Liam spent three days discussing possible side effects with Gene before settling on a hybridized approach. Multiple vectors would be released, all with a minor effect. Firstly, insect vectors would introduce a benign form of malaria, this would infect all felinids and cause a delay in gestation. Litters would shrink to twins or triplets and would last several months longer. Secondly, other pathogens, airborne bacteria and viruses, would be produced in the Ark and blown out of the tree. These vectors would remove the portion of triple helix DNA that prohibited felinid human crosspolination. This would take the longest to filter through the continent, so Gene was able to convince him to release multiple airborne pathogens, as well as three insect vectors. An aggressive form of horsefly, lice –cause even this world had those little pieces of shit–, and a bug that was eerily similar to a mosquito.
“Gene, what is the expected timeframe for this to propagate out? Oh, read me the summary out loud.” Said Liam.
“The vectors have variable propagation rates, but assuming an average rate and no unforeseen difficulties, then the vectors will reach Talocandel in a year, Greenwood in ten, and Khereshetal in forty three.” Said Gene, the robotic voice speaking in english.
“One, ten, and four?” Asked Raina, cocking her head at the AI’s answer.
Liam translated, and her eyebrows disappeared into her hair.
“Forty three! That’s older than a human life!” She cried.
“It’s fine. Gene, launch the bugs. Follow the release schedule for the other two phases as well. It’ll take time but I’ve done everything I should do here.” Said Liam, standing and stretching.
And probably more than any reasonable human being would do. But hey, if it stops the vivisections, then I'll deal with the side effects.
His back popped, and he checked the clock, finding he had been sitting for the past six hours.
“Ooof. I want to go home.” He said, thinking of curling up in Nyota’s arms.
Please let Quetz be wrong about her pregnancy. Please. Thought Liam.
“You’re not going to stick around and teach me the language of the gods?” Asked Raina, standing and chasing Liam out of the lab.
“Nekohiro has light magic, she can send me a whisper across the continent. Besides, you really shouldn’t be messing with the stuff in here. Not even a little bit. There are things in there that would kill everything in the world, not just humans, but every plant and animal, and then when everything was dead, the virus would devour itself. A true virus bomb. You really should have a council of botanists who can spend their entire lives studying how the Ark works. People who already understand how plants grow and interact with the environment around them. Still… There must be an extreme aversion to using the Ark. Talk to Gene about sealed Terrariums, I guess he has a few thousand of them somewhere beneath us. If you put together that council of elves you might be able to use those terrariums to start understanding the side effects and unintended consequences of using the arc.” Liam shook his head, “No one should release anything like I’m attempting, even I don’t fully understand the possible ways for this to backfire. A lot of the tech in here is beyond me. I can understand the concept, but not how Gene is actually operating. It’s like a farmer knowing plants grow, but not understanding they need water, sunlight, new seeds for each season, and carbon dioxide.”
“You’re doing it again. Carbon, dioxide, and terrariums.” Said Raina, repeating the English words she didn’t know.
“Ah, sorry, uhm… crap. The uh-” Liam waved his hand around in the air, “What you call the aether isn’t a universal gas, it’s a mixture of like, ten major gasses. But… Yeah, I can’t explain it, your understanding of the aether is a couple thousand years behind mine. There isn’t a way for me to bridge the gap. But a terrarium is kinda like the throne room. It’s a sealed environment, so nothing can enter or exit unless you give permission. Well… Maybe a better way of explaining a terrarium is like a garden, a garden that is huge and has a wall so tall that not even birds can fly over it. There are no gates either. That’s what makes it a good test environment, you have to balance all the living creatures within the garden, if you put too many predators in the garden, then they’ll kill everything and starve. If you put too many herbivores, they’ll eat all the plants and die off. Once you figure out how everything balances out, then you can start making tiny changes. It’s a good way of experimenting with new species or potential issues with the changes this room can make.” Explained Liam, not pausing his lecture as Nekohiro pounced on him.
He ducked slightly, enough to throw off her aim, and stepped back, catching the sabertoothed serval in his arms and flipping her over so he could cradle her. Then continued walking without missing a beat. This sort of ambush was one of Nekohiro’s favorite pastimes and Liam had grown suspicious of Raina’s use of Gene. It was possible she gave Nekohiro an actual serval’s genetics by accident, or Gene had decided a serval’s genetics were close enough to Mewro’s, and only allowed Raina access to the traits that would obey her orders and not her intent.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Ah, Tufan, you say the strangest things.” Said Raina, giving her daughter a suspicious glance. “Why are you so attached to him?” She muttered, not really asking.
“It’s because you tried to code filial loyalty and we’re sib–” Liam bit his tongue, wincing from the pain.
