` THE EXTRA INFORMATION )

GUESSING AT NUMBERS AND FIGURES
p u l l i n g . y o u r . p u z z l e s . a p a r t

APOLLO PROJECT

methods

examples of methods by which a character generates an effect.

energy sourcing: ability to draw power from large or small but abundant sources of energy, such as turning kinetic energy into physical blasts or converting solar energy into other forms. sometimes based on proximity to source, sometimes stored for future use.

magical powers: ability to use magical forces to varying degrees. often used to simulate other powers, such as mind control and elemental attacks. not all "magical" superpowers are actually supernatural, but are based on alternate or futuristic "science" which is unexplainable.

technopathy: ability to manipulate technology. manifested as a special form of electrical/telekinetic manipulation, a special form of shapeshifting which allows physical interaction with machines, or even a special form of esp that allows for mental interface with computer data.

telekinesis: ability to manipulate and control objects with the mind, often in ways not visible to the naked eye.

ARTEMIS PROJECT

personal physical

powers which affect a physical person's body

accelerated healing: ability to heal rapidly from any injury; the rate of recovery varies from character to character. can sometimes result in the slowing of aging.

acid generation: ability to generate acid, can be manifested through touch or as a spray.

animal mimicry: ability to take on the abilities of certain animals.

biological manipulation: ability to control all aspects of a living creature's biological make-up. this includes, but is not limited to, genetic alterations, physical distortion/augmentations, healing, disease, and biological functions.

body part substitution: ability to replace one's limbs or other body parts with those of another.

bone manipulation: ability to manipulate the bones in one's own body. this includes, but is not limited to, the generation of new bone mass, projecting bones out from the skin or rearranging one's own bones.

duplication: ability to create physical duplicates of oneself.

temporal duplication: ability to bring past and future versions of oneself back to the present.

echolocation: ability to determine location of items in the environment by use of reflected sound waves, whether generated by the character or ambient sound. also known as sonar sense.

invisibility: ability to render the user unseen to the naked eye.

invulnerability: ability to be immune to one or more forms of physical damage or injury.

kinetic absorption: ability to absorb forms of kinetic energy into oneself and convert it into physical strength.

matter ingestion: ability to consume any sort of matter without any ill effects on the user.

merge: ability to temporarily merge two beings into a single being, which results in a completely new and stronger being.

pheromone manipulation: ability to generate and control pheromones which may have various effects.

poison generation: ability to assault others with one or more varieties of toxins, with widely disparate effects.

prehensile/animated hair: the ability to animate and lengthen one's hair.

reactive/adaptive evolution: ability to develop a resistance or immunity to whatever they were injured by or exposed to. this effect can be permanent or temporary.

self-detonation or explosion: ability to explode one's body mass and reform.

sonic scream: ability to generate vocal sounds of a higher amplitude than a normal human.

superhuman durability: ability to have a higher resistance to one or more forms of damage before being injured.

superhuman reflexes: ability to react faster than a normal human.

superhuman senses: ability to see, smell, taste, feel and/or hear more than a normal human.

superhuman strength: ability to have a level of physical strength higher than that possible by a human being in real life.

superhuman vision: ability to see more than a normal human.

heat vision: ability to project beams of concentrated radiation from the eyes.

night vision: ability to see clearly in darkness.

x-ray vision: ability to see through solid objects.

telescopic or microscopic vision: ability to magnify vision to various levels.

wallcrawling: ability to cling to objects or surfaces by a variety of means. often related to animal mimicry.

waterbreathing: ability to respirate through water in lieu of a gaseous medium. not to be confused with an ability to go without breathing or to be able to breathe an alternate air supply.

undersea adaptation: the ability to adapt to underwater environments, such as the growth of gills and development of amphibious physiology.

