Eye-opening Sidenote

This doesn't have much to do with our investigations with Methias, but just an update about me.

Wedge took me to a forest or a marsh or moor or something that was fairly free from human observation. I got to have a nice run out in the real world. I stayed there for a couple of days... I ran across the moors and hunted the animals (I didn't kill them, of course, but I caught them and let them go). The feeling of the cold frosty air was great, rippling through my fur. And I can see so much better at night than before. I can't believe it - how blind and deaf I was before. I feel so in tune with the world around me. I know my body was genetically engineered to be the peak of physical capabilities...but even just being a normal dog is better than human at times. I must say - I don't know how I'd cope without my thumb being able to become opposable when needed.

But the news of the day is - I met another like me! I couldn't believe it... they looked so similar to me it was scary. Not in the way of actually looking exactly like me, but being a genetically engineered creature. I can just tell. He was jet black as well, with red eyes that seemed to glow brightly as mine can at times (bioluminescence in the capiliaries of the iris or something like that). He definitely had wolf in him based on the head, but the majority of his body was lion. He even had the tuft of fur on the end of the tail.The head of a wolf and the body of a lion...
He wasn't one of Sector Nine though. He was definitely a wild creature, with the mind of an animal. A smart animal, but an animal none the less. He snarled when he looked at me, but then stopped and slowly lowered his head at me before darting off into the trees with a smooth bound.

I asked Wedge about him, and apparantly there are still many creatures in the world that are genetically engineered. They were part of the first experiments, creatures that were created to perfect the physical forms of the genetic crosses and creations...but they didn't have the minds of the creators or have the ability to accept a mind. They were animals, and so were allowed to continue to exist in the environment they were released in for initial study. According to Wedge, most of them were the original creatures - since their genetic structure is similar to Wedge, Julian and Alastor's (and now mine) in that it doesn't age the same - tissues can live exponentially longer - and is much stronger.

As she showed me some, and some of the ones from the past, I realised that I'd learnt about them as children. I just didn't know the truth then. These creatures had been part of human myth, legend, fiction and history. Like Egypt - the ancient Egyptians interacted with, who Wedge calls, the 'Original Ones' (she said something that sounds like "orngronarlar onersh"). That was when they started engineering animal hybrids, including human-animal hybrids. Those stories of Werewolves? Anthropomorphised wolves for their experiments (that led to my body incidentally). That creature I encountered - inspired the Beast of Dartmoor legend. There's the Bodmin one, just locally, and many others. Vampires - humans with large teeth. That story got a little distorted aparantly. Mermen? Marine faring creatures that were humanoid and humans saw that as human/fish. It's all amazing. That lizard-man in the US...reptile/human mix. But I think it died many decades ago.

I am going to find more soon! But for now, work time.