Feeling antsy about the next steps, Nate nodded at the sheet of paper in Binghamton’s hand and asked, “Do you want me to get translators and the lab guys looking at the document? It’s got classified markings all over it.”

“File a copy of this in evidence and give me one as well.” Jeff laid the single sheet of paper back down on the table and pointed at some of the classified markings. This ‘COSMIC’ marker is a NATO Top Secret classification. As to the ‘SI-G DRWN’ markings, we’ll have to look into this. I have no idea what this ‘DRWN’ compartment is and who controls it, but we’re definitely not read-in on that. I’ll reach out to our special access officers and see what I can learn.”

“Yes, sir.”

Nate was about to ask another question, but Jeff held up his hand and gazed off into the distance.

“Nate, I need you to track down this Winslow guy. Ask him about this stuff—”

“But Jeff, isn’t that violating the classified—”

“I didn’t tell you to read him this shit, just go with what the girl told you. I’m sure she told you all about this document before she handed it over, right?” Jeff nodded in an exaggerated manner.

Nate smiled. “As a matter of fact she did.”

“Good. And Nate…” Jeff leaned forward. “Watch your six, you got me?”

“Yes, sir.”

###

Juan wrinkled his nose as he glanced at the day-old pizza sitting beside his computer. It had been a few weeks since he’d gone to the supermarket, and there was no other food in the house. Throwing caution to the wind, he picked it up and took a bite.

He returned his attention to his computer screen and made some minor adjustments to what he’d now dubbed the Darwin Algorithm. He and his assistants had been hard at work eliminating the genes that hadn’t contributed to producing Hercules’s fantastic results. It was tedious work, and the knockout assay had been progressing at a slower pace than he’d like, but he couldn’t afford mistakes if he was going to try to get permission for entering human trials.

Still, it felt like he was playing whack-a-mole. He’d eliminate one of the affected genes, and suddenly a quarter of the next generation of animals would die due to a congenital malformation of their ventricles. Then he’d remove a block of twenty affected genes, and absolutely nothing would happen. You just didn’t know until you tried.

All of the results were fed back into the ever-changing algorithm. Ultimately, the goal was to narrow down the tens of thousands of changed genes to the bare minimum needed to create a “mouse of the future”—one with none of the downsides and all of the benefits. Having that, they’d be ready for applying to get human trials underway.