ATHENA PROJECT

mental faculty and knowledge-based

innate capability: ability to naturally have skills and/or knowledge typically earned through learning.

omni-lingualism: ability to understand any form of language, a natural polyglot. this can be accomplished in various ways.

omniscience: ability to know anything and everything.

superhuman intelligence: ability to have intelligence far above genius level.

esp: the abilities of extra-sensory perception (ESP) and communication.

astral projection: ability to separate and control one's astral body.

cross-dimensional awareness: ability to detect actions and events in other dimensions.

empathy: ability to read or sense the emotions and/or control the emotions or feelings of others.

mediumship: ability to see and communicate with the dead (ghosts).

precognition: ability to perceive the future. it may be expressed in vague dreams while asleep, other times it can be clear and can occur at will. it may also be used as a form of "danger sense" to show the user that they are being threatened and from what direction it is coming from.

psychometry: ability to relate details about the past or future condition of an object, person or location, usually by being in close contact with it.

telepathy: ability to read the thoughts of, or to mentally communicate with others.

domination and mind control: the ability to alter the perceptions of others, and general mind-control.

astral trapping: ability to cause an astral projection to stay on the astral plane, usually in one specific place.

memory manipulation: ability to erase or enhance the memories of another.

mind control: ability to control the actions or reasoning of another with the mind.

possession: ability to take control of another person’s body via astral projection or mind transfer.

psionic blast: ability to overload another's mind causing pain, memory loss, loss of consciousness, vegetative state or death after having created a psionic link into that person's mind.

psychic weapons: ability to create a weapon of psychic energy that can harm mentally and not physically.

HERMES PROJECT

miscellaneous

the following powers could be manifested in any number of ways

FLIGHT

ability to lift off the ground, to ride air currents or to fly self-propelled through the air.

energy propulsion methods --
cosmic energy control
energy aura projection
gravitational manipulation
magnetic levitation
sonic repulsion field
telekinetic power
thermo-chemical energy

physical propulsion methods --
insectoid form
wind current control
wings

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illusion: ability to alter or deceive the perceptions of another. can be sensory, a light or sound-based effect, or an alteration of mental perceptions.

animation: ability to cause two-dimensional images - particularly illustrated drawings - into illusions or semi-corporeal beings by combining illusion and psychic force.

SHAPESHIFTING

ability to change appearance or body structure.

animal morphing: ability to take on animal forms. may be able to take on the abilities of the altered form.

elasticity: ability to stretch, deform, expand and contract one's body into any form they can imagine.

inorganic: ability to transform completely into an inorganic substance while retaining organic properties.

liquification: ability to turn partially or completely into a liquid.

size shifting: ability to increase or decrease one's size.

sublimation: ability to transform into a gaseous, mist, or fog-like form.

transformation: ability to transform into substance touched.

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PANDORA PROJECT

superpower manipulation

this section refers to the ability to manipulate superpowers themselves, not "power" such as electrical power or gravitational power. because of this, it is possible for a character in this category to have another power as well.

power bestowal: ability to bestow powers or jump-start latent powers.

power mimicry or absorption: ability to copy or absorb another's powers or skills.

power negation: ability to cancel the superpowers of others.

power sensing: ability to sense or recognize superhuman powers.

TRITON PROJECT

object-based

powers derived from objects (also known as artifacts), such as armor, jewelry, weapons, and wands.

ZEUS PROJECT

manipulate fundamental forces or reality

these powers may be manifested by various methods, including: by some method of molecular control; by access to, or partially or fully shifting to another dimension; by manipulating the geometric dimensions of time or space; or by some other unnamed method.

animation: ability to bring inanimate objects to life or to free a person from petrification.

darkness or shadow manipulation: ability to create or manipulate darkness, often by mentally accessing a dimension of dark energy and manipulating it.

density control: ability to increase the natural density of an object and/or one's self.

disintegration: ability to disintegrate matter through touch.

elemental transmutation: the ability to alter chemical elements, changing them from one substance to another by rearranging the atomic structure. may be limited to self-transmutation.

gravity manipulation: ability to manipulate or generate gravitons, or other types of gravitational interactions.

immortality: ability to live forever. this may be complete immortality encompassing invulnerability, partial invulnerability to all but specific events (i.e. decapitation or exposure to a specific chemical such as kryptonite), the ability to die but become resurrected, or simply an inability to age normally.

intangibility or phasing: ability to phase through solid matter without harm.

light manipulation: ability to control, generate or absorb photons (particles of light).

magnetism manipulation: ability to control and/or generate magnetic fields.

mass manipulation: ability to increase or decrease mass in an object or person.

molecular manipulation: ability to mentally manipulate molecules and objects on a molecular level.

probability manipulation: ability to alter probability, causing unlikely things to happen or likely things to not happen.

radiation manipulation: ability to generate, manipulate or have immunity to toxic radiation.

reality warping: ability to change or manipulate reality itself.

sound manipulation: ability to manipulate sound waves.

time manipulation: ability to affect the flow of time by slowing, accelerating, reversing, or stopping it.

