For the rest of the week, Genesis continued working at the internship with Jesse. Most of that time was spent teaching Genesis more about how genomes worked, and how to identify what parts of the genome corresponded with what features an organism had. Genesis tried to be receptive to what Jesse was teaching her, but it felt like a mountain of information to comprehend. She felt like it would take years before she could call herself a certified geneticist.

At the end of the week, however, things got a little stranger. After she'd been working with Jesse for an hour, Lucas Jacobson came to watch what they were doing. "Hey guys," said Lucas. "How's your research going?"

"Pretty good," said Jesse. "We've found the part of the clownfish genome responsible for their hermaphroditism. At least, I think we have."

Lucas looked over the nucleotides that were showing on the computer hooked up to the microscope they were using. "I see," he said. "This might be an important step, guys. We've already found the part of the human genome responsible for what gender a developing fetus takes upon in its mother's womb. If we can figure out how to replace that with a gender-changing genome, then we'll be able to develop our serum."

"Will we actually be putting clownfish DNA in the serum?" Genesis asked.

"It's likely," Lucas answered. "Or perhaps we'll use DNA from frogs, a la Jurassic Park. Or some other animal that exhibits hermaphroditism." He straightened his tie and turned to face Genesis. "But for right now, Genesis, I need to have a talk with you in my office."

"What?"

"Don't worry, you're not in any trouble," said Lucas. "In fact, you'll find it's quite the opposite."

That should've reassured Genesis, but instead, she felt really confused. She followed Lucas out of the research lab and into his office. Once he'd closed and locked the door, Lucas sat down at his desk. "So, Genesis," he said. "Or should I say...Gene."

Genesis' heart stopped. Ever since that witch Mirna had turned her into a girl, she had never heard anyone call her by her male name. Except her parents and stepsister, but even then, they'd adjusted to calling her by her female name fairly quickly. "What? Gene?"

"It's your old name, is it not?" Lucas asked.

"I...don't know what you're talking about," Genesis lied.

"Yes, you do," said Lucas. "Up until last summer, you were a boy named Gene Rookwood. Until you sexually harassed your girlfriend Cassy, and when you went to Cassy's job to yell at her, Cassy's boss-who was a witch-turned you into a girl to teach you a lesson."

Genesis' jaw dropped. "How do you know all that?" she asked.

"Because Mirna was my aunt."

If Genesis was shocked before, it was nothing compared to this. "You're her NEPHEW?"

Lucas nodded. "I'm going to be honest with you. I never liked Mirna. When she and my mother were growing up, they never got along. Even when my parents had me, and we had our obligatory visits with Mirna, I found I didn't get along with her either. As time went on, we saw Mirna less and less. The last time I saw her was a year ago, at my mother's funeral. I thought that would be the last time I'd ever see her-and, as it turns out, I was right. A few months ago, Mirna was shot and killed by a robber at her job."

"I know," Genesis said sadly. She still remembered marching down to the mall to demand Mirna to change her back into Gene, only to arrive at the scene of Mirna's death. At the time, Genesis had been so wrapped up in the grief over her own situation, she hadn't given much thought to how Mirna's family would react. Or, for that matter, whether Mirna even had any family.

"Since I'm Mirna's only surviving relative, her belongings were automatically bequeathed to me," Lucas went on. "Being a scientist, I'm naturally curious, so I started going through her stuff to see if I could find anything of use. And I found that she kept a diary."

"Mirna? She kept a diary?" Genesis snorted in disbelief.

"Yes, I thought it was strange, too. But her last few entries talked about you. And that was what made me realize you were the solution to all of my problems."

"How so?"

"Well, I don't know if Jesse has told you this, but I am a closeted trans woman."

Genesis stared at Lucas. This whole situation was just getting weirder and weirder. "What?"

"All my life, I've dreamed of being female," said Lucas. "But I can't."

