B-4

By Esther Davis

When Dr. Jordynn Chambers discovers a DNA vending machine amongst centuries of discarded—sorry, "archived"—student projects, she sets out to decipher whatever secrets hide inside. Read a sneak peak of 1 of 20 stories publishing in Esther Davis's "A Dog, 3 Cats, and a Dragon."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Esther Davis
• Release date: Dec 23, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386065067

Book preview

B-4

The vending machine buzzed. Dr. Jordynn Chambers snatched the deposited vial from the rusting slot and held it up to eye level. Silky white strands floated in a clear ethanol solution. DNA.

Stickers had once labeled the machine, but they faded away long ago. The genetic code could be for any plant. Or animal or bacterium for that matter. Honestly, Jordynn was shocked that the machine even ran. It was old enough to take physical quarters, and Jordynn was old enough to still carry them. She wondered if any of the other professors knew this rusted hunk was around. Doubtful. The storage room held centuries of discarded—excuse her, archived—student projects. Her thesis design probably still sat down here, too, covered in dust from the past sixty-three years.

Jordynn tipped the vial and watched the DNA drift through the preservative. Not something you’d normally think of as beautiful, but it was. Probably the point of the project. Too bad the grad student had torn open the DNA’s folds. They’d made the DNA visible, but damaged the delicate coding in the process. Plus the ethanol was a terrible preservative. But Jordynn’s lab should have the right equipment to parse it back together.

MARLA, I’VE GOT A NEW assignment for you.

M4rl4 spun in her chair to face