Knossa

*Now that Glenn was finally getting some where he leaned back in his chair and and placed his feet up onto the table and started to take sips of his drink. Still another good question was what to do now and one Glenn started to think on while drinking. Well he could attempted to kill the sith which would be fun but if the man was as powerful as they thought even with Thakelrot's help he probably wouldn't be up to the challenge yet. That only really left leaving and hope he didn't track them down to kill them one day that would be if he could find them. So making up his mind Glenn sets his drink down and swings his feet off the table and stands up quickly.*

Lets just leave now and disappear just like he did if we move fast enough he will lose us once we jump to hyperspace. That way if he is a sith and is angered we know something about him he would have a hard time catching us.

*Not a bad idea, Thakelrot thoguht to himself. If they could disappear there would be little he could do to find them. Thakelrot took a large gulp of his drink and thought of their options to this point. They could easily ran and bolt off the planet and leave the newcomer alone or they could kill the newcomer. Like Thakelrot guessed Glenn was thinking, if the newcomer was as powerful as they believed they could be killed easily and no one would know they even exsisted. Thakelrot was not yet ready to die and thought the first option was best.*

Well, what are we waiting for? If we are going to leave, lets get our lazy asses up and head the kriff out of this place and off of this planet.

*With that, Thakelrot put back up his hood, got up out of the seat and bolted out of the cantina, jsut like on Tatooine, and headed for the hangar bays.*

*Glenn grinned as Thakelrot agreed with him again and made his usual comment about him being slow and then took off out of the cantina. He quickly grabbed his helmet placing it on his head and then took off after Thakelrot though he quickly ran back to the table lifting his helmet up to take one last gulp of his drink and then ran off after Thakelrot. They were now on the run again and it seemed like this would become the norm for them always running off to another place in search of something.*

*Master Riddick was not to be found: not in the time I spent seeking him out. But, if you consider it from another angle, Master Riddick was equally unsuccessful in meeting me. This question is meaningless, but because I am vaguely interested in ends in addition to means, I shall pose it anyways: was that good for him, or good for me?*

*Time was fortunate to me. I have learned much of the inabilities of this snake body that I now possess and, in a certain sense, desire to be rid of it. Yet as I sit here, here in this HoloNet cafe, idly occupying my mind with trifles of knowledge, I cannot act. I am not forced to act. I am, therefore, the powerless one. The pursuit of futility is an exercise I loathe, the propagation of Chaos an act that I have yet to really engage. I am disappointed and yet I persevere in my failures, numbing the discouragement with distraction. And yet, why is meaning so crucial? In the time that I have been idle, everything else by my silence has been equally tranquil. It is and will be the case that, when my time comes, I will engender in the masses such revolt that a time of greater Harmony will arise than ever before.*

*It is the sight of that Harmony's fall that I long for, to be quenched with even greater Chaos.*

*These musings of mine are tempered by the fact that I am still sitting here, reading the historical summary of the Galactic Empire's interdiction of the narcotic drug Kryotin. The article's post-script is filled with arguments detailing why it should-or-should-not be legalized once more. I idly peruse the more eloquent stands. Perhaps there is no need to birth Chaos anymore than already exists...? Brilliant minds waste their time speaking inconsequential words to the nameless throes of the galaxy, to no avail. For as many as support it, so many shall there be opposing it. This is the rule of symmetry at work in its most obvious form.*

*The thought of Kryotin strikes me afresh. What is it, again..?*

*A quick search of the topic and, after screening my results to exclude the obscure debates of the subject (how many people have heard of Kryotin at all, really?), I am able to delve into a chemical information page. And there, with no trouble at all, I am staring at a chemical structure. An aromatic ring and a few nitrogen functional groups, some fused non-aromatic rings and a pair of opposed hydroxyls...this structure is so simple, after all. Yet it binds to chemoreceptors in the brain (in a manner that is given in more detail than I could ever possibly be interested in later on in its information page) and causes no end of rage and grief about its legality.*

*I wonder...*

*Let me consider for a moment. For you see, the body can fabricate structures infinitely more complex than this one, to a degree of less than one in one thousand, even ten thousand, erroneous. Just consider DNA. Absolutely massive, compared to this. In fact (as I scan the page further) it is a mere plant that produces the raw Kryotin assay, which is refined later. I...I am much more complicated of a being than any plant. Truth be told, I cannot produce my own food from solar energy-- indeed, apart from solar energy, I cease to function well (although, thanks to Chaos Convection, I am able to artificially provide my own 'sun')-- but that is because I lack the biological equipment to do so.*

