CHAPTER 1 - Creative Writing Exercise #6: Still At Large

A twelve-state manhunt continues for rogue doctor Addisu Nassir, who made international headlines last month by conducting unauthorized human trials of his medical research.  Despite no demonstrated health risks in his patients, Nassir made fundamental and indefinite alterations to a large number of RNA transcriptomes throughout New York and Pennsylvania.  This has resulted in life-altering disfigurements in at least 483 individuals, including the growth of new limbs, deformations of the skull and extremities, and extreme defects of the skin such as extensive hair growth or scales.

Government representatives report extensive mind-altering properties to Nassir’s treatment as well, citing cases of extreme euphoria, with patients insensibly hugging and stroking their own bodies, petting their own tails or other disfigurements while giggling uncontrollably, or simply disappearing in to their bedrooms for days at a time and emerging only to rehydrate.

The search for Nassir has been stymied by a lack of witness cooperation, perhaps owing to his cunning strategy of experimenting only on enthusiastic participants.  The Advisory Council on Natural and Constitutional Law (formerly SCOTUS) took the extraordinary step of releasing a statement on Monday, reminding citizens that all lawmaking and social order is rooted in the human form, which is the common ground and source of shared values that makes civilization possible.  Despite the obvious wisdom of this moral guidance, no increase in witness cooperation has been reported.

Precise enumeration of Nassir’s victims is challenged by a large number of disappearances following treatment.  Sources across multiple federal agencies confirm that many of these have been taken in to protective custody for therapeutic processing to help victims adjust to their disfigured appearance, and are being kept from the public eye to minimize the trauma of social rejection.  However, confirmed reports place the majority of Nassir’s former patients near the Pacific coast, in the territories controlled by the former states of Washington, Oregon, and California.

Most troublingly, unconfirmed rumors state that Dr. Nassir’s methodology has been circulating online, with formulations that may be accessible by small-batch home laboratories or unauthorized maker spaces.  Representatives from ACNCL assure the public that any such instructions have been restricted from all legacy social media postings.  As of publication, we could not confirm whether these instructions are readily available on fediverse and neonet spaces under the keyword FreedomFurAll.