The year is 2040. Earth is progressively turning into a barren, inhabitable place as global warming and climate change take a toll (and, yeah, by the way, everyone actually believes in global warming in 2040. Took them a long time.) However, our story truly begins around 6 months into 2040. The location is a seminar hall at a university. Dr. V. J. Ramprakash is the lead speaker. Approximately 800 people are gathered in the seminar hall to listen to Dr. Ramprakash’s idea and thousands more are viewing it on a large screen that has been installed right outside the seminar hall specifically for this event.
Before coming onto the stage for the big night and the daunting presentation that awaited him, Dr V. J. Ramprakash uttered these words under his breath; “This is Jornada Del Muerto.”(Jornada Del Muerto is supposed to mean ‘the day of the dead’ in Spanish. Well at least that is what it means according to Google Translate. I am not Spanish, ok? Yes, it is also the title of one of my favourite tunes by Linkin Park.)
Well, I shall not bore you with everything he said and the scientific explanations he gave or the amazingly complicated scientific arguments that broke out between imminent scholars. Instead, I shall recount to you the gist of what was stated by my good friend Dr. V. J. Ramprakash that fateful day seventeen years ago.
He presented to the world an idea that would drastically change our way of life. He proposed that we use animal DNA to create creatures that would work for humans in scenarios where it would be difficult or dangerous for humans to function. They would be clever and intelligent, but they would be controlled by humans and obey human orders via a microchip. He also explained how this would be a better idea instead of using robots as our primary method of dealing with precarious situations. Animals have special qualities that they possess, for example, a keen sense of smell, and by mixing the DNA of these creatures with other animals that possess special qualities as well, we can create an entity that is stronger than humans, can run faster than humans and has a good sense of smell. Also, the technology was good enough back then and more knowledge about genetics and epigenetics had also been uncovered that humans were able to identify the specific parts of the DNA that caused these special traits and how to allow these traits to emerge and develop while the entity is a fetus.
The pictures above are of Tragaraisil the first ever such creature created, using a mix of DNA from various animals combined with the DNA of a human, specifically a Sherpa’s DNA. This is because Tragaraisil was designated to fly above the clouds performing repairs for vehicles and taking care of any other issues such as fuelling and taking care of terrorist threats as well as the ability to track planes that have lost contact with base (if Tragaraisil had been created just before MH370 went missing, so many lives could have been saved.) He is also able to survive at such high altitudes because of the Sherpa component and also because of the DNA from an animal that can sustain long time periods without oxygen (what a magnificent site it would be to see Tragaraisil swoop down to the Earth below the clouds when he needs oxygen.) He can use his wings but uses the rocket booster to fly faster. A protective covering goes over the wings so they don’t get damaged at fast speeds.
Other things to know:
Tragaraisil has mechanical parts to assist him.
He has many abilities including echolocation, flying higher than jumbo jets, can see a wider electromagnetic spectrum than human beings and has the sharp eyes of a predator.
He now has a whole cohort of creatures like him that have been created for the purposes of human beings and leave above the clouds with him. Tragaraisil and his cohort also have several bases on mountain peaks that are above the clouds.
Why was this idea accepted?
Unlike robots, these creature don’t need to constantly visit base for recharges, because they can either hunt down other animals or eat plants (they are usually omnivores.)
It also meant that people would actually start saving the environment because the genes from wild animals are actually better to use than the genes from tamed animals.