That was an interesting statement. Confusing but interesting. What exactly did Torborg think he’d done?
It made Tarik think. Had he stumbled upon something in his research? His most recent project hadn’t brought him much attention from his superiors. In fact, he’d begun to question his work’s value.
“Care to elaborate?” he said when Torborg didn’t say more. He wasn’t used to this kind of treatment. Up until today, he’d been a valued employee of Omega Corp. Torborg had been a family friend. He’d helped Tarik through a rough patch during his undergrad studies, had hired him right out of graduate school, and had treated him with a great deal of respect. Although his tone hadn’t changed—as usual Torborg was the epitome of cool professionalism—Tarik sensed something had.
“I didn’t see this coming. Thought we’d finally found the right combination, the right location on the genome. It worked on the rats.”
“What are you talking about? What do rats have to do with me? With this?” Tarik motioned to the four solid-looking walls surrounding him. Confusion and frustration pulled his muscles into tight knots. Torborg was skirting an issue. A big fucking issue, like the proverbial elephant in the room. What kind of elephant was he dancing around? “I have a right to know why you’ve basically imprisoned me without a trial. You can’t hold me here.”
“I can and I will,” Torborg shouted for the first time. Ever. Since they’d first met, Tarik had never seen Torborg, the CEO of Omega Corporation, lose his cool. He had always been the same. Flat, lifeless. Almost robotic. But brilliant. Intellectual. A man with vision.
This crack in his icy exterior said a whole lot more than any words he’d spoken so far.
Tarik shook his head. “This is bullshit and you know it. This is America. I have rights.”
Torborg lifted his chin slightly. He visibly gathered his thoughts. “You’d have rights if you were human.” He enunciated every word clearly, like he was speaking to a classroom full of first graders.
A chill raced up Tarik’s spine. “Huh? Of course I’m human.”
“No. Not technically.”
This short and simple statement confused Tarik. Why should Torborg believe he was anything but a human being? He’d been born the son of a man and woman, like every other child. He had thoughts and feelings…understood consequences…made moral decisions…paid taxes…
…and changed into a bear from time-to-time.
Fuck!
“What do you mean?” Tarik asked.
“It’s part of our genetic engineering research. I can’t tell you any more about the whys than that. You were created in Omega’s lab, your genetic code altered before implantation into the woman you’ve known as your mother. Biologically, she was no more your mother than I am. We bought an ovum. From a donor. We replaced a small section of your DNA with that of a bear. The mark. On your hip.” Torborg pointed at Tarik’s hip, where the large black birthmark he’d always despised lay hidden under his clothes. “The Mark of the Beast. That’s the only permanent sign of what you are.”
His head started spinning.
“You don’t exist, at least not according to the world out there,” Torborg continued. “Your social security number is fake. And the minute you started becoming...a liability...all your identification was eradicated. Even your school records. There’s no record of a Tarik Evert ever having lived.”
“What?” He sat stunned for several beats. Then, it all sunk in and he realized what Torborg had just told him.
This was wrong. Wrong! What had they done?
To take an innocent human being and play with their DNA, to see what they might end up with? To lie to them all their life? To deny their very existence? Omega had crossed the line. This wasn’t science. It was inhumane. Insanity.
Human genetics research had its opponents, mainly because of fears about experiments like this. Were there others who’d been created? Like him? “Why? Why!” Tarik demanded.
Torborg lifted his hands. “I’ve told you everything I can. I can’t say more.” His words were weighty. Someone or something was keeping him from being more specific. But Tarik didn’t give a fuck. “You’ve shifted because of The Season, the urge to mate. It should have only happened that once. But it’s already clear you cannot control it and we can’t afford to have you…impregnating a woman.”
It was all suddenly very clear. The urges he hadn’t been able to deny. The loss of control. The sexual hunger. “But why am I suddenly changing now? After so many years?”