THRICE EDEN

-24 Theta, Year 3 P.S. (Prior Settlement) -

BioTech and Gene Metrics announced today that their joint force effort in the largest Biological and Genetic engineering project in history is about to be launched after a grueling eighty-five years of preparation. Their engineers have created three hybrid species and are going to release them onto three separate terraformed worlds to grow and evolve. The project is an ongoing mission that can last from hundreds to thousands of years and beyond. Dr. Ansel Mercado was very excited to speak with reporters regarding the project in regards to the new species.

"What we have done is created three similar yet diverse new life forms based on both human and common animal genes. They have proven to be very stable biologically, genetically and socially. They are intelligent and learn quickly. I know that there is a large outcry from the naturalist societies, but we are going to set these people free to grow and live as they see fit. Not as I or the government see fit. They are going to be making all their own decisions and choices throughout their evolutionary path. It is, for them, a freedom and a chance to make their lives what they want it to be."

Still, the naturalist societies argue that what BioTech and Gene Metrics are doing is creating life and then abandoning it. Susan Pollard from the Organic Life Preservation Society was particularly upset about the project.

"They have spliced the genes from humans and animals to make three perverse life forms that have no natural place in the universe. And then they plan to release them onto some nearly man made planets. These creatures have no biological connection with the worlds on which they will live and there is no real way of knowing if they can survive on them. Additionally, what happens if these beings do survive but their ways of life are not what we may think is acceptable? What then? Do these geneticists and biologists decide that the experiment went bad to justify genocide? Where are the rights for these people? Do they not have a say in their future? Dr. Mercado has said that they are intelligent. Maybe they don't want to be stranded on some alien world and left to fend for themselves. Has he asked them their thoughts on this?"

In the meantime, we've done some research on the system that has been prepared for this experiment. We've asked Professor Marcus Harlow to give us the story on this part of the project.

"We've purchased a very remote system from the government. It is a small system whose exact location is classified for privacy reasons on the outskirts of the Federations borders. It is a barren system that we have rejuvenated. The primary star is a yellow / white youth with four planets. The second planet is the only one with natural satellites. For the past thirty years, we've been terraforming all three moons of the planet we've named Gaia. The annual cycle of Gaia is about the same as that of our homeworld, Earth, and though the Gaian day is 4 times as long as Earth, the days on each of the moons vary from 25 hours to about 30 hours. Now this is not too bad considering the people to be populating the new worlds are based on a 24-hour schedule. The length of the days and annual cycle of Gaia makes it easy for our scientists to compare growth, sleep cycles, eating habits, activities and a hundred other things from one species to the next. Since these are moons and not individual planets, there are technically no months. There are 350 of our days in the annual cycle, so we have divided the year into ten sub years of 35 days each that we are calling months. They will be named after the first 10 letters of the Greek alphabet. You know, Alpha, Beta, Gamma and so on.

"We've been hauling in ice comets and asteroids from a debris belt past the fourth planet and bombarding the moons to make oceans, lakes and rivers. Once the main groundwork was laid out our teams used the latest in fertilization and chemical conversion technology to enrich the atmospheres and plant various forms of both flora and fauna on the surfaces. We have reached the final stages a little early and the worlds are 99% self-sufficient. This means that we will have to do minimal upkeep for only the first few years in the remote regions while the new residents are being introduced to the biosphere. After that, the inhabitants will be relying solely on the world's resources. The grounds are fertile, the wildlife diverse and the natural resources, metals, gasses, stone, wood, water all are very abundant."

And what of the observers? This project is a continuing one that is supposed to last for countless generations. How and where will they record their findings? We asked Dr. Teresa Walt.

"Initially there will be about 300 observation stations. About 30 of those will be on the moons themselves. 150 will be orbiting stations, 100 will be long range or remote stations aboard starcraft and labships and the remaining 20 will be permanent stations on Gaia herself. If these societies begin to get too close to the moon based stations we will move them to our external posts. Ultimately we plan to have between 750 to 800 stations if the population grows and or separates further than the initial settlements. Each observation post will consist of 5 to 50 members who will record audio, video, scientific findings as well as gathering biological information from waste products and deceased inhabitants. Also we will have a team of about 100 historians who will travel among the posts to record accurate histories of the evolution of society."

