Furthaid's shadow: ASD in the later years (prologue)

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ASD

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was a conspiracy born in the late 20th century, with Albert Einstein funding the Eureka city. Eureka was sponsored by the American government, but it was only a tiny part of a global conspiracy. This conspiracy was non-governmental, and sponsored by multinational companies. One wouldn't expect rival companies to join in such matter, but it was exactly what happened, having once happened before with them sharing Chinese factories for low prices. But this time it was completely confidential, because it was exclusive and extreme science. There were no limitations for science projects inside, specially the controversial ones - such as tests in embrionary cells and with black holes. As a matter of fact it did work, till the late 21st century, when basically each section wanted to break apart - and did, eventually. As the world became more liberal and willing to have "new science" the scientists realized the ASD wasn't necessary any longer - and decided to join other legal groups. Some, however, weren't willing to become public - and as they couldn't keep ASD alive - they became other organizations. And one of them had a revolutionary aspect: they were creating a new intelligent species. Not improving the human genes, as others did, but radically changing it. Of course it would have a negative reaction from the public, so they kept it secret. It is still a mystery what kept it alive for so long, so many decades. They were called the BIOvironment association.

Their project was to mix human and other mammals' DNA, joining their qualities and removing their defects - of course such endeavor wasn't easy nor quick, or even cheap. They worked for over 70 years, studying their creatures and improving the next generation. In the beginning it was a disaster, they all had double personalities, human and animal, rational and instinctive. It was the main challenge, to stabilize and make them become one instead of just conflicting with each other. The body mix wasn't that difficult, nature mostly balanced each side and the scientists had only to make sure the human features were more present, so the beings would be, all in all, humanized. They built a city to accommodate all the thousands of beings they created, with a high standard of life, the latest technology used. They had some work to hide it: they made green roofs (with lots of trees) and blurred the satellites images, so people would think it was just an average forest, one of the last few ones. This city became self-sustainable as soon as the creatures became more stable and got a large enough number. Also, it was probably the most ecological city in the world, as the scientists were also ecologists in some way, and the animal part of the creatures constantly pointed out how nature is important in a number of ways. It was somewhat a paradise, but it couldn't be like this forever: as soon as the city became functional, the sponsors were threatening to abandon the project as, in the current stage, it seemed unwise. So, before the sponsors took any actions, the scientists started a new project: to insert the creatures in the human society.

They were mostly prepared for this, as the creatures were tuned to perfection, and with many human features. But the society wasn't: most humans feared or despised the "furries" - called like that for most of them having fur all over - and soon began a massive common prejudice, with even churches around the world wanting to terminate them. It was traumatizing and dangerous for them, mainly after a group of terrorists called " Furtheid" (apartheid + furries) appeared to actually do what so many conservatives wanted. But they were lucky that it wasn't all about darkness: There were liberals too, that fought for their rights together, including those scientists. This tension remained stable till the end of the hidden city, destroyed by furtheid, where many furries had been killed, which fuelled the living ones with rage. That was exactly when the third world war began, instead of a conflict between countries, this one happened between species. That's when our tale begins, about the troublesome life of Eric Johnson.

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_ Chapter one sneak peek: _

" (...) Because our creators have predicted the danger in such a revolutionary project, they developed it secretly. But eventually they had to open it due to many issues, mainly financial ones. They did it one step at a time: started economically, then politically - when everything began. The world was suspecting of The Labs' deeds, as it was a hidden city, so they were forced to reveal the project, to prove it wasn't a threat to the world at all. Governments around the world accepted this project, but only with one condition: to open the city and reveal its citizens. Most countries created programs for the inclusion of this new intelligent species in their society - but they forgot a primordial aspect: the public opinion. Everything was so quick that the humans had a shock, followed by hate and disgust for the furries, as they call us. As you can see, most of these countries failed to do so, generating a civil war worldwide. The furries got lost, so they couldn't get together to fight for their own space. Some even managed to achieve good status. However, this wasn't without a constant threat of losing it all, including their own lives by terrorists' attacks, which became worse as they united in the FURTHEID organization. (...) "