what actually happened is another!" the bass voice exhales heavily. "What about your expert analyses?"
The rustling of paper can be heard. Judging by the voice, Valery Semyonovich is noticeably nervous.
"The tissue samples examined contain the same synthetic viral agent as the substance left on the metal capsule. Deciphering its genome is still ongoing..."
"Could this virus have somehow affected them? Triggered mutations?"
"We don't have an answer yet..."
"And whose answer should we expect, damn it?!"
"Listen to me!" the doctor flares up. "This isn't a controllable weapon or a nuclear bomb that you can pass through military acceptance testing... These are living beings... Humans... For now... Yes... The virus definitely caused local changes... Disrupted cell division processes... It's quite possible that they could have entered a child and led to death... But since both shapeshifters are alive, it means their bodies coped, and further infection didn't occur."
"They coped... But what about us?!"
"What are you talking about?"
"You mean, maybe they can't control themselves anymore, and they don't care who they eat! Can you imagine what will happen if this case comes out? How will the enemy use it against us informationally?"
"Alright... Let's calm down! The soft voice becomes decisive. "Kiryusha, what's our status regarding information security?"
"I've removed everything. Even before the medics arrived from the investigation..."
"That's good. So, what do we have at the end of the day? Nothing threatens our project. Unfortunately, there was a single incident involving the death of a civilian. But it occurred exclusively due to hostile actions by the enemy. Am I correct?"
"You're correct," the bass voice agrees gloomily.
"And again... Just in case something comes up," the man pauses, assessing the reaction. Silence confirms that everyone is satisfied. He continues more relaxed.
"But, Valery Semyonovich, I'd like you to focus on analyzing the viral agent in the presence of everyone... We need to understand how advanced biotechnology our adversaries possess. Where did they get it from? What potential development is possible? What risks exist for our wards?"
"First and foremost, we need to understand how manageable they are now," the bass voice voices his concerns again.
"What do you want to know? How patriotic he is?" the soft voice sounds sarcastic. "I assure you, more patriotic than some gentlemen in your general staff."
"Don't forget yourself! The Holding... And you... You're just making money off this war!"
"And aren't you?"
The bass voice falls silent. After a pause, Valery Semyonovich begins to speak.
"Both questions are connected... The more negative factors shapeshifters carry, the more adapted they become. They are capable of conscious genetic creation. Despite their complete biological nature, they are free from limitations inherent to all creatures before them. A shapeshifter is both an individual and a population, an organism and a colony, human intelligence and swarm intelligence... With each cycle of cell division, they become closer to complete evolutionary superiority, but further away from humans. And this inevitably will take them beyond anyone's control."
"And you're telling us this only now? When there are already two of them?!"
"I've always said this... You weren't listening. Instead, you wanted to unleash this bomb. So, answering your question... How do we control them? We don't. As surprising as it may be to you, he turned out to be a good person. And that's why we're all lucky."
At this point, the recording ends. But of course, I can't hear it right now. It will reach me later...