The Aachgnek, a race of mutants against the whole of America.

An introduction:

The Aachgnek started as a question when I was twelve years old, can mutants like in Marvel and DC comics really exist? The answer, which turned out to be more complicated than I could ever imagine, was both yes and no at the same time. I studied anatomy, health science, biology, mutations, cloning, philosophy, and genetics. While crazy mutations like shapeshifting or laser eyes are most definitely not possible, some humans today are born with extraordinary abilities due to mutations, so I sprinkled in some bullshit 50’s science-magic, because I am by no means an expert in any of those fields, and went from there.

The creation:

Joseph Gonzales, a young science enthusiast loses his mother to a genetic disease prompting him to turn to genetics as a career and solve the problem of these passed on mutations. After years of study and planning, he stumbles on to a solution, an RNA than uses Crispr like features to replace unhealthy genes. This solution would wait until he was offered a position in a new facility in Kentucky. He would eventually begin working on the project, but ultimately failing after the first human test subject dies of cancer days after injection.

After this failure he was ridiculed, and a harmless prank ended up solving part of his failure. The man became singularly focused on his project, figuring cloning was a way to ensure the subjects wouldn't die. Years of pursuing his cloning angle later, he created a career in politics to help change the laws about cloning. This career became lucrative enough to give him a chance to run for president, and he won. Due to the harm that genetic diseases had already done to the population, the cloning bill passed, allowing him to pursue this solution.

Twenty-five male, and twenty-five female were chosen to be cloned from all over the world with their genetic diseases. These fifty clones spent the next sixteen years inside of a facility, being tested and prodded. As a consensus on the projects success was being reached, one female grew sick, their concern quickly changed to intrigue as it became obvious she was pregnant. The clones would pair off, the faculty finding it a suitable, if not unprecedented, way of testing if the advanced RNA would have I'll effects on the next generation.

Surprisingly, the next generation did not show signs either, and the experiment was deemed a success. Nearly twenty years later after conclusive data had been discovered, a new threat rolled in. A nearby nuclear reactor broke down causing massive amounts of radiation to leak towards the facility, and the clones were abandoned due to their status as property. After a year of cleanup, the return shocked the staff as the clones hadn't just survived, but had begun the third generation.

This new generation had new and unexpected developments, mutations unlike any they had seen before. The returning members studied the new children, and concluded that the advanced RNA had ran wild, causing these strange mutations to adapt. Years later, these clones would be given freedom and rights due to a loophole, and the facility was shut down. These people, developing a new identity and culture, would be given the land the project had been held on and the surrounding forest. Slowly, the Aachgnek grew, for nearly four hundred years, they solidified themselves as a culture.

What it all means:

Though the Aachgnek started out as an innocent project by a wild dreamer, after experiencing the world and its inability to accept new things, especially things that are better than humans, it turned into a passion project about the price of racism, culture, science, and America. In the end, I never wanted this for them, but the world taught me how cruel and unforgiving it would be, I am truly sorry to have to put them through this, even though they aren’t real.