CLASSICAL ELEMENTS

ability to control or manipulate the classical elements.

air and wind manipulation: ability to control, generate, or absorb air or wind.

cold and ice manipulation: Ability to reduce the kinetic energy of atoms and thus reduce temperature, can be used to control, generate, or absorb ice.

earth manipulation: ability to control earth; sand, stone, rock, lava, dirt, or minerals.

electrical manipulation: ability to control, generate or absorb electrical fields.

fire and heat manipulation: ability to control the kinetic energy of atoms to generate, control or absorb fire.

plant manipulation: ability to accelerate the growth of, control or animate plant life.

water and moisture manipulation: ability to control, generate or absorb water.

weather manipulation: ability to control or mentally affect the weather. this includes the ability to generate various natural phenomena (rain, tornadoes, lightning, etc.) or control the intensity of the weather.

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energy manipulation: these powers deal with energy generation, conversion and manipulation. in addition to generic energy, versions of these powers exist that deal with such things as light, sound, electricity, and nuclear energy.

concussion beams: ability to generate or transform various forms of energy into a "solid" or concussive beam of energy.

energy blasts: ability to expel various forms of energy from the body.

energy constructs: ability to create complex shapes (such as giant boxing gloves or cages) or even functional machinery (such as fire extinguishers or laser rifles) out of solid energy.

energy conversion: ability to absorb one form of energy and convert it into another form of energy.

force field generation: ability to project powerful fields of manipulated energy.

TRANSPORTATION OR TRAVEL

dimensional transportation: ability to create wormholes, portation "discs" or other spatial portals for transport between two non-adjacent locations.

electrical transportation: ability to travel through electrical conduits (such as power lines, or telephone lines). can enter through devices such as televisions, electrical poles or computers.

omnipresence: ability to be present anywhere and everywhere always.

summoning: ability to summon objects or beings for assistance.

superhuman speed: ability to move at speeds faster than a normal human.

teleportion: ability to move from one place to another without occupying the space in between.

time travel: ability to travel back and forth through time.

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SPECTRES

spectres have the ability to summon other entities to do their bidding. these entities may be either solid or made purely of plasma, and either ghosts/bodies of dead humans/animals or simply forms with no real attachment to the mortal realm. the spectres then have an empathetic link to the beings, meaning that any pain the entity feels, they feel. the empathetic link may vary in degrees. some spectres are also able to communicate with or see spirits that they haven't summoned. spectres may also display much weaker forms of the above powers. their power level previous to the killing injection or the point when they began to respond negatively to their doses is up to you.

the powers and abilities of the entities that they create will range from spectre to spectre. none will be even remotely as powerful as another project, but an overwhelming number of them would be able to, if anything, disconcert even the strongest project. each spectre will have a preferred form that they summon their spectres in, be it animal or human, solid or plasma. their abilities will slightly mimic their creator's, though they will be significantly weaker. aside from that, though, they will all display uniform abilities. the solid forms will possess enhanced strength, durability, and (occasionally) reflexes. plasma forms will be lower-level telekinetics.

the appearance of a spectre is noticeably different from that of a normal person. they are often paler and more sickly looking, and their skin is nearly always cold. their pulse and breathing is impossibly slow, making it easy for them to hold their breath for long periods of time. they are often mistaken for dead when unconscious. as for their personalities, spectres are rarely nice people. they're angry most of the time, due to the fact that even the other projects have shunned them.

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

given their nature, the central intelligence agency has been informed of the escape of the weapons, though the local police have been kept in the dark. their agents, along with the fbi and nsa, have been put to the task of locating and killing all machines of war.

CIVILIAN

most civilians will be blissfully unaware of the nature of merck industries, but some will after the arrival of the projects. some may even go so far as to harbor one of the weapons, accepting them into their family. those who do will do anything to protect them and ensure that they aren't killed.

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

given their nature, the federal bureau of investigation has been informed of the escape of the weapons, though the local police have been kept in the dark. their agents, along with the cia and nsa, have been put to the task of locating and killing all machines of war.

