In New York, inside Dr. Connors's private laboratory at Metropolis University.
Six young men and women, all around twenty years old, stood somewhat nervously at the entrance to the laboratory's main hall. Their eyes showed varying degrees of admiration and unease as they looked at the tall, middle-aged man with dark golden hair before them.
The middle-aged man looked at the young people before him and couldn't help smiling warmly.
"Hello, everyone. Welcome, welcome. I'm Dr. Curtis Connors. There's no need to be nervous—you all earned your internships here through your own abilities," Dr. Connors said. His voice was gentle and slightly resonant, helping the nervous young people relax a little.
Then Dr. Connors turned slightly, revealing the empty sleeve where the lower half of his right arm was missing, and chuckled. "As you can see, I'm left-handed."
Several of the young men and women laughed at that. Though they quickly stopped, Dr. Connors had eased the tension in the room.
"But I'm not disabled," Dr. Connors continued. He was still smiling, but his words held a hint of confidence and pride. "I'm a scientist—and one of the world's leading authorities in herpetology!"
"Herpetology is the study of what you usually call reptiles," Dr. Connors explained. "I'm optimistic about my life, but just as patients with Parkinson's watch in fear as their bodies gradually become unable to move, or patients with macular degeneration helplessly lose their sight, I, too, want to heal my severed limb..."
As Dr. Connors spoke of one debilitating condition after another, the young people felt the mood grow heavy. At the same time, they couldn't help wondering whether they might rise to prominence like those famous scientists and, in their lifetimes, have the good fortune to cure even one of these conditions.
"But I've always believed in one saying."
Dr. Connors fell silent for a moment before continuing. "Knowledge is power."
Looking at the young people before him, he spoke with a hint of excitement in his voice. "This missing hand hasn't made me despair. Instead, it's given me motivation. I have a wealth of scientific knowledge, and I want to use what I know to heal myself."
"But I'm not satisfied with just that. It's only one of my ideals. I want to create a world where people no longer suffer regrets because of illness or physical disabilities. I want to create a world without imperfections."
By the end, Dr. Connors had reined in his excitement. He spoke slowly, as if making a vow. "No matter how difficult the road ahead, I won't give up. I believe this is the meaning of science, and I exist to make it happen!"
When he finished, the young people's breathing quickened. Dr. Connors's words had inspired them greatly. If he hadn't yet assigned them their tasks, they would have rushed straight into the laboratory to put their skills to work.
Seeing their reaction, Dr. Connors smiled with satisfaction and asked in a calm voice, "Now that I've said all that, who can guess how we might achieve it?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a young Chinese American man raised his hand. At Dr. Connors's gesture, he replied excitedly, "Stem cells?"
"That could work, but my approach is bolder," Dr. Connors said with a nod. He turned to the others. "Does anyone have another idea?"
The young interns glanced at one another, but couldn't think of a good solution.
"Then what about introducing genes from another species?"
A voice suddenly came from behind the young people.
The unexpected voice caught everyone's attention, including Dr. Connors's. A tall blond young man had appeared behind the group at some point. Though he was tall, his face looked younger than those of the others present. He was a teenager.
The boy sounded excited as he continued, "Take Parkinson's patients, for example. The cells in their brains that produce dopamine gradually die, but the genes of the spotted gar can encourage cell regeneration."
Seeing the interest in Dr. Connors's eyes, the boy grew quietly excited and continued, "If we could transplant the genes that promote cell regeneration into the patient, then the patient could heal himself."
"That's true," the Chinese American who had answered earlier said with a dismissive smirk. "But you'd still have to figure out how to stop the patients from growing gills. Otherwise, they'd have to start living in the ocean."
His words drew a few chuckles from the others, but the boy wasn't bothered. He smiled. "But that's exactly the kind of problem cross-species genetics needs to solve. We can't be afraid when we encounter problems. We have to face them head-on, don't we?"
At the boy's words, the young people instinctively stopped laughing. Some began to think it over, while others were quietly contemptuous, though none said so aloud.
Dr. Connors, however, was intrigued by the boy. He reminded Dr. Connors of himself when he was young. Compared with the others, the boy seemed to think more broadly and had a better attitude toward science. Dr. Connors couldn't help asking, "Sorry, may I ask who you are?"
The boy's eyes suddenly lit up. He bared his teeth in a grin. "Dilos. Dilos Sullivan."
"Dilos Sullivan?" One of the young men muttered under his breath, "Isn't that the author of Harry Potter? He must just have the same name..."
"Idiot, that's really him," said the pretty young woman beside him, rolling her eyes and lowering her voice. "Don't you read the newspapers? His photo was on the front page all the time for a while."
The others also took a closer look at Dilos and began whispering among themselves.
"Dilos Sullivan?" Dr. Connors raised an eyebrow when he heard the name. He suddenly remembered the person recommended to him by the son of the wealthy Lionel Luthor.
To be honest, Dr. Connors had no desire to let a novelist work as his assistant. How could a fantasy writer know much about biology? Letting him in would be an insult to science!
But Lex's offer of funding for his experiments, at no charge, had left him little choice but to make an exception. He still had plenty of money, but it wasn't enough for the groundbreaking experiment he was conducting. Lex's funding had conveniently helped solve many of his problems.
So Dr. Connors had given Lex's candidate a spot. In his view, Dilos had simply wanted to come along for fun because he was friends with Lex Luthor. As long as he didn't touch the equipment, Dr. Connors could just let his internship run its course.
Dr. Connors had believed this right up until Dilos showed up. After all, Dilos had arrived late, despite having been given a set time. That seemed to prove Dr. Connors's assumptions right.
But the situation now was somewhat unexpected. Dr. Connors hadn't thought Dilos would actually have some talent.
Dilos didn't care about the people whispering around him or Dr. Connors standing there with a slight frown. The situation was a little awkward, but it would have been stranger if they hadn't reacted that way. Still, letting things continue like this wouldn't do him any good, Dilos thought.
So Dilos spoke first. "Dr. Connors, I may be famous for my novel Harry Potter, but please believe me when I say biology is what I'm best at. Allow me to prove it."
Before you continue