When Genesis didn't reply, Lucas continued. "Ever since I confided my desires to my mother, she encouraged me to seek out a gender therapist, and to look into getting hormone replacement therapy. But I knew such things would be for nought. Contrary to popular belief, trans women are not women. They are merely men that have changed up their wardrobe and gotten some extreme body modifications."

"But...they identify as women..."

"It does not matter. A trans woman is, biologically, a man. No amount of estrogen pills can change the Y chromosome to an X. And, even for the trans women who are deluding themselves, 'transitioning' is a long and hard experience. Hormone replacement therapy can be very expensive, and gender reassignment surgery even more so. To make matters worse, such surgeries can go horribly wrong. All these procedures to try to change your gender are a lot more trouble than they're worth because, again, you cannot change your biological gender.

"That's the reason for my studies here at Pride Laboratories. I hope that I can develop a serum that actually can change a person's biological gender. It will be a much cheaper and easier option than having surgery that might not even be effective. Don't you agree?"

"I mean...I guess," said Genesis.

"Then you'll understand why I'll need some of your DNA."

"What?"

"You are a human who's had their biological sex changed, are you not?" Lucas asked. "We're looking to create a serum that changes a person's biological sex. If we're going to use any organism's DNA, it should be yours."

"But...I was changed magically," said Genesis. "This is supposed to be a science lab, isn't it?"

"To quote Arthur C. Clarke, 'magic's just science we don't understand yet.'" He pulled out his cell phone and pressed the button to turn the screen on. "Ten thousand years ago, the people of our world might've considered this action to be magic. But we do not, do we?"

"No."

"Exactly. You might've been changed 'magically,' but I'm convinced your DNA might still hold secrets for us to find. And, to get a sample of your DNA, I'm going to ask permission to draw some of your blood."

"Well...about that..." Genesis stammered.

"What?"

"I actually have a medical condition," Genesis explained. "When I was twelve, my doctor told me I had a rare form of anemia where my body doesn't produce red blood cells quickly enough. So if I try to donate blood, it could lead to low blood pressure and potential organ failure."

"Well, we'd need at least a cup or two of blood to obtain a viable genome..."

Genesis shook her head. "Even that might be pushing it," she said.

"Are you sure? I can cover any medical bills that arise as a result of our tests."

"Look, can't you just go to someone else who was magically transformed?" Genesis asked. "Like those girls that made the news last year? Olivia Walker, Rachel Miller, Saige Johnson?"

"Do you think I want to ride the coattails of existing celebrities?" Lucas asked. "No. When this serum is patented, I will become a hero to the trans community. And I do not want to depend on other people's glory for it. I want to be famous solely for what I did. And if I use a DNA sample from you, someone who hasn't found themselves in the public eye..."

A rock fell into Genesis' stomach. "So that's why you hired me on," she said. "You wanted to...exploit me!"

"Well, now, 'exploit'-that's a bit harsh," said Lucas.

"No," said Genesis. "You only wanted me for my DNA. You just want to be the guy who out-of-nowhere came up with a way for trans women to become 'real' women. All by using me."

"Miss Rookwood, you don't understand how much I've yearned to be a woman for the better part of my life."

"Trust me, it's not as awesome as you think," said Genesis. This was somewhat stretching the truth, since she'd actually grown to like life as a girl, but she wasn't about to tell that to Lucas.

"Genesis, please," said Lucas. "I'm sorry for not...presenting myself as well as I could've, but..."

"No. That's it. I'm done here. I am quitting the internship." And with that, she left Lucas' office.

For a minute, Lucas just sat there, dumbstruck. "I should've known this wouldn't work," he grumbled. He'd waited a week before asking Genesis for her DNA because he was hoping he'd be able to build up a feeling of trust for him. But it appeared that that hadn't worked. "Well, if she won't do it willingly," Lucas said as he pulled out his phone again, "Then I guess I'll have to take some more extreme measures."

To be continued...