The Waning
The Waning was a genetic disease that afflicted the Lacertan species from the mid-22nd until the mid-23rd centuries. While not a deadly disease itself, the disease totally prevented the creation of offspring among Lacertans. This led to the eventual extinction of the Lacertan species in an organic form in 2231 CE, when the last group of Lacertans uploaded their minds to the Lacertis Identity Repository. Although the species continued to exist in virtual reality, it would be another two years before the first synthetic Lacertan was created, allowing the species to once again exist in physical form.
The Waning began as an attempt by a biomedical corporation on Lacertis to create a universal genetic treatment that would cure a vast number of hereditary and endemic illnesses. During testing, the treatment did not appear to have any side effects, and was deployed globally shortly afterward. This "miracle cure" became an overnight sensation, and an aerosol variant was developed several months after it became publicly available. By the time the first Lacertans found themselves unable to reproduce in 2160 CE, every member of the species had received the treatment. As Lacertan fertility rates collapsed, the entire medical sector was devoted solely to finding a cure, but the disease resisted all attempts at gene therapy. By the 2190s CE, genetic clinics had been widely abandoned in favour of mind-uploading to Identity Repositories. The involvement of the treatment and corporation in critically damaging the genes was initially covered up, but several whistleblowers revealed the truth in the early 2200s CE.
As part of the gene therapy, a more robust and aggressive DNA repair mechanism was inserted alongside an experimental telomere lengthening package. This was designed to treat the shortening problem, inherent in all biological aging. Due to some last minute edits in the DNA repair mechanism, it was made too aggressive and the lengthening package had unintended consequences: namely, the inability to fuse genetic material, resulting in total infertility. The aggressive DNA repair mechanism made the refactored genetic code completely immune to future gene therapy, effectively making the Waning incurable.
The Waning began as an attempt by a biomedical corporation on Lacertis to create a universal genetic treatment that would cure a vast number of hereditary and endemic illnesses. During testing, the treatment did not appear to have any side effects, and was deployed globally shortly afterward. This "miracle cure" became an overnight sensation, and an aerosol variant was developed several months after it became publicly available. By the time the first Lacertans found themselves unable to reproduce in 2160 CE, every member of the species had received the treatment. As Lacertan fertility rates collapsed, the entire medical sector was devoted solely to finding a cure, but the disease resisted all attempts at gene therapy. By the 2190s CE, genetic clinics had been widely abandoned in favour of mind-uploading to Identity Repositories. The involvement of the treatment and corporation in critically damaging the genes was initially covered up, but several whistleblowers revealed the truth in the early 2200s CE.
As part of the gene therapy, a more robust and aggressive DNA repair mechanism was inserted alongside an experimental telomere lengthening package. This was designed to treat the shortening problem, inherent in all biological aging. Due to some last minute edits in the DNA repair mechanism, it was made too aggressive and the lengthening package had unintended consequences: namely, the inability to fuse genetic material, resulting in total infertility. The aggressive DNA repair mechanism made the refactored genetic code completely immune to future gene therapy, effectively making the Waning incurable.
Comments