Hermes Ch. 07

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Fair warning, this chapter includes a good amount of biology and technical terms. I tried my best to explain most of it, and many parts are simplified, but some might find it confusing.

Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy it.

Kat

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"So, we can change the DNA of new cells but can't replace the old cells easily. So what if, instead of waiting for the natural death of the cells, we replace them ourselves?" I explained.

Nea looked confused, "How would that work? We don't have a way to replace cells."

"You sure?" I said, lifting my left hand.

I could hear the realization in her voice, "Ohhh, the MedHands. Yes, that could work, but we would need to adapt some parts of each system for them to work together."

"Yes, but this is a technical problem, not a biological one. And I can help with technical problems." I said, walking to the door, "I'll meet you in the Admin room."

"If I'm not mistaken, the MedHands use nanobots and stem cells to replace damaged cells, right?" I said after I sat down in the admin room.

"Yes, that's about right. Since the MedHands was in the final test, I have the complete technical specifications. Do you want an explanation of how it works?" Nea asked.

"Yes, please. I might not understand everything, but the more I know about it, the better we can develop a solution."

Nea nodded, and the display showed a flow diagram. She also opened multiple technical files on the desk so I could look at them.

"The TL;DR; is that the device extracts some cells, then it uses a process called iPSC to convert these cells back to a pluripotent stem cell state. This state is the second most potent state a stem cell can have. The only state more potent is totipotent, which is unnecessary for this context. The additional capability totipotent stem cells have is that they can create extraembryonic tissues. Pluripotent stem cells can differentiate, meaning they can convert themselves, into almost every other cell type except extraembryonic."

Nea showed an image comparing the different stem cell types. The topmost one was totipotent, followed by pluripotent, multipotent, oligopotent, and unipotent. The chart was fascinating, showing what each type of stem cell could differentiate into. I studied the chart before I continued to listen to Nea's explanation.

"These cells are then subjected to certain growth factors to induce cell division. There they are divided into groups. One group for one required cell type. These groups are then stimulated to differentiate into less potent stem cells. After that, the new stem cells are then transported to their final destination by the nanobots. The original cell in that place will then be destroyed by a method called cytotoxicity. The nanobots use perforin and granzymes to kill the original cell in this process. It is similar to how immune cells kill infected cells. After the original cell has died, the stem cell will be placed and stimulated to differentiate into the correct cell type. While the nanobots provide nutrients to aid the process, the new and old cells still use some nutrients from the body. This is also why you feel tired shortly after the process because the nanobots no longer provide extra nutrients."

I looked at my hand, which had undergone this process not too long ago. "Unbelievable that all this happened inside my hand," I muttered.

"The process differs slightly to replace the outer skin layers, but the base principle is the same. The nanobots are too small to store energy on their own, so they need external power. Which is provided by the induction coils you saw. After the whole process is completed, the nanobots will remain dormant and get filtered out by your kidneys."

"And how did the device prevent the pain?" I asked, actually curious.

"Nanobots, of course," Nea said with a smile. "Some nanobots search and attach themself to the nerves and block the signals responsible for pain. They will detach automatically after the energy source is removed and will get filtered out with the others."

"Alright, I think I understand it. This also explains why it could not repair Pyras foot. Without already existing tissue, there is nothing to replace."

"Correct, the device can rebuild small to medium amounts of tissue, like a missing nail or fingertip, but not a whole missing limb," Nea explained.

"Okay, now we have to find a way to include the gene editing and apply it to the whole body. The identity scanners can check the whole body, so we need to change the DNA on nearly all cells. Maybe not the brain and some critical organs, but we should stay close to or over 90%." I said, taking notes on the desk.

"That will be the most complex part. Some cells get replaced relatively often, like epithelial cells lining the gastrointestinal tract, white blood cells, and skin cells. We should be safe if we skip these cells in our process and just wait one month. But most other cells need to be replaced by the nanobots."

