Specimens in the seventh wave were subjected to a mirror secured overhead. This was the first stimulus to elicit change, disrupting the specimens from their catatonic stupor, prompting preliminary signs of physical mobility. First, blinking. Followed by the subtle articulation of head and limbs. After gradually attaining muscular dexterity, specimens eventually tried to reach out and touch their reflected image. Specimens were unable to sleep underneath the mirror, and the mirror had to be removed under the cloak of darkness in order to facilitate rest. Finally, at this seventh stage, the EEG monitor presented a disturbance in brain waves, indicating visualization during sleep. The mirror combined with a radio prompted the first attempts at vocalization, although these vocalizations never evolved into cogent verbal articulations, so the radio was removed.

All documentation for wave eight was destroyed.

The stimulus for wave nine is classified. Specimens from wave nine were introduced to the classified stimulus during the incubation phase, in an enclosure lined with mirrors on all sides. Upon completion of the procedure, specimens would immediately animate and began vocalization, typically screaming or howling, but sometimes laughing and giggling, sometimes grunting, sometimes growling. Several specimens were recorded babbling in a structured dialect that contained all the markers of a codified language for which we lack translation.

Specimens from wave nine showed an appetite for solid food soon following the incubation period, and actively roamed the interior of their cells, some crawling, others walking upright as early as sixteen weeks. Specimens appeared inquisitive and displayed critical thinking while exploring their habitat. While previous specimens were impervious to habituation of any kind, specimens from wave nine quickly adapted to their habitat and proved capable of assimilating new information at a rate associated with supreme cognition. Once communication was established – Latin being the first known language specimen from wave nine universally acquired – nearly all specimens began to describe imagery and recount events occurring outside their enclosure, displaying knowledge of information beyond the extent of their educational programming. While classified, these memories are considered fabricated, and professed knowledge to be falsified through an advanced form of emotive imitation.

The first attempt at societal assimilation was through a private orphanage owned and operated by colleagues of Mister O for purposes of research. Here, among other areas of inquiry, researchers studied the effects of myriad traumas on youths of varying ages. Fields of study included methods of personal rehabilitation and causes for behavioral degeneration. The elasticity of a moral codex. Means of cognitive conditioning and the disruption of fixed beliefs. The reaches of radical delusion; i.e., belief in gross falsehoods lacking affirming evidence.