Genesis: A Dragonseeds Story

By evolution-500

Genre: Sci-fi

Disclaimer: "Dragonseeds" is a property owned by Jaleco Games and City Connections. I do not own this game or its settings.

WARNING: This story contains references to violence, coarse language, disturbing themes and imagery. Reader discretion is advised.

"So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein - more, far more, will I achieve; treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation."

- Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, "Frankenstein"

Sela Period, Year 199

"'The past is shining.'"

Chief Engineer and Lab Director Tomas gave a thoughtful hum as he heard the phrase. "That sounds nice. Do you want to use those exact words?"

He watched as his latest patron, a young man somewhere between his late teens and early twenties with short dark brown hair, deliberated in silence.

Based on his brown tunic and grey pants, his short and scrawny thin build, he was from one of the very loose collection of fishing villages east of Warm City located near the mountains, which must have been quite a journey.

The young man didn't appear to be highly educated, but based on Tomas' conversations with him, the former seemed well-read enough to know at least some of the things that he was told, which was a depressingly marked improvement over the norm.

Which wasn't saying much, unfortunately.

In some ways, Tomas envied the young man, mainly for his youth; though the geneticist had been blessed with a tall height at 6'4, with a strong, if not slightly overweight heavy-set frame and broad shoulders, he couldn't help feeling like an old man in comparison, even at the age of thirty-four.

Granted, he was better situated than most, so Tomas couldn't really complain, he supposed.

Sweeping a hand through his short yet neatly trimmed dirty blonde hair, Tomas adjusted his sleeveless white robes as he observed the young man, watching the latter scrutinizing the building and everything within it.

'He may not be the most intellectually gifted of persons, but he is a curious one,' Tomas admitted.

Standing on a raised two-story metal platform with railings, the two of them were in a massive dark grey chamber that was over fifty feet high and hundreds of feet long with a vaulted ceiling.

The latter was horizontally lined with thirteen thick pipes that stretched the entire length of the building, while along the sides were several gigantic transformers, valves, overlapping pipes and heat pumps, all of which provided a constant supply of geothermal energy.

A few engineers wandered about in grey uniforms and hard hats as they checked and maintained the machinery, the latter whirring noisily, the former paying no mind to Tomas and his latest patron as they were left in silence.

On the lower levels, thousands of large tubular glass capsules filled with liquid glowed, lining the entire bottom section of the chamber like glowing lanterns as they all bubbled.

Casting his gaze out to the glass pods, the patron stared down below, taking in all the pods and machinery.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" Tomas spoke up, drawing the potential Dragonsage candidate's attention.

The youth nodded. "It is. To think this is where everything started...it's incredible."

"Indeed," Tomas nodded in agreement, staring out at the vast valley of glowing cloning capsules. "Nineteen years, my boy. Nineteen years since the Cataclysm, where the world found itself threatened with global warming. Once the polar regions had melted in their entirety, country after country and continent after continent ended up swallowed up by the ocean like Atlantis, leaving nothing behind but us and fading memories of our former glories."

An air of melancholy fell over the duo as they contemplated the things that could have been, along with what was lost. Only a few patches of islands left, and an even smaller, dwindling population that was just barely scraping itself back together.

"Are there...any lands left out there?" the patron queried. "Other survivors? Surely there must be somebody else!"

The Lab Director shrugged. "It is always possible there might be either somewhere, but as it is, we are cut off in our communications, and as far as I am aware, we are all that's left of humanity. As far as lands are concerned, the only sizeable island around currently is ours, along with a few tiny little islets. It is what it is, unfortunately. All we can do now is to make due with what we have and try to get by the best we can, if not hope for the best."

It was a sobering thought to say the least.

After all, the world of today was a far cry from the world that it had once been, when the human population was in the billions, when lands were so vast and plentiful that they stretched out as far as the eye could see.

Now, only a few thousand were left, and the small parcels of land were not even a tenth of the size of the largest continent.

Staring down at the metal floor, the patron shifted nervously, troubled by Tomas' answer.

"Is there...is there any hope for us to recover what we've long lost?"

Tomas pondered his question, folding his arms together. "...I believe so," he said in a slow and cautious manner, "...although I doubt it will be anytime soon, if not this lifetime."

