CHAPTER 125: CHAPTER 125: EVALUATION

The next month delved into the Krill’s mind. Live Behavioral Testing began in the physical environment of its cell.

An android emissary, another of Lina’s extensions, entered. Its dialogue was adaptive but scripted by Lina. The Krill was presented with logic puzzles, complex puzzle boxes requiring tool usage, and problem-solving games with physical props. Lina evaluated its abstract thinking, patience under frustration, learning speed, and its aggression-to-stimulation ratio.

"Childish games! They treat a Krill warrior like a hatchling! Do they seek to entertain me? Or to mock my intellect? I will solve their puzzles, if only to prove my superiority!"

Environmental Manipulation followed. Gradual changes in temperature, light color, and soundscape were directly controlled by Lina. This assessed mood-affecting stimuli, environmental preferences, and spatial boundary behavior. The Krill’s preference for arid, warmer temperatures became quickly apparent, its agitated state calming under specific orange-red light frequencies.

"The light shifts... the air warms. They seek to understand my comforts, my weaknesses. I will reveal nothing! I will endure!" the krill remained impassive and stubborn.

Conversational engagement became crucial. The android initiated structured conversations as programmed by Lina.

"Describe your world," it asked. "What do you fear?"

"Do you believe in others of your kind?"

"My world is not for human ears! My fears are none of your concern! Do I believe in others of my kind? Foolish question, inferior! We are everywhere! We are inevitable!"

The focus was on its use of abstract language, symbolism, and metaphors. Lina performed semiotic parsing, identifying alien concepts, emotional tone variations, and the very structure of its thought.

For deception testing, Lina subtly introduced deliberate misinformation through the android.

"We’ve met another like you," the android stated, presenting a fabricated visual of a benign Krill. Every vocal frequency shift, pupil dilation, pulse, and micro-expression was recorded via high-precision drones hovering just out of striking range.

This helped Lina determine if the Krill lied, challenged the information, or reacted emotionally, building a profile of its theory of mind and potential for empathy. The Krill’s response was a predictable snarl, a flash of its own species’ arrogance.

"Another Krill? Here? Hah! A deception! They seek to trick me, to sow discord. They misunderstand our unity! We are a single a dominant force!" The krill somehow was now more compliant than it’s previous aggressive responses.

Another one is non-Invasive brain monitoring was continuous. An advanced plasma EEG grid, embedded seamlessly in the chamber walls, tracked live neuron oscillations in key brain regions – those governing decision-making, fear, and aggression. No helmet or invasive implants were required. The Krill’s brain activity was meticulously mapped by Lina during conversation, environmental shifts, and emotional provocations.

Reflex testing was conducted safely by Lina. Light flashes, sub-audible frequencies, and directional sound pulses were used to map its spatial awareness, its fight vs. flight reflex speeds, and its baseline auditory and visual sensitivity ranges. She even checked for non-human sensory bandwidths, probing for infrared sight or ultrasonic hearing.

Hormonal Tracers were regularly analyzed by Lina from waste and scale samples. Cortisol levels indicated stress, adrenaline spikes marked fight-or-flight responses, and serotonin/dopamine levels mapped its mood balance. This provided Lina with biochemical proof of emotional spikes during specific conversations or environmental changes.

Controlled challenge events were introduced by Lina. A sudden, simulated android failure, or a brief, controlled denial of a preferred resource, would trigger a response. The Krill’s vocal reaction, hormonal spikes, and its tendencies towards problem-solving versus destructive behavior were meticulously logged by Lina.

By the end of the month, Lina had compiled a comprehensive behavioral fingerprint of Specimen Alpha-0. This included its cognitive style, its emotional triggers, its communication reliability, and its trust thresholds – how far it tolerated engagement before retreating or attacking. The data painted a picture of a species driven by hierarchy, hunger, and a deep-seated contempt for perceived unfavorables.

Throughout the process, drones constantly hovered just out of strike range. Their nozzles, primed by Lina, were ready to emit disorienting light patterns, localized sonic frequencies to induce nausea or calm, or short-acting sedative gas if needed. The android emissary always maintained calming body language, never showing threat, ensuring the Krill remained within controllable parameters as directed by Lina.

Controlled substance testing began. The Krill was offered harmless Earth compounds in liquid form – spices, caffeine, nicotine, synthetic hormones – to observe ingestive tolerance, hepatic enzyme shifts, and any surge in stress or aggression, all monitored by Lina.

For immune response simulation, Lina fabricated clone tissue pads from the Krill’s blood samples via a bio-printer. These tissues were then exposed to controlled virus strains in a separate lab. The real subject was never exposed; Lina created a predictive model from the results, mapping its immunological weaknesses.

Thermal & sonic weakness calibration followed. The gravitic field was used by Lina to simulate hypo/hyperthermia, high-frequency pulses, and infrasound, carefully monitored to avoid exceeding its survival tolerance. Preliminary findings suggested specific thermal frequencies caused deep discomfort without physical harm.

Trust experimentation was initiated by Lina. The android proposed collaboration in return for environmental freedoms – food choices, temperature preferences. It offered real consequences: aggression would lead to sensory deprivation, while compliance would grant autonomy zones within a larger containment cell. Lina monitored every word, blink, and breath, mapping its moral framework and loyalty triggers. The Krill, predictably, chose to comply only when direct comfort was offered, its "honor warrior" pride quickly overridden by primal needs.

