Unnatural, impossible (probably not human)
“Do you know why Robbie the Robot keeps dying?”, asked the Investor.
The Scientist looked down his nose at money man, but kept his temper under control. “All the computer modelling shows that the next generation of the ‘servitor’ line should be viable to full term.”
He gestured at the 3-D rendering of the human-like figure on his computer.
“They are made of flesh and blood and cells just like you and me, you know.
“It doesn’t help to think of them as robots. Nothing mechanical is involved. They are more like us than chimpanzees”, the Scientist lectured.
“Whatever”, shrugged the Investor. “I just want to know what we need to make it work. The unions are getting to be a pain in the ass. We can do a lot with computers but we need something a bit more adaptable.”
The Scientist nodded in agreement. “That’s what we have promised to deliver with the next generation servitor line.
“Direct cloning of human tissue would be simple, but we have to pass regulatory and patent hurdles. If we went that route, people would start talking about how the product has ‘rights’. We don’t want that.”
The Investor shrugged but allowed the Scientist to continue.
“To ensure patentability, we had to design the cell structure from scratch. The problem is that we have added two completely artificial nucleotides to its DNA making six in total.
“The extra nucleotides make cell replication extremely accurate. That means the product is durable and longlasting. We don’t know what the lifespan will be yet, but computer modelling suggests it could be centuries.”
The Investor grimaced. “Why do they keep dying then?”
The Scientist explained the current problems they were having with the design of the mitochondrial DNA. “The mDNA powers our cells like batteries, but as far as we know it doesn’t have anything to do with height, eye colour, intelligence and so on. That’s all determined by the product’s nuclear DNA, which all our tests suggest is fully working.”
“I just want to know what we need to do to get the battery started before we all go broke”, said the Investor sarcastically.
“Well”, said the Scientist, “we could take a working copy of mDNA from nature and inject it into the artificial egg. That’s a routine procedure in human infertility treatment. However, I should say that it involves crossing the germ line.”
“What does that mean?”, asked the Investor.
“It means that there is a risk – a small one – that the 37 genes in the mitochondrial DNA would pass directly from the progenitor’s egg into every cell of its offspring, including their germ cells.
“Firstly we want the product to breed true and be completely patentable. Secondly, this process is unethical, immoral, and totally illegal”.
The Investor nodded thoughtfully. “So that’s what we are doing then?”
After a moment, he added. “It won’t be human though, will it?”
“No, it won’t be human … we don’t think … probably not”, said the Scientist.
-------------------
If you like this story (or hate it) please leave feedback and check out the other episodes in the short story arc. The other stories, which can also be read on their own, can be reached by cutting and pasting the links below into your browser.