#Sample Sunday: "Cheat", Prologue

Prologue - CryoGeneTechnics

CryoGeneTechnics Incorporated spent ten years and millions of dollars studying the four bases of DNA - adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine. Their goal - the discovery of weaknesses in DNA pairs, the causes of diseases and eventual cures. In the course of their research, they developed a compound called "laurosine", a so-called "active" protein that was capable of finding and overwhelming the weakened half of a DNA pair.

Laurosine was so potent it could replace any of the four bases. CGT-Inc scientists were ecstatic in their research. Humans, before limited to A-C and G-T DNA pairs, now had a wildcard option. A-L, C-L, G-L, and T-L pairs became possible, increasing the number of combinations by 200%. The new possibilities for strings of DNA were now virtually limitless. None could not foretell the potential of these mutated strands.

CGT-Inc scientists bent their efforts into molding laurosine into a vaccination. They wanted to cure genetic weakness and provide the gateway to a new, virus-resistant superhuman. They believed they could eradicate genetic disease. Repeated failures did not dissuade them - some clung to a desperate hope.

In 1993, CGT-Inc Holdings quietly funded the creation of a small, unaffiliated company named Icarus Consulting. The fledgling firm procured a small office space in the quiet town of Harrisford. Their goal - access to the St. Mercy Four Cities Hospital. It was the only hospital with a maternity ward for miles, servicing four cities: Harrisford, Beckettsville, Unionshire and Werado. They began to run ads in the local newspapers -

Make 100k, become rich
from very little work.
No selling necessary!

Floods of people turned out for the job opportunity, but in the end they found their ideal candidate.

Marcus Tiller, resident of Harrisford and neonatal attendant at St. Mercy Four Cities Hospital, signed on as a medical consultant for Icarus in 1994. During his interview, Marcus let slip that he was deeply in debt from a history of questionably legal gambling. Despite this dark stain, the interviewer was interested in Marcus and closed the deal two days later. He was confidentially debriefed within the week. Due to the nature of his work, he would be paid "under the table" to avoid taxation and - unbeknownst to Marcus - paper trails. He provided the firm with a key to his home. The consultation office closed the next day; all traces of Icarus Consulting simultaneously evaporated. Marcus' payments were made in cash, left in his home and always while he was away.

Marcus' task: inject newborns in his ward with a laurosine-based compound and monitor their results. A wide variety of children were to be tested, including as many nationalities and mixed medical histories as possible. For each child brought into the experiment, he was to be paid $1,000 with possibilities for bonuses, based on results. For three years he injected children at a rate of almost one per week. Then, he suddenly vanished, leaving his home stripped of clues and his bank account of cash. CGT had been patient while waiting for results, as the effects of laurosine could not be predicted. The reports they received were sparse with information. At his disappearance, the company was left with very little concrete data to continue the observation phase - only a list of names and dates of injections.