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"Personal log. Entry 86.

I've lost yet another assistant last week. This one got sick, the same way as so many of the others before. The symptoms were all there... Coughing, wheezing, loss of motor control, gradual changes in pigmentation of the skin... I can't tell how quickly it happened. He insisted he was unaffected, even after the first signs of infection. Either he didn't want to alarm anyone, or it's been starting to adapt to us. I'll miss the annoying bugger. He knew what he was doing. He even spoke a bit of Russian. His name was even Valerian. Talk about coincidence.

I'll have to find ways to keep things going until the next ship arrives. I've already worked on some lab specimens, which I've tried splicing along with some of the few native plants we've got left. It already seems much less aggressive."

Xenia Akulova set down the recorder with a sigh. As she lay in her bed, staring up at the white ceiling above, she couldn't help but feel hope fading away, faster and faster, despite her best attempts to find a solution. However, she knew she was lucky enough to have a lab located at a convenient distance to the Safe Zone; the other scientists working further north had likely been completely abandoned by that point. Even the sturdy ships sailing from Antartica to her underground on the south Australian coast didn't always make it. Even the mere assistance she received made her immensely grateful; even though the next bi-yearly shipment of supplies and scientists was due to arrive only a month later.

With no way to contact the Safe Zone directly, Xenia had no choice but to patiently await the next arrival. The death of her last assistant meant she would be entirely alone in the lab until then. The few security guards on the floor above were very poor company, as the brutes remained obsessively bound to their codes and protocols. Sometimes, she felt it was a miracle she could conduct such "dangerous" experiments without the men above storming the lab. They were merely trying to contain and repel the Xenophyll. To Xenia, it was clear such a war couldn't be won.

Humanity had to adapt.

"Personal log. Entry 88.

They finally arrived. The month passed by so slowly I was starting to wonder if a walk outside would have been preferable to the boredom.

I think the people in charge down in Antartica are on the verge of giving up. They sent about a dozen more semi-useless guards, and the only help I've gotten is a young biology student. I think she had a degree of some kind, but she doesn't seem to have any experience at all. It's a little-

No, not that one... Look on the top shelf. There you go.

That was her just now. Her name's Jackie. She's very nice, and I know she's got the will to help. I can only hope she won't get the same fate as Valerian. She's still got a long life ahead of herself. She shows some promise, at the very least. Maybe I'll take her in as my personal student."

The days passed by slowly under the artificial lights of the lab, but Xenia's new assistant, Jackie, began to learn the ropes rather quickly. The scientist's intuition seemed to pay off rather well. The girl seemed to have a natural instinct for learning.

Together, the two were able to map out more of what they believed to be the Xenophyll's DNA. The findings gave Xenia clues to the alien life form's ability to dominate all beings on the planet. The initial theory of the Xenophyll as a virus was not very far from the truth. Rather than taking over the host's body in a parasitic way, the Xenophyll directly affected the target's DNA, modifying it just enough to change the original body into nothing more than a tool. Once taken over, the host's purpose became to create heat and energy by converting sunlight, water, and nutrients.

It didn't take Xenia very long to try and use this knowledge on the Xenophyll itself. Some specimens became unable to process the energy supplied to them, while others seemed to amplify the effects even further. However, Xenia's goal remained out of reach in all the tests she had performed. In every single case, the Xenophyll was able to take over and kill the host, even when the Xenophyll was unable to harvest the energy and died as a result.

"Personal Log. Entry 91.

We've gotten yet another failure today. I even thought we had started making some progress on a cure, or at least some kind of toxin to stop that stuff from spreading.

I don't know what went through her head. I had clearly marked which specimens were the dangerous ones. The big, green, scary, moss-like flower was a big no. At least she knew that much. The big red poinsettia flower in our living quarters was perfectly fine. Like an idiot, she went up close to sniff the overgrown poinsettia with the mossy stem.

The one in the sealed lab.

She'd better not die on me too. I was really starting to like her."

In the days following the incident, Jackie had insisted to isolate herself in the quarantine room. Despite how cruel it seemed to Xenia to do such a thing, Xenia knew full well the risks and dangers of letting a Xenophyll victim roam free throughout the lab.

Xenia brought Jackie food and drink, and stayed by her side as often as she could. The guards upstairs remained unaware of the situation. Knowing they wouldn't hesitate to fill Jackie with bullets if they knew, Xenia made sure to keep it a secret for as long as she could. As they seemed so uncomfortable around the volatile experiments, Xenia was able to focus on the infected Jackie, rather than keeping the guards away.

For her part, Jackie didn't seem overly worried about her situation. Boredom appeared to be more of a problem than the Xenophyll itself, which often left Xenia to wonder if the girl was even aware of her own gradually reddening skin. What began as a slightly pinkish colour soon became a much more vibrant hue of bright crimson. Xenia was unsure how to react when Jackie insisted it was only a rash.

The girl's hair was also affected by this change. Originally raven black, Jackie's long strands of hair seemed to fuse together in dozens of thin, green stems, each tipped with a tiny bulb, either white or yellow. Much like with her red skin, Jackie argued there was nothing to worry about. It would supposedly wash away after a quick shower.

