[I guess this could contain spoilers IF you haven't already read chapter 9 of The Gifted.]

I'm on the genetics unit in my biology course right now.

Now, while I think molecular biology is the coolest thing ever, I hate genetics with a burning passion. So imagine my surprise when I realize that, OH MY GOD SOME OF THIS IS RELEVANT TO THE GIFTED.

I already knew the simple dominant recessive relationship stuff, but I've learned so much more. And now I think I can actually make sure that what I have going on with Gifts being passed through generations is actually logical and follows the laws of genetics. So, guess what? Me studying for my genetics test is going to consist of me making Punnett Squares and gene maps and pedigrees, not for actual disorders, like we did in class, but for the Gifted gene that I mention in the book. XD

This makes me so happy though. Although the actual Gifts have a huge fantasy element, I want to have at least some science backing this stuff up.

I've also discovered something else that I cannot believe I never stumbled across before.

First of all, my explanation for people being Gifted is currently that a mutation occurred generations and generations before the book takes place, and that mutation was caused by nuclear radiation, which was a result of nuclear warfare. The problem with that explanation is that the nuclear warfare is so ridiculously irrelevant, and I was thinking of deleting it entirely. The reason I haven't deleted it yet was because I could not think of any other explanation for Gifts. 

(On the bright side, I've learned that mutations being caused by toxic chemicals or radiation is a legit thing called an induced mutation. I forget everything else I was supposed to know about that lmao, but considering the only basis I had when coming up with that was Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which I learned about in seventh grade, it's nice to learn it in a scientific context rather than a historical one.)

Enter the video my bio teacher had us watch today--it was about CRISPR-Cas9. I don't know if that is so well known that I am an idiot for never having heard of it, or if you guys don't know what it is either, but I guess it doesn't matter. The question is:

WHY HAVE I NOT SEEN THIS BEFORE.

HUMANS PURPOSELY EDITING GENES IN ORDER TO GIVE THEM SUPERPOWERS IS SO MUCH EASIER TO DEAL WITH THAN THIS STUPID NUCLEAR RADIATION THING WTF

AND IT'S ALSO MORE RELEVANT TO THE STORY LIKE DANG THIS MAKES EVERYTHING SO MUCH MORE SIMPLE

IM SO STUPID

Like I would have done the gene editing thing before but I didn't know if that was actually possible, and I knew the nuclear radiation thing was, so I just went with that because I was too lazy to research at the time. (btw this has nothing to do with that first draft I posted, the one I wrote with a partner. This is stuff I was thinking about on my own.) And the radiation thing just stuck with me.

BUT NOW I WANT TO CHANGE IT. I PROBABLY AM, ACTUALLY.

AND YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?

EDITING.

And editing it to remove the whole nuclear warfare will actually complicate it a little, because the whole issue with the Sectors poses a problem. Those, in my reasoning, are only there because of the nuclear warfare.

This is going to involve a lot of changes, but I may be able to make it work. Hopefully.

........

That next update is never going to be written, is it?

Maybe I should hold off on the editing until I finish this book. That way I won't have to worry about updating.

.....

But--but--changing it now will make writing the rest of the story more simple!

...

I shouldn't. I really, really shouldn't.

.

.

.

I'm doing it.