In all honesty, it would probably take many, many lifetimes, perhaps countless centuries or millennia for humanity to recover, provided that they were able to find larger continents or islands along with more resources, but given the bleakness of the answer, Tomas opted not to elaborate further.

Seeing the troubled look on the patron's face, Tomas forced himself to give an encouraging smile, putting a hand on the young man's shoulder.

"Take heart, young man," the former spoke in a reassuring manner, "not all is as bleak as it seems. Though we have lost much from the old world, we do still have some technological leftovers." He then held out an arm, gesturing to the equipment as he continued, "Everything that you see here are what remains - the cloning vats, the geothermal powerplants and cold fusion reactors, the terminals and Biobanks, the shelters - there is a reason why this city is called "Warm City", my child. All of this is what keeps our society afloat. Without this equipment, we most certainly wouldn't have survived. And now look at what this place has become."

His eyes twinkled as a feeling of pride surged through him as he spoke, the scientist standing taller and straighter than he had previously. Glancing back to the patron, Tomas tilted his head in his direction. "Tell me, young man, were you aware that this very spot was where we discovered dragons?"

The patron blinked, looking up with interest. "Is it?"

"Oh yes!" Tomas' smile grew as he gave a knowing nod. "Quite so. Three years after the Cataclysm, an unprecedented discovery was made as the last of the glaciers gave way. A creature measuring over ten meters was discovered, and according to the geologists and biologists at the time, the entity had been determined to be over ninety million years old. We've spent considerable time and money researching the specimen. I cannot tell you all the details - Count Awazanak's orders, I'm afraid - but needless to say, its discovery has provided the bedrock for Warm City's foundation. Without it, many would have either starved or died, and our city wouldn't be the thriving metropolis that it is today."

Tomas then narrowed his eyes, looking seriously at the young candidate. "You should feel privileged to be here, young man - being a Dragonsage is very important work, with a lot of responsibilities attached. Not only will you need to train your dragon, but you will also need to look after it. Raise it well, and it will look after you. I hope that you are able to live up to those standards and take those responsibilities seriously."

The words lingered as the Dragonsage candidate pondered his words, his brows furrowed in thought.

The patron sighed, nodding. "I will."

Tomas wasn't certain if he were being serious or not, but for now, he was willing to give him a chance.

He then watched as the patron glanced back to the rest of the genetics lab.

"These pods," the latter gestured. "Do these all create dragons?"

Tomas nodded. "Indeed they do. Saurian, Winged, Beetle, Wasp, Crustacean - every dragon species was created right here. I know every species to have left this facility. Did you know that it was only just last year when the first dragon was cloned?"

The patron perked up. "Truly?"

"Oh yes."

The young man gave a curious look over the railings. "There are so many pods in here. Why do you need so many?"

"For a multitude of reasons," Tomas answered, "though generally speaking, it's mainly to ensure higher chances of successful live births. Here we monitor embryo development every step of the way, from PH levels and temperature to heart rate, all in order to ensure they are healthy and that there are neither any deformities nor genetic anomalies. We always take precautions, but even then, there are never guarantees. One in ten specimens will fail to develop."

"And what happens to the ones that do?"

Tomas shrugged. "It depends, really. If they are healthy, they will be looked after by Dwai over at the Nursery until they come of age, usually less than twenty-four hours, at which point other potential Dragonsages such as yourself can apply for an adoption."

The young Dragonsage digested the information.

"These dragons," he said slowly, "what happens if nobody adopts them?"

"There are several options that exist," Tomas answered, "but it largely depends on the circumstances and the specimen's age. Older specimens are released into the wild, at which point they can live peacefully on until the end of their days. We can also place them into Biobanks for storage, where they can be placed into cryochambers and frozen for future use, be it for medical purposes or otherwise. Some may be sold as pets while the rest would be transported to the agricultural sectors." Upon seeing the disgusted look that the young man was giving, Tomas gave a light shrug. "Everyone needs to eat something, my boy."

Swallowing, the young man pressed on. "And what about those with deformities or mutations?"

"We dispose of them," Tomas bluntly stated.

