Abduction Five

I see it in her face. She is afraid and broken. Even in her hibernative state there are fear lines carved into her features. The traces of the moisture from her visual orbs has left traces on her face. When our visual orbs leak fluids it’s generally a sign of illness. I have attempted to force my orbs to leak fluid but there does not seem to be enough moisture in my eyes to force it to flow down my face.

This will be our last attempt at gathering research from this test subject. I fear there has been so much damage to her fragile body and even more fragile mind there is not much left to discover. The overseers have given up on finding any redeeming qualities in this species, but there is something…intriguing…about them. I wish we could stay longer, but the overseers are transferring our team to another site far away from here.

The embedded researchers will stay here and continue to observe in their limited capacity. They are so adapted to the culture they will have no problem adopting and living out their lives until they reach their natural culmination. I petitioned to stay, but there is no way I could have stayed disguised for the long-term. Eventually I would be discovered, perhaps even brought into their labs to be studied.

I wish I could fill Beth in on her offspring and the hope I have for his future. He is adapting well to his situation and knows it is best for him to act the part of an unassuming infant and living as one of the test subject. He is aware of our test subject and the role she had in his creation, but understands if he tries to seek her out and explain his existence he may cause her fragile mind to slip even further into the abyss.

I do not desire to cause her any more suffering. Our studies have caused too much harm as it is. We have cured her injuries caused to her body, but the damage to her mind may be irrevocable. I have tried to excise the memories or our experiments from her mind, but I doubt my efforts were any more successful this time than they were in the past. My poor Beth, how badly did I damage you?

Someday we may return to this research center and continue the studies we began here, when your species has become more adaptable to the role the overseers have in mind for you. I will not see this in my lifetime. We are long lived, but I will not live long enough to see the changes we have affected by our presence here.

We tried not to leave a trace of our presence here, but every time we stepped out of our labs or brought a subject into the lab we left some sort of mark: a trace of evidence, a memory, a glimpse into a new world. Whatever it was, I’m afraid it has forever changed the path this culture was on forever.

I question whether or not the change was good or bad. Surely, we have done more harm to Beth than we could ever imagine, but her offspring is strong and healthy and more intelligent than any creature I have ever seen. He may yet be the hope for a better future for these research subjects.

Then again, I have researched enough of this research subjects past to know this culture is not always accepting of things that are different. I hope I have impressed this knowledge upon the offspring effectively. He needs to be able to hide away his differences so the others can accept him as one of them. I fear for him, but I know he will be safer amongst the research subjects than here with me where he would face termination.

I must return Beth to her room at the medical center now. She is no longer in danger of expiring from the injuries she sustained from our experiments. I hope her mental well-being will be restored as well.