Project Apple


 * This article is about the project titled PROJECT APPLE. For information on the episode, see Project Apple.

Project  (プロジェクト〈アップル〉) was a research initiative carried about by the previous Ostanian regime to produce highly intelligent animals for military purposes.

History
Project  was an animal research project led by the previous Ostanian government, the National Unity Party, with the goal of creating highly intelligent military animals. Its researchers conducted experiments very quickly in an attempt to get a working product, but with no signs of success and a new administration taking over Ostania after the war, the project was shut down. The subjects of the experiments were intended to be destroyed, but some seem to have made their way onto the black market instead. It was also believed that some of the experiments may have succeeded in creating higher-intelligence animals, but with the project shut down, there was no way to confirm.

There were a variety of animal species among the test subjects. Two particular subjects, Bond (referred to as Subject 8) and Aaron, were dogs that received higher intelligence from the experiments, and the former gained the power of precognition as a fluke side effect. It is shown that during the experiments, the researchers cared little for the well-being of the subjects and were willing to replace any subjects that died quickly. The subjects were given many shots, fed low-quality food, and had high voltages of electricity administered to their brains. To be used for military purposes, it is not out of the question that the animals were also trained in combat.

While not much else is known about the project, it is rumored that Born Industries, an Ostanian research facility, was involved with it. It also appears that the project had several research teams, which Westalian Intelligence suspects are currently operating. As Project  was conducted by the National Unity Party, it is unknown if its chairman Donovan Desmond is somehow connected to these teams.

Trivia

 * The "Apple" in Project  is likely a reference to the apple from the biblical story of the Garden of Eden which when eaten gives the eater the knowledge of good and evil.
 * In the anime, the list of animals involved in the experiments was expanded (in addition to sheep, horned owls, dogs, eagles, dolphins, turtles and apes shown in the manga, crows and pigs were also test subjects).
 * In the manga, the eagle and the ape are barely recognizable, and the turtle has been replaced with a pig in the anime.