| Seo Jin-ae, formerly known as Subject D-2, is a former test subject who had been abducted by Project Seraph for unethical experiments involving Thargoid technology at Oaken Point in HIP 26176. Seo Jin-ae is currently a key ally of Aegis, working as an interpreter of the Thargoid hive mind. Before her abduction, Seo Jin-ae worked as a private investigator. Unlike many of her fellow test subjects, Seo Jin-ae managed to survive her attempt to interface with a Thargoid ship, and even achieved some positive results. The effort left her drained, and she was confined in Oaken Point's infirmary while she recovered. However, Dr. Edmund Pierce, one of the Project Seraph scientists overseeing the live trials, had grown disillusioned with the program after witnessing many test subjects die, and he decided to help Seo Jin-ae escape Oaken Point and return to the Core Systems. With Pierce's assistance, she stowed away on a contracted supply ship piloted by Commander Hyford, then after it lifted off into space, she jettisoned in an escape pod and found a ship that Pierce had prepared for her nearby. Seo Jin-ae was able to follow a series of beacons placed in several systems between HIP 26176 and HIP 22460 on her way to freedom, but was apparently plagued by unsettling dreams caused by her experience in the Thargoid ship test. The final beacon in Synuefe GB-O c9-8 contained the permit for HIP 22460, which Pierce urged Seo Jin-ae to give to the press or authorities to expose Project Seraph. Seo Jin-ae survived the journey and went into hiding. There is no sign that the HIP 22460 permit ever became public between her escape in 3303 and the permit's discovery by independent pilots on August 26, 3307. In May 3308, Seo Jin-ae contacted Professor Alba Tesreau, Head of Research at Aegis (then disbanded), directing her to DG Canum Venaticorum. An investigation of the system found an abandoned INRA outpost, with logs connecting Salvation to Azimuth Biochemicals. In October 3308, Seo Jin-ae appeared at a symposium aimed at reforming Aegis. She forced her way on the stage and spoke directly to Professor Tesreau, revealing her full name and her forearm ink-branded with "D-2". Tesreau and other members of Aegis took Seo Jin-ae into their protection, where she supported their research into the Thargoid Roar. Azimuth Biotech requested Seo Jin-ae to seek treatment at their medical facilities, but she declined and started working with members of Aegis as an interpreter of Thargoid messages. In 3309, Seo Jin-ae continued to work with Aegis while it was officially reformed by the superpowers. Throughout the year, Seo Jin-ae investigated rumors of a "Nemesis" protocol used by Salvation. During her investigation, she was rescued from unidentified pursuers by the Far God cult. Her findings regarding the Nemesis failsafe led to a meeting with Simguru Pranav Antal, as Utopia's Sim-Archive technology is believed to hold some similarities to the Nemesis failsafe. During the year, Seo Jin-ae leaked logs of Aegis conversations to the public, confirming the Thargoid mass abduction of humans. |