He paused as he noticed the troubled look on the young Dragonsage's face.

Giving him a sad smile, the Lab Director gave a sympathetic nod. "Your reaction is understandable, but believe me when I say that it is for the best - a mutant's life is a very short and painful experience, and though we do our best to treat it whenever possible, the Count is adamant on having them disposed of. Rest assured, though, we do try to be humane about it."

The patron then looked back at the pods. "Out of curiosity, Doctor," he said slowly, "have these pods ever been used to...well...grow other animals, vegetables or people?"

Tomas blinked, surprised by the question. "...Sometimes," he answered simply, "though the latter is only used for medical purposes such as surgeries, typically for the more severe cases. I'm afraid that's all I can say on the matter."

The Lab Director then cleared his throat. "Now then, about this phrase that you've suggested - 'The past is shining' - do you wish to use it?"

He watched as the candidate considered the question.

Finally, the latter nodded in approval.

"Very well then." Tomas then started to jot the phrase down into his clipboard in the necessary box, offering a reassuring smile to his patron. "Thank you very much. Please have a seat in the lobby while my staff and I proceed with the specimen's development."

The man squirmed. "Uh, can't I stay and watch?"

Tomas shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not, my friend. My apologies, but we have very strict protocols to abide by in order to prevent contamination. We will begin the cloning procedure immediately." He then gestured to a woman wearing a sleeveless white gown and a purple felt hat, both of which were marked on parts of the shoulders and on the latter's brim with blue zigzagging diamonds, "My assistant Nina will see you back to the lobby. Once the embryo is ready, I will send confirmation."

He watched as Nina nodded in acknowledgment before addressing the Dragonsage himself.

"Follow me please," she said pleasantly with a warm smile, her voice soft like fresh honey.

As the pair turned around to leave, Tomas instructed the rest of his staff to take their places as they got ready for their next project.

Moving toward the console located to the left, the Lab Director slipped in his ID Key through a slot in a hard drive before quietly typing in his password.

Pressing "ENTER", he watched the black screen flicker before booting up.

Once it finally logged him in, Tomas glanced down at the clipboard in his hand and started to type out the information.

On the screen, a three-dimensional double helix DNA strand twirled in a variety of beautiful colors before him.

Setting the species to "SAURIAN", Tomas' brows furrowed in concentration as he opened a nearby desk drawer and took out a notebook, studying its contents carefully before implementing the specific nucleotide sequence according to the cipher's instructions.

Contrary to some of the fanciful beliefs of Warm City's populace, the genetic structure for dragons wasn't that much removed from other species.

At least, mostly.

Like all organisms, their DNA too also possessed some of the same chemical building blocks such as adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine.

Where they differed, however, was in how those bases were arranged.

Part of Tomas felt a little annoyed by the security measures implemented by Count Awazanak; even though it was protocol for all nucleotide sequence combinations to be concealed via coded phrases, that brought no shortage of issues for him and his fellow researchers.

It was a security feature that Count Awazanak himself had insisted on implementing, citing concerns about "potential brigands" looking to steal the Cloning Lab's secrets for themselves, if not use that information to construct their own dragons.

Tomas snorted.

Brigands. What a joke.

As if they would have access to the Cloning Labs' technologies, let alone have the know-how for creating them!

Regardless, the Count got his way in the end; without a cipher to decode the phrases, implementing the necessary nucleotide sequences would become something of a hassle for any self-respecting geneticist.

And God knows, those code phrases were enough of a headache for Tomas and the rest of his colleagues.

Tomas shook his head in irritation at the amount of hurdles he and his staff had to put up with each day.

The only reason why Awazanak would enact such a feature - at least, in Tomas' view - was, apart from mystifying the process for the average layperson, would be to also perhaps maintain a total monopoly on the Cloning Labs as a whole.

After all, if nobody was able to decipher the coded phrases, then not only would it ensure his complete control over the development process, but it would also allow him to neutralize any attempts by others at creating or possessing a dragon that was capable of surpassing Awazanak's own.

To a certain degree, it made sense to Tomas; dragon battle tournaments were very popular sports events in Warm City, often amassing huge crowds and generating a ton of revenue for the metropolis.

