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The Second Son - A Short Story
Francesco Sassetti (1421–1490) and His Son Teodoro
Hello, my name is Edward Dorian, second son of the great Dr. William Dorian. I am 15 years old. My father was a geneticist who tried to unlock the potential of human DNA. He wanted to help humans overcome diseases and make them stronger. He succeeded, but crated unexpected results. He created a whole new breed of humans. We call them Alphas, the strongest creatures in the world. Humans with powers and abilities far greater than the norm. Now these Alphas are causing havoc and chaos. Stealing, fighting, and killing is happening on the streets. My father is gone, but his dream lives on in me. I have the power to fight these Alphas and bring peace. This is my story.Where do I begin? I could start at the day of the accident. It happened about 2 year ago. My dad woke me and my brother Primo up at 5 o’clock in the morning on a weekend. I was first down the stairs, still rubbing my eyes. ‘The Sun hasn’t isn’t even up yet” I said. My father responded “We can’t wait for daylight, we need to get to the lab as soon as possible”. My dad made breakfast. Ham sandwiches with some orange juice and an apple. My dad ate quickly, he had a sandwich in one hand and his phone on the other. He kept pacing back and forth. He was already in his lab coat, his hair was all messy, His bright blue eyes were hidden by the fog on his glasses, his brown pants were all crumpled and his briefcase looked like it would burst because of all its contents. Despite looking like a lunatic, his smile was still the same, warm and encouraging. Dad always had this kind of charm. He was so excited that it would get other people excited. He was a smart man with the heart of a child. My dad loved helping people, and everybody loved him, because he was kind, smart, and a people’s person. He believed that everyone deserved to be happy.
My dad was still busy on the phone. He was talking to a fellow colleague. I didn’t pay attention to what he was talking about. I was busy eating when my older brother primo went downstairs. Primo was 3 years older than me. He looked a lot like dad, he had his long jawbone, his wavy black hair. He was much bigger than dad though, with toned muscles and muscular shoulders, unlike me and dad who had shinny blue eyes, primo had mom’s silver eyes and her straight hair. He looked like he woke up on the wrong side of the bed. “It’s so early, what did you wake us up for” he looked at dad, his eyes were red and partially shut. Dad responded “We made a breakthrough at the Lab, I want you guys to see it”. The excitement in dad’s eyes were infectious. Primo and I couldn’t help but smile. It’s been a while since I last saw dad smile like that, he looked like a child who got a new toy. As soon as we finished eating, we quickly changed clothes and got on the car. Primo brought his notebook with him. It was about 5 years old but still looked brand new. It didn’t look fancy or expensive, it was just a regular silver notebook you could find at the store, but Primo cherished that notebook. It was a gift from Mom before she passed away.
Dorian Labs, the company my dad made to conduct his research on DNA, was far away from the house, even by car, it would take at least an hour. Dad was at the wheel, his grip was tight and his eyes were focused on the road. Primo and I sat at the back. Primo was sketching some kind of Japanese drawing. Manga, I think that is what they call it. He is a big fan of that. I just stared outside through the window of the car. The window was foggy, but I could see the light of the houses we pass by, the bright green leaves on all the trees, all the cars with different shapes, sizes and colors. It was peaceful. When mom was around, car rides used to be very important to us, it was family bonding time. We would play games, have talks, and laugh in the car, traveling always felt meaningful. After mom died, the atmosphere in the car changed, Dad became quiet, and Primo became angrier, I just felt sad. Things were hard for us when mom died, but dad kept on trying.
I remember one time, I was about 11 years old. My dad had to pick us up from school. Primo got into a fight with a guy who bullies me at school. Dad looked at us through the car’s mirror. “Do you two mind explaining yourselves?” He said in a serious tone. Primo sarcastically replied “Yes, I do mind”. I just stared at the two of them, frozen in fear. After about 5 minutes of Silence, Dad spoke. He said “okay, if you two won’t explain what happened, I guess I am just have to punish both of you”. I was terrified and guilty, I was the reason why Primo got into a fight with that bully. Despite my fears, I spoke to dad, trying very hard to hide the tremble in my voice, I said “Primo got into a fight, but it’s not what you think, it wasn’t his fault, he was defending me from a bully”. My dad struggled to control his expression, you could tell the struggle because of the tone of his voice. He said “so that justifies getting into a fight with the boy? Does it Primo? Who do you think you are?” Primo responded “What did you expect me to do? This guy has been bullying Edward for a week, and Edward doesn’t say or do a thing”. Primo was acting all tough, but deep down, I know he was scared. Dad quickly turned around, I thought he was going to yell at us, but dad’s face changed from anger to worry and sadness. Dad loves us so much. He hates the idea of someone hurting us. Dad spoke in a serious tone, he said “Primo, look at me, your intention was good, but that doesn’t justify hurting someone. Edward, you shouldn’t let people do bad things to you. You should have said something”. Then Dad started smiling. “I hope you learn something from this”, dad then says “I hope you learn something from us” as he pulls out two candy bars from and gives it to us.
