Categories > Original > Sci-Fi > Hybrids: Metamophosis
Not too long ago...
The man was almost too intrigued with his letters to notice the girl next to him. Only her quiet fidgeting lent him enough distraction from his reading to realize her presence.
At first, he merely fumed over his paper. He tried his hardest to ignore the person next to him, and instead of paying her any mind indulged himself more diligently in his reading.
"Dr. Chen Lin,
"As you might well be aware, the Research Department for Genetic Mutations (RDGM) has been in need of a chemist for some time. Of the studies that have been conducted previously, we can infer that there is still much to discover about the nature of mutations that separate humans from the subspecies that is appearing; the subspecies that applies to yourself.
"As you might also be aware, the RDGM consists mostly of people like yourself, the new breed commonly referred to as "mutants"-"
The man smirked at this. The situation was much like what was predicted in that movie from the 20th century, X-men. The abilities that people such as himself had developed were not as eccentric and god-like as those in the movie; however, empathy, fore-sense, and other such "lesser" abilities were becoming common among the human population, slowly adding to the subspecies.
"-the new breed commonly referred to as "mutants". You would not be alone in your cause; surrounding you would be people of similar background and relation.
"The need for a chemist arises from many different reasons. Of course, there is the simple matter of uncovering the secrets of our own genetic material. Finding the source of the mutation would be our first priority in this case.
"However, we recently came across evidence of a possible other type of mutation. There is so far no known living proof of such a subspecies; however, with your professional training, we feel we can reach our goal and find the likeliness of such a subspecies existing..."
Chen frowned inwardly. There was more to the letter, explaining how they found him, what made him qualified for the job, etc. The prospect of a new subspecies, however, baffled him. Obviously mutations could exist in individuals such as himself. What could make a mutation different?
His question was answered only with more fidgeting from the girl beside him. He lent her an annoyed glance, only to see that the young teenager was crying.
"Miss?" He asked, suddenly concerned. "Are you alright?"
-------Modern Day-------
Chen had seen the ferry start to cross over an hour ago; now it had finally reached the docks. He could clearly see Keisha as she began to walk across campus.
A vague smile traced over his features. A quick glance to his left informed him that Sama was watching over the students with a careful and quick eye; with this reassurance in mind, he stood from his lawn chair and began to approach the biology teacher.
"Hey Chen." Keisha smiled brightly; however, her eyes were bleary from the sunlight. Wavy brown hair framed a delicate face and wide blue eyes, and bounced with enthusiasm as she walked. One could infer simply from her figure that she was slight and petite; few however, knew the full extent and purpose of her small build. While her bones were not entirely hollow, they were thin, making up only 9% of her body weight, instead of the usual 18%. In addition, she only weighed 70 pounds, despite being 5'4' and obviously fit. This made her relatively well adapted to fly- at least, as well adapted as any bat-human could be.
"Keisha, it's good to see you. How was your vacation?"
"Too short, as usual. I also missed my evening conditioning sessions." She shrugged. "So what did I miss?"
Chen smiled. "More than usual. Taylor was a wreck without you; Mick's back to his old tricks-" Keisha sighed at this- ", and I daresay that Ashley is coming into heat; she's been feistier since you left." Chen paused. "We also got some new students."
"Oh?" Keisha's interest was obviously aroused.
Chen nodded, slowly starting back to the main campus. "Mm-hmm. One is an ex-renegade. Phedra Alexander was her given name; she recently chose the name "Cortez", since she is convinced that she's a South American species. She appears to be a bird-hybrid of some sort. We are going to wait for her to get settled a bit before we start any tests to find out. The only fact that really detours me from this bird theory is that she is too heavy, and her bones are almost certainly not very lightweight. She weighs over 100 pounds; if she is a bird-hybrid, there's no way she'll ever be able to manage more than a graceless glide." Chen paused a bit. "The other however, you might find a little more interesting. He's really quite... um... intriguing."
Keisha raised an eyebrow. "'Intriguing'? Chen, you're taunting me. Just tell me already!"
Chen clicked his tongue. "Don... that's his name, Don Anderson... he's like nothing we've seen before. He's..." Chen shook his head. "He is a hybrid of a non-existent species."
