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A Better Tomorrow Awaits By Ian Downs

After taking a drink and clearing his throat, God began. "Creating a realm of infinite proportions is no easy feat, but it is not unheard of. To do this one must do two things: harness enough energy to spark an unfolding of spacetime, specifically 50 Titavolms, and have a place to put it. The difficulty comes with the latter. This endeavor took me some time but I eventually was able to make a malleable container for my space. One which, when closed, would not allow anyspace or anything to exit or enter it; the ultimate safe. Unfortunately this made it impossible to adjust anything seen to be problematic once sealed. The universe would be left to its own devices when closed, so everything had to be calibrated for a utopia. This was a problem as flaws are abundant in creation and every small kink can send life into steep decline. Bacterial knowledge is optimal for creation as bacterias are the biggest factors in sparking multicellular life and keeping that life stable. With this knowledge, life was within my reach. After numerous experiments and trials, the data seemed to exhibit perfection. I believed my life would perform without a hitch." God stopped to get up and stretch his muscles. This body is not what it used to be he thought. God began.

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"Life took me quite a long time to get right. I used the nucleic acid DNA as my base and began from there. I knew DNA to be a useful chemical for life, as that is much of my own composition. DNA can replicate, it can evolve, and in my opinion, it is the best chemical for creating life. Upon initially creating life I was filled with reverence and awe. As far as I knew, life had only arisen once until that day. Until that day, I was no god. I soon set off to make a world for the beings I had developed. Due to my attraction toward the beauty of life, I felt the need to make their world as beautiful and perfect as my little creatures were. They needed water to thrive, so I gave them plenty. They needed land to thrive, so I gave them plenty. Fruit, grass, and light were all the foods my life required and I made sure that my life would not go hungry. Fertile lands from coast to coast were constructed. Fertile oceans from floor to shore were constructed. Now was the time to spread my life and introduce it to its home." A smile formed on Gods face. He was reflecting on the day that he scattered life. What a glorious day he thought. God began. "I placed life everywhere: on the mountains, in the depths of the sea, on the flatlands, in the canyons, in the air, in the hot, in the cold, in the caves, and even underground. I strived

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to place life everywhere, and I was triumphant. My life was of all different styles, so I felt it fitting to place life in every style of the planet. When my planet was complete, oddly, I did not feel complete. Creating life had become my purpose. So what did I do to fulfill this desire? I made millions more of these perfect planets and dispersed them amongst my space. One would not suffice. I needed these beings to thrive everywhere in my realm. I really did have the best intentions."

God's smile quietly became dull. His face became expressionless and his mind flowed ever closer towards sadness. "Unfortunately my worlds did not unfold as I had expected. Shortly after I was done placing life and sealing my container, nearly half of my beings had been driven to extinction. Extreme weather and disease were the most powerful of the exterminators. My beings became unsatisfied with their lives so they turned from that which was provided; many turned to flesh. This transformed my perfect creations to unruly beasts of their worlds. I was horrified. What was worse, I could only watch. I saw this change unfolding, and from it, the animals themselves were changing. They were adapting and evolving in ways not foreseen. They were arming themselves with genetic mutations. The prey was not long to be hunted. The hunter soon found himself prey. The life I had envisioned and the life before me were two completely different entities. This is not to

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imply I lost interest. One species in particular started to draw my attention more than most. This species started expanding at an alarming rate. They ate anything. They could survive anywhere. They had no enemy. They could kill all, though not by brute force, but through intellect. Where they lacked in might, they employed weapons. Where their habitat lacked hospitality, they constructed shelters. They had the knowledge and wit to fight off any attack. Soon they seemed to be only limited by themselves. God stood up, went to refill his water, returned, and proceeded to sit back down. God began. They troubled me initially as their actions showed conceit, yet the more I witnessed, the more fascinated I became. These creatures stopped looking like creatures all together. They shed their fur. They were the first species to walk upright, much the same as I do. In a way, I felt connected to these erect beings. I saw myself in them. These beings began spreading everywhere. Not only that, but they soon began to divide up the land, and this only furthered my fascination. They started sculpting it for their needs, with no regard for their fellow creature. They demolished, they erected, they dug, and they climbed. They were at it for some time until I realized my beings had stopped evolving. No other species had transformed their surrounding so well as to halt any need for genetic

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superiority. They got to the point where all their species survived; the erudite, the imbecile, the weak, and the strong. All were granted life, and none seen as inferior. I began to wonder if their expansion would ever stop. Could it stop? There was no telling what they God stopped. The sound of footsteps running up the stairs began to permeate through his door. Could it really be them? How would they have found me? He looked around to find no method of escape. He was on the 13th floor and was in no position to run. He had to think quickly. He placed his container in a duffel bag and shuffled to a hidden crawl space in the closet where he hid the experiment. Walking back to his first room and just when he reached his sofa the footsteps reached his door, his heart was racing. Moments later there was a large crash and the door lunged inward as the hinges were ripped from the sides of the frame. Large men in uniform came rushing in. # Eight men squeezed into the small apartment entrance and, when all were inside, they formed up against the wall creating a pathway to allow a slender woman to make her way into the apartment. She wore a small helmet with a blue tinted visor which covered her eyes and most of her nose. She had on a grey uniform which bore one small badge above her left breast and a

