Escaping Elysia

Chapter 5 - Shades of Green

Evita

As Nadya and I leave the cafeteria, following the crowd, Weston runs up to join us. He's smiling, apparently undisturbed by what just happened to Dale. He reaches up and grips Nadya's IV stand, pulling it along beside us. At the same moment he grabs on, she lets go, wrapping her arms around her middle as if she's cold, and I can tell they've done this many times before.

We come to a group of test subjects lined up against the wall, and a guard blocking the other side of the hallway ushers us into the line. All the guards have identical little black boxes and guns secured in their belts. You would think I'd be less scared, after holding one just two days ago, but the same wave of fear still crashes over me at the sight of them.

"What's this?" I ask, gesturing to the line. It seems to lead to a window, like the one in the clinic, and a man wearing a white coat stands behind it.

"Oh, it's time for meds," Weston answers. "Dr. Ji always gives them to us right after breakfast. Every meal, for some groups."

"Groups?"

He reaches for my arm and turns it over, pointing at the dot tattoo. "You're in the blue group, like me." He shows me his own tattoo, identical to mine.

"What do the colors mean?" I ask.

"Each one is for a different experiment. Right now there are five, yellow, green, orange, purple, and blue."

"But what are the experiments for?"

"You've heard about the food shortage, right?"

"Of course."

He nods. "They say the population is growing too fast and we can't generate enough renewable energy to produce the extra food."

I interrupt him. "But that's nothing new. The Environmental Impact Agency is always creating new technologies to deal with the shortage."

He laughs. "Look around you. This is a new technology, in a sense."

I frown. "What do you mean?"

"They're trying to find a way for humans to photosynthesize. Change our bodies so that they use sunlight to make food. Skip the middle man, forget about producing our food in labs or trying to find soil with enough nutrients to grow it." His eyes are bright. "Pretty crazy, huh?"

Insane.

"But how...? That's not possible," I sputter. What kind of psychotic laboratory have I landed myself in?

The line moves a little, and Weston helps Nadya pull her IV stand forward. "It is with gene therapy. Some animals can do it, like this one species of sea slug, called Elysia chlorotica. It takes the chlorophylls of an algae into its cells and then transfers some of the algae's own DNA into its nucleus. It can live up to nine months without eating anything. It's what the facility was named for." His face shines, and exhilaration pours off of him in waves. "Now they're on the verge of figuring out how to get our bodies to accept the algae's DNA into our own cells."

I know there have been recent advances in genetic engineering, and that gene therapy has been used to cure diseases, but I had no idea we were far enough to change the genetic structure of the human race. I can't wrap my mind around the concept. Then I remember what Nadya said to me this morning.

"Wait, so what are all the IV stands for? Nadya told me it makes her better."

Weston shakes his head, and a weary look crosses his face. He looks back at Nadya before lowering his voice. "She likes to say that, but the truth is that it's making her worse. They've had a problem with the yellow groups' immune systems rejecting the gene therapy. The fluid in the IV bag suppresses her immune system, preventing it from attacking before the virus carrying the DNA can bind to her cells." His face is tight. "Nadya hasn't been the same since they put her on that stuff. Sure, she was spacey before, but now it's like no one's inhabiting her brain. Just static. And she's sick all the time."