The Omnibus of Gods

[Kaelan]

Victoria wasted no time. The air above her Wallet shimmered as she activated it, displaying the intricate shape of a chromosome. She used her hand signals to zoom in on the supercoiled chromatin, which then opened up into the clumps of nucleosomes. She scrolled to the particular area she sought, slowing only when she reached the color-coded section under conversation. Then she tapped the nucleosome and the conformation changed into its relaxed form. The familiar double-helix of DNA appeared. Kaelan had seen as much before. “If you save a flag here, the program will return to this loci every time you enter the command. You won’t have to go through the incessant scrolling.” He took a drink of his water.

Torri barely looked up. “Thank you for the reminder,” she said flatly, but her tone did not indicate she was insulted. He found the reaction irrelevant and let her continue tediously. It was at this point that she activated cloaking mode, which was like a privacy screen that allowed only their eyes to view the hologram. He wondered how she was going to show him anything like this in public.

The DNA helix was rotating slowly, various segments pulsating in her preferred color settings.

“You know I am working on something sensitive, so I can’t explain what exactly I am seeking,” Victoria began in a hushed tone, her eyes flicking to ensure their privacy. "It involves the identification of polygenic scores correlated with certain latent abilities." Her voice stressed that final word in a way that Kaelan she was referencing channelers.

"The project utilizes quantum-enhanced CRISPR-Cas12 systems for precise gene editing and mapping," Victoria continued, her voice barely above a whisper. "However, we're encountering anomalies in non-coding regions, particularly within introns and enhancer sequences that don't align with standard genetic models."

Kaelan nodded thoughtfully, his mind already racing with the scientific implications. "You're suggesting that these abilities might be linked to non-coding DNA? That's a bold hypothesis, given the elusive nature of enhancer regions and their regulatory complexities.”

“Kind of,” she looked at the hologram thoughtfully. “I believe our answers lie in the non-coding regions, specifically, this one.” In a mindless gesture that said she’d done as much countless times before, the relaxed DNA collapsed back down into its condensed, chromosomal form. She panned to a different loci, and repeated the same procedure to show off a new, famously non-coding region.

Kaelan’s gaze glimmered with respect. "I might be able to assist," Kaelan said, his voice low, though the excitement began to fill it. "But I'll need to review your genomic sequencing data in detail. Turn on methylation mode. I’ll need access to any anomalous epigenetic patterns you've identified."

"We can arrange that," Victoria replied, her tone indicating the gravity of the information she was entrusting to him. "But not here, and this must stay between us. The implications are... considerable." She powered down the wallet and gave it to him. There was nothing identifiable on there. Nothing that would do any real harm if the data was leaked, but still, she was trusting him to help. If anyone could work with incomplete sets, it was Kaelan.

Their food arrived then, an array of colorful, artistically arranged dishes that were a fusion of traditional cuisine and molecular gastronomy, reflective of the current culinary trends. Kaelan's dish, a deconstructed borscht, was a vibrant array of beets in various textures, while Victoria had opted for a reinterpretation of pelmeni, where the dumplings appeared almost translucent, revealing the finely spiced meat within.

Kaelan lifted the Wallet, tucking it carefully into his jacket pocket, and they began their meal.