Sam pulled the car up into a space outside a building which looked like all the others. It was a big concrete box with few external doors and windows. The main entrance was brightly lit, and inside Sam could make out someone's feet on a desk.

The rain was still coming down hard. The drops flashed into white sparks where the crossed the headlight beams of the Fiat. When Sam turned the wipers off the windscreen turned into a glass waterfall, obscuring any real view of what was happening outside.

Lyn cast a doubtful eye on the roof of the car. The rain was now so intense the drumming had become a roar.

"Maybe I should give it a few minutes?" she wondered.

"Definitely," said Sam, in total agreement. No one should have to be outside in weather like this unless they had to. "I hope you have an umbrella!"

"I have one in my bag, and there's a spare one behind your seat in case you need to get out."

"Don't you want me to come with you?" he asked.

"No. You wouldn't be able to come in anyway. There's not guest access allowed in there. Security is very tight."

"Why? What else is in there?"

"There are some viruses strains kept in there for research and development, things like HIV, Ebola, Marbug, Dengue and Influenza."

"You keep the flu virus with things like Ebola and HIV? Why do you need to keep that so secure? It's just he flu."

"Sam, influenza is one of the biggest viral killers in the world. It can spread through a population and do more damage that something like Ebola. Three to five million people die from it every year, so yes, we study it and keep it locked up."

"But it's safe in there, right?"

"Perfectly. Anyway I'm not going into any of those labs! The only viruses we work with are types of Herpes."

"All the diseases in the world and that's the one you're trying to cure?"

"We don't try and cure it. We use a mutant strain of Herpes as a delivery vector in gene therapy. It can't reproduce so there is no risk of full blown Herpes developing. We use it to 'infect'," here she wiggled her fingers in the air as air quotes, "host cells and transfer the new genes into the cell. Then once it is in place nature does the rest."

"That sounds dangerous. Are you sure this is all safe?"

"Absolutely safe. We know how these things work, and we know the causes and effects of different viruses. So as long as we control things properly there is nothing to worry about."

"It doesn't sound safe."

"That's just because you don't understand how it all works and what these things really do. I don't think explosives and guns are safe but you work with them in controlled environments so you can manage the risks. In my hands a gun would be dangerous. In your hands gene gun would be dangerous."

"You have guns that shoot genes?"

She laughed. "Yes, that's a real thing. Don't worry, it's mainly used on plant cells so we can get past the cell walls."

"I swear you are making some of this up. It sounds more like a Harry Potter film than science."

"So I shouldn't tell you the guns shoot gold? Because that would sound silly?"

"Whatever," said Sam. He turned away to see what the weather was doing, but Lyn could see he was smiling at what she had said. She knew how these things sounded to people without her background. It was dangerous science fiction to a layman, but there were developments in gene editing and delivery taking place in labs all over the world.

Fifty years ago putting a man on the moon seemed like a pipe dream. Forty years ago computers in ever home were fantasy. Now she had one in her bag that was more powerful than everything NASA used to launch the first space shuttle. Then there was the internet and the communications revolution.

Things changed fast but at every stage people wondered about the safety of the technology and the wisdom of using it. But now there were probes taking photos of Pluto, a robot driving over the surface of Mars. Infertile parents could have children. Diseases can be cured. Polio had almost been eliminated but most people didn't worry about that or even know about it. Most people probably thought it has been eradicated already because to them it was a disease from history, but the world was a big place. It was ignorance of the technology and ignorance of the amazing things it could accomplish that held people back. Or was the worst part of it that no-one appreciated the miracles they used every day?

Billions of people carried phones, no - computers, in their pockets every day, giving them instant access to anywhere in the world, and access to the breadth and dept of human knowledge, if they wanted it. But they didn't. How could instant access to the worlds knowledge compare to the ability to like a picture of a cat with bad grammar? Even when they had something amazing in their pockets people they didn't understand what they had. Why should it be any different when trying to get people to understand the limitless potential of understanding and controlling the very code that controlled life on earth? Even Sam didn't seem to totally get it. She looked at him as he looked for any sign the rain was going to let up. Here was an intelligent, attractive, strong man, able to take care of himself and others, and he still repeated the same myths she had seen in the newspapers and on television and in the movies a thousand times. Playing god? Frankenstein whatever? No right to do these things? Changing the very thing that makes us human? But what was human anyway? It was something everyone thought they knew but no-one had really taken the time to understand. Humans came in all shapes and sizes and colours, each one the demonstration of the infinite possibilities contained within their genes. But tell people they are almost the same as a chimpanzee and they will look to the unique characteristics they can see to make themselves feel special. Start telling them that they share dna with fruits and vegetables and they stop paying attention altogether.

If God made man in his own image, he must have used the same brush to make everything else.

Sam shifted in his seat. Lyn could tell he was about to say something. She had spent enough time with him today to pick up on some of his tells and idiosyncrasies.

"Eventually this stuff will become really cheap and easy, you said."

"Eventually. We're getting there, yes."

"So once that happens, won't we live in a world where people can be made to order?"

"Are you worried about the threat of Eugenics? The quest to make the perfect society through making perfect people?

"I guess so. Is that a real risk we have coming?" said Sam.

Any minute now he's going to mention the Nazis, thought Lyn.

"Like, the Nazis had this dream of a perfect master race. Isn't that sort of thing going to be more of a risk now than ever?"

Bingo!

"In my opinion, yes and no," said Lyn. "On the one hand we can't control this technology forever. Everyone working in this field knows that we are on a path that will change society for ever. I don't think it takes much imagination to see that coming. But different countries will react in different ways. They all have different backgrounds, and cultures and religious beliefs. Some countries will outlaw it, some will embrace it. And there will be different regulations in each country, and different ethical standards. Yes in some countries there might be a 'master race' breeding program. I can't promise there won't be. But I don't think those things are going to be what changes the world. Genes are only our building blocks. They are a predisposition, or variations in a mold, but people are shaped as much by there environment as their DNA. Maybe more."

