Enhancement-NaNoWriMo2011

[Friday]

Ok guys, as you know NaNoWriMo is now into Week 2 and I am writing frantically to catch up. However, I'm being super serious about it this year, and even if I make the 50k words, I would like to have it completely finished by the end of this year, and so... I would like for y'all to edit it for me when it's completely done, and since I want y'all to be unbiased editing it, I'm withholding my my novel until it is compleltey finished. I know, y'all are all terribly disappointed. So.. on the suggestion of Kaitlin, y'all will get excerpts of it, plus an updated word count So... here we go and I hope y'all enjoy the little sneek peeks

[Friday]

March 20, 3013
Dr. Johnathan Vincet
Einstein University
4005 Main St.
Office B024
Einstein, Montana

Professor Vincet,

I am writing to you now not as a colleague, but as a friend in desperate need of help, as I am sure you already know. If you are getting this then I have failed and I am dead or sitting in a jail cell, either of which is probably preferable to the suffering the world is going through as you read this. I need to ask you a favor of you, I know that your time machine was showing remarkable progress when I last visited Montana last summer, and I'm hoping that you have made even more progress, which I believe you have since the press conference release in December. What was it you said... “If we can't go to 1865 by next Christmas it's because I've gone and decided to not come and share it!” One of my favorite lines if I do say so myself. I can only hope that my intern, Murdok, got this to you before you have left on you grand adventure. He is leaving several letters in your care, all of which I have left unsealed for your perusal (I do remember how curious you are). I trust you can deliver them to the right people and the right time. I have put that much faith in your time machine.

I have probably caught your attention by now, which is what I am hoping for. As I'm sure you are aware, my gene enhancement that my father and I labored on for so long has backfired. Animal enhancements now leave you susceptible to animal adapted diseases. A woman lost her child from parvo, the ape man was infected with SIV, and the list goes on. They are all suing Williams Genetics. Muscle enhancements have caused over-bulking, those people that can't move, are suing Williams Genetics. I'm sure you can see this trend, thousands of cases are coming against us. And while this is costing the company billions of dollars, that is nothing to what I fear will happen or already has happened.

We of course, had hundreds of volunteers to test our enhancements before we released them for public purchase. And we haven't had any fatal side effects... until now. The first death happened almost exactly a year ago. A man named Ferenc Nordam. His heart failed at 55. Most people live to see 120 these days, he has lost half his life. He had a muscle enhancement, the initial diagnosis was his heart was overworked by all the extra muscle. Which is very possible and not unlikely.

I thought it was a coincidence when the next test subject died. This time, it was from hemorrhaging in the brain. And then more people died. I now have 36 volunteers alive from the original subject group. The original subject group was 586. A 6% survival rate. The majority of these people died long before the average age of death is. As you know, if the public was to know the exact number of deaths the uproar would be unbelievable. As you must now be assuming, just like I did after the sixth death in a month, there was more at work then just the normal course of life.

I performed my own autopsy on all the bodies. I ran all the normal tests, cultured for all the normal bacteria, looked for all the viruses, I even looked for foul play. I found nothing. As frustrating as it was, I knew there must something else. And finally after 2 months and 78 bodies I found it. A bacteria like none I have ever seen. A sporeforming bacillus obligate anaerobe. It's been here all along, it just needed a way to get into the genome. I gave them that tool. The gene enhancements are plasmid mediated, an idea I stole from bacteria. Amazing things really. But, the human genome isn't susceptible to plasmid acceptance. That's the key to changing the genes, making them able to accept the plasmids. The enhancements make the genome able to accept these plasmids, while making gene enhancement possible has also made the cells susceptible to the bacteria's plasmids.

I haven't figured out the exact mechanism... but from what I can tell, these things are nearly indestructible. Under aerobic conditions the bacteria form spores and how those spores get around, I'm not sure. But, from everything I have found the plasmids the bacteria has signals cells into apoptosis. Which would cause heart failure at 55 as the cells into heart were killed. I'm looking for a antibiotic, antibody, anything that will stop this bacteria from killing over half of the world's population.

But if I am too late as I fear I will be, I'm counting on you to stop me. To stop past me at least. I know that I ask a lot of you, but I feel like it is reasonable to save the world. Please Johnathan... I need this more than you know. I wish you the best of luck.

