The Experimental Journal of Professor Ezekiel Hojo
By
13:46:01, Midgar
Standard Time
The Shin-Ra Conglomerate prides itself on its efficiency. Its automotive subsidiary has an assembly line, which enables it to produce thousands of Mako-powered cars per year at low cost to both producer and buyer. With Shin-Ra as the hub source for all their human needs and wants, the quality of life above and below the Midgar plate (referred to by many an underside-dweller as a “pie tin” or “pizza plate”), is improved for all its citizens.
It never ceases to amaze me how Shin-Ra is able to maintain this fluid efficiency in all its divisions. There are fabulous company benefits for all the higher-ranking officials (that’s me!) that include: usage of the company condo in sunny Costa Del Sol, the Shin-Ra Yacht, the opulent mansion in Nibelheim, residence in the prestigious Co-Op atop the Midgarian plate (just a hop-skip-and-jump away from company HQ!), not to mention full medical and dental benefits and the sizeable Gil salary I earn! For the most part, President Shinra and his staff leave me to my own devices. If I want to start a new experiment, I just tell Scarlet, and she arranges the necessary funding for me. It’s not like that horrible ranch job, where I had to use my own money to help breed to those damned Chocobos. All that incessant “Waaark!”-ing noise never stopped annoying me, not to mention the fact that those stupid birds were impossible to catch and breed together! And those useless fertility cycle charts! Ugh! Who’s laughing now, “Chocobo Bill”?!
When there’s a snag inside or outside the Shinra Corporation’s machinery, the Turks are deployed. Like me, they are the only division of the company that lays hidden from public scrutiny; they’re not at all like SOLDIER, who can only use extreme force when authorized by central command. The Turks get the job done fast; whatever evidence is left is either destroyed or marred beyond recognition, leaving authorities positively baffled! Even though they are just hired mercenaries, they’re obviously very good at what they do.
Why, just the other day, they brought a new Turk in to me for medical examination…a martial arts, stealth infiltration, and termination expert from Wutai. I believe his name is Vincent Valentine, and I must say that from the examination, his psychological and physical abilities extend well into Code Red. I, too, share that ranking, albeit Gast had given me a negative Red, to reflect my sinistrocerebral nature.
The new Turk doesn’t say much, but from what I learned during the interview, he joined The Turks to pay the medical bills for his old sensei, who apparently suffers from some sort of infection. I inquired further, and found out, that the spells and remedies of the Wutaian shamans didn’t help his condition any (not surprisingly). Mysticism always fails where modern medical science succeeds. Perhaps I’ll offer Mr. Valentine some sort of antibiotic for his sensei. Why, with the money I save from skimping out on the experimental trials, I could buy myself that new rotoship and still have enough left over to put in my retirement fund!
Regardless, when I injected the tracking nanobot into the back of Vincent’s neck (standard procedure for all new Turks), he didn’t even feel the intense, residual pain all new Turks experience when the device is inserted. For that matter, he didn’t even react to the sensation. It was as if he’d somehow mastered perfect and harmonious control over his mind and body. This information may prove useful later on. I’ll have to ask the Turk’s administrator if I can submit his newest addition to some simple reflex examinations.
In the meantime, I’ll continue my work on the JENOVA project. Several breakthroughs have been made since I’ve disposed of Gast, but the resulting information is too much for me to synthesize alone. I’ll need some sort of assistant, one of similar intelligence who can provide a greater efficiency to the nature of this task.