Demonica
Demonicas
demonica.png
Charizard girl by DAV-19.
Type Variant
Magic Use ★★★★☆
Distinctions Half Demon, half Human features
Ability to use Demon magic
Capable of evolving
Can communicate with Demons naturally
Lifespan 60 year average
Territories The Dome
Region Tyrrhenia

First pioneered as a front-line defence against Outlander encroachment, mutant Demon attacks, and as a search and recovery team for Outlands resources, Demonicas are a tightly-controlled militia. Genetically spliced with a Demon, often at a young age, and trained in all manner of war, Demonicas are subtly honoured, and yet also the most hated and feared minority in Tyrrhenia.

Biology

Demonicas take on part of the appearance traits of the Demon they were spliced with. Typically, this is only enough to somewhat equate them to a humanoid-looking version of the Demon; they do not generally become furry or anything besides bipedal. Some may gain wings, if the Demon they were spliced with had them, and many can fly, albeit not very easily, or very well. This can also result in height changes, colouration oddities, and at times, may lead to the resulting Demonica being rather physically unstable.

Known History

Demons, very early on, were discovered to have a much better tolerance of the conditions of the Outlands. It was unknown if this was a natural inclination, or simply an adaptation from time spent in the Outlands. Demons became extremely useful in locating resources and materials in the Outlands, as well as dealing with the newly-arisen threat of the Outlander bands. Splicing was not originally the plan; however, Demons proved to often do what they pleased, and occasionally, cause more trouble than they fixed. Rather than spending the time to properly bond to and train their Demonic forces, the Republic sough instead a shortcut.

The Republic then decided it'd be far more beneficial and easier for them if they had an army of Tyrrhenians that could tolerate the Outlands for longer than was typical. As such, they turned to genetic tinkering with Demons, at first attempting to locate the genetic strain that made them more easily tolerate the Outlands' harsh environment, and eventually, merely bio-engineered half-humans, half-Demons. These became the Demonicas.

Unfortunately, early experiments, primarily on criminals, led to quite a list of deaths, both on the criminals' end, and the Republic's in general, as they lost quite a few scientists and passersby to various manic episodes. In the end, however, the first successful fusion that didn't end in the resulting Demonica dying within a few hours was achieved at last. Supposedly, it was a young Seedot Demonica, but nobody really knows for sure.

Since their creation, Demonicas have been very carefully maintained and stringently controlled by the Republic. Demonicas are not known to exist independently of the Republic at present; all escaped Demonicas have been hunted down and killed, if not killed by an Outlander. Demonicas are fitted with a chip in their spine, with a control bracelet that a specialised Republic officer called a Handler keeps in their possession. Any disobedience or trouble-making will typically end in the Handler activating the control bracelet, which sends an electric shock signal of customisable level to the Demonica's chip. Due to where this chip is, it is capable of causing temporary paralysis, depending on the setting used. Demonicas also generally have a titanium collar, with their danger rating engraved on it, which cannot be easily removed.

Handlers work very intimately with the Demonicas they are assigned during missions, preventing the Demonica from rebelling, running, causing generalised trouble, or hurting anyone in the case they lose control of their abilities. Some Handlers, too many, really, will abuse this position of power, and while it is against the Republic's regulatory laws to outright abuse a Demonica, and many have lost their jobs for doing just that, they cannot really police or prove every form of abuse, and thus the subtler types tend to slip notice.

Demonicas depend on a drug called Euphoria, given in shots once every two weeks. This drug is engineered to prevent the Demonica's powers from overloading and killing them, though some have very adverse reactions to the drug, and some do not need it as much as the rest. Euphoria is very addictive, and withdrawals are quite terrible and cold-turkey quitting Euphoria will kill eventually. It is not available outside the Republic.

Age and Development

Demonicas tend to slow down on ageing quite a bit after fusion. Battle tends to kill them early on, along with complications caused by Euphoria, so it is really unknown how long they may live, if left to their own devices. There have been instances of 22 year old Demonicas that look no older than 12, and 12 year old Demonicas that look in their 30s. In similar style, their mental development tends to vary wildly; some will mature and learn much faster than is typical for Tyrrhenians of comparable age, while others never really mature at all, and remain eternally mental children.

Like Demons, Demonicas are capable of evolving. If the Demon they were spliced with was capable of evolving, the resulting Demonica will eventually evolve where the Demon would have. Demonicas also have typings, based on the Demon they were spliced with, can learn skills that normally only Demons can learn, and are notably capable of communicating with Demons without a COMP's DLTM.

Euphoria, while used to stabilise unstable Demonicas, can cause many more complications than it fixes. Known side-effects are: inability to focus, irrational and consistent agitation, memory complications, unexplained physical illness and frailty, lacking ability to control one's powers, irrationality, heightened aggression, muscle deterioration, organ failure, coma, death.

Danger Ratings

All Demonicas and chipped Psionics are assigned a danger rating. This is a rough approximation of how dangerous, troublesome, powerful, or difficult to handle, a Demonica or Psionic may be for a Handler. Only Handlers with a clearance at or above this danger rating may be assigned as their Handler. This limitation can be overcome if a higher clearance Handler is willing to mentor the lower clearance one. One is typically relatively unlikely to find such assistance.

Danger ratings follow the Greek alphabet, going, from least threatening at Zeta, to Epsilon, Delta, Gamma, Beta, and Alpha, at the most threatening. Demonicas and Psionics have a danger rating instead of a rank, though they tend to inherit their Handler's rank insofar as what they are expected to do. Demonicas and Psionics will also inherit their Handler's Department and Unit, rather than the other way around, thereby they transfer a lot, if they go through Handlers rapidly.

At some point, Demonicas and Psionics will be deemed more trouble than they are worth, and euthanised. Be careful how far you push your luck, because you may sooner rather than later, find it ran out.

Factions, Groups, and Organizations

As Demonicas are not quite citizens, but also aren't quite non-citizens, they do have a few groups that are advocating for their rights. Currently, there are groups picketing for: improved Demonica and Psionic treatment; better and tighter control of Handlers to prevent even subtle abuse, as well as more stringent training and pre-requisites for officers that wish to become Handlers; discontinuation of the shock chips and removal of the titanium collars; alternatives to Euphoria.

Demonicas themselves tend to remain out of such political nonsense, but some are part of the Republic Alliance for the Genetically Altered, which focuses on the therapeutic and support-based treatment of, and learning to cope with, war-related trauma, such as PTSD, which many Demonicas will develop over time.

Relations with Other Races

Demonicas are somewhat unfortunate. The Republic both does and does not value them, and the citizen side of the Republic decidedly avoids them, if not outright dislikes them. Tyrrhenians tend to see them as a little unnatural. Demons and Tyrrhenians are thought to be separate for a reason, and if they were meant to be fused together permanently, they would be. Demons aren't commonly very fond of them for similar line of thought.

Daeni and Psionics do not tend to look at Demonicas cross-wise. Fusillades consider them vague brethren, in the sense that they both fuse, albeit one does it on command and the other generally gets landed with the consequences of a fusion but not the choice.

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