CHAPTER 12 . SINS OF THE FATHER
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Konoko sneaks into TCTF science prison #112 to find Dr. Kerr.
Summary
After getting past some of the guards, Konoko speaks with Dr. Kerr for the first time since learning he is her uncle. After scanning her Chrysalis to chart its progress ("the transformation is farther along than I anticipated"), he tells her about the solution that he developed with her father in order to allow humanity to survive the growing pollution. They had named it a "Daodan Chrysalis". When spliced into a human body, it was supposed to allow the host to rapidly adapt to dangerous environments. Two Chrysalis prototypes were started growing in the lab, one based on Hasegawa's daughter, Konoko… and one based on his son, Muro.
Dr. Kerr reveals that they could only obtain funding by making a deal with the Syndicate, who eventually raided their labs to take the Chrysalis when they realized its potential. They captured Dr. Hasegawa and Muro, but Kerr escaped with Konoko (and the Chrysalis based on Konoko's DNA, apparently) and fled to the TCTF. Griffin, the head of the regional branch of the TCTF, forced Kerr to implant Konoko with the Chrysalis as a countermeasure in case the Syndicate did the same with Muro (Konoko was seven at the time).
When a symbiote (a Chrysalis host) suffers damage, the Chrysalis alters the body to prevent further similar damage; eventually, the Chrysalis has replaced all the organs of the host with its own improved versions. The final form that the host body takes, says Dr. Kerr, is "an expression of [their] true nature".
Before he can reveal more, a TCTF Black Ops soldier attempts to shoot Konoko with a Mercury Bow. Kerr leaps in front of her, taking the shot. After killing Kerr's murderer, Konoko decides to claim revenge on the TCTF. Before she can do that, she must escape the net that is closing down around her; there are so many enemies that fighting through them seems impossible. The only way out is to test the theory that the Chrysalis can quickly adapt to protect her – by diving into a biomatter disposal vat filled with acid.
Added Value
- Now we find out what it's all about. If one divides the storyline into three acts, then the first act ("Old Identity") ended when Konoko realized she couldn't go back to the TCTF, and the second act ("No Identity") ends with Konoko/Mai gaining answers and a renewed sense of hope from her uncle. To fully escape her past, she must dive into the acid vat with trust in the very thing inside her that she has been fearing. When she emerges, with nothing left of her former life (even her clothes and equipment), she is "reborn" as the person she needs to become. Now she is truly Mai Hasegawa. Even though she is not yet fully transformed by her Chrysalis, she is now able to act with the knowledge she needs in order to be a fully-realized person. Thus begins a third act ("New Identity").
- This is the first of two levels with absolutely no Syndicate enemies at all.