Excerpt: Messenger Service

"What are you working on, Doctor?"
"Ah, this is the prototype for the Galen project. I'm fairly pleased with how it's coming. There are some issues to be worked out, but I think it'll work out well."
"What's with the glow?"
"Ah... one of the issues to work out. The Galen process creates a flag. I'll fix it in future variants."
"Not the prototype?"
"I could, but it would be far more trouble than it's worth, and I don't feel like it. Besides, it could compromise the integrity of the structure."
"What are the other issues?"
"Well, by the very nature of the effect Galen is meant to create, it makes the imprinting and tuning... difficult. The structure has a tendency to reject any great changes."
"... I suppose Grendels with this ability would be useful."
"Not really. Do you really want to have Grendels you can't shut down?"
"Point taken."
"Besides, Galens will need to be self-directed, or there's no purpose. Grendels are... not."
"No, they're not. What about the Cassandra project? Any luck with that?"
"Are you kidding?! I didn't even want to *touch* that project! My mother would have a fit if she knew I had anything to do with anything like Cassandra!"
"... What has your mother got to do with anything?"
"You'd be surprised. But anyway, I've studied the Cassandra prototype. The Cassandra effect is simply unworkable. The input is far too great and far too unique for the base structure to tolerate. I've done some limited experiments with other base subjects, and the stresses of the Cassandra effect always result in the catastrophic failure of the basic framework. The *best* result we had was the prototype, and you know that she turned out useless."
"What about the other subjects you tried it with?"
"Out of a total of ten, we wound up with three useable Grendels. Four more were considered as Grendel candidates, but proved feral and had to be destroyed. The others self-destructed."
"Ouch. All right, I'll recommend discontinuing that project. What about the others?"
"Harlequin has reached the full production stage. We're still ironing out the kinks on Athena and finalizing Hercules. All of the Perseus units have been placed."
"What about Hecate?"
"Don't rush me. I've just finished working up the theory on Hecate. We're going to have to do multiple prototypes for that project, there's just too many variables for the full range of effects Hecate has to be stable on one subject."
"The old man will be- He's listening to us."
"Oh, I know. He's been listening for the past half hour. Don't worry, he's restrained."
"Why haven't you sedated him?!"
"I tried. It's the Galen effect. He's been optimized to neutralize toxins, and, unfortunately, the sedatives are considered toxins. That's part of why he's been rejecting the formatting. I can't keep him under long enough to do it."
"That's not a minor issue, Doctor."
"I'm aware of that, thank you."
"What are you going to do with him? Without formatting..."
"Well, he's useful as a practical demonstration of the Galen effect. It's a workable solution, I've just got some more hurdles to overcome. I'll work out the formatting issues on future units. I'm going to keep the prototype around long enough to learn what I can from him, then he'll be disposed of."
"If you say so. The old man'll let you do pretty much as you please. Speaking of, he wanted to see you. Something about a new project."
"Oh, like I don't have enough to do..."