Gene Pool

Chapter One - Born

Depending on how you were raised, your beliefs will differ. For instance, one man may believe that God, in his almighty wisdom, decided to create us, his imperfect mortals. Or a woman might think that we exist simply out of scientific reasoning.

The ten of us knew. It was not faith in a devine power or a study of all things inexplicable that they might become understandable. We were just born with the knowledge. If one of us were to try and explain it to you, dear reader, your tiny mind would struggle and fight with itself trying to grasp it, and so I won't waste my time. My name is Cain. I am Subject Zero, the first of the ten. I was created with many flaws, in my unparalleled opinion, though my creator sees none of this. So when it came to making the other nine, I instructed him and they were indeed perfect.

Each of them looked different, and when it came to their fifth birthdays, I named them. Subject One was called Caliber, because I had seen her fascinated with weaponry of every description. She was pleased with the name. The next month, Subject Two was named Iseult for her love of romance and star-crossed lovers written about in literature.

Then came Melanin for the pigment of her skin was a gorgeous olive and her eyes were a hot pink with chocolate, all things controlled by the melanin pigment. Laniakea was called so because of her passion for the galaxies, her favourite being the one she is named after. There then was Isadora because of her favourite story, Melmoth the Wanderer. She was thrilled when given her name.

Versailles held a soft place in my heart because of her love of the world around us, especially the culture. France was her very favourite. Since the moment she was created, Subject Seven was hell-bent on causing mischief, and her ability to appear anywhere without a sound made her difficult to contain. And so Mazikeen fitted her nicely.

Subject Eight read historical literature with passion, holding a connection to the Greek Gods of Mythology and was thus proud to be called Olympia. Subject Nine, however, held many mysteries. She kept to herself and did not speak a word, though it was clear she understood. She had no passions nor interests and so naming her proved a task that I found difficult. Still, her name brought about the first smile I had seen her show, and I knew that I had chosen correctly. Gregoria suited her in a way that was indescribable.

I was seven years older than them, but we were inseparable. When I was fourteen and Caliber was seven, I discovered that her intelligence exceeded my own and on the day I found this out, I knew that the nine of them would accomplish much. Unfortunately, I was not there for much longer. On my seventeenth birthday, I began to sicken.

My creator worried and fussed over me, doing his best to fix what was wrong. The nine were kept away, and for the first three months I was isolated from them, I grew tired with no fight in me. I knew that dying was a natural process and part of me was excited for what came next. I had theorised for many years as to what could be waiting for us on the other side of death and after struggling for another year, I found out.

The nine mourned me, for I was responsible for them. I made them flawless, I was their creator.

My one regret was not finding out about my flawed body sooner, but not being able to express my lack of living to the nine in the hopes of urging them into experiencing more than I could have ever dreamed of. A small part of me believed that they knew now the frailty of the human body, and that the ever-present clock ticks away your time.

That they finally knew how to really live.