GenEdits: The Human Company

Day 1 “Pod 331 observance; stable. No detrimental traits found.” An automated voice read aloud from a diagnostics chart. Doctors sat at their workstations, uninterested in the familiar statement. “Pod 332 observance; stable. No detrimental traits found. Pod 333 observance; stable. ERROR. REMOVAL REQUIRED.” A mechanical tone hummed in the background as the medical staff sat, unbothered at first by the noise. One by one, they looked around at each other, as if to search for confirmation. It wasn’t every day that this message occurred. In fact, it was nearly unheard of in this region. GenEdits doesn’t make mistakes. “What are we supposed to do?! They didn’t cover this in training because it’s not supposed to happen!” The youngest of them paced frantically, unhinged at the thought of becoming infected. He didn’t really know what happened when a pod malfunctioned, but rumors were that pods only malfunction from disease. He continued to pace wildly around the room muttering to himself incoherently. Another of the doctors, an experienced female surgeon, removed her surgical mask and spoke in a commanding tone. “Calm down, we will do as protocol states and call GenEdits. They will take care of it. Until then, no one leaves or touches the pod. Don’t go full decontamination until it is gone”. She walked to a large, brightly backed wall screen and pressed a button on the underside. A few seconds later, the screen brought up a pre-recorded holo-message, spoken in a friendly, customer-service like cadence. “Thank you for contacting GenEdits! Please enter your gestational facility location number and the corresponding error code on your malfunctioning pod, so we may assist you with your problem.” The surgeon calmly typed in the error code, knowing that there was nothing to be done but wait. The holo-message flickered for a moment, and then came back up with a decidedly more sinister red background and ominous-toned voice. “GenEdits has dispatched a team to your gestation facility location. Please do not interact with the pod in ANY way. GenEdits apologizes for this malfunction and will reimburse you with a product of greater quality. Please refer to the “GenEdits Medical Professional Guide” for information on protocol and disclosure penalties”. The doctors all sighed with relief, and the surgeon stated bluntly “GenEdits policy is to not inform the family in any way. As far as they are concerned, nothing happened, and when they come to pick it up they’ll be none the wiser.” They all nodded in agreement. None in this room but the surgeon had seen this error previously. She had seen it many cycles ago, and learned to not question those in the seat of power. That seat was GenEdits: The Human Company. As humanities’ population reached the extinction threshold, the founders of GenEdits designed machines to make humans grow artificially. They marketed it as “humanity's last chance”, but the process had unknown consequences. All humans grown in GenEdits tech would grow to be sterile, thus GenEdits pods became the only way to reproduce. This became the norm as human populations stabilized, and with research gene editing technology became more advanced, precise, and accessible. In current times, they grow all people artificially in GenEdits property, using genes selected by parents in a processing application. Any new genes discovered in development, as well as genes considered “unsatisfactory” to the parents, are property of GenEdits and are removed from the child before delivery. Then they sell those genes to the public. Not only were they responsible for growing every human alive, but they allowed those humans to become better genetic versions of themselves- for a price. With the discovery of gene specific editing technology, GenEdits made individual genes as easily replaced as your outfit. If you have the money, you can always get the newest and most popular style. GenEdits prides themselves on developing new genes each cycle, and then marketing them to the masses. They were simultaneously the saviors and captors of humanity; and no one challenged that authority. Suddenly, a group of 25 burly soldiers burst through the suite doors; all bearing the GenEdits insignia. In what seems like a second, they remove the pod in question and it is replaced with an identical specimen. As they shuffled out the door, the young doctor yelled after them- “Wait, you’re not even going to test us? Where are you taking it?! Am I going to get sick?! Hey!” The other doctors glanced at each other before settling focus on him. The commanding officer gestured towards the young doctor without verbal instruction, and he was quickly grabbed along with the pod. As quickly as they appeared, they now vanished, and everything was back as it was a mere 25 minutes ago. “Now begin full decontamination.” The surgeon directed, “He never worked at this facility. Do you understand?” The other doctors nodded, unwilling to acknowledge the event that transpired, and began to clean the suite. No questions asked. Carrying the malfunctioning pod and doctor were 6 windowless black trucks that sped toward the GenEdits main regional compound. The ride was spent in eerie silence, as the terrified doctor was sure he would meet his end at the hands of these men. As the truck came to a slow stop, the doors were thrust open and a blinding white light enveloped everything. As though he was hit by a flashbang grenade, the doctor quickly covered his eyes to shield them from the intensity. The soldiers led him blindly through a maze of corridors he could never navigate alone, so any chance of escape was gone. This walk only lasted seconds, ending with him being tossed into a room. As his eyes adjusted, he noticed that he was alone in a conference room. Not a dungeon as he has imagined, but a plain workspace, with spinning chairs and a large wooden desk in the center. He sat and waited for what seemed like hours before 2 well-dressed women came in the room. They entered using a door he didn’t even think to walk through, as it only led back to the halls. Both women looked as if they were made by GenEdits designers personally. One wore a grey coat and a gentle smile, while the other a white blazer and stern expression. They sat at the table and quickly laid out a stack of forms and papers. When the woman in the grey coat finally spoke, she was quiet and calm. “We are not lawyers or the police. We are not here to make you disappear. There is no reason to be afraid. GenEdits cares about your safety and mental health. This is your first cycle as a doctor, correct?” He sat, mouth agape and unable to answer. While