Harp Chemicals is a global supplier of industrial chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Based in Tel Aviv, they bring billions of shekels into the Israeli economy every year. Their products are used for primary and secondary exports by companies all over the world.
Sarah is a molecular geneticist working on an important immortality project. Funded by an anomymous wealthy billionaire, the team suspects for personal reasons. Standing in the center of a bright, cold empty lab, over a small white mouse. With one hand on her laptop and the other shovelling bakery latke’s into her mouth. She sips on a styrofoam cup of filtered black coffee in between bites. The mouse was recently injected with a mutagenic retrovirus to change its DNA, she watches as it begins to move faster and faster until it’s motion is completely blurred.
Doctor Sarah Rosenberg is debriefing the head of research, Doctor Ezra Cohen, on her findings.
“It’s astonishing sir, and the effects are completely random… most of the subjects immune systems simply attack the virus and nothing happens. But in the small fraction where it remains…” explained Sarah.
“Fascinating, and you can replicate the effect? I understand the… powers… are random. But you can make this happen on many mice?” asked Ezra. His bushy eyebrows were so white and thick, they looked like he’d attached pieces of cotton to his face.
“Yes, replicatable with a take up rate of .00000001% or one in a hundred million.”
“Good work. Make sure to back every thing up and secure it. This is a valuable find.”
“Can’t Saul help with that?” she asked, annoyed and wondering where her assistant was.
“Sorry, he quit. Something about wanting to take his career in a new direction. Bloody young people. But, oy vey! What can you do? At least you’re a good girl metuka.” said Ezra, as the 91 year old shuffled out of the room with his hunched back.
Anonymous hackers infiltrate Harp Chemicals computer systems, making off with the formula for the virus Sarah was testing. Analysts around the world are quickly able to study it and various groups quickly figure out how to produce their own. It takes a year, but suddenly the whole world is able to distribute the retrovirus formula freely, leading to corporations, nations and private entrepreneurs developing different kinds of biological weapons in the form of powered humans.
An arms race begins as different countries race to develop the most powerful, interesting and unique abilities in the name of progressing their nation. Things escalate when the retrovirus enters the food chain from the deceased decomposing bodies, creating powered animals.
Sarah is summoned to the Knesset to explain what happened. Sitting alone with Ezra at her side, surrounded by the entire government she feels cold looking out at the giant hall filled with politicians.
The Prime Minister of Israel addresses Sarah and asks if improvements could be made if she had the funding. Sarah is confused and asks why she is not on trial for developing a weapon that is destroying the planet, they explain the planet is outside their borders and not their problem. This government’s concern is national sovereignty and protection.
Sarah protests and says the existing abilities are dangerous enough and she won’t progress this problem further. She is expelled from the chamber, leaving Ezra on his own and confused.
Back at the lab, Ezra confronts Sarah.
“Your attitude is unacceptable and unprofessional, you embarassed me in front of the whole government!” he protested.
“And you think this is a government who is allowed to judge us? With what they are doing out there?” she gestured knowing about the atrocities her government was committing in neighbouring lands.
Later that day, Sarah is fired from her job and escorted from the building.
Months pass, Sarah watches the news and sees IDF tanks bombarding a Palestinian settlement, she doesn’t agree with the government actions but knows ordinary people like her can’t do anything about it.
One night, Sarah wakes up to a group of men in tactical gear surrounding her bed. Gear which includes gas masks. Before she can react, a gas is released from somewhere and she is knocked out.
Sarah wakes up in the middle of the desert, in a small crater. She looks as her hands and sees they are blackened, but she is unharmed.
She wills herself out of the crater, at first trying to climb out and then clumsily floating out with her mind. She has phenomenal psychic powers now.
Looking at her surroundings, she sees she is on the edge of the West Bank. A group of villagers are being escorted out of their homes by IDF soldiers
“Stop!” Sarah shouts, her intention ricochets and freezes the tanks in their place.
She flies up into the air and checks the battle field. Multiple tanks have been placed in position to begin bombardment once they clear “enough” people, it’s clear some areas had been bombed despite the evacuation not being complete yet
Sarah reaches out with her mind to test her abilities. She plucks some wings off a fly half a kilometre away and sees she can do anything. She extracts the soldiers from the closest tanks with her mind, and then crushes the tanks. All their weapons and their fancy gadgets are reduced to dust.
She flies around the battlefield for hours, erasing weapons of war and dulling the sword of human extermination. At first, she struggles to use her powers continuously and on multiple targets, but motivated by her anger and desire to bring justice she quickly learns to master them.
As the sounds of gunfire vanish entirely, she floats above looking at the soldiers and sees they are now outnumbered by some very angry people who were nearly genocided today. Not wishing to see her own countrymen who were carrying out orders harmed, she teleports the soldiers home safely.
Sarah flies back to Tel Aviv and to the Prime Ministers chambers. She plans to confront him about what he was doing in Gaza.
As she breaks into his private bedroom, she feels an intense pain in her head. She realises that someone else has a similar power to her and is using it against her.
The Prime Minister emerges from the shadows. He reveals he is the secret benefactor behind Harp Chemicals immortality project and that they have developed a compound that allowed them to combine a subjects blood with the original virus to copy any power. He reveals he was injected with the powers she has, after they saw her spectacular performance on the testing field.
As she recoils in pain and falls to the ground, The Prime Minister continues to say the war was a giant staging ground to test a new class of super humans, knowing people with new powers, who didn’t have them before, would be compelled to protect the innocents. He then reveals he has many other powers too, and then sets her alight violently, reducing her body to ash and bone.
The lights in the room flash on and a team of scientists rush in along with Ezra. He looks sad about what’s transpired.
“Beautiful; I can feel her power in my mind.” said the Prime Minister in admiration of Ezra’s work.
“Achen, but did you have to destroy her body? Her pineal gland could have been invaluable to understand how the power works.” said the old man.
“Don’t worry Ezra, we’ll find you a new mouse to play with”.
Ezra hesitates for a moment to process what he said and then smiles as a member of his team uses a dustpan to collect Sarah’s remains for study.
The world is a more dangerous place now, mutant animals of all sizes disrupt ecosystems and threaten human life. Hope remains as the powered humans have answered the call and begun protecting and helping humanity as a whole. People with the ability to freeze things have restored melting ice caps in the arctic, others with incredible healing abilities have not just cured people with terminal diseases but donated their blood to be distributed as a miracle drug. The Prime Minister of Israel lives on for some time, but his immortality project is never completed and he dies of old age.
It seems chaotic for the first ten years, as the world learns to live alongside people with superpowers. There is a group of people who never accept them, they are seen as intolerant and fearful. After twenty years, humanity had learned to integrate the powered individuals to the point that the intolerant became the fringe. Together, superhumans and regular humans had begun the long work to heal the world, but it would take the efforts of generations to achieve it.