Read Online Perfectible Animals: A Post Apocalyptic Technothriller (EidoGenesis Book 1) by Thomas Norwood - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Thomas Norwood
Ads: Link
undecided.
There were more questions and colored 3D graphs but the sad conclusion was obvious. I switched off the overlay and looked across the shiny expanse of polished wood to the rest of the directors in their tailored suits, with their well-trimmed hair and smoothed-out faces.
“I think the results speak for themselves,” Rachel said, brushing her hair back to one side. “People want other people to be more cooperative, but they’re not interested in being more cooperative themselves or having their children be more cooperative.”
Masanori glanced at me with an “I told you so” look.
“Well, I guess that’s not surprising,” I said.
“Not surprising at all,” Anthony agreed, crossing his arms. I watched as his flabby lips twisted into a snarl.
“Society has made people believe they need to compete so much – now they believe it’s true.” Masanori lowered his head.
“This is a ground-breaking change,” I said. “Of course people are going to be skeptical of it. When the computer was invented even the CEO of IBM estimated a world demand for it of less than five. Less than five! The telephone was said to have “too many shortcomings” by Western Union. When Pasteur came up with the idea that germs caused disease, Pachet and others said it was ridiculous. These were paradigm shifts. And that’s what this is. A paradigm shift.”
“Paradigm shift or not,” Zhao said, laying his hands gently on the table in front of him, his face almost as inexpressive as Masanori’s. “I don’t think we have the time or the money to go changing people’s perspectives on life. And that’s not our job. Our job is to make money for ourselves and our shareholders. Or at the very least stop ourselves from going bankrupt.”
At the end of the meeting Klaus said that if we didn’t find another investor within the next couple of weeks the immune-system project was finished.
Just as everyone was standing up to go I said, “I would like to publish a paper on the interrelationship between the genes controlling the immune systems and the socio-sexual behavior of bonobos. Maybe it’ll help find an investor.”
Normally Geneus didn’t like its scientists producing papers, despite the fact that science was traditionally based on the sharing of research. They considered it a waste of time and a giving away of potentially valuable information. But this time everyone agreed.
After the meeting, I headed down to the somatic therapy lab. I hadn’t wanted to tell Justin that our funding might be cut, but I couldn’t hold off any longer.
“Justin, can I speak to you for a minute?” I said to him.
“Check this out.” He motioned me over.
“What is it?”
“The stats. They’re getting better.” He loaded them up on my public overlay. “Thirty nine percent success rate this time. These new bio-vectors are really working.” He clenched his fists like a football player who’d just scored a goal.
“We have a problem.”
“What’s that?”
“They want to shut us down.”
Justin stared at me. “What?”
“One of our major investors has pulled out.”
“We’re so close. The latest batch of macaque trials is showing some real promise. What will happen to everything we’ve done?”
“Nothing. That’ll be it.”
“Will we get to keep our jobs?”
“I hope so. Don’t despair yet. Hopefully we’ll find a solution. We need to find another investor, but if it doesn’t work out I just wanted to give you a heads up.”
Justin’s eyes gaped at me and his mouth opened involuntarily. His whole body fell forward as if strings holding him up had slackened.
I took hold of his arm. “Let’s just keep doing what we can.”
At lunchtime, I headed down to the cafeteria: a tall, glassed-in sunroom, palms and creepers thriving between the tables. As I was sitting down to a cheese roll and a chocolate donut, a concession to my unmodified
There were more questions and colored 3D graphs but the sad conclusion was obvious. I switched off the overlay and looked across the shiny expanse of polished wood to the rest of the directors in their tailored suits, with their well-trimmed hair and smoothed-out faces.
“I think the results speak for themselves,” Rachel said, brushing her hair back to one side. “People want other people to be more cooperative, but they’re not interested in being more cooperative themselves or having their children be more cooperative.”
Masanori glanced at me with an “I told you so” look.
“Well, I guess that’s not surprising,” I said.
“Not surprising at all,” Anthony agreed, crossing his arms. I watched as his flabby lips twisted into a snarl.
“Society has made people believe they need to compete so much – now they believe it’s true.” Masanori lowered his head.
“This is a ground-breaking change,” I said. “Of course people are going to be skeptical of it. When the computer was invented even the CEO of IBM estimated a world demand for it of less than five. Less than five! The telephone was said to have “too many shortcomings” by Western Union. When Pasteur came up with the idea that germs caused disease, Pachet and others said it was ridiculous. These were paradigm shifts. And that’s what this is. A paradigm shift.”
“Paradigm shift or not,” Zhao said, laying his hands gently on the table in front of him, his face almost as inexpressive as Masanori’s. “I don’t think we have the time or the money to go changing people’s perspectives on life. And that’s not our job. Our job is to make money for ourselves and our shareholders. Or at the very least stop ourselves from going bankrupt.”
At the end of the meeting Klaus said that if we didn’t find another investor within the next couple of weeks the immune-system project was finished.
Just as everyone was standing up to go I said, “I would like to publish a paper on the interrelationship between the genes controlling the immune systems and the socio-sexual behavior of bonobos. Maybe it’ll help find an investor.”
Normally Geneus didn’t like its scientists producing papers, despite the fact that science was traditionally based on the sharing of research. They considered it a waste of time and a giving away of potentially valuable information. But this time everyone agreed.
After the meeting, I headed down to the somatic therapy lab. I hadn’t wanted to tell Justin that our funding might be cut, but I couldn’t hold off any longer.
“Justin, can I speak to you for a minute?” I said to him.
“Check this out.” He motioned me over.
“What is it?”
“The stats. They’re getting better.” He loaded them up on my public overlay. “Thirty nine percent success rate this time. These new bio-vectors are really working.” He clenched his fists like a football player who’d just scored a goal.
“We have a problem.”
“What’s that?”
“They want to shut us down.”
Justin stared at me. “What?”
“One of our major investors has pulled out.”
“We’re so close. The latest batch of macaque trials is showing some real promise. What will happen to everything we’ve done?”
“Nothing. That’ll be it.”
“Will we get to keep our jobs?”
“I hope so. Don’t despair yet. Hopefully we’ll find a solution. We need to find another investor, but if it doesn’t work out I just wanted to give you a heads up.”
Justin’s eyes gaped at me and his mouth opened involuntarily. His whole body fell forward as if strings holding him up had slackened.
I took hold of his arm. “Let’s just keep doing what we can.”
At lunchtime, I headed down to the cafeteria: a tall, glassed-in sunroom, palms and creepers thriving between the tables. As I was sitting down to a cheese roll and a chocolate donut, a concession to my unmodified
Similar Books
Minecraft: The Unlikely Tale of Markus "Notch" Persson and the Game that Changed Everything
Daniel Goldberg, Linus Larsson
