Manda Cook

The BioTech Revolution

Most days, she didn’t even notice the display case filled with relics as she walked the open hall to her lab station. They were as interesting as a door handle or the tinting on the colossal sky lights above her head. But today, the sun’s beam, refracted on the golden edge of the heart-shaped piece of metal, caught her eye, and she slowed to a halt in front of the exhibit. She considered the piece of jewelry before her—the patinated locket hanging on a similarly oxidized golden chain was splayed open, each half stuffed with a tiny picture. On the right, a smiling woman glowed warmly out from the little frame; on the left, a child of indeterminate gender, grinned with self satisfaction.