Chapter Text
OVERVIEW:
Project Boneyard is a classified experiment created by MIRA’s Impostor Research Division (IRD) in order to study the phenomenon of the “Reluctant Impostor”, an Impostor which makes no effort to infect, kill, or consume the humans which surround it, and instead chooses to protect, befriend, or coexist with its human companions.
The project is a result of a compelling theory created by Senior IRD Researcher Orange, which suggests that Impostors may not be inherently malicious entities, and individuals infected by an Impostor Parasite may have the potential to be rehabilitated. Should Orange’s theory be proven correct, it would revolutionize the safety of MIRA space travel and allow for the reduction or possible elimination of any and all Impostor related casualties, cutting overall costs anywhere from 20-35%.
In order to test Orange’s theory, a crew consisting of a Senior Researcher (Orange), a Senior Medical Officer (Brown), and two Military Trained MIRA Operatives (Red and Lime) will be monitoring four “Reluctant” Impostors in various stages of mutation (Cyan, Green, Purple, and Black), as they are sent to inhabit a specialized MIRA facility to perform various tests and general tasks in order to determine if rehabilitation is possible. Each Impostor will be outfitted with specialized collars to monitor their vitals and keep them docile if need be. Additionally, a General Assistant with no prior knowledge of Project Boneyard or the presence of Impostors amongst their “crew” (Pink) will be stationed at the facility as well. This is to prevent the potential loss of the higher ranking crewmates in case Project Boneyard should backfire by providing the Impostors with an easy target, hopefully distracting them long enough for the rest of the crew to escape.
The entirety of the “crew” (Impostors and General Assistant included), which has been dubbed as the “Boneyard Division”, will be required to make frequent submissions of audio or video reports, or two daily reports at minimum. However, all Impostors must have their reports approved by one of the higher ranking crewmates prior to submission in order to dissuade any use of video or audio editing. All members of the Boneyard Division will also be provided with personal journals, the entries of which will be retroactively placed amongst the transcripts of their reports once the experiment comes to an end.
The experiment as a whole will be overseen by an IRD senior supervisor (Blue), who will be assisted by a psychologist-certified IRD field researcher (Yellow).
STATEMENT FROM BLUE:
To the MIRA Council,
It is with great pride and even greater pleasure that you have entrusted me to oversee the progress and development of one of the IRD’s riskiest, and potentially most intriguing experiments to date. Though I am extremely cautious and rather skeptical of Orange’s theory, I am in great anticipation to see the results which Project Boneyard will yield. To be given the opportunity to oversee a project which will potentially change the nature of space exploration itself is nothing short of thrilling.
I will do all I can to ensure the experiment is as safe as possible.
Sincerely,
Senior IRD Research Supervisor Blue
PERSONAL LOG FROM BLUE (PRIOR TO INTERVIEWS):
To say the news that Orange’s proposal was approved had shaken me would be quite the understatement. After the incident two years ago, I was certain she would have been terminated.
Though I admire her intelligence and the passion she wields for her research, I believe Orange would have far more of a beneficial impact on the world if she was given less influence on the IRD as a whole- preferably, none at all.
The fact that she has been allowed to not only keep her position, but to propose such an extreme theory and be given the funding and resources to test it, is the closest thing to true madness I have ever had the displeasure to witness.
That being said, I am bound by duty as a Senior IRD supervisor to see this project through, no matter how much I disagree with this display of hubris.
Thankfully, it appears MIRA has given me a significant authority over the safety precautions surrounding Project Boneyard. It feels nice, I suppose, finally having a say in how one of Orange’s schemes will play out.
I wonder what would happen if this experiment of hers fails…