4:45 PM, July the 11th, The Furure

A. 

The demand for newer, better genetic sequences is overwhelming. As soon as a new sequence appears on the many internet forums, it will be lapped up by all the DIY biologists in the hopes that that sequence will finally make their bacteria do what they want it to do. This constant craving for new sequences sometimes makes my job seem like shooting fish in a barrel - I design and test sequences that recognize and disrupt genes classed as ‘potentially hazardous’ and share them online pretending to be some kid in his parent’s basement (what better place to drive advancements in science). After that, I sit back and let the people and the DNA do the rest - disabling potential bioweapons (and natural pathogens) one white lie at a time. The less easy part of the job comes when there’s a bioterror scare and we’re hard pressed to work out what exactly the organism is supposed to do and how we can neutralize it before it can do lots (or any) harm to the people. After all, it would be pretty bad for politicians if there would be nobody left to elect their asses into four more years of luxury.

3:00 PM, July the 10th, The Future

K.

Up and down, up and down, microliter after microliter, I'm pipetting the useless enzymes and pieces of DNA. Years of training and experience wasted on giving your next beer a slightly more appealing colour. Maybe I should consider myself lucky to be dealing with synthetic biology without a security clearance but it all just seems so meaningless. With current technology we have all we need to do great things but access to these technologies is so restricted that humanity just keeps running in circles. That's not how it was meant to be. An average graduate can do the job, hell, they even teach most of that stuff in high schools now. And yet here I am, wasting my time and when the paycheck arrives, it's as if someone just punched me in the face. Whatever I do, wherever I go, I'm just another brick in the wall. I see but cannot be seen, I scream and no one hears me. Not so long ago we all thought we grabbed the god by his robe, that we were chosen to change the world. Except the world has changed on its own - and it has left us behind.

9:00 PM, July the 7th, The Future

A.

Out of the car, into the tiny elevator (I prefer using the stairs but my lab is on the 10th floor and it’s hard to climb so many stairs wearing heels). The building has one-person elevators so everyone can get to where they want to be quickly, without having to stop at everyone else’s floor first. Like I said, it’s a busy world where time is apparently everything. I push ‘10’, the elevator starts to move and personalized ads start to pop up (‘Based on your DNA sequence, you could be at risk of developing heart disease. Insure your future with LifeSure today’). This is what the powerful next-next-next-gen DNA sequencing (it’s got an ‘official’ name, but I’ve stopped caring, as a ‘nexter’ generation sequencing method comes out every year or so) is wasted on, analyzing DNA from dead skin cells on an elevator button. I wonder what will happen to my DNA that just got analyzed. Will appear online like everything else DNA-related these days? If I’d search online, I’d probably run into conspiracy theories about how the government is using everyone’s DNA to develop new ways of brainwashing us. People are either scared or fascinated by synthetic biology. Some see it as an opportunity to get rich by pioneering some new bio-gadget while others go on about how biohackers will kill us all. With how paranoid the government has become recently, you’d think that apocalypse was just around the corner. At least their paranoia fuels my paycheck.

9:00 PM, July the 6th, The Future

K.

The fog is so thick it feels like rain frozen still. The smell of sewage is overwhelming - everyone just dumps their failed E. coli wherever they fancy. That’s one thing I learned about the black market quite early.

- 'Sup Alex, got anything good this week?

- I've got that alcohol dehydrogenase part you asked for. It's pretty old but definitely viable.

- That's even better, more chance to tinker with it. A restriction site here and there and it will work just fine.

- Exactly - he grins - I've also got some more... funky stuff. LSD, used to be the most valuable compound produced with synthetic biology. Interested?

- Heh, yeah I remember how it made the news. But it's not my kind of stuff, plus I probably don’t want to compete with the mob, they are a bit touchy. I'll drop you some plasmids if I get the dehydrogenase working. Same time next week?

- I'll see you then, mate.

