CHAPTER 12 . SINS OF THE FATHER
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Science Prison
Konoko sneaks into the so-called "TCTF Science Prison" to find Dr. Kerr, who tells her about the solution he developed with her father. They had named it a "Daodan Chrysalis". When spliced with human genes, it was supposed to make a new body that would be greatly superior to the gene donor's. (It is left unclear as to whether the Chrysalis was intended from the beginning to be implanted into a human or to "grow" a new one.) Two Chrysalises were started growing, 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. At first their work was undisturbed by their funders, but one day the Syndicate raided their labs. 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. When Griffin, the head of the regional branch, heard that the Syndicate had implanted young Muro with their Chrysalis, he forced Kerr to implant Konoko with their own as a countermeasure should the Daodan process produce a superhuman. Konoko was seven at the time.
By implanting a person with a Chrysalis, it would adapt to the biology which contained it, and grow as the host suffered damage, altering the body to prevent further similar damage. Eventually, the Chrysalis would replace the organs of the host with its own versions of such. The final form the host body takes is apparently determined by that person's "nature".
Before he can reveal more, a TCTF Black Ops soldier attempts to shoot Konoko with a lethal Mercury Bow. Kerr leaps in front of her, taking the shot. After killing Kerr's murderer, Konoko decides to claim revenge on the TCTF. First, she must escape the net that is closing down around her. To escape the Science Prison, she is forced to test the theory she has just heard, by diving into an acid vat and hoping that the Chrysalis protects her.
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 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 fully transformed by her Chrysalis, she is now able to act with the knowledge she needs to be a fully-realized person. Thus begins a third act ("New Identity").