Friday, July 2, 2010

Hedgehog.


Note: The follow blog post contains *SPOILERS*. If you have not played the game, and do not want it to be ruined, DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING BLOG POST.


Foreword: One of my favorite video-games, Prototype, has got me thinking; what is it really like in the mind of Alex Mercer? First of all, by releasing the Blacklight Virus in Penn Station, New York, Mercer allowed himself to die, but mutate into an eniterly new entity, waking up in a morgue with no memories of his past self. The game is about Mercer's journey of revenge to the people that created the Blacklight Virus that turned him into something different; more or less than human.
To fully understand Mercer and his motives, you are obliged to watch the following videos:
Here's a link to the introduction cinematic to the game to get the feel for Mercer's character, and a bit of back-story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RahEtkVxAPA&feature=related
Or, if you want a brief summary of what the game's about, click the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzVxa47UpDo&feature=channel
This writing piece is about Mercer's heart. Karen Parker, a geneticist and Mercer's girlfriend before he "died" or infected (However you would like to see it), betrayed Mercer soo easily when the outbreak of the Virus occurred throughout New York. She betrayed him by manipulating him to do numerous tasks, like gathering infectious DNA, to aid the Military and Blackwatch's task to combat Mercer. Later in the game, the player (as Mercer) has a chance to kill her if he/she went looking for her (Though killing was ambiguous).
Has the Blacklight Virus completely stripped Alex of humanity? Or has he become something much, much more...

"I looked for the truth. Found it, didn't like it. Wish the hell I could forget it. Alex Mercer; this city has suffered for his mistakes. For what he did at Penn Station. And whoever he was that's apart of me, is when I close my eyes, I see the memories of a thousand dead men screaming as I take their lives... Moments I'll re-live forever. What have I become? Something less than human? But also something more... One virus, 3 weeks, millions dead. And I was there. My name was Alex Mercer, and my work is almost done."
- Alex Mercer at the end of the game.

This clash of monologue thoughts happen between Mercer and a former work mate. This work mate recognizes Alex from when they used to work for Gentek, the company that enhanced the Blacklight Virus.


Setting: The Virus outbreak has been eradicated from New York, but Blackwatch and the Military still search for Mercer.

Key Terms (Brief summary):
Blacklight - The virus that swept New York
Blackwatch - A secret military branch that specialize in Biological Warfare.
Gentek - A genetic research facility Alex, Karen and Veronica were apart of.
Elizabeth Greene - The only human to survive and contain the Blacklight virus in her own unique genetic structure.
Director McMullen - The man in charge of the whole Blacklight Virus study.


Prototype: 2009 Activision Publishing, Inc. Activision is a registered trademark and Prototype is a trademark of Activision Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.


Mercer:
What the hell do I do. Do I have feelings for her, but what feelings? Anger? Rage? Humanity... Alex Mercer died at Penn Station, so who.... What am I? What the hell, am I?
The military code-named me "ZEUS." Am I a god or something? But even Gods have direct feelings. Soo many people died because Alex Mercer released a Virus at Penn Station. Soo many people infected, soo many innocents caught in the crossfire. And I consumed them all to find a truth I had created. I can still hear all of their voices inside of me, screaming out to me in a web of the virus that is the very fabric of my life. But that's another thing, am I alive? I have soo much life running through me that is not mine; the lives of countless others I have made into one, into me. I hate contemplating life and death, because I'm both of them, with identity issues.
They're only now allowing people cross the bridges off the island after soo long, but many people don't leave. Not after what they saw here. I saved these people, now I'm responsible for them. They deserve to live if they have survived me... An infection. All of the scientists and military personal who killed Alex Mercer, and those who created the virus are dead, I don't need to kill anymore. But what is there for me now, why do I still linger? There's still a military presence here, but they can't find me...


Veronica:
I should have handed him into the authorities, but after what he did to Karen? I wouldn't dare. I saw him visit Penn Station yesterday, the spot where the virus apparently started. He saw me straight away, stared at me for a while. His bold, grey, silver eyes locked onto me, and before I knew it he vanished into the crowd, with no evidence of his presence. I... I couldn't move, I didn't know what to do. Was he going to kill me? Did he really survive the infection un-harmed? Damn Blackwatch had the whole show behind curtains, even for a chief geneticist at Gentek like me. From what I've heard, I am one of the few surviving geneticists from the studies of the Elizabeth Greene. She was such a focal point in human discovery, and what we can do with evolution. She was the key to unlock the secrets of humanity. In her blood, the Redlight virus created many strands of DNA that reacted to different things. We witnessed few such cells dissolving cancers into nothing. We saw these cells replicate with each other, creating blood clots and white blood cells at the same time for accelerated healing. She was going to be humanity's hope, but Alex and Karen had other plans for the virus. It was not even a sickness, but a leap in humanity. Greene's genetic structure had the answers to everything, and yet, the one mistake that cost millions of lives in New York.
Now we live on like nothing ever happened. We are supposed to forget the mistakes of Gentek causing a genocide of millions of innocent people. But I heard many of them mutated into something else, something, not human at all. Savage, merciless. But after the nuke went off out at sea, everything changed for the better. The infection spread became less vigorous and was contained by the military. But why did the nuke go off in the middle of the sea? How is Alex alive after all he has done?