Keisha blinked calmly. "You know as well as I do that hybrids are formed by a genetic mutation where certain series of amino acids devolve. That way, the genes have to re-evolve, often by taking a different evolutionary pathway. Who's to say that the gene couldn't take a nonexistent pathway? It's simply evolution in the works."
Chen shook his head, mildly surprised by her nonchalance. "Don is like nothing we expected... You'll see. First I want you to go change into your training outfit." Keisha gave him a questioning look, but he raised his hand as a sign that she would hold her peace for now. She nodded and made her way briskly inside the school.
"So, you tell her?"
Chen recognized the thick Chinese accent even before he turned to speak.
"Not yet. I think she would rather see for herself."
Sama shook her head and clicked her tongue skeptically. "What you wait for? You wish to humiliate poor boy? Display him like freak show?" She clucked like a mother hen, her neck-length black hair lazily drifting about her round face. Sama was tall for a Chinese woman; she was as tall as Chen was at 5'9. She was strongly built as well, and some strange light in her eyes gave her a predatory air.
"Don is no freak show, and Keisha is no audience." Chen admonished the comment. "She's an instructor; and that's exactly what she will do."
"What you...? Ah! You mean she teach him what she know! I see your logic!" Sama smiled broadly, and Chen could make out the large, ivory fangs that stood in place of human canine teeth. He smiled back.
"Truth be told, I was pleased with how calmly she took the news. It's a good thing for the kids. The less stress we have, the less stress we put on them."
Sama abruptly lost her smile, and it was replaced by a look of contemplation. "That sound like Chinese proverb..." She muttered a bit in unintelligible Cantonese before shrugging it off. "Hmm. Can't reach it." She gave Chen a sideways glance. "So you wait for Keisha to see Don with her own eyes?"
Chen nodded. "That's the plan. Would you terribly mind watching the students for a while longer while I gather Keisha?"
AN: Heh. Never thought I'd actually get this thing going. Actually, was even considering deleting my account, but... I feel much more confident in my writing skills now.
Anyway, about the chapter... this thing has been sitting around FOR-E-VER. Along with about three other chapters, but I'm at a serious block in one... ;_; So meh. I'm working on it.
I'm almost pleased with how this turned out. Almost. ^^
The man was almost too intrigued with his letters to notice the girl next to him. Only her quiet fidgeting lent him enough distraction from his reading to realize her presence.
At first, he merely fumed over his paper. He tried his hardest to ignore the person next to him, and instead of paying her any mind indulged himself more diligently in his reading.
"Dr. Chen Lin,
"As you might well be aware, the Research Department for Genetic Mutations (RDGM) has been in need of a chemist for some time. Of the studies that have been conducted previously, we can infer that there is still much to discover about the nature of mutations that separate humans from the subspecies that is appearing; the subspecies that applies to yourself.
"As you might also be aware, the RDGM consists mostly of people like yourself, the new breed commonly referred to as "mutants"-"
The man smirked at this. The situation was much like what was predicted in that movie from the 20th century, X-men. The abilities that people such as himself had developed were not as eccentric and god-like as those in the movie; however, empathy, fore-sense, and other such "lesser" abilities were becoming common among the human population, slowly adding to the subspecies.
"-the new breed commonly referred to as "mutants". You would not be alone in your cause; surrounding you would be people of similar background and relation.
"The need for a chemist arises from many different reasons. Of course, there is the simple matter of uncovering the secrets of our own genetic material. Finding the source of the mutation would be our first priority in this case.
"However, we recently came across evidence of a possible other type of mutation. There is so far no known living proof of such a subspecies; however, with your professional training, we feel we can reach our goal and find the likeliness of such a subspecies existing..."
Chen frowned inwardly. There was more to the letter, explaining how they found him, what made him qualified for the job, etc. The prospect of a new subspecies, however, baffled him. Obviously mutations could exist in individuals such as himself. What could make a mutation different?
His question was answered only with more fidgeting from the girl beside him. He lent her an annoyed glance, only to see that the young teenager was crying.
"Miss?" He asked, suddenly concerned. "Are you alright?"
-------Modern Day-------
Chen had seen the ferry start to cross over an hour ago; now it had finally reached the docks. He could clearly see Keisha as she began to walk across campus.