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nametag on the collar. Walking in, she stopped right in front of the man sitting. She directed her eyes at an eye level space on the wall directly above his head. You are Godfrey Darius the woman said declaring as fact. I am Do you know why were here? I know who you are and I believe you are mistaken You know who we are? she repeated in a condescending tone. Well just entertain me then, who are we? I think you are under the impression that I have worked with DNA, for which you would be mistaken. At that moment she immediately looked down at the sitting Godfrey. I dont care what you think! I asked what you know. The woman paused. You claim to know who we are and I simply want you to elaborate. So I ask again, who are we? You are agents of the M.O.L. Agents of the M.O.L you say, hmm? She turned towards her men and asked Are any of you fine men agents of any mole? The eight men simultaneously laughed. The shortest of the men answered a direct No maam. She turned back towards Godfrey and knelt down. Im sorry. We have no idea what a M.O.L is. Would you care to enlighten us? The woman asked this with a protruding smirk.

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After a short pause Godfrey declared You are agents of the Ministry of Life, you are under the false notion that I have developed organic life and I will be expecting you to fix my door when you leave, thank you! The room fell silent. Its not polite to raise your voice to a Superior; you must know that much Mr. Darius? Godfrey gave a slight nod. And as far as fixing your door, well no, we wont be fixing it. The woman stood up and straightened her pants. She continued It turns out you are correct. We did come here from the Ministry of Life and we have been asked to take you in. They know you have been working with DNA life and we have been instructed to forcibly take you in if necessary. Now I dont think force is necessary, seeing as you are a thin and frail old man, but that decision is out of my hands. The woman turned around and began towards the entrance. She stopped at the edge of the fallen door and paused. Come. # Godfrey had been handcuffed and placed in the back of a white squad car which had the letters M.O.L running across the side in blue and yellow lettering. The car was heading towards the judicial district of the downtown area.

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Any attempt to fight off the arresting agents would have only ended one way, death. Godfrey chose to submit to the womans demand and be tried for his offence. One agent stayed behind the do a sweep of the place to look for any sign of creation. The car pulled up in front of a large white building with four large pillars standing at attention outside its entrance. Godfrey was pulled from the car and led up the stairs. The woman agent headed the group of, now seven, men in line. Godfrey was in back being led by the smallest of the agents. Inside, Godfrey was taken down to the lowest floor by the woman agent; this floor was only accessible by elevator and retina scan, of which the woman passed. The elevator doors opened to a large corridor with branching doors from either side. The woman led Godfrey to a nondescript door in a nondescript section of the hallway. The door opened to a small white chamber with one cot and a toilet. It was a perfect square and bore no windows. You stay here until your trial is to be heard. Considering the severity of your crime, it should not be more than a few days, a few hours if youre really lucky. The woman added Any questions? You did not find anything in my apartment did you? Godfrey asked.

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You have been charged with the highest of crimes that the Ministry of Life can charge, and we do not make mistakes. The woman uncuffed Godfrey and closed the door behind him. He heard her whistling as she walked towards the elevator. # The old man shuffled towards the cot and sat down. Godfrey began. My name is Godfrey Odin Darius and I am an endangered species. The time which I live in is one where genetics will determine your social standing, or more so, whether you will live life comfortably or constantly on guard. I have lived a life of both. On this planet two genotypes are found, DNA and DNIA. DNIA is a subtly more complex form of genetic instructions than the other nucleic acid DNA. DNIA and DNA beings evolved at a fairly consistent and equal pace when life was in its infancy. In the time before the upright walker, the only difference between the species of one genotype and the other was merely who could mate with whom. A species of one gene is simply unable to reproduce with the other, and for millions of years, the two lived in relative peace and have even been found to cohabitate. The upright walker would eventually change this peaceful divide. At first, the two kept the tradition of a peaceful separation. Both were more focused on controlling those who lived near them than controlling those who they could not mate

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with. The scientific revolution came and brought the biological field of genetics. These findings would cause a change the world has yet to recover from. A schism occurred in which the species stopped fighting for territory and sought to fight for genetic superiority. This led to The War to End All Wars. Decades of fighting ensued and, in the end, DNIA species had triumphed and deemed DNA beings as an inferior breed. That divide was over four hundred years ago. A blood curdling scream came from down the hall where it seemed a woman was being taken for her decontamination. This was the only sentence that would have evoked such terror. Godfrey began. I am a DNA being yet the life of an Inferior was not laid out for me. My parents were DNIAs and they chose to raise me when their maid, my birthmother, passed away in labor. My Superior parents were infertile and had been planning for adoption, so when I was left by my birthmother, they raised me under the false labels of Superior and their son. My father was a medical doctor and was able to obtain a Superiors birth certificate for his new son. Yearly blood samples were also forged by my father, as he was always my practitioner. I was specifically homeschooled and, thanks to my mothers intelligence and ability to artfully communicate difficult material, I was able to get into one of the best Universities in