Okay, back to the day of the incident. We arrive at this large magnificent skyscraper, with reflective plates on the windows designed to reflect most of the light during summer and store internal heat in the winter. It helped keep the building at optimal temperature at all times. We see rows of parked cars and employees in suits or lab attire quickly getting in the building. The place was packing with people and cars. Luckily for us, Dad was a head scientist, and he owned a personal car space just for him. We quickly got parked and went into the building. I have been to my dad’s lab a couple of times, but it never ceases to amaze me. Seeing my dad work with some of the most brilliant minds in the world. Looking at all the test tubes, specimens and advanced equipment and technology. I always feel bewildered when I walk into these doors.
We go to the elevator, my dad has special clearance, which allowed us to enter one of the more secluded areas of the building. Dad’s colleague gave us all protective equipment, and we entered a room. On the other side of the room was a window, through the window where two scientist covered head to toe in protective equipment, and a little mouse. The scientists then pulled out a strange blue liquid from a briefcase, and using a syringe, administered the liquid on the mouse. My dad had a huge smile on his face. You could see the wonder in his eyes. My dad then explained to us what they were doing. In a slightly dramatic way, he said “Primo, Edward, you are about to witness History in the making. That mouse was injected with a serum containing and advanced version of C.R.S.P.R.”. For those of you who aren’t scientists, C.R.S.P.R. was a technology with the ability to cut and modify DNA of a cell. According to my dad “unlike C.R.S.P.R. Which could modify and rewrite one cell, this substance dubbed “Prometheum” could rewrite hundreds or thousands of cells, theoretically changing an organisms DNA”
Soon after being injected with Prometheum, the mouse went to sleep or at least a sleep-like state, the scientists monitored its vital signs as the promethium began to rewrite its DNA. The mouse had survived, the procedure was a success. Primo and I were confused at first, the mouse looked exactly the same with the only difference was shinier fur. Then the scientists turned off the lights in the room. And astonishingly, the mouse was glowing a shade of light blue. It gained the ability to produce bioluminescence. It was a glow in the dark mouse. All the scientists cheered and applauded. My dad, my brother and I were all staring, amazed by this little mouse. It was pretty cool if you think about it, but soon it was kind of scary. Messing with DNA, with evolution, we could cause serious domino effects or butterfly effects that could affect all life on earth.
At the end of the day, we went home. While in the car, my dad was smiling, he said “Soon in a couple of months or so, we could try human trials, doesn’t that sound amazing, and we could cure cancer, strengthen our bodies, or remove any genetic sickness”. That thought, that fear, that scary idea plagued my mind, I was scared, I was worried, and I knew it was dangerous. I had to do something, I had to confront my dad on the ethics of this.
So the next day, I got up and out of bed. I went to dad, he was in his study room with Primo. When dad saw both of us he said “Hey guys, how you doing? Sorry, can’t hangout right now. I am writing a report on the Prometheum testing”. Primo soon asked “Dad, what will that stuff be used for exactly?” Dad expressed changed into disbelief and surprise, since Primo was never into science, he was an arts kind of guy. Dad responded “Medical Purposes, helping those with genetic Conditions like down-syndrome. Why do you ask?” he answered proudly with a small smile. Primo then responded with “I was just wondering if you thought things through with that substance”. I breathed a sigh of relief, I thought Primo was actually with siding with me on this one, but I was mistaken. Primo actually had other plans for Prometheum. “It could be given to the government, the police, the fire department, the military, and even rescue divisions”. I couldn’t agree with what they were thinking, this is dangerous. I couldn’t keep it to myself anymore, I said “I think, maybe we should reconsider the purpose of promethium. Wait, let me correct myself, I believe we should reconsider the purpose of Prometheum. We could cause major unforeseen effects on life and the earth itself. I don’t think that should even exist”.