"Alright, noted. Could you now explain the gene editing process to me? At least what we know." I said.

"We actually know nearly everything about it." Nea stated, "The notes of the research team are highly detailed, and with cross-references to known methods, I was able to reconstruct the whole process from creating the proteins to applying them. I might not be able to refine or accelerate the process, but combining it with the process of the MedHands should be possible." Nea said while she replaced the graphs on display.

She continued, "The base method used in the process is similar to a technique developed nearly a thousand years ago. The original protein was called CRISPR-Cas9. Since then, multiple advances have been made, but most of them are still based, at least partly, on the original. Since gene editing was banned, most research subsided. While the research itself is not illegal, only the human use, most companies searched for more secluded places to continue. Because Hermes was outside the grasp of the authorities, some of them settled down here."

I lifted an eyebrow, "Thank you for the history lesson, but please get back on track." I said to Nea.

"Of course, sorry about that. Well, the process is quite simple, actually. We decide what parts of your DNA we want to change, simulate the changes and then add the changes as a blueprint to one or multiple proteins. The proteins then get injected into the cell and will search for and replace the DNA parts with the new ones. The research done at Hermes has gotten the success rate from 80% to 98% and the off-target effect down to less than 1%."

"That sounds really straightforward," I said, surprised at how easy it was, "But I guess the simulation takes a lot of time?"

"Normally, yes, but the researchers have left a neural net and a specialized computer that can do the simulations in hours to days instead of weeks or months."

Could it be? Could we actually be lucky, for once? I straightened myself and said, "From what I understand, we could implement the editing by changing the DNA of the initial stem cells. Now we only need to get it to work on the whole body, ideally all simultaneously."

"Yes, that would be the ultimate goal. But first, we should decide what genes to change, as the simulation will still take multiple hours to complete. And if we do that now, we don't have to wait for the results later." Nea said.

"Okay, what would you suggest we change?" I asked, "It should be enough to count as a new individual for the authorities."

Nea's face moves to the side, and she shows me a stylized visualization of the human genome. "First of all, since 99.9% of the human genome is identical, we can ignore these parts and focus only on the 0.1% that is different between each person." The visualization focuses on a part of the genome. "These genes are all mapped out, and their effect is mostly known to science. We can change some of them without affecting your body."

"Wait, don't you need a sample from me to do this?" I asked, confused about how she concluded this information.

"Yes, and I have one. Actually, I have multiple. The sample I use is from the MedHands device. The device generated stem cells with your DNA to heal your hand, and the cells were still left in the device. I retrieved and analyzed them. I could also have extracted cells from your wastes, but I figured the MedHands would be a more acceptable solution."

"You could have just asked me," I said, a bit irritated about her course of action. "I would have given you a blood sample or something. This just feels like you have done it behind my back."

"Well..." Nea blushed heavily and looked at the floor. "I did... I took the sample some days ago."

My eyebrows shot up, and I looked at her in disbelief, "You did what?"

"Look, you and Pyra were busy. I wanted to be prepared for this step, so I took the sample and analyzed it. I just haven't told anybody. Please don't be angry." She looked embarrassed and a bit afraid.

I shook my head and exhaled, "I understand why you did that, and I'm not angry, but please, just ask next time, okay?"

After I told her I was not angry at her, her face and voice returned to her happy self. "I will!" She said, "Back on topic, I have isolated some genes that can be modified without changing anything visible in your body, including your appearance. Most of these genes are considered non-functional, but because of this designation, they might not be enough to trick the detectors reliably, even if we would change all of them."

"Okay, so we must change some functional genes to get a reliable new identity? What would you suggest, changing hair color or eye color?"

"Yes, exactly, but since we will change your appearance with this, I thought it would be best to let you decide what you want changed. If I remember correctly, you talked about hating to shave. Maybe you want to decrease your beard growth?"

I was again surprised. I had never told Nea about my hate for shaving. Before I could react, she blushed again, obviously realizing what she had just said. "I- I might have overheard you muttering to yourself while shaving."

