[Vfw-times] Story: Logs of a Wanderer 1/6

[Jason]

Origin
*******************************************

Log Entry 0001
Begin recording.

If you're reading this, I must be dead.

I've always wanted to say that. Actually, I'm probably still very much
alive, although I doubt that I'm still using the same name as when I started
this record of what's happened to me. To say that my life has been strange
is an understatement. I've lived through more so far than most people
probably ever experience in their entire lifetimes.

I guess I should introduce myself at this point. I'm Jason Argos, born April
1, 2556. That's not my real last name, as I never had one. It's actually the
name of the military research facility where I was born. However, most
people who encounter me know me as Wyldesyde. Lets just say that the
reasoning behind the call sign will become clear later on.

Now that you've got the "who", lets get into the "what". I started my life
off as a human. Check that. I was actually a G.E.C.S., or GC for short. That
stands for Genetically Engineered Combat Specialist. Before you start on
about that, let me give you a brief history lesson on the dimension I'm
from.

In all my travels, I've never encountered a dimension where my history
played out similarly. There is some significance in that, I believe. Earth
was formally contacted by Extraterrestrial in 1956, and invited to join the
Interstellar Commonwealth as a provisional member, until we could develop
the infrastructure to support the construction and maintenance of
interstellar and interplanetary vessels of our own. It really helped, too.
No more wars, no violence, no hate, no hunger, etc. We managed to avoid
almost every major hurdle most of the other member worlds in the
Commonwealth had faced, simply because the whole planet had been shocked
into realizing that skin color, or religion, or language differences didn't
mean squat when you could have a business lunch with a 12' tall talking
parrot.

In a way, Earth joining the Commonwealth was a good thing. Because of all
the violence that had occurred on Earth, humans quickly became the most
common species present in the ranks of the Commonwealth Defensive Forces
(the CDF). Frankly, it gave us the opportunity to get the more aggressive
members of humanity out on unexplored worlds, where being macho actually was
considered a good thing, as many new worlds had creatures who regarded
anything smaller than them as food. I think the Saurians were kind of
surprised when the critters they thought of as snacks whipped them all the
way off of Betelgeuse 3. The Saurians quickly apologized, and a new member
was added to the Commonwealth, all because we humans are the most violent,
hostile, and aggressive beings in the universe. At least, that's what
everybody thought.

In 2198, we encountered a race known only as the "Masters". They created
creatures to do specific jobs, using genetic technology light years beyond
the Commonwealths capability. We were getting kicked, and kicked hard.
Finally, we got a break. One of our battle groups managed to capture a
Master genetics lab, and that led to a great understanding of how to fight
their creations effectively. It also lead to experiments on enhancing human
soldiers.
Pretty soon, the scientists had developed techniques for enhancing speed,
strength, sight, hearing, and anything else about a human that could be
changed. But there were limits to what the human form could take. That's
when some moron of a politician decided to start Project Genesis.

Project Genesis was supposed to create a super soldier. That was the origin
of us GC's. Only, it didn't work out the way everyone thought it would. The
first few successful GC's weren't too smart, and ended up being destroyed.
Generation 2's were much better. Instead of coming out of the gene baths
fully formed, they came out as children, and grew into their enhanced
abilities. These GC's soon became the Special Forces teams of the CDF.
However, even with the success of Generation 2, the scientists weren't
satisfied. So, they went from full enhancements to creating GC's to fulfill
specific roles. They created Scouts, Snipers, Engineers, and the standard
HWG (Heavy Weapons Guy). These new specialized GC's were the first to live
up to the name. And they soon got much attention, as the normal soldiers,
both human and non, started to defend them. It started with the fact that
GC's didn't have basic rights, as they were seen as equipment. Well, when
the combat units that had worked with Gen 2 or Gen 3 GC's started protesting
this, people listened. I guess when someone saves an entire squad because
they spotted a mine that no non-GC could see, the people they saved get
pretty pissed off when they learn that a brother in arms is only considered
"hardware".

I'm a Generation 4 GC, as far as my original world knows. We were created to
handle hostile environments, such as extreme heat or cold, heavy gravity, or
atmospheres that were toxic to normal humans. In a way, I guess the extra
work that went into the Gen 4's paid off, as I'm sill alive to write this
down.
I was raised from a physical age of 8 to about 15 in an academy for GC's.
The whole place was full of Gen 4's. If anyone ever tells you that school is
hard, try having 10 years of schooling squeezed into 5. Now that's tough.
Even tougher was the fact that I was different from the rest. Not that I'm
complaining, mind you, but the differences set me apart. Unlike the others,
I never liked fighting. Yes, I took the hand-to-hand combat courses, and
some martial arts training in my spare time, but that was mainly to give me
experience in how to stop someone without hurting them.

You see, I was physically stronger than almost all of them, and easily twice
as fast as the best sprinters and distance runners. I finally confronted one
of the doctors at the academy, and, after I put my fist through a 6" thick
concrete wall, he agreed to give me access to my medical records. The most
interesting part was right at the beginning. It seemed that I was a
prototype for the Generation 5 GC's and they wanted to see how I did in
comparison to the Gen 4's. Unfortunately, they believed my dislike of
violence was a genetic trait, and put the project back on the drawing board
to try and figure out what they did wrong.
However, they didn't do anything wrong. They succeeded beyond their wildest
dreams.

End Recording.
Log Entry 0001 closed.