The year is 2012 in the United States of America where success and celebration occurs in a laboratory built next to the Pentagon, near Washington DC. It is where the government supplies the laboratory with high technological equipment and resources that can sustain their experiments. Most of these experiments include high concentrations of gamma, cosmic and radioactive rays, but one particular experiment interested scientists , the ability to replicate human beings. Many years ago, the American government has tried to find ways to bring the idea of replication into a reality, and many scientists tried every possible solution to create clones but no progress what so ever.
They have analysed and examined almost all the natural materials they could use to achieve the replica project, from fossil DNA to tree amber sap; however, nothing did work. And, many animals were used as guinea pigs to establish this development. So scientists decide that instead of concentrating too much on science - they begin researching on Christianity. The answers that will find to put this project into motion is the Bible scriptures telling the creation of Adam and Eve in Eden. There lies the ingredients in making a human being, and the cloning experiment is verified to continue with every international government of developing and developed countries who have contributed large amounts of financial aid into the project.
There are volunteers from all cultural backgrounds; such as, Africans, Chinese, American Aboriginals, Middle Eastern, Europeans and continue onwards. Each of the volunteers were extracted samples of blood, sperm ducts and ovaries, and skin and hair from them. Meanwhile, scientists put these samples into glass tubes with chemicals in it to fuse, after much years of preparation they have concluded the cloning project.
During their celebration, they create 23 clones and have them put into capsule-shaped hyperbaric chambers at under low temperatures. But, something happens with the chemicals in the laboratory that triggered an unknown genetic air-borne virus which went to the air ventilation pipes, spreading through people's central nerve system and causing them to have heart attacks, strokes, and series bleeding and foaming out of their mouths. The lab is clouded with the atmosphere of death and when they try to secure the area it was too late.
The virus spreads to the Pentagon and people start dying, soon it travels to the white House and one by one they all fell in their pool of blood; including, the leaders of America. The infestation becomes a plague, an invincible indestructible plague that cannot be controlled. Afterwards, the virus spreads to the civilians, they cry in agony and confusion as to what can be the cause for these sudden deaths on the streets, they would not even imagine that an air-borne virus is on the loose killing millions of people.
Fortunately, only plants and animals are immune to the virus; perhaps it could be their simplistic genetic body design, or not which helped them to adapt to the unfortunate event at present. It continues to spread at immense speed, even passengers from airports are dying when trying to run away out of the country - this creates total chaos and fear across the world. Days later, everyone have eventually died, painfully. And, silence simply conquered almost everything, only the sound of wind blowing on the trees, creating a moment of shock to the realisation that human beings no longer exist.
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ISIPHO SOKUZALWA (Gift of Birth) by MINENHLE S MKHIZE
Science FictionSipho and Parla wake up in a cindered Earth from the a ice slumber - not knowing they are clones. They travel across the ash-covered world trying to find self-identity, the reason for their creation, and will there be others like them.
