Difference between revisions of "Sonic Adventure 2 - The Truth of 50 Years Ago..."

Latest revision as of 22:03, 8 October 2023

(This is backstory listed in Sonic Adventure 2 Perfect Guide - taking the form of a report submitted by Rouge the Bat to her superiors. Translation by Windii).

During my latest undercover operation, I obtained through the security hole at GUN classified jurisdictional data of the President of the Federal Government at the time, which appeared to be related to Project Shadow. A top-secret letter from thirteen presidents ago to Pr. Gerald requesting research. The letter stated succinctly as follows.

"Begin research on the eternal and ultimate dream of mankind: immortality."

At first, Gerald stubbornly refused the request, claiming that it was beyond human capacity. However, it was Gerald's beloved granddaughter, Maria Robotnik, who (ironically) gave him the opportunity to make this project, which should have ended as mere delirious ramblings from the powers that be, a reality. Maria had been suffering from NIDS (neuro-immunodeficiency syndrome), a disease that even today is considered difficult to treat, and although she continued to receive treatment at the ARK's medical research facility, there was no hope for her recovery. Gerald, frustrated by this, decided to overcome her intractable disease by researching immortal life. The research was conducted in secret even within the ARK, and it is recorded that it was named "Project Shadow" from the irony of creating a shadow (thing that cannot exist in this world).

What everyone at first thought was a far-fetched project was not entirely a pipe dream for Pr. Gerald's genius mind. Based on the research results of the Chaos Emeralds and Chaos Drives, his attempt to apply the boundless energy to life was successful, and the project soon resulted in the completion of a prototype. Focusing on its self-healing ability, the "ultimate life form prototype," which was created using a lizard as its base body, showed signs of amazing growth, self-healing, and self-propagation, much to the delight of researchers.

However, their joy was short-lived, as the prototype's capabilities soon exceeded their expectations to such an extent that they began to have trouble controlling it, and even within the research community, there began to be doubts about the continuation, significance, and safety of the research. Perhaps it was an insider who saw the prototype run amok who first leaked information about the project to GUN, but the truth is not clear. However, the danger of the project was somehow brought to GUN's attention, and GUN's top brass, which at the time was hostile to the uniqueness of the ARK research institute, took this as an opportunity to plan the closure of the ARK itself. This was an unofficial operation called "Operation ARK Shutdown."

A biohazard suddenly broke out at the ARK research facility, and all colony residents were to be rescued from the disaster, and the colony was to be sealed off. This was the ostensible objective of the operation. The real objective, of course, was to shut down the ARK research facility, erase Project Shadow, and hold Pr. Gerald responsible for the disaster. The operation was carried out on a scale never seen since the founding of GUN, and within seven days of the start of the operation, all ARK residents were moved to the surface, all ARK facilities were frozen by GUN, and all Project Shadow personnel except Pr. Gerald were declared victims of this disaster. The operation was completed with the sealing of the "ultimate life form prototype" found in the deepest part of the colony.

However, there was only one miscalculation in this operation: when this operation was carried out, Pr. Gerald had already almost completed the ultimate life form "Shadow" using another base body. When the GUN Special Forces raided the research institute, the fleeing Gerald entrusted it to his granddaughter Maria, and it is confirmed that an escape capsule was ejected toward the surface at that time. (The whereabouts of the capsule at that time are still unknown to this day.)

As a result, Gerald was subsequently captured by Special Forces and imprisoned on Prison Island, where he was eventually forced to continue his research on the ultimate life form, "Shadow," apparently under orders from GUN. Now that Shadow the Hedgehog is no more, there is no way to know whether the Shadow sealed on Prison Island was a replica created by Gerald or the real Shadow that was ejected toward the surface and recovered...

