The Woman with Five Parents
Elara crumpled the recycled paper of the envelope between her fingers. It had been eighteen years. Eighteen years in this state-run orphanage, always wondering, staring out the window at the hydroponic gardens in the distance.
Today, the wondering would end.
Inside the envelope was a voucher, not for the usual coming-of-age gifts like a refurbished comms-unit or a synthesized jewel. This was a voucher for Origin Corp, the gene-mapping corporation housed in the sleek, bioluminescent tower downtown. It gave her a chance to find out where she came from, who she was.
Elara couldn’t help but feel a nervous flutter in her stomach. Her deep-seated shyness had always kept her from actively pursuing her past. She was scared. That was before she found her voice, leading the student council and organizing rooftop protests against the city’s water rationing. The shy girl had been replaced by a bold young woman who was ready to face the truth, whatever it might be.
With a determined breath, she tucked the voucher into the pocket of her patched-up overalls and stepped out of the orphanage. The scent of blooming moonflowers and humming irrigation systems filled the air. The maglev tram whiskered her towards the city center, staring up at the towering spires of the city.
The Origin Corp building was a stark contrast to the earthy tones of her orphanage. It was everything the orphanage wasn’t: sleek, metallic, with pulsating algae subtly illuminating its facade. Elara stepped into the vast, decorated lobby.
A receptionist greeted her, a woman with emerald green hair and cybernetic implants.
“Welcome to Origins. Do you have an appointment?”
“Yes,” Elara replied, her voice steady and firm. She presented her voucher. “Elara Bennett.”
The receptionist’s fingers tapped quickly across a holographic keyboard.
“Yes, thank you. Right this way, Ms. Bennett. A technician will be with you shortly.”
Elara was led to a small, white room. In its center was a biopod, shaped like a large cocoon. There was a small opening. This was it. With a sense of excitement, she slipped inside.
The biopod hummed to life. The cocoon sealed up and shrunk. The structure collapsed and reshaped itself around Elara’s body. Tiny tendrils extended out and lightly brushed up against her skin. They were soft and warm.
A gentle voice filled the pod.
“Genetic mapping process initializing. Please remain still.”
Elara closed her eyes. She could feel her heart pounding heavily in her chest. Images flickered in her head: the worn faces of the orphanage caregivers, the laughter of her roommates, and the yearning for something more, beyond the confines of her familiar life.
A chime sounded. The lights dimmed.
“Mapping complete. Please exit the pod.”
The cocoon’s tendrils withdrew, leaving Elara feeling a slight chill throughout her body. Next the biopod appeared to breathe in and out. With each breath, it expanded and contracted, growing larger each time. Finally, it returned to its original shape. A crack formed, splitting the pod right in front of her. She was finally able to step through, carefully keeping her balance.
There was technician in the room now, a young man with dark skin and eyes that seemed to have an assortment of colors. He gestured towards a nearby console.
“Here are you results, Ms. Bennett,” he offered, showing a data chip in his hand.
She looked at it, its surface etched in an intricate pattern.
“You can access it using any standard comm-unit,” he continued.
She took it from his hand and saw her fingers trembling. She plugged the chip into her wristband comm-unit. A holographic tree sprouted from the screen, its branches a complex network of genetic connections. At the top, her name. Below she saw not two, but five names branched out.
Five parents.
Disbelief washed over her. Five? How was that even possible? The technician could see the surprise on her face, as he explained.
“It appears you were the product of a poly-parental union, Ms. Bennett. It’s a rather uncommon arrangement, but it did have a cultural peak about twenty years ago. Advanced gene-mixing techniques were employed to ensure genetic compatibility and stability.”
Elara stared at the names. Each was a stranger, a piece of her puzzle. But together she was the outcome. A wave of emotions surged through Elara — confusion, curiosity, anger, and an irrational sense of homesickness. Who were these people? More importantly, why had they given her up?
The technician cleared his throat.
“Ms. Bennett, I know this must be a shock to you. Origins can provide you with contact information of your genetic progenitors, should you wish to…”
“Yes,” Elara interrupted firmly. “I want to know. I need to find them.”
Tessa Leprince. The name resonated with Elara. Something about it felt familiar, a faint echo in the corridors of her memory. The Origins database listed her as residing within the same city, a researcher at the Urban Bioluminescence Institute. Fate was offering her a starting point.
The Institute was located in the Old City, deep in a neighborhood the maglev never reached. Armed with Tessa’s research schedule and a map downloaded to her comm-unit, navigated the quiet streets where genetically modified fungi took over the sidewalks like overzealous trees.
Inside, she found Tessa in a small lab, hunched over a Petri dish. Her face was illuminated by the pulsating light of a bioluminescent culture.
Tessa Leprince was older than Elara expected. Her face was etched with lines that spoke to years spent in the pursuit of knowledge, and the stress that came from tight deadlines and underappreciated accolades. Her eyes though, held a guarded quality.
“Dr. Leprince?” Elara’s voice was a hesitant whisper, feeling the shyness of her youth bubbling up again.
Tessa looked up, her brow furrowed in surprise at seeing a stranger. Elara was just a stranger.
“Yes, can I help you?”
“My name is Elara Thorne,” Elara began, feeling the words get stuck in her throat. “I’m… your daughter.”
The Petri dish slipped from Tessa’s grasp, shattering on the floor. The culture spread out as a luminous spill, casting an ethereal glow on their faces.
Tessa’s eyes widened and her hand flew to her mouth.
“Elara? But… But how?”
It took a while for Elara to explain, recounting her visit to Origins, the DNA test, and her revelation. Tessa listened intently, her face exposing her emotions throughout: shock, disbelief, fear, and finally composure.