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the country. At University, I became enthralled with biology. I was soon leading cloning clubs and was participating in biological tournaments, many of which I won. I graduated in the top ten percent of my class and was hired by the University to conduct research, which I devoted to perfecting the human genotype. I lived a comfortable life unimaginable to anyone who knew my true genes. That was, at least, until my father died in the Guinean Spore outbreak twenty years ago. When my father passed, mother advised me to go into hiding, as I could no longer forge the yearly blood samples; I agreed. I would need to go off the grid in the slums of the Inferiors to avoid the University and the Government uncovering what my parents had done. I gathered all my equipment and cleared house. The DNA housing projects in the outskirts of downtown were where I decided to call home. This was the same time I took up the name Godfrey Odin Darius, names based on characters in some of my favorite stories read to me as a child. I purchased an apartment under my new identity and set up shop. Background checks of Inferiors are unheard of. Nobody would ever choose to be inferior. At that moment, Godfrey was overwhelmed with fear and began to convulse. He knew he would surely be dead in the next few days. When the shaking subsided, he sat up and began to breathe deeply, calming his nerves. Godfrey began.

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Working with genetics is deemed illegal outside of University research, yet I could not give up my lifes work on the feeble grounds of legality. Unfortunately, this meant getting ahold of the necessary equipment would be risky; black markets do have their purpose. Shortly after my move did I get the idea to use my genes for experimentation, largely out of convenience. I had heard of certain Universities working with DNA though most viewed it as a waste of resources which made it difficult to find any literature on the nucleic acid. DNA experimentation was completely foreign to me and when I had overwhelmingly failed, I thought to start from scratch and scrap cloning. My mind shifted towards creation. I was unsure of how long I was for this world, at best another century, so I needed my life to replicate at an unheard of rate to get it to macromulticellular life in my lifetime. The jump from proteins to modern animals is said to have taken hundreds of millions of years so I needed to design a catalyst for life. Just then the door opened with the woman agent standing at attention and three guards by her side. It hadnt been more than an hour since Godfrey had last seen this woman. Its time # Godfrey Darius, you have been accused of working with DNA with the attempt at developing and furthering organic life, all

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of which done outside a University. You have pleaded not guilty. With recent evidence provided by Ms. Abila of the Ministry of Life, we have found you guilty of these crimes. You are to be decontaminated immediately! declared the judge. The trial had been more of a formality than anything and only took a half hour. Trials involving Inferiors were widely known to be mere theatrics. The notion was the less of them on the street the better. Godfrey was being led to the decontamination room by the woman agent sent to his apartment, Ms. Abila. Decontamination was, in essence, cremation. A fire stove housed in a small room was used for decontamination and was found on the top floor of the judicial building. The doors of the elevator opened to a stretch of hallway leading to a distant silver door. On the march toward the door, looking straight ahead, Godfrey began. I am not long for this world. A world of misery and injustice is all that I see here. You look at me and see nothing more than inferiority. The idea of genetic superiority has been engrained in your head since birth, this I cannot change. I want to submit though that there exist places where the intolerance found here is inconceivable; lands where all are indoctrinated in equality. I cannot imagine anything more perfect. I am happy

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to have known such life to be possible and wish the same knowledge to you. The shit your type spews right before you die is the best part of this job. I love all the little fantasies I get to hear. Its absolute gold! Ms. Abila remarked. The utopias I speak of exist in actuality. Ms. Abila paused to gather her thoughts. Man will always find ways to belittle others and deem himself supreme. You have your fantasy of a heaven lacking intolerance, yet I guarantee that man there will discriminate. Genetics might not be the cause, Ill concede to that, but you are nave to think that such equality is possible. I will bet that in the 'utopias' you speak of, man will discriminate over something as petty as color or size. The utopias you speak of are, by definition, inhuman. Ms. Abila opened the large silver door at the end of the hallway. A plaque reading A Better Tomorrow Awaits was positioned to the right of the entrance. Below the plaque sat a lever which was pulled once Godfrey was safely inside his final home. Fire consumed the room. Only a small window allowed Ms. Abila to see the outcome of the lever. After five minutes of the room-engulfing fire did she reverse the levers direction. #

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Ms. Abila went down to the ground floor where she was met by the officer sent to do a sweep of Godfreys apartment. Anything turn up? asked Ms. Abila Not a single violation of the law maam. Should we acquit Mr. Darius? They laughed.