By participating in the the tournaments, many successful Dragonsages were able to achieve prestige, fame, and money, along with access to more resources, better food and more luxurious shelters.

Many travelled from far and wide in order to participate over the years, even in spite of the fact that failure could result in the loss of their dragons.

Still, Awazanak's concerns weren't entirely without merit, admittedly, for there were indeed several secret projects and experiments in development that needed to be kept from the public perception until they were ready to be unveiled.

One such project made Tomas himself especially nervous, for in a lot of ways, the results were...unfathomable.

Wincing, the Lab Director repressed a shiver as he thought of those ungodly things in the lower levels.

Shaking himself from his stupor, Tomas turned his attention back to his work, typing in the last few combinations and before pressing "EXECUTE".

A green loading bar appeared on the black screen and slowly filled up.

Hearing the loud hum of nearby generators, Tomas looked down at the cloning vats as the pods started to bubble, electricity flickering through cables that lined the floor.

Looking silently back at the screen, the geneticist watched and waited, drumming his fingers along his desk as the loading bar slowly filled up, little by little.

Hearing a door open nearby, Tomas blinked in surprise as one of the staff, a female research assistant with long brown hair and glasses , came in sniffling, her eyes wet with tears.

"Hi Heather," he greeted.

Glancing up, she nodded back. "H-Hi, Doctor."

"Is everything alright?" Tomas asked with concern. "What's going on?"

Wiping her eyes with a tissue, Heather shook her head. "One of my dragons died."

Tomas' eyes widened. "Oh no. Which one?"

"J-Justin."

"Justin?! But...but he was so young! What happened?"

Heather mouth clenched. "Count Awazanak. He-He offered to train it. Only..."

She trailed off, allowing Tomas to fill in the blanks of what had happened, the Lab Director's visage darkening as a despondent sigh escaped his lips, watching his distraught colleague walk dejectedly over to her workstation and sniffled.

Goddamned Awazanak.

It figured that he would do something like this.

No more than a day old, and that bastard butchered it.

The man was a certifiable psychopath and a bully, and the idea of serving such a despotic individual made Tomas' blood boil.

The worst part about it was the fact that not only was it a regularly recurring event, but also the fact that Awazanak himself wasn't the only Dragonsage who was prone to such cruelty.

Tomas felt his mood blackened as he thought of those poor creatures and their unrelenting suffering wrought by their wicked owners.

It was always heartbreaking to him whenever a dragon was hurt, if not killed; after all, almost all of the dragons within Warm City came from the Cloning Labs themselves, and Tomas had been there for every birth, ever since his apprenticeship many years ago.

Every dragon was different in terms of their appearances, colorations, abilities, temperaments and behaviors, with some being kind and gentle, while a few were more assertive, if not aggressive.

Oftentimes, the dragons' behaviors seemed to reflect the behavior of their owner along with their rearing, with some being able to emerge happier and energetic.

Of course, that wasn't to say that every owner was perfect, for there were just as many Dragonsages who were far from being kind-hearted individuals.

Some were careless and negligent - the amount of times where a dragon turned up underfed or sick was far too often for his own liking.

The more extreme cases, though, were the most horrifying; sometimes dragons would turn up bloodied, bruised, and battered.

Some would be missing a tooth or an eye.

Sometimes surgeries were needed, while in some instances the poor creatures were in such dire conditions that the only merciful thing he could do as a doctor was to euthanize them in order to spare them from further suffering.

Even worse, some of these dragons barely made it out from early childhood, if ever. Before the poor things were even able to undergo metamorphosis.

Tomas shook his head in regret, dismayed by how utterly powerless he felt.

If only there was more he could have done for them.

While a number of attempts have been made by Tomas and his staff to blacklist such persons from participating, enforcement was rarely used, if at all, much to his disgust.

The most disturbing rumors, however, surrounded the Count himself, some of which included allegations of abuse of such grotesquery and perversion that even speaking it aloud would result in not only making one feel violently ill, but also risked potential banishment, if not execution.

Those instances made Tomas furious to think about whenever those dragons were brought in for checkups.

Clenching his mouth at the thought of some of those rotten scoundrels, he cursed them all under his breath.