We wanted to learn more about the actual beings that are to inhabit this system. After quite a few closed doors it was apparent that this was a sensitive area. However, with a little persistence and a sizable donation from an unnamed source a spokesman named Dominick Le Ponte was dispatched with an official report.

"We have engineered a few dozen animals to be released onto the moons. Some of these are intended to be consumed as food; some to be domesticated many will most likely remain wild. They are no more than minimally modified dogs, cats, horses, mules, impala, cattle and pigs from Earth; gabbits, gillan, neolephants and mer-oxen from Danube to name just a few. We chose to go with the sea life from Santrillus, as they are relatively docile and very adaptable. These include the green whale, lem otten, gertin, 10 species of renofen fish and the salt jellies. Most of the animals to be released have not been altered in any way. They include far too many to name. The plant life, we've pretty much left alone. There were very few genetic modifications. About 70% of Earth's plant-life will be represented here as well as about 30% of Danube's and 55% of the Santrillus oceanic plant-life. Additionally about 10% of Altair IV's plant-life has been introduced as well.

"But our guests of honor are what we're all interested in so I've saved them for last. There are three. None are favored more than the others so know that as I explain each one, the order of explanation in no way reflects any order of importance. Now that the legal disclaimer is out of the way I will describe each.

"The Rhyoms are a human-bird hybrid. Males stand an average of 5'2” female's 5'7". Adult males can weigh between 75-100 pounds, and females from 80-120 pounds. They are bipedal and have a wingspan of about 5-7 feet. They have limited flight capability, as they lack the strength to pick themselves off the ground but can glide long distances in 1G. They have two long fingers with an extra knuckle in each and one thumb. They reach fertility at about 9 to 11 years and the current life expectancy is 25 years for the males and 30 years for the females. A mated pair will usually produce two sets of offspring throughout their lives. This consists of 1-4 eggs per pregnancy. Gestation is 4 months internally and incubation can vary from 1 to 2 months. They tend to have a strong family ethic where they keep their immediate family very close while keeping the rest of the community at arms length. The Rhyoms have remarkable communication abilities. They can mimic voices much like the Terran parrot or the Mussivian walher. This in combination with the clicks they produce with their beaks, tongues and throats can give them a wide range of language. They are feathered and their plumage covers a huge spectrum of colors with the males being somewhat more colorful than the females, a common trait among birds Federation wide.

"The Grwwar are a combination of feline and human genes. Males stand an average of 5'6" female's 5'2”. Adult males can weigh between 110-150 pounds and females from 80-120 pounds. They are bipedal and have a have four fingers with retractable claws and an opposable thumb on each hand. Their heads are very similar to that of a common house cat - ears mounted near the top, slightly protruding snout with whiskers, slit pupils, fangs and so on. They are extremely strong and agile despite their size and have marvelous climbing ability and nocturnal vision. They reach fertility at about 8 to 12 years and the current life expectancy is 27 years for the males and 33 years for the females. A mated pair will usually produce two sets of offspring throughout their lives. This consists of 1-6 cubs per pregnancy. Gestation is 8 months. Of the three species, the Grwwar are the most community oriented. They maintain close ties with extended family and group together in prides. There are usually about 3-5 males in the dominating roles and 7-10 females in the matriarchal roles. The whole pride share in the child rearing responsibilities when caring for their young. Grwwar have average communication abilities. They can form words in much the same way a human does. And, yes, like a normal cat, they purr. They are covered with fur that ranges from white, black, all shades of brown, orange and so on. Patterns are similarly familiar-stripes, spots, calico, solid etc.

"The Suskaa are a cross between reptile and human genes. There are two subspecies: cold-blooded and warm-blooded; and they are very similar in most respects. Males stand an average of 6'9" female's 6'4". Adult males can weigh between 200-300 pounds and females from 175-250 pounds. They reach fertility at about 11-13 years and the current life expectancy is 30 years for the males and 35 years for the females. A mated pair will usually produce 1-3 offspring throughout their lives. This consists of 1 egg per pregnancy. Gestation is 2 months, incubation is 8 more months. They are usually socially independent and prefer to lead solitary lives. They are not anti-social, just independent; grouping together more out of necessity than preference. Suskaa have human like communication abilities and seem to like to develop words using guttural growls and rumblings as well as occasional hiss' to communicate. They are bipedal and are in fact very human like in stature. The head of a warm-blooded Suskaa is not as pronounced as a common snake or lizard but the features are uncanny. Conversely, the cold-blooded Suskaa have a protruding snout and sharper, more distinct brow and ridges. The majority of Suskaa have a chameleon like abilities, which allows them to blend in with their environment to a degree. The coloring or markings of both sub-species are similar though the cold-blooded Suskaa tend to range in color from greens and blues, while the warm-blooded Suskaa tend reside on the opposite end of the spectrum with yellows, orange and with some rarity, red. This is generally a rule of thumb as both species can have combinations of all these colors.

