Project Stripes

As I promised, here is an overview of the history of Project Stripes. Feel free to draw your own conclusions from what is presented here. This is all you get for now.

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PROJECT STRIPES

An excerpt from the unpublished manuscript of Professor Ira Deerborn, titled "Project Stars and the Rise of the American Dream."

In order to adapt to the evolving battlegrounds where wars were prosecuted by small, elite forces rather than the logistical nightmare of large armies, the US armed forces choose a joint approach. Rather than focus solely on the technological aspects like the USSR, it was determined that "the Chinese approach" would be more advantageous. While officially research into the so-called boost drug was prohibited, work continued behind the scenes.

This new and innovative branch of the military-industrial complex soon yielded several successful projects, though they proved to be difficult to scale up for military use. The human cost of producing even a single super-soldier was seen as unpalatable even for the normally callous weapon developers. There was an inherent conflict in the military's express wish to transform mature, trained soldier into something more than they were, and the high lethality of the boost drugs. The fate of the infamous Unit Gold was seen as a warning. This was a volunteer company of one hundred men who had agreed to submit to the boost drug under a newly developed, reputedly safer regiment. While things seemed to be going well at first, the compound eventually was destroyed in a massive explosion yielding only one survivor. The survivor, Soldier 71, is still the crowning achievement of Project Stars, but has so far not been able to be reproduced.

In contrast, the bionic and cybernetic branches of Project Stars had great success, with the exception of the ■■■■■■■■■■■ debacle. While some useful research came from the boosted side, especially regarding transplanting enhanced organs, on the whole it was considered too erratic to rely on. Indeed, most people today are unaware that many boosted individuals serving in the military are a product of homegrown research, and not people volunteering to serve as an expression of patriotism. Several side projects were spun out from under the Project Stars banner, which will be dealt with in later chapters. For now, let us focus on the Unit Gold experiments as an example of the grandiose visions the project directors had for the future American Super Soldier.

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Excerpt from an intercepted letter between ■■ ■■■■■■■■■ ■■■■■■■■■ and ■■ ■■■■■■ ■■■■■■■■■■■. Ex.1WA2b

I've told you again and again that I don't care about your moral qualms. They're killing Project Stars turning it into just another damn weapons manufacturing program. You and me both know it can be more. Should be more. The American of tomorrow is not some cyborg monstrosity, they are the superman. You've seen it. What we can be. We just need to figure out how this works, and until then, how we can administer it safely. If you want to spend the rest of your life dosing cloned organs and staring at petri dishes, you need to tell me now. I'm doing this. I've got the funding, just don't ask me where I got it. Neither of us want to be associated with those NF weirdos. In fact, you'd better burn this letter once you've read it. They're controversial, even over here. Not that I think the kidnapping children rumors are true, but you know how it is with fanatics. They never look good in the press. We need to be smart about this.

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A letter between ■■ ■■■■■■ ■■■■■■■■■■■ and ■■ ■■■■■■■■■ ■■■■■■■■■. EX.2WA1g

You're insane. What are you planning to do? Sterilize what remains of the coast? You know there's no future in your goddamn superman. They're a weapon, a bomb, a tank. They can't even have kids for fucks sake, you can't even consider doing this on a grander scale. Consenting adults is one thing, and I'll admit that the fetal experiments did yield some interesting data, but this? This is madness. By the time you're getting this letter I've already turned over our correspondence to the Feds, chances are you won't even get to read it because you're under arrest. I guess I just wanted to write this out anyway. Get it off my chest. It will be entered into evidence in the end, I suppose, so you'll at least get to hear it at your trial. Fuck you ■■■■■■■■■ , that you'd even consider this.

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An excerpt of a transcript of the October 25th meeting of the ■■■■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■■■■■■■.

Through this presentation I will refer to the various compounds used under their collective description as "boost drugs." Please refer to the included handout for detailed product descriptions. I am doing this since, regardless of how some producers wish to separate themselves from the competition, the active substance is essentially the same and the efficiency is similar. While there is a decision to be had which variant would be most suitable, this is not the subject of today's discussion.

Now, we all know that there are two major drawbacks when it comes to application of the boost drugs. The first is the high chance of a life-threatening reaction, the second is that so far it seems to render subjects infertile. Since the exact mechanism to how this compound works its changes on the body is not yet fully explored, we are left with empirical evidence only. As I assume all present are familiar with the current state of research, let me summarize what the consensus is:

1) Death occurs either through mechanisms similar to anaphylactic shock as the subject's immune system attacks the boost drug, or as a result of bodily changes that are inimical to life.