Yours truly,
Dr. LeeAnn Williams

[Friday]

“Alright now LeeAnn, we've talked about bacteria before, but today I've got ones to show you,” said an older man to a young girl.
“Really father?” LeeAnn said excitedly showing more excitement over the prospect of seeing bacteria then most college aged students would.
“Yes, I brought these home from the lab, I just have a light microscope here, but maybe next week you can go up there with me and we can let you have a look through the electron microscope,” Lazarus Williams told his twelve year old daughter as he walked into the room he had designated as the school room in his house. LeeAnn was almost tripping over his heels as she followed him with excitement.
“Now, set up the scope, and I'll get the slides out I want you to use,” he said, and without hesitation LeeAnn went over to the cabinet labeled Science and very carefully moved the heavy microscope to the table in the center of the room. She plugged it in to the outlet and the plasma screen and checked the ocular level as well as cleaned off all the lenses just as he had taught her. He pulled the box of slides out of his coat pocket and began laying the thin glass slides out over the table for her. All the slides had for identification was a number that was stamped onto the glass.
When LeeAnn had finished setting up the scope she sat patiently on her stool as her father finished laying out the slides. “Alright now, LeeAnn, I had one of the interns up at the lab stain them yesterday, so you're not going to have to do that today, but what did I tell you about gram stains yesterday?”
“Gram positive is blue and gram negative is red,” LeeAnn answered without hesitation. And even though it was so simple Lazarus couldn't help but feel a little pride in his daughter. He had originally sent her to preschool with all the other kids her age. But as soon as LeeAnn started to show signs of being not only bright, but by far the smartest kid in her class, Lazarus had given up the attempt at normalcy and had brought her home to home school. She had the best tutors money could by in every subject, and Lazarus himself made sure that she received a strong science emphasis, especially with genetics.
“Very good,” he praised her. “Now, take slide one, and tell me if it's gram positive or negative and the shape of the bacteria.”
He watched her carefully as she picked up the first slide in her small hands and carefully put it into place under the microscope. He watched as she cycled through the different strengths as you were supposed to, unlike most of professional scientist who jumped straight to the highest power. He himself was even guilty of skipping powers on the microscopes.
“The first one is gram positive and... bacillus?” she said uncertainly still peering intently into the microscope. Lazarus was watching her move over the bacteria and focus the image on the plasma screen that the the microscope image was sent to. “No.. sporeforming bacillus,” She said with more confidence and then looked up at her father who nodded with a smile.
“Now, the next one.”
~
“Dad?”
“Yes LeeAnn?”
“Do bacteria have sex like animals do?” LeeAnn asked in all seriousness. She was probably the only twelve year old in the world you could have a serious conversation about sex over dinner without dissolving into a giggling fit.
“No, bacteria self replicate. Like our cells self replicate, the bacteria makes a copy of it's DNA and then divides into two bacteria,” Lazarus answered her quietly as he scooped a second helping of the green beans onto his plate.
“Oh so since bacteria are just one cell they replicate like one or our cells, that makes sense,” LeeAnn said thoughtfully.
“Very similar, yes,” he agreed. “Bacteria can also exchange DNA with each other through what we call plasmids. They are small rings of genetic material. That way, the bacteria will have some diversity besides their frequent mutations.”
“Well that's probably a good thing,” LeeAnn said with a smile, “They would all die if they couldn't change right?”
“That is correct,” Lazarus agreed with a nod and a smile. It never ceased to amaze him how many dots LeeAnn could connect with one simple statement.
“It would be cool if I could exchange DNA through plasmids. I would probably trade with a bird so I could have wings and fly,” LeeAnn said veering from her usual precise scientific self.
That statement stopped Lazarus, his fork halfway to his mouth. “What was that, honey?”
“Oh, nothing, just that it would be cool to have wings and fly. I'm gonna go take finish my homework for tomorrow and then go to bed. I love you,” LeeAnn said and then was sliding off chair and Lazarus could hear her bouncing up the stairs.
He set his fork down and just looked at the empty seat where LeeAnn had been sitting. “Plasmids,” he repeated to himself. “My god, why haven't we tried that before.”

