The Genesis Project

Introduction (Part 2) - Arriving Whole

Two Years Later

As the final note of Summer echoed out of existence, Genesis was able to hear the guitar-heavy metal music coming out of their father's earbuds before being lost again behind the sound of the large speaker beginning to play the light, airy notes of Autumn. He had abandoned listening to Four Seasons with Genesis in favor of this loud metal music long enough that, just from what they could hear bleeding from his earbuds, they were now able to recognize that he was currently listening to Vicarious by Tool.

Genesis had the process completely memorized by this point. One kidney, the liver, removal of the ribs to access one lung, and complete removal of the skin he had cut open. They knew once the musical motif of Autumn faded out for a fifth time, the procedure was complete.

The intense, repetitive notes of Winter began, indicating to Genesis that now it was time for healing to begin. The IV drip of the parenteralytide hydroaspolphabscycin increased after the last item was removed from their body, providing them with an extremely concentrated amount of nutrients. Their father had created this compound specifically to help Genesis recover the nutrients they desperately needed after each procedure.

Genesis thought back on the time when they didn't need the extra help after each surgery. Back when their father would advocate and fight for them, and he would only take one organ from them at a time. He'd gently remove the straps from their body, find something warm for them to wear once they were finished healing, and retrieve his lunch that he had saved for them to eat afterwards, knowing they'd be starving upon regrowing an entirely new organ in a matter of a few minutes. He'd smile at them, check in on them throughout the operation, get them set up to begin a safe and comfortable healing process before prepping their organ for transport. In a way, they missed how things were.

They were now left strapped to the table, IV drip still going strong, as the cracking sound of their ribs growing back and the squish of their organs forming began to dominate the room. Their father prepped the organs as needed for transport: necessary items were put on ice, others hooked to a machine to keep it functioning. He beat his fist against the only door to the small room, and when it opened, he began assisting the individual there with moving the body parts out of the room. He passed the tray of surgical tools to another individual, clothed in necessary PPE, to take away to be sanitized. By the time Dr. Tityus returned, his earbuds now removed from his ears, Genesis's wounds had fully healed. He removed his gloves, mask, and disposable scrubs and shoved them into an appropriately labeled bin. With a satisfied sigh, stretching his arms above his head, he finally approached Genesis and removed the straps from their body.

"Let the IV finish before getting up," he stated, beginning to move back out of the room. "I'll bring you something to eat in an hour or so. I have a meeting with Mr. Cobblepot to discuss some logistics until then."

Genesis hated that he called him that. To his face, he had always been Sir or Mr. Cobblepot, but when it was just the two of them, he became Bird-Brain or simply an unspoken Him. They couldn't remember when he stopped being Bird-Brain and became Mr. Cobblepot behind closed doors, but they could remember the first time their father had defended him.

It had been after a particularly difficult procedure. Healing was more strenuous and took longer than usual, and Genesis was extremely exhausted. They can just barely remember breaking down, aching and exhausted, feeling like nothing more than a piece of meat, crying to their father, I hate him. I want to go home.

They were so shocked to hear their father say, Hey now, kid. He's been treating us alright. It can always be worse, that they became completely grounded out of their breakdown. Their father continued, He's helping us help people. Not a single person has rejected your donations. He's found a way for us to do good with this. He's helped my reputation- He stopped, biting his tongue as though the words had just slipped out of his mouth. Look, we'll get out of here someday, he promised, but until then, we make the best of it. He placed an arm around Genesis's shoulders and said, Maybe they'll let you come with me to work sometime soon. Get out of here for a bit, look around the kind of place you'll end up working someday.