UNZIPPED GENES_Science Fiction, Espionage, Oviposition, Transformation

Story by Bec De Corbin

UNZIPPED GENES

By Bec De Corbin

UNDISCLOSED LOCATION:

I am not positive I was ever born.

I should use the term birthed, because I feel like an extension of my mother rather than her son.

Somewhere between my conception and now, my development was sterile and mechanized.

The sight and sound and touch of natural people gives me nothing to which I can relate. Other than my mother, I feel isolated and alone in aworld that skipped out on my existence. Mother doesn’t know what I’m talking about when I try to discuss my problems with her; she gets confused easily. I may have come from her, but I cannot help intuiting she is more of an older sibling than a true parent.

She says she loves me, but that kind of emotion is something that wasn’t passed along from her to me.

You will not believe this, but I was born without genitalia. No,I am not a girl; only as female as the rest of comparable organisms are basically female.

Neuter, if you will. Simplified.

I was bred neuter because my mother was afraid I would turn too much into my father. I made her promise to give me manhood, even if she had to steal a real man’s genetic make-up to accomplish the metamorphosis.

Lately, she hasn’t been interested in keeping that promise.

I persist, but this behavior only seems to make her prone to delay and avoid completing me.

The blame for her weakness cannot be placed entirely on her; she was designed to lack initiative and goal-orientation.

My name is Dana. I didn’t exist three years ago. This is the story of how I almost became a man.

CONTINUING----

BOCA RATON:Extravaganza Cruises HQ.

Excerpts from a press conference dated 1995.

Subject: Missing male passenger.

“...we assure the public that Extravaganza Cruise Lines is cooperating to the fullest extent with U.S. Federal Investigators as well as International Authorities...

“...Mister Brent Reddy of Capetown was a registered passenger...went ashore in the Bahamas almost a month ago... despite many thorough searches, we were unable to locate the gentleman and continued the cruise without him...filed missing persons reports at every point along the way and contacted relatives in Capetown...suspected foul play...no ransom demands, no threats, nothing politically motivated...male matching his description reported in Kingston...possibly a hoax...anyone with information concerning Brent Reddy’s whereabouts was urged to contact local authorities...again, treated as ahoax...

“...disembarkedthe ship wearing sandals, swimming trunks and a tropical print shirt. Rest of his luggage left on board in his locked stateroom...no suicide note was found...

“...no criminal record. Reddy was an Olympic swimmer and in excellent health...married and with three children, but they were not traveling with him...Extravaganza Cruisescannot comment on his personal habits...

“...male with no identification and NOT matching Brent Reddy’s appearance but claiming to be the missing individual is now the subject of an intense investigation in Barbados...

“...mysterious circumstances. We only hope with unfortunate incident was as singular as it now appears and we add our sincerest hopes to Brent Reddy and his family that this story has a happy ending. I agree, it’s bizarre. Utterly bizarre.”

BARBADOS:

A scruffy trader known on the street as Hector ducked into Cafe Saludos and ordered a rum,leaving his little book collection next to his drink while he used the payphone. A phone that only seemed to work for him.

Hector put a call through, letting the party o

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