Location: Anatomy Labs (Top-secret genetics laboratory run by the Finley sisters.)
"My creation is beautiful. She will help change the human race for the better," Doctor Simone Finley mused as she gazed through the glass of the nutrient chamber. Her creation was sleeping inside it, recovering from a day's worth of strenuous testing.
"She is stunning," Doctor Lena agreed as she watched the hunger in Simone's eyes.
"She needs a name befitting a god-like creation," Simone grinned as she tapped the glass, eager to see her creation ready for more testing.
Lena hummed and thought for a moment. She understood Doctor Simone's brilliant and demented mind better than anyone. Simone and Lena were sisters, but Simone's charisma helped them obtain power, influence, and the money to create genetic mayhem. Simone considered her work the key to saving the human race from extinction, but Lena knew better. Doctor Simone's work was a slap in the face to every bio-ethic law imaginable. Under Simone's guidance, the sisters spliced together human and cephalopod DNA. Simone's new creation would likely do more damage than good in the end, but Lena didn't have the nerve to fight her sister's ideas. Lena was afraid of Simone. Staying on her good side made life easier. She also couldn't deny how fascinating Simone's creations were.
"How about Livia? It could be short for leviathan. Leviathan was a powerful female monster that lived in the deepest parts of the ocean. You know, since she is related to the octopus," Lena suggested.
"I like that. Livia was also the name of an influential Roman empress. Thank you, Lena. Livia is a fitting name for our little sister."
Lena looked at Simone in astonishment after that revelation.
"Our sister?"
"Of course, can't you see the resemblance? I used mother's frozen eggs for Livia's human foundation. The cephalopod DNA made her paler and more enchanting. Have her inner feelers passed the more strenuous endurance tests?"
"Yes. Everything about her is strong. Three of our male technicians are still recovering from the tests."
"Recovering?" Simone asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Livia can't control some of her mating features while under sedation. Her inner muscular hydrostats easily sense male pheromones, and in response, they release sperm-attracting peptides and female pheromones in copious amounts. It keeps the males hard and potent for hours. It's uncomfortable for them, but they'll survive. Livia will be more efficient with some training and a clearer head. All in all, you have created a super harvester."
"Perfect. Contact the clinics and order them to submit profiles of their healthiest, most potent clients. Then we'll make some special appointments. The evolution of mankind is about to accelerate."
The Invitation
Ben was confused and intrigued by a special invitation from the Uptown Sperm Bank. He discovered it wedged between the junk mail. He had visited the bank two years earlier when he was between jobs and tight on cash. He remembered it being fancier than any hospital or clinic in town. The letter declared he was one of twenty men exclusively selected to participate in a revolutionary new sperm collection program since his genetics were exceptional. Ben was flattered. He knew he was in good health, good looking, rarely got sick, and had relatives that often lived to a hundred. He figured that was pretty exceptional. Also, the letter claimed the new sample-collecting process would be better than a day at the spa. A thousand-dollar participation bonus sealed the deal for him. He wasn't tight on cash anymore, but selling semen for a thousand bucks was too good to pass up. He called the sperm bank Friday afternoon and made his appointment. Then he called Sean, his best friend and boss at Hank's Family Construction, to let him know he would be late for work on Monday.
"A doctor's appointment? Dude, is everything all right?" Sean asked in concern. He knew his old high school buddy rarely got sick.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm uh... having that little mole looked at on my shoulder. It's been itchy, so... better safe than sorry, right?"
"Oh, thank God. Don't get sick on me right before the biggest building project in our company's history is about to begin. I don't want to have to hunt you down."
"Dude, chill. I'm fine. I'll be in after lunch for the meeting at the site," Ben assured him.
He hated lying to Sean. He was a great friend and boss. Ben figured he would come clean about the real purpose of the appointment if things went well.
"You better be fine," Sean warned. "On a side note, how are you and Abby doing?"
Ben sighed loudly into the phone after that question.
"I told you, man. It's pretty much over, and I'm okay with it. I'm not crying into my pillow every night if that's what you're worried about. I'm enjoying being a bachelor. Abby and me were never a great match."
"I kinda knew that, but I didn't want to be rude and say it to your face. She had weird house rules about everything."
"Yeah, I don't miss her obsession with destroying every speck of dirt in the apartment. It clashed with me being a construction worker. It's okay to have muddy boots in the mudroom."
"I totally agree. Well, have a good weekend. I'll see you Monday."
"Thanks. You too," Ben said and ended the call.
Ben was a little nervous when he arrived at the posh sperm bank on the edge of town early Monday morning. It had been renovated since he last visited. The glass doors in the front had a fancy reception monitor that lit up and greeted him as he stepped up to the door.
"Good morning, Benjamin Smith," announced the female receptionist on the video screen. "Welcome to our new Uptown facility. We will need proof of your identity before entry and the code on your invitation."
"Uh, sure," he said and dug his ID out of his pocket along with the letter. Then he held them up to the monitor's camera.
He watched a readout of his attributes scroll down the screen.
'...Benjamin Thomas Smith, 25 years old, 6'1", 180 pounds, dark brown hair, hazel eyes, high-count donor...'
A few seconds later, a bell chimed, and the glass doors slid open for him.
"Come on in, Mr. Smith," the receptionist smiled before the screen went blank.
"Thanks," Ben said with a nod and stepped into the building.
The sliding doors snapped shut behind him, and he felt the air pressure change like when you close a car window on the highway. He didn't think much of it as he stepped through another pair of opaque glass doors into a brightly lit reception room. White was the dominant color in the sterile-feeling room. The woman from the outer monitor was sitting behind a half-moon-shaped reception desk. On top of the desk, a glass cylinder full of water rose all the way to the ceiling. Bright green, translucent seaweed grew in long strands inside the tube. It was a shock of color that reflected on the desk and floor below it. It was the only contrasting element to break up the excess of white in the room. Even the receptionist was wearing a bright white suit. She had neatly cropped blonde hair that stopped right below her ears.
"Thank you for coming, Mr. Smith. Please, leave all your valuables and non-clothing items with me so I can lock them up for the duration of your appointment. Shoes go in too, keep your socks for the moment," she instructed as she pushed a button on the desk.
A drawer noiselessly emerged from the lower half of the reception desk to Ben's left. It was some of the fanciest cabinetry he had ever seen.
"Wow, you guys have made a lot of improvements since my last visit," he noted as he began emptying his pockets into the small bin inside the drawer.
"We have. This facility is state of the art. It reflects the high standards of our proprietors."
"It's slick. I love what they've done with the place. Please, pass along my compliments," he said as he pulled off his work boots and placed them in the bottom of the drawer.
"You can do that yourself. Doctor Lena Finley is on her way to retrieve you now. The jacket goes in, too," she smiled.
"Oh, wow, I'm meeting the big boss?" he asked in surprise as he pulled off his jacket and tossed it on top of his boots.
"You are. Well, one of them. This program will revolutionize the way we collect and study our most valuable specimens. The doctors will be working closely with you to make sure everything goes smoothly. Doctor Lena will be with you in a moment," she said and pushed the button again.
Ben smiled as he watched the drawer slide noiselessly back into the desk. It looked seamless after it shut.