Boy 2.0: Chapters 10–12

Coal lined up, but Door pulled him back. “They’re probably going to sell your DNA to the military so they can keep tabs on you for the rest of your life. Did you not see those trucks outside? That’s standard protocol spy crap.”

“What about the goody bags?” Door asked. He pointed ahead at a table filled with labeled Mirror Tech bags in an on-brand glossy silver.
The line ahead of them was moving quickly. After a spit and a label, everyone in the group was handed one of the little bags.
“You get that whether you leave a sample or not,” Isadora said.
“Well, don’t mind if I do!” Door said, gleeful.

The dream had left him in a hot sweat, and he was having trouble shaking it. It wasn’t the first time he’d had that nightmare: faces that appeared and faded as they taunted him.

Over the years, more faces and voices had woven themselves into the dream. He carried them house to house like terrors sewn to his psyche.

The medley of sounds and images that had woken him up vaporized the way dreams do, and his mind raced back through the rooms he’d slept in over the years until he remembered the McKays.

He did find that some people had skin cells that changed color spontaneously, but those were an indication of illness, or conditions like vitiligo, an autoimmune disorder where healthy melanin cells die or stop working.

He did find that some people had skin cells that changed color spontaneously, but those were an indication of illness, or conditions like vitiligo, an autoimmune disorder where healthy melanin cells die or stop working.

Whatever he'd done with Doc knocked Coal out for several more hours. When he finally woke again it was to the smell of bacon, the sound of laughter, and the usual rapid-fire McKay banter.

“Ladies first,” Coal said. Aaron winced.
Mari gave him a deadly look. “That’s a phrase of the patriarchy.”
“Smash the patriarchy!” Hannah screamed as she slammed her fists on the orange.

“An elephant with antennae,” she said.
“Um, why?”
“Because sometimes it’s really hard for them to find water, and they go roaming all over the savanna and they die. Even the babies, sometimes because they’re too little, and the mommies have to just leave them behind. But if they had antennae they could find the closest source of water in the dry season and then none of them would die and all the babies would be happy.”

“Grafting plants is not the same as grafting...animals,” Mari said.

“You could have a striped elephant.”
“What would be the point?” Mari asked. “Zebras need their stripes so predators can’t tell where one starts and the other ends, and that makes it hard to pinpoint one animal to attack. Elephants don’t need that because they’re so big.”

“You could have a striped elephant.”
“What would be the point?” Mari asked. “Zebras need their stripes so predators can’t tell where one starts and the other ends, and that makes it hard to pinpoint one animal to attack. Elephants don’t need that because they’re so big.”

“What’s Mirror Tech?”
“Oh, um, a place where they do experiments with biotechnology. Making the world a better place through science and all that,” Coal said.
“Sounds exactly like the kind of place that would make a mouse-bug hybrid,” Aaron said.
“Don’t these people watch movies?” Mari asked. “That never works out the way you think it will.”
“Yeah,” Aaron agreed. “It’s all fun and games until some monster goes on a rampage.”

“What’s Mirror Tech?”
“Oh, um, a place where they do experiments with biotechnology. Making the world a better place through science and all that,” Coal said.
“Sounds exactly like the kind of place that would make a mouse-bug hybrid,” Aaron said.
“Don’t these people watch movies?” Mari asked. “That never works out the way you think it will.”
“Yeah,” Aaron agreed. “It’s all fun and games until some monster goes on a rampage.”

There were plenty of articles about Mirror Tech and genetically modified organisms. Some decried their use as a way for biochemical companies to make money; others declared that GMOs would save the world from famine and food insecurity.

There were plenty of articles about Mirror Tech and genetically modified organisms. Some decried their use as a way for biochemical companies to make money; others declared that GMOs would save the world from famine and food insecurity.

There were plenty of articles about Mirror Tech and genetically modified organisms. Some decried their use as a way for biochemical companies to make money; others declared that GMOs would save the world from famine and food insecurity.

None of these had come up in Coal’s searches yesterday. Somehow Mari was able to find a whole different strand of information than Coal had.
Mirror Tech was mostly mentioned in the source notes, but Mari clicked through to the Mirror Tech experiments and found a lot of stuff about botany and bugs.

“I thought their research was about DNA,” Coal grumbled.
Mari added DNA to the search. A single article popped up titled “DNA Editing Uncovers Genes Linked to Embryo Development.”

“‘Doctors see possibilities for genetic modification to reduce infertility,’” Mari read in the article description.
Coal leaned over her shoulder to read more.
The study, backed by Hunter Achebe’s Mirror Tech research laboratory, could identify the cause of recurrent miscarriages.

“‘Doctors see possibilities for genetic modification to reduce infertility,’” Mari read in the article description.
Coal leaned over her shoulder to read more.
The study, backed by Hunter Achebe’s Mirror Tech research laboratory, could identify the cause of recurrent miscarriages.

Scientists hope this will lead to more effective fertility treatments. However, it raises the ongoing controversy about gene editing and its potential to be used to enhance embryos and the future of humanity.

Scientists hope this will lead to more effective fertility treatments. However, it raises the ongoing controversy about gene editing and its potential to be used to enhance embryos and the future of humanity.

“Remember at the beginning of the story?” Hannah said. “Snow White’s mother couldn’t have a baby. And she was sewing in the window. Then she prickled her finger...” “Pricked,” Mari corrected. “Yes,” Hannah said. “Well, the blood dropped on her sewing. Then she asked for a girl with skin as white as the snow outside, and lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony wood because that’s what the window was made of.”