Verse: Futuristic AU.
Pairings: Sesshoumaru/Kagome (duh), though it will most definitely take the scenic route. There may be a few side pairings just to add a little variety, but I have yet to figure that out.
Rating: Most of this story carries a T rating due to occasional violence and cursing, but there will be some more graphic scenes later on to warrant the story’s overall M rating. No plans for lemons at this point, but that may change depending on what the characters decide to do.
Author’s Note: Ok. About this story. This is an idea that popped into my head in the middle of my astronomy class while watching a documentary about Mars. It then spun around in my head for a few hours until it resulted in what you see below. This prologue, or timeline, I suppose, contains factual info up until the present, with everything taking place after it being made up (obviously). As for the actual story, that starts soon. This is just the background info. Anyway. This is my first time really writing a SessKag fanfiction. In fact, I have never written for the Inuyasha fandom aside from the occasional DDN in the chat rooms. So, hope I get their personalities right!
Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own Inuyasha. I am simply toying with its characters to suit my own fan girl-ish tendencies.
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All is Silence
Prologue
Late 19th Century—Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli views the planet Mars through a 22-cm telescope and believes that he sees a series of channels across the red planet’s surface. When his findings are translated into English, the word meaning “channels” is mistranslated so that it reads “canals,” thus sending the entire scientific community into a frenzy with the idea that there just might be an advanced civilization living on Mars.
Late 19th-Early 20th Century—An American by name of Percival Lowell becomes obsessed with the concept of civilization on Mars and proceeds to watch the red planet through a 45-cm telescope for months. He stares at it for so long that he is eventually able to convince himself that he is indeed able to see canals on Mars.
July 14-15, 1965—NASA conducts the first successful flyby mission of Mars. There is much excitement about what the probe, Mariner 4, might find. However, interest in Mars plummets when the pictures taken by the probe only show a dead surface that is empty save for a number of impact craters, much like Mercury or the Moon.
November 14, 1971—NASA sends the probe Mariner 9 to orbit around Mars. The pictures sent back from that probe allow them to map out the entire surface, revealing the existence of massive volcanoes and canyons that dwarf any found on Earth.
November 27, 1971—The Soviet Union launches a probe named Mars 2. This is the first successful landing on the red planet. However, communication with the probe fails within minutes of landing.
December 2, 1971—The Soviet Union launches a second probe, named Mars 3, with results identical to those of Mars 2.
1975—NASA launches the two probes named Viking 1 and Viking 2. Both probes land successfully on the surface in 1976 and remain operational for several years, relaying color photos of the surface back to Earth.
1988—The Soviet Union launches the two probes Phobos 1 and 2. Contact is lost with Phobos 1 on the way to Mars, and Phobos 2 fails before it can send out its lander unit.
1992—NASA launches the Mars Observer orbiter. This mission fails.
1997—NASA successfully places the Mars Global Surveyor into orbit around the red planet. The orbiter continues to map the surface from space up through the year 2001. Contact is lost in early 2006.
January 2004—NASA launches the twin probes named Spirit and Opportunity. Both probes find evidence that liquid water may have existed on Mars at some point in the distant past.
2007—NASA launches the Phoenix probe, designed to study the polar ice caps in order to search for evidence of water ice.
June 20, 2008—The Phoenix probe successfully locates traces of water. Contact with Phoenix is later lost on November 10 of that year.
Late 2011—The rover Curiosity is launched. Curiosity successfully lands on Mars in mid-2012, but contact is soon lost due to a system malfunction.
2013—NASA launches the probe MAVEN meant to analyze Mars’s atmosphere. Results confirm the atmosphere as being almost entirely comprised of carbon dioxide, though with traces of an unidentifiable gas. Those traces are dismissed as being a system malfunction.
2018—The ESA launches and successfully lands a rover on Mars to search for organic molecules beneath the surface. Layers of permafrost are discovered, though no signs of life are found.
2035—The first humans are sent to Mars. They gather samples of the rocky surface, but are unable to retrieve pieces of the polar ice caps as they are only able to remain on the surface for a short time due to a small window in which they are able to return to Earth.
2041—A larger probe is sent for the sole purpose of digging deep into the polar ice caps. The probe is successful in drilling into the ice, but fails before it can send back any results.
2046—A manned spacecraft makes use of the hole dug by the last probe in order to study the layers of ice. An unknown gas is discovered upon reaching the bottom, resulting in the deaths of the astronauts. Panic and suspicion arise among the people of Earth. Any subsequent missions of this kind are abandoned.
2079—Scientists work to design settlements that will allow people to live on both Mars and the Moon without exposure to their harsh environments.
2123—Population strains and shortages of resources on Earth forces construction of the settlements on Mars and the Moon into overdrive.
2138—Settlement of the Moon begins. Construction of the Mars settlements reaches its halfway point.
2147—Settlement of Mars begins. A ship carrying 1500 settlers lands on Mars in October of that year.
2230—Population on Mars reaches 1,000,000. Earth’s population: 10 billion. The Moon’s population: 1.5 billion.
2278—System malfunction and lack of maintenance cause a massive loss of oxygen and atmospheric pressure in the settlement on Mars, resulting in the deaths of thousands due to carbon dioxide poisoning. Scientists begin work on a solution to change Mars’s atmosphere to prevent another such incident.
2300—Scientists studying the north ice cap on Mars stumble upon an unknown gas escaping from a vent in the ice. The gas is revealed to be highly toxic and corrosive.
