Dr. Hamilcal Balkus was not pleased either, but his displeasure was focused on a far different matter than the internal strife of the Chronos syndicate. Dr. Balkus’ displeasure stemmed from the situation with Imakarum Mirabilis himself. He had not known that Murakami had worked so closely with the precursor to the Anti Chronos Task Force. Knowing that Murakami had received his weapon from a contact within the Anti Chronos Front was disturbing to the ancient Zoalord.

And now, with Imakarum working to investigate the very organization that his former allies had worked to build, there was a chance that their new Twelfth Zoalord would betray Chronos even as Gyou had. Dr. Balkus did not doubt his own work in developing Imakarum, however the fact did remain that the memories of Masaki Murakami were all still present within Imakarum.

It could prove to be a temptation for their Twelfth Zoalord, to go back to his ways as a rebel. Moreover, there was now the matter of his son. A boy raised to fight against Chronos, a boy that had been developed into a Zoalord by that traitor Gyou. The boy could be a great hindrance to Chronos’ plans. But then… Dr. Balkus had to pause as a particularly interesting idea occurred to him.

Perhaps little Kenji Murakami could be of some use after all. Locating the boy’s distinctive mental signature, Dr. Balkus quickly determined that there were no other Zoalords with him. Even Imakarum, who had expressed such a personal interest in the child’s welfare, was nowhere near the boy at the moment. Taking advantage of the circumstances, Dr. Balkus teleported to the boy’s bedside.

He was not particularly surprised to find the boy sleeping in Imakarum’s bed. Placing his right hand over the boy’s Control Zoacrystal, Dr. Balkus concentrated. Feeling the boy’s Zoacrystal begin to resonate in consonance with his own, Dr. Balkus slipped past the child’s nonexistent mental shields and brought his own awareness fully into the boy’s mind. Dr. Balkus found that, for such a young human, Kenji Murakami’s mind was remarkably well organized.

There were very few errant thoughts or musings. Going through the boy’s feelings and desires, Dr. Balkus found that what Kenji Murakami wanted most was to protect and help his father in any way that he was able. That was something that could be useful. Then again, since this particular protectiveness had been directed at Masaki Murakami there was still potential trouble.

Kenji Murakami was both protective of and loyal to Masaki Murakami, and while Imakarum might share some physical traits with that infuriating man they were most definitely not the same person. With as intelligent as Kenji Murakami was, even with his childish naïveté, there was not much chance of the boy mistaking Imakarum for the father he was so devoted to.

Still, there were other ways to ensure the boy’s loyalty. For a moment Dr. Balkus considered suggesting to Alkanphel that they perform the same procedure on Murakami’s son that they had on Murakami himself. It would of course ensure the child’s loyalty beyond all question, and it would perhaps tie Imakarum more tightly to Chronos and Alkanphel as well. The child seemed to mean a great deal to Imakarum, enough that if the child supported Chronos without hesitation then Imakarum would as well.

Finally deciding to shelve that option until Imakarum had either proven himself to be loyal or disloyal, Dr. Balkus decided that he would at least make some kind of contingency plan. The boy’s own mind would be the ideal place to begin. Probing each one of Kenji Murakami’s memories, Dr. Balkus found the ideal combination of elements. There was fear there, a profound fear of isolation.

The boy had gone a long way toward conquering it, yes, but the fear was still present in the back of the boy’s mind. There was also another fear; that of letting his father down. The boy had known what Murakami’s processing had done, what the inevitable results were going to be. Dr. Balkus was again impressed with Kenji Murakami’s practicality. He knew that nothing he could have done would have saved his father, and so he instead resolved to aid him in attacking Chronos.

The young Murakami had even learned to use his harmless outward appearance to his own advantage. There were not many who considered a small boy to be any kind of a threat, after all. Interested now, but not in any way prepared to give up on his original plan, Dr. Balkus began to weave a separate personality together from the useful fragments that he had found within Kenji Murakami’s psyche.

The fear of isolation would ensure that this creation of his would never stray far from any of the Zoalords; the fear of his father’s disappointment was manipulated until it was instead a fear of disappointing Alkanphel. The loyalty of the boy to his father was also transferred to Alkanphel before Dr. Balkus implanted it into the new personality. Recalling the Zoalord name that Alkanphel had given the boy, Dr. Balkus gave the second personality the name.

Finishing up the adjustments to Ingriam’s personality, Dr. Balkus buried the overlay deep in Kenji Murakami’s subconscious mind. Ingriam would be his silent watcher, able to come forward only when Dr. Balkus called on him. Of course, if the situation ever warranted it, Ingriam would perhaps be able to come forward on his own. But that would only be under extreme circumstances, and even then Ingriam would only be dominant for a few moments.

Removing his hand from Kenji Murakami’s Control Zoacrystal, Dr. Balkus withdrew from the child’s mind entirely. Looking down at the sleeping form of Kenji Murakami, Dr. Balkus wondered for a moment what Ingriam’s first report to him would be. One thing was certain, whatever Ingriam Mirabilis said would determine the future of Imakarum Mirabilis.