Hoarfrost-Z

The Last City, Earth

GX-818 Experimental Notation: Recovered Hive Ghost inoperable. Still responds to electrical impulse. Ran gauntlet of tests and gleaned welcome protocol data.

New chest rig comes in handy for experimentation and observation: every time the Ghost exhibits movement, can render it inert without so much as lifting a finger. Must employ this technique in future studies…

Hardware architectural analysis confirmed that this derelict creature exhibited a malleable structure. Certainly wasn't created with a specific framework in mind and looks to have adapted its configuration to its Lightbearer once acquired. Is this necessary for the bonding process? For creating the perception of companionship? Is it possible for a Ghost to connect to a Lightbearer without undergoing restructuring?

Previous behavioral studies have shown that Ghosts can be selective. Given lack of pre-programmed directives, it is now clear that they make conscious choice about whom to revive. Hardware evidence suggests that Ghosts were always capable of reviving Hive; perhaps they always intended to.

Addendum for Spider: You've asked me why I like to "tinker with your toys" before I deliver them. Well, here you are. Proof of what I've been saying all along:

We live at the whims of a god who blesses the few at the expense of the many. We follow leaders who claim to understand this speechless orb, and we are expected to do as it wills, no matter the cost to ourselves.

So many people still condemned to die, and it willingly granted immortality to a death cult, served on a silver platter by these… automata. Well, I too have a will, and I will not prostrate myself before something capable of such evil.

Your Ever-Skeptical Häkke Exile, Alexei