Primo had a face of confusion, then anger. “How could you say that, this piece of technology could make the world better, remove discrimination, give power to the weak and oppressed, and you want to throw it away?” came out of Primo’s mouth. It was quite scary, seeing my brother all angry like that. Then dad stepped in between, he said “Calm down you two, that is enough.” Dad spoke with seriousness, but also with some softness. “You two are too young to be thinking on these things. My work is good, it’s going to help lots of people, it’s going to heal sickness and save lives. It’s going to make the world a better place, just you wait and see. This is brand new technology, we can’t do everything all at once. We take things step by step. For now, we focus on research, on improving Prometheum and on trying to improve people’s lives” Dad then motioned for us to leave the room. He wanted to be left alone to work.
A couple of hours pass, he didn’t leave the room, not to eat, not to drink, and not even to use the bathroom. I decided to cook dad some food, I made soup, but mom’s soup was the best. Dad loved her cooking. He was a scientist who could explain lots of different scientific phenomenon, but mom always left him tongue tied. He would just stare at her, speechless. It was as if he discovered the most amazing, most beautiful thing in the world. I brought the soup into his office, dad passed out and was asleep on the table. The computer was still on, and he had piles and piles of papers and documents. Dad was even drooling on some, if only mom were here, she would probably laugh and take a pic of Dad. Now I realize I should have done that. As I was about to leave, I noticed a photo on the desk, it was a picture of Mom, Dad, Primo and me. A picture of the whole family. We went to an island for vacation. Primo and I had just finished swimming. I wore black shorts and a yellow shirt, I had sand in places where sand shouldn’t be. Primo was equally dirty, he wore blue swimming gear. Dad had a flowery shirt and crazy hair as usual. Mom wore a jeans and a purple shirt. We were one big happy family. Dad loves us, he is trying to give us a good future, even if mom isn’t around. Dad isn’t perfect, but he is trying. He is working for us. I slowly left the room and closed the door, leaving dad alone to rest and sleep.
We went back to the Dorian labs. This time, it was even busier and more crowed that before. Everybody was hard at work. After months of work, they would soon begin testing prometheum on Humans, which was considered the final stages of testing. Dad, Primo and I went to the lab.
Although I was still hesitant to agree with the usage of Prometheum. I trust dad, I know he is doing this for good reasons, so I am going to support him. We were on our way to the testing facility when an accident occurred. “Dr. Dorian, something has gone terribly wrong, there is a fire, it is spreading quickly through the facility and we can’t stop it, all our research will be destroyed”. The scientists were concerned about their work, but dad was concerned about his people, his workers, and colleague. “It doesn’t matter right now, we can rebuild everything. But we can’t bring people back from the dead. What are the conditions of the scientists? Have they evacuated?”. “Most of them sir, but some of us here on the more secluded areas are still within the building”.
So my dad told everybody that was with him to evacuate. We ran and ran, until we reached a long corridor, we were near the generator. As we were passing it by, we suddenly heard an explosion, the loud bang caused a ringing in our ears and blinded us, and we were all on the floor groaning. There was fire everywhere, all the equipment and samples were destroyed. The serum evaporated into a gas that flew up into the air. “That can’t be good” was exactly what everyone was thinking, you could tell by their expressions. When my vision cleared, I realized that the ceiling collapsed on us. I couldn’t see Primo or the other scientists, and worst of all, Dad legs were impaled by the metal beams and crushed under the cement. Fear filled my body. I felt the shiver in my bones, the deep pumping of my heart. I ran to dad, “Dad, it’s going to be okay” I said. I think that was more to reassure myself instead of dad. It was quite scary. I tried my best to lift the cement, but it wouldn’t budge. I was too weak. I tried screaming for help, but no one could hear me. My dad and I started coughing, I inhaled some of the Prometheum gas along with some smoke. Tears rolled down my eyes, I was so scared.
Suddenly, Dad grabbed and pulled my leg. He was trying to get my attention. I looked down and saw him. Terror and shock was on my face. I saw all the bruises and scratches on dad. Blood dripped from his right brow, the blood covered half of his face. He wiped away the blood, looked at me, and smiled. “What? Why are you smiling? How could you smile at a time like this?” were the thoughts that raced through my head. But Dad just kept on smiling, it was as if he was telling me “It’s okay”. Dad pulled me in and hugged me for the last time, he patted my head and brushed his finger across my cheeks. He pulled out a journal, his journal. He weakly gave it to me. Then motioned for me to go and leave him. I didn’t want to go, I was scared. I didn’t want to be alone. But dad just reassured me, he said “You aren’t alone, you were never be alone. Me and Mom will always watch over you” I held dad tight for a few seconds. Then the ceiling started to weaken again, my dad pushed me with all his remaining strength, he told me to run. I ran and ran as fast as I could. I reached the exit of the building. There were firemen outside. I screamed “Save my dad and brother”. Then I felt weak, my eyes became heavy. I collapsed on the floor. I blacked out.
