Apollos Thorne

Codename: Freedom - Book 4 Revisions

Added 2021-07-28 16:56:17 +0000 UTC

Chapter 4

Note: The following full chapters have also been updated. I decided to bring the issue of Lucius's lack of reaction to the forefront instead of springing it on you guys in a coming chapter. There will still be some build-up, but it's a problem he's going to have to deal with soon.

Revision

“I used your DNA in the virus’s design. Nothing can go wrong unless your DNA has changed.”

I found myself without a response and didn’t resist when she pushed the door closed. “Is what she said true?” I asked Destiny.

“I can’t say for sure, but from the literature I’ve read, such viruses are considered safe.”

As we were leaving the building, I pondered what had just happened. I wasn’t sure exactly what I’d expected but finding a giant Ekseliksi lady in the middle of a high-end university handing out customized DNA Cleanses wasn’t it. It made me wonder if Victoria had people everywhere, or if Dr. Weis was just an oddball.

I kept my own internal feelings to myself, fearing that Destiny would pick up on my reaction and it would somehow put myself, Victoria, and the Ekseliksi in danger somehow. There were two things I couldn’t deny. Destiny wouldn’t endanger me willingly. Secondly, she was extremely intuitive, especially when it came to reading me. The only option I saw that I had was to keep everything inside. Without Achilles’s lessons on mental discipline, I wouldn’t have even had a chance of keeping anything from her.

Once I was in our family transport, I sat back on the black syn-leather seat facing the opposing couch. The windows were completely tinted so that traffic wasn’t a distraction. The vehicle was rectangular in shape with a more aerodynamic nose at the front like a shuttle.

I didn’t wait to drink the fluid. It had a decent grape flavor. If only I could find a nutrition shake that tasted so good.

Chapter 5

Note: The revisions here are twofold. I updated the DNA Cleanse explanation to make it more general while not trying to dumb it down as much. I'm not explaining how it works as opposed to what it affects. Secondly, I added a bit more hint to what's holding back Lucius's reaction to the cleanse.

Revision

To say I completely understood what had happened to me would be untrue. The virus I’d ingested did many things. The change of DNA wasn’t so extensive that I looked different, or even felt much different. As far as my research had gotten me, I’d learned the cleanse focused on changing a specific set of genes. The outcome was that a person was left in the most disease and virus-resistant state possible while also extending cell renewal and making cells more damage-resistant.

Human medical technology worked to do the same thing and had been fairly successful. Instead of changing a person’s DNA though, they focused on fighting the disease and slowing the cell renewal process from the outside. Many techniques had been developed to manage these things and the average human could function pain free until about one hundred and fifty years old. Sometimes longer. It even allowed athletes to compete into their eighties, ninety, and even to the ripe age of one hundred in some cases, depending on the sport. A DNA Cleanse however could do better at extending one’s life and without constant medical attention. So much so that a person could live two to three times longer.

The more I read about it, the more surprised I was to learn how popular it was on earth. Because of the ethical issues behind it, those who had such procedures done often kept it private. No wonder Dr. Weis had shown no fear handling my DNA Cleanse right in the middle of a university.

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There were other procedures that were much more involved that would change me to a much further extent. The fundamental change of tissue or internal systems wasn’t illegal on Earth, and I could certainly afford it now. Xenografting, or enhancement using designer animal parts, on the other hand, wasn’t legal, but there were still countries I could go to that would accommodate me if I truly desired. That was only the beginning. The Ekseliksi had taken such technologies, plus others I wasn’t even aware of and created a whole culture dependent upon them. At least with my DNA Cleanse, I was still undoubtedly human.

I continued to try and keep my thoughts in check to keep Destiny in the dark. She of course knew about my DNA Cleanse. That was obvious, but unlike before, when she always knew everything going on in my heart and mind, now she could only speculate about my true motivations. Despite always having her with me again, in many ways, it was like I was still in my giant black cube. The secrets I kept placed a wall of separation between us.