If you want to download the full book, it's available on my KO-FI page. The link is here. 👉
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Twelve years ago, Curt Conners was involved in one of the most important projects of his life—or at least the one he enjoyed the most. Before his arthritis began to fully affect him, he could crawl into ventilation shafts, run around with his colleagues, and work on the most minute details of the machines he built. He examined genetic data through a microscope, watching in awe as cells connected with each other. Beside him, smiling equally broadly, was Richard Parker. The brown-haired man had a special gift, an infectious confidence; he didn't come from a famous background, but from an ordinary man.
"Well, what do you think?" he asked Curt .
"I think we've got the binding part down , the only question is how much the subjects bind to the foreign DNA. We should be able to move into trials soon, if funding doesn't get cut again," Curt explained , rolling his eyes at what had become a common occurrence for the project.
Everything in the lab bore the Oscorp logo , with the O and S in bold. Norman Osborn ran a company that was slowly losing contracts to companies like Stark Industries and Trask. Robotics . There had been layoffs and funding disagreements, but the goal was always the same. Stark prioritized better technology, Trask created autonomous machines, and both based their products and profits on the ideal of improving humanity's lives. Oscorp , on the other hand, was the primary source of bioengineering, improving humanity itself.
"At least we're still working, we've made some progress. Interspecies genetics used to be the stuff of science fiction. With our current progress, we'll have the ideal cures for some of the imperfections humanity suffers from," Richard explained.
"Cell regeneration, immunity to viruses," Curt said, his voice cracking, as if he were drifting off into a dream.
It was his dream, a dream that was getting smaller and smaller, as in the beginning, his lab was bigger. Richard's smile widened when two other men entered the room, one of them carrying two pizza boxes. One of them had brown hair and wore a professional suit. In contrast, his partner wore a brown jacket and baggy pants, smiling as he turned to look at the scientists.
"It's pizza time," Slade Reilly said, placing the pizzas on one of the desks.
"Careful, you're going to dirty my notes," Curt said .
"Sorry man, half a chicken with double pepperoni and paprika for you two, BBQ beef for us, Arthur," Slade handed the pizza to Richard and rubbed his hands together as he opened his box.
He inhaled the aroma of the pizza and reveled in it with pleasure.
"So how's the perimeter?" Richard asked, taking a slice and biting into it.
"As you might expect when you're on the tenth floor of a thirty-story building and the least-funded project," the man in the suit said, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall.
"You don't seem to want to be here, Agent Caster ," Curt said , smiling slightly as Arthur snorted.
"Really? This is the best assignment we've ever had. I get to spend more time with my kids, and talking about how yours is doing, Richard," Slade asked .
"I'm living with my brother and his wife in Queens. He's getting smarter every day. In twenty years, he'll be running his own projects," Richard said.
"Maybe he's the next generation Tony Stark. Someone from Parker Industries?" groaned most of the room at Slade 's statement .
Despite this, Slade continued to smile and took another slice. At that moment, his and Arthur's phones rang. They both answered, identified themselves, and nodded together before hanging up.
"We have to go, keep up the good work you two and persevere," Arthur said, putting on his own smile as he left the room.
"Remember, Richard, Parker Industries, I could drop by," Slade picked up the pizza box, still smiling as Richard dismissed the idea.
"Forget it, man. We Parkers are friendly neighborhood men and we look out for the common citizen," he said.
Twelve years later, it was as if Curt was looking at Slade 's image again .
His son, Sven Reilly, even wore the same jacket as always. The young man wasn't as muscular as his father, but he showed he was on the right path. His eyes were gray, instead of Slade 's blue , and his chin was slightly smaller. Otherwise, it was clear he was the son of the WDRA "consultant." He even had the same friendly, carefree smile.
"Sorry to show up like this all of a sudden, I can come back another time if you want," his smile only faded when he saw how nervous Curt looked .
—No, it's okay, please stay. What did you want to know about my work with Oscorp ? —Curt asked .
"My father was a security consultant."
"I know Sven, I liked your father, after he was transferred his replacements were unbearable, how is he?"
"He died ten years ago," Sven said.
"Oh... I'm so sorry," Curt said , shaking his head guiltily.
"Okay, I'm looking into some of the work he did, just trying to get a better understanding of what he did, you know?"
"Yes, please have a seat," Curt said , sitting on his own bench, opposite Sven, who sat down and leaned forward, fingers steepled in anticipation.
It began with the basics of their first encounter with Slade Reilly. Oscorp collaborated with the global disaster relief agency, which contracted the company for several years for various projects. With Oscorp , they began focusing on their interspecies genetics program. In addition to a scientific liaison, June Covington, the agency also provided them with security consultants. Slade Reilly and his partner, Arthur Caster, were those two consultants.
"Norman watched Covington more than we did, but your father and his partner basically protected us. It was a boring mission, especially considering we were starting to face budget cuts," Curt explained .
Sven nodded in understanding, having done some research on Oscorp . They currently focused on electronics, though the OzPad was criticized for being a more expensive imitation.
"What were you working on then?" Sven asked.
"Interspecies genetics, mixing human and animal DNA," Curt said , elaborating when Sven looked confused.
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Hello everyone, what did you think of the chapter? Please let me know in the comments. If you want to download the full book, it's available on my KO-FI page. The link is here. 👉
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