AutumnXd
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CHAPTER 34
🕑 Added 2025-06-23 16:00:35 +0000 UTCThe first thing to do in a new world was always to get your bearings. Ward Morey, a newly graduated biologist, started to learn about the world he now lived in after coming to terms with his new identity.
The technology field was heavily biassed towards the medical and life sciences. He read about radical gene therapies, advanced prosthetics, and even cryo-hibernation projects funded by businesses that were all working towards a "better future" for everyone. The Umbrella Corporation was at the centre of it all, like a huge spider in a web that stretched around the world. It was a global monopoly that had its hands in every possible pie, from pharmaceuticals and medical hardware to defence contracts. But Ward knew that its real profits came from the dark side: military technology, illegal life engineering, and biological weapons. It had so much power that it could control whole governments and have a big say in the United Nations. Ward thought they were a model, but a bad one. Fear and secrecy are what keep their empire going. My business will be based on trust and goodwill. Less powerful, but in the end, stronger.
He had already sent his resume to Umbrella and knew that he would probably get a call for an interview in about three days. Every minute of that time, he was reading the books that filled his new flat. There were a lot of thick biology books on the shelves, like Gene Biography, The Molecular Biology of Ageing, and The Code of Life. With the System-given gift of "Technology and Magic Affinity," he was able to understand complicated ideas with an unnatural ease. The complicated dance of cellular mechanics and genetic coding became as easy and natural to him as breathing.
His phone buzzed on the third day when he got back from a quick lunch. The screen showed a message with the famous red and white umbrella logo on it.
"Hi Mr. Morey, We got your resume. Our board has recognised your qualifications. We have a few possible jobs available, such as Lab Inspector, Specimen Batcher, and Research Surveyor. We need to talk to you in person to find out what job would be best for your unique skills. Please come to our main branch in Raccoon City on the third business day from now. The Umbrella Corporation is excited for you to join!
Ward typed out a simple confirmation, threw the phone away, and went back to reading the book in his hand. His attention quickly shifted to the chapter on telomeres and mitochondria, which were the two biggest problems the T-Virus had to overcome to reach its terrible goal.
He got ready to go to the city centre on the day he was supposed to. His study of Raccoon City had been very helpful. Umbrella built the island fortress to house the families of its workers and, more importantly, to protect the sprawling underground Hive research facility. The city was a cage that looked like a paradise. It was surrounded by wastelands and big rivers, and there was only one main road that led out. Umbrella had complete control; even the local police department was a wholly-owned subsidiary. Ward knew that when the virus finally broke out, the city would fall quickly, completely, and without a doubt.
He used his phone to get to the address and soon found himself in front of a stark white, square building in the middle of the city. The building was a shocking example of modernism in a city full of older buildings. Its smooth, seamless walls were mostly made of opaque white glass. From a distance, it looked like a cube with no features, but as he got closer, he could see the strange, unsettling curve of its facade.
At the entrance, he showed the heavily armed security guard his phone. The guard looked at the message and then opened the gate without saying anything. Ward walked down a path lined with unnaturally green, perfectly trimmed plants and into the main hall.
A man in his forties with a research coat was waiting for him. He looked cold and distant.
Aidan said, "My name is Ward Morey," and held out his hand. "I'm here to apply for the job of Dr. Charles Ashford's assistant."
Titch, the man, didn't take the hand that was offered. "Dr. Ashford is doing an experiment. Come with me. "You will wait." He turned and walked Ward down a long, empty hallway without saying anything else.
As they walked, they heard a low, guttural roar coming from deep inside the building, like the sound of a huge, angry animal.
"What did that sound like?" Ward asked in a polite tone of interest.
"Experimental body," Titch said coldly, giving no more information.
Ward raised an eyebrow but kept going. They came to a heavy door that looked like it could blow up. A camera stuck out from the wall, and its red lens was aimed at Titch's eye. The door opened with a hiss of hydraulics. "You stand outside," Titch said as he walked up to a computer. "I will record your pupils."