2) The chance of death is greatest among healthy adults, which could be seen as an immunal overreaction to the drug comparable to what occurs in pandemic influenza.

3) The chance of death is lowest among older children and younger teenagers. The current theory is that the body is already prepared for massive pubertal changes, which helps to mitigate the shock.

4) The chance of survival can be increased by putting the patient in a medically induced coma, lowering their body temperature drastically, and introducing an immunosuppressive drug regimen.

5) A gradual introduction of boost drugs in the system has shown to increase survival, though possibly at the loss of potential power.

6) Even low levels of boost drugs leads to miscarriage among female rats, even if no boosted changes are observed in the mothers. This has not officially been tested in humans, for understandable reasons.

7) So far, there has been no reliable evidence of a successful pregnancy with a boosted individual involved. This correlates with animal testing.

8) While certain genetic lines have shown a slightly greater chance of surviving the boosting process in laboratory animals, there is not enough studies to ascertain if the same goes for humans.

9) The nature of the boost remains unpredictable. While some speculate that physical surroundings or the psychological state can influence the resulting boost, any evidence is circumstantial at best.

10) While the original diet drug only provoked a reaction in a fraction of a percentage of the subjects, further refinement have increased this chance to nearly one hundred percent at recommended dosage levels. This level can vary from person to person, but there is no clear connection between dosage, success and the power of the boost. As far as we know, if the level of drugs needed to flip the boost drug are there, the change starts. The best analogue wold be an on/off switch.

As you see, the unpredictable nature of the boost reaction makes it hard to draw firm conclusions, and while animal research has proven useful, the results are not always transferable to human subjects. In order to rectify this, I propose we take a step back and focus on base research rather than the utilitarian approach of Project Stars. Before we can have a reliable transformation of soldiers into super soldiers, we must understand more of how the changes work. As I can see some doubtful faces in the audience, let me assure you that Project Stripes needs nowhere near that kind of budget, it is very cost-effective. All that is needed is time. If we want to win the Future, we need to start working towards that now.

So, Project Stripes. What I am proposing is the largest-scale human testing experiment ever done on the continental United States. Efforts will of course be made to minimize casualties, but I would argue that what can be learned justifies the sacrifices made. I have here a map of several possible sites located within the newly established Free Economic Zone. The lack of regulation and government oversight means that we can operate beneath the radar, which we all have agreed is a necessity when it comes to this kind of research. The inhabitants of the site consists mostly of settled criminals and refugees, the usual kind of rabble which has been drawn to the west coast. While more research is needed if we agree to pursue this, let me describe a typical site, and what the project will entail.

Site 3 lies on the northern edge of the old Los Angeles ruins, near what was once San Fernando. It is currently a small settlement consisting mostly of re-immigrants, but with a modest investment it is believed that this can become a stable community thanks to its groundwater supply. If an enterprising company locates a facility nearby and offers a steady source of blue-collar work it is believed that most of the inhabitants will stay put, and thus make the study more reliable. Money for this could be siphoned off the rebuilding funds allocated if needed. There is already a local council established on the site, which will make things easier. As work is already proceeding to refurbish the old water-treatment plant, our work is halfway done.

The project will demand two things. The first one is to place staff at the water-treatment plan and modify it so that a minuscule amount of boost drugs can be added to the water supply. This level will be far below what is needed to produce a change in an individual, but high enough to possibly affect a developing fetus. The second half is to establish a local health care provider which can keep track of how this affects the populace. While the intake of water can vary between individuals, this will still enable us to run several studies in order to ascertain necessary parameters for further research.

1) Will microdosing boost drugs during pregnancy lead to the birth of naturally boosted children? If so, is there a level of microdosing boost drugs where the amount of miscarriages and fetal deformations can be seen as acceptable compared to the chance of giving birth to a boosted child?

2) How will this affect the cancer rate in the community compared to surrounding areas?

3) Will there be spontaneous emergence of boosted individuals? If so, how will their power compare to other boosts? At what age will these changes begin to show?

4) Will people born in these communities have a higher survival rate when subjected to a full boost dose later in life? See also "Inoculation Theory."

5) Will this affect the fertility of children born and growing up in the community? What about the number of pregnancies and children born to people moving into it?

6) Is there a difference when it comes to genetic heritage or race?

As you can see, Project Stripes could be the answer to many of the questions we have. These issues must be resolved if we are to move forward, and I can assure you that similar research is most likely already going on elsewhere. You've all heard the rumors about the Chinese, but I doubt they are the only ones. Thereby I propose that, pending your agreement, we begin work on Project Stripes as soon as possible. We cannot allow ourselves to be left behind in this human arms-race, regardless of lingering ethical concerns.