Dr. Hamilcal Balkus was not pleased
either, but his displeasure was focused on a far different
matter than the internal strife of the Chronos syndicate. Dr.
Balkus’ displeasure stemmed from the situation with Imakarum
Mirabilis himself. He had not known that Murakami had worked so
closely with the precursor to the Anti Chronos Task Force.
Knowing that Murakami had received his weapon from a contact
within the Anti Chronos Front was disturbing to the ancient
Zoalord.
And now, with Imakarum working to
investigate the very organization that his former allies had
worked to build, there was a chance that their new Twelfth
Zoalord would betray Chronos even as Gyou had. Dr. Balkus did
not doubt his own work in developing Imakarum, however the fact
did remain that the memories of Masaki Murakami were all still
present within Imakarum.
It could prove to be a temptation for
their Twelfth Zoalord, to go back to his ways as a rebel.
Moreover, there was now the matter of his son. A boy raised to
fight against Chronos, a boy that had been developed into a
Zoalord by that traitor Gyou. The boy could be a great hindrance
to Chronos’ plans. But then… Dr. Balkus had to pause as a
particularly interesting idea occurred to him.
Perhaps little Kenji Murakami could be
of some use after all. Locating the boy’s distinctive mental
signature, Dr. Balkus quickly determined that there were no
other Zoalords with him. Even Imakarum, who had expressed such a
personal interest in the child’s welfare, was nowhere near the
boy at the moment. Taking advantage of the circumstances, Dr.
Balkus teleported to the boy’s bedside.
He was not particularly surprised to
find the boy sleeping in Imakarum’s bed. Placing his right hand
over the boy’s Control Zoacrystal, Dr. Balkus concentrated.
Feeling the boy’s Zoacrystal begin to resonate in consonance
with his own, Dr. Balkus slipped past the child’s nonexistent
mental shields and brought his own awareness fully into the
boy’s mind. Dr. Balkus found that, for such a young human, Kenji
Murakami’s mind was remarkably well organized.
There were very few errant thoughts or
musings. Going through the boy’s feelings and desires, Dr.
Balkus found that what Kenji Murakami wanted most was to protect
and help his father in any way that he was able. That was
something that could be useful. Then again, since this
particular protectiveness had been directed at Masaki Murakami
there was still potential trouble.
Kenji Murakami was both protective
of and loyal to Masaki Murakami, and while Imakarum might share
some physical traits with that infuriating man they were most
definitely not
the same person. With as intelligent as Kenji Murakami was, even
with his childish naïveté, there was not much chance of the boy
mistaking Imakarum for the father he was so devoted to.
Still, there were other ways to ensure
the boy’s loyalty. For a moment Dr. Balkus considered suggesting
to Alkanphel that they perform the same procedure on Murakami’s
son that they had on Murakami himself. It would of course ensure
the child’s loyalty beyond all question, and it would perhaps
tie Imakarum more tightly to Chronos and Alkanphel as well. The
child seemed to mean a great deal to Imakarum, enough that if
the child supported Chronos without hesitation then Imakarum
would as well.
Finally deciding to shelve that option
until Imakarum had either proven himself to be loyal or
disloyal, Dr. Balkus decided that he would at least make some
kind of contingency plan. The boy’s own mind would be the ideal
place to begin. Probing each one of Kenji Murakami’s memories,
Dr. Balkus found the ideal combination of elements. There was
fear there, a profound fear of isolation.
The boy had gone a long way toward
conquering it, yes, but the fear was still present in the back
of the boy’s mind. There was also another fear; that of letting
his father down. The boy had known what Murakami’s processing
had done, what the inevitable results were going to be. Dr.
Balkus was again impressed with Kenji Murakami’s practicality.
He knew that nothing he could have done would have saved his
father, and so he instead resolved to aid him in attacking
Chronos.
The young Murakami had even learned to
use his harmless outward appearance to his own advantage. There
were not many who considered a small boy to be any kind of a
threat, after all. Interested now, but not in any way prepared
to give up on his original plan, Dr. Balkus began to weave a
separate personality together from the useful fragments that he
had found within Kenji Murakami’s psyche.
The fear of isolation would ensure that
this creation of his would never stray far from any of the
Zoalords; the fear of his father’s disappointment was
manipulated until it was instead a fear of disappointing
Alkanphel. The loyalty of the boy to his father was also
transferred to Alkanphel before Dr. Balkus implanted it into the
new personality. Recalling the Zoalord name that Alkanphel had
given the boy, Dr. Balkus gave the second personality the name.
Finishing up the adjustments to
Ingriam’s personality, Dr. Balkus buried the overlay deep in
Kenji Murakami’s subconscious mind. Ingriam would be his silent
watcher, able to come forward only when Dr. Balkus called on
him. Of course, if the situation ever warranted it, Ingriam
would perhaps be able to come forward on his own. But that would
only be under extreme circumstances, and even then Ingriam would
only be dominant for a few moments.
Removing his hand from Kenji Murakami’s
Control Zoacrystal, Dr. Balkus withdrew from the child’s mind
entirely. Looking down at the sleeping form of Kenji Murakami,
Dr. Balkus wondered for a moment what Ingriam’s first report to
him would be. One thing was certain, whatever Ingriam Mirabilis
said would determine the future of Imakarum Mirabilis.