New Horizons Research
New Horizons Research was a small research facility founded in the year 1785 on the Reonan calendar. When the Earthlings invaded Reona in 1792, New Horizons developed a group of genetically engineered humans with superior strength, excellent hand-to-hand combat skills, more durable skin, enhanced speed, and improved agility. They also lack empathy and basic human emotions, making them the perfect soldiers. They were all male. The research made them defeat Earthling humans and win the war.
After the war, the Reonan and Earthling humans signed a peace treaty and coexisted. However, Earthling humans lived in separate colonies from Reonan humans. The genetically engineered men were introduced into the workforce to perform labor for the humans who had purchased them. Eventually, the genetically engineered men went maverick and turned on both Reonans and Earthlings. They killed every Earthling on Reona and killed some Reonans, as well. The genetically engineered men and the scientists who created them were ordered to be executed. They shot and burned the bodies of the genetically engineered men and hanged the scientists.
In 1918, Dr. Wolfgang Duerr and Dr. Dodd Lancaster discovered notes left behind in a long-abandoned ruin. Both scientists brought them back to their lab to study the notes. They were fascinated with such a concept, and Dr. Lancaster thought it would be good to revive New Horizons in case of another Earthling invasion or invasion from any other planet.
Dr. Duerr suggested that instead of creating new humans, as the notes read, he wanted to enhance humans. The first genetically enhanced test subject was in 1922. These are known as “Etheressums.”
During this time, Dr. Duerr discovered Xuprans and was fascinated by their durability and resistance to death. He spent years trying to make an Xupran-Human hybrid and had no success until the day a Xupran swallowed a vial of Ehtytrim and bit Maxwell “Maxxy” Malone.
Etheressums
Dr. Dodd Lancaster had his first genetically enhanced test subject in 1922, and the last recorded test subject was in 1984. They inject the serum called ehtytrim into a human, and this alters their genetics. This grants the receiver special abilities known as “ethereal prowess.” These special abilities can include super strength, super speed, flight, psionic powers, shapeshifting, and other extraordinary abilities. One person can possess one ethereal prowess, but there are rare cases in which a person can have at most two.
They genetically enhanced people, also known as “Etheressums.” Etheressums never age, and they are biologically immortal. They cannot die unless they are killed. They have acute, sensitive hearing, and those who know about them carry “high-frequency sound devices” to hurt their ears, stun, and disarm them.
In the year 1968, a bunch of children were sold to a New Horizons Research Facility to undergo serum treatments and extensive training to become super soldiers. The project was shut down in 1974 when a masked man broke in to rescue a child and set the place ablaze.
In 1982, New Horizons Research initiated another project under the guise of a camp located in Rose Lakewood. The camp’s premise was for campers to escape and find solace from pain. The fundamental premise was to enhance the genetic makeup of more people. The scientists injected the campers with ehtytrim, and at the end of the summer of 1982, the camp shut down and vanished without a trace.
In the following years, from 1983 to 1984, they initiated the same project under the guise of a camp in various locations throughout the US. After the scientists injected the participants with ehtytrim and their treatment finished, they shut down the camps and vanished.
Ehtytrim
The serum used to grant Reonans their “Ethereal Prowess” is abbreviated as “EP”.
Ehtytrim is a highly volatile, neon-green synthetic serum created by genetic engineer Dodd Lancaster. It doesn't just grant superpowers; it completely rewrites human biology at the cellular and genetic levels.
At its core, Ehtytim acts as a radical mutagen. When injected, it rapidly alters the subject's DNA, forcing the body to develop entirely new biological structures.
The serum introduces unique genetic sequences that unlock superhuman traits. Depending on the individual's specific DNA, these sequences manifest as different powers (e.g., superspeed, vitakinesis, or telekinesis).
To support these powers, Ehtytrim automatically upgrades basic human anatomy. For instance, an Etheressum with superstrength will also inherently get a hyper-dense bone structure and reinforced muscle tissue, so their own body doesn't collapse under the weight of what they lift.
Ultimately, Ehtytrim doesn't magically grant a uniform "superhuman package." It acts as a biological wild card, violently forcing the human body to evolve in unexpected, highly individualized ways.
It has improved over time, thanks to Dr. Minerva Marzilli’s improvement of the formula. Instead of requiring days of dosing to gain an EP, it's now just one shot. Dr. Minerva Marzilli is the head of the Etheressum Research Division.
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Aetheris-9
Aetheis-9 is the mythical, original “pure” formula of Ehytrim created by Dodd Lancaster and Alfred Horowitz in the 1960s.
While the standard Ehtytrim is a “diet” version, Aetheris-9 is the raw, uncut chemical weapon used to create God-Tier Etheressums.
Aetheris-9 works through a few terrifyingly powerful mechanisms that set it apart from Ehtytrim.
Aetheris-9 is estimated to be roughly 10 times more powerful than Ehtrytrim. Instead of subtly blending with human DNA over time, Aetheris-9 forcefully rewrites the host’s genetic code all at once. The result is a tier of “God-like Etheressums” with nearly limitless durability and power output.
Because the genetic bond is so absolute, Aetheris-9 Etheressums possess a massive biological advantage over a regular Etheressum.
The number in the name derives from the attempts it took before it was successful. It was injected into nine test subjects, and they ended up being violently killed, causing horrific cellular breakdown, tumors, or warping them into agonizing mutations similar to richonoids.
New Horizons eventually stopped using Aetheris-9 and moved toward Ehtytrim, largely because Project Ghisyn was a failure, with only three successful subjects.
Project Ghisyn is a highly classified New Horizons Research program designed to manufacture a tier of god-like, elite Etheressums.
Realizing Aertheris-9 was too lethal for people, New Horizons Research shifted Project Ghisyn's tactics. Instead of injecting existing humans, they utilized early IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) technology to experiment on humans at the blastocyst/embryo stage.
The project began at the beginning of 1963.
New Horizons Research targeted nobles, royalty, or descendants of their staff. They laced the embryos with highly concentrated Aetheris-9 to weave the serum directly into the subjects’ genetic code before they were even born.
So far, there are three surviving subjects of Project Ghisyn.
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Richonoid
Normal, non-etheressum humans turned into ghastly monsters after being injected with “Richioprox Erokine”, a bioengineered weapon created by Dr. Ichiro Tachibana. The virus attacks, infects, and mutates the cells of normal humans, while in Etheressums, their cells fight off the virus, rendering it moot against Etheressums. Dr. Ichiro Tachibana is the head of the Bioweapons Division.
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Lamoris
Plural: Lamorii. Genetically engineered monsters created and sold by New Horizons Research, and usually bought by Darrel Gatti or Dougal Springer. There are several abandoned lamorii scattered around the world, often killing people or animals who come close to them. These monsters are hard to kill and can only be killed if you destroy the core. Dr. Govinda Anand is the head of the Lamoris Creation Division.