~Excerpt from Rouge's final investigation report on Project Shadow~

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-''(This is backstory listed in the [[Sonic Adventure 2]] Japanese strategy guide. Translation by [[KojiChao]].)
+:''(This is backstory listed in [[Sonic Adventure 2 Perfect Guide]] - taking the form of a report submitted by [[Rouge the Bat]] to her superiors. Translation by Windii).''
-During my latest criminal investigation, I found secret information about Project Shadow through a Security Hole in [[G.U.N.|GUN]], and informed the President. It was a letter addressed to [[Professor Gerald Robotnik|Professor Gerald]] from the President of its time, 13 Presidents ago, confidentially requesting him some new research. The subject of the letter is as follows.
+During my latest undercover operation, I obtained through the security hole at GUN classified jurisdictional data of the President of the Federal Government at the time, which appeared to be related to Project Shadow. A top-secret letter from thirteen presidents ago to Pr. Gerald requesting research. The letter stated succinctly as follows.
-"Mankind's ultimate eternal dream, researching for immortality."
+"Begin research on the eternal and ultimate dream of mankind: immortality."
-Gerald had refused this request stubbornly, for it crossed over Man's limits. However (although ironically), in the end, Gerald's dearest granddaughter "[[Maria Robotnik]]" gave him a reason to look over the plans. Maria suffered from an illness "NIDS: Neuro immunodeficiency syndrome", by which medical treatment was difficult to provide. Although she seemingly could not expect recovery from this, medical treatment research was continued aboard the ARK, before they finally thought the incurable disease could be conquered because of Gerald's declaration of his new immortality studies. Advanced research was strictly confidential, inside the [[ARK]]. Records state, "Project Shadow" was named this because of the sarcasm involved in not actually being able to create a Shadow (Which didn't exist in the world).
+At first, Gerald stubbornly refused the request, claiming that it was beyond human capacity. However, it was Gerald's beloved granddaughter, Maria Robotnik, who (ironically) gave him the opportunity to make this project, which should have ended as mere delirious ramblings from the powers that be, a reality. Maria had been suffering from NIDS (neuro-immunodeficiency syndrome), a disease that even today is considered difficult to treat, and although she continued to receive treatment at the ARK's medical research facility, there was no hope for her recovery. Gerald, frustrated by this, decided to overcome her intractable disease by researching immortal life. The research was conducted in secret even within the ARK, and it is recorded that it was named "Project Shadow" from the irony of creating a shadow (thing that cannot exist in this world).
-At first, everyone thought that this plan was far too reckless and far-fetched to have ever been fabricated by Professor Gerald's gifted mind. [[Chaos Emeralds]] were researched and resulted in the creation of Chaos Drives, which were a test to apply their infinite energy to a life, while the main project would only be started once the prototype was complete. The "Prototype of the Ultimate Life-form", made after the image of a lizard, showed many signs of wonderful growth. Regeneration, restoration, and self-reproduction(*1). The researchers were thrilled at this.
+What everyone at first thought was a far-fetched project was not entirely a pipe dream for Pr. Gerald's genius mind. Based on the research results of the Chaos Emeralds and Chaos Drives, his attempt to apply the boundless energy to life was successful, and the project soon resulted in the completion of a prototype. Focusing on its self-healing ability, the "ultimate life form prototype," which was created using a lizard as its base body, showed signs of amazing growth, self-healing, and self-propagation, much to the delight of researchers.
-But, while their joy of how well the Prototype was doing quickly went to their heads, it became unruly and hard to control causing many problems. A voice of doubt soon arose, as they questioned their continuation on this project, as well as the safety of others aboard(*2). The truth is uncertain, about who had leaked private information about the Project to GUN, however it was considered to have been one of the few who were concerned with the Prototype, as it became reckless.
+However, their joy was short-lived, as the prototype's capabilities soon exceeded their expectations to such an extent that they began to have trouble controlling it, and even within the research community, there began to be doubts about the continuation, significance, and safety of the research. Perhaps it was an insider who saw the prototype run amok who first leaked information about the project to GUN, but the truth is not clear. However, the danger of the project was somehow brought to GUN's attention, and GUN's top brass, which at the time was hostile to the uniqueness of the ARK research institute, took this as an opportunity to plan the closure of the ARK itself. This was an unofficial operation called "Operation ARK Shutdown."
-Those who were among the top ranking of GUN, had a strong disliking of the research organization, and formulated a plan to shut down the ARK itself, taking advantage of its current situation. Their secret plan was code named, "ARK's Indestructible Seal(*3)"
+A biohazard suddenly broke out at the ARK research facility, and all colony residents were to be rescued from the disaster, and the colony was to be sealed off. This was the ostensible objective of the operation. The real objective, of course, was to shut down the ARK research facility, erase Project Shadow, and hold Pr. Gerald responsible for the disaster. The operation was carried out on a scale never seen since the founding of GUN, and within seven days of the start of the operation, all ARK residents were moved to the surface, all ARK facilities were frozen by GUN, and all Project Shadow personnel except Pr. Gerald were declared victims of this disaster. The operation was completed with the sealing of the "ultimate life form prototype" found in the deepest part of the colony.
-All of the colony's residents were to be evacuated from a bio hazardous calamity generated from within the ARK research institution, and it would be sealed away. This was their ostensible(*4) purpose of the strategy. Of course, the true purpose was to close the ARK research facility, erase Project Shadow, and put the blame to Professor Gerald as the person who had caused the accident.
+However, there was only one miscalculation in this operation: when this operation was carried out, Pr. Gerald had already almost completed the ultimate life form "Shadow" using another base body. When the GUN Special Forces raided the research institute, the fleeing Gerald entrusted it to his granddaughter Maria, and it is confirmed that an escape capsule was ejected toward the surface at that time. (The whereabouts of the capsule at that time are still unknown to this day.)
-The plan was carried out, on the premiss that GUN knew nothing, and within only seven days of the Plan's commencing, all the residents of the ARK were moved to the planet. All the research facilities aboard the ARK were frozen by GUN, and all persons involved in Project Shadow, except for Professor Gerald, were announced as victims of the disaster. The plan was finally completed, when the "Prototype of the Ultimate Lifeform" was found, and then sealed away in the deepest part of the Colony.
+As a result, Gerald was subsequently captured by Special Forces and imprisoned on Prison Island, where he was eventually forced to continue his research on the ultimate life form, "Shadow," apparently under orders from GUN. Now that Shadow the Hedgehog is no more, there is no way to know whether the Shadow sealed on Prison Island was a replica created by Gerald or the real Shadow that was ejected toward the surface and recovered...
-But, there was miscalculation in their plan. It seemed Professor Gerald was already finishing off the Ultimate Lifeform "Shadow"(*5), but using another desirable form, when the plan was being executed. When GUN's Special Forces rushed into the research institute, Gerald escaped, and entrusted it to Maria, his granddaughter, checking to make sure that the one escape capsule was ejected toward the planet(*6). (In addition, the whereabouts of the capsule at that time were not known, either.)
+~Excerpt from Rouge's final investigation report on Project Shadow~
-Now, it is not known if the hedgehog "[[Shadow the Hedgehog]]", being the "Shadow" that was sealed away in Prison Island, was a copy created by someone else(*7), or was the original "Shadow" that was ejected toward the planet. (There is no real way to confirm this anywhere...)
-~ A partial excerpt from the last investigative report by [[Rouge]], about Project Shadow ~
-==Footnotes==
-*1: The Biolizard was able to take damage, and heal itself, regenerate any lost limbs, like a lizard, and it could reproduce asexually (The pink Eggs Shadow 'Homing Attack's on). Unfortunatelly, it required it's Life Support System, fuel by Chaos Drives, to continue.
-*2: The Biolizard reacted violently when it had the power of the Chaos Emeralds.
-*3: Ehh, not too sure on the ACTUAL name on this. ^_^; So, it might be off...
-*4: Ostensible: The 'Good guy Image' GUN was trying to convey, making the public think they were doing the right thing, when they had ulterior motives.
-*5: "Shadow" was created durring the week GUN's plan was executed, so he never knew about the Prototype, or the destructive powers it possesed.
-*6: Gerald had told Maria to escape with Shadow, and ran in the opposite direction to draw unwanted attention away from the two. He looked at a monitor/out a window, to see the capsule leaving the colony.
-*7: The text mentions an 'Original piece' of Shadow.
-==Translator's Notes==
-'m afraid that the 'clones' idea may be a far bit off. It may have been an error in my translations, but there was one word in the original document that troubled me. It was the word, 'pieces'. It was contained in the last paragraph I was translating, which was at about 5am in the morning. I didn't quite understand what the document meant when it talked about 'Shadow', 'copy' and 'pieces'.
-The more I think of this, the more I read what other people thought of this, as they are taking the 'clones' idea a bit too far. I'm sure some person who can read/write and speak Japanese fluiently, as well as English, is laughing at my feeble efforts. ^_^; But, perhaps that last part actually explained that GUN captured the Hedgehog from the pieces(wreakage) of his capusle that hit the planet.
-EVERYONE seems to be off on a tangent, believing Shadow is a clone, now...when I was actually reffering to Sonic as the one who may have been Shadow's clone.
-Think about it. Seems Professor Gerald might have been one of the only people to work on the Immortality Research project, he may have also been one of the only people in the world who could 'clone' something. And while GUN had Shadow, they tried many expiraments, and perhaps finally managed in trying to create a clone of him. Or, someone else made a clone of him at one point, if they managed to find something of Shadow's from the crash, and used it to create a clone. -- Point I'm getting at, is I don't think Shadow was a clone. Rouge is just a very big skeptic.
 [[Category:Stories]]

Difference between revisions of "Sonic Adventure 2 - The Truth of 50 Years Ago..."

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Latest revision as of 22:03, 8 October 2023