Mercer:
You come to the point where you take soo many lives, you start to question your own. I thought that, if I could save them all, I could somehow redeem myself. But who exactly am I impressing? God? That toy was done with me as soon as Alex joined Gentek. No, something more. I now have a stable position within the Military, taking note on how they're trying to find me, and sabotaging every plan. They're not going to find me, not yet.
A problem with hiding in public is when people start to recognize you. Veronica Miles, one of the people who worked with Alex on the Blacklight Virus, saw me when I came back to the spot where I released the virus at Penn Station. She instantly remembered me, fixed her eyes upon mine. I looked into her eyes, and somehow Alex's memories reached out to me and told me who she was. I should hunt her down so she can't speak a work about me. I should have killed her, right there and then, in the middle of Penn Station. I should have consume her, so her genetic knowledge and skills could not be used against me. But why didn't I? At that place, on that moment? She was frozen, ready to be killed, but, I ran away. Far away.
At that moment, I didn't look at her as one of my priority threats. I didn't look at her as my next target. I looked through her eyes, and stared at her soul. I don't think I've ever looked at someone like that. It brought memories to my head, memories of Alex Mercer and Karen Parker. Intimate feelings like that died with Alex Mercer, because I was betrayed by Karen, and she paid with her life. I cannot fall into this. I'm a monster.


Veronica:
From everyone else's perspective, Alex and Karen were the cornerstones to the whole project. It wouldn't have functioned as efficiently without the two of them. Even Director McMullen gave them top security access to make the research run faster. I guess that was his mistake. The two of them dug too far, and paid the consequences. Karen tried to run for it, but was caught and sent to a concentration camp to be interrogated into agreeing not say a word. And Alex? No one knows exactly. Most sources say that he was shot at Penn Station, but that would be too much waste of a great mind. They say he killed all the agents that were after him, and he went rouge seeking refugee underground. These are just stories, and I intend to ask him myself.
I've hacked into New York's big-brother network; speed cameras, shopping mall cameras, whatever's recording. He seems to be interested in Military zones. What is he up to? Is he really plotting a terrorist conspiracy against us? He can't be, his movements are too slow, as if he wants to be caught. Maybe he's trying to bring someone out of hiding? I can never be sure. All I know is, he's incredibly smart, a master's degree in genetics, engineering and a whole lot of stuff that's been wiped off the internet and put into top secret files in the military.
There's nothing about him being a soldier, or have hand military training, so how has he survived this long? Has he had special undercover training? Been taught overseas? It's impossible, because being a geneticist is a full time job, with no real breaks in between. Soo many questions I want answered, but I can't find them by sitting here. I have to look for him.


Mercer:
I don't remember any of my... Alex's past. I've made my own through the recent evens that made what was left of Alex like this. But I do know a range of past experiences from those I've taken. I see countless fathers embracing the warmth of their children, I see hardened souls with no room for love, for heart takes too much room in the conscious mind. What stuck out to me most was a scientist's forbidden love with a woman from India. She was royalty or something, and her family was bias against the tyrant that labels itself, "America." Direct quote mind you.
This scientist travels to the dangerous Dudhwa Jungles of India, to pick some rare plants to help his research. In the jungle he spots a wandering Princess picking strange flowers; they happened to hold the yam, Armorphophallus Paeoniifulius, the exact plant he needed. He steps out from the bushes, and asks the princess for the flowers. Funnily enough, she spoke English back and asked if she could escape to America with him. Astounded with her beauty, he agreed. But that was before her guards shot the scientist in the arm, and took the princess back to the Maharajah. Disappointed and discussed with her daughter, the Maharajah ordered an execution for her, on the charges of conspiring with an American. But the scientist then infiltrated the palace, killed some guards, rescued the princess, and kicked the Maharajah in the eye. He then shipped off with her to New York where they lived happily ever after. Stupid fairy tale endings.
Dumbfounded strength, luck, courage, or whatever it was, he got the job done. But this sheer determination didn't come from a cause, because he could have left with the flowers back to America, and made heaps of money. No, he got a bonus from stupid actions; a princess. Or rather, a wife. And to be able to have the privileged of kicking Indian Royalty in the eye? Something was up. He wasn't driven by vengeance, like I was, because he was injured from a guard shotting him in the arm. He wasn't angry because he had to hide from authorities to step on "Forbidden Land" to collect some flowers. No, he was driven by a heart. Something I am still yet to understand. For the only heart I ever came close to, even if it was Alex's, had betrayed me.


