Misbegotten Kittens

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11. Miss Krolikova talks to Rayco about his potential

This, back in Rayco Cavanagh's storyline, is Jonah Kohk.

His favorite color is carnation pink, his favorite movies are British comedies, and he isn't particularly fond of his life before his arrival in Esperanza. Certain physical deformities, caused by very unusual genetic anomalies, lead him into a quite confusing case of gender dysphoria, along with being repudiated by his own family, physically abused by his fellow countrymen, and horrifyingly exploited by even more heartless individuals.

He has pushed through life fueled by raw willpower and the desperate hope that one day he would be accepted by what he is. Today he has been offered an alternative to that.

Ah yes, Rayco Cavanagh can see the problem. He has no idea how to describe what it is, but there is something out of place that is causing all the trouble. He can feel how it should really be for Mr. Kohk to feel good, and he somehow knows exactly what to touch to make it right. He guesses that it is like being good at playing an instrument, without knowing how to read a music score. It just works if he doesn't think about it.

This is no longer Jonah Kohk.

Later today, after long and thoughtful consideration, she will reregister as a citizen of Esperanza under the name Joy Masagin.

	<	A quite impressive display, yes. What else can he do?
	<	You mean besides rewriting the genetic code of any living creature, including his own? Because there are quite a few hitherto impossible medical procedures that this man can perform as if they were nothing, thanks to that.
	<	And yet you look disappointed.
	<	Because I have spent years trying to rebuild the entire discipline of Bioengineering from scratch, after the Azulians brought all of humanity's knowledge back to square one, and this man has mastered it in a couple of weeks, based on just the few basic guidelines that we have managed to hurriedly teach him! I am desperately trying to reproduce his results and I just can't keep up with his progress because he doesn't know how to explain it.
	<	I understand that this must be very frustrating to you.
	<	Of course! How would you feel if... I don't know, if he could govern Esperanza better than you do?
	<	That is precisely what I'm here to find out, Dr. Valparaíso.

Here is what we currently know, Mr. Cavanagh.

In the latest weeks, you have proven able to alter the organic state of living creatures through physical contact or hormonal emission. This has allowed you to change their gender, species or mood, as well as healing incurable medical issues such as hemophilia, chronic kidney disease, metastatic cancers and amputations.

And this is a problem, because if your good actions are beyond the reach of modern science, so is your potential for evil.

So allow me to present you with some hypothetical outcomes to this situation.

Using your control over living matter, you could probably manipulate or blackmail the good people of Esperanza, perhaps through the creation of new diseases, like the American Empire did before the Extinction. Were you to take that path, the city would of course defend itself. Our very efficient scientists have already developed a diverse range of experimental weapons and I am willing to bet that, despite your unique physiology, at least one of them can turn you into a radioactive puddle.

On the other hand, your rapidly developing medical prowress could eventually result in messianic delusions. Shall the people of Esperanza accept you as their benevolent theocratic leader, the current government would step down and patiently wait, until either the crushing responsibility of city management makes you revert to option one, or a single mistake breaks the charm and turns your faithful followers into an enraged mob.

And finally, you could use these interesting techniques you have been developing to continue collaborating with the medical forces of Esperanza and, who knows, eventually maybe even the City Protection service. You would fill your niche in our beautiful status quo with a new job, probably more fun and interesting than your old one at the energy plant, while leaving the thankless social and political chores in the able hands of the current Prime Minister.

What are your thoughts on this matter, Mr. Cavanagh?

Uh... Leading sounds like a lot of work. I'm not a very ambitious guy, I think I'd rather just help when I can and let the people do their own thing.

Good. Don't worry, Mr. Cavanagh. I can think of something useful for you to do.