2305—Studies of the ice caps continue, revealing the existence of tiny microorganisms capable of thriving in such a harsh environment. Further studies reveal the microorganisms are the source of the poisonous gas
2346—All attempts at teraforming Mars’s surface are complete failures. Work instead shifts to find out how the microorganisms found beneath the polar ice caps are capable of surviving without oxygen.
2359—Research begins to try and alter human DNA in order to match the qualities exhibited by the microorganisms found on Mars.
2367—Rodents and other small creatures are the first test subjects of this experiment. The results are creatures that can survive in a carbon dioxide atmosphere and below-freezing temperatures. These resulting creatures also prove to be physically stronger than their Earthly counterparts.
2392—First tests with human DNA prove to be failures.
2400—Experiments with combining the altered animals’ DNA with humans’ are a success. The results are vaguely human-shaped, but with almost animal-like features. Results are also frail and do not live much longer than a few months before their bodies give out. Experiments continue as the average human lifespan on Earth gradually decreases and infant mortality rates increase. Population growth slows as a result.
2414—The first truly successful blending of DNA occurs. The subject—a fetus grown in a lab—does not have the weaknesses in its genetic makeup that the others had. Instead, it exhibits greater physical strength than ordinary humans along with the ability to survive in environments with no oxygen, no liquid water, and little sustenance for weeks at a time. The subject also exhibits some features that are decidedly inhuman: claws, fangs, eyes with slit pupils, etc. Others of its kind are quickly produced, some more successful than others. Animal DNA that is most prominent among the subjects are that of dogs, wolves, horses, and spiders.
2437—Subjects of the experiment begin to exhibit longer lifespans than ordinary humans. War over resources and land breaks out on Earth.
2438—Weapons of mass destruction come into play in the war on Earth. Millions of civilian refugees flee to both the Moon and to Mars. Half of the ships leaving Earth never make it out of the atmosphere. Many of those that do make it into space suffer power failures on the way to Mars due to damage taken during launch. Those that lost power are never heard from again. The ship carrying the experiments lands on Mars’s surface approximately seven months after taking off from Earth with no casualties save for a few of the weaker experiments that were not able to survive the journey. Studies continue.
2451—The first experiments reach full physical maturity and scientists begin working to integrate more of the DNA from the microorganisms native to Mars into the genetic makeup of a second group of test subjects. The war on Earth finally comes to a close, leaving most of the planet incapable of supporting life.
2487—The first of the second group of test subjects is produced. The subject, a male with dog DNA, retains all the human-like features exhibited by the previous generation, as well as a few bright discolorations of the skin. The subject soon proves to be both physically and mentally superior to any of the other test subjects, but appears to be prone to acting on impulse.
2503—The first of the second group of test subjects reaches full maturity. A female with the same animal DNA is produced with the intention of discovering whether the subjects are capable of reproducing on their own.
2564—Other test subjects with the same skin discolorations are successfully produced. The two subjects with dog DNA are introduced to one another in the hopes that they would attempt to produce offspring.
2571—The first hybrid is born to the two subjects with dog DNA without the assistance of a lab. Scientists consider this a great success and begin wondering if the subjects are compatible with humans.
2573—The hybrid exhibits the ability to produce the same poisonous gas that the microorganisms on Mars create. Any attempts to breed the other subjects with humans prove to be failures.
2586—The hybrid displays greater physical strength than either of its parents, as well as heightened senses and intelligence, and strong animal instincts. At this point the hybrid is also exhibiting high levels of disdain towards its handlers, as well as some of the same impulsive behavior as its sire.
2594—The hybrid, now with the appearance of a child just entering teen years, has gradually begun to act aggressively towards its handlers. No injuries have occurred thus far.
2611—The hybrid’s biological father is successfully bred with a human woman. The result is a male that completely resembles a human save for silver hair, yellow eyes, claws, fangs, and dog ears.
2612—The hybrid’s biological father is severely wounded in a fight between it and another subject (believed to carry reptilian DNA). The former is severely wounded and dies three days later. The latter winds up in a coma and dies the following year. The first of the cross-breeds is found to act often entirely on impulse and is easily influenced by emotion.
2634—The first of the cross-breeds reaches physical maturity, as does the hybrid. Two other subject-human cross-breeds are created: one carrying horse DNA, the other carrying spider DNA.
2652—The first of the cross-breeds displays violent tendencies, nearly killing several scientists. The subject is forcibly sedated and remains in confinement. A fourth cross-breed is produced, this one carrying bat DNA
2670—The hybrid reacts violently to a test being administered, and makes an attempt to escape. Sedatives are administered and the hybrid is shut into confinement. All tests with dog DNA are abandoned, as the risk of violence with that species has proven to be too great.
2671—The first of the cross-breeds along with the hybrid and its mother are sent to a facility on the Moon for further study.
2674—Continued violent outbursts from the hybrid force handlers to keep it on a steady cycle of sedatives, limiting its mobility and brain function. The hybrid is kept isolated from that point onward.
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Author’s Note: And there’s the prologue! Heh, I made it pretty obvious who’s who among them, didn’t I?
Also, as it turns out, the probe Curiosity (I have it listed here as being launched in late 2011) is scheduled to launch sometime next month (I think), so assuming things are able to go as planned, the actual time I put here is accurate. And, there is the possibility that Curiosity will fail, as they only made one of it, and about half the missions to Mars so far have been failures.
No, I am not usually a science geek.
Next Chapter: Enter Kagome! Woo!
Please leave a review! I thrive off of constructive criticism, but feedback of any kind is loved and appreciated!