Humanity's Hope: Project XCOM

Chapter 4: XCOM in Action

The nighttime staff in Mission Control were ready to give their workspace away to the Day Teams. Boredom took over and Henry decided to leave with them. He had to go to the laboratories to check up on the science teams.

The halls were mostly empty as it was almost 7 in the morning. A huge emphasis was made on sleep in XCOM. 24-hour coverage was required to make sure it was always ready for any situations. Naturally, it meant that rotations had to be done so a system was created to separate workers who would operate at day and at night. Henry could see that the system was functional. Most of the staff had time to adjust to their new sleep schedule before the inauguration. It helped since it would not create problems once a situation arose and they would be needed. The first missions were a testament to its efficacy.

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The labs were quiet. The science team mostly operated during the day so all stations were unstaffed. The only ones who would work at night were the night owls, the most dedicated of scientists, and Dr Moira Vahlen. As soon as he walked in, the Commander immediately sensed the air filled with her thoughts. She sat at her desk with a stylus pen in her right hand, her gaze fixed on her tablet. Although not the type to skip out on sleep, she could get caught up in her work. It was Vahlen's first time properly meeting her specimens. Someone as enthusiastic as her would naturally get excited. Henry slowly approached her.

"Dr Vahlen, is everything all right?" Henry asked as Vahlen suddenly adopted a more rigid posture; she was almost slanted forwards in her chair.

"Commander! You surprised me. I was just contemplating my findings. I was forming my report to you," Vahlen answered.

"Hope you at least got some sleep. Sleep helps to organise your thoughts. You could use that," Henry replied with a chuckle at the end. "So, do you want to give me your report now or should I give you more time?"

"No, Commander. I've got everything ready to be presented. My teams have looked into the aliens' physiology. We have managed to successfully map the Sectoid's entire genome, although I was not entirely sure it would be possible using our DNA sequencing techniques. During our research, we have made the realisation that the species is quite similar to us. This discovery is eye-opening to the entire scientific community. It might help us answer our questions about the origin of all life in the universe. But coming back to our specimens, we have also observed a trend. Key components of the alien's genetic structure are mirrored perfectly across each of the specimens. Although it is presumptive at this point to draw conclusions as to how this is possible, I believe it is only logical to assume that the aliens are the product of aggressive genetic engineering, well beyond anything conceived of on Earth. They could even be clones for all we know."

"I'm guessing we've only scratched the surface of what the aliens are capable of," Henry reacted.

"I fear that may be the case. The Sectoids are very interesting creatures. They are very frail. Their skin is highly sensitive to stimuli, mainly sound waves. I believe this is how the aliens can 'hear'. It also has 'gills' that carry food to its digestive system, without the need of mastication. I think that whatever these creatures use to nourish themselves is some processed liquid. The species possess digestive glands, but they do not seem to have been active. Whatever they eat must not need digestion. Then the nutrients can easily enter the bloodstream where it will be distributed around the body. The alien brain tissue seems to be different from our own. These aliens also seem to be able to connect to each other using some mind ritual. I do not know how this is possible. As unprofessional as it sounds, it looks like we may be looking at . . . telepathy."

"Telepathy? That does sound absurd," Henry reacted. "Honestly, I have no better explanation for what I saw and felt. I'm sure we'll find out more with time. There is something more important! What about their weapons? Have you examined them?"