To think such men existed, men that thought they could do whatever they wanted without consequence, it boggled the mind that anyone with a conscience would allow for such abuse, for such horrid behavior.

As long as Count Awazanak remained the figurehead for the dragon battle tournament program, as long as he remained in power and encouraged such horrifying acts, the likelihood of seeing its end seemed nil.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Tomas regretfully shook his head in dismay.

He wished he knew how to deal with this.

Tomas and his fellow doctors had repeatedly petitioned the Count to enact protection laws, and while a number of their concerns were ignored, efforts had been made on their part in order to minimize the casualties in the tournaments.

That being said, that hadn't stopped the brutal unregulated underground tournaments from being formed, the most notorious one run at Pablo's Bar.

Tomas' lips curled, his right hand tightening into a fist in frustration at the thought.

It never ceased to amaze him just how utterly callous and barbarous people could be at times.

As the bar on the computer screen slowly filled, Tomas allowed his mind to drift to one of the Cloning Lab's newest projects, letting out a deep exhalation, his shoulders drooping slightly.

Count Awazanak was always looking for stronger dragons, always looking to create more exotic and more powerful species as a reflection of his status.

For that reason, various species were created and augmented throughout their development, sometimes via gene therapy.

Staring at the pixelated DNA strand before him, Tomas shook his head in wonder.

It was amazing just how truly versatile and complex dragons were in comparison to other species on the planet; not only were the actual organisms durable and able to recover quickly, they also possessed the unique ability to conjure and control the elements.

Perhaps one of the most unique aspects of dragon physiology was their ability to evolve and adapt, which was far quicker compared to anything on Earth.

But even more fascinatingly, their cells made it possible for them to not only be crossbred with an enormous array of species, resulting in endless possibilities, but to also evolve into newer and more powerful forms.

All dragons underwent four cycles of metamorphoses, from Baby, to Adult, to Senior, and finally Old.

For most species, evolution was a slow process taking place over the span of two million years.

For dragons, it only took a couple of months, if not a few years for them to complete an entire cycle, making them the fastest evolving species on the planet.

During each stage of development, the dragon would cocoon itself for a small amount of time when undergoing each transformation, which usually took days, sometimes weeks.

When they emerged from their cocoons, not only would their appearances be different from how they were, but also their behavior.

However, due to their being sped cloned, the vast majority of them ended up dying quickly. Few dragons, if ever, managed to move past into the fifth, let alone sixth stages; almost all dragons ended up dying during their fifth stages due to genetic instability.

The few that managed to survive into their sixth stage became known as "super dragons"; not only would their abilities be heightened to new extremes, but the studies conducted on them found that the creatures ceased aging entirely, essentially making them biologically immortal.

Smiling in spite of himself, Tomas shook his head in wonder.

Biological immortality. Who would have guessed that the discovery of such a long sought-after prize of many a people and culture would have been found in a dragon of all things?

Much work was still needed to be done in order to properly understand its mechanisms, if not apply it to humans, but still, it was a marvel nonetheless to be admired.

The secret to this versatility lied in their genetic structures, which possessed a surprising degree of flexibility with several different chains of unknown proteins that have yet to be found in nature.

Everyone in the Cloning Labs, including Tomas himself, were all fascinated with those latter genes, and a great deal of conjecture and debate was made about them and their origins.

A few of his colleagues such as Marcus had suggested that the original animal from ninety million years ago had been an oceanic dweller that had lived in such conditions where there was a greater abundance of unknown fauna and flora yet to be discovered, which was admittedly plausible.

Others suggested that it might have been a rogue gene or random mutation, an offshoot of the dinosaurs.

Another colleague, however, suggested the possibility that the creature and its abilities may not have even been native to Earth at all, that it was of potentially extraterrestrial in origin.

The foreign components in the dragon's genome, he posited, could potentially be explained as a leftover from a meteor that had crashed into the earth millions of years ago, resulting in some species becoming infected with this unknown alien strain.

At first, Tomas had rolled his eyes in dismissal, but it was only later when he and his staff were creating the three new breeds in the Cloning Labs that he started to wonder if there was perhaps a kernel of truth in those assertions.

