Genevity for Everyone - Nothing to Worry About

The clock was ticking. Sebastien knew he had to walk fast.

Ironic he thought to himself as he crossed the street. Here, he was racing to get to the clinic to give his updated blood sample. A sample that virtually guaranteed him extended life.

He didn’t want to miss his 2:30 p.m. appointment with Laurie Steinberger. She is the CEO of the most prominent digital publishing company in Australia. Sebastien was hopeful that they would publish some of his work.

He was old school. Unlike others, he refused to let artificial intelligence write his stories. He was in a genre referred to as fossil writing.

He smiled as he paused for the lights to change. Others were not patient and had just charged across against the lights. They had no fear anymore. Since the ‘Genevity’ treatment became available, people no longer had fear.

It had taken a long time, so much red tape, but that was typical of any new drug or treatment coming to market. Who would have thought that so many died in getting it to market?

People didn’t die because of a clinical trial failure. Still, he always believed there would have been many casualties. He recalled his time in research at a top pharmaceutical company. In every clinical trial, there were always casualties. They needed a placebo comparison, guinea pigs, and lots of them for something this big. Some poor individuals received sugar pills instead of the actual treatment.

No, people died trying to get hold of the technology. It was like the Cold War of drugs. Everyone wanted the discovery from the small-town scientist in Perth, Australia—especially the Americans, Chinese, Europeans, and Russians. There had been several significant discoveries in Perth, but nothing as big as this. It had been put on the world map.

How ironic was that?

Where was he now? Sitting pretty in some American mansion, he was paid for his troubles, and then they put him out to pasture. The Americans won and seized the technology. They developed it in American government labs and claimed it as their success.

Donald Trump scored another win while he was president. Then, someone decided to shoot him and cut off his access to Genevity until it was too late. Poetic justice in a way, he thought to himself.

It was ironic. The Australian government gave in to the US. They hoped for future trade benefits and military support against China. It never happened. The Chinese faced a bigger issue than world domination: their rapid population growth. All thanks to Genevity.

He paused again at another set of lights. A motorcyclist sped around the corner and collided with oncoming traffic. His bike flipped. He flew over the handlebars and landed in front of a large truck, which couldn't stop in time.

The bike's screech on the road and the motorcyclist's crunch as he hit the ground were deafening.

No-one cared. The driver that had hit him pushed his body to the side as he dialed a number from the phone chip implanted on his wrist. A beacon at the intersection flashed red words: “Genevity Required.” A countdown clock showed 50 minutes and counting. Sebastien stopped briefly to look at the bike, while others stopped to gawk at the injured rider. It had become a common practice, a sport really, to see if the Genevity ambulance arrived in time.

He was not going to waste time and continued on his journey. With only two blocks to go and still ten minutes to spare, it was perfect timing, he thought.

He hoped they were on time so he could keep his appointment with Laurie. If not, he would have to call her and tell her his situation. Not keeping the appointment at the Genevity clinic was a certain trouble.

The government was trying to exert some control over the program. If you didn’t provide annual update samples, then during a crisis, you didn’t get Genevity. It reminded him of the restrictions put in place when COVID hit when he was a child. Authorities did not permit people who refused to be vaccinated certain privileges.

The latest change is that anyone who harmed others through a crime would be denied Genevity. Criminals acted freely, knowing Genevity would save them.

The younger generation felt untouchable. They took advantage of the benefits. Everyone was abusing the benefits. People overindulged, chose unhealthy foods, and ignored others. They felt safe because Genevity would always rescue them.

Despite the government's good intentions, history had shown that crime issues run much deeper. Someone had already established a lucrative black market for Genevity copies. These had a higher failure rate than the approved version. Still, people were willing to take the risks.

Drugs, alcohol, and chronic diseases had all become commonplace. People understood that their problems could be solved by Genevity, as long as they acted in time.

Everyone had a Genevity alert bracelet. Sebastien fiddled with his as he thought about the last set of lights before the clinic. He could already see the steady stream of people going in and out.

As he got closer to the clinic, he noticed the large sign behind the reception desk: GENEVITY – CURE for IMMORTALITY.

Sounds good, he thought. A sample of blood every year and that is it. The promise of immortality.

They take your blood and run it through some special machine. This creates the perfect DNA template. If you get sick or have an accident, the template helps fix the injured area of your body, but only if you get it in time.

So far, it had been a roaring success. Hospitals turned into Genevity clinics. Doctors were less needed, only for simple coughs, colds, and minor injuries. All seemed perfect.

As he located the collection, clinics were divided alphabetically. Sebastien found his. The queue was only short. He felt relieved that he would make his appointment after all.

He remembered the days when you were greeted by a receptionist. Now, it was a cold-faced monitor that, as soon as you looked at it, began searching for you in its vast databank.

What a gold mine for cybercrime, he thought. It was just a matter of time before a blood bank with DNA from the rich and famous got raided for a big ransom. He reassured himself. He didn’t need to worry as he put his arm in the machine's slot for the robot to take the sample. No one was likely to want his DNA template; after all, he was now just a fossil writer.

“Thank you, 7947689300. See you next year,” came the feeble attempt to be human in some way.

He pulled down his sleeve and put on his suit jacket. Then, he left for his appointment. The piped announcement said, “Responsible people do Genevity.”

Till next time,

Calvin