"Personal log. Entry... 90? 91? I don't care.

I'm very worried about Jackie. Whatever's affecting her, it's not like anything else I've ever seen so far. She's still in control of all her movements. Her body's been changing faster and faster, but she seems in perfect health. All things considered.

I tried to replicate the plant that she went and smelled, but I wasn't able to. I'm doing my best to make sure it won't molt or anything. Whatever happened to that, we're on to something.

As for Jackie, I just hope she's okay. I wonder if that's short for Jacqueline? I think that's a French name. She's definitely not French, though. Maybe she doesn't like the long spelling. I prefer just Jackie. It's nice and short.

Speaking of short, I think Jackie's been growing. No, I don't think so, it can't be any more obvious. At first she was sitting comfortably in the chair, and now she's... Right now she's sitting on the ground, but her head's higher than mine if I were standing. No, it's even higher than that. I'd say she's at least a good... Ten, eleven feet. Maybe even more, it's hard to tell.

It's hard to imagine it happened only three days ago. At one point, she took off her clothes right in front of me. With how tall she was already, I wasn't surprised, but when she pressed her chest against the glass, I wasn't sure what to think.

First off, those things had gotten simply enormous. I think I'd have needed the cart to carry them. I didn't have time to measure from my side, but I guessed they were maybe two feet wide, give or take.

The really odd thing was what she left on the glass after she pulled herself back. Part of me was ready to jump in there and takes samples, but I had to resist. I know it wasn't milk. I'd imagine it was something more like nectar. The smell was so strong that I could smell it even from my side. It was very sweet and fragrant. It was green, and very sticky. It's even still glowing a little right now, and the lights aren't even turned on.

Just hang in there, Jackie. Whatever's going on, I'm not giving up on you yet."

Fortunately for Xenia, Jackie's condition eventually allowed for more insight into the origins of the Xenophyll. Tests and observations on various cell samples taken from Jackie revealed something which both troubled and fascinated Xenia: the Xenophyll which had infected Jackie was part of a completely new strand. Whereas the first, known kind of Xenophyll sought to adapt the environment as to better support the spread of the Xenophyll, this new species was very different. To Xenia, the two forms of Xenophyll were similar to certain species of insect. The first, known form of Xenophyll was the "worker" strand, and the second was the "warrior".

As the days went by, Jackie's changes had seemed to stabilize, leaving Xenia to focus her attention on the newfound warrior strand. Its strength lay not in its ability to take over the victim, but rather to merge with it, both the Xenophyll and the host making way to a new, hybrid creature. Beyond the basic instincts of survival, the new creatures showed little aggressiveness. This behaviour also seemed linked to the host's original temperament. When Xenia released the warrior Xenophyll onto mice, the new creatures' levels of aggressiveness or passivity were directly linked to each individual, pre-merge.

This was further confirmed by her constant interactions with Jackie. Even though the girl insisted to remain quarantined, she continued to show interest in Xenia's research. The two would discuss various subjects, just as they did before Jackie's infection. The warrior strand thus appeared to leave the personality fully intact. For the Xenophyll, this had obvious advantages, as each host knew best how to survive its environment, and survival for the host meant survival of the Xenophyll.

All things considered, the worker strand was the lesser of two evils concerning humanity's future. As evidenced by Jackie's case, infection by the warrior strand removed every last semblance of physical humanity from the victim. Whether this was good or bad was up to each person. For Xenia, she came to see the warrior strand as the next step in human evolution. In her mind, the Xenophyll was not an invader. Its goal was instead to seek out the strongest allies in order to strengthen itself.

Whosoever could survive the worker strand's arrival was strong enough to be of use to the Xenophyll as a species. From there, the results were mutually beneficial. The Xenophyll and the host would share each other's strengths.

"Personal log. Entry 96, I think.

I'm not exactly sure I want to work on a cure for Jackie, anymore. She doesn't seem to mind her new appearance, especially considering what we've discovered since she first changed. Her diet doesn't seem overly affected. She still eats the same things as she did. She just eats about three times more now, which makes sense considering how big she is.

When we talked today about a cure, she insisted it wasn't worth it. In fact, she suggested I go through the same thing, myself. It's tempting, but I'm not sure if I could allow myself to go through it. The guards above are still unaware of the situation. I don't want to imagine what stupid thing they'd do if they knew.

What if there's yet another strand lying dormant? So far, things are going well, but I'd never be able to forgive myself if something were to happen to Jackie, like if she were to lose control of her mind. On top of that, I don't even know if a cure is even possible. The changes to her body might be irreversible.

Tomorrow, I'm going to try-

Jackie?"

For the first time in two years, Xenia had left a log entry unfinished. The smell coming from the quarantine cell filled the entire lab. The scent was more powerful than Jackie had released so far. It became even stronger when the door to Jackie's new room was unsealed. Even though she could clearly see Jackie from behind the glass, Xenia felt she needed to get much closer.

Infection or not, Xenia's hand reached out to directly touch the creature.