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Yep, things have snapped now. No, I don't mean between Cindy and Sally. I mean between Gambino and me! He is now officially my enemy.
I was pretty surprised when Edmund showed up.We'd just finished supper (pea soup, yummy!), and I was arguing with Sally about whether hanging candy canes on the "tree of light" (we put it up yesterday) was a potential fire hazard. Cindy and I had both agreed not to try hanging anything on it (it looks good enough as it is!), just to be on the safe side, but Sally insisted she wanted candy canes on it. The argument got heated, and Cindy, in an attempt at compromise, said she'd buy some garlands tomorrow..."We can hang them on the walls and hang the candy canes on them!" she said. Sally glowered at her...and the doorbell rang.
I was, as I said, pretty surprised to see Edmund outside, with a briefcase no less. We invited him in of course, and Cindy offered him a bowl of pea soup, but he looked very preoccupied. "Could I speak with you alone, Dawna?" he asked. Sally started to grumble, but Cindy insisted on the two them going into the living room and leaving us in the kitchen. I closed the door firmly and hoped Cindy would keep Sally from eavesdropping.
Edmund sat down and opened the briefcase. "This," he said, handing me the extremely thick folder it contained, "is the one remaining copy of the genotype and medical records of Dawna Celeste Gambino. As you are eighteen and legally considered a sentient Gaian..."
"I should think so!" I interrupted.
"When you were born, it wasn't nearly so obvious," Edmund said rather sharply. "As I was saying, you are a sentient adult Gaian, so you have a right to know yourself and dispose of this information as you see fit. Your records have been wiped from all G-Corp computer systems, and you are free from your past...if you choose to be."
"Meaning what?" I asked, not sure if I should be pleased or annoyed.
"I'd recommend you look at the first page," he said, pushing the folder toward me.
I flipped the folder open to the first page. I didn't have to peer too closely at the genetic code to know something was off...which was a good thing, as I couldn't have made head or tail of it. Instead, I looked at the chromosome diagram near the top of the page, and felt the pea soup turn to lead in my stomach. I knew enough genetics to know that I should have two X chromosomes. I'd know that before I was ten. But the chromosomes in the diagram were XYX. "Those aren't from me," I said.
"They are," Edmund replied. "Admittedly, if they were all human, you'd be an oversized, sterile, effeminate male who would likely not be as intelligent as you are." Before I could figure out if he was trying to flatter me, he went on, "The two X chromosomes are human. The Y chromosome is from the sea-people. It was placed in the middle of the diagram to distinguish you from the kind of male I mentioned. However, and here's the point, in the sea-people XY is the female chromosome pair. Your chromosomes are barely compatible with each other. I'm honestly not surprised so many of the embryos didn't survive. To get a trio that could even keep a cell running, let alone divide...well, the odds were pretty slim."
I was anything but pleased. "How many embryos were there?" I demanded. "And how many survived? Was I the only one? Or...you don't still have some of them frozen somewhere, do you?"
"No," Edmund said. "Of twenty embryos, two survived. One was you. The other was my way of paying back the sea-people." He sighed. "You had to be the heir. The other one was XXY...human X and Y chromosomes, and a sea-people X. As it later turned out, that produced a male. At the time, all I knew was the it was as clearly developing into a sea-people embryo as you were into a human...well, it didn't turn out well, but I thought I was doing them good. I procured a sea-people egg-sack at the appropriate stage of development, removed the embryo in it, and inserted the other one. Then I returned it to the egg-chamber it came from... From your account, the male who hatched from it was as much human as you are sea-people. Perhaps even more, seeing as you have control of your facial muscles...although that might change at the moment of your death, as it did for him."
The soup was churning now. "The usurper?" I asked, feeling like my throat was tied in a knot.
Edmund nodded. "He was your brother, Dawna."
Anger was starting to boil up, pushing back the sick shock. "But he was much older than me!" I said loudly, not wanting to believe this revelation.
"Only by a few months, most likely," Edmund replied, "and that because of the faster development. You were both created at the same time, but sea-people mature and age much faster than humans. Don't worry, you didn't get that...it's in their X chromosome. You've got the same lifespan probabilities as any human your age. And the inherent chromosomal instability shouldn't be...too much trouble."
"Too much trouble?" I asked warily.
"Well, there's a slim chance of odd mutations popping up. I wouldn't worry though, if nothing's happened so far, it's not likely to later." He smiled what I assume was a reassuring smile...I was too bemused to really recognize it as that, and he went on, "We were worried at first about you transforming back to your original form, but it seems that extra hit of human genes stabilized your chromosomes..."
I knew I was going to give myself away if I looked at him, so I looked down at the folder. That was when I noticed the words directly above the diagram: "No mitochondrial mutation since original genotyping: Confirmed by mtDNA of hair sample, obtained 1 Aug 2k8." I stared at the words...and then I snapped. I was on my feet and had the door to the living room open before I'd even given the matter any real thought. "Cindy!" I shouted, causing both her and Sally to jump. "Where's that bracelet you made out of my hair? I haven't seen you wearing it for a while!" The look on her face was enough to tell me. "You told Gambino about it, didn't you?" I shouted.
"I didn't give it to him!" she shouted back. "It took hours to get him calmed down after you made that scene, and I didn't get to sleep for a long time. I slept late, and when I woke up..."
"It was gone!" I snapped, before rounding on Edmund. "Get out! Now!"
"Your father was quite within his rights," he said. "You were still a child at that time..."
"He didn't have a right to steal from Cindy!" I shouted. "Get out!" Wisely, he did.
Well, that's enough of that. I'm not going to read my folder, I don't want to know what's in it. I'll just lock it in my drawer to keep Sally out of it, and go downstairs to have some blueberry pie. And I will no longer listen to anything Gambino says. That...that...that..oh, I don't have a word for him. I'm just furious!