Exposed?

Matt stood in front of the botany lab and sighed. What he expected to happened came true. There was currently a sign on the door about a dangerous gas leak. The lab was to be sealed until engineering came over to fix the leak. There were no windows to see into the lab, so it was likely that Dr. Bradshaw was currently in there working. A workaholic like him would have created a storm about not having access to his lab. However, Matt had planned for this and went into the communal freezer and removed the sample he had stored in here secretly yesterday.

Since he could not utilize a sequencer because of the AI, Matt would have to use some old school techniques. The human genome was successfully sequenced during the Human genome Project using a technique which takes a lot of work. However, the benefit of this technique at this current moment was hiding what he was doing from the AI. The technique he would be using analyzes a small portion of the DNA at a time until eventually it is arranged in the right order.

This technique has a high rate of error, but it was worth trying. The first thing he had to do was clone the DNA so that he has a lot more to work with. This was a basic technique from the 20th century. In his lab, he placed the sample into a mixture of reagents. He would allow it to sit for several hours and it would build more copies of the original sample automatically. After diluting and cloning the DNA, he could sense that the mixture no longer would give any Evolution Points even if he had the right skill for it.

'It seems that only the original source is able to be absorbed. It seems that synthetic nucleotides don't qualify.'

Once he cloned the small sample to ten times its volume, he equally distributed it into ten vials, labeled, and stored them in the freezer. It was very important he took it slowly. The best time to begin reconstructing the genome would be when the botany lab was reopened. If Matt wasn't given the information about Martha, or it seemed to be covered-up, he would begin on his project. Waiting also reduced the amount of attention to this project.

Tomorrow was his medical exam, so he went back early. Afterwards, he had a few more days of military training before he would be assessed for the second strike force. Although he made great improvements, he was still quite worse off compared to many of the others. They had been striving for a position in the second strike force since before the mission started. Naturally, they would have a better foundation than Matt. It seemed that unless someone directly interfered, Matt wouldn't be getting into the team.

The next morning, Matt stood in front of the mirror and looked at himself naked. Being confronted with the possibility of discovery made him wonder about his existence. He felt very human because of his past memories, but instinctively he knew what he was. There were no memories or instructions built into his existence, only the simple biological need to survive. He looked at his body which was starting to show definition in his arms and legs.

'Is my existence any less human? If I have the memories of a human, body of a human, and thoughts of a human, aren't I… human? Is this how an android would feel?'

Matt splashed some water on his face and pushed away the existential questions. Nothing was wrong with his identity. There is a reason why he has these memories. If someone were to give him a truth serum and ask him if he was a human, Matt was certain he would answer yes confidently. Once he got dressed, he headed out. He made his way to the medical bay which was directly outside the turbo lift a few floors up.

Once he arrived, he checked in with the nurse and sat down. There was a medical examination every day. In order to get everybody examined annually, there were six to ten examinations a day. Therefore, in the waiting room, there were four other people sitting and waiting for their appointment. Examination day was something like a day off so the earlier they took their test the more free time they had to relax.

"Dr. Matt O'Connely, it is you. I am a huge fan of your thesis."

"Ah, I am sorry for that then, Doctor…?" His little joke garnered a chuckle.

"My apologies, I was so excited I forgot to introduce myself. I am Dr. Wolfe Stein; I work with microorganisms in the lower decks."

"Dr. Stein, you were on this mission as well? I thought you seemed familiar. Your paper 'Fungal Cell Lines with Extraterrestrial Origins, a Genetic Analysis' was one of the reasons I wished to go on this mission. The idea of something out here in space being the potential spark of life that Earth needed is very exciting. Have you made any breakthroughs?"

"I didn't think such a promising young researcher was interested in some old works of mine, haha. Unfortunately, that paper was ultimately rejected by the scientific community in my time. I'm glad that I have the opportunity to prove my findings today. As for breakthroughs, unfortunately progress is slow."

"I would love to work alongside you, Dr. Stein. If you are ever in need of some assistance, do not hesitate to ask."

"Of course, of course. Ah, it seems my examination is next. Take care, may we meet again on this big ship."

Matt was genuinely excited. At first, he had no idea who this person was. However, perfect mimicry gave him the memories of Matt O'Connely, which included the paper. In his past life, he was a huge fan of microbiology. Although he had ulterior motives to asking to assist him, Matt was partially serious about working with Dr. Stein. As a way to pass the time, Matt had found a copy of Dr. Stein's paper on the AI's system and was reading it himself. He was able to read through it twice over before he was called up for his examination.

The nurse guided him into the room and sat him down on a large chair with several mechanical arms dangling off the side. This chair looked like something out of some high budget science fiction movie. The room was completely white and brightly lit. He was given a set of scrubs to change into and then the nurse left him be. With the door closed, it was hard to tell exactly where the exit was. The wall was so perfectly white and uniform.

Matt quickly changed into the scrubs and sat on the large imposing chair. Soon, Dr. Lisinger entered wearing his white uniform while holding a clipboard.

"Matt O'Connely, it's good to see you again. How have you been?"

"Pretty good. I started exercising recently and trying out for the Second Strike force."

"Good ambition. However, that is a difficult task to accomplish."

Dr. Lisinger then began to explain the tests they would do today. He also explained the different things he would be injected with and how long it should take. What made Matt nervous was that he would need to be put under for the examination to proceed without error. This made him extremely suspicious but he couldn't refuse the exam without being put through an even more rigorous one later. The doctor put a mask over his face and Matt closed his eyes, gently drifting off into sleep.

When he woke up later, he didn't immediately open his eyes and continued to lay down. Matt had a good idea that whatever they gave him was calculated for a normal person of his build. However, the anesthesia should only be half as effective on him. The first thing he heard was the doctor's voice talking to someone over his communicator.

"The result is negative again. We still haven't found Subject Zero. There are not that many people left to examine…"

"Keep testing. If we cannot find it this way, we will have to try another method."

"Yes sir. I will call you again after the next patient."

Matt could not recognize the voice on the other side, but it did not match anyone he had encountered. This could be a voice changing program, but he doubted it. This was a major discovery. Someone or something has gotten loose and entered the ranks of the crew. It was very likely that this explained his origin, but there was a small possibility that there was another.

"Nurse, come in and monitor him. He should wake within an hour, if he doesn't, give him the stimulant. I have many more appointments today."

Matt could hear his footsteps exiting the room and the nurse entered. Matt had to keep himself calm since he was connected to a machine that reads his vitals. He began to count out an hour in his head.

'One… two… three…'