Experiment by Adam Moon

 
    James Hoo was supposed to wake at 6am and so he did. He was supposed to keep immaculate personal hygiene and therefore spent the next twenty minutes making sure he did just that. It was necessary to eat a balanced and nutritious and yet light breakfast with all the essential vitamins and nutrients to get him through the day. He made the recommended breakfast and diligently ate every last drop.
    He placed the dish in the incinerator with the knowledge he would be provided a replacement dish by the end of the day.
    His mate, Margaret awoke at 6:30am. He greeted her with a smile. She returned his smile but hers was weaker, showing a hint of unease.
    "Are you going to be alright with me gone all day?"
    She lied when she replied, “Yes”.
    He was permitted five minutes in the Government multimedia browser. He attached the input lead to the port on his left temple and made sure to position himself perfectly beneath the array of laser light emitting from overhead. His brainwaves were his fingerprint which granted him access to all that he was cleared to view. He ranked above almost all others at the corporation and therefore he had to be sure to keep everything that he learned from the browser to himself.
    He spent four minutes in the browser.
    He spoke to Margaret for one minute.
    “Make sure the residence is appropriate by 2pm.”
    She returned, “What level is the sweep.”
    “Level-three. You’ve done this before. Don’t worry about it. They probably won’t even come in”
    “What if they get suspicious?”
    “That's why you need to hide your guilt and your fear. You can do that can’t you?”
    “Of cou rse,” she replied reassuringly. “Don’t worry about it. I fooled them during that level-seven sweep last month and that was when the evidence was all over me.”
    “Just don’t let your feelings get the better of you. I know you’re emotional right now but we can get through this if you stay strong.”
    She nodded and hugged him affectionately.
    He returned her embrace and then stiffened up appropriately to leave the domicile.
    To reach his office by 7am he would need to leave at 6:50am. At 6:50 am, James left for work.

His laboratory was contained within the same building as his domicile. The corporation had bought and paid for him and they made sure he was readily available to them at all times.
    Margaret, h is domicile mate (as the corporation labeled her) was selected for him by the corporation based on genetic compatibility and genetic traits. She was chosen because her genes suggested her to be meticulous to details, friendly but in an impersonal way, and devoid of any sexual urges. James might have just as easily been paired with a man, for the purpose of the mate was simply to ensure harmony and cleanliness within the domicile.
    The corporation wanted its best assets well taken care of.

James had been genetically engineered by the corporation. All favorable traits were emphasized and unfavorable traits omitted from his genetic make-up.
    He was engineered to be of genius intellect and to be exceedingly curious (he was younger than anyone within the corporation by at least twenty years and yet he outranked just about everybody, partly because of these programmed traits) but also subservient to the wishes of higher command. These were but a few of his main functions.
    The essential traits insisted upon by the government would have been added to his genetic material as well. Not doing so was a crime.
    James was not alo ne in this. By the end of the 23 rd century, natural mating was forbidden. The government deemed it irresponsible to bring a child into the world who was not guaranteed to be a perfect citizen. Citizens had to be capable in order to augment the greater good of all mankind.
    Large corporations flocked to this banner and were the fi rst to embrace designer humans.
    By the end of the twenty fourth century, anyone found to have been born naturally was terminated. The exterminations were a