Chapter 1
Fifteen years ago.
The woman whitecoat parked her unmarked car in the underground garage of the Institute and carefully climbed out.
She was only a few weeks pregnant with the baby, but she wanted to be extra careful. It was her first baby, after all.
Once inside she was greeted by her fellow staff, and the howls and groans of the experiments in the next room.
"So Melissa," said a female colleague excitedly, "did you find out?"
For a minute Melissa O'Grady panicked, thinking that they knew she was pregnant. She didn't want anyone to know yet – for the baby's sake. But then she realized that Dr. Holls was asking about a DNA code problem she'd been trying to solve for about a month now.
Melissa nodded, pulled out a stack of paper from her portfolio, and handed it over. She said good morning to a few other people, then made her way to the main office.
She needed to talk to the person in charge of the Institute. Dr. Greenway, one of the top geneticists in the tri-state area.
After being let in, she informed Dr. Greenway of her pregnancy, letting him know ahead of time that she would need a maternity leave once the baby was born.
The head whitecoat hesitated, eyeing Melissa. "Tell me, Melissa..." he began.
"No," she said sharply. "I will not. I will not let you turn my baby into one of those dumb animals. I've been trying to have a child for three years now, and I want a regular one. You will not be injecting any DNA into this baby."
Dr. Greenway nodded and said he understood, and congratulated Melissa on being pregnant. But as soon as she had left his office, he picked up the phone. He knew exactly what he was doing. He was calling Melissa's doctor, who checked up on her and the baby. When the doctor was on the line, he gave him an order.
To inject Melissa O'Grady's baby with avian DNA – and in such a way that it would not reveal itself immediately after birth.
Because to him, a pregnant employee just meant an easier way to get a test subject for the Institute of Higher Living in New York.