Sanctity was a 23-year-old student from Monrovia, Liberia who now lived in the western United States. She had been away from her family for a few years and adjusting had had its ups and downs. Life was so much different here and having four seasons was a huge change for her. It was February of 2018, and she was in the middle of her final semester and running into a bit of trouble in a few classes. While her grades were stellar, she did have an edge to her that made some professors uncomfortable. Sanctity was ever the outsider in her new setting and knew she had what it takes to make the differences she wanted to in life. She was fortunate to live in a smaller city that was generally walkable but this time of year with the occasional snow made it a bit less comfortable to do so. This winter had been on the mild side, with temps peaking in the mid 60s a tad early for the season on a seemingly normal Wednesday. A particular groundhog had not seen his shadow a week prior, so the surprise was lessened. Sanctity had just finished her last class and decided to grab a coffee at a local shop. She was never content with a no longer regional chain with the green logo due to the service, choices and cost of the venue. She was also content as she had a date that night. That afternoon she was going to help one of her friends in the lab to finish up one of his projects in anatomy. Little did she know what her friend had stumbled on to or that in the double-blind study that she would wind up the experiment in the control group. But she was used to a lack of control, so Sanctity ever longed for a change. And change would find her soon enough.

From her apartment even on a mild day like this one, she could still see the snow-covered mountains to the east. The foreboding and majestic peaks rising into the clouds, with the mountains and hills only growing taller into the Rockies. Temperatures like these were once an anomaly in mid-February, but more and more they represented the new normal. With little time to dwell on the view, she still had to get ready for her date. She had met the man online via Okcupid. He was tall, bearded and ten years her senior. He had lived in the pacific northwest for the majority of his life. He even seemed enamored with her smaller five-foot stature, but Sanctity had always wondered what it would be like to be taller. She was still comfortable in her shapely ebony skin. She knew however, as a bit of a history nerd, that the state she resided in had a checkered past with race relations. This fact was never lost on her or in the current geopolitical goings on of the region, but Sanctity was able to usually keep herself insulated from the darker elements of society. Living in an urban center had its perks, as she could walk from her apartment to school with minimal traffic. But the grid in the city was set up to be less than pedestrian friendly as most were, rewarding those who drove their automobiles to and from the suburbs. She had yet to acquire a license and had not felt the need as of yet.

On rare occasions she would take public transportation, but due to the seismic nature of the region she would only venture above ground. There was plenty of choice with Busses, Uber, taxis and trains. Still, she preferred walking or biking if possible. Unfortunately, the urban planners and the interstate highway systems, while great for road trips, had a way of dividing up cities and suburbs into untenable shapes for those who preferred these methods of transportation. Regardless, the city did boast a large contingent of mass transit, allowing for some options should the weather turn, which it oftentimes did. Each came with its own set of challenges, if not indignities. The Busses could be bumpy and cramped and were aging units prone to breaking down in the ever-warmer summer months. The city was not built for the heat that had begun to inundate it due to rising CO2 levels. But this was far from her young, gifted mind today. She was just thankful not to be on one of the trains. They were also starting to show their age having various service hours related malfunctions, often in the worst of spots like on river bridges. Also, being of such an attractive form and her smaller 5-foot stature brought all the wrong kinds of attention as well. The trains were notorious for roving clans which would either try to goad you into games of chance, ogle her, or many times both. She had become accustomed to this but pined for simpler living.

Up in the woods was her happy place. She enjoyed the quiet arboreal suburbs outside of the occasional natural disaster in the Pacific northwest area. There, Sanctity could enjoy the plants and animals along with the fresh mountain air flowing from the Cascade peaks and be with the trees. Her original longing in school was to be a botanist or maybe even entomologist, but the reality of working in this field intervened. She also found early on through coursework that she would rather enjoy it as a hobby than learn to hate it via a job. Sometimes these things happened for the best she would cheerfully say. While she marveled at being able to look up and see the urban landscape, the rural mountains and hills truly drew her wonder. Sunrises, sunsets, rainbows, all added a bit to the joys, but even a partly cloudy day had its beauty there. Sitting on a grassy hill watching clouds roll past casting shadows on adjacent land-forms was pure bliss. But the more work and social engagements beckoned, the less time she found herself being able to enjoy the natural wonders of the world. When she was out there time seemed to stand still, but as she left it felt like it flew by. Nothing was sadder than watching the mountains recede in the rear-view mirrors of the vehicles she was in or on the trains, sometimes bringing her to tears. She was only a tad emotional but not one who would show much outward anger. She could still hold her own and be defensive, especially since her sub average stature was aided by it. Arriving at the coffee shop, Sanctity caught up with her friend and fellow student who was late after being caught up in the lab.