He hadn’t meant to admit the relation. Not now, or ever. Raina’s father had abandoned him in the desert. Allowed Sirin to walk into the glass wastes and die. They weren’t family. But he’d gotten too comfortable talking to Raina and it had just said itself. Nekohiro smiled, giving a loud purr. The exact opposite reaction of Raina.
“That’s what I thought too, but then you ran that test.” Said Raina, a sly smile crossing her face. “We’re only a thirty percent match. That just means we’re both dark elves.” Said Raina.
She paused, thinking over their conversation, how often Liam had corrected her understanding of genetics and English. Until a curious look crossed her face.
“Right?”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Yeah, uhm, we are both elves…”
Raina spun and dashed back into the lab.
“Gene, when someone is a thirty percent genetic match how closely related are they?” Shouted Raina, every word a nail that pounded into Liam’s conscience.
“A thirty percent match denotes an extremely close relationship, siblings with two of the same parents and potentially more common ancestry, such as their grandparents being siblings as well.”
His voice was clinical, a monotone drum. Which only hammered the truth into Raina’s mind. If he’d shown any emotion, she might have been able to doubt. But Gene was a tool, a system that only dealt in facts.
“Gene-” Her voice caught in her throat.
“Raina, don’t ask…” Said Liam.
“I have to know! How is Tufan related to me and Nekohiro?”
“Tufan is an unusual genetic anomaly, he, like Nekohiro, was engineered in this lab, and possesses several triple helix chromosomes. Which makes categorizing him quite irregular. He could be classed as your sibling, a half-brother, or a clone of your father. Since Nekohiro is primarily your clone, the same genetic relationships would apply to her as well.” Said Gene, surprising both of them.
What the actual fuck Taloc… But I guess that explains your decisions. This body is special. Thought Liam, taking a seat.
The anomaly made sense, this body was stronger than it ought to be, with heightened senses that weren’t quite accounted for by simple magical enhancement.
“What’s a clone?”
“Don’t answer that Gene.” Shouted Liam, turning to face Raina directly. “This is not a question you should ask. It’s digging a hole into an abyss of depression. You will not be able to unlearn the knowledge Raina.”
“I have to know if my daughter will be alright!” Snapped Raina.
“She’ll be fine! You… Look. Gene is very competent in his abilities… He took your orders and made them work.” Said Liam, choosing his words extremely carefully as he sought a diplomatic way of saying ‘Hey Raina, you screwed up your gene crafting and Nekohiro is a hybrid monstrosity and not really your daughter’.
As if reading his mind, Raina frowned.
“What’s wrong with being a clone?” Asked Nekohiro, speaking in English despite her feline form.
“HA! I knew you could talk little miss MEOW!” Cried Liam, tickling her stomach.
Nekohiro responded with bared fangs and extended claws, latching onto Liam and staring into his eyes.
Her threat was obvious.
“Okay, fine. Look, being a clone is… complicated. There are ethical concerns-”
“It said you were my dad.” Said Nekohiro.
Liam’s voice caught in his throat, utterly stolen by the cat’s conclusion. She wasn’t right, but also not wrong, a nuance that he could not explain.
“Moriel, Tufan and I need to have a conversation in private.” Said Raina.
“But mmooomm! It said he was my dad!”
“I am not your father. Gene said I was altered. Give us a few minutes. Please?” Said Liam.
Nekohiro rolled out of his arms and shifted into her human form, exiting the lab butt-naked.
Such a little turd! Thought Liam, focusing his eyes entirely on Raina until the lab sealed itself. She folded her arms and raised one eyebrow.
“What is a clone?”
“Uhm… parents… oh man, give me a second to think Raina.” Said Liam, burying his face in his hands.
There was no gentle way of explaining telomere decay, or any of the myriad genetic diseases that afflicted clones. At best, Moriel would only survive half her lifespan. Several moments passed before he found the words, knowing the ugly truth had escaped the bag.
“Okay… I’ll just say it. You made some mistakes in making Nekohiro. Hey Gene, what is Nekohiro’s life expectancy?”
“Eight hundred and six years, assuming the current level of medicine is maintained.”
Raina frowned, looking down at the terminal. “Eight hundred? Why so low? Gene, how can we fix that–”
“Stop! Fixing random things without thinking about the consequences is how you got here Raina. Look, you have time. Take ten years and learn as much of the system as you can, then we’ll look into solutions.”
She was less satisfied than a virgin succubus.
“Gene, who manipulated Tufan, and what exactly did they do? Give me a list of all the alterations requested and made.”
“Administrator 00871 Therun Perun Taloc has locked those records.” Said Gene.
Taloc locked my genetic records? What? And wait, did he say Taloc was the eight hundredth admin? Just how many people have screwed with this world? Thought Liam, grateful to be sitting down.