*What if I had that biological equipment? Surely, then, I would be able to? And, if I think back to Kryotin, and marvel at the simplicity of the structure that conceals to simple a poison, I realize one of the many things I've learned about this new body of mine in the time since I first took it from Ulupong in the equivalence act of Chaos Exchange. I myself excrete venom.*

*Somewhere in these venom glands of mine there must be some machinery that makes the toxins I secrete when I bite. So, and now we come to the crux, if only there were some way for me to modify or add to that machinery, to where I could also make the Kryotin in the same way as the plants described on this HoloNet page!*


*The dramatic thought is fully thought in jest, because I already have the answer-- for upon my ascension to the title of Dark Lord of the Sith as recognized by many, the Trial that I put myself through was the reading of the complete literature of Darth Sidious himself, a feat which took 360 hours. One of his tomes was The Creation of Monsters, which dealt with just such bioresearch as what I propose here. The Dark Side Compendium was a key influence of my formulative years as a Sith, and taught me things of the Force that would have taken a lifetime to discover. Of course, the ending of two of my lifetimes was also instrumental in opening my mind to the potential of the Force beyond the wildest imaginings. I learned the technique Art of the Small, which in the tongue of Chaos translates to Chaos Effect. I know it well, I remember it still: it was by this technique that the Jedi Vergere gave her tears restorative effect.*

*Now I will use it to do quite the opposite. I will use it to inspect my own organs, and I will change them. I am not helpless! I can give myself the necessary parts to make Kryotin! For venom is good, but its uses are limited. If I can change it...change it for whatever purpose I so dream up, then my ability to act with have been broadened. All things work together-- this I take as rigid fact-- and thus the way I shall do this is clear to me. I iterate the very thought: It was by the examination of Kryotin that the idea happened, thus it is by the implementation of Kryotin into my own body that I shall have success. The universe which resists the legality of this drug shall have it injected into them...by my own fangs.*




*The strike to action feels good. It feels right, and indeed the symmetry of it all tells me that it is so. This is how I should act. I retreat from the HoloNet cafe to my own rented quarters, where I have been living idly these past few months, and prepare a large meal for myself (snakes take a very long time to digest): I shall not interrupt my progress with food or excrement, my fatigue can be cleared by the Chaos Element of Rejuvenation and so it shall be a continuous period of work.*

*I know that meditation and cautious experimentation are the necessary means; for although the fire of dynamics burns hotly, if I follow it relentlessly I will likewise burn my motivation. I must take my time and produce a good, reasonable procedure. Nonetheless, you will also find no sense of hesitance in me, as I begin immediately to make my preparations.*

*The first step will be to use the meditation steps of Chaos Effect to determine my own venom's components and properties. I must understand how it is made before changing anything dramatically. And, moreover, it will give me practice with the technique before I begin to use it often. A necessary step.*

*The second step will be to begin planning the chemical's creation from abundant precursors that I find in my body. It will likely take several steps, and so I will need something that functions for each step of the way. Efficiency should be a proper goal here-- the Force gives me a sense of intuition, however, that it of great assistance in this sort of procedure. While I worked at Sith Alchemy in my younger days, it was always with the guidance of the Force that the rituals proceeded. This credence will not be abandoned now.*

*The third step will be to use the Chaos Effect to change the machinery. What enzymes and genes currently exist, I do not know. The first step will inform me of that. And from there I will take the planning stage of the second step in conjunction with this information...and begin to make tangible changes to my cells, in order that I might make this Kryotin a reality.*

*It is a plan, then. I have the means, and thus I shall begin my meditations.*



*It is, really, all too beautiful when events intertwine perfectly like this. And although I was merely following the course of the galactic tide, however small it was that I found myself in its eddy, I have no doubt that the consequences hereafter shall attain to quite some magnitude.*

*Nearly one week into my meditations, I find myself pining for repose. It is fitting, is it not? The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Distractions which must be overcome arise at every opportunity. Frustration with my own limitations abound-- even though Chaos is my aid and through it I have proven endurance beyond what any other could strive for. Numbness spreads through my mind, and I am forced to take a moment aside to purge it with the Chaos Element: Rejuvenation technique.*




*Where have I gotten myself in all this time? Well. Let me be the first to say that just being able to take a proverbial walk in my meditations across exemplary cells within my venom glands is insufficient to determine their function. Indeed, if it were not for the prodding of Chaos, I would not be able to find what I am looking for at all. As it is, I am able to catch up on many hours and lifetimes of research in not much time at all with the ability I have gained over time to comprehend some small piece of the infiniteness of Chaos. So now, an incomprehensible structure becomes apparent to me as I gaze upon it in my mind, albeit microscopically deep within my own biology. And the changes that I need to make also become readily obvious when I inquire of Chaos what direction to take.*