"Ah... overheard, right..." I smiled at this revelation of hers and shook my head. "We'll talk about this some other time. Back on track, it actually is a great idea. If I list out stuff I do not like about myself, could you change them?"

"Most of them, probably. But be advised that too extreme changes might be nonviable."

I started listing the things I did not like about myself, starting with shaving, my body hair, and my belly, of course. At that point, Nea warned me that changing the fat percentage inside the human body is only partially possible without causing unintended harm to other functions. We discussed this point a bit and decided to leave it open for later.

We talked about changing my hair and eye color. While brown is the most generic color for both, I liked my eyes, So instead, we talked about my hair.

Nea showed me a detailed avatar of my face, and we tried different hair colors. Somehow we got to hair length, even if that had nothing to do with genes, and Nea showed me variants with longer hair. Without a beard and with shoulder-long hair, I looked surprisingly feminine. I never had strong masculine features. My face was primarily androgynous, with just a touch of masculinity. It mainly was the hair and the beard that would define how I was viewed.

I was looking at that face, which was clearly mine, but different. Shoulder long, curly light brown hair, and no beard. Out of fun, I asked Nea to shrink the nose slightly and to make the chin less prominent. The result was stunning.

"Can you show me a comparison between this and my face now?" I asked, still in awe upon seeing this version of me.

"Sure, with the changes to the nose and chin, even an old-school face detection algorithm would likely be unable to identify you reliably," she said, highlighting the measurement points between both images. "Most of these changes we made make you also look more feminine."

I was stunned. My mind raced, and I immediately remembered the first clip I watched on the LiveDream, how I felt while watching it, and afterward. How jealous I was about Alina, how it felt experiencing her body, her movement, her skin, everything. Since then, I have thought about it quite a bit, even more since talking with Pyra. I had not come to a final conclusion, and then the events of the past few days had pushed all that even further back.

Nea's voice pulled me back, "Chris? You alright?" she asked. "You have gone quiet."

"Yes, I'm alright. Can you give me a minute? I need to think about something." I responded, still trying to sort my emotions.

Nea confirmed, and I went back to my thoughts. My dislike for my body and facial hair made much more sense now. Combined with my neutral stance toward my penis and disinterest in keeping my body fit, it made it even more clear that I actually was not happy with myself.

For years I thought everybody felt so distant about themself, and the only reason people kept their bodies in shape was to impress potential partners. But since I experienced Alina's body, and after I saw a feminine version of my face, I was no longer sure if this was normal.

I continued to reevaluate most of my life, analyzing the moments I felt the most distant from myself. After what felt like an eternity, I came to a satisfactory conclusion.

I looked up to announce my result to Nea but stopped before I could get a word out. Instead of her usual face, the display now showed a stunning woman in a military-looking uniform. My chin hit the floor, and I struggled to get a word out. "I- why- What?" I stuttered.

Nea giggled, her voice seemed to be the same, and upon closer inspection, her face was also. But I had never seen this body. She had a curvy and feminine body while still managing to look athletic. Her sizeable breast was visible though the low-cut neckline in her form-fitting uniform top. The uniform itself was also fascinating. The primary color was a deep blue, with subtle circuit board traces. A slight yellow pulse traversed over the traces every so often. A good assortment of medal ribbons was pinned to her chest, and a small side cap was on her head. The nearly too-short skirt, in combination with dark stockings and formal black shoes, rounded the whole image out.

"Do you like it? After discussing your body, I realized I don't have a body myself, so I designed one." She said, proudly presenting her creation, turning ever so slightly to give me a good look at her figure.

"Well, I- ah..." I stumbled over my words, and Nea giggled again. I swallowed hard and cleared my throat. "It looks amazing," I finally said. "Absolutely stunning. Did you also design the uniform?"

"Thank you, and yes. The uniform is loosely based on modern military uniforms but includes lots of my own creations. Like the traces."