HUNTERS

hunters are civilians that have become aware of the situation, through their own observations or a leak in the intelligence agencies, and have taken it upon themselves to track down subjects of merck industries. some kill them when they find them, others subdue them and sell them back to the government for large sums of money. all are blood-thirsty and armed to the teeth.

NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY

given their nature, the national security agency has been informed of the escape of the weapons, though the local police have been kept in the dark. their agents, along with the fbi and cia, have been put to the task of locating and killing all machines of war. they hold the principle responsibility of making sure that reports of merck industries don't get out.

POLICE

most of the police force is unaware of the nature of the emergency, though they have noticed that something is wrong. a few of the officers, those who are close friends of members of the nsa, cia, or fbi, have managed to weasel information from them, but not many. literally one or two in the entire force.

PRESS

not a single member of press knows about anything that's happened with the weapons, but due to leaks in the police force, they know that there's increased activity in the ranks of the fbi, cia, and nsa. they have their noses open for any sort of story.

SCIENTISTS

these are the people who created the weapons to begin with. they've all sworn oaths of secrecy, even before the outbreak, so there's no worry that they'll go to the press. some want the weapons to remain free, after developing emotional attachment to one or more of them, but others think that it's dangerous for them to be out among the public, and that they should be terminated. even more want them returned safely to the lab for further studies, because their intellect hasn't been satisfied.

QUESTIONS OF SCIENCE AND PROGRESS
d o n t . s p e a k . a s . l o u d . a s . m y . h e a r t

ABOUT THE PROJECTS

the subjects for each project may have come from several different backgrounds. most of them were born into merck industries, through in vitro fertilization and then implanted in volunteers. as soon as the baby was born, it was taken from the mother and injected with its first dose of experimental drugs. due to this early exposure, most subjects showed signs of advanced evolution from infancy. those who weren't born into it were handed over by the government, meaning orphans that they had been unable to place in a suitable home (these were usually orphans who had behavior problems), criminals on death row (these were given the option, though many came to regret it), and the insane or mentally challenged who had no families (who were then cured of their maladies through recombinant dna in order to be suitable for testing).

a patient's room was simply furnished. they were equipped with a bed and restroom, though they never had any privacy due to constant supervision. all had sufficient food, water, and lighting, as well as several diversions, such as books or even a television. all of these were purely for the purpose of education, though. their situation, based on merely utility, was perfect. it was the lack of freedom that made it bitter. that, and the frequent physical pain that came with the injections. some were spared from this, the majority. only a select few were pained by their doses.

no patients were given 'human' names, but rather, a number and a codename. the codename was given to alleviate the necessity to remember numbers by the scientists, not as a form of endearment. the numbers went as follows:

apollo project: 1
artemis project: 2
athena project: 3
hermes project: 4
pandora project: 5
triton project: 6
zeus project: 7

then, following a hyphen, was the number signifying the order in which the subject came. for example, the seventeenth subject of the pandora project would be id number 5-17. the fifth of the artemis project would be 2-5, and so on. the number was then tattooed onto their left forearm as soon as they reached the age thirteen. those under thirteen will not have a tattoo. the codename given to them related to their power. someone with the ability to control fire might be called 'torrid' or something that related directly to it. (NOTE: feel free to use codenames used in comic books.) after escaping from merck industries, many subjects chose normal names for themselves. some did it to fit in, while others did it because for once in their lives they wanted to feel human. because these names are chosen, siblings do not have to have the same surname.

because they were not allowed to associate with each other, the projects will not be familiar with each other before the point of their breaking out. unless, of course, the characters are telepaths, and were able to communicate with each other for most of their lives. their relationships with the scientists can go either way. because the scientists have watched them develop, many may feel close emotional attachments to the subjects, while others may view them simply as property, sub-human. the projects themselves may not be fond of the scientists, given that they were held in captivity, except under special circumstances where a scientist favored them.