Ward stood still where the camera had been. Titch typed in a code, and the camera zoomed in again. "Stand here." Put your eyes on the lens.
Ward did what he was told. A red light beam crossed his eyes. It got through, but it didn't blind me.
"Another one."
It took a few more minutes for the authentication to be done. "You may enter," Titch said, his voice getting softer almost without him noticing now that Ward was officially in the system. "It looks like you've already been given a job on Dr. Ashford's project."
Ward said with a surprised smile, "i "So it seems."
"But in the end, Dr. Ashford has the final say." "Boy, I hope you behave yourself."
Ward teased, "I thought you didn't like me."
"No." That's just how Titch is. A new voice said, "You'll have to get used to it." A man in a high-tech, remote-controlled wheelchair came up to them. His head was tilted slightly to the side, and he wore glasses. His hair was thin, and his scalp was bald. He looked weak, like someone who had polio. Dr. Charles Ashford was the one. He looked at Ward. He said, "Come with me," and then he turned his wheelchair around.
Ward said, "Well then, Brother Titch, I'll go first," and followed Ashford back out of the secure lab they had just entered. They went through more hallways and finally got to a private office.
Ashford pointed to a chair and said, "Sit." He started the interview as soon as Ward sat down. "Mr. Morey, I have looked at your resume. Why do you want to work for the Umbrella Corporation?
Ward replied, "Because I want to make medicines that heal," his face a mask of serious idealism. "I want to help people who have genetic diseases and disabilities that will last their whole lives."
Ashford thought about this for a while. "A patient who has a genetic disability." What would be the best way for them to walk again? He suddenly asked.
"You'd have to regenerate the dead cells," Ward said without hesitation. "Or, if that doesn't work, make advanced mechanical skeletal aids."
"And what if the condition was a sign of early ageing?"
"That would be a problem with cellular senescence," Ward said. "You'd have to figure out how to change the mitochondria and lengthen the telomeres. Mitochondria make the energy that our cells need. They make free radicals when they work, which hurts them, slows down energy production, and makes them age. If someone could fix the problems with mitochondria and stop telomeres from getting shorter during cell division, then maybe people could live forever.
Charles Ashford nodded slowly, clearly impressed. "I need help. You can have the job if you want it. But you have to sign a very high-level non-disclosure agreement. He didn't just see this smart, independent young man as an assistant; he saw him as a potential weapon, a friend who wasn't part of the corporate rot that men like Isaacs were.
"Not a problem," Ward said, nodding. He was pleased with how well his plan was going. "Are there any other things you need?"
Ashford gave him a thick document and said, "Not at this time." "Sign this, and you'll go to Titch for your first orientation." I will call you when I need you.
After Ward signed the NDA, Ashford looked at him again, and there was another theoretical question in his eyes. "What if you could use a virus to combine with human cells, infect them, and replace them to fix the genetic damage?"
"Then, in terms of biology, the host would no longer be human," Ward said after a pause. "The genes would change, and the chromosomes would change. The human immune system would also fight back. Immune cells would kill the cells that were infected with the virus in a wave of suicide, which would cause a lot of dead tissue to form all over the body.
Dr. Ashford's brow furrowed as he started to think. It was clear that his mind was wrestling with the same problems that Ward had just talked about. He wasn't surprised by the young man's answers because Umbrella's screening process was very strict. "Okay, Mr. Morey. That's all for now. "Welcome to my lab." He smiled and looked up at Ward. "Titch will take you around. Come back in two days.
Ward said, "No problem, Doctor." "But I do have one small thing to ask. I was hoping to get some supplies for a project of my own. Some gadgets for protection.
Ashford looked at him with interest. "Oh? What are you going to do?
"Just some messing around. Ward promised him that he would do it in his own time and that it wouldn't get in the way of his research.
Ashford thought about it. This boy was a great new addition. It wouldn't hurt to make him happy. And maybe one day, he will need this smart young man to help him with his own daughter. The request was a small price to pay for being loyal. "Okay, very well." Tell Titch what you need. I will say yes to it.
