Species Unknown [Book 1: Aves]

PROLOGUE

"We are an impossibility in an impossible universe" ~Ray Bradbury

20 years ago...

RICHARD GRANT KNEW he was running out of time.

With climate change on the rise, the Earth was becoming more and more unlivable by the day. But he had a solution.

Genetic modification was the new frontier. It would be Earth's salvation, a way for life to adapt to the changing world.

Thanks to new biotechnology like CRISPR, scientists have been able to manipulate strands of DNA to their own will. They could now enhance the genes they liked and replace the ones they didn't. Manipulating life was now as easy as putting together a puzzle.

Dr. Richard Grant was a master at this technology, using it to found his own company C.R.O.S.S. Laboratories dedicated to keeping Earth's diverse ecosystem thriving during the midst of a global catastrophe. 

He started with birds, capturing endangered species that were too weak to adapt to Earth's deterioration. Then he would take their fertilized eggs and use CRISPR technology to replace weak genes with those of a stronger species while still maintaining their unique physical features. By altering the bird's genome, he made them immune to disease while enhancing their physical attributes to withstand Earth's harshening environment.

It took years of trial and error to perfect his technique on the birds before he decided it was time to up his game. He knew it was time to upgrade the human genome. 

When he had brought up the idea of human trials to the Advisory Board of the National Science Foundation (NSF), they were horrified at the idea. They threatened to not only cut his budget, but shut down his entire facility under the pretense that altering human DNA was not only unnatural, but immoral.

Hypocrites, Dr. Richard Grant mumbled under his breath at the memory. They let him play around with birds but when it comes to their own species they suddenly develop morales. Humans have been genetically altering life since the cultivation of crops; choosing which ones were most favorable and then continuing to breed them. The same with animals, humans have been cross-breeding species to create more docile and domestic breeds since man befriended a wolf.

He ran a frustrated hand through his thinning salt and pepper locks. He just didn't understand why the Board of Science was so opposed to doing the same with humans. He let his mind wander as he looked down at his desk. His calculating eyes scanned the delicate curves of clear beakers and the glint of syringe needles under the fluorescent lights. Roaming the sleek surface of his desk, his steely gaze rested on his newest project.

Idiots. I'll show you unnatural, he thought as he leaned down in front of the test tube. His eyes fixated on the dot of life bobbing inside the fluid-filled glass cylinder. Years of trial and error behind closed doors had led to this moment. The modified human embryo was fertilized, and for the first time, the monitor picked up a faint heartbeat.

He had finally done it.

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Thanks @ShawnMendessMegaFan for this chapter's aesthetics!