SIXTY REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE
t h a t . i s . m y . r e g u l a r . s p e e d

ABOUT POWERS

FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE HERE (i suggest you click the characters with your desired power and read the information about their abilities)

there are very few powers that i'll forbid (immortality being one of them, because it wouldn't make sense for the scientists to be able to pull that one off), but if you want the higher level powers, you'll have to impress me with your application. you'll have to be highly literate if you want an ability like time travel. don't feel bad if i ask you to change it. my standards will be incredibly high for someone to take that one, but don't be afraid of it either. i'd love to see some people try for those. but remember, if you get it, you have to be more aware of god-moding than others.

your character is allowed to have more than one power, as well as powers outside of their projects. as long as their major power is in their home project, you're good. be sure that the powers relate to each other. it wouldn't make sense for a pyrokinetic to have superhuman speed. a telepath, though, can be telekinetic and have superhuman intelligence, or another combination. i'm allowing up to five abilities (though that isn't strictly a rigid number), only two of which can be the major abilities (see the list below).

anyone who uses an object to harness their powers or has the ability to affect the power itself (power bestowal, mimicry or absorption, negation, sensing) will be placed in either the triton project or the pandora project, given their narrow scope.

MAJOR POWERS (UP TO TWO)
energy sourcing
magical powers
technopathy
telekinesis
biological manipulation
bone manipulation
duplication
temporal duplication
invisibility
invulnerability
matter ingestion
reactive/adaptive evolution
self-detonation or explosion
sonic scream
superhuman strength
omniscience
mediumship
precognition
telepathy
domination and mind control
memory manipulation
mind control
possession
psionic blast
psychic weapons
flight
illusion
shapeshifting
power bestowal
power mimicry or absorption
power negation
animation
darkness or shadow manipulation
disintegration
gravity manipulation
immortality
intangibility or phasing
light manipulation
magnetism manipulation
molecular manipulation
probability manipulation
reality warping
time manipulation
air and wind manipulation
cold and ice manipulation
earth manipulation
electrical manipulation
fire and heat manipulation
plant manipulation
water and moisture manipulation
weather manipulation
energy manipulation
concussion beams
energy blasts
energy constructs
dimensional transportation
electrical transportation
omnipresence
superhuman speed
teleportation
time travel
undersea adaptation

MINOR POWERS (UP TO THREE)
accelerated healing
acid generation
animal mimicry
body part substitution
echolocation
kinetic absorption
merge
pheromone manipulation
poison generation
prehensile/animated hair
superhuman durability
superhuman reflexes
superhuman senses
superhuman vision
heat vision
night vision
x-ray vision
telescopic or microscopic vision
wallcrawling
waterbreathing
innate capability
omni-lingualism
superhuman intelligence
esp
astral projection
cross-dimensional awareness
empathy
psychometry
astral trapping
power sensing
density control
elemental transmutation
mass manipulation
radiation manipulation
sound manipulation
energy conversion
force field generation
summoning

WHEN I WAS A LITTLE SPY
s u p e r n a t u r a l . a n d . i n f a n t i l e

LIFE AS A PROJECT

as i mentioned before, the projects were not allowed to associate with each other before they broke out. that, for many of them, was the first time that they came in contact with anyone other than the scientists. most of them led reclusive lives. they were allowed nearly anything that they wanted, as long as it was deemed educational. young children were allowed to watch cartoons for entertainment, but as they got older, they sort of upgraded. mostly they were given books (of every genre) and educational movies, but they were allowed time during which they could watch things for entertainment. some, for instance, my have seen all three parts of the godfather during their teenage years.

certain adjustments would have been made to accommodate their powers. a person who could travel through electrical currents or manipulate those currents, for instance, would not have been allowed a television, computer or even electrical sockets, while others would have. their rooms were often simple, with a bed, a desk, and a tv/computer (powers permitting). a few along the walls might have had small, unbreakable windows, but most didn't.

training of the projects went very smoothly, for the most part. typically, they were trained to kill, though there were others who were trained to hack or control the minds of others. their training took part in a large room, which could easily be changed to accommodate people of different power types. training was occasionally painful, intense, or emotionally traumatic, but projects eventually got over that fact. most of them, any way.

occasionally, in the cases of twins or siblings, or those with similar powers, the scientists would joint train them, training them to kill together as partners. in this way, some projects would know others before breaking out. the way that the message of a revolt was communicated was through telepaths, some who had had contact with others for most of their lives. the telepaths passed along the message to nearly all of the projects (there may be some exceptions, those who weren't reached), so they were well aware before the outbreak.

the outbreak went as follows, happening a little over a year prior to the current date: