Wanted: Dr. Alexander Stern

[Reckoner]

To those of you that don't know me, my name is Paul Blake. I've been doing this line of work for some time now, and I'm always glad to meet fellow hunters. Now I'm hoping to both ask for your aid, and offer mine in return.

I'm currently in pursuit of a man that makes Dr. Frankenstein look like a sixth grader hooking a toad up to a car battery. His name is Dr. Alexander Stern. 5' 10", 170 lbs. Blue-green eyes, short auburn hair that may have been changed by now. He appears to be a man in his early thirties, but I have reason to believe he may be older than what his records say.

I've been doing some hunting into people that swear they've seen folks that they KNOW had passed away, but were dead ringers for them. Missing person reports also began to come up. What I've discovered is these sightings are tied to communities close to where there are subsidiaries of The Benford Group. Dr. Stern was, possibly still is, employed with them, though not in any official capacity. What I have discovered are people too traumatized to make any sense, people coming down with infections that are...highly communicable if they attack and break your skin, especially with bites. You may hear terms like Unisane or Altrucure, trust me, you don't want any of what's in them.

Stern was the head researcher into their 'miracle cures', but it didn't end there. Apparently Stern liked to experiment with the potential of not only active DNA, but the reanimation, and reconfiguration of dead flesh. I'm talking about extended limbs, strange body weapon protrusions, I'm talking about the stuff of nightmares and hallucinations. The worst part: Stern realized that the best subjects were people of exceptional skills or ability that had deceased. Soldiers, gym owners, policemen. And on my latest trail, I discovered a mockery of what most here would consider their lives and livelihood. A cemetery was robbed where the remains of Edward Macendale, a man rumored to have died while saving a family from a 'mad dog' attack by firing silver bullets into a corpse that seems to have disappeared, was laid to rest. Macendale's body was among the missing graves, and people were fired upon by someone fitting Macendale's description in life. You may not believe this part, but I was there to take this monstrosity down. It looked like some kind of gun composed of bone and semi-necrotic flesh was grown out of his shoulder, or somehow attached to it organically. I've seen some weird shit in my time, but that's the first time a zombie ever shot at me with a built-in gun!

Stern has the equivalent of several doctorates, and trust me when I say this man is not to be trifled with or underestimated. Some claim his IQ is over 300, they say he doesn't talk to you so much as at you while looking through you. I've also seen signs that this...man may also engage in cannibalism. The man thinks several steps ahead. Think Hannibal Lechter with the cold, calculating demeanor in regards to people as a Nazi scientist. You're just someone to use, some spare parts or cells to experiment with to the man. Or at simplest, potential food.

If you know where the bodies of your fallen comrades are buried, you might want to do something about them. Cremate them if the remains haven't already been. Keep an eye out if you see someone familiar out of the corner of your eye, but you dismiss it because you KNOW it can't be them! If you see anything matching any of the above, contact me ASAP. Keep an eye open, and I mean no disrespect to any of you on this next statement. I know you've seen some weird things, but don't think you've seen it all and can handle whatever he throws at you! DO NOT attempt to apprehend him yourselves without backup, and please don't let yourselves get caught by this individual. He WILL use you against everything you love and fight for if given the chance, either by psychology, manipulation or acquiring your genetics and mannerisms. Don't let yourselves become weapons this monster can wield!

[GhostSpider]

Anyone or anything goes after the people I love, they had better be ready to embrace oblivion. I'll destroy them, then I'll destroy their soul.

[Reckoner]

I'm feeling you on that one GS, but as far as a soul...I'm not sure Stern has one anymore. This guy's a whole other level of living cancer. He uses people, makes them think they're in control but he's already planned ahead for it. Then he turns your worlds upside-down. And this is his version of fun.

[RAVEN]

Can any of the Benford Group's involvement be verified? According to the business news, several smaller biotech companies within the group are due to go public soon. That Altrucure stuff is going through the human trial stage right now. I gave a call to a contact in the F.D.A. who told me that nothing has been found dangerous about it at all in these trials. Granted, none of the trials were performed on cadavers. I don't know about the Unisane.

Follow the money. The entire mess could be marketing scheme meant to drive attention to the Benny Group just before its big coming out party. A drug that could do things like this would make stock prices skyrocket. The promise as an errectile disfunction cure alone would put a little company on the map. If it doesn't work, old Benny Ford can wipe his hands of the whole thing and say that he never claimed it did (which is technically true) and preserve his stock price.

[Kolya]

Follow the money is always good advice. I'm afraid though that I have nothing else to add, at least not at the moment. I've put my feelers out as this guy sounds like he's involved in the same kind of underworld activity I'm particularly fond of taking down, so I've tapped some old contacts for information. No guarantees, of course, but it doesn't hurt to try.

[Reckoner]

There's nothing noticeably wrong with the formula because it's currently dormant. At least under normal means of detection. I have it from a reliable source that if you analyzed the formula under a powerful enough microscope like a Somatoscope, you'll find a pattern in the chemical reminiscent of glyphs. Or for those knowledgeable of the arcane, a spell circle. The labs claim it's just the latest advancement of nanotech organizing the formula. It's more than that. The formula alone COULD be a cure-all without this formulation, but someone's specifically setting this stuff up for something BIG.

Stern was apparently tagged by The Benford Group as a researcher. Unisane is supposedly the original name of the formula, but Altrucure is a more refined batch. I've seen the end result under close scrutiny. The end result has features of an 'energy arrester', I'm sorry I'm not a tech head so I can't explain it like a doctor friend of mine can. It channels the same kinds of energy martial artists call Chi, Prana or Ki, and in mystic circles, magic. It's like the equivalent of a heat sink, only it focuses on this form of energy in living things. It turns the cells of the people exposed into something that craves it. Where do you think the miracle healing comes from? It transmutes this energy into cellular action, creating something that seeks it out, consumes it. God forbid this stuff ever gets exposed to a water source or becomes airborne. The one saving grace is that this stuff is specifically keyed to human genomes, so animals can't carry it. But they CAN act as a secondary food source.

Trust me, this stuff is bad news. But Stern is worse. He likes to experiment, he likes to play with potential victims, he loves manipulating people the way he can manipulate chemicals and DNA. Altrucure may be the most potentially widespread of his accomplishments, but he keeps trying to one-up himself with gene splicing, reanimation of dormant, even deceased cells. He gets off on being the master of nightmares. If something weird is reported that doesn't fit your typical prey, it might be his handiwork. They may be stronger, faster, tougher, even smarter and with surprising abilities. Expect the unexpected.

[Kolya]

Any French or Dutch connections? Especially competition....

[Reckoner]

Not that I'm aware of, but I've been told that Stern is a prodigy and linguist. Believe it or not, the closest connection I could find was some latin and even some mention of a village during Roman occupation. But I'm also finding some activity in the Central and South Pacific that bears investigating. A couple islands, one an archaological dig site called Aurora, the other a supposed place Francis Drake found called Atuk Island. The only thing I could also recommend looking into are geographical areas that experts in Feng Shui would refer to as 'Dragon Crossroads'.

[Kolya]

Out of my field of expertise but I know some people who might be able to help with your research load if you're interested. If not, I understand.

[Reckoner]

Thanks, I may take you up on that. But right now, I'm following up on leads with Stern, not just The Benford Group. I appreciate the help, but as I said, DO NOT try taking him yourselves if you happen to encounter him!

[Kolya]

You know how to contact me when/if you're ready.