What can you do to resist a world where your social status is based on the perfection of your genes? On the money, your parents invested to make you beautiful, healthy and intelligent? A world that has told you from the day you were born, that you’re a lesser human for having a random combination of your parent’s genetic material?
Well, at first, you need to find others like you. They not only have to share your genetic imperfection but they also need to be willing to rebel against the current circumstances. In human history, a rebellion always started with a few people willing to risk their lives. As soon as there are enough of them, the revolution can’t be avoided anymore.
But until this critical mass of supporters is reached, the resistance is banished to the shadows.
In this case, a slightly wet basement with bad lightning. At a wooden table sat about twenty people, including me. I’ve been told that there are several more members, but some of them are in prison. Some dead. Not officially, but when people vanish and you never hear of them again, there are certain expectations.
We’re using false names to protect each other. Even if we’re caught and tortured, there is no way we can give up the other’s identity. I’m called Hel around here, the Norse goddess who rules over the underworld. A bit over the top, I know, but it’s as far away from my real name as possible.
Alexander is the one keeping us all together. He’s a tertiary, although not visibly. Not yet. He has Huntington disease, a progressive brain disorder that will break out during his 30’s or 40’s. There is no cure for it and anyone who has the defect, an abnormal number of repetitions of the DNA base triplet CAG, is doomed to develop the disease later in life.
His parents had been secondaries with not enough money to edit their only child’s genes. Alexander was one of the rare occurrences when healthy parents produced a child with Huntington disease.
And now, at the age of 28, he’s the leader of the resistance. He’s who brought me in.
”I have an announcement”, Alexander says. ”I’m afraid that I soon won’t be able to lead you all anymore. The time has come.”
He doesn’t need to explain, we all understand perfectly. The disease had shown its first signs.
”I want one of you to be my successor. I’ve thought very long about this and decided that Hel will follow my footsteps.” An audible gasp goes around the table. I stare at him. Is he serious?
”You’re probably confused by that, because Hel has only been here for a month”, he continues. ”But it’s not the time someone has been here that’s important. It’s the commitment to the cause, the determination to carry out tasks and the compassion towards those who need us that makes a good leader. And I think you all agree when I say that Hel has shown the potential to be a great leader.”
To my surprise, many of the present members nod or mumble their agreement. But that doesn’t seem to satisfy Alexander.
”Do you remember the attack at the hospital? How we freed those poor kids before they could be sterilized? Hel almost got shot when she carried that girl outside. And then she went back to collect the last one. Everyone else, including me, ran.”
”Well, I couldn’t just leave that boy all alone in there”, I say and blush slightly. I don’t like all this attention. Even after a month, I’m still not used to people other than my parents actually acknowledging my achievements. It feels kind of good.
”Everyone but you abandoned that kid”, Alexander interjected. ”You’ve shown that you care a lot about the people we are trying to save. And it’s not like I’m leaving tomorrow, I’ll be probably able to lead you guys a few more years. But it’s important that you start getting more involved in the radical actions we take.”
”Dragging children out of a hospital guarded by armed police is not radical?” I ask surprised. Alexander shakes his head.
”No. There is something I’ve been planning for some time now and I’ll need your help to pull it off.”
”What is it?”
”We’re going to steal some embryos.”
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