Veronica:
Dr. Peadar Aisling kept putting the people at Gentek down because we were seen as the "Spoilt" scientists, getting everything provided to us by demand. Dr. Aisling always used to brag about his adventures overseas to gain materials for his research. What a man though, shot 9 times in his career, fought against Shoulin Monks, crossed swords with some of Japan's greatest Samurai, and married an Indian Princess after kicking the Maharajah in the eye. Truly outstanding lies to look down upon us. Just because we had military funding, and our research would actually one day benefit humanity.
Karen Parker would usually gloat about our fundings in front of Dr. Aisling, and giving shame to his research. Alex always tried to pull her back, but Karen was usually full of herself. Alex didn't deserve that. Alex had a brilliant mind, never skipping a stone in his own research. He was thorough, never missed a spot under the microscope. Many people were fired because they couldn't keep up with him. Even I had trouble keeping up with him. I thought I had made a major discovery when I found a strand of the virus transforming itself into a cancer, yet quickly reversing it. I was excited and ready to tell the Director, but I looked over at Alex's work station to see he was one step ahead of me, and had already made it's anti-body. He was flawless in his work, so I don't understand why he could have gone rogue against Gentek, against the military, against America. He is known to be America's most dangerous Terrorist. But from what I remember during the infection, Alex was only mentioned to appear on the radio or T.V, not doing anything. He is an innocent man. He is a victim.


Mercer:
To realise I was a victim of whatever Alex did at Penn Station, was, liberating. Like a Phoenix; Alex Mercer had to die, so that I would be born. But what if life didn't go this way? What if the mistakes of Alex Mercer never occurred? I don't know a thing about him personally, yet, I'm enclosed within his image. What if the life of Alex Mercer continued and I would have never been created? New York would still be the filth it always was, secrets would still be secrets and millions of people would still be alive; even those who were responsible for the virus, those responsible for my creation. I can't dwell on the past though, because now I've been given gifts that could shatter the world. I am invincible.
Yet still these feelings keep pushing me around. One look into Veronica's eyes, and I've been fixed. I found out where she lives, and I've kept a close eye on her. But why am I doing this!? She knows who I am! She knows Alex's past! I should take her memories so I can at least get some knowledge of Alex's past in Gentek! I should kill her at rid me of the last threat against my refuge in New York! No one knows I'm still here in New York, the military thought I died on the Reagan! She is a threat to me, and my plans to completely destroy Blackwatch! SO WH..... Why can't I kill her? There is no heart left within me, only the virus tissues lying dormant within me, ready to be used at any time... So what is keeping me from killing her? I have to find out. I have to know. It's been 6 days since I saw her at Penn Station, so tomorrow, she'll be taking the train home from work. I have to know why...


Veronica:
Alex's movements have been more spontaneous lately. He's become more elusive in his movements, covering his tracks every step of the way. He's planning something, and he's going to reveal it soon. Not only has he been around Penn Station numerous times again, but now he is infiltrating military databases on a daily basis. Is he planning something city wide? Will he shut down all communications or something? Is he looking for the perfect place to release the virus again? He can't though, all virus samples have been incinerated... All that work, destroyed... Maybe Alex still has samples. Perhaps that's why he infiltrates the military bases? To get all the remaining data left on the virus? He's continuing the research into the Blacklight Virus! I know he can find the right DNA strand of the virus to cure all diseases, rid the world of sickness and disability! He will create it into the most outstanding medical breakthrough in the history of mankind! He will finish the work of the late Director McMullen. He will achieve what no man has ever achieved before!
But why has he been around my area? All of the main military bases are near Morningside Park, while I live in a apartment in Koreatown. Is he scoping out the area for someo... Me.
He knew I recognized him, he knew I'd be onto him, and maybe that's why he's been on the military databases; to check out who I've been spying on. He's after me... Crap.. No!... What have I done?


Clashing monologues end here, the story begins with an ending...