I walk away with the small tubes safely stashed in my coat. The cops know it's a better deal if they stay away from this part of the city but you never know. I turn around as I hear someone coughing out their lungs. The moment I see blood, the diagnosis is clear - tuberculosis. She is asking for drugs but I know that there are no drugs that could help her. You either get your immune system augmented or you're done. It’s supposed to be free but there are always people left behind. There’s nothing I can do for her...

9:00 AM, July the 5th, The Future

A.

Out of the house, into traffic. Grumble about how everyone has a car, now that biofuels are cheaply available - the petrol industry struggled really hard to maintain its income but it did not stand a chance against biofuels that can cheaply be made from renewable resources. Even so, I think its price is a lot higher than it should be, considering the production costs, but hey, it’s a business and so long as there’s high demand for it, they can set the price to be whatever they want it to be. At least I don’t have to pay for it myself, free fuel came along with the company car I was given when I took up this job. ‘So that you can get around more easily’. That actually just means ‘So you won’t have any excuses when we call you in to work in the middle of the night due to an emergency’. And those emergencies are becoming more and more frequent, each time there’s a bioterror scare, even if it is completely unfounded, they want everyone and their dog to be there to work on containment ASAP.

8:30 AM, July the 4th, The Future

K.

Having a good time looking at all these people stuck in traffic. I heard the trams should get finished sometime next year - not sure how that’s supposed to change things but that's none of my concern. One would think that after a fuel crisis people would get more considerate. But the moment that all the biofuels kicked in for good, everyone got back to good old habits. You can change the world but not the people...
It seems that the new education reform is all over the news. Sounds like the government got bored of all the overeducated people shuffling papers or flipping burgers. Well, at least nowadays most kids are actually aware that a degree has nothing to do with a real job. I switch off the radio and adjust the vision to better suit the fog. I'm not sure why I tuned in at all. With all the media and counter-media showing their own version of reality, it's hard to tell who's lying the most. Everyone has to find their own version of truth and in the end it always turns out that one is better off accepting the lies. Ignorance is bliss, they say - but it is not my thing.

7:00 AM, July the 3rd, The Future

A.

I’m so comfortable. ‘These new sheets with Thermobacter™ adjust to maintain your body temperature a cozy 36.7ºC through the night, taking care of your sweet dreams.’ If only I didn’t have to get up and go to work.. but the alarm clock keeps on beeping, the biosensor knows that I haven’t reached the ‘awake’ part of my circadian rhythm quite yet, and the frequency of the noise it makes is keyed to my body, inducing a more and more alert state one beep at a time.

I finally get out of bed, turn the alarm clock off (which now answers to my command) and proceed to take a shower. Yes, a shower. They call me old fashioned for that. I know that my clothing contains enzymes that clean my body throughout the day, but a lukewarm shower in the morning wakes me up better than any cup of that ‘probiotic, thermostable bacterial’ tea (that I drink nonetheless). I think can afford to waste 5 minutes for this outdated ritual, regardless of how valuable ‘time’ has managed to become.

4:00 AM, July the 2nd, The Future

K.

It’s 4 in the morning and I cannot sleep. 4 a.m. and I’m trying to figure out what’s wrong with this world, not for the first time. Well, there’s some good stuff, sure. We’ve fixed the problem of shrinking food supplies for one thing. I actually like the taste of synthetic meat made with seawater, reminds me of home in a weird way. And that sandwich I didn’t finish yesterday.
I smell lemons when I open the fridge. Without all the bacteria integrated in it I’d probably still have to leave the actual fruit inside to keep it fresh. A small price compared to what I paid for the fridge.
I pick the processed rubbish from the MFC, will get it on my way out later. Some stuff even microbes cannot utilise. For now they should get me more than enough energy to make some tea. “NEW, now with lemon flavour probiotic thermostable bacteria!” - sure, as long as it’s got caffeine in it.


It’s 4:30 in the morning and it’s raining. It’s always raining. I bet it will rain in hell as well, once I  get there