“Five parents…” Tessa murmured, her eyes growing distant. “It’s true. A long time ago we were a collective, a group of idealists. But it was a different time. Things changed. We all went our separate ways.”
Elara’s heart ached with frustration.
“Why give me up? Why the orphanage?”
Tessa’s eyes revealed a deep sadness.
“It was a complicated time, Elara. We were young. We made choices… Choices we thought were best for you.”
A heavy silence fell between them, punctuated only by the soft humming of the lab equipment and the pulsating glow of the spilled bioluminescent culture. Elara had found one parent, but the answers she sought remained locked behind Tessa’s facade.
The high-speed rail, its roof covered in solar panels, sliced through the urban sprawl. Elara’s city disappeared into the distance. She clutched the data chip containing Pak Minsu’s information. Her anxiety grew with each passing kilometer. Tessa’s evasiveness had left her with more questions than answers.
Pak Minsu was an architect who resided in Neo-Pheonix, a city known for its harmonious blend of traditional Japanese architecture and sustainable technology. The city’s grid made it easy to track down his address to a minimalist apartment nestled within a bamboo forest on the outskirts of the city.
She approached the door with trepidation. Her finger hovered over the comm-unit which signaled her arrival. The door slid open with a quiet hiss, revealing a stark yet elegant interior. Pak Minsu stood in the entryway, his face etched with the lines of time and experience. His eyes were as cold and impenetrable as polished steel.
“Mr. Minsu?” Elara whispered, hardly able to believe her eyes. “My name is Elara Bennett. I believe…”
“I know who you are,” Pak replied immediately, his voice lacking any warmth or welcome. “I’ve been expecting this.”
Elara’s heart sank. Tessa must have warned him.
“I just want to talk,” she pleaded.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” he dismissed. “The past is the past. It’s best left buried.”
He moved his hand to close the door, but Elara blocked it with her foot. She was fueled by a desperate need for answers. She’d gone too far to give up.
“Please,” she begged. “I need to know why. Why did you give me up? What happened to all of you?”
Pak’s eyes glared at her. They were hard and cold.
“You wouldn’t understand,” he answered, his voice bitter. “You were a mistake. A failed experiment. We all agreed it was best to forget you ever existed.”
The words sent a shiver down her spine. A mistake? A failed experiment? Tears formed in her eyes. Her vision grew blurry and her hand retreated.
Pak closed the door with a finality that echoed in the silent bamboo grove. Elara stood there for a long moment, the rejection hitting her like a tidal wave. The journey, it seemed, was far from over.
Still, she refused to be deterred. There were three more parents to speak with. As she sat in the train station, she dove back into the Origins database in search of any leads for the other three. That’s when she saw a news article announcing Caroline Wentz’s upcoming sculpture exhibition in her home city. Fate was offering a second chance.
The exhibition was held in the grand atrium of the Eco-Tower, a soaring structure that housed the city’s central hydroponics and energy system. Elara arrived early. She watched as rich patrons trickled into the room.
She spotted Caroline, a woman of striking elegance with silver streaks in her dark hair. She directed the installation of her sculptures — intricate, living creations that intertwined technology and nature.
As the crowds gathered, Elara hesitated. Should she approach Caroline now, in this public setting? It could lead to an awkward, uncomfortable encounter. But her fear couldn’t overpower her need for answers. She stepped forward, weaving through the throng of guests.
“Ms. Wentz?” Elara’s voice was barely audible.
Caroline turned towards her. Her eyes were the color of warm honey, which were now widening in surprise. There was a flicker of recognition, a flash of something akin to panic.
“Elara?” Caroline’s voice was just as soft. “You found me.”
Tears welled up in Caroline’s eyes. Her carefully composed facade crumbled. She reached out with trembling hands and gently cupped Elara’s face.
“Oh Elara, I am so so sorry. So incredibly sorry,” her voice thick with emotion.
Elara was taken aback by this raw display of emotion. It was a stark contrast to her other parents.
“We never meant to hurt you,” her voice cracked. “We were so young. So idealistic. We thought we had come up with a way for a better family, a better world. But we were wrong. We were selfish.”
She grabbed Elara and pulled her into a tight embrace. Her body shook as she sobbed.
“We failed you, Elara.”
Elara found herself returning the embrace, though she had been caught off-guard by this outpouring of grief and relief. The warm touch, and the sincerity of her apology, offered a hint of healing. Perhaps, there was a chance to rise above the pain and form a connection that transcended the past.
Caroline’s confession was the first crack in the wall of silence. It opened a door to a past filled with both idealism and regret. The story of five parents, their collective dream, and their ultimate failure was a complex tapestry of love, hope, and disillusionment.
With Caroline’s guidance, Elara tracked down her remaining parents: Erendiz Aytac and Rafael Higashi. Each encounter was another journey into the past, a revelation of a different facet of her origins.
Erendiz, the botanist, was found in a small town tending to a community garden. Her hands were weathered but still possessed a vibrant spirit. Rafael was an engineer now living abroad, leading a desalination project in a remote desert village. His passion for innovation remained undiminished.
Through these new conversations, Elara pieced together the fragments of her past. They had been driven by a utopian vision to create a perfect child, a beacon of hope for a troubled world.
But their experiment had unforeseen consequences. The pressures of their collective endeavor had strained their relationships, leading to bitter disagreements and ultimately their separation.
Elara began to understand the weight of their choices. They had sacrificed their own happiness and futures on a dream that ultimately failed. Yet their love for her, though flawed and misguided, was clear.
In the end, Elara found not just the answers but also a new sense of self. Her identity wasn’t defined by her origins, but by her own unique journey. Her story was not one of a perfect child in a perfect world, but the dream of a successful young woman with five parents did come true.