*And this, then, is the beauty of the symmetry: my need arises and in response Chaos moves my hand to act in a certain way, and in response to its urging I take the path laid before my feet. So it is a heart-moving orchestra of coupled influxes.*

*What have I learned? Well. The matrix that is snake venom is no simple solution. There are literally dozens of factors in this scheme. Within all this time, though, I have come to understand the functions of each. Proteins to bind cell membranes, enzymes to facilitate the active toxin's insertion to the intracellular fluid of the enemy, more proteins to protect it on the way to the active sites...and prior to that, organelles that direct the synthesis of each. This is a trustworthy discovery that prove to be of vast importance later, so I will make a note of it now: however, I will not proceed in that direction just yet.*

*For, after all, each protein is made from a template; thus, if I change the template, I can make the new proteins afresh without having to repeat the following process. I have learned this from observation. But, this is merely a distraction at the moment; pursuit of this too soon will be fruitless at best. I must prove to myself that that which I desire to provide myself with is effective at all. Oh, I have seen the slow decay of the enzymes. I know that they must be remade eventually. Still, by generating by hand a number of them, they will last for some time. It is a process that I do not wish to pursue time and again, but it is not yet the time to make the process automated.*

*What have I done? Well. Already I have gained the confidence to attempt a tangible change. And as one would come to expect of Chaos, I have not been let down. Would you believe that I successfully modified the enzyme responsible for the toxins that bind to the victim's neurological system? They no longer make the toxins, but instead orchestrate a novel cycle of Chaos's design that creates, at the same resource cost of a single toxin protein, five equivalents of the Kryotin molecule.*

*This is not surprising; drug molecules are often very small. And it is also to my benefit that snake venom is already a neurologically active substance, so modifying the transport proteins will not be a daunting task. I am close, very close, to success. It does not feel right to call it 'breakthrough', for Chaos already had the capacity to do it, and I am no scientist: merely an insatiable fiend after the utmost existence.*




*Yet as I feel the very molecules that I desire being made in this meditation, now that I have cleared my mind of its fatigue, I realize just how daunting the task is. Not one, not two...all of the enzymes must be changed, else there will be a competing process between the natural venom and my modified substance. How many are there in a single cell? And how many cells compose the tissue of this gland? Oh, and there are two glands, just to introduce a factor of two. And due to the completely by-hand modification, it is an absolute certainty that I will have a Kryotin solution that degrades in quality towards lethality over time, as the modified enzymes eventually break down and are replaced by the ones that are written to be made in my DNA.*

*So it is clear already, even at this stage of the process, that the extent of the modifications I make to myself will have to be quite vast. I cannot waste time in such a way as I am doing right now for the rest of my life! A week-- and although that time will be dramatically reduced now that I know what changes are to be made and have already seen the successful route-- it is far too long a preparation time for too little of a reward!*

*No, I am already beginning to see what will be done. I know that I will not be satisfied with only the ability to produce Kryotin. There must be balance. If I want anything useful, it cannot end until my very DNA has been rewritten for my own purposes.*





*What comes next? Well. We stay to the plan, of course! The loss of my modified enzymes over time is regrettable, but we will still maintain this course for the time being so that, at the end, the results can be observed. Usefulness, indeed...I will also not be satisfied with just this. I know it already, I feel it in my frustrations and failures-- of which I need not speak, for these are certainly the reason why, even in the most optimal conditions of all, it has taken nearly one continuous week, over one hundred hours without stopping, to get even the most preliminary results!*

*Making foundations before the building plans have been checked for readiness is even more wasteful. So even this flawed approach will be tested, tested before I begin the more permanent process.*

*I sense a disturbance in Chaos.*


*For the past several months, I have resided in a small apartment in Knossa. During that time, any being in the galaxy would have figured out the direction of the Praxeum hence. I am no exception; in fact I made a note of its location at the earliest possibility. After all, these sorts of things are of great importance. One never knows when one needs to extinguish a few Jedi lights. And it seems to me, from the origin of the perturbation, that this is exactly the sort of event going on.*

*And so the question is: how to act? I will go through my thought process in laborious detail only once, so that you may obtain a glimpse of who I am.*

*When the feeling touched me, at first glance it would seem like there are two choices to make: to respond, or to ignore. The first choice would lead into a branching of events while the second would leave me where I am, conveniently finished with my exercise in Kryotin generation. This is an incorrect assessment. For, you see, once an outside influence has acted, there is no such thing as to ignore. The system is already in a different state than it began, so there is really only one action. That action branches infinitely, and the choice of path is in turn a difficult one. So I turn to symmetry to determine what that action shall be.*