A vague smile traced over his features. A quick glance to his left informed him that Sama was watching over the students with a careful and quick eye; with this reassurance in mind, he stood from his lawn chair and began to approach the biology teacher.
"Hey Chen." Keisha smiled brightly; however, her eyes were bleary from the sunlight. Wavy brown hair framed a delicate face and wide blue eyes, and bounced with enthusiasm as she walked. One could infer simply from her figure that she was slight and petite; few however, knew the full extent and purpose of her small build. While her bones were not entirely hollow, they were thin, making up only 9% of her body weight, instead of the usual 18%. In addition, she only weighed 70 pounds, despite being 5'4' and obviously fit. This made her relatively well adapted to fly- at least, as well adapted as any bat-human could be.
"Keisha, it's good to see you. How was your vacation?"
"Too short, as usual. I also missed my evening conditioning sessions." She shrugged. "So what did I miss?"
Chen smiled. "More than usual. Taylor was a wreck without you; Mick's back to his old tricks-" Keisha sighed at this- ", and I daresay that Ashley is coming into heat; she's been feistier since you left." Chen paused. "We also got some new students."
"Oh?" Keisha's interest was obviously aroused.
Chen nodded, slowly starting back to the main campus. "Mm-hmm. One is an ex-renegade. Phedra Alexander was her given name; she recently chose the name "Cortez", since she is convinced that she's a South American species. She appears to be a bird-hybrid of some sort. We are going to wait for her to get settled a bit before we start any tests to find out. The only fact that really detours me from this bird theory is that she is too heavy, and her bones are almost certainly not very lightweight. She weighs over 100 pounds; if she is a bird-hybrid, there's no way she'll ever be able to manage more than a graceless glide." Chen paused a bit. "The other however, you might find a little more interesting. He's really quite... um... intriguing."
Keisha raised an eyebrow. "'Intriguing'? Chen, you're taunting me. Just tell me already!"
Chen clicked his tongue. "Don... that's his name, Don Anderson... he's like nothing we've seen before. He's..." Chen shook his head. "He is a hybrid of a non-existent species."
Keisha blinked calmly. "You know as well as I do that hybrids are formed by a genetic mutation where certain series of amino acids devolve. That way, the genes have to re-evolve, often by taking a different evolutionary pathway. Who's to say that the gene couldn't take a nonexistent pathway? It's simply evolution in the works."
Chen shook his head, mildly surprised by her nonchalance. "Don is like nothing we expected... You'll see. First I want you to go change into your training outfit." Keisha gave him a questioning look, but he raised his hand as a sign that she would hold her peace for now. She nodded and made her way briskly inside the school.
"So, you tell her?"
Chen recognized the thick Chinese accent even before he turned to speak.
"Not yet. I think she would rather see for herself."
Sama shook her head and clicked her tongue skeptically. "What you wait for? You wish to humiliate poor boy? Display him like freak show?" She clucked like a mother hen, her neck-length black hair lazily drifting about her round face. Sama was tall for a Chinese woman; she was as tall as Chen was at 5'9. She was strongly built as well, and some strange light in her eyes gave her a predatory air.
"Don is no freak show, and Keisha is no audience." Chen admonished the comment. "She's an instructor; and that's exactly what she will do."
"What you...? Ah! You mean she teach him what she know! I see your logic!" Sama smiled broadly, and Chen could make out the large, ivory fangs that stood in place of human canine teeth. He smiled back.
"Truth be told, I was pleased with how calmly she took the news. It's a good thing for the kids. The less stress we have, the less stress we put on them."
Sama abruptly lost her smile, and it was replaced by a look of contemplation. "That sound like Chinese proverb..." She muttered a bit in unintelligible Cantonese before shrugging it off. "Hmm. Can't reach it." She gave Chen a sideways glance. "So you wait for Keisha to see Don with her own eyes?"
Chen nodded. "That's the plan. Would you terribly mind watching the students for a while longer while I gather Keisha?"
AN: Heh. Never thought I'd actually get this thing going. Actually, was even considering deleting my account, but... I feel much more confident in my writing skills now.
Anyway, about the chapter... this thing has been sitting around FOR-E-VER. Along with about three other chapters, but I'm at a serious block in one... ;_; So meh. I'm working on it.
I'm almost pleased with how this turned out. Almost. ^^
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