Without any other fossils around for comparison, however, proving such a claim in itself would be difficult, especially considering the vast majority of the fossil record had been submerged underwater.

Still, it provided some food for thought when it came to thinking about these creatures.

Typical Saurian and Winged breeds, which were usually the most popular among men and women, were created through combining the original dragon genome with those of modern day reptiles and birds of prey.

Other creations, such as the Crustacean, Wasp and Beetle, were the results of experiments that attempted to merge dragon DNA with those belonging to various marine animals and insects, mainly for potential aquatic and agricultural applications.

When it came to creating dragons, Tomas found that the possibilities were endless.

And yet, thinking back to that suggestion of potential extraterrestrial influence, it made him feel somewhat uneasy as a scientist.

In many ways, it would potentially explain so much about dragon physiology, including their cells' uncanny ability to be compatible with so many different species across the entire animal kingdom.

At the same time, however, it was also somewhat disturbing to think about in its implications, especially in relation to humanity and its standing.

The latest programs in development had started off as earnest attempts at making a perfect recreation of the original creature frozen ninety million years ago, but since then, they have evolved into something else. Something more outlandish the more Tomas and his staff sought to build a unique nucleotide sequence using only those foreign elements.

Two new breeds had been created recently - code-named "Natura" and "Spirit" respectively by his staff - and all have shown unprecedented changes in their bodies, with the former becoming bulkier and more statuesque, if not more mechanical for some unfathomable reason.

In contrast, the latter had shown signs of having more humanoid traits, which left many of the staff perplexed.

But it was the third new breed, however, that made the theory somewhat more possible to Tomas.

To this day, he could never understand how an organism could take on such impossible, logic-defying shapes and forms such as floating wooden doors or coffins with arms, all of which would traverse using means that mystified everyone.

Looking at the cloning vats down below, Tomas stared at the vast columns of developing embryos and fetuses, wondering what this discovery could potentially mean for the rest of the world.

Looking back to the screen, Tomas watched as the loading bar filled in silence, his mind troubled as it slowly neared completion.

* * * * *

He heard the door open behind him.

"Come in."

Looking up from the monitor, Tomas smiled as his patron approached with Nina close beside him. "Ah, there you are. My apologies for the wait."

He then gestured to the cloning vats down below. "Shall we?"

"Please do!" The candidate said, his voice laced with barely concealed enthusiasm, causing Nina to giggle.

"Very well then." Gesturing for him to follow, Tomas guided him toward a set of rails and pressed a switch, drawing the elevator platform down as motors whirred to life.

Once they reached the ground level, Tomas stepped forward with his clipboard in hand, navigating his way through the thousands of clone pods, a vast forest of metal and water-filled tubes, each possessing a still developing entity, each pod numerically labelled.

A series of squeaky cries filled the room as the pods' occupants stirred in their slumber.

Finally, the three of them stopped before a pod labelled "P-19:1".

"This is the cell you chose," Tomas advised, gesturing to the fetus in the container. "Some species of dragons' weight may increase faster than others over time. Likewise, some species may increase their special attack ability faster. When you raise a dragon, you should consider its strength. Based on the readings, this dragon appears worth your effort. Do you wish to keep this specimen?"

He patiently watched as the patron pondered before nodding.

"Alright then. And what name would you like to give him?"

The Dragonsage folded his arms together, scratching his chin.

"Hm...what about...Adam?"

"Very nice! "Adam" sounds very powerful." Tomas then started to write up the paperwork. "Please visit Dwai at the Nursery located at 'B' district - he will be looking after your dragon until it becomes a child dragon within twenty-four hours. Just sign here."

Once the patron provided his signature, Tomas smiled. "Alright, that should be it. Thank you for your time." Looking over to his assistant, he nodded, "Please show our patron out, if you would be so kind, Nina?"

Smiling demurely, she reciprocated the gesture. "Yes, Doctor. Follow me please."

Tomas watched as Nina guided the new candidate back toward the elevator, watching them as they ascended and exited the room.

He smiled at the young man as he left.

He didn't know what the future held for him, but hopefully, he would turn out to be one of the good ones.

