TREADSTONE
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Secret government research programme |
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TREADSTONE - formally Project TREADSTONE (Arvorian: ТРЕДСТОУН) - was a classified Arvorian research programme authorised in 7664 RH. Its work concluded in 7671 RH.
The entire project continues to hold a classification of "Ив" (Исключительно важно, Exceptionally Important) and all information related to it remains sealed.
Overview
The project was overseen from its inception to its conclusion by a specially selected team of scientists from numerous research centres of Central Institutes of Health (TsIZ). All work was carried out within the High Containment Research Facility (Исследовательский центр строгого содержания, ITsSS) at the TsIZ campus in Provda.
TREADSTONE was first proposed on XX-XX-7664 RH by Doctor Igor Ivanovich Velikanov, a senior researcher at the Centre for General Medicine and Surgery (TsIZ-OMK), during the closing months of the Second Coalition War. In his initial presentation, a document thirty-three pages in length and containing nearly 300 individual references, Velikanov explained to Doctor Evgeny Petrovich Denisov, then Director General of TsIZ, and the rest of the Select Committee that serious consideration should be taken to "pursuing a deeper study and understanding of the physical, biological, psychological, and pathological aspects of the Wolgos", reasoning that "any and all efforts to better understand the perennial enemy of free peoples everywhere as a means of better defending against them would be worth the investment".
Project COBALT would also be a factor in the decision to approve TREADSTONE. While Velikanov did not know about the atomic bomb programme, Denisov and the director of the Centre for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (TsIZ-BVB), Doctor Nikolai Alexandrovich Bashilov, did. Denisov had been fully read in on COBALT, though, while Bashilov was only involved in the aspects of the project with respect to medical concerns. The two had quietly theorised that it was all but guaranteed the weapon would be used against the Wolgos, and Bashilov saw that as an opportunity to further study the effects radiation had on living organisms. Doctor Dmitri Viktorovich Zeldovich, head of the Centre for Nuclear Science and Engineering (TsINK-YNT) at TsINK, agreed with this assessment. Velikanov conservatively estimated the project would need a minimum of 200 Wolgos for a sufficient availability of subjects to ensure broad-spectrum results. The proposal was forwarded to Cherenovsk on XX-XX-7664, where it would be reviewed by the Council of Ministers before being considered for approval. While some initial discussions on the proposed project were held between Pavlov personnel, and the council was not uninterested, it was ultimately the muted response from the Citadel that saw the proposal temporarily shelved on XX-XX-7664.
This would change on XX-XX-7664, when a priority communication from the Citadel revived considerations of TREADSTONE. Acting on this message, Doctor Denisov granted approval and directed Velikanov to begin making preparations for the project to commence. Simultaneously, on orders from the Ministry of Defence, Operations Group Sigma of ARGENTUM was re-routed from Forward Air Base Chebenki on Taganza Island, where it had escorted Molotok-1 and guarded it until deployment on XX-XX-7664. Sigma, working with a special detachment from the Main Military Transport Directorate, moved onto the Waringa Plain and, over the course of three days rounded up 319 Wolgos. While some were already dead and thus were placed in cold storage for the journey to Arvor, most were still living, and many appeared to still be in reasonably sound health. Among the living a combination of those both exposed to the radiation of the bomb and those unaffected were part of the group. All of them were taken to the TsIZ campus at Provda under maximum secrecy.
The first of the Wolgos arrived at Provda on XX-XX-7664 RH. By this time, scientists from each research centre had made their preparations and the schedule commenced without fanfare on XX-XX-7664 RH.
Components
TREADSTONE-1
Considered the "primary aspect" of the entire project, TREADSTONE-1 focused on anatomical, physiological, and pathological study of Wolgos subjects. This included extensive analysis of living subjects, autopsies of deceased subjects, and analysis of blood, hormonal and fluid extractions from subjects. Various levels of a number of anaesthetic agents were also tested on subjects. It was overseen by Doctor Igor Ivanovich Velikanov of the Centre for General Medicine and Surgery (TsIZ-OMK). Assisting service was provided by doctors from TsIZ-SCLI, TsIZ-DSMZ, TsIZ-DPEI, TsIZ-ISLK, and TsIZ-NZ.
