I search Caesar’s past, looking for evidence of murder, rape, the usual villain fare. Just like with Lawrence, I want to confirm my suspicions. Dozens of little specks of memory detach from him, and after a quick glance, I promptly wipe them from my mind.
“Walking the earth like an empty vessel, too cowardly to end it yourself. That’s the justice you’ve earned.” I finish, and as my judgment takes hold, a large, glowing speck of light leaves Caesar’s head.
Caesar’s memories flooded into my mind.
Images of his family pop up: Lucretius beaming and clapping for him, his childhood achievements, his old friends, the standing ovation he received after a school speech. There’s his first dance, his first love, his first awkward kiss.
Then, predictably, the memories take a sharp, unpleasant turn as he enters adulthood. The world becomes a tapestry of plots, schemes, and betrayals. The only joy he finds is in the unspeakable crimes he commits, reveling in the feeling of control and domination…
How did such a sweet kid turn into this? I almost feel a twinge of sympathy. Almost.
Digging through Caesar’s memories proves… illuminating. Turns out, our dear Caesar was mixed up with the Syners, or as they were originally known, the Synthars.
Back in his college days, Caesar was obsessed with the tech behind artificial life. Apparently, centuries ago, humans got so advanced they whipped up the first multicellular artificial lifeform. This tech evolved fast, birthing a humanoid species: the Synthars.
These Synthars were almost perfect human copies, except for one tiny detail: they were mirror images. Like, everything, down to their DNA and physiology, was flipped.
This mirrored physiology gave them some neat perks. They were immune to every disease and toxin that could take down a human. Plus, they had crazy long lifespans, potentially living for hundreds of years. So naturally, they got all the fun jobs: working in super dangerous industries, being test subjects for human immortality research, the usual.
However, then the Harbingers found out. Guess what? They’re the Anunnaki from Sumerian myths! Giant, godlike beings with universe-level knowledge. They were, shall we say, less than thrilled at humanity’s sudden technological leaps. They were absolutely furious when they found out about these artificial creations.
They promptly wiped out the entire Synthar creation technology. They also took out any human who had anything to do with it. The Harbingers laid down the law: humans were forbidden from creating any lifeforms and from researching life extension. Warning humanity if these rules were to be broken. They would wipe humans off this planet.
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They ordered the genocide of all Synthars. Humans took those words as more than a suggestion. And so began the slaughter. In the months after the order was passed, ten thousand Synthars, who are now commonly called Syners, were hunted and slaughtered in cold blood.
Although this happened centuries before Caesar’s time, he is convinced some survived. He searches in secret, obsessively. Then, he finds him. An orphan child, barely more than eight years old, with a chest wound that should have pierced his heart. Except… it’s on the wrong side.
Caesar takes him in, treating him in secret. Tests confirm his suspicions. The child is a Syner. And then… the tests become something far worse. Brutal experiments. The child doesn’t survive. His body is dissected, every piece preserved in jars.
His severed head was in the jar I saw in that room. Poor kid.
Caesar reports his findings to Duke Lucretier, who practically pats him on the head with praise. The Duke tasks him with continuing the search, the research. The hunt for the Syners, for the secrets of their unnatural lives, their near-immortality.
Suddenly, Caesar has resources pouring in, both from the main family and the Duke himself, who’s growing old.
Using what he learned from the Syner child, Caesar develops medicines. Not cures, mind you. Just… treatments. He dilutes them, sells them at exorbitant prices. Enough to ease the symptoms, never enough to truly heal.
With the wealth rolling in, Caesar’s influence explodes. He’s got more power than he ever dreamed of. He does… Well, let’s just say he does some really bad things. Murder, rape, assassinations, kidnappings, human trafficking… the list goes on. And he loves every minute of it. He’s practically swimming in self-satisfaction.
Then, for years, nothing. An empty void. Until Bailey. Finding him was like striking gold. But he slipped through his fingers. Now, he’s hunting her with everything he has. Every resource, every contact, every dirty trick he knows. He’s desperate. And then… the bounty hunter calls.
Bailey endured unspeakable tortures, countless tests, all for Caesar’s twisted amusement. He remained stubbornly unbroken, even as they practically disassembled and reassembled him with high-tech medicine.
Then, a message arrived from the Duke. An order. Caesar had to hand Bailey over. No arguments. No delays. He had no choice but to obey.
These memories… they're only five days old.
I shift to tonight’s memories, carefully editing them, leaving only the raw fear and anguish he felt when I delivered his sentence.
As my hair retracts from his head, his wounds close. His eyes darken, lifeless. He slumps to the floor.
The strange aura around me fades, my hair returning to its usual silver. I snap Rexy’s leash back on, shrinking her down to pocket-size, and promptly exit the dome.
Seriously, I’m starting to think I’m addicted to these all-nighters.
A quick change of clothes later, I’m back at the bar where I met the bounty hunter. I find a quiet corner and slump into a seat. I need a moment to process everything that’s happened. My brain feels like scrambled eggs.
Some years feel like days, some days feel like years… and today definitely felt like one of those days.