The ABO Serum

GenLife Needs Test Subjects

A collective of wealthy LGBTQ+ investors in the San Francisco Bay Area had quietly poured a few hundred million dollars into GenLife, seeking the development of gene therapy that could allow men to bear children with other men and women to produce sperm to impregnate other women.

There were examples of naturally occurring genetic variants that produced both male and female reproductive organs in one person. These individuals were usually grouped with others designated "intersex." Though most were sterile, some were reproductively successful. Studying all these genetic variations closely, a new therapy had indeed been developed. It was ready for human trials, and that's why a new development center was built, in out of the way middle America. The press didn't bother watching what went on in flyover country. If something went awry, it could be covered up.

The travel required to get there would also discourage any significant protesting. Since what they planned pushed the boundaries of biological sex, likely removing the distinctions people were used to, they expected backlash from the trans-phobic. For their mental health, test subjects needed to have an understanding of gender as being distinct from their biological sex. How they chose to present themselves as male, female, or neither did not have to change with their bodies, unless they wanted it to. The scientists and doctors were all there and ready to move forward, but finding ideal test subjects was another matter.

Compounding their difficulties, in animal trials the drug changed the hormones so drastically that it also changed the subject's personality. So much so that partners often conflicted and separated after they transitioned. Not a good side effect for a treatment whose purpose was to help couples build a family together.

It seemed to enhance existing traits and the outcome varied, making some subjects more dominant and protective, and others more submissive and nurturing. Dominant males wouldn't grow a uterus. Instead, their sperm production more than quadrupled and they developed a mechanism in their penis to knot and secure themselves inside their mate when they ejaculated. Dominant females retained their uterus and their clitoris grew into a penis with the same knotting mechanism. Testicles grew inside and sperm count was more than triple a typical male. Submissive females didn't grow a penis but became much more fertile, actually developing more eggs, shortening their menstrual cycle and pregnancy duration. Submissive males didn't lose their penis but did grow a uterus connected not far up inside their anus, and productive egg sacs. Their menstrual cycle was longer than a female's, but pregnancy duration was also shorter. Natural birth might still be impossible for them, but there was no way to know yet. Fortunately, c-sections were an option. These were the results of animal trials. About 70% of the subjects had no change at all. Not a good failure rate. Still, 30% did change, and it was fascinating. It was the miracle the investment group was looking for.

The scientists began calling the variants Alphas, Omegas, and Betas and took great interest in speculating what secondary gender their animal subjects would turn out to be. But human subjects would not be so casual about the risks.

The campaign to recruit subjects was at the core of the emergency meeting Daryl had just concluded when he ran into Carey. They needed an attractive couple to succeed in transitioning and have the first baby conceived by a same-sex pair. And Daryl had an idea who that could be.

He would be an alpha. Daryl did not doubt that. The animals didn't transition randomly. Already assertive dominant animals transitioned into alphas. Already submissive nurturing types transitioned into omegas. Carey was a successful business owner, but as Daryl watched him he realized his management style was completely that of a nurturer. His employees were drawn to serve and protect him because of his sweetly supportive nature.

Ryan might be an alpha too, he considered as he watched the college-age employee move defensively in front of his boss whenever a new crowd came in. It would be easy to mistake him for the one in charge. Although, the cutoff point for whether a person's innate personality was strong enough to transition one way or the other between both alphas and omegas with betas was a grey area that one couldn't know until they tried.

What Daryl had in mind wasn't entirely ethical, but the appeal of taking his adorable neighbor into his bed amplified a hundred times when he imagined the man as an omega, filling said neighbor with his seed and making a child together. Taking him for a mate for the rest of his life, to protect and adore and make sweet passionate love to. His salivary glands started working overtime and his pants grew tight again at the mere thought of it.

Everything about the process was unpredictable, beginning with consent. It was so tempting not to ask. He could slip something in Carey's drink at dinner Friday night and start the injections without his knowledge. By the time he realized what happened, he'd be a quivering hormonal mess begging for an alpha to mate with him. But that wouldn't satisfy the company's need for subjects of record. And it wouldn't satisfy a deeper need Daryl discovered in himself to seduce and bring his mate willingly to his side.

The question was how to do it. And how to get himself admitted as a subject at the same time. He needed to be there, as an alpha, ready to take his omega when he went into heat for the first time.

"Daryl?" His assistant Robin interrupted his musing. "I'm so glad I found you! You stepped out for a coffee over an hour ago. Dr. Martin has been waiting to speak to you since the meeting ended."

That snapped Daryl out of his musing. "I'll head up now," he promised. He picked up his banana peel and dropped it in the trash on his way out. Behind him, Robin wondered what had got into their usually over-expressive boss to make him so contemplative.

Before they could follow, the coffee shop manager waved them over and gave them a to-go cup. "I don't think the one cup was enough. You're going to follow, right? Could you give this to him?" Robin looked the man up and down in confusion. Whatever. Free coffee was free coffee. One less cup they had to make. It couldn't help but perk up the boss a bit.

"Thanks. I'll see that he gets it."