Social empathy calibration involved showing the Krill simulations of other sentient reptilians in distress. Measures included empathy, indifference, or dominance response. The Krill exhibited aggression towards the distressed simulations, suggesting a lack of empathy for its own kind when in a position of perceived weakness, further cementing Lina’s behavioral model. Verbal self-disclosure patterns like "Why are you showing me this?" were also logged by Lina.

"These are false images! Weaklings in distress! They seek to stir some... empathy within me? They misunderstand the Krill way! Only strength is respected! I will show them contempt!"

Throughout the entire process, Failsafe Protocols remained active. If the subject attempted to breach the containment, Lina would immediately trigger a trance frequency burst combined with a gravitic field stasis lock.

Backup drones would emit a light-based confusion field, their flashes interfering with motion coordination. Lina’s override serum injectors, mounted in ceiling turrets, were always ready for activation. The safety and ethical limits of the research were constantly maintained, ensuring the Krill’s survival for continuous study, not its demise.

A month of relentless, methodical analysis. Lina’s understanding of Krill biology, psychology, and technology had grown exponentially. She now had a comprehensive behavioral fingerprint, a deep understanding of their vulnerabilities, and, most importantly, the exact atomic structure of the psionic-blocking implant. The Krill had provided invaluable data, though it was utterly unaware of the secrets it had unwittingly revealed.

-------------------------

Two months had passed since the Krill, designated "Subject Alpha-0," had been brought to the Purnas Mansion Underground Base. Two months since Lina’s meticulous study began. Richard now stood in the observation deck of the containment lab, separated from the Krill by the plasma-hardened transparent alloys.

Before him, the environment within the cell was a synthetic arid landscape, meticulously designed to mimic the Krill’s perceived natural habitat. Real planted trees, their branches sparse and gnarled, rose from patches of dry, golden grasses.

The Krill moved within this fabricated world, a formidable, primal figure, relentlessly honing its combat techniques, a predator in a gilded cage. It was clearly in peak physical condition, its movements fluid, powerful.

Richard turned to Lina, who stood beside him, her eyes fixed on the display. "So, what did you find?" he began, his voice calm, but with an undercurrent of eager anticipation.

Lina handed him a sleek datapad. Its screen glowed with a comprehensive report, dense with data, charts, and observations. Richard’s gaze immediately fell upon the summary.

Phase 0: Containment Observations

Richard scrolled through the initial observations, his brow furrowing slightly as he absorbed the raw statistics.

"Nine feet eight inches, almost ten feet tall," Richard murmured, looking from the datapad to the Krill. "And two hundred ninety-one kilograms. Lean, muscular, digitigrade biped. That’s... a substantial opponent." He glanced at Lina. "Hostile, dominant, uncooperative. Yeah, I gathered that much." He paused, then read, "Fluent English, short, commanding sentences. Not surprised there, but I wonder how they learned it."

"Indeed, Sir," Lina confirmed. "Its linguistic abilities are advanced, allowing for direct interrogation and deceptive tactics."

Richard nodded, his eyes moving to the next line. "Containment stability: Secure under gravitic field with neuro-frequency suppression at 18.2 Hz. Good. Very good. That neuro-frequency is crucial. It kept it docile enough for initial capture."

Phase 1: Anatomical and Internal Mapping

Richard swiped to Phase 1, his eyes widening almost imperceptibly as he delved into the Krill’s physiology.

"Skeletal structure three-point-two times human tensile strength? Vulnerable to kinetic force greater than point-three-oh-eight caliber only?" Richard merely hummed, a low, satisfied sound. "That explains why our standard rounds didn’t even scratch the ones in the footage. Fibrous, hyper-dense musculature, three-point-five times body weight lift capacity. Impressive, for a biological. They truly are biological tanks."

He continued reading, his voice laced with a growing, tactical interest. "Enlarged dual-lobed heart and oversized lungs. Breath retention up to twelve minutes. Remarkable biological efficiency. Brain one-point-six times human volume, suppressed prefrontal development, enhanced motor cortex and psionic lobe." Richard’s gaze hardened. "So their intelligence is indeed geared towards combat and control, not abstract reasoning or complex strategy. That aligns with their observed behavior."

"Precisely, Sir," Lina stated. "Their cognitive capacity is efficient but specialized."

"And the healing factor," Richard mused, reading the next line. "Accelerated tissue regeneration, three-point-two times human recovery rate. But it triggers a metabolic crash, fatigue after eighteen minutes of post-wound regeneration." A predatory glint entered his eyes, confirming a prior observation. "A trade-off. Their strength is also their weakness. We need to hit them hard, and keep hitting, to exhaust them. It confirms the strategy from our initial... encounter."

He looked at the next point, a new frown appearing. "Digestive system purely carnivorous. Human blood enhances longevity markers, telomere elongation observed. Responds positively to cooked human food, dopaminergic spike recorded. You fed it cooked human food?" Richard asked, a mixture of disgust and dark amusement in his voice.

"For controlled observation of metabolic responses, Sir. Ethical considerations were balanced against the imperative for comprehensive data acquisition," Lina replied, her tone perfectly neutral.

Richard shook his head, a wry grin touching his lips. "Of course. Anything for science, right? So they’re basically vampiric super-soldiers, with a taste for our cuisine. A truly revolting discovery, but valuable nonetheless."