Dark clouds shroud New York as a lone Veronica Miles walks to her apartment in the rain. Shadow like figures stalk her, and feelings of fear press down hard upon her chest, making her gasp for breath. The wet, steel, cool feeling of her apartment gates make her shiver, as she opens the lock only to be quickly closed again in a loud, sudden crash. The sound of shaking metals echo throughout her apartment corridors as she rushes to seek refuge in her own room. The elevator arrives with it's small bell ringing as she rapidly presses the button to her floor. The door, she can see it across the corridor from the elevator, with its white invitation, it calls to her. She now runs out of the elevator to her apartment door, taking everything out of her bags to find the key. The sounds of various items dropping onto the hard wooden floors scream into her ears as the rattling of her keys stay in beat with her feat. The key enters the lock; silence embers as the sounds of the clicking lock makeshift with its key. The door opens, and quickly shuts as Veronica sits and curls up in front of the door, preventing it from opening again.
The familiar smell of her apartment comforts her; the old musk of the old building, the scent of the omelet she cooked in the morning, the Jasmine tea left un-touched, and the smooth touch of her favorite vanilla scented candles. Everything was the way she had left it in the morning, even her chubby house cat, sound asleep. She closes her eyes and takes in the relaxation of being home. But she was not alone...
She could feel another presence in the room as the goosebumps on her skin began to rise. Sweat began to shed, and her eyes were welded shut. "You're here aren't you? You're here to kill me?" Veronica muttered. "Veronica Miles, chief geneticist at Gentek. Ex-employee." Said a voice from amidst the shadows. "You are among the last people who know who I am."
"I don't know you." She replied. "Then how did you recognize me at Penn Station last week? Why have you been spying on me!? Why did you hack military databases to find information on me when you could have stolen secrets and sold them for money!? Why haven't you reported me to Blackwatch!!!" The voice shouted as it emerged from the shadows. "Or have you already? Give me a reason not to kill you!"
"ALEX!"

.....

The room fell into a deep silence as these two trembling souls locked their eyes on one another once more. Staring at each other, perfectly still as the rain outside spits onto the windows. Thunder could be heard outside, projected from the darkest clouds. His glowing silver eyes pierce the very fabrics of her heart, rendering her in full stillness, and silence. She was drawn into his eyes like dust to a vacuum.


Lightning flashes, but still Mercer's glowing eyes linger. And Veronica's golden, amber eyes sit un-moved, defenseless, weak in the eyes of fear. There was not even the most subtle blink, even with the flashes of light coming from the storm outside. She wanted to cry, but her tears falter. She wanted to run, but her body wouldn't let her. She just stared into the eyes of death; with no hope, no warmth staring into the cool depths of the steel-tipped iris.


"Alex Mercer..." She whispered. "What happened to you?"
He blinked as she said this, freed from the trans he was set in. He looked away, and walked towards the window, staring out into the drenched city, with her eyes following his footsteps.
"I died at Penn Station. Now this is all that's left, wandering 'life' in this image." He said self-scornfully.
Veronica stood up in confusion and crept over to where he was standing. "What do you mean Alex? You're standing right in front of me?"
Red and black molecules cover Alex like a cloud over skyscrapers, and as the fog clears, another man is in his place. The same cloud passes up and down his body, and as it does different people stand where he once stood. Like a shutter door opening and closing rapidly to reveal the crew and characters of the same play; in one man. Veronica recoils at the sight of this and falls onto her back. Crawling rigorously, trying to escape with her eyes still locked on his, she approaches her keys on the floor. Still shape-shifting, he/it talks;
"In front of you, you see whatever's left of Alex Mercer. Another disguise, another image; for whatever is left of Alex is all of these people you see, screaming into my ears until they bleed dry. Whatever's left of Alex is whatever killed him at Penn Station. Whatever is left of Alex Mercer has all but faded, I AM THE BLACKLIGHT VIRUS!"

Silence deafens, as a battle between their eyes occur, taking with it, it's casualties. Alex quickly escapes outside of the window closely chased by Veronica. She catches a glimpse of him running vertically up the wall to the top of the building, so she quickly ran to her door, and quickly out into the corridor. She passes her possessions she dropped giving no attention to where she steps. Rushing into the elevator, confused, questioning, angry and scared, she presses the button to the top floor. Hurrying out of the elevator door, past the hallway, she sees the entrance to the rooftop. As the door opens, she immediately sees Alex on the ledge of the building facing the streets below, and the rush of the many raindrops drenches her body. She runs out onto the middle of the roof, feeling the needles of the iced wind blow against her while the saltiness of her tears enters her mouth.

"If everything of Alex's is all but gone, why haven't you killed me yet?" Her quivering lips queried.

"Because, you're now apart of me." He answered, as the rain drenches his clothes, and clouds surround Veronica.

No tears, no regrets, no more questions. Hearts beat, but there is no sound, only the pale raindrops upon New York. Only one on the rooftop, but none standing. Memories gracefully flow, but quickly fade, as the rooftop door swings to the push of the wind. Water runs down the skin on his face, but it's not rain. Looking up into the skies he shouts at the top of his lungs, at the thunder mocking him from above.


Fan-Fiction Story Written By - Symon Taylor.


Reason for title: The closer you get to a small innocent creature like a hedgehog, the more it's needles are going to hurt you. It pierces the skin, gets stuck, and can end up with infections. This analogy can be used in everyday human interaction especially when it comes to the most difficult relationships. Sometimes, in the end, you just have to give it up.


Note Character Names:
Alexander Mercer = Warrior/Defender of Mankind, Storekeeper.
Veronica Miles = True image, Grace.