Months after the incident. I woke up in a hospital. There were machines to check my vitals, to regulate my breathing, and to pump nutrients and water into my body. The doctor came in with a surprised yet glad smile. “Welcome back, how do you feel?”. I informed my doctor that my body felt sluggish and ached in some areas. I just stayed in bed, eating sleeping, recovering. Surprisingly, my body felt different, but in a good kind of way, my body was more toned, I was quicker, stronger, and healthier than ever.
I soon discovered that I was affected by the Prometheum. It gave me an ability called thermoregulation. You know how warm blooded creatures can increase or decrease their temperature to adjust to the environment. Well, as of right now, I am resistant to temperatures both cold and hot, not only that, but if I concentrate, I can burn certain objects. I use my powers in conjunction with highly flammable playing cards. I throw them at people to scare or subdue them.
After spending a couple more months in the hospital. I was allowed to leave. They gave me my belongings, but most importantly, they gave me a brown leather notebook. They gave me dad’s journal. I got out of the hospital. They brought me to a small apartment around the downtown area. It wasn’t that great of an apartment. It was decent, but it had a certain charm to it. Plus it was very clean. It had a blue couch that could fold out into a bed, and a brown coffee table, it had a bookshelf filled with books. The walls were a shade of bluish grey.
I asked the driver who brought me to the apartment “Why did you bring me here? This isn’t my house?” The driver responded “Yes sir, but for the next year or so, You will be staying here. You will be monitored by Doctor Sanchez”. The driver then called for someone called Boltz.
Out of the door came a small little robot. The robot spoke. He said “Hello, my name is Boltz. Are you the one who called for me?” Boltz may be a robot, but he spoke in a very human like way. When Boltz realized who I was. He then said “Hello Edward, I am your robot assistant. I am a state of the art robot and can do anything to help you. From cooking, to cleaning, to laundry. I will be your caretaker while you stay here”. So I stay here now, in this cozy little apartment with a robot butler. It was a big adjustment. Crazy as it seems, Boltz became my best friend. He was my teacher, my cook, my nurse, my maid, and my bro. I spent every day doing the same things. I get up the morning, do some exercise, Boltz prepares me some breakfast, I study and read some books, have lunch, then play video games on my console (I love video games.), and at 5 o’clock in the afternoon, Dr. Sanchez comes to evaluate my recovery. She is this Short haired light brown skinned woman of average build who appears to be in her late 20s. She came everyday bringing home made dinner. She would scold me if I disobeyed the recovery plan. She would let me talk to her about my day. She was just my doctor, but she treated me like her very own child. Dr. Sanchez made this little apartment of mine a little bit cozier. After dinner, Dr. Sanchez would give me some medicines or other things like food, books, and video games. She was the best, which made me miss Mom, Dad and primo. I miss them so much. I miss Mom’s cooking, Dad’s smile, and Primo’s silly drawings. I miss dad teaching me about science, and watching TV and movies with Primo. Whenever Dad, primo and I came home sad or if we had a bad day. Mom would cheer us up with lots of hugs and kisses. She would then cook each of our favorites. Dad loved Pizza, Primo loved grilled pork, and I love me some beef soup. Dad had the sweetest smile and words, but mom had the sweetest actions and touch. They were perfect for each other.
Mom died because she was sick, her body wasn’t strong enough to recover. I know dad never said it but he was guilty, he was a genius but he couldn’t save Mom. But even if dad was guilty, he never talked to us about it or showed it. He always wore his charismatic smile. He kept going forward, trying to help people. He made people lives better. And that makes opening his journal all the more harder. I am scared to open it. Because once I finish the last word, Dad is gone. I am not like that. I don’t know how to smile after losing them. But I got to try.
So that brings us to today. I discovered that the city was in a state of chaos, but it was luckily separated into sections, some parts of the city were safe, others were not. I realized that this city and its people need me. I couldn’t save Primo, or Dad, but I can help this city. Alphas are roaming around, using their powers for themselves and hurting people. I need to do something. I need to use my powers to help save this city. It’s what Mom, Dad, and Primo would have wanted. I may not have any special training or experience, but I can do my part to help save these people, I can be their hope, their hero, and their guardian. I can make a difference. I can and will bring peace to this city. My father wanted to help people, now I am going to do the same. Who am I? I am Edward Dorian, the second son.
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