The Droogle, A Live SynthPet ©BioSynth, from my novel “Mentor”

| November 3, 2011 | 4 Comments

2011 Day 03 SynthPet --Droodle

 

The Droogle, Designer DNA SynthPet from “Mentor” my novel WIP.

This SynthPet, Droogle,  ©BioSynth Corporation, was designed by Frabgo A’tal Rethgrad as a promotional gift for the wife of the Governor of the Lakes District of T’rest, Deira A’tan Re’kalanth del Re’sjahlak.  Deira found the whole concept of designer pets and humans for the marketplace sickening and abhorrent, but the political gambit on the part of the BioSynth Marketing paid off for them in spades.
The pet was hairless, brightly coloured, and was grown from DNA from a surprising number of indigenous species, as you can probably tell by looking at it’s flat snout, leathery ears, and claws. It was also tweaked to be playful, obedient, and docile in the presence of humans. It had no teeth and could only take liquid nourishment due to it’s tight chitinous neck rings. To Deira A’tan Re’kalanth it was the embodiment of an abomination, a parody of a living creature, an yet it was a living creature harmless and deserving of food, shelter and love, like any other living creature.

In her position, politically she could not refuse the pet since it was already alive. On the one hand, she could not condone a practise she found painfully abhorrent and that she had secretly been trying to undermine. On the other, she couldn’t bear to have a living thing destroyed, and she knew that the media (fueled by BioSynth tainted coin) would forever hold her up as a champion of the SynthPet market. It wasn’t the pets themselves that she hated. To her, they were the victims, like all the designer dna creatures BioSynth leased in public and in private.

Her strong views on Designer DNA SynthPets were known to the media and therefore the general public who held her in great respect. This of course kept the sales of the Synth pets lower than estimated, hence the design of a gift Deira couldn’t refuse. If she refused it the pet would be returned to the BioMass vats, effectively killing it, to Deira’s way of thinking. She grew to love the little Droodle as it was named on the certificate of ownership (which was actually a lease) at the same time as she grew to hate it’s creators.

When the Droodle began to show signs of biogenetic deterioration, patchy skin colour, fading, jaundice around the eyes and mouth,  she swore vengeance on those who had created a living being into a life of pain and torture. She finally formed the Society for the Abolishment of SynthPet Creation. Her husband the Governor, backed her up, risking losing everything. And just as the tension grew to a head, she contracted a rare new disease and died within days.

Upon the death of the owner, a SynthPet who was not passed on as heirloom to another member of the diseased family, was collected by BioSynth, and if healthy was re-sold. If found to be unhealthy was returned to the vats.

When Synth Corp arrived to pick up the Droodle, it could not be found. It’s disappearance was hushed up and the consequences of irresponsibility were once again cast aside by BioSnth Corp –for a time.

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Category: 2011, Drama, Fantasy, Scifi, Uncategorized

About the Author ()

Writer/Artist for "Aedre's Firefly" graphic novel webcomic and "Wheeler's Orbits", Science-fantasy webcomic

Comments (4)

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  1. Bo Lumpkin says:

    I remember the link from last year now. Awesome stuff. Thanks for shareing it with us.

    • Jande Rowe says:

      Oh, excellent, Bo! sorry I got confused and didn’t follow up on your requst for links. But now I’ll send you Direct Messages on Twitter.

      Thanks! Glad you like it!

  2. Malveka says:

    LOL. This critter is so bizarre that it somehow sails right through ugly and arrives back at cute. The ears are great and the tail simply outstanding, er, upstanding. Yeah, both.

    Fantastic background again Jande! There are so many enticing threads in there, I can’t wait to see them spun out into an exquisite tapestry.

    • Jande Rowe says:

      “This critter is so bizarre that it somehow sails right through ugly and arrives back at cute.”

      Oh wow! What a perfect description! I’m a-gonna steal that one! Hahah!

      Thank you so much Mal <3

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