Double Helix - Biopunk Interest Check
“Let's be clear. The planet is not in jeopardy. We are in jeopardy. We haven't got the power to destroy the planet - or to save it. But we might have the power to save ourselves.”
- Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park
The next step in human evolution isn’t computers or robotics, cybernetic limbs controlled by electronic impulses. It’s the power of the genome. Genetic modification is how humanity will elevate itself to godhood.
Welcome to Double Helix City. In the year 2089, the city has become the seat of power of the United North American Territories after climate change has rendered coastal areas uninhabitable. Perched in the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, seasonal floods brings life-giving water and fertile soil. The affluent live and operate in their gleaming silver towers while the masses live and die in their shadows. Black market upgrades leave the countless criminal syndicates vying for genetic power in a disturbing perversion of natural selection. Megacorporations sell and patent life-saving drugs and surgeries, keeping the poor poorer and the rich richer. The city is run by Mayor Osbourne and his army of super soldier paramilitary forces simply called the Howlers.
Lately, people have been disappearing. While not necessarily a new happenstance in Double Helix City, an uproar is caused when beloved socialite Natalia Romanov vanishes without a trace. The Howlers have begun to crack down with renewed force and the criminal syndicate known as the Red Hand has become more and more daring in their underworld dealings. The two seem destined for a collision, one which will rock Double Helix City to its core. Will anyone survive?