TREADSTONE-2
The "second primary aspect" of the project, TREADSTONE-2 focused on radiation studies, testing, and analysis. This included extensive examinations of Wolgos soldiers who had been exposed to varying levels of gamma, neutron, and ionising radiation. Healthy subjects were also exposed to controlled bursts of radiation of differing types to measure and record the reaction of the body. Some subjects were also injected with or made to ingest low to mid-level doses of various radioactive isotopes. This research was overseen by Doctor Polina Sergeyevna Kursanova and Doctor Vladimir Isaakovich Nazarov of TsIZ-BVB. Assisting service was provided by doctors of TsIZ-OI, TsIZ-DSMZ, TsIZ-DPEI, TsIZ-ISLK. Extensive consultations with scientists from TsINK-YNT were conducted throughout.
TREADSTONE-3
Focusing on bacteriological and virological studies, TREADSTONE-3 measured and studied the immunological reactions of Wolgos patients to exposure to a variety of bacterium and viruses to better understand their autoimmune responses. Agents used in testing included anthrax, botulism, brucellosis, cholera, monkeypox, tularemia, ricin, plague, smallpox, glanders, Q fever, various hemorrhagic fevers, staphylococcal enterotoxin, melioidosis, chlamydia, hepatitis A, rubella, typhus, and dengue fever. Testing and study were co-ordinated by Doctor Alexey Isaakovich Volfkovich and Doctor Semyon Yevgrafovich Favorsky of TsIZ-AIZ. Assisting service was provided by doctors of TsIZ-DPEI and TsIZ-ISLK.
Findings from TREADSTONE-3 would directly lead to Project BLACKBRIAR, which would be overseen by Doctor Favorsky of TsINK-AIZ.
TREADSTONE-4
Considered a segue from the focus of TREADSTONE-1, TREADSTONE-4 focused on Wolgos tolerances in the face of various environmental factors including extreme cold and heat, changes in air pressure and humidity, and a lack or excess of available water and food. Experimentation in these fields were conducted within special environment rooms which simulated these effects. Analysis of these effects on the respiration, heart rate, biochemistry, and physiological performance of the subjects was carefully documented. Primary oversight was the responsibility of Doctor Mariya Yakovlevna Yeskova of TsIZ-OMK. Assisting service was provided by doctors of the TsIZ-BVB, TsIZ-DSMZ, TsIZ-DPEI, and TsIZ-ISLK.
Aftermath
TREADSTONE was undertaken with the distinct understanding that a high fatality rate among the Wolgos subjects was all but guaranteed. These losses would be due to various factors, including inability to properly accommodate their unique diet, the effects of many of the experiments on those involved, and unpredictable variables during the course of their scientific investigations. Ultimately, 84% of the Wolgos subjects brought to Provda died during the course of the experiments. Of that portion, 19% died from nutritional deficits or other factors unrelated to the experiments of the project, 24% due to the radiation experiments of TREADSTONE-2, 45% from the various bacterium and viruses they were subjected to in TREADSTONE-3, and 12% due to exposure or other related effects as the result of TREADSTONE-4. All subjects who expired were cremated in the biodisposal furnaces of the sanitation department. The ashes of the subjects were collected and ultimately scattered over the Himarian Sea. The surviving 16% of subjects, many of whom continued to show a range of aftereffects from the experiments conducted, were held at the High Containment Research Facility for further observation, and gradually died from a combination of illness, nutritional deficits, and other physiological issues. They, too, were cremated upon their passing and their ashes scattered over the Himarian.
By the conclusion of the project, the scientists attached to TREADSTONE had compiled precisely 81,047 pages of notes, analyses, observations, and test results as well as 21,827 hours of audio and video recordings. All of this data was organised into the TREADSTONE report, which was reviewed by senior officials in Cherenovsk, the members of the TsIZ Select Committee and TsINK Select Committee, and key officers of the Armed Forces. These copies were later destroyed after being reviewed. Only two copies of the report still exist - one locked in the restricted section of the National Library of Medicine, and the other within the secure archives of the National Information Centre, which is maintained and protected by the 9th Department of the Central Directorate of State Security (GUGB). The audio and video recordings compiled during the project, as well as the aforementioned notes and analyses are likewise locked in the TsIZ archives in the National Library of Medicine.
Two specimens from the experiments - one intact and one with layers of skin (and in some places muscle as well) removed to reveal anatomical details - are on display suspended within glass tubes filled with preserving agent in the secure section of the National Museum of Medicine, also on the TsIZ campus.