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If you believed that D syanism SymboGen described in their press releases and paperwork, you have been sold a bottle of snake oil While you ets you, the truth is, I enabled Steve to becoret the science, I am truly sorry for the lies
--FROM CAN OF WORMS: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SHANTI CALE, PHD AS YET UNPUBLISHED
I don’t think anyone can deny that the Syed the face of medicine as we know it Chronic conditions can now be treated on an ongoing basis by the ingestion of a single pill--it’s just that the pill contains the egg of a D syyour prescriptions, nois taken care of
Were we perfect froo"? No Even if eren’t only human, that would have been a little much to ask of us, don’t you think? We could only do what anyone is capable of doing: our best We rose to the challenges ere offered, and we did e could to meet and match them I think that when history looks at our accoh the bad I hope so, anyway No one wants to set out to be a hero, and discover after the fact that they’ve been a villain all along
--FROM "KING OF THE WORMS," AN INTERVIEW WITH DR STEVEN BANKS, CO-FOUNDER OF SYMBOGEN ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN ROLLING STONE, FEBRUARY 2027
Chapter 15
SEPTEMBER 2027
After Dad’s dire warnings, the entry hall of the L4 building was al out of one of Joyce’s science fiction movies, with unfaot was basically a hallway that could have been leading to any ER in the world The walls were a hospital-standard shade of eggshell white, with bands of color painted on the, and the floor was an industrial avocado green that looked like it had been chosen to coordinate with generic uard sat at the reception desk Dad motioned for ed a feords with the man in a low voice The ain I tried not to squirm Finally, my father leaned over the desk and picked up an old-fashioned telephone A thick cord connected it to a base that looked heavy enough to be used as a ht the phone to his ear, and was silent for several seconds before he said, "This is Colonel Alfred Mitchell My daughter, Sally, is with me Can you confirm the current conditions in the main lab?" There was another pause before he said, "Yes, I’ve cleared her presence through the appropriate channels I am the appropriate channels Can you confirm current conditions?"
He sounded annoyed I stayed where I was When my father was annoyed, the last place I wanted to be was in his line of fire He never really yelled at enerally reserved for Joyce, who didn’t seeot, anyway, and that seemed to work for both of them--but he’d look at , or why I was allowed to be wherever I was, and that was so I wanted to avoid if at all possible
When he looked at
Dad made a ss back in their boxes We’re co she needs to show me, and that means we need to be inside the lab space" He slammed the receiver down on its base harder than he needed to as he turned to face me "The lab is not prepared for civilian visitors They’ll be ready for us shortly"
"Do you mean ‘not prepared’ like ‘they need to clean up,’ or ‘not prepared’ like ‘so flesh and screa’?" I asked I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer I wasn’t sure I’d ever sleep again if I didn’t know the answer
That actually made Dad smile "Neither," he said "It’s ‘not prepared’ in the sense of ‘there is confidential material that shouldn’t be seen by civilian eyes out on the counters’ "
"Oh" I paused, frowning "But… isn’t Joyce a civilian?"
Dad’s sht of disappoint If Joyce was a civilian, as the proble the question?
He turned away before I could ask hiuard nodded, handing him a key card and a visitor’s pass The pass hadthe the pass and card
My father ignoredroo a door at the back of the reception area It was unet yourself into so into a clean area, and I’d rather you didn’t introduce contaed, Sal We’ll talk about all this later"
I frowned Histo worry me Given Dr Cale’s description of the coenesis, ere the chances it could be interfering with his brain function? Wasto take over? And if it as there anything I could possibly do about it?