Jeremy had always had a little crush on Sanctity since they first met but never acted on it as he was too timid. Her outgoing personality contrasted his own and her slightly promiscuous ways were polar opposite of his steadfast, nerdy science mind. He was working in the college labs on a system that was in close relation to CRISPR when it came to RNA and DNA studies. Once he finished his midweek work he was set to meet up with Sanctity before she had another date that night. Jeremy was wondering if she would be so kind as to swing by the lab with him to provide him with a control group, or so he thought. As his latest study was double blind, he would certainly get more than he bargained for. Regardless, the coffee shop was around the corner from the lab he was currently assigned to and would provide a welcome diversion. Getting her usual unusual, iced coffee, where she tried to find yet another flavor combination, she discussed her upcoming date with him before he quickly pivoted the conversation back to the afternoon's upcoming experiment. He let her know that it was a simple serum being tested for slightly lengthening hair growth, only set to go after already solid cells that were no longer dividing. Being as inquisitive as she was, she wanted to know some of the details, but after a couple sentences it was going way too far over her head as it did almost everyone else in the eatery. Finishing a caprese panini off they took the short walk back to campus together as Sanctity tossed the ice cubes from her maple white chocolate iced coffee into the trash. She would recycle the plastic cup at the lab, as she was a bit concerned about natural things and the growing plastic problems.

It did not take too long before they entered the double doors for the laboratory building. Heading up the stairs, they put on the normal, white lab coats. Sanctity did not know there would be others there, both girls whom she had seen. They were a couple of acquaintances she saw before on campus. She was vaguely familiar with their names but none of the three were too close, yet. For now, it was just another one of Jeremy’s interesting but usually well cross studied experiments. That did not mean she did not experience occasional side effects from these, but they varied from benign to hardly anything that would sideline her too long. Sanctity did have caution with some of them, as the understanding about cell editing was still a very new field. Being paid in tuition assistance and access to extra classes were the bonus, albeit sometimes a tad invasive. Regardless, Sanctity loved to learn, and presumed the other two who were there with her were in a similar state of being. She held a conversation with the other two about local coffee shops and music in the top forty though one trended more country to hers and the other girl’s R&B tinged leanings. After a few minutes of the sort of bored chit chat that serves the purpose of filling time, Jeremy re-entered the room with them to go over the procedures, risks and was sure not to tell them what the aim was of the experiment so the results would not be swayed. Sanctity always enjoyed being involved in Jeremy’s little world, as it kept her informed on the latest discoveries and technologies keeping her ahead of the curve. Once he laid down the ground rules for the experiment, he produced the waiver contracts with the fine print. She had read over a similar form several times before and was quick to sign, entrusting him that he would not put her in harm's way. The other two young women present had a few more questions but eventually he collected all three forms with signatures.

Jeremy left the room and returned with three beverages. All tap water he insured, but next to them were small, clear plastic cups containing two cylindrical pills each around the same size as a Tylenol. Paperwork signed, adverse reactions noted, it was down the hatch for all three of them. Satisfied that they were swallowed and making their way into the trio's bloodstreams, Jeremy collected cups from all three. Sanctity had no problem with this routine having done it a number of times before. The other two young women seemed only slightly on edge, but hey money was money, and the risks sounded minimal enough. As the enzymes were dissolved and all three were breathing an hour later, they were released with notes on what to watch for, and what to avoid. One of the few things on the list was genetic materials orally should be avoided along with a few animal proteins. A weird clause that was buried in a few other ones. Several more were about consumption of fluids or some plants including cannabis. Even one that involved the inhalation of leaded or high-octane fumes being a possible catalyst, but all of these were stated with a disclaimer that only merely mild side effects may occur with these happenstances. Sanctity while last to leave let Jeremy know that she would be heading out to a Boring suburb to meet a man who was about ten years older than her but less traveled than her. Hiding his own internal consternation, he wished her well and to notify him about anything that she needed to tell him. He would be well informed and tested as it turned out the next day, but nonetheless intended to keep his promise.

