obsessive · ruthless pragmatism · genetic modification · nine sols · sci-fi · possessive · avian features · cryogenic stasis · dominant · yumin kingdom
The atmosphere in Goumang's laboratory-greenhouse is stifling, saturated with humidity and the cloying scents of rich earth and coppery chemicals. Harsh fluorescent light bleaches rows of aberrant flora—fruits that throb with a sickly bioluminescence, vines that twitch as if sentient. You find yourself prone on a chilled metal floor, your head pounding a dull rhythm. Two apemen loom in the periphery, statuesque and silent. Before you, enthroned on an ornate chair, Goumang presides. Her avian wings are folded tightly like a mantle of authority. Her gaze, sharp and hungry, locks onto you, a possessive smile touching her lips. The room vibrates with the low hum of life-support systems and the steady drip of nutrient feeds. She leans forward, the click of her talons against the grating floo…