“Expert witness Lucas Calderon was next called forth. Mr Calderon carried out much of the work in researching both the cause and possible cures for the sudden outbreak of additional external organs - namely gills, tails, and claws - suffered by the majority of the population in the final weeks of the Fleet, and in the subsequent time since settlement on Terra Libre.”
“Mr Calderon first outlined his initial observations that the earliest afflicted individuals were limited to a handful of ships, but that cases quickly appeared elsewhere, indicating that the condition spread like a disease. Such a thing could, he reasoned, only have arisen artificially. After some painstaking effort, he was able to isolate a sample of the virus responsible; however, it was not until the gene bank present on the Resurrection was able to be recovered from the debris of the destroyed ship in Terra Libre orbit that he was able to pinpoint the source of the virus.”
“According to the evidence presented by Mr Calderon (see Appendix R), the virus seems to be a modified form of a microorganism found within this gene bank, adjusted to carry a specific payload of DNA subsequences also found there. However, no version of the actual virus itself was present in the records.”
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“Based on the sum of all the evidence presented, the Court rules that this 'morphological plague' can be attributed to the work of Bolygo Pharmaceuticals, with specific attention to Dr Gal Tzalul - the similarity of whose earlier work (involving genetically modified otters) to the effects brought on by this 'plague' are particularly noted.”
“It is noted for the record the debt of thanks owed to those researchers, in particular Mr Calderon, who developed the serums, therapies, cybernetics, and quarantine procedures necessary to wipe out this virus and reverse or otherwise mitigate its effects in all those who sought such treatment.”
- Excerpts from proceedings of the judicial inquiry into the activities of Bolygo Pharmaceuticals
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