"More?"

"Sure. Look around the world today. Everyone is basically the same. Some are taller, or shorter, or have different shape ears. The list is endless. But we are all still human. To all intents and purposes our DNA is identical, and yet the world is full of different beliefs and cultures and ideas. They are not caused by differences in genes but by upbringing, and exposure to the world around them. Look at, I don't know, women's rights for example. Are the different opinions around the world based on genetic coding, or social changes? Even in this country things have changed over the last hundred years. There is no genetic cause for that."

"So you don't think it will make a difference," said Sam.

"Actually I do, but not like that."

"How, then?"

"Well before it becomes cheap and easy to edit your genes, assuming governments don't regulate it into the ground, it's going to be available and widespread but expensive. Access will be limited to the rich, then the middle classes, and then everyone. Like computers or mobile phones or flat screen TV's. And do you know what the biggest fear is of parents in the west?"

"Illness?"

"Their children."

"So they'll be spending money to keep their children safe? That makes sense."

"More than that I think. When the time comes I think parents, genuine honest, well-meaning people, will be editing the genes of their children in the womb."

"To cure diseases?"

"Yes, I think that goes without saying. But I think as specific genes are discovered and isolated, parents will be using this technology to give their kids the best possible start in life. Think about it. Every parents wants a kid who is confident, and well behaved and successful. Where do those things come from?"

"Upbringing?"

"Partially, yes. But studies have also shown that taller people earn more, on average. So if a company can offer a therapy to enhance or switch on the gene that codes for height, maybe only half an inch, what parent wouldn't take that chance?"

"You think parents will find out they are having a baby, then go to a lab to make the kid taller?"

"Yes, I do, but it won't be like that. They will be marketed as pre-natel development therapies, or something like that. And it won't be just one thing, it will dozens of enhancements, all catered to different races and cultures. The height gene, for example, might become popular among families or races where they are traditionally shorter than average. Tall families might feel they don't have to do bother. These things might also change with the times and fashions. Some people straighten their hair - not me, obviously. I guarantee you that mothers will begin editing their children's genes to get perfectly straight hair. They won't think of the long term consequences, that fashion might change."

"What about countries with a lot of racism?"

"Good point. Imagine a well-meaning family with mixed-race children. They know that if the kids are characterized as a particular race they will have problems in life. So they go in, and turn off some genes, and turn on others, and suddenly the child looks like an aryan stereotype. It won't be the child's fault, and it won't parent's fault, not really. They are just doing the best they can to protect their child in a world they know will judge it purely on how it looks. So they change how it looks for the benefit of the child. They will do it because they love it, not because they have some political agenda. But because to them, it is the only way to protect the thing most precious to them. That is how the world will change, and you know what else I think? I don't think it will make the slightest difference."

"What do you mean it won't make a difference?"

"Because times will change like they always do. Gene editing will begin as something weird that only strange rich people do. Then it will become common among the rich and upper classes as they are the ones with the money to get exactly what they want. But after that, as it becomes more popular and more normal, and it will become normal, there will be a shift in peoples perceptions. It will become the thing people avoid. Families will celebrate having children they have never edited in the womb. They will consider themselves pure, or thoroughbred. And after that will come a generation of kids who will be targeted for not being genetically pure by the kids who are, even though there is no such thing. And then the dangers will come in, if they haven't already."

"What dangers?"

"Like, employment, or education, or sports. Will an athlete want to compete against someone who was given the advantage of better stamina, not because their parents wanted to them to run, but because of a weakness in the family history they were trying to avoid. Will an employer refuse to take someone on who's genes have been edited so they have more confidence? Will the employer see that as someone who will talk back and argue about the work? Sure it would be better to employ someone who will just do what they are told?"

"You've thought about this a lot!" said Sam. "Do you really think all that will happen?"

"Some of it definitely will. Some may not, but it depends where in the world and how long this takes. But I can see social changes coming a generation or two from not not because of the changes people will make to themselves, but because of the perception of what those changes mean. And you know what the crazy part of that is?"

"What?"

"It's exactly the world we have now, where people are judged and pigeon-holed based on what others think of them, and not who they are. Ironic, no?"

"So sort of like the more things change, the more they stay the same?" offered Sam.

"Ha ha, yes. I guess so. You put it far more succinctly than I just did," said Lyn.

Sam shrugged. "I never thought about any of that before. Sitting here with you is an education!"

"I hope I'm not boring you! I just get...passionate about some things."

Sam half-smiled. "There's nothing wrong with that," he said. "Anyway, sitting here with you, in the rain, isn't boring at all."

"No?"

"No. It's...nice."

Lyn blushed, glad of the shadows to hide her glowing face.

"And the rain is calming down a bit," said Sam, checking the sky.

Lyn sighed inwardly, a small regret at the moment now passed.

"I suppose I should get going then."

"Will it take you long?"

"I have to get about twenty five or so samples. It won't take long to pack them up and sign them out, but I will check the database while I am here in case there is anything else we need. Hopefully the guys in London were able to update it with the current stock of what we had there, which is zero."

"Umbrella?"

"I'll use the one in my bag. The rain isn't so bad now. See you in a few minutes!"

Lyn hopped out and slammed the passenger door behind her in her haste to get inside. The worst of the rain had let up, but it was still falling steadily, if not fiercely.

Light from the street caught Sam's attention. He couldn't see the vehicle in the dark and the rain but he was able to identify the make and model, a Mercedes G-Class, from from the shape of the headlights. Another car arriving in the office park.

I guess we're not the only people working late, he thought.

A second car, the same make, followed