*The simplest symmetry: a disturbance is created here. Elsewhere there must be an abundance of tranquility, for no chaos can be created without harmony disturbed in some other area. The other region is not important now, since we are focused on the chaos (which must be the source of the disturbance). Thus, where I come into play will be on the side of chaos, and if I do that the simple antisymmetry is just that my meditations are left to linger. As I have been contemplating in these past weeks of research, I was already in an adequate place of ultimate failure. No tangible progress had been made; only transient success was achieved. The obvious symmetry ramification is inconsequential.*

*Supposing I extend myself to observe the rift being created. It is not unlikely that I will wind up drawn into some conflict or another. So, by my involvement, someone who is involved must become uninvolved. That could be equally as simple as me stepping out of the conflict once more, or as complicated as a series of deaths. Equivalent exchange must be observed within this system of the universe. But I have already made the ensuring preparations for if I am to die, thus this carries no ill consequence, either.*

*Let me finally consider the means. Without detailed knowledge, I cannot determine anything beyond guesswork. So, I should simply travel there and observe what events are opened by the antisymmetric operations, so that I may play the role of becoming involved: if I am in the vicinity of the system, and the system is perturbed, then the likelihood of my involvement in the restoration of symmetry becomes exponentially greater. I will literally be drawn in.*

*This conclusion could be arrived at by taking a more simplified picture: you could easily guess, for instance, that I would be drawn into a conflict if I am nearby. There is no requirement to include the symmetry argument. But the symmetry argument shows very clearly HOW it is that I would be drawn in: The system is thrown out of symmetry. It must restore itself to a symmetrical state. It will use all available resources to create a new equilibrium. I am an available resource. Therefore I will be a part of the new equilibrium. The clear mechanism of how things are likely to work is the beauty of symmetry. And your simplified picture will fail you when more complicated problems are considered. The symmetry approach can always be applied: with increasing difficulty at times, sure. But it is a rigorous approach, and it will always get the right answer.*

*Seeing a high likelihood of favorable outcomes, I find no reason to hesitate. Although, honestly speaking, even an abundance of unfavorable outcomes might not dissuade this moment.*


*I sense a disturbance in Chaos. For symmetry reasons, I make preparations and embark in the direction of the Praxeum.*

*It had been 2 months since James had arrived on Ossus. He walked the streets watching people as they went about their business. They ignored him like he wasn't even there. His stomach began to ache with hunger. Reaching into his tattered pocket he found he was down to his last credit chip, this wouldn't do.

Walking a few blocks he found what he was looking for. A row of different street performers putting on several different shows. Walking down the line he finds a place next to a group of Rodains playing music in strange instruments. Sitting down he watches people go bye. He then begins watching individuals as they walk by almost staring at them. But he was doing more then that not only was he looking through them but planting suggestions in their minds to give him credits. It took a few minute but people began to throw credits down in front of him. He slowly began to dive into more and more people's minds. It wasn't long before he had a nice sized pill of credits.

What James didn't notice was that the Rodains next to him were getting angry that he was getting credits for nothing. After they finished their song. The leader of the group walked over to James with his friends behind him. The Rodain began yelling at him in a language he didn't understand, but that didn't mean it James didn't know he was mad. But what made the Rodain madder was that James wasn't looking at him. What James was looking at was the two bigger Rodains behind the leader. Forcing thoughts into their minds, thoughts of deceit and betrayal of each other. The leader finally had enough and grabbed James. He was met with a stare of James' icy blue eyes before being hit inthe back of the head by one of his friends. The other began fighting with the other band mate. Quickly the band was too busy fighting amongst themselves they didn't notice James pick up the credits and leave.

A block away James begins to count the number of credits he had gotten.*

*Riddick touches down not far from his home, in the suburban hills surrounding Knossa proper. He was glad to be home, and that it was in as good an order as when he left it.

He gets out of his gear and gets into something more comfortable, and significantly lighter than what he flew home in. The local news, as well as the galactic broadcasts didn't boast anything major. He fixed himself a meal, and, after that, a snifter of Trimean Cognac, all while the news kept sounding off in the background.

Admittedly, the happenings he knew to be common and familiar, seemed somewhat alien to him now, after being in the unknown portions of the galaxy. Still, he knew he was where he was should be, in a place that was his.*

*After several days of R&R, Jaecyn receives a message from Adieumus Matango, concerning a meeting of Jedi. He saw no reason to not show up, so he went about preparing for the trip over to Yavin.

He called in advance to have his fighter was prepped and armed by ground crew at the local port, before he arrived and set off for this meeting.*