Experiment 1144: Rho

This was supposed to be about judging intelligence, right? If so, what good would altered intelligence do if a slime was in control of motor functions, anyway? The concept seemed strange to you, but you thought perhaps a creature that merely provided suggestibility in an obedient way might be a useful starting point. Don't run until you can walk, after all. The other extremes, such as full modification and independence, could easily get out of hand.

Your logbook contained this, after you mixed the samples:

Experiment 1144 (codename Rho)

• Only modify host willpower
• Passive suggestibility only
• Host will justify unusual behavior as normal
• Low-level symbiote independence from creator

Perfect. An easy starting point. Good thing you would never do anything as silly as start with any other reckless mixture of unusual chemicals!

You mixed up all the contents into a cup, stirred everything up, and affixed a lid to the container. Deciding that maybe the university isn't the best place to leave this experiment, you put the cup in your messenger bag, and headed home for the evening, bringing the binder with you in case you needed to reference anything.

You set up an infrared camera in front of the cup at your apartment, using some of your video equipment for your educational films. With the shutter programmed to take a photo fifteen seconds, you hoped that in the morning a time-lapse of the material shaping into whatever Dr. Walker designed for these gels would be interesting. You fell asleep on your couch reading the binder, learning as much as you can about Chloe's research into these different lines of smart gel, committing a lot of the verbal commands to memory before you passed out.

Morning came around, and you opened the lid. Inside sat a blue gelatinous creature, alright. It... didn't seem to do much. Oh no, is it dead? Or is it just dormant? You did choose a very diluted mixture of behavior modification, maybe this affects its activity level?

"Syn-biote instruction, name designation, Rho."

The gel briefly seized up into a more solid-looking geometric shape, before relaxing again. Maybe it was just napping. You decided to test it again with a second command to see if it did anything else. "Rho instruction, activate absorption capability."

It seized up again into another geometric shape, before relaxing. Clearly it was listening, but otherwise it lacked any energy.

With a shrug, you tapped your chin. Classes today could be cancelled so you could conduct some research. Maybe someone in your apartment complex would be able to help, or you've got some friends who might be willing to make a first attempt.