- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
“They were recaptured and contained, though now that we knew of their abilities, we allowed for the Flood to replicate within a controlled environment. The information gathered from watching this process was incredible, but like before, a new issue arose that halted our research. It was discovered that the Flood had a very limited life span. By your human measurements, left alone with no outside interference, the Flood could only replicate and survive for a few weeks before passing away. Examining the carcasses of the dead samples, we saw that in only a short period of time, the cells that made up the essence of the Flood’s core would simply burn out.”
“But you said that the Flood had slept for an immeasurable amount of time prior to your discovering them, surely if that was true, the Flood would be long dead before your people ever encountered them,” Miranda Keyes explained.
Drawing the eyes of all that were gathered, Dr. Halsey spoke before Fasul was able to offer his own explanation.
“The Flood exist and follow a very basic instinctual pattern of behavior, Captain,” the older woman replied. “You have personally witnessed their most prevalent behavioral instinct, and that is the desire to consume and spread. However, even the most basic of life forms carry at least a minute degree of self-preservation within their genetic makeup, and the Flood perhaps have the most advanced setup than any other creature in the universe. When entering a period of prolonged malnutrition, the Flood will slowly initiate a hibernate state, increasing the production of ‘spores’ that they release within their hosts, which will cause a suppression in their virulent need to consume and spread. Finally the Flood will stop it’s own internal organs, effectively causing it to ‘die’. The Flood however, do not decompose the same way all other organic creatures do, as their bodies never truly erode. Instead, the same ‘spores’ that are used to mutate others, are systematically released while it hibernates; slowing, and in some cases altogether stopping the erosion of its body. Given the limited time I’ve had to study this procedure, my guess as to how long they can sustain themselves is merely conjecture on my part, but from what I’ve gathered the Flood could last upwards to and perhaps exceeding several hundreds of thousands of years.”
“You are quite correct Catherine Halsey,” Fasul said, his tone belying his surprise for her knowledge. “We never discovered how the Flood were capable of ‘awakening’ after they entered their hibernate state, but we do know that given any small increment of time, they can reawaken in mere seconds, no matter how long they may have slept. The passage of time does little to affect their overall aggressive nature, as all of you have likely come to realize.”
“Returning to your recant, what did your people do with the Flood when you realized their insidious nature?” Aonlum asked.
The look of faraway longing returned to Fasul as he smiled somewhat remorsefully.
“The same thing all advanced life forms do when discovering an attribute within another organism that we found desirable. We set about extracting the desired genetics that gave the Flood their ability to reform and live for extended periods of time, within hibernation. The Majal desired to take that attribute and bestow it upon ourselves.”
“Surely you are mistaken!” Aonlum exclaimed audibly. “What madness overcame your race to let such stupidity take root?!”
A look of bemusement passed over Fasul as he calmly waited for Aonlum’s outburst to pass.
“You judge me do you? That is your right I suppose, as you were once mere lapdogs to the Prophets, bowing beneath them in the hopes of being passed scraps when you became lustful for attention. You looked at the Majal as Gods did you? I suppose it is always the deepest wound when one discovers that those they’ve placed upon an alter have feet of clay. Funny is it not, that you would presume that the error my people made was any less innocent than the one your own forefathers made when the Prophets first offered their hands to pull you from your barbaric ways, while fingering the blade at their side, imagining the moment when they would be given the chance to plunge it into your back. Shall I judge you then, Arbiter? You are a brave Sangheili, but your blind fanaticism led to the deaths of so many. How many times did you stand on the bridge of your ship, watching with malice as the Covenant fleets burned those human settlements, giving no care that innocent people dwelt there, and that their lives were being erased? It is easy to look down at my people, as we made mistakes greater than any that came before and afterwards, but you are not without sin.”
Those at the table tensed as Fasul’s calmly delivered insult rocked the Arbiter in his seat, and he dropped his eyes to the surface of the metallic table in shame. Fasul waited for a long moment before smiling once again, this time appearing more genuine than before.
“I understand your outrage, Arbiter, but believe me when I say that we knew very little about the Flood’s innate nature, despite how long we studied their habits. They are very much a mystery to me, even to this day. Where they came from, how they first arrived in this universe, it is all part of a story that I shall never come to know. The threads of this war lead on however, and perhaps as time passes, the story will be told to a future civilization.
“As for the Majal, we were kept in the dark for the most part, concerning the newly deigned experiments being conducted on the Flood specimens. In all cases however, keeping such a great secret proved impossible, and like a wildfire it spread through our society, reaching even those of us that were in other galaxies, observing planets and species. A great debate then began within the Majal, those who thought that using the Flood genetics to try and improve upon our own bodies was a transgression against the very code of the universe. They believed that all creatures were given life for the sole purpose of dying.
“In contrast to this group, there were those that believed our role as the ‘Overseers of the Universe’ granted our species a pardon from that one inevitability given to all life. Death caused a disturbance in our duties, and should we be exempt from it’s inescapable grip, then there would be no concerns that as time passed so would the desire to fulfill our role.”
Fasul stood from his seat and set about pacing slightly behind his seat.
“I cannot recount how long the debate carried on. Years we argued with one another, from political forums, to clashes between neighbors and families. This matter drove a wedge between our society, ending our once peaceful coexistence with one another. Children and parents, lovers, friends…all became caught within the snares of this debate, and in the end neither side was ever granted true benefit of knowing the other to be wrong.
“Time would prove however, that all of this debating would become a moot point. The procedure of implementing Flood genetics within a Majal body was perfected, and with no time to spare, it became open for all to partake in.”
“Did you not think to use physical force to stop them?” asked Aonlum.
“What would that have accomplished?” Fasul responded, gravely. “Since time began we were a peaceful race and aside from rare moments, there was never bloodshed between Majal. Our respect for life was absolute. Should we have attacked our brethren, we would have become hypocrites. Our protest over the implementation of Flood genetics was that it altered and strayed from the course our ancestors had laid out. Spilling their blood would be the same sin, and so we merely sat in silence, watching our children, our friends, our mothers and fathers. We watched as they took part in that which doomed the universe. The procedure was shrouded in secrecy, but it was well known that it involved more complex work than simply introducing the Flood genes into a Majal body. A stimulant was needed, a reaction of some kind within our own genetic code that could allow them to mend and form with one another, and produce that which we scathingly came to call, ‘Half-Breed‘. Over the years, scanning and digesting the expanse of information available to me from the information available to me, I’ve discovered another smaller portion of the procedure. It involved the introduction of the Flood genes in the same vein that the Flood would force a connection with a host body. During the connection attempt, a varying factor would be introduced, that would harden and cut off any degree of linking with the central nervous system, which would then cause the Flood genes to go dormant. From there they were awakened in some manner, causing the mingling and mutation within the blood stream, forcing a connection to some degree.”