Chapter 78 78: Conspiracy [ 2 ]
"Any progress?" he asked, though the answer was obvious.
Dr. Voss removed her gloves with a snap. "We've replicated 89.7% of the formula.
The remaining components..." She gestured helplessly at the suffering animal.
"Without that last 10%, our version is essentially an expensive acid."
The military liaison barked a laugh. "So what you're saying is, we've spent billions in R&D to create a weapon that melts flesh instead of healing it?"
"Not helpful, Colonel," Veyne snapped. He turned to his researchers, noting the exhaustion in their postures, the frustration in their eyes.
"Walk me through the challenges again. Slowly."For the next hour, the scientists explained in increasingly technical terms why Osborn's technology might as well have come from another planet.
The pod's quantum processors operated on principles they couldn't decipher.
The VitaCore's nanobots defied conventional manufacturing techniques.
Even the "simple" NanoGel contained molecular structures that shouldn't have been stable at room temperature.
"...and that's just the technical hurdles," Dr. Voss concluded. "Even if we could replicate the technology tomorrow, Osborn's patents are airtight.
Their manufacturing process is completely proprietary. We'd need-"
"A miracle?" Veyne interrupted. His lips twisted into something that wasn't quite a smile.
He reached into his briefcase and withdrew a slim metal case, its surface etched with the Aetheris logo.
The lab fell silent as he placed it on the central workstation. With deliberate movements, he entered a sixteen-digit code.
The case hissed open, revealing a single vial of inky black liquid that seemed to absorb the light around it.
"What is that?" Dr. Voss asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Veyne didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned to the wall-sized display showing real-time market data.
Aetheris stock had dropped another 8% this morning.
Osborn's valuation, despite being a private company, was now estimated at over 15 trillion Unicreds.
"Phase Three," he said at last. "If we can't replicate their technology..."
He carefully lifted the vial, watching as strange swirls moved beneath its glass surface. "...we'll make sure no one can use it."
The researchers exchanged uneasy glances. The military liaison's cybernetic eye clicked as it focused on the mysterious substance.
"Sir," Dr. Kael ventured cautiously, "what exactly are we looking at?"
Veyne slotted the vial into a waiting containment unit.
"The future," he said simply. Then, to the room at large: "Prep the dark lab. We begin human trials tonight."
As he turned to leave, the faintest tremor ran through his fingers - the only outward sign of the gamble he was about to take.
Behind him, the stolen AMHP-9 pod sat in pieces, its secrets still stubbornly out of reach.
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A week later, a shocking video dropped online at midnight, sending ripples of horror across the internet.
The footage was shaky and dimly lit, capturing a hospital room where a patient, face blurred for anonymity, thrashed in agony inside what looked like an AMHP-9 pod.
Their skin bubbled and blackened, as if melting under intense heat. The caption screamed:
"Osborn's 'Miracle' Pod MELTS Patient Alive - DO NOT TRUST!"
In another clip, a child cried out in pain as NanoGel EM1 scorched through their arm instead of healing it.
A veteran's regenerated leg deteriorated grotesquely just days after receiving VitaCore treatment.
And then there was the bombshell: a doctor, allegedly from Osborn, confessing to falsifying trial data.
But that wasn't all. Another video surfaced from security footage, a figure convulsing inside an AMHP-9 pod while their screams were muffled by thick glass.
Their skin visibly darkened and bubbled like wax under a flame before the scene abruptly cut to a family member collapsing outside the treatment room in tears.
The caption read:
"OSBORN'S 'MIRACLE' KILLED MY HUSBAND!"
Across Panterra, millions of screens lit up with similar horror stories simultaneously.
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New Zenith General - Emergency Staff Meeting...
"You've all seen the reports." Chief Medical Officer Ryn Karva's knuckles turned white around her datapad as she addressed her team.
"We've had more than a hundred cancellations for AMHP-9 treatments in just the past hour alone! The PHA has issued a temporary suspension order."
A nervous intern raised his hand hesitantly. "But… we've successfully treated forty-three patients here! I assisted on twelve myself! This doesn't make sense....."
"It doesn't have to," Karva interrupted sharply, tapping on the wall display to pull up six simultaneous news feeds.
"Aetheris, Eclipse Therapeutics, and other major players are releasing their own 'independent studies' every twenty minutes now. Guess what they all conclude?"
The staff watched in grim silence as "medical experts" dissected fabricated failure rates and aired interviews with supposed victims.
Most damning of all was a leaked (and clearly fake) internal memo from Osborn discussing "acceptable collateral damage."
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OmniPulse Erupts in Chaos!
In a matter of minutes, the internet was set ablaze with another wave of "leaked" videos. The digital battleground that is OmniPulse transformed into a frenzy of outrage and disbelief.
@PanterraHealthWatch (Verified) declared:
"BREAKING: PHA suspends all AMHP-9 approvals pending investigation. Multiple fatalities reported." (2.1M likes | 487K reposts)
Meanwhile, @RealMedTruth chimed in with a chilling warning:
"Osborn's 'quantum healing' is just RADIATION MUTATION. These patients will die in 5 years. Share this before they delete it!"
(4.3M likes | 1.2M reposts)
These videos? They were crafted to perfection, grainy enough to feel real, dramatic enough to go viral.
Trending on OmniPulse:
#OsbornKills (4.2M posts)
#AMHP9Victims (2.8M posts)
PHA Warning Alert (Official)
Top Shared Clip:
A heart-wrenching scene unfolds as a sobbing woman clutches photos of her daughter.
"The pod gave her third-degree burns, WORSE than her original injuries! When I demanded answers, Osborn threatened to sue me!" (View count: 89M in just 2 hours)
Most Liked Comment:
@TruthWarriorPanterra: "Always knew this was too good to be true. Big Pharma exists for a REASON, people!" (842K likes)
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Aetheris Medical - Executive Lounge
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Darius Veyne accepted a glass of exquisite 120-year-old wine from his assistant, barely lifting his gaze from the glowing feeds. "So, how are BioVortex International's deepfakes holding up?"
"Better than expected," chuckled Lira Solmarr, lounging comfortably across from him. "Our 'whistleblower' doctor passed three separate media authenticity checks.
The synthetic grieving families? Spot on! We even enlisted real bereavement counselors to train the actors."
Rook Jale's eyes flickered as he monitored stock tickers with keen interest. "Vanderlyn's short positions just netted them ₢800 billion in paper gains. Our burn treatment division is already seeing a 22% surge in orders."
Laughter echoed around the table, until the Obelisk Biotech rep leaned in with a serious tone.
"Remember: We don't need this to last long-term; just long enough to crash Osborn's credibility so our 'alternative treatments' can swoop in and take over."
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Public reaction? It split like a fractured bone:
@BurnSurvivor_Alina: "BULLSHIT! I was THERE when Luke Dawson walked out healed.
These videos are FAKE!"
(Replies: "Open your eyes, sheep!" - 12K upvotes)
@SkepticPrime: "Always said Osborn moved too fast. Now we see why."
@CorporateShillHunter:"Notice how all these 'victims' magically appeared AFTER big pharma stocks crashed? COINCIDENCE?"
Osborn's Pulse account flooded with death threats, while hospital queues for AMHP-9 pods plummeted by 73% overnight!
Street protests erupted demanding "justice for melted patients."
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As the CEOs reveled in their apparent victory, none noticed the glitch lurking within their fabricated videos, a subtle timestamp mismatch that could unravel it all.
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