Cyberpunk Fantasy

Chapter 5 - Something New

- 17 years before Singularity.

9 months past since Genevieve's mother left for China, via Rome. The trip kept her away through the holidays, but the Quartet kept the girl learning through both the winter & spring breaks. Cardinal Rothschild's appointment to establish the new Beijing Parish kept Joy McTaggart from even being there on Genevieve's 9th birthday. Graduating 3rd grade was the most recent of her mother's slew of emotionally abandoning disappointments. She was really missing her today, it was raining just as it had the day she left. The humidity took the crispness from the food on the plate before her. Her father Nathan sat across from her. Antoinette paged her Google/Corning:Augmented Reality communication system. The contacts in her eyes lit through the normal quick rainbow of red, green, blue, and yellow as Genevieve answered it. Her father cleared his throat and asked sternly, "What have I told you about using your G/C:A/R at the table?" as Antoinette says in her ear, "Guess what I'm holding?"

"I can't hear either of you when you talk at the same time. Daddy please, it's Antoinette!"

Genevieve knew what she was about to be told, but she "guessed" anyway. "Narwhal Sperm?!" Her father understood what those words meant & relented, and began using his own G/C:A/R at the table which he opened as a virtual newspaper. He saw the twinkle in his daughter's eyes. As he looked over it, & Antoinette answered her in an affirmative. "I'll be at the lab as soon as David can drive me." she hung up with Antoinette & contacted David, "I need to be at the lab an hour ago, please get the car started, I'll be at the front door in 5 minutes. Thank you, David." Genevieve tore the A/R newspaper from his hand and tossed it in the air, as it "crumpled into a ball" hanging above them in augmented reality. She embraced her father around the neck, giving him a kiss on the cheek, before running out of the room, squealing with delight. Reaching up at the "crumpled" A/R image, Nathan uses his hands to make the motions of bringing the newspaper back into his view. The headlines read; "LUCII Complex Complete, AI begins Download, Sum Human Knowledge."

***

It finally stops raining along the way. Genevieve sees a rainbow in the sky, ending at the building she's heading towards. Her pot of gold was waiting.

***

The Quartet was waiting for her, in her office when she arrived. She smiled at the red bow on the large silver refrigerated box, sitting on her desk. It was the last piece of the puzzle she needed. She took the bow off & held it up above her head like it was glowing. "TO THE MAD SCIENTIST LAB! BwAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" she mocked the situation for her own amusement. Half the Quartet chuckled & half shook their head, as they followed her.

********************

Hours later, deep in the basement laboratories of McTaggart Industries Headquarters, Nathan arrives with pizza & refreshments. "Thank God, I'm starving!" Genevieve says, as she grabs the boxes from her father & opens them until she finds pepperoni, "We're at the boring part now, waiting for the computers to isolate the Narwhals horn creation gene sequences. Then we'll modify the horse genes accordingly." taking a big bite of pizza she mumbles, " gMhe embryonic thlbrt-cks are already waiting for gestation." she finishes saying with a swallow. Her father smiles at her & at the Quartet, who are now also reaching for pizza too. As Nathan lays out some paper cups and fills them with soda. Giving one to his daughter, they hold their cups up & bump them together. "Congratulations on your milestone." he says to the room. "So, how much longer until I get to feed this thing a carrot?" Nathan asks to no one in particular.

As project lead, his daughter spoke up, "Assuming successful gene re-sequencing & implantation happen by the end of the month, it should be born by this time next year. Maybe you can give it a bouquet of carrots about a month or so later." He looked to the Quartet for confirmation, each of them were chewing on pizza & nodding, unconsciously in unison.