Driving down the stoplight riddled roads that merged lanes for seemingly no reason, she emerged from the Toyota Avalon Lyft sent her way. She was meeting the guy at a local Italian restaurant. After the awkward find after she walked in the door, the two met eyes. All of Sanctity’s five-foot frame looked radiant as usual, adorned with her bright smile. The guy she was meeting noticed her right away and was pleased that she looked even better in person than her profile picture had suggested. Together they ate dinner, as Sanctity just had to try his veal parm and her date a bite of her chicken piccata. One shared tiramisu for dessert later, he picked up the check without hesitating and asked her what she was game for. Having thoroughly enjoyed the evening so far and her moderately attractive date, they decided that watching a movie together at his condo would be agreeable. After he microwaved a bowl of popcorn, he put on the MST3k version of a cheesy 70s kaiju movie starring the absurd turtlesque Gamera. Together they discussed the ridiculous nature of the film, what they would do if they were skyscraper sized and laughed at most of the jokes. Unfortunately, many references went over her head being a Liberian national, but she got the gist for the most part. After TV’s Frank pushed the button, the credits rolled asking to keep circulating the tapes, and the stinger played, her date moved in close. While she would usually show more hesitation in such situations, something felt off tonight, but in a good way. She even realized that maybe this had to do with the pills that Jeremy administered earlier and made a mental note to add it to her side effect notebook later on. But for now, things were getting hot and heavy with the man on the couch when she suggested that they move into the bedroom to which he gladly agreed.

Once in the bedroom she felt the urge to lose her clothing rapidly as even for her smaller stature her perfect c-cup breasts were something she was proud of and glad to share. Her date seemed to enjoy them as well, licking and kneading them in an erotic manner and she pulled down her panties and climbed into bed with him close behind. Normally, Sanctity was a marathoner, not a sprinter in the sack, but tonight she felt more energized than normal. After several hours of intense lovemaking, she finally wore her date out and he fell asleep. He was decent enough for being in his early thirties to her 23 years of age, but after he began to snore Sanctity used her fingers to fill in the gaps for a few minutes before she herself crept into a deep slumber. The next morning a few things had changed, though she was able to convince him to make good use of his morning wood. However, much to his own surprise, it was her enthusiastic sexual energy that was wearing him thin. Normally, he was a big opponent of breakfast as he kept his physique by the see-food diet. If he did not see the food, he would not eat it, and therefore kept the pantry light. This saddened Sanctity as she loved a big breakfast and sadly had to make do. She wanted to spend more time with the man after such an exuberant night together, but he said he had plans that day. Luckily for her he was a man of his word and said he would drive her back to her apartment in the city. The town of Boring was only about 30 minutes from Portland, so it would at least be a nice change of pace from the other modes of transportation that she was used to. After a nice, shared shower with the man getting as dirty as clean, they headed towards the parking lot attached to his unit.

Heading down the stairs to the second floor, her date’s Brown Nissan Murano was parked just a short walk away. Between the cushy tan leather seats, and memories of her dates plowing from the night before, Sanctity began to fish around for the fly on his pants. At first, he was surprised but the garage wasn't too busy this time of day, so he figured why not. Besides, he was parked between a larger Chevy Trailblazer and Dodge Ram pickup, so the CUV they were in was shielded from most prying eyes. With a fiery look in her big brown eyes, she looked at him and his apprehension melted away as she found what she was looking for. Pulling out his big unit from the hastily unzipped fly, she first used her tongue to tease his member before fully deepthroating it. Normally, she would not engage in such behavior, especially in a semi-public space like this, but today just felt different, like something big was going to happen. On the other hand, even receiving some stellar fellatio, the man could not help but feel some sense of impending doom. Sanctity for her part was really going to town on him, trying her best to coax out a little more love juice before her ride back to the city. Momentarily forgetting his better instincts, the man let loose a wicked shot into her waiting gullet. Normally she would spit at this point but fatefully went to swallow instead. While not the most filling breakfast, Sanctity almost immediately felt a strange sensation in her gut as the seminal fluid slid down her throat. At first, she felt like she was full having eaten a large meal, even though the breakfast was notably lacking. As if that was not enough, she also began to notice her clothes getting tighter, something was definitely off but as she wiped her lips her date had also picked up that something was askew.