Looking back to the embryo before him, Tomas' smile fell as he stared at the developing creature in troubled contemplation.

The world had markedly changed from what it once was, and he was uncertain whether or not if it was for the better.

So much of civilization had fallen to ruin already, and while Warm City had made great strides in its recovery, a testament to human ingenuity, resiliency and perseverance, one couldn't help but wonder for how much longer it would remain so.

After all, the dinosaurs had ruled the planet once sixty-five million years ago, and all it took was a single meteor to forever change the course of history, leaving nothing behind.

Between the rising tides, Count Awazanak, and humanity's increasingly precarious position as it was, Tomas found himself staring into the dark glass of the cloning pod, feeling wary and uncertain of the future.

Fearful, even.

Dragon battle tournaments were popular pastimes at the moment, but as they were now, they were nothing more than mere distractions for the populace to hide from the fact that doom was on their doorstep.

While part of Tomas wanted to believe that he was being too cynical, the grim reality of their civilization haunted him on a daily basis, often leaving him unable to sleep at night.

Until a solution to all of their disparate problems was found, all Tomas could do was work and pray, if not hope that someday his research would lead to the creation of a new form of human or powerful dragon that could somehow fix everything, if not allow for humanity to survive what was to come.

Closing his eyes, the scientist let out a troubled breath.

'That was, assuming that humanity wouldn't destroy themselves first before that happened,' he reflected.

Dragons were powerful beings, and their capabilities for destruction were considerable. It was only through careful monitoring of the creatures and their owners along with having them all preoccupied with the tournaments that nothing too serious broke out.

Granted, there had been one or two instances of violence that needed to be quelled - brutally even - but it was at best a bandage to an even greater and more troubling problem: how much longer would it be until their society broke out into potentially violent revolution?

Had anyone aside from Tomas himself ever voiced such concerns, or was he alone in his thinking?

He had never spoken of his troubles to his staff, if only because he was just as guilty as everyone in trying to distract himself from their predicament.

And yet, no matter how hard he worked, no matter how many tasks he focused upon, the uncertainty remained.

One question lingered uneasily in his mind, and Tomas dreaded the answer.

Would these creatures be mankind's chance at ascension, if not redemption for their past mistakes and hubris?

Or would they guide humanity's remnants down into the abyss, following the dinosaurs down into extinction?

Only time would tell.

Turning his back to the pod, Tomas walked back toward the elevator, clutching his clipboard, his wandering troubled eyes gazing upon each developing specimen as he passed them all by, one after the other.

* * * * *

Author's Note: So, the inspiration for this story kind of came from my searching around on here and on various fanfic sites such as AO3 and Wattpad and being disappointed with the utter lack of stories dedicated to Jaleco's "Dragonseeds".

I loved playing that game growing up - while it was very much inspired by the likes of "Pokemon", "Digimon", "Monster Rancher" and other similar titles, in some ways, I couldn't help be intrigued with "Dragonseed's" setting and world, just because, comparatively speaking, it was far more grim and grittier than those other titles. When your creature lost a match in the game, for instance, it died rather than fainted. The post-apocalyptic dystopian setting, the art style and the terrific music made it kind of stand out from its peers, thus I ended up becoming pretty enthralled with its unique world.

It's only relatively recently that "Palworld" was released, which had some pretty dark subject matter, so I kind of figured why not write this up.

In some ways, I kind of wanted to interrogate some of the uneasy underlying aspects of Pokemon and its ilk such as the fact that Pokemon battles and tournaments were essentially glorified dog fights. I mean, those games are relatively innocent generally speaking, but at the same time, however, one cannot help question why a society would want to make something as brutal as cockfights and apply that to creatures that are in many ways even more brutal and dangerous. And that's not even diving into the really potentially dark underbelly tbh.

Initially, I pondered the idea of doing a story based on the player's perspective during the events of the game, but then, when I found my character at the Cloning Labs speaking with Tomas, I couldn't help thinking about his character. Thus, I ended up writing from Tomas' perspective for this fic.

Personally speaking, I wouldn't mind seeing this game remade someday, if not expanded and improved upon, just because I think there is potential there imo. Let me know what you guys think.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Stay safe and healthy, everyone! :)