"And probably the very revealing cut," I added. "Any regular military would put you under arrest for such a skimpy uniform."

"I know. That's why I like it so much." She happily said while shifting her weight, which made her boobs jiggle way more than they should.

It took a surprising amount of willpower to stop gazing at her body. I tried to remember what I wanted to say. "Well, so I thought about..." I started, but I was again hypnotized by her body.

"Yes?" said Nea, with a cheeky smile and a non-accidental, seductive move of her hips.

"I'm sorry," I said, "I really like your body. Maybe I like it a bit too much. But I can't think straight with it on display like that. Could you maybe go back to a more focused view?"

"Naww, you are no fun!" Nea said with another cheeky smile. The view changed to only show her face and upper chest. I could still see her cleavage, but this view no longer stole my ability to think coherently.

"So, as I was about to say," I continued, "I have thought about the modification... this might sound a bit strange, but would it be possible to make me more feminine in general?"

Nea expression switched from amused to surprised, "You want to look more feminine? Hmm... yea, that checks out. I should have anticipated that."

"What the fuck do you mean by 'that checks out'?" I asked.

"You talked with Pyra about this. While I was still in hibernation then, but I have the camera recordings. Also, some other factors, including your behavior, how you reacted to the LiveDream recordings and the image of yourself with longer hair, were some clues." She explained.

"If you say it like that, it seems obvious even to me." I said, "So, can it be done? And how much can be changed?"

"I'm currently cross-referencing multiple other studies and running some calculations... It seems that it would be possible to suppress most of your masculine traits. You can also already grow breasts. With a modification, we could nearly completely suppress your testosterone production and increase your estrogen production to levels equal in women. But", she added, "I don't see an easy way to change your penis to a vagina. This would require at least removing a part of your Y chromosome called SRY, responsible for defining your genetic sex and other changes to stabilize your genes."

"Wooow, hold your horses," I said, "I like that you're going the extra mile, but I said that I want to be more feminine, not become a woman. But having breasts does sound good... I tell you what, let's apply the changes you just listed and the ones for my hair, nose, and chin from before, and show me the calculated result before you simulate them. I'm actually not sure about the whole vagina thing."

"Yes, Sir," Nea said with a salute. I suppressed a giggle, and she continued, "Since that is now done, we should find a way to combine the two devices."

"Alright, let's see what we can come up with," I said, reviewing my notes. "I think the best place to edit the genes is right after the stem cell has been created and before it divides. This way, we keep the risk low by only modifying one cell. After the modification, we let the cell divide once and then validate the genes from one of the new cells. If everything is good, we can continue. If not, we redo the procedure."

Nea nodded and added, "We can repurpose some nanobots for the modification. They can inject the protein into the cell and extract the DNA afterward."

"Perfect. We can start replacing the normal cells when we have a good amount of stem cells. There will be a lot of different groups with all the different cell types we need to replace," I said.

"I think we should change the process to only replace a couple of cell types in parallel instead of all simultaneously. Also, we should let the stem cells divide themself in the target location, at least for a couple cycles, before we differentiate them into the final cell. This will reduce the time it takes to move all cells into position." Nea added.

"Can you do the modifications?" I asked, "Everything else should be identical to the original process of the MedHands."

"Yes, I have already created a modified program for the nanobots." Nea said, "Now we only need to design a chamber or capsule that can hold the stem cells, nutrients, nanobots, the energy coils to power the nanobots, and of course, your body."

"Alright, let's get to it then, shall we?" I said.

---

"This looks like a device from a sci-fi movie." I laughed.

The rendered image on display really did look like it. It was a rectangular metal chamber. The chamber itself was filled with a semi-transparent, slightly red liquid. Of course, you couldn't see it, but I was still surprised as Nea told me this was the nutrient solution the bots needed. In my mind, I always envisioned it as neon green, maybe because of too many bad movies.