The beginning of the experiment

Until the rest of the staff arrived, Keshita and Miku spent the time in silence in their own research worlds. Although their goals were different, they worked equally hard to advance the developments of their lab, which dealt with biotechnology.

Keshita checked the availability of reagents, primer sets and markers needed for genetic engineering. And then he began checking the equipment. When there was still time, he also began reading, trying to spy on what exactly Miku was reading, but she closed the cover with her fingers.

"Darwinism in the twenty-first century, if you're so interested. Stop staring." Without looking up from her reading, Miku said irritably.

"Oh, Boris Zhukov. Not a bad book, even though it wasn't written by a biologist." Keshita commented, then pointed to his book. "And this… "

"I'm not interested."

"Cold as ice. I thought I was the one who was obsessed with studying…" The new acquaintance didn't leave Keshita's thoughts, not allowing him to immerse himself in the book.

He had only managed to read a couple of pages when the first employees began to arrive.

"Keshita is here as always. Oh?" The man said happily and then froze.

Miku looked at Keshita strangely, hinting at their recent conversation.

"This…" Keshita tried to start a conversation.

"Aoki Miku, nice to meet you."

"Oh yeah, she's the one who helped our lab get this case. Professor Avaron talked about her at the meeting yesterday. Iori, you were busy in the lab." Akihiro, who came with Iori, clarified.

"What are you reading?” Iori asked, walking deeper into the lab, noticing Keshita gesturing out of the corner of his eye. ”What's wrong, Keshita?"

Miku looked at him with her arms crossed, warning him not to disturb her. Sighing, Aoki closed her book.

"When Professor Iendo comes Avaron?"

Aoki couldn't wait for him alone. Perhaps she considered only such a respected, albeit elderly, man as her equal or worthy of her attention. Or, rather, she couldn't wait to put her knowledge into action.

Shortly after the other staff arrived, Avaron himself arrived, albeit late. For an old man, he opened the door too vigorously, as if he were in a hurry.

"Is everyone here!?"

Avaron quickly looked around the laboratory, stopping at the new girl.

"Aoki, thank you for joining us."

"W-what are you saying! I-I should be thanking you for this honor!"

"How much she changed in an instant!" The thought flashed through the heads of all the other employees, who had managed to get to know her coldness during this time.

"Time is running out! Ahem-ahem. I'll try to be brief."

Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and focused on the professor. He turned on the interactive whiteboard, tremblingly brought out the memory card and inserted it.

The data decrypted with Aoki's help was displayed on the screen.

"So, it really was related to microbiology." Akihiro noted.

“Moreover, they dug down to the very core…” Iori continued.

"I was right!" The thought echoed in Miku’s and Keshita's minds at the same time.

"I can see it in your eyes, you understand everything. We finally have a chance to do what we have been striving for all this time… To be the first in the world to make a real breakthrough in genetics! Ahem-ahem."

Apparently, due to increased stress, the professor was unwell, but he hid the true reason for his worries.

"I'm still just absorbing some of this information, but I can already see the incredible potential. It's not just about growing teeth in mice, or vaccines that work temporarily, and antibiotics that become less relevant… it's a real revolution in gene editing!" Miku couldn't hold back her emotions.

"You've got it, girl! Well, I don't think I need to explain. Everyone, get to work immediately! We must see this through to the end! Keshita, please come into my office. Ahem-ahem."

Each employee began their part of the work, and Miku immediately joined the team, as if she had connected to the local consciousness of the laboratory. Words were unnecessary. They all wanted the laboratory research to succeed for a variety of reasons.

Keshita closed the door to the office and looked around as if for the first time. The shelves filled with books, although a relic of the past, created an atmosphere of old-school science. There were other relics on the desk in the form of stacks of papers, Avaron liked to transfer his thoughts to an analog medium for better feedback. Among all this, a framed photo stood out. In it, Avaron looked happier than Keshita had ever seen him. It was probably because of his daughter, whom he hugged lovingly.

"What do you think?"

"The CRISPR technique, which uses parts of bacteria and archaea to edit genomes, is not new. But these data show a very unusual use for it. So far, it looks like science fiction. Mobile, externally controlled genome editing in real time!"

"You are very insightful, as always. And it is most likely as it sounds. Ahem-ahem."

"Why are you so sure? Science has been developing rapidly in recent years, but this… will change everything! This is a prospect…"

"The distant future? No, time is really very short. So, I'll say it straight out, Keshita."

Avaron took a deep breath and inhaled deeply, as if the end of the world would come after him.

"I don't know if you follow the news, because people of science are usually immersed in something completely different. The world is on the brink of a new world war."

"Are you kidding? I didn't think that this general madness could affect you too!"

Keshita's first instinctive reaction was denial. But it was a momentary weakness, he thought too highly of Avaron.

"I see you've realized I'm serious. Anyway, thanks to Aoki, we've been able to start decrypting the American data. I probably shouldn't tell you this, but the US government is starting to panic."

"Because Russia and China may be ahead of them in this research?"

"That too, but… they made a critical mistake. It's just a rumor for now, but it seems their super AI is getting out of control and threatening an entire nation. And that means the entire world."

"Are you sure you're not kidding me? This already sounds like…"

"Alas, such is the reality. Ahem-ahem. Such a burden has fallen to our lot. In any case, we have no choice but to continue doing our job. The Japanese government and the Self-Defense Forces have created an emergency coordination council. It also includes the largest corporations, including Mukibutsu, which is engaged in the development of inorganic life. Now, under their jurisdiction, we must create…"

"Biological weapons."

Avaron remained silent, making it clear that Keshita was right. The boy began to scratch his neck again from excitement, and the memories of nightmares returned.

"We’ll create… a superman?"

The fight for the survival of humanity begins.