Things Most Precious

There were three great discoveries made during the century.

Nano-photons.

Souls.

The Gene Trinity.

Nano-photons were basically particles that were a billion times smaller than photons.

After running the Large Hadron Collider for tens of thousands of hours and burning an astronomical amount of energy, the tiniest particles known to man were detected.

At first, there was great excitement among the scientific community. What would this new particle mean for science? What theories would be disproved and what new hypothesis would be proposed to take their place?

But no one expected the actual answer that came out. Souls existed. They were nothing but an agglomeration of the nano-photons in an organism's body.

In a historical experiment, a dying man was put inside a completely sealed chamber and the weight of the chamber was measured in total vacuum.

The moment he died, the weight reduced by a trillionth of a gram and nano-photons were detected leaving the chamber. Everyone was dumbfounded. Something believed supernatural had finally been unravelled by the forward march of science.

In layman's terms every sentient being produced nano-photons whenever they thought. Even single celled organisms like bacteria produced it in small amounts. But, in the rest of the universe, the particles were totally absent.

Thus, they were called life particles. Many fantasy fans and mystics began to give it various names. Mana, prana, od, chakra, qi, reiatsu… there were as many names as there were cultures.

This sort of thinking was further amplified when the ability of a person's thoughts to affect their souls were discovered.

It was simultaneously discovered that souls could affect the body.

This led to the opening of the Gene Era.

***

Aman walked over to the Gene Analyser by the roadside and placed his thumb on the marked area. He felt a slight pricking as the sterilized disposable needle drew a small amount of blood.

Taking back his thumb, he fumbled about his pocket for his wallet.

Swiping his student ID card through the slot provided activated the Gene Analyser.

A row of data and numbers flashed on the screen as it broke down his DNA into the constituent genes and matched them to its database.

Soon, the results were displayed upon the screen:

Name: Aman Batra

Strength: 5

Agility: 7

Endurance: 3

Intelligence: 9

Charisma: 1

He sighed at the abysmal numbers as he ruefully watched the charge for the appraisal being deducted from his scholarship money. Shaking his head, he shouldered his bag and walked towards his home.

Upon reaching his residence, he frowned in annoyance as he saw the trash piled up in front of the gate. He clenched his fist.

Really, too excessive.

Their house was in the way of a construction project. This was just one of the many petty ways in which the goons of the contractor were making life difficult for them.

He sighed and entered through the side gate with his personal key.

When he opened the door, the sound alerted his mother and she called out from the kitchen. "Is that you, son?"

Placing his bag on the living room sofa he responded. "Yes, ma."

"Wash up. Lunch will be ready soon."

"Okay. Is Preeti awake?"

"Yes."

Nodding he entered the bathroom and began to freshen up.

In the mirror, an incomparably familiar, yet strange face stared back at him. Just a year ago, his head would have been on the level of the top edge of the mirror, now, his chin was level with the bottom.

A year ago, his muscles were well defined. Now, his frame was bulky but with rolls of loose flab instead of taut musculature.

Just a year ago, his face could be called handsome due to its sharp features and symmetry. Now, there was only one word that fit him: ugly. Acne and pockmarks covered his skin while his features lacked symmetry. One eye was even larger than the other.

He chuckled self-depreciatingly. Well, everything had a price. He had willingly paid his.

Aman walked to his younger sister's room and knocked.

"Come in." The voice that replied was very feeble.

Pushing open the door, he entered and found her lying on the bed connected to several medical instruments that were monitoring her vitals.

She was utterly pale from the lack of sunlight and her head was bare after the chemotherapy sessions had caused her hair to fall out.

Preeti had been diagnosed with leukaemia a year ago after she had fainted in her school.

Aman and Preeti's mother had raised the two of them alone after her husband had died in an industrial accident a few months after Preeti's birth.

Aman was five then.

For the first few years the money compensated by the company at which their father worked and his life insurance had been enough for the family to meet their daily requirements.

But, soon, the money started running out and their mother had to work.

From then onwards, Aman had taken care of Preeti. It could be said that the two siblings were bound by a common destiny.

So, when he had heard Preeti needed money for her treatment, he had unhesitatingly sold off his stats.

As had their mother.

He sat down by her bedside and held her hand.

"How are you feeling?"

Despite the pain she must be suffering from, the brave girl smiled for him and replied, "I'm feeling well, brother. I'll be all better soon."

Thankfully, the cancer had been caught in the early stages and the malignant cells removed. The chemotherapy was mainly for the prevention of a recurrence.

After a year in and out of the hospital, she was finally free to come home. She was still under observation and still would be for the next couple of months.

Preeti's eyes ran over his face. She couldn't help but rebuke herself. Her brother had been so handsome. He had been so strong.

But now, for her, he had sold off parts of himself. He had traded her continued life with his genes. She couldn't help but feel guilty and tears appeared in her eyes.

"Shh. Don't cry. It was all worth it. To me, what is my appearance. What is strength if I can't ever see you smile again? So, smile for me? Give a big smile for your brother."

Her lips curved up in a watery grin and Aman laughed with his trademark booming laugh which caused him to devolve into a coughing fit midway because his lung capacity was greatly reduced when he had sold off his endurance.

Comforting the worried girl and soothing her to sleep, he quietly stepped out of the room and went to the dining room.

She couldn't eat proper food yet and had to be given nutrients intravenously. Also, she was easily exhausted by conversation.

He clenched his fist.

He didn't want her to suffer anymore. For that he had to do just one more thing. It was something he had been planning ever since the cancer was detected but didn't have the means to do until she was out of danger.

Tomorrow would be the day.

He sat down at the table with his mother and said his thanks for the food. His mother sat down beside him.

"How was school today, son?"

His eyes twitched but he did his best to not let her worry by suppressing his reaction. "It went well."

After a few more mundane questions, they both concentrated on the food.

As they ate, Aman sometimes took a look at his mother.

She, like him, had sold off all her genes except the intelligence genes to the limit until which it wouldn't affect daily life.

Their views on this were consistent.

Appearance, strength all these were important but in the face of the life of a family member, they paled in comparison.

After he had finished eating his dinner, he took out the trash.

Carrying two bags of segregated garbage, one in each hand, he walked down the block towards the dumpster at the end.

Turning the corner, he prepared to dump the bags into their respective bins when he was shocked by the sight that greeted him.

In the alley, leaning against the dumpster, bleeding from multiple wounds was an extremely handsome man. Other than his unnaturally good looks and his open wounds, what set him apart from the masses was his long pointed ears.

He was an elf.