[Friday]

Dr. Striven watched the parking from the window in his second story office. The number of cars parked there pleased him, while it wasn't overflowing, it was definitely closer to full then not. After the trial last year, Steven hadn't wasted a minute in putting his life back together. Ousted from Williams Genetics, and any other genetic or medical research company, Steven created his own. SenhancementS he called it. Stealing the technology from Williams Genetics, he proposed the same enhancements but at a reduced cost and less doctors visits.
Who cared if he didn't watched his enhancements as carefully, it was costing the patients less and Striven less too. So what if his pan to take over Williams Genetics had failed, he had gotten Lazarus out of his way, and Striven was ready to take back the field of genetics for himself. He had planned on doing just that until LeeAnn had proven to be annoyingly adept and running the company after her father's death. That bitch should be dead too, and she would have been if she hadn't upped security at Williams Genetics the day after her father died. Also that bitch had hired body guards and set up and even tighter security system on her father's house.
House, Steven laughed at the thought. That place was a mansion fully equipped with it's own lab, with just about anything a scientist could want. A living room area upstairs and down, eight extra bedrooms not including the master bedroom, an extensive library fiction and non-fiction books included, a study upstairs attached to the library. The list went on with that house. Pool, and spa in the backyard. Greenhouse up kept by a gardener and Lazarus had kept two drivers on staff, but Steven was pretty sure LeeAnn had cut it down to just one.
When he saw the new red corvette pull into the parking lot and proceed to pull into the handicapped space at the very front he glanced at the clock above the door to his front office. The kid was five minutes late. Not a good sign.
Exactly five minutes later the front desk receptionist was knocking on his office door. “Dr. Striven, your ten thirty appointment is here.”
“Send him in Ravyn,” Dr. Striven said and swiveled his chair around to face the door. He was dressed to the nines in a tie and suit and despite his older age, was still very intimidating.
The boy strutted into the room like he was the biggest thingy in the hen house, but that's all he was a boy. Not a man by any means, the kid wasn’t' any older then thirty-five which in this day and age was still young. He was dressed as a typical player, dark-washed jeans, aviator sunglasses, name brand t-shirt.
“Your late,” Steven said dryly eying the kid not being as impressed.
“I got lost,” the kid said without feeling, as he plopped down into the seat opposite Steven without an invitation. He slouched in his seat his feet kicked out in front of him.
“Well I see I was mislead,” Steven said. “You're services are not needed, you can leave the way you came.” Steven dismissed him with a wave of his hand.
“No, no sir, you weren't mislead, I'm the man for the job,” the kid said quickly sitting up in the chair the look of apathy on his face being replaced with something akin to attentiveness.
“You're not a man yet, and the woman I have in mind won't go for you in a million years,” Steven said with a scoff.
“Listen, I can get any girl, any day. You just tell me who she is and what she's like and I can get her,” the kid said in all seriousness. “Just give me one chance, and I'll impress you just like I'll impress her.”
“One chance,” Steven said with a cold tone in his voice. “If you screw up you don't get paid.”
The boy nodded. “What's her name?”
“LeeAnn Williams.”

[Friday]

All there was in the drawer was a folder labeled SCID and a jump drive. Immediately LeeAnn powered on her father's computer sitting on the desk and then reached for both the jump drive and the folder. As soon as the computer was all powered on, LeeAnn plugged in the jump drive and opened up the files. Not sure what she was going to find, she wasn't surprised when she found countless files on the computer. The jump drive was almost at it's max capacity, a trait she remembered her father always having. Filling up one jump drive til it couldn't hold anymore, then he would move all the information from that full one to a bigger one. He said it was so he could keep everything in one place.
Most of the files were just labeled as numbers, and when she opened them most were just full of data sheets and more numbers. Numbers that meant nothing to her without knowing what they meant. Finally she found a file that was more than just numbers. While still a data sheet it had a list of parameters off to one side each with a different values written out from the side. She scanned the list, strain number, culture number, concentration, the list went on. “What were you doing?” She asked her father's empty study.
When browsing through more files led to nothing but more numbers she went to the folder. What she found there was more helpful and frightening at the same time. The first page in the folder was familiar only to her because she had seen the picture that was in the right hand corner before. A tiny baby girl, in a white dress starting at the camera with clear gray eyes. She looked from the page in her hand to the picture frame on the bookshelf. It was the same. The baby staring out of the page was a picture of her.
The page was full of information about her. Her birth given name, Astrial Livion, her age, three months two weeks and four days, the hospital, Mercy Private. LeeAnn hadn't ever known any other name then what she went by, LeeAnn Williams. The rest of the page contained all sorts of information about her. Blood type, a positive diagnosis of SCID, the diseases she had contracted since birth, and a trial number. Forty-two.