the first was quite polite and even smiled, the other glared impatiently and asked again, with far less saccharine in her voice. “Is this your first cycle as a doctor?” He nodded to confirm, still unable to manage words. After a short time and some paperwork between the women, they stood and handed the doctor a single form to sign, and a pen with the GenEdits logo. He picked up the pen and signed the paper without even a glance. He had no interest in the terms. The woman in white collected his paper and stated plainly to him- “GenEdits would like to apologise for this misunderstanding. You are in no danger of being harmed by the malfunctioning pod. Only the entity inside was affected, and you are free to go. You have been provided a new facility in which to work, and will report there tomorrow morning. If you speak of this encounter or of the malfunctioning pod, GenEdits has the right to confiscate your beneficial genetics through harvesting and will receive all assets you and your family currently own. We will send a car to escort you home. Have a nice day.” As the two women left the room, the woman in the grey coat turned back and said- “You can keep the pen.” And with that, they were gone, into the endless maze of hallways. They were swiftly followed by a chauffeur to take him home. As the doctor got in the car, he looked back toward the GenEdits compound, only to see a field of trees and a winding road through them. Deep under those trees and that winding road is where the compound sits. Hidden from those who would pry into what they don’t understand. It was in this facility which the malfunctioning pod sat, awaiting its unknowable fate. The two women who had debriefed the doctor walked hurriedly down the halls toward a large circular door. As the woman in white stepped closer to the center of the door, a panel opened and scanned her face. The door opened with a loud hiss, and an automated voice chimed “Sterility Compromised”. As they entered, the woman in grey closed the heavy door and it resealed, with the automated voice chiming again “Sterility Restored.” An array of colored lights gradually brightened to reveal 24 other pods, each plugged into a unique and complicated network. Ordinary pods are all linked to the central network and monitored at gestation facilities, but these pods were connected to a different grid all together. The two women had desks on opposite sides of this room. The woman in grey typed lazily, glancing occasionally at the terminal information. The woman in white leaned against her desk while staring at the pods. After a few minutes of silence, she stood and said “Oversight is such a s**t job. Watch this pod. Talk to this crazy guy. Look at this picture for 5 hours. They’re lucky it pays well.” The woman in grey looked up from her work and nodded. She walked to a printer and took a single sheet of paper. As she read it aloud, the pods’ individual units lit up as if ready to execute a function. “Pod 25, entered into the system. Malfunction catalyst- PAINTING. Put this one on the paint wall please. Move 11 into the music wall.” The pods seamlessly shuffled around, attached to robotic arms and tracks. Each of them was labeled with a unique name and the cycle in which they were removed. No two pods were removed in the same cycle, and no two from the same region. They were organized by color and malfunction, with a complete list of genetic models and history on display for each one.While the pods shifted, the woman in white shouted over the machinery- “Taking bets. How many do you think will fail this cycle? I’ve got 500 credits on 22 making it through.” “Do you ever, I don’t know, feel bad?” The woman in grey looks up from her terminal screen, seemingly pained for a moment. “Why would I feel bad?” the woman in white says callously, “They could have been decommissioned instead; at least they have the chance to be remembered for something now.” “Only if they make it.” A heavy air came over the room as they continued their work.They knew what laid before them, the pods would be delivered in 3 days. The program was not prepared for the 25th pod, and GenEdits will value the data, regardless of what that data reflects. When a pod is delivered in a normal gestational facility, the parents are there to recover the child and the pod is recycled for further use. This child will grow and learn in general society, and will eventually fulfill a purpose. In this facility the pods are treated very differently. As the malfunctioning pods were once in a normal gestational facility, the specimen inside has genetic markers of people in general society. The first step in delivering these pods is changing the physical genes of each specimen to GenEdits specifications. After each specimen is physically edited, they are delivered and immediately taken to the GenEdits Educational Facility. This facility houses and educates the specimens for future use by GenEdits, and they will never integrate with general society. Instead, these unique specimens will be farmed for their marketable genetics and used by GenEdits for whatever purpose they see fit. “Are we finished with physgenes?” The woman in white looked over the newest pod, knowing that this would add to her workday. “All but the new one” the woman in grey responded “but I'll get to that one tonight”. Recognising her way out, the woman in white promptly left through a concealed door within the wall behind her desk. Now alone, the woman in grey walked slowly to pod 25 with the physgene chart. As she leaned over and looked at the specimen inside, she began to check things off the list. Blue eyes. Brown hair. All things the parents had, and things she needed to change. With the breakthrough of on-demand gene editing, it quickly became commonplace to change things like hair, eye, and skin color, and she could do it with a sliding scale on a tablet. GenEdits wanted this specimen to be female, with brown eyes and tan skin. The gene designers had left a few categories blank, so the woman in grey chose for them. She decided 25 would have natural curly hair, and would grow to 5’10”. Finally, she decided to give 25 a birthmark over her right foot in the shape of a star. As she submitted the papers and prepared to end the day, she thought about the future of the specimens in the pods and how many others she had edited. The woman in grey walked to a concealed door in the wall, identical to the one the woman in white exited through, and left the pod chamber. As the door slid closed behind her, the colored lights faded away and the room became dark and quiet, with only the soft mechanical humming of the pods left.