“Where they really differ is that by the nature of cold-blooded species, they tend to hibernate in colder climates and are more active in warmer climates. The warm-blooded Suskaa are active throughout the seasons.

"All three species are fairly well tempered and intelligent. We are confident that, once released, these people will flourish and make their worlds a wonderful place for themselves."

Religious groups are still up in arms about the project and have expressed their concerns about the future of these people. We met with Rev. Joshua Brandon of the Brotherhood Unification League.

"I'm not going to try to shove God down anybody's throat. That's not my job. My concern here is not what God thinks of this creationism, if God doesn't approve of this then those involved will have Him to answer to. My concern goes to these people. It is well-known that people adopt a god, goddess or many gods. If they aren't taught about gods they will find or manufacture their own. Very little reason is needed to provoke this; bad crops are often thought to be the workings of a god whose people aren't sacrificing or worshiping enough, plagues are often a gods' way punishing entire societies who have fallen out of his favor. These people will create their own god. Their whole belief system will be based on a lie. Many of the religions practiced in the Federation today may be based on myth but not ones as blatant as this. And what happens if they discover who created them and why? Their societies may crumble. People who believe in gods don't often take it lightly and when it is proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that their gods aren't what they believed them to be, that their creators were men who did it just because they could and gave them no purpose... Can you image what that must feel like? What damage that will cause?"

The debate wages on; but nonetheless, BioTech and Gene Metrics are moving forward as the settlement date nears. Now you may wonder how settlement will take place. How will these people begin their lives and just what are they taking with them? Again we spoke with Dr. Ansel Mercado.

"This is an issue we have discussed at great length. Currently we have about 100 families of each species. That amounts to about 400 individuals per moon, 1200 in all. They are in their 4th and 5th generations. The first generation were raised to their late teens by our scientists and were taught only limited communication and little survival skills. We showed them affection and gave them love and attention. We felt it was necessary to instill them with that at least. As they reached about 8 years of age, we had taught them how to hunt much like a lion, or lizard or hawk would specifically avoiding tools of any type. By around 13 or 14 years of age, they took mates and began to reproduce. Our scientists showed them how to care for their young's physical and emotional needs. By the time the oldest offspring reached 5 years, we left them all to their respective habitats. In the years that followed, the second generation grew and learned from their parents how to hunt and eventually how to care for their own offspring. The third generation was born without any human contact at all. Their communication skills have grown a little above 500 words of the human language. They now include growls, hisses or caws. By the time the 4th and 5th generations were born, there was almost no single Rhyom, Suskaa or Grwwar alive that had any kind of human contact. These final 2 generations will be the new settlers on their respective worlds. They will be transported there in their habitats and separated into the community groups that they have already formed. There are between 5 and 7 groups per species. Different locations around the moons will receive a community based on regional preferences. For example, the Rhyoms have separated into 7 communities but have retained similar climate preferences. They like wooded, hilly or mountainous regions where the average temperature is 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit. The Grwwar have separated in 5 communities whose preferences include beach, forest, hills, mountains and plains where the temperature is about 72 degrees. The Suskaa have separated into 7 communities with a much greater range of climate. They prefer deserts, forests, swamps, mountains, plains, and rain forests where the temperature ranges from 75-110 degrees. Keep in mind, though, that Suskaa blood is somewhat cooler than the others.

"Once settled, they will be completely free to live their lives and raise their young as they see fit. There will be no interaction between them and us. As they grow, we will watch and record. Our mission will be just to observe but our hope is that they rise above the animal label and develop into intelligent communities and maybe teach us something about ourselves at the same time."

So the controversial genesis is well on its way and shows no sign of slowing down, while outcries continue to flood in from the conservative groups. What are the ramifications of this project? What do the scientists hope to learn? What will they learn?

And how will this affect the daily lives of the Federation people? We hope to answer these questions and countless others as we follow BioTech and Gene Metrics through the largest biological experiment in history.